January 29, 2017

OK...we are on our way again.

I have to admit, I have used my actress voice and passion and the power of persistent phone-calls (clearly a gift endowed to me by my mother) and these past few weeks have given Dad's dream of a new home a real boost at coming true...and sooner, rather than later!

Firstly, at long last..NYSEG arrived to hook up the gas and electric...wonderful news!

That meant heat could go on and that meant,  the remaining work on the interior could be done with continuity...and for Dad, that meant his workshop could be drywalled...here he is with Cory, his contractor, who has done a wonderful job on the walls and the finishing of the floor in the shop.

And here he is in at the foot of the stairs, in the entrance to his furnace/storage room...(the lights weren't wired in yet, so you will have to look to find him in the dark interior...)

The work on the garage continued and the walls were finally built. And...when even though the weather was rotten...the shingling began...

...until they finished...

You can probably see Dad still has a dumpster in his front lawn, and those light colored patches leading to the ladder to the garage roof are pieces of wood. Yep, it was so muddy this January, that the workers constructed a makeshift path to try to avoid the inches of muck (which they kind of tracked into his house on a daily basis, despite their best efforts to avoid doing so). 

But through all the frustrations our new hero from American Homes, Jay, kept everything moving forward on the inside of the space...here he is...

After the shingles, came the beginning of the garage siding...(great shot of the incredible mud tracks...

And, now it the garage siding is nearly done...they will finish tomorrow, 1/30...and they will also be completing the final siding on the house itself, and install the final window upstairs....

Oh, and what is that? Yes, it is the return of the caterpillar...

The driveway cometh!!!

 And here it is, Number 1 Applewood Lane, with its crushed gravel driveway and sidewalk (to the still unbuilt stairs and front porch). 

Things are going wonderfully well. We hope to have the electrical inspection on Monday, and then the firewall in the garage, the final grading of the soil, the build of the stairs and porch, and (as I mentioned above) the remaining siding.

If everyone is able to keep the pace up, and complete their jobs as hoped...Dad will have his certificate of occupancy before the end of the week. Thanks for holding his dream and ours in your hearts and prayers...

January 16th

So, it has been a long time since the last post...sigh.

Work really slowed with Christmas and New Year's, and ice storm, more snow and a few illnesses with contractors, and delays (ad nauseam) by New York State Gas and Electric, for the hook-ups for the utilities, but things are moving once more and we are grateful for all the workmen and women, and especially thankful for the wonderful customer care from NYSEG in Binghamton and Jack and his team at American Homes for keeping the ball rolling...

So, here you see Dad walking towards the beginnings of the framing of the garage...

And, they clearly must be listening when he speaks to them...

And he spurred them on just in time for the next big snow...

As you can see, he still has more soil to be delivered, shingles and siding, as well as front steps and a small front porch to be built...there was also the matter of steps into the house from the garage...and they were begun 10 days ago...

And here they are completed, save the railings and bannister...

The windows are also in the garage and, again...just in time...

This is the result of the ice and wind storm we had the night this work was completed...

This kind of looks like how we all feel at this point in time...a litter rough around the edges, but with the knowledge that every day we are closer than we have ever been...

I will close for now, but, will return tomorrow with more news, LOTS has happened since this stormy moment...

Keep tuned...