Lots of Progress

Rich has been off this whole week between Christmas and New Year's, so we have been able to get quite a bit done. There is now no evidence that a "trailer" was ever on the property. Well, really there is, but nothing that would deter us from modifying the loan. That is a big load off everyone's mind. We filled up our 2nd dumpster's worth of debris, and finally the pile of trash is gone. George, Vicki, and I did that yesterday. I have soreness in just about every muscle including my thumbs.


Now begins kind of a fun part. We are ready to put up insulation and siding on the walls where the trailer used to be. The part to remain covered by a roof we have taken to calling the barn. The ground of it is very hard and dry since it is the part that was under the trailer. We plan on using medium to large sized stones spaced apart as ground cover and filling in the gaps with crushed granite. That was our compromise - Rich wanted to concrete the whole thing, but I wanted a little more of a natural look. Some of you may remember the pass through window we had from the trailer "dining area" to the game room. We are going to install 8 foot tall french doors in that space. We originally wanted to put in a clear roll up garage door, but time and money are constraints in that area. I will take pictures of our progress this weekend.


The new house now has light fixtures, electricity, and heat which is good. Yesterday the attic insulation was blown in. I think just after the New Year the countertops and tub surround will be installed. It looks like we may be done in a few weeks. I think what is holding us back the most is the septic system. It turns out, per an engineer that our tank is large enough for the house, but the drainage field doesn't meet code. So, Rich needs to dig two 5 foot deep by two foot wide holes so the engineer can determine if our soil is just unrocky enough to install another drain field. If so, that is the easiest fix (even though we will still need to get a permit from the county - ARRRGGHHH - although it isn't supposed to be as lengthy an experience as a building permit). If not we may have to install an entirely new system. But, we don't think that will be the case.

Here are some pictures from the 23rd of demo. That is me running up the trailer's slippery roof.