Bird Feeders Are Up!

 This may seem like a small thing in the grand scheme, but it's very important to our house - the bird feeding station we had at the old house has been replicated at the Woodlawn Ave house.

We've fed birds for over 20 years with lots of combinations of feeders and stands.  Squirrels dictated that we build something they can't decimate, so about 5 years ago we came up with this design.

With winter right around the corner, it became a priority to get it set up sooner, rather than later.  So a little digging and concrete pouring later, here it is.

Master Bath - Finally

So thanks to some initiative from Trish, we finally have the master bathroom useable. 

She had ordered some peel-and-stick floor tiles for the area under the toilet.  Then we installed a new ring, sat the toilet in place, and tightened it down.

The sink was pretty simple: the pedestal needed to be put in place and water supply lines connected.

There's still a little work to be done on the tub (slow draining). and that'll be it.

Another room added!

Office Setup (finally)

So, after the last month of doing my work (aka/Real Job) on the dining room table, we finally started getting to work on the office.  The desk anyway - the rest will follow after we start unpacking boxes.

We moved the frame for the desk up late last week, and then like an idiot, I couldn't remember how it went back together.  Between the two of us, we figured it out Monday and had it all assembled.  Now to get the desktop here from the old house.

I recruited a couple of friends (Jay and Ted) along with Jay's truck to tackle this part of the project.  So late Monday afternoon we muscled it out of one house and into the other.  

Tuesday morning I got it all put together and standing, then moved my temporary office from the dining room to where it will now live - FOREVER!

Glad to get this part done.

Another Project Completed

Okay, so this might sound like a non-event to most people, but if you read the last post regarding the gas line, THIS was supposed to be the end result.  And today we got it done.

There's a small room off the master bedroom that we had already decided was going to be a walk-in closet.  So early on we had purchased a closet organizer that gets mounted to the wall using metal tracks, racks, wire shelves, hooks and hanging rods.  Ordinarily this would be simple to mount.  Not so much in a nearly 100 year old house, where some walls seem to be foot thick granite.

It was actually pretty simple to complete once the main track was installed (without hitting any more gas lines), so we were determined to get it done.  Today.

Here's a pic of the final results:

One more item off the list!

Disaster Averted!

Ok, no pics for this one, but I thought I'd go ahead and write about it.

So we're installing a commercial closet organizer off the master bedroom, on the top floor of the house.  Keep in mind this is an area where there are NO appliances (water heater, heaters, etc).  Right off the bat we ran into problems getting the first hole drilled in the wall to mount the track.  Thinking I might be drilling into stone (original construction of the house), we made a trip to Lowe's for some TapCon screws and a masonry bit.

Back at home I started drilling again in the same spot and finally, the bit broke through - apparently dead center into an old gas line.  Now I had gas blowing from my newly drilled hole.  Panic set in and I ran downstairs to the meter (outside) and shut the gas off.

Now we had the issue of no gas in the house - no hot water, no gas range.  So I called and found a plumber who would make an "emergency" visit to fix the issue.

I went back down to the basement and found the line that came up through the walls, but there was not a shut off anywhere on that line.  Not wanting to sit around and wait on the plumber to call back, I found where I could disconnect a coupler, remove a short piece of pipe, and put a plug in the line.

I turned the gas back on and checked for leaks - none found.  We were able to cancel the plumber and save a what we think was a couple of hundred bucks for a weekend visit.

This might not be very exciting reading, but we wanted to record the whole incident for the future.

Thanks to Uncle Roger for teaching me a few plumbing skills, especially working with gas lines.

Kitchen Appliances Installed (Mostly) 06/07/2020

Most all of our new appliances were delivered mid-week; gas range, dishwasher, and range hood.  Still waiting for the refrigerator, which may be up to another 2 weeks away.  Oh well, we're happy with what was brought.

I installed the hood by myself on Friday afternoon, the range on Saturday, then the dishwasher on Sunday.  With the last two I had help from my brother-in-law, Bob. 

Never thought I'd get this excited over kitchen stuff, but when you've lived the past week with empty cabinet space where appliances should be, washing dishes in a single sink basin, and cooking via microwave/toaster oven/electric skillet, you appreciate it more.

Pics were taken after each was installed.

Moved In! 5/30/2020

It finally happened! We officially moved into our new home on Saturday, 5/30/2020.

My Rivertarian friends came through again to help us get all of our larger furniture and belongings moved to Woodlawn Ave - Jay, Lori, and Tim Harper, along with Ted Hemelgarn.  Trish's mother Louise, and sister Dreama also helped out.

It took three trips with a trailer and Jay's truck to get it, and a lot of sweating and heavy lifting to move it, but it's finally done.

We're still waiting on kitchen appliances, but we have enough stuff to set up house and start living in the new place.

The photo is from later that night.  The lamps make it look truly homey.

There's tons of work to be done, but now we can do them while living there.

Floors are Finished!

The floor finisher put the final coat of floor finish down today!  Everything is wet now, but according to him, we can walk on it on Monday and start moving stuff in.

This was a major step in getting ready for the move.

Waiting on appliances to be delivered from Lowe's, then home sweet home.

Well, It's a Start

Started a little "project" in the basement this week.  The room that houses the boiler and hot water heater has a lot of extra space, so we decided to use some of it for storage, mostly for seasonal decorations.  And since the floor gets a little water on it from heavy rains, we thought it best to elevate everything off the floor.  So one trip to Lowe's, six cinderblocks, and four 2x6's later, we were able to start emptying the building at our current home to the new one.

At least it's a little forward progress.

On With the Floors!

So finally, after searching and calling all around the Beckley area, we found someone willing (and able) to sand and refinish the hardwood floors in the house.  This is the next to last step to get accomplished to allow us to start moving.

He had already sanded all the downstairs floors and then started on the "impossible" floor - the kitchen.  He wasn't deterred in the least and the pics here show how far he's already gotten with this one.

Next step is upstairs, but there's definitely light at the end of the tunnel!

Paint Day!

One of our first priorities before moving in was to get all the interior walls painted.  With a little help from our friends over the last two Saturdays, we got it done.

Can't thank these folks enough: Jay and Lori Harper, and Ted Hemmelgarn.  We truly couldn't have done this without them.

Into the Attic

A little over a week ago we decided it was time to get into the attic.  We weren't positive, but were pretty sure the access was through one of the closets in a bedroom.

So we got a ladder and pried off a piece of material that had been stapled up to the ceiling.  Turns out we were right, and what a space we found!

This picture show the rebuilt access door into the attic.  Below is a little video of what we found.

Basement Inspection

Right around the time of closing (late March) we checked the basement after a period of very heavy rain.  As expected, we took in a little water.  It's our understanding from the neighbors that the majority of their houses also get some water during heavy rains.

Here are a few pics of what we found.  Not great, but not terribly disappointing either.  Seems like all the water comes in the foundation at the front wall and drains where it's supposed to.

First Day Pics

So after the dust settled, paperwork signed, realtors gone, we took a few minutes just to breathe and relax on our new front porch.

So This Happened

On March 26, 2020, in the midst of a world-wide pandemic, we did what everyone does - we bought a house!  Our new forever home.

The house is on Woodlawn Ave in Beckley, WV, and is nearly 100 years old.  There's a bit of work to be done to move in.

I plan to use this blog to record, document, whatever the process of getting ready to move in, then life in it.  It's gonna be a ride!