ourhouseyourhouse

Our Final Chapter

2011-04-16T15:29:00.000-07:00

On Feb 24th our home was sold to Vermont family, at Last Lynn would be able to go home to her family and friends. only a few days before the sale she received a job offer from Albany Medical Center, We did not get everything packed by the 24th but the new owners were so very kind, we were able to finally get packed and on our way.

Lynn would never realize the happy dreams she had waited for, on the 3 of March while crossing a street in Trenton, N.J. she was struck by a small black sports car at about 6.30 and died at 10. pm.. The New Jersey officials would not release the body for 5 days, so the funeral was not until March 10th. I have not been able to put in words the vacuum I have had in my life, Lynn was everything to me, we had been together for 30 years--if and when life and my part in it begins to make sense I want to finish the dozens of starts I have about her. She was always giving of herself to others, a top nurse loved and admired by her pears, why did she have to be taken when she was so willing to do for others, just when all of her dreams were about to be fulfilled---

a new face lift-nothing major just some updates

2010-10-13T06:34:00.000-07:00

Time goes by very fast, to keep our home up to date and fresh and ready for a new owner some of the tired woodwork has been resurfaced-we hope you will notice something that will make our home the place you would like to live in. The photos were taken just a few hours after the craftsman left hope you enjoy these shots-The first one is from the Oak stairway looking down into the dinning area.one of the stained glass windows is visible on the upper right corner, this is over the front entrance- a collection of Florida flowers.

The next photo is the solid hickory kitchen, back splash is tile and matches the tile counter top, the island in the fore ground has a dark polished granite surface

next we have a shot looking from the living room toward the front door, the oak stairway shows on the left and to the right of the double front doors you can see the entrance to the library, with it's 8 foot solid 6 panel double doors, all the rooms have high ceilings, with the dinning room having a tray ceiling and the entrance rotunda has a double hexagon tray ceiling with Crystal chandelier plus mood lighting in second step.

This photo is from the entrance room looking toward the breakfast room with the kitchen on the far right and the sliding doors open on the left side making the pool area part of your living room, as you can see the house sets right on the river, with excellent view of the ships and pleasure crafts using the inter-coastal water way

another shot of the kitchen and breakfast area, the doors on the left center go out side to a screened area leading to the pool,

From the entrance rotunda looking into the dinning room, along the left side of photo you will see the oak stairway, The floors are 18 inch ceramic tile with outlined pattern in the rotunda area, there is wide 8 inch wood mop boards and wide crown molding in all rooms, the dinning room, rotunda, master bed room all have chair rail.

The living room becomes part of the pool area when the sliding glass doors are opened, here you can see how close the home is to the Caloosahachie river and inter-coastal water way

My Flowers!!

2008-07-06T19:59:00.000-07:00

I love flowers and try to have color wherever I can,I recently got a comment from a man in England with a landscaping company suggesting I shape my hedges to resemble something or other and to round out something else,and to balance yet something else also! i just like a RIOT of color and flowers! Yes his ideas are great for some,i work full time,keep house and try to keep up my yard as best I can,I am trying to sell this beautiful place so i can go "home" to my mom and "little sister" she's 40 but my little sister,she has "downs syndrome" and my mom needss help now.with no programs available here NY is best for her,I also cannot keep this up alone anymore! Someone out there may see this GREAT spot and love it too,and enable me to go to my family!!

My Home!!

2008-06-26T02:53:00.000-07:00

Built with much expectation of having our family here with us,as our son-in-law a builder from N.Y. stste did a lot of the basic construction of the home,while my daughter and 2 granddaughters were settling in!! This started as a happy time until they had marital difficulties,he [my son-in-law comes from a large family and so they returned to N.Y. before the house was finished ,causing us to change direction and re-hire all the unfinished portions of the home to other contractors here in Ft.Myers.By then we had pretty much decided to return to our family there also,which consists of everyone!! Our families all stayed in the same upstate N.Y. area,and I very much missed the 5 grandchildren!
This home was never meant for investment or to make a "bundle" and move on,we bought way before the market "crashed" so to speak,and as our daughter suffers fro "SYNOVIAL SARCOMA" a rare and largely fata cancer [you may remember Robert Urich the actor,he had the the same cancer and was treated by half of the team of DR's as my daughter, his md left Sloan Kettering for USC and,each having a different approach to treatment Urich followed Rosen,for chemotherapy,which is not largely used in the sceanero of care for the particulars of his case! To make a long story shorter Urich died My Rebecca has been cared for by a team at Kettering and lived long past expectations ,although with recurrences,she had 2 small girls and chose try to "patch" the marriage,which worked well for them in the end!! However ,to my part,now here alone!! I just want to go home,although Florida is beautiful,I would rather be "cold" with my loved ones,than "warm" without them!!! A much older husband being without family is difficult for me,lonely and sad!!! SO TO THE REASON FOR OUR BLOG HERE!!! TO SHOWCASE OUR HOME!! AND HOPEFULLY LEND SOME SUPPORT TO OUR REALTOR!! THE GOAL IS TO GET ME BACK TO FAMILY AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!!! As you can see it has been a long haul here and set-back after setback with a couple of GREEDY realtors that really had little interest in us or our "PLIGHT" we are appealing to the BLOGOSPHERE!!! trying to get a network going to let more people see our place!! WE ARE VERY NEGOTIABLE ON THE ASKING PRICE!! PLEASE PASS THE SITE TO YOUR FRIENDS AQUAINTENCES AND CO-WORKERS LOOKING TO RELOCATE OR RETIRE!! IT IS REALLY A BEAUTIFUL SPOT AND AN UNUSUAL HOME!!!

LOVE FROM THE LADY PORTION OF THE PIC!!!!!!!!

Our House a recap for Your Consideration

2008-05-03T09:33:00.000-07:00

This is a summary of our home which we feel sets it apart from the cookie cutter tract houses offered in such abundance in Florida. To start we are located on
the Caloosahatchee river-the "inland water way" from the Gulf of
Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean. on the Gulf side of the Franklin Lock an excellent place to dock your boat fresh water.
As you can see from the photo , we have the Caloosahatchee river on the south side of the property and a canal along the west line. All of the landscaping is matured. Property has sea wall along all the water frontage.
During the construction I was present every day to be sure that everything was done according to the building codes. The house was custom built for us, with no intentions of selling it. Life changes, I am in my 80's and just can not do the outside work I once did, my wife works full time at Health Park then tries to do come home and help with upkeep in her off time. What was once our dream home is becoming a impossible job for both of us. shown below are some of the custom items you will find.

This is a 3400 sq foot home, 3 bedroom,3 bath, 3 car garage, large inground pool, Screened.with extra room for library, formal dinning room, breakfast area, Living room and greeting rotunda.
Contact us now for a personal guided tour, to get a feel for the home read the post that follow they will take you room by room through the house from its finished state back to the point of construction and the tear down of the house that was on the property. Very few prime locations left on the Caloosahatchee river to get this one we had to tear down a house that was here. You can be a part of this just read over the early postings. to contact us call 239 690 1012 or e-mail us at Rlord333@embarqmail.com

Caloosahatchee River From our Balcony

2008-04-27T12:00:00.000-07:00

Sunset from the second floor Balcony overlooking the Caloosahatchee river and the canal with the old boat mast-what a beautiful way to end another fantastic day in Florida.

Very seldom that we are not blessed with beautiful sun sets and sun rising, the house is laid out on the lot so the back of the home faces due south, The balcony is high enough to be above the surrounding trees therefore we have a panoramic view of natures gift of color. From our window over the front door we can see the vapor trail of the Shuttle when it is being launched from Cape Canaveral

Lets continue with our tour of the house, we will go up stairs, this is what you will see as you
enter the 2nd floor, The floors are Oak,the walls are faux finish
in a very pleasant blue, three full length windows along the right or west wall. In front there are sliding glass doors that open onto the balcony.
There are two ceiling fans, and the
room is wired for phone, and T.V.
From here you can get a great view
of the Caloosahatchee River and the
untouched Florida foliage across the
water, one of the few locations left that you can have a view like this. A great place to set and watch the wild life and enjoy the boats that are traveling from the Gulf to Miami, Fla. you are right on the inland Water Way. You can see the canal from this point and the sea wall which was put in by the corp of Army engineers many years ago. This is a great location, the river in front of you is a no Wake Zone ,this means you get no wave action to errode the wall.
You also have a few more minutes to look over the hundreds of
different style boats-every conceivable pleasure craft, and a great
many commercial ships and barges. The ships mast that is on the point was placed there by a previous owner and came from a ship that plied the waters of the great lakes. It has become a land mark now. He used to fly three flags from the top and there are lamps on the yard arms.

Before we go back down stairs notice the closet on the rear wall and the hall way by the stairs, that door open into the 2nd floor
bathroom. On the facing wall there is a vanity, with framed mirror, the walls have wood paneling on lower surface with wall paper above. to the right a double hung window , and you can just see the edge of the shower. The floors are ceramic and the shower stall is 8 by 10 blue ceramic tile full length with a bench. There is a ceiling fan in the center and light fixtures over the sink.

As we start down the stairs you can
get a great view of the living room
from the landing, as well as the dinning room. With the sky lights
and the open concept, interior is open, light and airy. You never feel confined, with the sliding glass walls,
it's like living in the open.

Our last stop will be the Library, which could be used as a fourth bed room, it has a large closet

as you enter to the left are two sets of double doors 8 ft high 6 panel doors finished with faux wood graining. behind these there is shelfing which can be removed to convert to cloths closet.
The floors here are Oak. The walls are wood paneled on the lower part with wall paper on top. Heavy crown moldings and natural finished built in adjustable wood book shelfs. Electric
fireplace on the right wall with book cases and over mantel, with marbleized ceramic tile surround and hearth. The East wall there is a display cabinet and beyond this a work shop 12 by 22 that could very easily made into another bedroom. this shop area has hot and cold water to a sink that is attached to main sewer line so the installation of a bath and conversion of this area would not be difficult.

There is a door on the north wall leading into the 3 car garage area. Masonry walls, stucco finished with sheet rock ceiling, very well insulated. There is a small floored area in the attic for storage. The front has two doors one is 9 foot the other 12 foot wide both of these are hurricane overhead track doors.
In addition to the large doors there is a entrance door with glass window. On the north wall we have a colonial window matching the windows on the front of the home. On the south wall there are three doors, the one we came from the library, another leading into the 12 x 22 work shop and a third going out the back. There are numerous 4 foot florescent light fixtures on the ten foot 6 inch ceiling.

The shop has full length window along east side with work bench. the south side has a 4 foot metal door, and wash sink with hot and cold water. Along the west wall we have work bench and built in cupboards which turn and follow along the north wall. Ample shelving and storage area for things that always seem to collect. There is a separate electrical service panel in this area, this assures that we have full power for the pumps and motors. there is also outlets for 220
to accommodate a welder or other heavy duty unit.

Master Bed Room Overlooking Caloosahatchee

2008-04-24T09:58:00.000-07:00

Some of the most beautiful Sunsets in the world
are right here in Florida, overlooking the Caloosahatchee
river. From our balcony the sky seems to explode
with rich orange and reds,as you watch the clouds form
various shapes that test our imaginations. -is that a fish in the center-

Here we are again in the kitchen living room area,everyplace you go brings you back to this area, that is what we like about the open floor plan.

This gives us a
chance to look
toward the front
which is the north side of the house. As we go
on past the living room area
we get a quick view of the caloosahatchee river again, The glass doors really make it feel like you are right out of doors. As we reach the bed room there are a pair of 6 raisen panel colonial doors to open, revealing a beautiful master bedroom.
directly in front
are the sliding
glass doors which
open onto the
pool area and the
view of the river.

On the left side or east side of the
home there are a pair of windows on each side of the bed, coming along that wall you can see opening of a pocket door which leads to the Master Bath
and on the right we have a beautiful English molded wood burning fireplace, with glass doors
The over mantel goes right to the ceiling with a 18 inch molded plaster cove molding which flows into the cove sorounding the room. The ceiling has some special features in that it is made with a 9 inch oval tray that has been decorated. from the center of the tray there is a chandelier fixture. Around the outside of the oval we have molded plasters leafs that been applied to emphisize the oval. Around the room there is a colonial type chair rail, and the windows and doors have been finished off with wide colonial moldings to give the room that special look and feel. Here again the ceramic floor flows through the room matching the rest of the home.
The master bath is special as you can see.

Notice the large columns on the right with the mirror not only is this a backdrop for the whirlpool
tub in the foreground, but this is the back of the shower which we can walk into from either side of the tub-will come back to this- on our left there is a rather large vanity with solid counter top insert with two sinks, above which there is a full mirror with overhead lighting. The soffit above this area is a great place to display your favorite items, of course the room is finished with crown moldings
The first photo we have is
the oval tile and glass block wall that forms the
outside wall of the shower
it's rather small and could
not get photos of the actual fixtures. There are two adjustable shower heads on the wall plus a hand held spry head that you can use, with a small built in ceramic seat. The back of the columns allow for a shelf area for storage of bath necessities. The door way directly in front of you has a pocket door and opens into a large walk in closet with three rows of metal shelf, and below this plenty of room for coats and dresses. There is also a access for the attic. The door to the right opens into the toilet area, like the rest of the bathroom the walls are8 by 10 ceramic tile with decorator strip along the top. the upper walls are wall paper. In the toilet room we have hand painted window to give the room a feeling of openness, there also is a chandelier. We have two more area to visit the library and the 2nd floor

Lets Check Out the Dinning Area & Guest Bedroom

2008-04-21T09:04:00.000-07:00

Guess I am sort of stuck on the Eagle. Strange but they do not seem to be present every day-they may be here for a week or so and then you do not see them for a while. Guess it's the same with the Heron, now that is one big bird, they do not seem to associate with the egret, you see both in the yard but a lot of distance between them. No one is very friendly with the Eagle, all the other birds let him be by his self, when he lands, the others disappear, probably they do not want to be lunch.

Guess we left off in the kitchen so lets get back there and we will go back up to the front of the home. On the far left of photo there is a hall way, we will go there
later, right now notice the Oak stairway on our left, these stairs
have a landing and descend in two directions you can see the steps coming into this ares but there is also a entrance from the dinning
room. From here you can get a good view of the archways and ceiling in the rotunda. Lets go right up to the dinning room.

Photo on the left, looking from the center of the rotunda through the dinning area with a good view out the front window. The photo on the right shows just the end of the stairway and the opening to the hall way.

To your left is the stairway to second floor, you can see here how the two sets of stairs come together on a landing then turn and go up. Then if you look up you will see how the crown moldings come together and the details of the tray ceiling.There is a center chandelier and around the outside of the tray recessed bucket fixtures, you can really lite the room up or use the chandelier for mood lighting.

In this photo please note the opening into a hall way, this is the hall I referred to earlier. This separates the passage from the kitchen to dinning room that guest will not be disturbed while setting a table,and no need to go through the living area. This also has the Guest bed room entrance just as you enter the hall to the right.

Afraid this area is hard to take good
photos, this one shows how much light is coming in from the full length window on left and the very decorative Leaded stained glass window directly over the bed. The Crown molding does not show up , nor does the six inch base board. All the windows and doors have 3 inch wide colonial style casings, most Florida homes do not have this, very time consuming but lends a charm to the home. Along the left wall which you can not see in the photo there is a full closet with 4 twenty four inch bi sliding doors for easy access.
In the center of the room there is a ceiling fan.
Next to the guest room we have the guest bath. Again very hard to get far enough back to take good photos but I think you can see the vanity, this has tile surface, Ceramic sink with polished brass faucets. There is a framed mirror and widow. The walls are 8 x 10 Ceramic tile, about 4 ft high with special made decorative trim all of this is in a light beige color. on the top we have wall paper which can very easily be changed. Above the vanity there is a soffit with recessed lights and above this a shelf for decorative objects. Along the right wall there is a door opening into a linen closet, In the reflection of the mirror you can see the frame work of the shower - its glass enclosed with polished brass frame and fixtures, ceramic walls and floor. This toilet fixture like all the others in the home are water savers. The floor in this bath are dark red Mexican tile that match the counter tops.
further down the hall way there is the laundry room were you will find the service entrance for the electric on this side of home, plus the hot water unit. Along the right wall are the washer and dryer, plus a area for soild cloths and a work area. Above this we have white cabinets, with raised panel doors and a wire shelf. On the left side there is a storage cupboard with shelfs and bi fold doors. At the end there is a laundry sink, with a French door opening onto a covered patio were our refus bins are stored. There is one large lighting fixture on the ceiling, plus the glass door making it a very light and cheerful place to work. This area is shut off by a pocket door from the rest of the home.
We are now back in the kitchen area. and just in time to look out the opened sliders to see the
boats. Some times there are several waiting, the
locks that are just upstream only open at certain times, so they have to wait in front of the house until they get a signal. You can not see it in this photo but just about half way between the two boats there is a buoy in the Caloosahatchee that marks the no wake zone so everyone has to slow down. This no wake make it great for us - there are no waves from the boats and we get a few minutes to view them before they are on there way to Miami or the East coast.

Junction of Caloosahatchee river and our canal and river view of our home

Lets Move Ahead to Kitchen

2008-04-20T06:56:00.001-07:00

Two things you will see a lot of the Capt "P"

and the snowy Egret. The Captain usually makes one trip a day in season, but the Egret is here just about every day. We have about a dozen or so and they go over the lawn picking out the bugs, every little bit helps, I never scare them off-but my cat is scared to death and I think the birds know it they will come pretty close to the pool cage, even when the cat is there.

Last post we were in the Rotunda, so lets get back there, we will pass through the living
room you can see out across the pool to the caloosahatchee river, if the screen enclosure were
not there you could easily throw a coin from here into the river, its that close. In the photo the sliding glass door are closed, when they are open its like living outdoors. This room has a vaulted ceiling,and it is high, probably 16 ft or more. There are two sky lights that makes it very light and a couple of ceiling fans for use when you do not want to use the Air Conditioning. The fireplace is wood burning with glass doors, and the hearth and fireplace marble. On each side of the fireplace we have a shelf, you will notice that in other photos.

Ahead of us and to the right is the kitchen, the cabinets are Hickory, they look to me like Oak but believe me they are real Hickory.
Of course when we finished the kitchen white
was in, now it has to be stainless, this is not
that big a item it can be worked out. Around the ceiling in the kitchen and breakfast nook we have crown molding, the ceiling lites are sunken units plus a chandelier in breakfast area. There is also indirect lighting under the cabinets , the counter top is ceramic tile with molded edge, and ceramic back splash, The ceramic framed flowers picture is built into the back splash. The island has storage under it , with raised area along front to form a bar. these tops are granite. The floors in this area are a continuation of the 18 inch tile throughout the house. The stove is a electric convection GE, as are all the appliances. Under the Sink there is a reverse osmosis water
system. The refrigeration double door, with water attached
door does not have to be opened for ice or water.
To the left we have the breakfast nook, this has a pair of French doors opening onto a screened walk way to the pool. It also has a window just around the corner there on the left that opens right onto the pool area so that food and items you need to barbecue can be passed out right from the kitchen area.

The photos to the right are more of
the breakfast nook. Notice the hand applied flowers over the windows, you may have noticed this same item over the kitchen window. Its little details like this that makes this house special. The leaded chandelier in the one photo is a family heirloom and does not go with the home.
This is a great place for that morning
wake up, there is always something going on on the river, wildlife, boats, just a never ending source of entertainment. Think we will take a break now and leave you with a few outside shots of the caloosahatchee river, our number one attraction, followed close by the wildlife and ever changing sun sets

Occupancy Permit Issued January 2001

2008-04-19T06:16:00.000-07:00

These two birds spend a lot of time over the river in front
of the house. Just across the river there is a 40 acre

stand of vegetation, and these birds nest there. The Osprey will actually go into water to get the fish , but the Eagle will take a fish if its near the surface , but most of the time he takes the prey away from the other birds. I was quite surprised to see how large the eagle is, several times they have landed on our sea wall which is only about 8 ft from the screen house. If you remain quiet and motionless you can get a great view of them, its like being in a zoo.

Now no more bird watching today. The occupancy permit was issued, everything passed and in compliance with the hurricane codes. They are pretty strict even though we are about 30 miles from the gulf, we come under the same regulations as if we were right on the gulf. One great thing about this site, When there is a hurricane warning the shrimp boats from the area all come up the river and anchor right in the little bay by our home. Makes me feel a little more secure.

We have a little void in pictures, once the sheet rock and plaster is up and polished smooth, everyone is busy trying to get it to look like a home, no one took pictures. I did not like the rough surface that many of the interior homes have in Florida so the walls are smooth, this takes a lot longer-with the sprayed on popcorn looking plaster a lot of imperfections can be covered up.
We have used wide baseboard and heavy crown moldings, plus chair rails and molded panels throught the house. Basically the home is a open concept, you can stand in the entrance room and everything is in view sort of. In the next few post we will enter the finished home just as you might if you were right here-I will be your real estate agent giving you as complete a tour as possible, if you have any questions feel free to drop me a e-mail,hope I do not overlook anything.

To start with there are two air conditioners, one of them is a heat pump, very efficient for cool air and the most economical form of heat in winter. There is one double faced fire place that burns wood with glass door on both the bedroom side and the Living room. We have two wells one 76 foot for the automatic sprinkler system. The other well is in excess of 150 ft that is used for drinking water, this is typical Florida water system with pump to fill holding tank and another to maintain pressure. This is fitted with a water softener and in the kitchen we have a reverse osmosis system for drinking water. Being in the country we have a septic system. Our electric and phone service is underground.
Lets open the front door and enter the foyer or
as we call it the rotunda, well it is 8 sided flanked with f aux finished marble columns, [I have visions of grandeur] anyway I saw it in a house and liked it. As you stand here you can look straight ahead through the living room and beyond to the river. The sliding glass door wall is
20 foot wide, when opened the pool area is part of your living area, beyond the pool cage it's about 10 foot to the river. The doorway to the left in photo is the entrance to the master bedroom. to the right out of eye site is the kitchen. You might glance down at the floor.

The insert shows
the detail that has
been done. Through out the house 18 inch marbleized tile has been
installed, with all grout lines continuous from one room to another
to set the rotunda off a insert was used and the tile set diagonally you can see this in both pictures. Then in the center a special inlay was inserted.

Now still standing at the entrance if you glance to the right, there is the formal dinning area
which has a short wall between the entrance
foyer and dinning room. The door way you can see to the left of the cabinet goes to the guest bedroom. You can just see the kneel post of the oak stairway, which goes to the second floor.

The doors look pretty tall and they are. 6 panel solid core 8 ft tall, each of the doors are hung with 4 hinges to distribute the weight and keep the door from warping. If you notice behind the cabinet there is a chair rail with molded panels beneath this, with wide base board. All the windows are aluminum with marble window sills
We will now have to step forward a little that we might
turn and look back. To our right now we can see a door
way, to the library. These are double doors and are fully
opened. When closed the library is a quiet place to relax
and immerse yourself in a good book. a little more to the
Left we have the front entrance, with its double doors
and stained glass transom , with native Florida flowers.
This gives you a real good look at all
the angels of this area that we call a ratunda, really a greating room and
excellent place to display the unusual art objects that we all seem to collect over the years. This is a home with ample room to relax and entertain.

Before we leave this area would like to have you look up toward the ceiling, in addition to the columns, the caps are supporting
arches that flow from one to another around the eight sided area giving a great architectural form. Capped
by a double tray ceiling, which has in addition to the chandelier, hidden lighting around the first tray.

All of these architectural findings blend together to give this area a feel of elegance. The ceilings are high making the area feel much more spacious than it really is. The lower ceiling is 10 foot with the top of the arches about 12 foot, the very top of the second tray about 14 ft

Just a quick look to see the wilderness area across the river home of the Eagle and Osprey

Insulation and Drywall Nearing the End

2008-04-08T11:41:00.000-07:00

The fishing is great from
your dock, or from a boat of any kind. Schools of fish come right up to the sea wall. The snook and tarpon are a bit harder to catch but some record ones have been taken right in front of the house.
We have seen many Bull Shark and Manatee.
The pair of bald eagles that live across the river do a lot of fishing, they soar above water and suddenly swoop down hardly touching the surface but almost always come up with a catch grasped in there talons, Fish Hawks and Osprey also use this part of the river for there feeding area. The eagles have landed on sea wall many times and they are a majestic bird in the wild.

But today is not ours to fish or watch the birds, Sheet rock! no one told me everything I was going to need was on the endangered list. It was so bad the lumber yards would only let you have 5 sheets at a time. When they got in a shipment they had deputy sheriffs there. people were really upset. I had to get my 5 sheets bring them home and go right back out to another supplier and get 5 more. Of course the price sky rocketed. The only good thing, I began early so while I was rounding up the dry wall the rough plumbing, was going in and the Air condition
units, We put in two units one with a heat pump so we could have a little heat in the winter without buying the power company. Three weeks into this I hard enough dry wall to start-every wall was a challenge, the metal hurricane straps came up 18 inches from floor and 18 inches down from ceiling so each stud had to be shimmed out. If you put a 1nch wide strip of metal on a 1 1/2 2x4 you do not have much room for a screw so pieces of wood had to be placed on the stud to give room for fastener. The insulation came by the truck load, big 4 x8 sheets of board and rolls of bats, They have improved on it but when you cut those rolls you still end up itching.
When everything was stuffed to capacity you could put up the dry wall at last, boy does that make a difference. We had rented a scissor lift, began to feel like it was member of the family it has been around so long I quit worrying about how much it was costing, we used it there
was someone on it all day long doing something.
It was great you could stand on it and make it go
up or down and drive it anywhere there wasn't
something piled. n all the months we used it
only had one accident backing into a wall. Once
all the board was up we got a first coat of joint
compound on the seams, Down here they do not
take the time for it to cure, up north I used to put all the dry wall on and not paint it for months, guess it does not matter the walls have never cracked but I was sure they would.

We would get one room done with board up and one or two coats of compound then empty Another room and start on that. I wasn't taking any chances when doors or molding was available I bought it, had enough of this shortage problem , but all of this had to be moved as we progressed. It took us a lot longer due to the detail that was going in. The dinning room ceiling
has a tray in it and the master bed room has

a tray ceiling which is oval shaped and has molded plaster decorations, these had to be backed up before the dry wall was installed. I have been taking a more active part which left my wife as the gopher. In av few weeks she was on a first name relation with the major wholesalers on Metro industrial park. It was difficult to ask for something she was not able to locate. Beside are working on the inside we had the work on the outside moving forward. Another mountain of sand and huge pile of mortar cement. They were placing plastic forms around the windows and a metal wire mess over the building. The photo on the right will
give you an idea of the many angels and shaped involved with
the ceiling of the entrance rotunda, Concealed in the form are lights for indirect lighting.
At about this time we were told we could actually move in if we wanted to, the motor home was getting real small by now 6 months and all the fun was gone. The front bed room was finished, painted,electric and the bath room next to it was also complete now with shower. We still did heavy cooking in motor home but life was getting a little better. We really have to get going my son in law has to return to New York, house is not finished but with my background will be able to get it done.
We had planned on building a stairway but the only shop tools we had was a 10 inch table saw and I am afraid that will not due, I
have built a few set of stairs and know we have to have a joiner and planner otherwise it will be a mess so we ordered a pre built
oak stairway, to save space it comes straight down to a landing then has steps into the dinning area or family room.

The stair way is here and we will put it in today.
This was all assembled at the factory in Ohio.then
numbered and taken apart and shipped in their
truck,to us. In order to preserve the wood we had to finish it right away, you can only imagine
the amount of plaster dust there is in the air,
we even shut down the air conditioning to try
and reduce the movement of air until the finish was dry. despite working from early morning until evening and with all the outside help it just seems to be at a stand still. First few days putting up dry wall was great but now its finishing time and you work all day without any showing. Holidays are coming and the kitchen is still in boxes.
The fireplace opening is ready so guess the tree will go in front of what will be the fire place
someday. No floors, no paint but the roof is on, the dry wall up and its beginning to look like it
might be a home someday. This will be the first Xmas. In a few days the outside will be finished, they have started to put the rough coat on, it sure make a big difference.

Its beginning To Take Shape With Trusses up

2008-04-04T08:57:00.003-07:00

Well today the anticipation is building, the trusses that have been order for couple months will be arriving shortly. We cleared out a spot on the lawn between our motor home and the hedge row of palms. The site looked beautiful all the junk was gone everything was ready and all of a sudden this truck arrived with the biggest pile of trusses I had ever seen -only took him a few minutes and he was unloaded right on the lawn, pile was taller than me. I soon realized that the truss we needed first was on the bottom. The rest of the morning was spent dragging each truss to a new location-and piled according to its number. Things were going pretty good when about noon another truck arrived with some pretty heavy looking trusses- I though we had enough all ready. everyone pitched in and we moved the big truss half way around the house to make room for the new load. That was it for the day the second load was separated and everyone was ready to quit.
The crane will not be here until tomorrow so today we are doing some small trusses, They go along pretty good, after setting the first one and bracing it, the other just stack up. It kept 4 men trotting along to get this area up and anchored. then when the crane comes we can place the long truss and have something to tie it in place. This sure is the largest erector set I ever played with, its hard to believe we are going to use all the material that is all over the yard. Its about 80 degrees and the sun isnt up yet so this will a hot one, in few hours we will set the big trusses.
The crane is mounted on a truck they anchor it down and pick the trusses up like they were nothing. in couple hours we are done. Just in time for the board of Health. Wouldn't you know it something has to go wrong-they decide the septic tank I have is 50 gal short of what I need. This doesn't sound bad, the result is about $8,000 for new tank and drainage pit. But this is only the beginning of out of control cost. I thought I might be able to use some
of the sheathing from the old house--no way-- what I have is 11/16 and code calls for three quarters. So we give away the really good plywood and buy the new. Boy they do not make it like they used to, should not complain we are not going to get it for several days there is a shortage would expect this will also increase the cost.
It's amazing the way the building cost are
increasing just as I decide its a great time to do this. We are working all over the building, I have managed to stay on the ground most of the time, there is always someone yelling a measurement and I am going thru the pile of 2 x 4' fast-these guys are up there 12 to 14 feet I tied to toss the pieces up but figure its safe to go up the ladder and hand deliver them. Things have
been going petty good but anyone knows this can not last. This
small corner of bed room was left from old building because the power mast was fastened to it and we were able to enjoy the use of electric. It all came to a stop when one of the trusses swung against it and off it come bringing down the line from the pole.A frantic call to Power company brought a lineman who graciously cut the power off at the pole. Work came to abrupt stop and it did not take long to realize how important air conditioning is in 100 degree weather. It took couple of days to get a temporary hook up-knew it would be week or more to bury a cable and do it right but we had to have something right away.
Finally a few pieces of ply wood, most importantly there will be a little shade, its tough on those guys on the roof, they can only work in the mornings. If you lay a tool down for a few minutes it's going to be to hot to handle, you soon learn to carry it or place it in the shade. With most of the plywood on its beginning to look like a dungeon, very dark but a place to get out of the sun, and rain that we get every afternoon. At least the yard looks better no trusses lying around.

Finally got the trench dug from house to
power pole-wire laid and new entrance box
in house its been inspected and will be
hooked up tomorrow. At this rate we will be ready to start inside, The windows are in and should be on site soon. It will seem good to get it buttoned up. The electrical work is moving ahead with miles of wire all over the place.

Demolition Complete Time to Start Building

2008-04-01T04:15:00.000-07:00

Tarpon fishing in the Caloosahatchee, this photo was taken just a few yards from the entrance to our canal.
When Tarpon are running, the river seems to boil with the small fish running ahead of the schools of Tarpon - suddenly there escape route is cut off by the locks, at times the Tarpon seem to fill the whole area. A hundred pound Tarpon about 5 ft long was taken just down stream by an 11 year old boy.

No fishing to day here we are on the slab of new concrete a couple of weeks have passed since the demolition was finished. A partial wall is up in the rear of the photo and right now the tall
columns on the front are going up. It seemed like it was taking forever, there are four of them, they had to be perfectly level and true. Inside of each one there is a metal re rod form which is wired together.In the base there were several pieces of re rod placed in the slab when it was poured, these were bent over and left a foot or so above slab so that when the column was filled with concrete these anchors and the re rod form in the core would be bound together when the concrete hardened. When the top was finished
and filled with concrete a inch and half steel strap bent like a hook was placed in center with about 18 inches left this would be wrapped around the beams and used to hold it in place so that the trusses would be tied to the slab.

When this project was in the planning stages it was agreed by the man in charge My Son in law. that the 76 year old man was not to climb or do any heavy lifting- his job would be one of micro managing and be a gopher, sounded good to me after ripping down the old house and de-nailing the lumber a little light work would feel good. Guess they did
not notice who was cutting the blocks and lifting them above his head to place them on the scaffolding for them. Perhaps you can see the awning that we had to put up, it wasn't bad in the morning, but by 1 in the afternoon it became rather warm on that concrete slab, and with the walls up you got very little to no breeze. As I recall by 3 in the afternoon the work force seemed to disappear and many days found myself working alone-that is when I got to do that light stuff, sweeping up, lugging out the junk there was always a big pile of debris. It seemed every afternoon there was something we had
to have-a special block or few more bags of mortar, or a tool would
get lost or dropped into a block core. My late afternoon's and evenings were spent at Home Depot or Lowe's-never seemed to be able to anticipate what the next days trip might be. It finally came to pass the walls were up and thankful the columns all of the re rod has been placed in the centers of the blocks and columns, then one day a little mean machine arrived followed by two cement trucks, and this is the day of course that we are short handed- they roll out hundreds of foot of hose, the "mean" machine is hooked up and three of our nearly depleted work force are assigned the hose. the guy at the nozzle has to stick it in the core of the block and fill it, then jump to the next one 12 foot in the air on a 10 inch cement block and this hose is like a python it has a will of its own. The poor guy in the center of the hose is the one who is being yelled at the most, he is supposed to help hold this hose that is caught on everything. Meanwhile the poor fellow on the machine does not know what to do he can not hear a thing with the cement trucks churning there load and his mean machine grinding away he is in constant flux of starting and stopping the flow of cement. When he makes a mistake four inches of wet concrete comes shooting out the nozzle if its not in a bore there is a instant mess with a lot of language your mother would not want to hear. Once the holes are filled the work just begins 36 inch strips of galvanized steel has to be inserted in the filled bore these are left about 18 inches above top so they can be wrapped around the truss and nailed so wind cannot lift the truss. This would be bad enough if you just stuck them in, but they have to be placed in just the right spot so they will line up when the truss is installed.
They are still being pretty good to me, I am still on the ground, figure
the bath room might be my thing the blocks are only half the seize so I spend some time putting this half circle together. While I am back in this spot the rest of the walls are being finished and some of the interior wall studs are going up. These interior walls will help support the trusses when they arrive. Like everything else these studs are bolted to the slab. First when the wall is built a u shaped piece of flat steel is placed over each shoe and up about 18 inches on each stud, guess it was not necessary by code to do each one but the cost was not that much more to do them all, when it comes time to sheet rock you would have to shim out the ones without these straps, I figure if we do them all it should be much stronger. the same thing is done on the top plate so that the entire stud wall is tied together with metal. The days are long, rather than take a half day off to go to laundry mat we built one in-
nothing very fancy but dry, and did save a lot of time, not that we wore a lot of cloths, but this is a pretty dirty job. We had a lot of fun and tried to tackle each challenge with a good feeling.
Without a roof, and it rained every day-my first job in the morning was to sweep the water off the slab. With the walls up and raised areas for the sills it created a lake, no place to leave your tools on the floor. Wife put her time in when she was not at work, no matter how much you cleaned up there was always more to do, she had to have the floor area clean-she was always unhappy with the help, they could see the big things but the dust, dirt and soda cans seemed to be overlooked. Eventually we started to have a lunch break for everyone [that way I kept them on the job] the easy thing was hot dogs or sausages with soda and sweet rolls or donuts, need that extra energy for the balance of the day. Everything is getting to look pretty good.

The walls are up and now ,it is a waiting game. have to wait for inspectors, actually they are pretty good, they will usually come next day after you call. Any way the trusses are ready and will be delivered tomorrow. Now we have to get rid of the junk pile and move what is left of sand. the driveway has to be open in order for the crane to get up next to house. We are in for a couple of exciting days when this part is started. It was bad enough getting the pre-formed headers in for the windows and door ways. That one in the back for the 25 ft sliders was one heavy beam, we used a small crane to set that, sure we will need one for the trusses.

That Perfect Caloosahatchee Waterfront Lot

2008-03-31T04:58:00.001-07:00

We had just finished upgrading our home in water way estates when we decided the economy was strong -real estate was increasing in value and we should be looking for a Caloosahatchee river water front lot to build a slightly larger home.
realistically at 76 yrs of age I should have been looking for a rocking chair. We went out with a couple of agents but everything was in town, with views of Condos and other homes, nothing that looked like Old Florida. Then we went up river and located a farming area on the north side. at the end of one road was a slightly overgrown house with sign river front, so we stopped and went around the vegetation and there it was a beautiful sea walled lot with deep water right up to the wall. across the river nothing but trees way down stream out of view of photo was a opening probably a house. Up river another house setting way back among tall trees and beyond that the Franklin lock-this means the water in front of our lot would be fresh so boat be much better than salt water. Here we would be on the Inter Coastal Water way, with open water from here to the Gulf and yet be able to go East to Miami. The canal on the right of property would be great for a smaller boat and there is already a set of Davits and cement pad, with water and lights. 18 beautiful adult palms around the lot--everything is perfect,
Well everything but the house. From the outside
it was one story built in 1975 the roof looked like it was flat and snow on it but it turned out to be Styrofoam about a foot thick. The windows were really small with one set of sliders on back ,
hardly any view of the river. We arranged to get inside and there was no doubt it had to come down. The ceilings were 7 and half foot, nothing about the layout could be rearranged due to construction so we made a offer--it was turned down we were disappointed but kept looking -in few days they called and actually gave us a price slightly less than our offer, mistake someplace, so we now owned the property. A architect was hard to find everyone was busy with a terrific building boom. Finally the demolition plans were submitted, we moved our motor home to the lot so we could have place to stay [and cool off] .
With the permits in hand we started.
the Appliances were 1975 vintage, some of the cub boards were fair but they were lost in a rain storm, the plumbing and electric sold for scrap. We did find the studs and trusses were made of first grade lumber, no bark and some of them 24 ft long with no knots far better than can be bought today. So my job was to tear everything out-sorting the salable metal and items that could be used. The roof was a big problem the Styrofoam had to be chopped off with adz a barbaric tool originally used to trim logs into timbers-under the everything was rotten and full of ants. We had mountains of trash that
had to be taken to the dump 20 miles away.
There was always good help available, Wife held
down full time position at the hospital, but the
grandchildren were their to lend a hand. There were days it looked like you made no progress, but once the roof was off things went along at better pace. Taking the trusses apart to salvage the near perfect 2x6 and 2x4 was a difficult job
in the hot sun, eventually we put up a awning to give us a place to work in the hot after noons.

The next blog will pick up and show the building of the home.
So for now things are stacked and everything is down except one wall the green area is a work shop that was left to store tools and removed after new building was built over it.