We are at a fun stage of building where every day shows noticeable progress. It has not always been this way in the past, and I know it will not be the same in the future, but for now it is fun to walk in the house and see changes daily.
I keep thinking I want to wait again until ____ happens before I write the blog. Wait for the foundation to be done – done and didn’t blog. Wait for the garage floor – done and didn’t blog. Wait for the house floor – done and didn’t blog. So now the walls are on their way up, so I’d better blog.
Some don’t understand that Noel is the architect, the general contractor, and the builder. He has done a lot of this type of work on a smaller scale over his life, but he has never built a house. So, he listens to lots of YouTube videos; he has multiple people/groups he follows, and he asks experts lots of questions (Thank you Darryl Kincaid!) He doesn’t know everything, but he knows people who do.
Since our last blog update, around 2400 cement blocks came together to make our foundation. Noel met someone local who has been laying block for 40 years; Chris was willing to consult so Noel could be sure to do it correctly. But the closer it came to the task, he realized that Chris could get it done in half the time that he could. So, he became the laborer, getting all the blocks to where they needed to be, but the mason, Chris, did the actual laying of block. He does not regret that.
Next came the concrete floor in the garage. Noel had everything framed and ready, and then his friend, Sean, a concrete guy, came for the pour and finish work.
We have friends and neighbors come when extra hands are needed. We are meeting neighbors who are kindly helping and always tell us to contact them when we need help. I took goody plates around to the neighbors for Christmas. I was actually going to deliver them on my tractor because one neighbor has killer roosters that protect their property and I’m too “chicken” to walk in their yard. But the tractor’s tire was low so I bravely marched down the road and into her yard – only to find out the roosters were actually eaten by dogs this week. I invited everyone to a Bible study, so we’ll see if we can get that going in the new year.
Thankful for Help!
Our friend, Elvis, comes often to give an extra set of hands. Damon comes from over an hour away and helps when he is needed. They have worked through drizzle, cold weather, and summer heat. They have crawled on their knees (or rolled when it was easier 😊) and been covered in wet concrete. We can’t say how much we appreciate these 2 gentlemen!
Crawl Space
It is nice to have the floor completely done so the “crawl space” is now covered. I guess it’s a southern thing, but few houses have basements. Because we are on a hill, the front of the house’s crawl space is about 4’ and the backside is about 8’ – hardly counts as a crawl space it seems to me. The crawl space is ground, covered by thick plastic, covered by pea gravel. Zeke (6-month-old puppy) did not understand the spelling of PEA gravel the other day and used it for his own needs. So, it is nice to have the public puppy potty covered so Zeke and the rain do not bother it.
Sometime in there – in the rain – I moved a lot of gravel from a pile in front of the garage to fill in around the garage. I got stuck so many times in the slushy gravel. I learned to get myself out, using the bucket for leverage and just not stopping long enough to get stuck. That plan was semi-efficient.
Lightning Strike
We had a bit of excitement last week, I think Thursday. Our lumber yard was delivering an exciting load of flooring!!! when the heavy rain turned to a thunderstorm. Austin, the truck driver, decided it was time to get to safety in the truck, and his backside was no sooner on the seat when one of our trees right next to his truck was struck by lightning. He reports he has never had anything like that happen before, and he hopes to not have it happen ever again. Thirty minutes later, his body still wasn’t feeling back to normal. There were pieces of bark everywhere – including on our beloved pea gravel. The strike was SO loud, and Noel was not inside, so I went running but he wasn’t around. He was safe and sound in the shed, but he had not been in there very long. Thanking the Lord for safety! We were without power for several hours
Now come the walls. We are about 2 days in, and I can walk in my guest room, my office, and the bathroom – we are not telling Zeke that is what it is! I can walk out my front door, although the next step is a bit rough (4’ down), and the door isn’t actually there yet (getting that tomorrow hopefully), but the opening is there. Noel still needs to frame in some of the windows and doors. I was his only extra muscle today, and the window framing is a lot of extra wood and weight, so he will do that now that the wall is up. This is just so exciting to see the rooms coming together. When you’re like me and can’t visualize very well, it is amazing when I don’t have to any longer. It’s actually right there to see it!
The walls need to be complete by the end of December, which seems right on schedule. That is because we are hiring the trusses and metal roof done, and they will be doing that the beginning of January. All walls inside and outside need to be done by then.
Our windows and doors are ordered. Our roof is ordered. Our garage doors are ordered. Our siding we are getting samples of, and getting it ordered. The wood stove is ordered. The supply chain is still sketchy so we have to order early.
Our puppies are all house-broken now. They were very sick for nearly a week; I thought we were going to lose one of them. It seemed to change their personalities a bit. One of the bigger pups, Fuzz, in the midst of the 2 little ones being sick, ended up with a hole in his belly. So, he had some minor surgery and 6 stitches. They think it was an abscess that “exploded.” They are excited to finally get to play in the sand pile now that it is not needed for mortar.
This weather has been amazing. We worked outside all day on Christmas day in 75 degrees! Not your average Christmas day, but it was good. Noel built walls, and I helped as needed. I sealed the garage floor. The puppies ran and ran and are now blissfully sleeping. We ended the day with a pizza and Christmas movie. We got to chat with all the kids and grandkids throughout the day. My mom is not feeling well, so we will do Christmas with them when she is feeling better.
We are always excited to have visitors, so if you are local, come by for a visit and see our progress. If you aren’t local, come on by anyway. As I finish this up, not a normal part of the blog, but we have a couple heavy prayer requests that I’d sure appreciate you praying for. A childhood friend of mine is on a ventilator tonight with Covid and not doing well. There was a plane crash behind our house maybe 1 1/2 miles away late this afternoon. They have not found the plane yet because of fog and now night fall. We are in a wooded area. Thank you for the prayers for all involved!