Siding done; electrical full steam

The photos are of the finished siding, and the gable vents are now installed. With the exception of one broken window in a dormer, we are finally completely "dried in."

AJ reminded me that the last thing I said about an electrician was that Ron and I and his crew were going to do it, but the number 1 electrician that we wanted has decided not to take the job in Atlanta, so he has been on the job for three days and the electrical work is progressing well.

The Brazilian crew from Atlanta finished the Hardie plank siding this weekend. They are very good at what they do. I have not been able to find a single example of work that I needed them to redo. They are very efficient and work like a machine (five of them). We are getting three painting estimates Monday and Tuesday --for exterior. Also, we are working on sheetrock estimates.

Electrical work

Electrical work is going full swing, but it is hard to get photos that indicate the progress. Here's a couple: one is the electrical panels in the west mechanical room. The other is in the east side of the "jack-and-jill" baths.
Siding work was halted for today because the workers did not have the gable vents. They were delivered later today.
We are getting estimates on exterior painting, insulation and installing interior water lines.

Siding

We contracted with our building supplies company to do the siding, and they have 5 Hispanic guys working like a machine. In two days they have completed 75% of the siding-- and it is a big job with the height of the house. They are doing very good work and should be completed with the job by Friday -- provided the gable vents arrive on time.

House report

The roof is complete and with the exception of the gable vents, the house is dry.

Electrical work was scheduled to start on Wednesday, but the electrician has landed a longer term job, so he will not work on our house. We then went to electrician number 2 who is semi-retired, and he said the job was too big for him. So, Ron and I started the electrical work on Saturday and we have decided to do it ourselves. Ron will also be the HVAC sub-contractor and he will supervise some part-time helpers.

A work crew will begin the Hardie board siding on Monday.

More pics from the weekend

What's an 80 year old doing moving railroad ties?

I took the day off on Friday to spend some time with Pop. We went and bought some corral panels for getting the cows up to load on a trailer. The farm supply had some cross ties, and we are going to need a lot of them for landscaping, so we bought a bundle of them (16). We were moving the ties from the trailer two at a time on the front end loader of the tractor. Working on the last two ties, I threw the last one on top of the other one just as we had been doing, but this time Pop didn't get his thumb out of the way in time and his thumb was crushed. It was a gruesome looking injury.
The urgent care center could not help us and sent us to the emergency room. The ER doctor said that Pop would have to have a hand surgeon work on him. That surgeon wound up being my hand surgeon -- one that did two hand surgeries on me this summer. The surgeon removed the remainder of the nail in the ER, but Pop had to be prepped for surgery to put that thumb back together.
Pop was quite a hit in the ER and operating suite -- everyone wanted to talk with the 80 year old who was injured moving railroad ties! I heard one of the nurses tell another coming on duty, "He is such a sweetie!"

Roof finally finished; Mimi and Pop

Finally, the roof is finished. It has been tough for the roofers with some brisk winds and 24 feet pieces of tin on the steep roof. The electrician will begin tomorrow. The Hardie board siding will begin on Monday.

Mimi and Pop arrived this afternoon for a short visit -- that is the only kind they make! They will stay until Sunday. We took them out to see the house and feed the cows. I think Mimi was more impressed with the cows than the house...