Christmas Dinner in Merrillville
to Merrilville… to hang out with Julie and Bob, and Katie and Tim’s family. We had a big dinner planned, with folks arriving in the afternoon for drinks and gift exchanges.
Posts Tagged "bob"
Custom Cuts
Bob always has a few tricks up his sleeve, but I found this particular install impressive. He’s helping put in the exterior siding to the area under the kitchen (where we will eventually store a lot of outdoor supplies, and our garbage bins).
House Day
A work day today that mostly comprised of a lot of “smalls.” No big, singular tasks that take the entire day – a combination of small little things, here and there.
The AC is on!
Today was pretty huge. After all that digging, and clearing out all that space under the deck… to have this unit officially running was really amazing. Truly, a major milestone for us at the house.
Tricia’s Graduation Ceremony, Air Battle Manager, Class 22014
Liz and I got to watch a really great event: Tricia’s graduation ceremony, where she officially became an Air Battle Manager, for the 337th Air Control Squadron.
AC Install, Back Garden Work
The AC unit, in place! It was a little tricky getting this thing up high enough… but we eventually got there. Bob and I had to put it in place, make some marks, and then take it back down. After he drilled in holes for the base/feet… we had to put this thing back up again.
We’ve got another unit going in, but it won’t be quite as tight a fit as this was.
Core Fill
If you thought our concrete work was over, think again! With our concrete blocks in place, the next step we had was to fill the cores of all the blocks with concrete. Our aim was to make a “soupy” layer, to pour down each core… and to finish the tops with a more solid layer.
Wall Prep
Bob, cutting some of the rebar down to size.
Block Wall Construction, Day 4
Got in the top course of the wall, which is technically all “bond beam” blocks. Bob used a custom blade on the circular saw to cut down three inches along the middle and sides of each block.
Block Wall Construction, Day 2
You can barely see it in this photo, but we have a dirty trick: we’re using 3/8″ nuts, and placing the between each course of block. This ensures that we’ll have the proper distance between blocks, and serves as a kind of guardrail.
It’s not what the professionals do, but… we are far from professionals. So long as things are consistent, no one’s the wiser.
Block Wall Construction, Day 1
Liz, mixing up the mortar as Bob gets the blocks in place. I mostly hung out up top, passing along blocks as needed. Both Liz and Bob did the brunt of the work today.
The Back Porch Cement Pour
All told, we used about 70 bags (with 13 leftover). Not too far off, on the original calculations.
Digging Under the Back Porch, Part 11
Big day for me and Liz. We got rained out on Friday, and we’ve got plans Sunday… so Saturday was our only day to work. And we had accounted for being able to fill not one, but two Bagsters.
Easter at Christiana Lakehouse
We got food on the way up, but showed up in time to join everyone else for breakfast. Liz noted that we were living like hobbits, with our second breakfast lifestyle.
Back Porch Repair
A fun and incredibly beautiful day today, with the weather in the upper 50’s and a hint in the air that Spring is just around the corner.