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- Come On Down!!!
You're the next contestant on the Erwin House Guess Our Massive August Electric... - Flipping Out
Technically speaking, I am not against flipping. David and I have posted about it before,... - Happy Father's Day Indeed!
Baby Erwin was born at home, 4:27am Saturday June 17th, 2006. 8 pounds 3 ounces (give...
- Come On Down!!!
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April 2006
Apr
30
2006
2Our now or never point for installing network and audio wiring has stretched into now-or-some-time-in-the-next-three-weeks. So we have had more time to devise a solution.
This is the system I would have purchased had I been rushed. It is flexible and easy to install. Cost/benefit is pretty good.
Still, it's not the ideal...
Apr
28
2006
2One last comment about the stairs before we start climbing them. They started building from the top. Really. In this picture you can see stairs starting at the top floor, leading to a landing, and ... that's all they got. There are just a few 2x4s and a strap holding the landing up.
The plumber said in 20 years he had never...
Apr
28
2006
1A lot happened yesterday. I know, I know, I didn't post updated pics of the stairs. So shoot me. But David got a great shot of the landing.
The guys working on the stairs are totally my new best friends with cherries on top. The pic doesn't show it, but they did get the upper treads in by last night, and one of the bottom...
Apr
27
2006
3If you are like some people, you only want to see pics of the finished product, right? So avert your eyes! Because I have pics of the half-finished stairs! Wheeeee!
Last night, we snuck in for a quick pic after bathtime. Ah, the smell of sawdust. And, let me tell you, I have never seen wood like this before. It is truly...
Apr
26
2006
2I got an email today from Realty Austin. They wanted to show off their new home searching tool. Check it out!
Pretty cool, eh? I don't think those are all the houses for sale in our neighborhood--there is one down the street that isn't on there. Still, gives you a really good idea how many homes are on the market in a general...
Apr
26
2006
6I was surfing around the other day and happened upon a truly fascinating article by Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore's Dilemma. The article is one of his oldest about American's fascinations with suburban lawns.
Like the interstate highway system, like fast-food chains, like television, the lawn has served to unify...
Apr
25
2006
2When I drove by the house early this AM, there were about 10 pickup trucks parked up and down the street. I haven't seen that much activity since the demo crew arrived three months ago, so I was both pleased and perplexed.
Things slowed down in the last few months as we were warned they would. The plumbing, electrical...
Apr
23
2006
3Those of you who know me personally know about my interest in Jungian and Campbellian archetypes, themes that appear and reappear throughout the ages across unrelated cultures. I see three square windows everywhere nowadays. In trying to find out more about their architectural history, David and I stumbled upon a few interesting...
Apr
22
2006
0One of the fellows working on the house is deaf. I haven't seen anyone use sign language on the site. They just get by with a lot of pointing and lip reading. This apparently works for almost every type of communication they need, except what to do for lunch. For this they write notes on the walls and studs.
There is also...
Apr
21
2006
2We have Eagle windows. I am giving them a deliberate shout-out and link. We did not spec a brand of window, we just asked our contractor for the best value, and we got all wood double hung windows. They are spectacular. The only way they could match our original windows better would be to put ten layers of gloppy lead-based...
Apr
21
2006
1In the past two weeks the project started too look like it was slipping off the rails, and the stress got a little thick around the house. Last Tuesday we pulled the emergency brake. We are back on track and all is good, but we lost some time. When you send a plumber home, he doesn't go wait by the phone. He starts another...
Apr
20
2006
4
door
Originally uploaded by cmwoodley.
There were some things that we wanted to keep from the original house. We wanted to keep the windows. Sure, they aren't as energy efficient. Sure, they aren't as thick. But they look damn fine and we love them. And new windows cost a mint.
We also wanted to keep our front...
Apr
20
2006
4Will we see you at the Austin Farmer's Market this weekend?
Come for a toddler's dream diggin' bed, making recycled Earth Day projects, a garden demo and a chef's demo by ZTejas.
Sounds good to me. Maybe we can squeeze it in somehow around the previously-scheduled soccer game.
I know ya'll were planning to meet up with...
Apr
20
2006
4I've been chewing on two comments for the past couple of days, and I just can't get them out of my head. Both are from neighbors. The first, from Paul, who came to our open house and chatted about a possible addition for his growing family:
We did get a bid from one contractor before reaching that decision, which was interesting....
Apr
19
2006
0Christiane and I met at soccer practice.
Christiane: I made up my mind. Did you?
David: Pretty much.
C: I bet we have the same idea.
D: You sure?
C: Yeah.
D: Ok, you say first.
C: No, you go first.
And so on. At some point we played "Rock, Scissors, Plenum."
We agreed, plenum beats rock, and we're not going to move it.
Thanks...
Apr
18
2006
8Don't Move It
Cons
1. Ducts in cabinets
2. Toilet in the wrong spot (with the sink between the toilet and tub)
3. Down draft oven cost 3X normal oven
4. Three inch drain in living room makes wall 4 inches thicker
Pros
1. Keep working, no wasted time (except today)
2. Get a rockin oven
Move It
Cons
1. Bigish soffit in dining
2....
Apr
18
2006
1I've been not posting, holding my breath, waiting for the latest "issue" to be resolved. The last week has definitely made me feel like I am sitting on pins and needles, and not just because my hips are straining under the weight of this uber-baby inside my stomach.
Long story short... there's a support beam. It wasn't...
Apr
18
2006
0Come on, Austinites! Treehugger has asked, "What is so great about Austin?" I've sent them my A+ list, now it is your turn to send them yours :)
Apr
16
2006
8We regularly get flyers on our front door that publish recent selling prices for houses in our neighborhood. They encourage us to cash out. It feels like vultures circling our house. Christiane and I know 5 families that have moved out because they couldn't buy a bigger house here. Usually getting pregnant is the trigger....
Apr
14
2006
0There is a part of the house that I think is best referred to as "The Neck". It's the wall behind the stove and everything goes through it. The windpipe, the nerves, the blood, lymph, everything. And our neck has a big-ass beam in it. Deep breath ... not my problem to solve ... not my problem to solve.
Yesterday, I saw that...
Apr
14
2006
0A small confession. We have some limited analytics on our blog. That means we know about how many people visit our site, what pages people view, and what sites refer them. We get about 100 visits a day, about half are repeat visitors. About 75% of our traffic comes from House Blogs. And occasionally we get a friendly link.
Folksy...
Apr
13
2006
5I need to run stereo and cat5 in our house this weekend. The walls are open so it's now or never.
I think I can figure out cat5. Just run a line from each spot I want to have an outlet, and back to the closet with the router. But I've just scratched the surface for stereo systems.
The big difference in my mind is analog...
Apr
11
2006
2Its true. We bought a kitchen sink (and a faucet, and a pull-out recycling system, and under the cabinet lighting, and some recycling/compost bins).
I'm having trouble coming up with a good pun because the baby ate my brain. Something about babies and bath water... eh... I don't know. Feel free to fill in for my lack...
Apr
10
2006
0Just today: (double warning...boooorring)
They filled in all the holes in the old floor that were cut for foundation work. The good news is, you don't have to watch your every step while you check out the ducts and wires overhead. The bad news is there's no place for the crew to throw their food wrappers, and for the supervisors...
Apr
10
2006
0I feel obliged to post something briefly about not posting, if that makes any sense. I've been feeling pretty crummy lately, end of the pregnancy aches and pains and all that, and sitting at the computer for too long really stresses out my hips and back. Plus, I've been spending what energy I do have running errands and doing...
Apr
9
2006
2
When we started putting the finishing touches on the electrical plans, the draftsman said, "Don't worry about this little stuff, an outlet here, a switch there. You'll do a walk-through before the electrician gets started and make these changes."
Friday morning I got a call from Christiane. "The electrician is at the house,...
Apr
6
2006
2There has been a bunch of progess this week. Concepts, drawings, and notions have been popping up as realities everywhere.
The tile sample arrived today (Bungalo Blend from Mosaic Tile Market ). It couldn't have been a better match for our paint colors. Austin, I think we have a kitchen design.
And I took some photos...
Apr
6
2006
3We've come a long way, baby.
We made our daily pit stop on the way home from school and watched as they worked on finishing up the siding on the front of the house. I just love how the mixed siding looks! I love the windows! I love the roof!
And I love the doors that open from our bedroom onto the... nothing. Deep...
Apr
6
2006
0
Yesterday, I made a heroic mad dash to the Habitat re-store to get a window for the dining room. When I got there, there was this dude, touching the window I had spotted the day before. I loudly unrolled my tape measure and tapped the window with the end. The dude saw my desperation and took a step back.
The great news...
Apr
5
2006
4Someone posted an interesting article to our neighborhood listserve recently. It expresses some of the concerns our neighborhood retailers have with Crestview Station, the new mixed-use development that will be created on the northeast edge of our area.
With neighbors who have been there since its beginnings, most of its original...
Apr
4
2006
0As usual, Ace made everything all better. The trim on the windows is near perfect. The new windows had no sill. I didn't specify windows with sills. I didn't know you could get them without. So the trim at the bottom won't be the same. But the drip cap is back and the lower boards are marked for removal on the old windows....
Apr
4
2006
2When David and I first sought bids, we spec'ed a metal roof. Everyone told us it would be too expensive. We picked our contractor, we accepted asphalt shingle, we moved on.
Today, David talked to the contractor, and he told us he's going metal. Because of the low pitch (2:12), he didn't feel confident about the protection...
Apr
3
2006
0They started to put the trim on today. This includes the window trim, which is wrong.
Last week I sent these photos to our contractor and supervisor to show how I wanted the windows and doors trimmed. I even had a detailed phone conversation about the drip cap. I compromised on the 3.5 inch trim, since that cut is not available...
Apr
3
2006
3
Mary Milam's Yard
An Award-Winning Green Garden
Sunny days like today make me want to install some solar panels and soak up the sun. So, I perused the Austin Energy website to find out more about their Solar Rebate Program. I found out that the first step is being approved as a potential rebate recipient, so I signed...
Apr
1
2006
3
Our shed roof
Originally uploaded by daviderwin.
Our kids each have their own way of dealing with the renovation. Our eldest is fascinated with the nuts and bolts of it all--he's always had a head for engineering. He likes to write books about the experience and talk about the things that change on a daily basis.
Our...