4/4/10

Today is Easter!

So we are still waiting to close but because its a holiday weekend I expect it will be slow.

So I am trying to do little things to make my move easier. And I know I have to build a chicken coop before I move in and every good coop needs good windows. So I asked online for free windows to no avail so I went digging and found some :) thanks to my in laws, shhhhh don't tell them.

So like every old thing you find it needs love and these windows needed to be re-glazed. So I told myself I can do that. And if i do them now and bring them with me then install them. One less thing to do once I'm in the house and a chance to slow me down.

So sat. morning I set in to do at least one small window, 6 panes, not bad right? Well note to the readers I have watched on TV someone doing it, once. So I scraped out all the old putty.



Watching out for the old glazing points! These hold the glass in until the putty can set.



As i was scraping the old stuff out i had some spots give me trouble and if you have trouble getting the old glaze out you can use a heat gun to warm it up and make it easier to pull it out with the putty knife. May I say find your self a good strong knife to that you can work it out without it bending all over the place and cracking the window.

Once I got out all the old stuff and it was clean I sanded it down and painted it white. I'm building a red barn with white trim.

Once it was painted i then started to put it back together. I installed new points because the old ones were rusty and bent.



Once the window was pointed it was time to apply the putty and scrape the extra off. I used this stuff for putty:



Apply it and ensure you work it in your hands first to make it work better, but when scraping the extra off ensure the angle you use matches the outside trim line so that you don't see the putty on the outside when the window is done. No matter what I did I could never get the corners to work good.

Here is a video I found that helped me out a lot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qssB_kLJmqQ

3/24/10

So the underwriter should have sent everything off the the field office for the usda today and if so its 72 hours and counting till we get the final paperwork then we can order the closing and be don't with all the ugly paperwork.

My chickens have upped production so i have to start being more concerned about a coop here soon, it has to be build and finished 100% for those guys to move in. I have a few plans in mind but like everything there is nothing i like specifically so its a little of this print a little of that to make the one i like. I know i need to sit down and draw one up to work off of. But i know the one i really like has a shed attached to it so that i can either use it as a goat barn later in time or a garden tool shed. The only thing is it has to be temporary because i do not want to pull a permit, I would however if it was cheep to do and the building inspector isn't going to give me grief about electrical or plumbing that i may do. Also i want to put a rain re-claim kit to give water to the chickens cheaply, that or water and flowers. So i ask does anyone have any double hung windows they want to donate? Ill take about any size.

This is what a re-claim barrel system looks like. the rain from the coop goes threw down spouts into the barrel and at the bottom there is a hose that is used to disperse water around. With a 10 x 10 shed in a 1" rain storm will give you 62 gallons of water.

3/13/10 where we are

So we are currently waiting on the underwriter to sign our paperwork. Our realtor is David, mortgage broker is John, our lawyer is Bethany, and our pest guy is Rob. I know that information is irrelevant but when we had the the pest inspection he found old termite tubes that had been treated, but because there is no paperwork on the treatment we had to re-treat it. Fun fun right? So Emily and I are sitting here with a list of things we want to go before we move in but we want to move i now! But I know before i do anything to take my time one thing at a time and to do it right. In the post to follow i will have before and after photos, of ever project and hand notes to try and make this easier for anyone else who may think about doing this.

Some of the projects we want to do is:

- Expand / re-model the bathroom
- Re-carpet the house
- Add a closet in one of the upstairs rooms to make it a master.
- Increase the parking so there is room for family and friends to park.
- Gut the basement
- Move the washer and dryer.
- Update the plumbing and electrical
- Replace the old horse hair
- Re insulate the outside walls
- Put a fence
- Expand the deck
- Build a shed/ chicken coop.
- And who knows what else.

But for now its just waiting on the bank and everyone else.

Wish me luck!