Hookin’ Up

Late last week, the guys with the gas pipe came and ran the connections to all of the various gas outlets in the house: stove, clothes dryers, grill, fireplaces, hot water heaters, etc.  All we need now is for Atlanta Gas Light to come hook us up to the street.

Then the electricians returned with boxes for the meter.

It sure does look like a lot of scary wires, doesn’t it?

The guys were really nice and let me get right up in there to take pictures of their handiwork.  But after they realized that they had cut a wire too short, I realized I might be distracting them and moved on to other areas.

They got the job done, and now we just need Georgia Power to come out and hook us up.

So, I went around back to see the framers making mere tight rope walkers look like pikers.  These guys are up on that little balance beam grabbing on to planks of siding and nailing them up. 

I’m pretty sure I’d rather have the job of staying with both feet firmly on the ground cutting the boards to length.

This is what he looks like to the guys on the balance beam.

They worked all the way around to the screen porch,

and then started back,

climbing ever higher as they went. 

By the end of the day, they had finished the back.

Meanwhile, Jason the mason and his crew had gone about as fer as they could go, so…

…they popped the top.

Every thing was staged,

set,

and ready to roll.

They made a scaffolding on the roof,

with a pulley system to hoist the bricks and mortar.

By the end of the day, they had the chimney through the roof and were battening down the hatches in preparation for the rain.

Now, if you think you wouldn’t want all these guys’ jobs with all their high wire acts and danger, consider this:

You could have his job.

That sure seems like a tough way to make a living. I wonder if they’ve ever featured this guy on “Dirty Jobs?”

Hanging Out My Shingle

Things seem like they are going so fast now!

Today the framers got started on the siding.  The buttercup yellow is just the color of the primer, but it does coordinate nicely with the forsythia and daffodils and

this cool version of a mahonia holly that has already claimed at least two victim with its thorns.

[Note to self: make cuttings for planting under windows.]

The roofers continued their roofing. (Cue the music: Theme from Fiddler on the Roof.)

I was a little nervous about rejecting my esteemed architects’ advice to put a black roof on, but now that it’s going on, I really like the lighter roof.  It’s soft and old looking.

I felt that the black roof would generate so much heat that it would undo some of the energy saving measures we are taking.  Mostly I was concerned about the radiant heat off of dark metal roofs below the windows.  Although, it would have discouraged anyone from sneaking out of their bedroom windows…

Also, when I was researching how having a vented vs. an unvented attic affected roof shingles, I found the the Building Science folks had determined that not venting the attic raises the shingle temperature about 2 degrees, but that having a dark shingle vs. a light shingle raises the shingle temperature 19 degrees and shortens the life of the shingle. 

Besides, the lightning rods blend right in to these shingles. It was a fashion friendly choice.

Meanwhile, I was running back and forth looking at internet photos of fireplaces to make sure I wanted the degree of arch that Jason the Mason recommended.  Three trips through the filming crew traffic jam and a handful of printed photos later, I decided.

I decided to do it exactly as Jason had planned.  He has a good eye, doesn’t he?

And here I thought he didn’t have a flue.

This is the lower part of the chimney in the open pavilion below.   The loose bricks are where the ash drop will be.

The bricks here looked a little unevenly spaced by color to me, so I spoke to this fellow about it:

He is the chief brick surgeon and brick selector. 

Then I realized that it looks worse in a photo than it does in person.  Oh, well.  As long as I let him know who is boss. 

Maybe I need to get donuts for the masons tomorrow.

Meanwhile, in the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing department, the City of Atlanta thought that it would be a good idea to patch the hole in the street from the water line.

I guess they didn’t get the memo about the street being closed down to one lane for filming (another) tv show.

Or maybe they were hoping to be picked up as extras.  Anyway, here’s the before and then

the after.

Back inside, Allan was getting in my pocket – doors that is.  One more thing that has to be in before the sheet rock goes in.  It is a little hard to put those pocket door frames in after the sheet rock.

Tomorrow the gas guy will run all of the gas lines, we’ll wind up the last few plumbing fixes, and string a little more low voltage wiring.  Then the insulation guys can come.

Every day a little more progress!

Red Light, Green Light!

Today was a good day. We passed the plumbing re-inspection and the electrical re-inspection. And the quince that my better half’s grandmother planted and we transplanted are blooming.

The building progress is catching the fever and blooming as well.

However, Monday was quiet. Everyone stayed away except for Builder Gary, because the weather man was so dire in his storm predictions. The storm didn’t come through until quitting time. It wasn’t too terrible, although we did lose a tree.

As you can see, the tree was not faring too well, so it all works out.

And then, as if on cue, we got an exciting delivery we had been waiting for:

My favorite rock star had drawn a magnificent plan for screening the guard rail and our house from our next door neighbor (and vice versa). And she had put me in touch with Perry Walker of Walker Nursery Farms.

Guess what this truck had in it?

Two deodor cedars,

(one grizzled foreman) a truck load of Emily Brunner hollies (11 to be exact),

(now *that’s* a holly!)

and five cryptomeria. Here they are all bundled up.

The planting crew went ahead and planted the cryptomeria yesterday. They will eventually grow together and provide a screen for the back yard.

This morning when I got there after taking one of my offspring to the dentist, Builder Gary was helping them out with digging the holes.

It went a lot faster this way!

Meanwhile, in the background, or should I say, “Ring Number Two,” the roofers were starting the shingles.

Here are Rings Two and Three with the roofers on the left and the framers on the right.

I couldn’t resist getting a preview once they were all placed. They look like Christmas trees all tied up like that.

It was so interesting that they plant the burlap bag and the wire cage. This keeps the soil from washing away from the roots and protects the newly pruned roots until the burlap begins to rot.

They cut away the top of the burlap where the feeder roots can start getting established,

and they mound the dirt up around the root ball, creating a saucer to hold water.

Once they got the hollies all planted and mulched with pine straw, I couldn’t help myself and started cutting the binding twine and fluffing them. Aren’t they gorgeous? What a great looking screen!

It looks good from our side, too.

And here are the two deodor cedars with the Bracken Brown Beauty magnolia in the background. When these all get big, it will be like a magical forest.

With all the berries on the hollies and the excitement of the day, it was almost like Christmas.

Maybe that’s why my favorite rock star wove me a little wreath and left it on this holly as a gift.