Blog de Puree

The lads were back yesterday and in full force.

We have no photos today, as there wasn’t much visual progress to show. Some more gutting and building, but things were getting done.

From what Randye and I could tell, the deck is almost finished and looks great. We’re just waiting for stairs on a cement foundation for them to rest on. There will be plenty of room for our barbecue.

The lally columns to support the kitchen and its accouterments, and eliminate bounce, were placed. They also put an extra column under the main support beam of the house, raising it about in inch as it was starting to sag with old age and exposure to moisture. There was one issue with a new kitchen column near the bulkhead that was resting against the foundation wall, which is fine, however, it was wood and rested over the channel, blocking the flow of seeping water during storms.

The crew also worked around the chimney area, but had to stop because the found another important support boards and needed to wait on Randye’s and my final decision based off the final plans in that area. Do we open up the last bit of hallway near the bathroom or keep the faux door frame? Do we have enough room for shelves on one side of the chimney? Last night we thought we might go with just walls on each side of the chimney and eventually install small shelves that spanned across parts of the chimney, yet still leaving it open.

Decisions, decisions.

We’ve also decided that I would be the point person in dealing with the contractors when it came to major home structural issues and Randye will be the point expert in design, decor and minor structural issues around the kitchen. That way, there’d be no confusion when we spoke to Ken, our foreman for the job. And did we mention that he looks like Grizzly Adams, but with dark hair. It’s pretty cool.