Self-Help Housing: Day by Day

Prepping for County Final Inspection

2012-03-05T08:06:00.000-08:00

Tonight I turned onto my street and was happily surprised to see 5 of my neighbors were working in their houses. This gives me hope. Tonight I will be recaulking all the windows. This is not as bad as it sounds. I looked at what Toby had pointed out and realized that all the windows didn't need to be caulked, but all the tops of the windows did because I couldn't reach them when I did the caulking the first time. I had to improvise a step stool but they are all done now. That's one more thing I can check off my list! Tomorrow, I will insulate the water pipes for the fire sprinklers and the manifold and weatherize that last door.

Day 130: Finishing Landscaping

2012-03-04T22:15:00.001-08:00

Today we are finishing the landscaping and doing the walk through with Toby to see what we need to have done by Wednesday night to be ready for Thursday's final county inspection. Toby tells us to go back to what we were doing. He says Silvestre needs to finish the pillars by Kelly's house. Silvestre is taking 3 guys with him to make it faster. Troy and Shorty are still running drip line, everyone else is moving gorilla hair. Toby tells Troy that he wants him to install the irrigation timers when he's done. Nora says," We can do that." Toby looks at me and asks,"Do you think you can do that?" I smile at Toby and say," I can do anything." Toby laughs and says," Ok, Troy show them how to do it."

Shorty installing drip line

Troy takes us over to the box of timers, opens it, takes out the instruction book and says," Here's how you do it." We're about to find out how good the instructions are written. Nora tells me she wants someone to draw a picture for us. I laugh. I tell her it'll be fine. I borrow wire strippers from Facio, grab the power screwdriver and my utility knife. First you have to remove the outer casing from the wires. There are 7 wires. We only need 3 and the common wire which is white. Toby says, "just pick 3 and remember which 3 because you need to use the same 3 on the outside of the house at the manifold." He leaves to go buy wire nuts for us to use at the manifold. We choose blue, green and red. First we have to mount the unit so that it covers the cable hole in the wall. Then we have to strip and attach the common wire, then use the next 3 colored, stripped wires for lines 1, 2, and 3( 2 sprinkler lines and a drip line). I do that while Nora attaches the power supply.

Nora attaching the wires to the irrigation timer

The first house we do is always the practice house. This time that was Rafa's house, so he has an extra hole in his wall because I mounted it too high the first time. We decide that we're going to install all the timers first and then do all the outside work and the programming last. We get all the timers installed just before lunch and go back to Rafa's house to start on the outside wiring. I get that done quickly and we go inside to program and test the system. Nora reads the guide while I program the unit. We can't figure out how to test it. You know why? Because they put the test and diagnostic check information all the way in the back of the book! I run the diagnostic check first, that tells you if the wires are connected right. If they're not it will give you an error. That went perfectly. Then we start the test. Nothing happens. What the...?

I'm attaching the manifold wires to the timer wires

The system override is enabled and it won't let us test because the timer is set for 8pm. We flip through the book to find the instructions on disabling it for the test. Then we run the test again zone by zone. IT WORKS! Yea! I can now add this to my resume. We go on to the next house (Nora's) and do it again. It's easier this time. After lunch, Toby tells me he wants to do the walk through on my house. He starts in the garage. I need to install the door casing on both garage doors and put the weather stripping on them.The tension hinge needs to be set. The door going from my garage to the utility room should shut itself so that any exhaust fumes don't kill us. Then into the house, I need to re-caulk the windows, install the range hood, put all the door knobs back on the doors and install the dead bolts on the last 2 doors that need them. Oh yeah, I also need to insulate a water pipe outside.
My list isn't that long. I know I can get it done by Wednesday. I go back to work, but Toby needs Nora to go with him to the Spanish speakers houses. I am on my own. I work my way from house to house, happy that I have not made any mistakes yet. Everything is working great. Nora rejoined me when I got around to lot 2. Since we were talking, I switched two wires at the manifold. When we went to test it one of the sprinkler lines wouldn't turn on. I double checked the wires and found my mistake, fixed it and retested and it was good. That was my only mistake of the day! I told Facio that if we're in the house when they do their timers, I'd come over and install them. I had a great time. He said he loves volunteers.

Troy installing my range hood. Thanks!

Nora had been telling me of the lists she had to write up for people. Some of them were long and she wanted my reassurance that we'd pass inspection. After hearing her, I wasn't so sure. I'm the cheerleader of our group, but I couldn't tell her what she wanted to hear. She had me scared. I said," I hope so, we have to pass this inspection. It all depends on them." The past few weeks, I've been one of the only ones on the block showing up to work. How serious are they about passing? I got my answer at 5 pm when no one left the site.

Dionysio making a special cut

Assembling the door casing

Shorty and I stayed to get the doors ready and I asked Luis's brother, Dionysio to help me with the door casings. He had those installed for me in a half hour! He's as fast as Luis! I now have just 3 things left to do this week. We left at 6pm and there were still people in their houses! I couldn't be prouder of my group right now, but I'm still scared we won't make it in time.

Day 129: Making Toby a Believer

2012-03-03T21:06:00.000-08:00

Today Toby was early and right after the hours are read we start our meeting. We had 469 1/2 hours last week. Toby starts talking about how we have 2 days to place the trees & the sod, mark and drill plant holes, plant those plants, run the drip lines and put down the gorilla hair. He tells us that he's not sure we can do it and it'll mean we have to focus and work hard. He also tells us that he will be pulling us aside to walk our houses so that he can point out those things in each house that need to be done to pass County inspection on Thursday. He said we must come during the week and get those things done or he will push back the inspections and we might not get into the houses until April!

Nora & Steve on the auger
Did I ever mention that Nora didn't want to use power tools
when we started? Look at her now!

He has a plan that is similar to an assembly line. Some roll sod, some prepare the next lot, others plant trees, and change the sprinkler heads. We had volunteers from the City of SLO here with Steve from Group 2. They are marking for all the plants while Steve and Nora drill the plant holes. I volunteer to use the roller. It's a water filled roller and weighs alot! You use it to compact the dirt and then after rolling the sod, you use it again to press it down before soaking it. I take the roller over to Ben's house to fill it.Then, I'm walking it back to lot 24 by pulling it behind me. When I get to Rosa's driveway, the roller gets away from me and slams into the back of me, rolls over my foot and causes me to fall forward into Troy's car! I slam my elbow into the curb and my right knee hits the road. Everyone sees me do this. I start laughing immediately because that's what I do. I mean, I injure myself often so this is nothing new for me and it was funny because when I looked up everyone looked so concerned that I just couldn't help it. I told them that if I'm gonna injure myself, I'd rather get it out of the way 1st thing in the morning! Then I start rolling lot 25.

Luis & I rolling sod ~ lot 24
(I can't kneel on my right leg)

Rolling is not easy when you're in pain and I really wanted to keep busy so when I finished with that lot I went over to help Luis roll sod on lot 24. I love this job! Plus Luis moves faster when I'm there because we're both slightly competitive. Ben starts bringing sod and Luis and I are really moving. We soon are waiting for him to bring sod because we're moving so fast. Shorty comes over and helps bring sod too. Toby gets another team on sod. When we're done we hop over to help them, then onto the next house and the next. By 1st break we're done with most of that side of the street. We just need to roll out Ben's larger side yard. Toby can't believe how fast we're moving.

Look what we accomplished
by 1st break!

After break we start again. Sheryl shows up and is impressed with our progress. She takes a few pictures. Luis and I decide that we can get the sod done by noon if we move faster. We're actually ahead of the tree planters now and we tell them to hurry so they can stay ahead of us. We have 5 people rolling sod at Kelly's and 4 people bringing it to us! Kelly has the most lawn area. Toby leaves to get supplies and we keep going. While we're on Silvestre's yard I notice that Matty is in my lawn area leveling. I am not happy. I tell her that I designed that space and she needs to stop leveling it. She tells me that Toby told her to do it. I told her, no he didn't because he helped me design it! We already at my house and Troy tells me that they can wait while I put my bumps back. I look at my lawn and I'm pissed, but we're on a schedule, so I look at Luis and say,"Let's roll it, I'll live. We need to be done". And so my lawn is not as I'd envisioned it, but it still has one gentle mound in the center and I can live with that. Toby pulls up. Luis says," See how we finished the sod?" Toby looks and says," That's insane!" Yup, we rolled 10 houses worth of sod in 4 1/2 hours! We tell Toby that after lunch we'll start planting and get that done today.

By noon, the sod is done!

That is exactly what we do. By 5pm, we've got everything planted, we've soaked the sod, there are drip lines on lots 24 through 28 and there's gorilla hair on lot 25! We close with a meeting. Toby tells us that he is incredibly impressed with us. We love proving people wrong when they tell us we can't do something! He's a believer now. We know we'll finish tomorrow and get back inside our houses to get ready for inspection on Thursday!

Testing sprinklers on Luis's house
He already has the gorilla hair on the plants

Look how different my front yard looks with landscaping!

Trees, Plants, & Sod Arrive

2012-03-02T21:22:00.000-08:00

That's a lot of work right there!

Today we have some of our group at the site so that they can unload everyone's trees & plants and place them in the proper lot 's garages. The sod also arrived today. It will be unloaded in various driveways so that we can place it faster tomorrow.

This is what 4300 sq ft of sod looks like

This is going to be an incredible weekend and possibly one of the most tiring weekends we've ever had! I can see we have our work cut out for us. Can we do it? I know that I believe in us and I'll do my best to make everyone else believe too! I'll let you know tomorrow how far we got and what's left for Sunday. Think good thoughts people!

My valley oak tree!

Last Day of Bedroom Touch-ups

2012-03-01T09:12:00.000-08:00

Brad and the students from Cuesta College are back today installing the deck/steps. They finished lots 1 & 2 and will be finishing lots 3 & 4 (mine) next Tuesday. They are doing a wonderful job. I might just bake a surprise for them Tuesday.

Brad measuring for deck base

Today I really want to be done with the bedrooms so that the carpet guy can install. I walk in and do a quick check around the house to see what's new. Something is always new in my house these days. Hey! My deck/step is almost done!

My deck almost done

My carpet roll is in my garage! My stove has been installed! There's water in my toilet! We're just zipping along these days, which makes me very happy.

I smell cookies!

So I'm not here long today. AJ's cough is worse and my mom wants me to go get more medication and some vicks for her. I do manage to get the baseboards and door jambs in my room painted. Now all the bedrooms are ready for carpet. I was going to caulk the closet, but my caulking gun is missing, so that will be on my last minute stuff to do starting Monday. Next week is our last week before inspection. I will be here later everyday because I WILL BE DONE BEFORE INSPECTION.
See ya Saturday!

No Work Tonight

2012-02-29T20:00:00.000-08:00

I was scheduled to work tonight, but I had to bring AJ home sick from school this morning. She has a bad cough and is very congested. We're hoping it's allergies. I came straight home from work to check on her. I'll keep you posted. Hopefully I can be up at the site tomorrow night.

Cuesta College Framing Class

2012-02-28T20:57:00.000-08:00

Today we have community volunteers. Toby coordinated to have a group from Cuesta College's Construction Tech Framing class to come out and install the back deck/steps on the backside of lots 1-4 with Instructor Brad Steveson. It's great because we get much needed help and they get to learn a process since the class was actually taught on site. Toby is always looking for community volunteers.

Cuesta College Construction tech, Framing Class
Brad Steveson, Instructor (2nd guy on the left)

It was really cool. First they dug the footings, then added concrete and the precast concrete pier. They measure both ways to make sure it's sitting in the right spot at the right height.

Jason mixing concrete

Mixing after adding pier

Then they drill holes in the house along the wall and under the door. They bolt treated wood to both walls. This will act as a base to put the tiny deck on. Today they did the footings. Thursday, they'll come back to learn how to make the deck and steps. They were all really cool and seemed to be well versed in framing. In appreciation for their hard work, I bought enough lunch to feed them and the Grid Alternatives crew who are now finishing my inverter installation, and working on panels for Kelly's and Silvestre's houses.

Drilling into my house!
See on the right? They bolted the treated wood

The Grid Volunteers are just awesome! They took every opportunity to educate me in solar energy, what they were doing, what my system is capable of, and my options if I wanted to eventually add more panels. I really enjoyed having them here. Did you know that solar panels produce more energy on very cold, clear days, but they make more energy during the summer only because there are more daylight hours?
During all this outside work, I was in my house installing everything that took a power screwdriver to install. So I now have doorstops, closet brackets, towel racks, weatherization kick plates for my doors, and shower curtain rods installed! This was hard for me because I've never done any of it, so I had to keep walking outside to ask people. I'd walk up with the part in my hand and say," How does this work?" Every single one of them had an answer! I asked Toby, Eric from Grid, Brad from Cuesta, Troy and a few other people (I didn't have a chance to get their names). They were very all gracious & helpful. Now I know how to install many common household items!

checking for live wires

Around 3 pm, Eric told me that they would be testing my solar power system. He plugged in the panels and then came down to have me turn everything on. First I flipped the switch in the electrical panel outside my house, then turned on the D/C disconnect. I went to pull the lever for the A/C disconnect and Eric said calmly," You should stand to the side of it to turn it on instead of in front of it, in case it explodes." I said, "I'm not sure I want to turn it on now!" But, I did as he said and it didn't explode! The lights on the inverter came on as it powered up. Then the magic happened! It started giving numbers like total voltage and CO2 saved. It was awesome! Then, we went outside to look at the smart meter. It was showing negative numbers which means that my panels were supplying power to the grid! How cool is that?

Grid Alternatives Crew
Supervisor Eric (2nd from the left)

After that I cleaned up inside and went outside to form my lawn. I ended up leaving late after closing up some of the other houses. I still made it to town in time to pick up AJ and told her about my day on the way home. She's excited about having solar power and that we'll be in the house soon. I didn't get any painting done today, but I'll be back tomorrow.

plumbers install my water heater!

Grid Alternatives Installation

2012-02-27T21:03:00.000-08:00

Today I arrived at the site and the volunteers from Grid Alternatives were already here setting up. I cleaned the area that they needed to install the inverter and after the safety meeting, Eric introduced me to the group. I told him that I would not be helping today. I didn't get a chance to take the class. My plan is to take the class after we move in and then help on future installs. Today for me is all about fixing the kids bedrooms and preparing for carpeting. I moved all the stuff out of those rooms and swept them. Then I texted Toby to see if I needed to paint the metal bracket that the closet doors hang from. He came walking up to tell me no. He's not usually here on Mondays. We also discussed the weather stripping installation. I had the stripping in my car so he had me go get it so he could show me how to put them in. I removed all the interior door knobs so that I could paint the hung doors more easily. I installed the deadbolts for the front and back doors along with the weather stripping. Then I started painting. I want to say that those rooms are done, but I'm a little scared to since the last time I said that I ended up in tears the next day. So, I'm 99 percent sure those rooms are now ready.

First panel being installed!

All done with the solar panels

The Grid volunteers are almost done with the installation. They will need two more hours tomorrow. They installed all 12 solar panels and got the inverter hooked up. It was quite a sight. They are very organized and coordinate the work so well. I bought them lunch and told them I'd feed them again tomorrow even thought they'll be on Kelly's house by then.

Eric discussing the inverter install

How cool is this? ~Inside my inverter

I'm excited about tomorrow. I borrowed a power screwdriver so my goals tomorrow are to touch up my bedroom, caulk my closet, install everything that needs that screwdriver, and go outside and form my front lawn. That's alot to do, but I really need to stay on track and get it done. I'm hopeful that I'll be done with the inside of my house this week so that I can concentrate on planting this weekend.

This is gonna be a very tiny deck soon

Oh yeah, Hayward Lumber was at my house too. They delivered the wood that will be the tiny back deck and steps for lots 1 through 4. Toby has a class from Cuesta coming to install those tomorrow!

Day 128: Making Up For Lost Time

2012-02-26T22:16:00.001-08:00

Last weekend, Toby told us we were a day behind. This weekend, he reminds us often that we need to make up that day. He started a countdown: 2 hours per house, then 45 minutes per house, then 20 minutes per house. We need to have the pipes finished and covered, finish the swales and clean up the messy ones, level all the lawn and plant areas, get rid of the enormous pile of soil amendment, and bore the holes for the trees.

Toby measuring tree placement while the guys use the
auger to bore the hole for the trees

We decided that since we need to be quiet on Sunday mornings, we would get rid of the soil amendment pile first. It took 3 of us shoveling for 3 hours straight with Jesus and Shorty running the wheelbarrows to get rid of that pile! You know, even though it's fluffy stuff after a few hours it feels much heavier. We each got 10-12 wheelbarrows full of amendment in our backyards. That's crazy! I guess now I have no excuse to not start a garden as soon as I move in, huh? I do really like zucchini...

After he measures, he marks the spot for the tree

Then we moved onto leveling, cleaning and creating swales. I was in Rosa's back yard recreating her swale and learned that without the trencher, hand digging a swale is very tiring work. People were everywhere, rakes were moving, shovels were digging, the auger was going full speed, and all was right in my world. I love these moments when we're all working in unison and everything goes right. My house was the last house to have the hole bored for the trees. I have two trees in my front yard, a valley oak and a sweet gum tree.

Boring the hole for the Valley Oak

We loaded up all the machines and just have a few small things left to do Saturday morning. Toby told us that Friday all the plants will be delivered. He asked for volunteers to get them in the right garages. Saturday we will be planting all the trees & plants. He thought it might be best to do the sod the following weekend, but we all talked it out and decided that we believe that we are capable rolling sod and planting all the plants and trees in one weekend. A tall order, but we are so motivated right now and we want to keep that momentum going.

Our machines, ready to get back on the trailer

The carpet guy arrived this afternoon and started unloading the carpet padding into garages. He will be starting in lot 24 and working around to my house. I was happy to hear this because I still have doors in my bedroom that I need to finish and hang. I also wanted to clean those rooms so that he can just start laying carpet and not have to move anything.

On a more personal level, Teresa and I spent 3 hours shoveling together at the soil amendment heap this morning and talked quite a bit. I think we have finally made it past the hostility stage into a more peaceful, neighborly place. I'm glad. I'm a happy person naturally and it's been stressful ignoring her. I'm ashamed to say she spoke first. I'm usually the first to apologize. I just don't hold onto anger (never have been able to), but I stubbornly refused to apologize for throwing her out of my house that day. I will admit that today she was the bigger person and I'm thankful for it. See ya tomorrow!

Day 127: Soil Amendment Day

2012-02-25T20:56:00.000-08:00

This is where I spent my morning

Last week's hours were 512 1/2. The safety meeting was on Construction color coding. We are missing people this morning and we need to make up a day of landscaping. Everyone of us that showed up are concentrating on getting the landscaping ready for sod today. Here's how we do it.

Troy tilling Matty's yard.

Troy tills the soil, then we rake it, remove the larger rocks, and add 2 inches of soil amendment. Then, Troy tills it again and we rake again to reshape it. It amazes me how crazy people get about their lawns. People were digging down, removing tiny rocks and I even saw someone with a level! It was a very humorous day for me. I've been really laid back through this whole building process and it always cracks me up to see how crazy people get about their houses.

Me - spreading amendment at Ben's house

At lunch, my grandma, aunt and uncle came to visit. This is the first time they've seen it since before I had drywall! I gave them a tour and they loved it! I love showing my family what I've been up to. I miss seeing them.

Troy let me operate the tiller for a few minutes.
I thought I would jiggle to death, but I still had a blast!

After lunch, we went back to raking and raking and raking. My shoulders are killing me! My favorite part of the day was right before roll up. Troy had tilled my lawn area and I had spread it around and created my very gentle swirly mound. The ladies came over and started to level my yard. I said," No thanks, it's done now". They looked shocked. I told Shorty to bring the amendment so that we could start spreading it. Then Silvestre came over and told me we couldn't do that because my yard wasn't level yet. I gave him my best smile and told him that I liked it the way it was. He looked at me like I had lost my mind and said," You like it this way?" (complete with hand gestures) and I said, "Yup". He looked at Troy and said," She likes it this way"(again with the hand gestures). I told him I was making a mini golf course. He said," Okay" in the soothing way you talk to the insane. I kept smiling at him. Shorty brought the amendment and I started spreading it. I look up and Silvestre has half the group in the driveway watching me and discussing in Spanish how the lawn will be too high. Did I ever mention that I understand most Spanish, I just don't speak it? It was awesome! I have a feeling that tomorrow there will be an intervention. I laughed all the way home!

This Isn't Happening

2012-02-22T20:34:00.000-08:00

Today I got to the site and I was in a great mood. I was ready to start painting in my room. I walked into Shorty's room and looked at the doors and sills. Fully painted , no touch us needed. I glance down at the baseboards as I turn to leave and am just about to walk out, when I stop cold. I think, I did not just see that. I turn around and look at the baseboards again. I'm not seeing this. This can't be happening to me. I lent my paint to Nora and Luis and they used it all and bought me replacement paint. I've been painting all the doors, jambs & sills with it. I touched up the baseboards with it. It is not the same shade of white as the paint I had, it's slightly darker. So slight you can't tell on the doors but on my whiter baseboards it really stands out. I need to repaint the baseboards in those two rooms now.
I can't stop looking at it. This isn't happening, this can't be happening. Tears of frustration start clouding my vision and I can still see it. This is a nightmare, it's gotta be. I want to curl up in the fetal position and cry. Instead, I turn around and walk out of my house. I get into my car and leave. I am exhausted and way to emotional right now to deal with this. On the way home, I decide that I'm not coming back to paint until next week. I need the time to calm down.
I get home and go in my sister's room and curl up next to her cat. I don't do this often. My sister says, "What's up?" I start explaining. She looks horrified. She says,"It's like you're going backwards". That's exactly how I feel. She tells me next week she'll try to come with me and help me paint. I need to buy the correct paint to touch up the rest of the house. I refuse to repaint all the baseboards in the whole house.

2 Rooms Down!

2012-02-21T21:28:00.000-08:00

Today I decided to concentrate on the bedrooms so that I won't have to paint after the carpet is installed. I actually started with those doors in my bedroom because I want to hang them someday. I have all the tiny sides of the door so every day I move them to paint a new part, then I painted my sills. I moved into Shorty's room and painted the sills, baseboards and the inside of the door jamb. 1 room down! Then I moved into AJ's room and in today's 2 hours I've completely painted those two rooms! I am almost giddy with excitement about this. I will check them tomorrow just in case I missed anything and need to touch up, but I believe I'm done!
Tomorrow I will concentrate on my room and closet. Troy finally installed the baseboards in the closet, so I need to caulk those and touch up paint the baseboards. I think I might have enough time to do the baseboards in the bathrooms too! I can't wait. I have renewed energy. Will I be done painting this week?

A Day of Mishaps

2012-02-20T17:37:00.000-08:00

Ever had a day where everything just goes wrong? Today I arrived at 10 am ready to get some work done. I decided to start by tapping in the nails that were sticking out. I figured that way I could fill those holes and paint. It goes well on the baseboards, then I start on the door jambs. That's when my day took a turn for the worse. As I'm tapping in a nail at the top of AJ's door, the jamb moves. Not a little, a lot! I immediately closed the door to check on the reveal. There was a gap at the top of the door.

This is bad!

You can really see a gap in a reveal. I panicked. I go find Facio who is in lot 6. Facio comes and see that it's in a bad place. That jamb is 2 inches from a corner spot on the wall. He gave me some ideas. I tried a block of wood on the inside of the bedroom against the jamb and hammered it back in place, that made the top separate up. I had just made it worse! I tapped the top down. I kept alternating until it was back in place. I closed the door and checked and the reveal was fine. I calmed down.
Then when I was just about to paint Shorty's door, I noticed that the jamb there had moved too. Really? I tried the block of wood there. The jamb wouldn't budge. Facio told me that if I couldn't get the jamb moved by using the wood that I'd have to take the wood plug out because there was an adjustment spot under it. He said I'd have to break the plug to take it out. I decided to leave it in and wait until Toby could come see it. With my luck, I'd break the jamb.
I start painting the sides of my doors. I forgot to tape to hinges and painted one. Wonderful. I stop painting to clean it off and tape the remaining hinges. I start painting again. The problem with painting the jambs, sills and baseboards is that they're small and you have to use a small brush for them. It's just a long process. I move onto the jambs in the hallway and guess what? I dropped paint on the one non covered spot on the grout of my tile. No! Do you have any idea how hard it is to get paint off of grout? Nearly impossible! Lots of water and cleaning later, my grout seems free of paint. I hope so because it took almost half an hour. I go back to painting. Jambs are done and I move onto baseboards in the hallway and that goes well. I go into AJ's room and start painting the sills. I get the first one done with no problem, then as I'm painting the 2nd one I move the paint container and it almost falls, I catch it, but still manage to paint the bedroom wall white...I clean that up and put things away. I'm done for the day.

Grid Alternatives installing Matty's solar panels

I drive to my insurance agent in Paso. I need to change the homeowners insurance. They tell me that they have to cancel the insurance and restart it from March of this year to March 2013. I'm happy because I already paid my taxes and this is the last thing I need for proof. Then she tells me that I will be billed because they have to issue a credit for what I've already paid for. I ask how long that will take. She says 10 days to get the bill. We need proof of payment in full by March 6th. I'm glad I didn't wait. I'm going to call everyone to make sure they get in to their insurance company quickly. I got a lot done today even with the mishaps.
Grid Alternatives was there installing panels on Matty's house, the fence guys are fencing and the plumber was installing spigots on the outside of the houses. As I was leaving, I see that the pillars have caps on them. They look wonderful.

Wow!

Day 126: Rototillers and Soil Amendment

2012-02-19T21:53:00.000-08:00

Some of the fencing is up!
Lots 24 & 25

Today Toby wanted every available person to help with the landscaping. We need to cover the sprinkler trenches, smooth the area, roto-till down 2 inches, add 2 inches of soil amendment and till it 4 inches so that the native soil is mixed with the soil amendment. Next week we'll get some of the sod for the first 4 or 5 houses done.

Kelly at the soil amendment heap
aka fluffy poo pile

Silvestre brought two friends to help him with the stone veneer. That freed up Cuara & Rafa to help with the machines. We have a trencher, a tiller and an auger. We are creating swales. Those are lower places that water will follow to the street or the appointed drainage area. Kinda like very tiny creeks. We create them by making a small trench and then partially filling it in.

Irma and Teresa spreading amendment - Lot 25

I went to my garage to get a rake when Nora came up and said Toby wanted us to continue in Matty's house. So off we went. Now, Matty and Rich arrived very early because we told them to clean up so that we could floor the hall and master bedroom. When we got in there we smelled paint. They painted all the door jambs in the hall and master bedroom! I wasn't too happy about that. I wasn't about to try to install laminate around fresh, dripping paint. So we went upstairs to help Alfredo finish the alcove and 3rd bedroom.There are tons of special cuts in the alcove. Alfredo doesn't like it (it's very time consuming), but he perked up with me and Nora helping him. He is teaching Nora to make the special cuts because he is moving on to group 4 next Saturday and Nora and I will finish alone. I know that we can do it.
We were upstairs until 2nd break and then we came down and started on the hallway. We decided that Alfredo was to only help if we couldn't do something, so he supervised. If we're losing him we need to be able to finish by ourselves. At one point we had a piece that had to go in a tough spot. Alfredo left to go get something to help while I continued to work the problem. Right as he was coming back in, I got the piece to fit. I looked up and he had a huge, disbelieving smile on his face. He quietly said, "You did it". That was a huge confidence builder for me. Then we hit the master bedroom doorway and he told Nora to cut the angles. She was so nervous. She handed me the cut piece and turned around because she couldn't look! I eased it into position and it was a perfect fit! I said, "Nora, it's perfect!" and she screamed,"Yes! I did that!" Alfredo laughed and said he thinks we'll do just fine next weekend and that he would visit to see how we're doing.
Kelly came running in a little later and told me I had to come take pictures. I got outside to see Rosa operating the tiller/trencher. She's a tiny woman and the tiller is huge. She was doing it though and it was awesome! We've come so far! I'm so proud to be part of this group. We rock!

In my world, women operate all the cool stuff!

We ended with a meeting. Toby told us there's alot to do in the house and we all need to get out here during the week and finish. Mostly painting, installing towel racks, and medicine cabinets. He also wants us to look for stuff the contractors need to fix, like my dead bolts won't fit and I have two cabinet doors on backwards. He will take all our notes and get the contractors busy fixing the issues. Also carpeting is coming this week, which means I have to get all the touch up painting in the bedrooms done before they arrive! So much to do! I'll be here again tomorrow.

The little flags mark the sprinklers. Lot 25
Bender board separating where sod will be

Day 125: More Laminate For Me

2012-02-18T21:50:00.000-08:00

Our hours from last week were 445. Safety meeting was a repeat of ground fault circuit interrupters. We're out of new safety meetings now. Today we all went back to the same jobs we had last week with the exception of Rafa, Cuara, Silvestre and Jesus. Rafa & Silvestre are going to be working on the stone veneer work with Cuara & Jesus as their helpers. Troy and Kelly went back to baseboards and closet door tracks. The majority of the group was trenching and installing sprinklers. Nora & I went back to the flooring Matty's living room and Shorty went upstairs to help Alfredo with the alcove. That alcove is hard to floor because it is full of special cuts. Alfredo said Shorty learned as fast as I did! I had a goal when I started this morning. It was to finish as much of the living room as possible. The living/dining room area is huge and Alfredo thought it would take the weekend to do it, but I'd like to be in the hallway by tomorrow.

Thank You Alfredo for the
precise cut!

We were working fast and I had Nora cutting. When you install flooring, you deduct 12 inches from the starting piece. The first piece is 48 inches. The next row it's 36 inches and so on until you get to 12 inches. Then, the next row starts with a full piece again. The cut sides are always at the wall because the baseboards will hide the cut.

By lunch we were only 1/3 of the way done.
That's when I started really moving

So I measured & marked and Nora would cut and bring me full sheets of laminate. This worked out very well and helped with our speed. Working quickly has it's hazards. I hammered the same finger that I hammered last week 4 times today. It is swollen and very bruised!

Shorty & Nora after I hammered my finger the 4th time

Now, I might have mentioned this before but when I get focused on task I lose track of just about everything else that's happening. I also get a little demanding. I know what I'm doing and I want to maintain my pace. A few times today, I snapped at Nora. She knows how I get because I've been doing this since we started building, but she gets really quiet when I do it. That's how I know I'm doing it and then I apologize. At 4pm we were 3/4 done with the room and I really wanted to finish. Shorty came down and I had him and Nora running to keep up with me. Neither of them spoke, they just did what I said and tried to anticipate what I wanted before I asked for it. I was so focused that I didn't notice what time it was until Shorty told me it was 5 minutes before 5pm. Everyone had been rolling up while we were still working. That's when I noticed both of them looked a little tense and I apologized for pushing them so hard. I'm glad they love me because they might not be talking to me anymore after today. They both looked relieved and said it was ok.

View from hallway at 5pm
See the space against the wall?

We walked outside and Toby was down the street. I told him to go in the house and see what we did. He said," How far did you get?" I said, "Go look!" He says I'm very demanding, but he smiles as he says it so I choose to take it as a compliment. He and Matty walked in while we waited in the driveway. I knew we did good when Toby yelled," Yeah Baby, This is awesome!" We have just one row of special cuts against the kitchen wall and a small triangle in one corner and I'm already in the hallway!

View from opposite corner

Toby came out and told us that he couldn't believe that we had done so much. Alfredo told him that we were really fast. I think Nora forgave me after that because she was smiling. Matty thanked us for our hard work. I really want this house done. It's the last house that needs flooring and baseboards. I am completely focused on moving in on time. Tomorrow my goal is to get down the hallway into the master bedroom without driving anyone crazy.

2 days work on stone veneer

Stone Veneer

2012-02-17T20:03:00.000-08:00

Today, Joe was on-site to teach Troy, Rafa & Silvestre how to put the stone veneer on the block pillars we built a couple weeks ago. Toby and Alfredo were there too. I couldn't be there so Toby and Troy took pics for me. The only negative part of me not being there is that the guys are not descriptive enough for me. They did a great job though!

After mixing the mud you put some on the veneer

Once it's ready you take it to the pillar

Start at the bottom and work your way up
All the corners get done first

After the corners are done
you fill in the holes

Self-Help Homes Tour

2012-02-17T08:48:00.000-08:00

The whole community is invited to tour the homes that we've been building for over a year. Tell your friends and spread the word! Come see me! I'd love to show y'all my house.

Post Occupancy Meeting

2012-02-16T22:11:00.000-08:00

Tonight we had our Post Occupancy meeting. I have been hyper all day waiting for this! Everyone arrives and we start setting up. Sheryl, Liz and Toby were there. We signed our February requisition forms and the attendance sheet and then Liz gave us our packet and Agenda for the evening. There were 16 items to discuss! I was reading ahead to see what was coming up while Nora was interpreting. We have a tentative USDA inspection date of March 20th! That will change if we're not ready. This make working during the week to finish the insides that much more important! Liz said," This is the date only if you're ready" I said," Oh, we'll be ready!" everyone laughed, but I'm serious. If I have to force people to give up their keys and finish their houses for them, we'll be ready on time! Can you tell I want my house?

We also discussed giving notice to our landlords, when our first mortgage payment would be, prepaying our last installment of property taxes and making sure our insurance is extended to March of 2013. Then we discussed the Impound Accounts. Our taxes get paid by our lender and so we need to pay into the impound account so that when they next come due, there's enough money to pay those bills. We talked about the possibility of getting some money back and if we have an excess construction loan balance we might be able to use that for window coverings with approval from PSHHC and the USDA, but we have to use our vendors. For example, we can't get stuff from Sears, but we can get coverings from Home Depot because PSHHC already has an account with them. I asked if we could get a quote from RADCO for shutters because they are a valid subcontractor/vendor for us. Sheryl said if I give her an estimate that doesn't include installation costs and if it's not too expensive that it might be doable. We have to be able to install them ourselves because we are Self-Help Housing. I'll call tomorrow and get the information.

They also gave us all the utility companies for our area and their phone numbers, which is very helpful. We already have the electric in our names, but we can't have the rest of the utilities turned on until after County inspection, but before USDA inspection. That's a short period of just 7 to 10 days! If the gas isn't on in time, we have to push back the USDA inspection until it's on in every house. We can also go to the post office and get our keys and start having our mail forwarded to the new address! I have no idea when I'm going to have the time to get out there, but I will make time for that. We reviewed our CC& R's and talked about predatory lenders and people that are gonna want to give us credit now that we're homeowners.
All in all, a super informative meeting and one that just makes me that much more excited about finishing on time!
After the meeting, I went to my house and flipped the doors over and painted the other side before coming home. Just another step closer to moving in!

Instant Gratification

2012-02-15T22:01:00.000-08:00

Look what was unpacked when I got here! I guess it'll be installed tomorrow. What did you say? Yeah, I opened it and touched everything! Just like Christmas morning....

Tonight my main goal is instant gratification. I just really want to feel like I'm making a dent in all this painting. Yesterday's 2 doorways and a walk-in closet kit was just depressing for me. Today I'm painting all the doors in the house. They're big and I have my sponge roller.

My before & after pic
(Before is on the right)

I finished painting the closet doors and one side of all the interior doors. Tomorrow after the meeting, I'll flip them over and do the other side. I feel so much better now that I've accomplished something.

Interior doors in my room drying

Painting for Valentine's Day

2012-02-14T21:58:00.000-08:00

Today at work, I had an email waiting for me from Everett. It was sent Friday night. I can't check my work email from home. He told me that he sent out emails to his group and that no one replied. He apologized for not being able to make it out to the site. He is hopeful that he can get people to come out sometime soon. I hope so too.
Tonight, I went to Home Depot and bought more brushes and a sanding sponge. When I got to the site, the back door of the garage was wide open. It was a little scary because it was starting to get dark out and I wasn't sure why it was open. I walked through the house turning on lights and checking in every room just in case someone was in there. I texted Toby and he told me that the concrete guys were in the garages today making sure the stair into the house was okay and they must have left it open. I'm glad I showed up. I don't like the idea that my house could have been open overnight especially since all my appliances have been delivered.

Bathroom doorway painted

I started painting in the master closet. That was the easy part. Painting the door jambs is harder. They require more detail. In the 2 1/2 hours that I was there, I only got the closet and 2 doorways painted. I feel like I'm going to be painting forever! The doorways look great, but they took a long time. The hard part is keeping the paint from dripping and keeping it from hitting the walls. So, tomorrow it's more painting for me. They mirror guys were in my house today. I now have the large mirrors that go in the bathrooms. They look great!

Isn't the mirror pretty?

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Painting Again

2012-02-13T21:34:00.000-08:00

Today I had planned to spend 6-8 hours painting. It did not work out that way because last night my daughter and my mother cornered me and made me promise that I would spend half the day with AJ and take her to the movies. I have been gone so much working on finishing the house that the other day, I walked in and AJ walked up to me and introduced herself and asked who I was!(she's very dramatic) Point taken. I agreed and went to the site for just 3 hours. I was very happy about getting to paint until I realized that the last time Shorty painted he didn't clean any of my brushes. So I had to use the one tiny brush that was still usable. I painted the first coat of the closet kits and primered all the doorways. The plumber was also on site installing the shower heads and toilets.
When I was done, I came home and got AJ and took her to Salon Lux so that we could be pampered with haircuts and then we went to see Journey 2: Mysterious Island in 3D. She is very happy with her girls day out and loves her new haircut. I even went and picked up Shorty after the movie and took them to dinner.
I apologized for spending so much time at the site. I know that the sacrifices that I make to get this house done are shared with my family. AJ is super excited about being able to move sometime in March because she misses me. She hasn't seen me on a weekend unless it's raining in more than 15 months. So, I didn't get alot done at the site, but I did have a great day with my little girl and that's what it's really all about, isn't it?
Tomorrow I will go to Home Depot to buy more brushes, finish the second coat and start on sanding the spackle spots on the baseboards.

Day 124: Trenching and Laminate Floors

2012-02-12T21:30:00.000-08:00

Today we started with what we were doing yesterday. Toby wants to get as much of the trenching done as possible, but we can't start the trencher until 8am. That's when we're allowed to make noise.

Luis & Nora's front yard trenched

Nora and I put up the last of the address numbers, then we go to my house to rake some more. While we're there, Toby and I have a conversation that will start a huge argument between me and Nora. It's a discussion on gentle swells on the front lawn versus flat lawn. Who knew? I asked Toby if it was okay to make a very gentle mound on the lawn. Toby said yes and helped me lay it out. Nora immediately started telling me that I was nuts and should have a flat lawn. I told her that I wasn't building a ski slope just a gentle swell in the lawn. I think it'll look better. She decides to pull people over to argue her point. I win the argument because it's my lawn.
After that Toby has us go to help Alfredo in Matty's house. I'm excited about this. Matty's whole house is laminate flooring except the kitchen & bathrooms. I've always wanted to learn to install laminate. Alfredo shows me how to install and I'm in heaven! It's like putting together a very easy puzzle. We had to use a rubber mallet. Just so you know, when you hit your finger with a rubber mallet it hurts just as much as if you did it with a hammer.

Nora & I did this!

Matty's living room so far

This is awesome. I have such a good time that I don't notice that time is passing. Luis comes to get us for lunch and then 2nd break. We got 2 of the upstairs rooms installed and started in the living room by the end of the day.

Sprinklers!

Luis, Rosa and Rafa were installing the sprinkler pipes. Troy and Kelly were in Jesus's house placing baseboards and the handrail while everyone else was cleaning up after the trencher.

Everyone cleaning up the trenches

When they got to my house, they hit my water line. Toby came to tell me that it was way too close to the surface. When they placed it they didn't go down far enough. It only had 4 inches of cover and since it was put in to go around the shed, it was in the way of where the sprinklers should be per the plan.

Toby took this pic to prove to me that my water line was too shallow

So he made them dig it up and then had them retrench it where it was supposed to be. By the end of the day they had it ready to connect to the water main. We got all but lots 1 & 2 trenched and one side of the street now has irrigation pipes installed. We will finish next weekend. Tomorrow I'll be here catching up on my painting since I have the day off.

My water line where it should be
in a 12 inch trench

Day 123: Landscaping 101

2012-02-11T21:59:00.000-08:00

Our hours for last week were 464. Today's Safety Meeting was on Excavation & Trenching. I read the whole safety meeting in Spanish! I don't speak Spanish, but I do have an accent because my mom is Mexican. When I finished reading, I told everyone that now I know how they feel because I didn't understand much of what I read. They said I did a great job. I grabbed the meeting in English so that I could see what I missed.
Toby mentioned that I wrote in the blog an incorrect move in date. That was just me calculating based on what he said. Not me saying that it was set in stone. I should have waited until he gave us a date, but I'm excited and sometimes I can't hold my thoughts in when I'm like that (as you well know). Being so close to finishing, I'm in a constant hyper, excited state. This week I've been bouncing off the walls. I apologize for putting the cart before the horse.

Irrigation Supplies from Farm Supply

Our volunteers never showed up and they didn't call either, which was a little disappointing. Kevin, from Farm Supply came out with our irrigation supplies and we unloaded his truck. He taught a few people how to fit the parts together for the sprinkler systems and they got to work making them. We started by clearing all the lots of rocks and raking them to even them out a little. Toby taught Luis how to mark the layout for the trencher.

Marking layout

Ready for the trencher

Measuring distance before marking

Ben and Silvestre operated the trencher, Rosa and Rafa made the made the sprinkler system things, Nora, Kelly, Tommy, Logan, and I cleared lots, and everyone else followed after the trencher cleaning up the lines.

Ben & Silvestre trenching lot 25

After lunch, Nora and I started putting up the house numbers. This is a horrible job for me! I have to have symmetry and I get a little obsessive compulsive over little detail work like this. We moved relatively quickly, but I was going nuts and driving Nora crazy with my need for perfection. I love that she puts up with me! She's known for months that I do this and she still wants to be with me. That's friendship. When we started pulling off the tape that held the numbers still until the adhesive set, I noticed that some of the houses had numbers that were straight, while others I had italicized. It's really not that noticeable, but I can see it! At one point, I made Facio come give me a second opinion because he was nearby. He told me to calm down and that it looked fine.

78 1/2 inches to the bottom,
perfectly level

The fence guys are here too. They are installing metal posts for the fences. There were just two of them, but they move really fast. As I was leaving, they were already on my house (the last).

Fence guys between lots 2 & 3

Spackle

2012-02-09T21:36:00.000-08:00

Today when I arrived, Kelly was working in her house with 3 helpers and Ben and Teresa were on site too. I Haven't seen Teresa in months. She said," Did you hear about the confusion with my name?" I said no. She told me that people thought she was the Teresa that yelled at me and that I threw out of my house! I started laughing and apologized to her. She laughed too. I'm sure glad she has a sense of humor. She is one of my closest friends and I love spending time with her and Ben. We have two Teresas, but she has been home taking care of her kids (missing all the drama) and Ben has had another friend of theirs helping him.
I started spackling as soon as I got in the house. It took almost 2 hours, but I'm done filling nail holes. That was much more fun than caulking! I have about 40 nails that are sticking out and I'll have to use a nail set to tap them further in. Kelly has a small one that she's going to let me borrow this weekend because mine is too big. I'm hoping that by Monday (which I have off for the holiday) I'll be able to start my touch up painting.
Tomorrow I'm taking the day off. I'm just really tired now. I leave my house each morning before 7am and don't get back until after 9pm. I need a recovery day to get through the weekend. Plus, I wanted to bake some goodies for the student volunteers.
When I got home a post card from People's Self-Help Housing was waiting for me. It says we have a Post Occupancy Meeting next Thursday at the site. I love the sound of that! We'll be talking about our projected completion date, property taxes and insurance, utility services and our impound accounts. We're having the meeting in Luis & Nora's garage. Just another step closer moving in! Can you feel my excitement?!?

Recruiting volunteers

2012-02-09T15:26:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago, after Toby told us about the landscaping, I was feeling a bit overwhelmed by all this. He told us that if we knew any landscapers or landscape designers it would be good to have their input. None of us have any landscaping abilities. I was at work talking about it when my friend, Ashley, told me to email Cal Poly and see if we could get students involved. I thought this was a great idea. So, I emailed the Landscape Architecture Dept. I got an email back from a lady that I actually knew, but didn't know she worked for them. She said she'd forward my email to the student groups and see if she could muster some interest. Weeks went by and I was starting to get worried.
Today, I received an email from Everett, a landscape architect design student, saying that his group was interested in getting involved! I referred him to Toby for the details.
Toby texted me when he finished talking to Everett. We now have 5 to 10 Cal Poly students coming on Saturday! I'm so excited!! I think I'll arrange lunch and snacks for them.

More Caulking...

2012-02-08T21:58:00.000-08:00

Tonight, I stopped at Home Depot to buy more caulk and some spackling compound . I use spackle because the baseboards are painted and the wood putty won't stick to them. I won't be removing the clear caulk. I talked to a friend of mine and he told me to just paint it when I do the touch up painting. I like this idea better than re-caulking, mostly because I used a very thin bead of caulk to begin with so I think it it'll look cleaner.

Forced Air Unit (furnace)

When I arrived I walked in and noticed that my furnace is fully installed. I look in the garage and see that my appliances and water heater were delivered! I really just want to open and play with them. I feel like a little kid on Christmas morning. This totally puts me in a mood that caulking cannot take away.

These boxes are hiding my appliances!

I start caulking in my bedroom and work my way into the closet. I'm pretty happy with myself when it occurs to me that I forgot I had bathrooms. I haven't caulked them yet. Ugh! It's okay though because when I walk into the bathroom the sink is in and the toilet is there too in it's box!

My sink is in, but not installed

I have to remove the painters tape from the bathtub first. I'm glad I'm caulking today. If I had waited I would have to caulk around the toilet and I know that wouldn't be any fun at all. I am mostly done with caulking. Troy didn't install baseboards in my closet so I'll have to do that later. I still need to do the bottom of the baseboards where it meets the tile and I'm trying to figure out what would look best there. I just don't see how white will look good, but clear might not either. I'll have to ask around before I make that decision. At 8pm, I leave. I'm tired and have an hour drive back home.
Tomorrow night I"ll fill the nail holes.

Funny Story

2012-02-07T21:55:00.000-08:00

So tonight I arrived with my utility knife and started caulking my daughter's room. I used a half tube that had sealed up. When, it ran out I went looking for my two additional tubes. I couldn't find them, so I called Nora to ask if she had moved them. You see, a few weeks ago, Luis's brother borrowed my 4 tubes of caulk and they just replaced them last week. She told me they were in the garage. They were not and I searched everywhere, so I assume someone else borrowed them. I tell her that I 'll just buy another one tomorrow and finish my room.
While we were talking I walked into the living room and looked down. I see a big spot that I must have missed. I reach down to touch it and my fingernail bounces back. I say," Are you kidding me?", then I look around. The living room looks completely untouched. I start laughing. Nora, still on the phone, asks"What's happening? Why are you laughing?" I say," One of the tubes of caulk you gave me was clear! I spent 2 hours caulking the living room, kitchen and utility room last night and you can't even tell!" I laugh harder. Nora, sounding horrified says,"On my God, this is terrrible!" Still laughing, I say," Do you have any idea how much I dislike caulking and now I have to remove this and caulk it all again. I guess I'll be buying 2 tubes!"
Nora is upset. She can't figure out why I'm laughing. In a VERY stern voice she says," Ang, are you crazy? I fail to see the humor in this situation!" She's mad that I'm NOT mad! I find this all very funny. When my laughter begins to subside, I say," Ah Nora, Sometimes you just gotta laugh!"
So, tomorrow, I will be removing the caulk in 3 rooms and redoing it in white.
FYI: Clear caulk is white when it's wet
Future groups: If you lend caulk to your neighbors, remember to read the tube to see what they gave you back! ha ha ha

Caulking

2012-02-06T21:23:00.000-08:00

Tonight I spent 2 hours caulking my house. I have learned something tonight. I greatly dislike caulking. Now that is not to say that I'm not good at it. I think I've done a great job so far and only used a container and a half of caulk. It's just so tedious! I would take framing over this any day! I have two rooms left to do and the tops of all the doors and windows. I'm short and I just can't reach those without a small ladder. I would have finished, but I think Nora took my utility knife yesterday because it's no where in the house. So tomorrow I will absolutely finish caulking and move on to puttying all the nail holes in the house. I refuse to be the house that keeps us from inspection!

Day 122: Building Blocks

2012-02-05T21:43:00.000-08:00

Today, Joe was on site to teach us how to be masons. At our morning meeting Toby asked for volunteers to help build the block pillars that will have the stone facade and decorative entrance fence. Luis, Ben, Silvestre and Cuara volunteered. Then Toby said, maybe we should have some ladies there too. He looked at me. I said, I'll go if Nora comes with me. She reluctantly said yes. She knew that this would be hard work. Everyone else will be cleaning the site then working in their houses on finishing details.
We walked over and Joe was ready for us. First, we had to move the blocks closer to each prepared footing. The blocks are heavy and each pillar is made up of 10 blocks.
We were all warmed up and ready to work after that. Joe showed us how to place the blocks and set them. Luis picked it up easily. I knew he would, he does everything well! Joe said he was a natural.

1st, you level at the string line.

Then, measure 4 inches to the block

Next, add mud & place the block

As you place each block you have
to check for level

Then, Joe took Nora and I to the other side of the street and had us measure, mark, and place 1 block in each footing. This will make it easier when the guys get there. It went really fast. We were done by 2nd break with all 9 pillars and they look great. In 2 weeks, Joe will be back to show us how to set the stone facade.

Cuara & Silvestre building

Luis showing how easy it is to set mud

After break, Nora and I went into my house to begin caulking. It seems like everything gets caulked in the house, base boards, windows, sills, doors, closet kits and medicine cabinets! I have alot of work ahead of me.

Finished pillars, ready for stone

I take alot of pictures for the blog. I try to get the best pictures I can. I have climbed walls, laid down in the mud/dirt, been on roofs, squeezed between forms, and hung out of windows to get my shots. Toby watched me climb a tall dirt pile that put me at eye level with Ben's roof and thought it would be good to show what I do to get my pics.

Me taking the shot pictured above

We ended with a meeting. Toby told us that we will spend the next 3 to 4 weeks on irrigation and landscaping. He told us that we need to work on finishing the insides of the houses during the week because there will be no more time on the weekends and once the landscaping is done he can call for final inspection! That means, at the earliest, we can move-in by the weekend of the 10th of March!

Day 121: Water Lines

2012-02-04T22:28:00.000-08:00

Last night, I went to the site to lock up after the cement guys and decided to personalize my back porch step while I was there.

Last week's hours were 472. We're still on track. Our safety meeting was on National Safety Month, which is in June. It was about teaching kids safety and checking all your home safety measures like fire detectors.
Today we are removing the forms from the driveways, porches and steps. We're also finding, assembling and burying the water lines. I spent the first half of the day very carefully removing forms. We can't damage the fresh concrete. We are also being careful because group 4 will be using these forms for their driveways. See how nice we are! After the forms were removed, I moved around alot of dirt because I did have some spots where sand was showing. On my inside garage step, when Silvestre and I removed the form, one whole corner broke off. We were being careful but it already had a crack in it.

Silvestre watering our driveway

Silvestre spent about an hour fixing it and you can't even tell it was ever damaged! He's really awesome with concrete. He also repaired Ben's porch and a few steps on other lots. He told me we had to keep the driveway wet so that it would dry slowly and not crack. So a few times during the day he sprayed it with water.

Adding the coupler thing

After lunch we started locating the water lines. Mine was buried under a pile of sand. It didn't take me long to uncover it. I found it and got it ready for Luis to come connect it to the water main. This was the fun part of the day because I got to sit and assist. I cherish moments where I get to sit.

Ben & Luis almost done

The graders didn't get to grade this week so we have less to do. That means that tomorrow some of us will be able to be in our houses catching up on stuff while others help Joe build the block pillars for the decorative fence. All of the water line are connected and everything is buried. I visited Steve down the block at 2nd break to see his collection of parrots.

Steve's parrots. They look so cute there!

After break, I cleaned my garage and house. Tomorrow, I'm hoping to have a little time to learn how to seal my grout and tile. Alfredo said he could teach me at lunch if he had too. He also gave and impromptu class on laminate flooring installation this afternoon. He really makes it look easy!

First you place it upside down

then mark it,
so that when you install it the cut edge is at the wall

Pouring Driveways, Day 2

2012-02-03T20:39:00.000-08:00

Today, my driveway was poured! Lot's 1, and 28/29 were also poured. I'm so happy I feel like I could fly!
We're that much closer to moving in. I can't wait to be done and in my house. The HVAC guys have been installing furnaces and the blocks for the decorative pillars arrived today too! Here is today in pictures:

My driveway was poured at 7am

Smoothing it out at noon

Isn't it pretty?

My FAU! Cool, huh?

28/29 long driveway

Blocks for decorative pillars

I told Toby that I would be here tonight, so he asked if I'd lock up all the garages. The concrete guys were still there and they were there when I left too. Great work guys!

Finishing Ben's walkway in the dark

Pouring Driveways, Day 1

2012-02-02T19:56:00.000-08:00

I love the sound of concrete truck first thing in the morning!

Today the concrete guys showed up to pour the first half of the driveways. I couldn't be there, so Toby took pictures for me and kept me posted on what was happening.

Beginning lots 24/25 (Luis & Nora)

Driveways, back steps, A/C pads, and indoor garage steps for lots 24/25, 26, & 27 were poured today along with the porch/walkway for lot 28 and the driveway for lot 2.

I have titled this:
One step closer to move- in day!

Smoothing out driveway
lots 24/25

Smoothing Rosa's driveway

They ended up having to use what was in the pump to get the last few feet of lot 2 done! And they pumped in some mud to hold Kelly's gutter until tomorrow. I wish I could have been there! I have been an excited mess today. I can't image what I'll be like tomorrow! They say a picture is worth a thousand words. These are magical! Keep those pictures coming Toby!

Smoothing driveway
Lot 27 (Matty)

Day 120: Finishing Concrete Work

2012-01-29T20:55:00.000-08:00

This morning, Toby told us that we had alot to do today. He wasn't sure we could complete it. We have to finish ALL of the concrete prepping. Lots 24-28 are scheduled to pour on Thursday and lots 29 through 4 are to be poured on Friday. We still needed to form the A/C pads, indoor garage steps, and both back door pads on all houses and fix the driveways with rain damage.

Cuara's pads ready for rebar

Ben, Luis and Ricki forming lot 24

Toby gave us all jobs. Rosa, Kelly and Rich were all cutting or bending rebar. Nora, Shorty and I started on reparing the rain damaged driveways. All the rest were concentrating on the forming. We finished 3 driveways when Shorty was taken for another job. When Nora and I got to lots 1 & 2, Toby wanted to double check the forms with the laser. Those lots have a drain across the driveways. Their driveways slope downward toward the house. The drains have to slope to the side of the house, be level front to back and they have to be very secure so that when they pump concrete they don't move. We started in lot 2 because that drain had too much slope and it was loose and tilted towards the house. We had to remove alot of the wiring that was originally put in and redo it and add extra so that it wouldn't move. We also had to fix the sewer line cover because it was placed too close to the drain. That took us hours. Kelly's was better. We just had to add a little extra wiring to secure it and we were done.

My back slab formed.
It's so far away from the house 'cuz a
tiny deck goes in between

Luis and the guys were forming fast. We knew we could do it if we just worked hard enough. Right before 2nd break, Toby sent us to start cleaning up after the forming crews. Matty and the ladies started on the other side of the street. Kelly, Nora, and I started at my house working toward lot 1. As we were walking between my house and lot 5 (group 4) we noticed there was less Redguard in that house. So, we stopped to take a look in the open windows. We also noticed that their cabinets were different than ours. While we were doing this, Toby (in stealth mode) walked up behind us and took a picture. He said we looked like cats in the windows waiting for cream. He told me that this must be in the blog. He caught us not working and being nosy!

Caught! (L-R Kelly, Nora, Me)

We all cleaned and at 4 pm Toby told me that Nora and I needed to cut the sand in the forms that had been installed on all the pads that sit up out of the ground (more than half of the lots). This means that all around the outside edges we remove the sand so that the concrete can pour in and the sand won't be visible just like yesterday, but on a smaller scale. We had 45 mins to do all the houses. We really moved and got them all done in time!

Rebar form for pillar

At our closing meeting, Toby told us that he was incredibly impressed with us. He said he'd never doubt us again...maybe. We all laughed. Our concrete gets poured on schedule this week. We discussed the mailing from PSHHC that came this week. It's an income & household verification that must be turned in by Tuesday! Super important. This will determine what our house payments will be.
He told us that next weekend we'll be removing the forms and working on connecting the water lines so that we can start landscape irrigation the following weekend. Also, Joe will be here next Sunday to teach us to make the decorative block pillars for the entrance fences. We're one week closer to moving in! Every single day counts and we can see the finish line now!

Day 119: Stem Walls & Footings

2012-01-28T21:54:00.000-08:00

Today I decided to check out how many hours I had total for all the time we've been building. I was shocked to find out that I have just under 2500 family hours! Incredible! Our group hours for last week were 497. We're still doing great. Our Safety meeting was on pinch points. I remember the last time we had this meeting. It was right before Joe rented the thumper and Vibraplate for when we were preparing the insides of the houses for slab. It's a good reminder though because we're doing concrete work again.
Today we're doing the rebar for lots 1 & 2 and screeding my shared driveway with Silvestre. I couldn't be happier to have Silvestre as my neighbor. He does concrete work and he's very precise about it. He started on his side, then moved over to mine and noticed that mine was lower. So he fixed it and then noticed that the string lines were done wrong and fixed them too. We ended up putting too much sand in because of where the string lines were, so we had to remove alot of it.
Toby came over and asked Nora and I if we wanted to do a job that would allow us to work and talk at the same time. (We were standing and talking). He walked us over to Rosa's house and told us to dig out a 4 inch trench along the outer wall of the porch and walkway. We are doing this to create stem walls. He says that this should have been done when we first poured the footings because the houses sit so high out of the ground. You see, if there's a layer of sand and concrete on top, when we remove the forms you'll be able to see the layers. So, by digging the little trench the concrete will flow into it and create a stem wall so that you can't see the sand layer. We did this to all the lots. It took all day and we talked the whole time!

Luis & Toby discussing the pillar footings

Luis and Ben started on the footings for our super cool entrance fence with decorative stone pillars. First they had to find the property lines, then string them, then mark the spots where the footings for the stone pillars will go.

Painted form diagram

They spray paint on the ground and start digging. They had to make a hole 2 ft by 2 ft by 2 feet deep. There are 9 pillars total on Petersen Ranch Road. 5 on Ben's side and 4 on Kelly's side. This will make for an impressive entrance to our street.

Ben digging pillar form

We didn't get as much done as Toby wanted. So tomorrow, we'll be really moving to complete all the concrete prep work we need done. The concrete guys are coming next Thursday and Friday to pour everything. We need to be ready!

Luis breaking up some rocks

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I also went over to group 4 to see what they were doing. They are starting on tile! They are really flying right now. Great Job Group 4!

Albert making thin set

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Steve from Group 2 came over and invited us to see the decorations they put up outside and to feed us. We went over at 2nd break. He and his family are just the coolest people! They welcomed us in and fed us while showing us his collections. We had a great time. Thank you Williams Family!

More Rebar

2012-01-27T21:55:00.000-08:00

Wednesday and Thursday night, Luis and his crew were out here putting rebar in the porches of lots 28, 29, and 1. I wasn't here because I have been sick again. This is what happens when you have a child in elementary school. She bring home a lot more than homework!

Kelly's porch and walkway done

Ben's walkway is curved

Sand at Night

2012-01-24T22:21:00.000-08:00

Tonight I when I arrived Luis, Troy, Rafa, Pedro and Ben were rebaring the porch and walkway of lot 27. Troy was cutting, while Ben and Rafa were bending rebar by hand!

Troy cutting rebar

Luis sent me over to dig down to the concrete of my porch. So I dug a trench that went down to where the concrete from the footings was. We leave that space without sand so that once it's done, that side will be all concrete. Luis came over and helped me while the guys got ready to start delivering sand for my driveway. Since it rained, there was alot of water in the driveway. So I dug a smaller trench to allow the water to drain out towards the backyard.

Porch after stamping

They guys started delivering sand and Luis and I spread it out. I also used the hand thumper ( I have no idea what it's real name is) to stamp down the sand for my porch. It's this heavy metal bar with a flat square metal bottom. You lift it up and then let if fall to compact the sand. Then, we really started working hard. We sanded the entire driveway and both porches and walkways.

Shared driveway fully sanded

It took almost an entire pile of sand. Usually our sand is 20 yards so I'm going with that number until Toby tells me different. After Rafa, Pedro and Ben left, Luis decided to partially screed the driveway. At 8:15 pm, he said it was finally time to go home.

Luis screeding my walkway

He is so fast!

I'm sore, but boy do I feel great about what we've accomplished tonight. Tomorrow night, we start rebar for lot 1 and hopefully lot 2 too! Our plan is to have the driveways done before Saturday!

Day 118: Goodbye Storage Shed

2012-01-22T20:05:00.000-08:00

Today we all went back to our same jobs from yesterday. Most of the group were working on driveways. We are really trying to get them done this weekend. Nora and I went back to installing closet kits. Luis helped form Jesus' house then jumped over to my house since Silvestre was forming his side of our shared driveway. Nora and I finished installing all the closet kits right before lunch.

My porch formed

My driveway formed

After lunch, we started cleaning and doing inventory of all the finishing items that we have or don't have. Luis and Ben formed my porch and my half of the driveway. It's looks spectacular!

Ben, Luis & Rafa finishing Silvestre's side

At 2nd Break, Toby told us that we would be moving the storage shed so that the graders can finish our lots. First we needed to decide who's garage all our equipment was going to go in. Irma suggested that we just draw a name and we all agreed. So we wrote all the lot numbers on paper, put them in a sack and Toby drew a number. He gave Rosa the paper so that she could read it out loud. She says, "And the winner is .....me." Everyone laughed that she had read her own lot number. We cleaned her garage before we moved our equipment. After that Steve, from Group 2, came over and talked a little about the inspection and gave us his advice. He was also here to help Toby move the shed. That shed has been in my front yard since day 2! Nora and I told Toby the story of accidentally locking Jesus in there that day.

Goodbye Shed!

Steve tied a huge rope to the shed and Toby just lifted it up and drove away with it. He was taking it over to the vacant lot behind our houses when the rope scraped the ground and broke. So they had to tie it up again and move it the rest of the way.

Toby is a riot! He moved this shed by magic!

It was a really good working day for us. No one argued, we all worked hard and at the end of the day Toby told us that we did a great job and that we really impressed him this weekend. We came close to finishing the driveways. We need to rebar in lots 1 and 2 and the last driveway (mine) is formed and needs sand and rebar. We ran out of sand again. Luis and I will be here Tuesday through Thursday to finish up the driveways.

1st picture of my house from the front!

Day 117: Group 2 Moves In

2012-01-21T19:47:00.000-08:00

When I arrived this morning, I saw moving vans down the street. Yesterday, Group 2 had their final USDA inspection! After inspection there's more paperwork to sign and they tell us how much money we'll need for the impound account. That's the account that will pay our taxes and insurance. We pay in for this year and then the rest will come out of our house payments. I'm so happy for Group 2! They have worked very hard for this day and the whole block seemed to be buzzing with excitement for them.
Last week's hours were 450. Still over 400 so we're doing okay. Our Safety Meeting was on home builders, including using cords correctly, making sure the rebar has guards ,and proper ladder use. Today Toby told us that there would be no more incidents like last week. He told us that he has the authority to send us home and deduct our hours for it. No more getting in people's faces or yelling at each other. It was a great meeting.
Since it's not currently raining, we're going back to forming driveways. We only have 3 more to form. Troy and Kelly will continue on baseboards while Nora and I start on installing the closet kits. We were also told that the Board of Directors for PSHHC will be visiting today so we'll be cleaning too.

Luis forming Kelly's driveway

Luis and his crew started on forming Kelly's driveway, another group started on Cuara's porch, and everyone else started cleaning and loading a short roll-off with the leftover roof tiles.

Moises & Enrique working on Cuara's porch

Nora and I started installing in Lot 3 and worked our way around the block. This weekend is also Troy's and Kelly's birthdays. We all brought something so that we could celebrate for lunch.
After 2nd break, we had worked around to lot 26 with only 1 more full install to go. We still have to go back and install in lot 2 because they were setting tile and we couldn't get to the master bedroom. In lot 3, they had been installing flooring so we decided to come back and finish that master bedroom too. We have to cut and install lot 27 and then we're done. We think we'll be done tomorrow.

Nora has to install the shelf because I'm too short to reach!

Sheryl showed up and told us the Board were on their way with Jeanette to welcome group 2. Phil was on site to show them around too! We love seeing Phil! He's a great supervisor and he's really nice too. When they arrived they stopped on our side of the street. Sheryl introduced me as the "blog lady" (I'm totally buying a t-shirt that says that!) and I showed them around my house before they walked down to see group 4 and congratulate group 2 on finishing. I love when people come to visit the site. I'm proud of what we're doing here! Today was a truly great day!

CONGRATULATIONS GROUP 2! YOU DID IT!

Rebar & Dobies

2012-01-18T22:14:00.000-08:00

Today when I arrived at the site, Luis, Ben, & Troy were cutting and placing rebar for the driveways for lots 26 & 27. We work in the dark with construction lights. They started wiring them together while I placed and connected concrete dobies under the rebar grid.

Ben wiring the grid

A concrete dobie is a small block with wire sticking out of it that helps hold the rebar grid at the right height, so that when the concrete gets poured the grid stays where it should. I always have fun with these guys. We got lots 24, 25, 26 & 27 ready for concrete. Yesterday, Luis and Ben were here alone and they spread all the sand for the long driveway between lots 28 & 29! Just two people can make a difference! They did a great job.

Ready for concrete! Can you see the dobies?

I texted Toby that we would be here tomorrow and would like to start forming lot 1. He's going to see if he can meet us here after work so that he can laser and mark for the drain pipes. We are really trying our hardest to get the driveways done by this weekend. We'll need to screed and rebar the long driveway and then we have just 3 more driveways to go!

Nipomo Group 3

2012-01-16T20:33:00.000-08:00

Today, Shorty and I were incredibly sore from shoveling yesterday so we decided to rest and drive over to Nipomo to check out the progress on Joe's new group. He has group 3 again. Group 1 over there is already rolling trusses! Joe's group has 1 1/2 houses framed. Nipomo's dirt is super rocky so they didn't get to form footings for slabs. They start from the framing stage.

That is cool, but I know that we bonded as a group during that 6 months it took us to get out of the ground. And we had a huge BBQ before framing. I wonder when they'll get to have their BBQ if they go from framing to finish? The lots are wider than ours so the houses are shaped differently. We walked through the first one and I could see Joe's instructions being followed. There's a lot of writing that goes on the slab and Joe is specific on how he wants it. I had a lot of memories walking through that house. I know they're going to love doing this just like we do. I wish you good weather, Nipomo group 3!

My advice to you:
1. Start eating together, you'll bond faster and it's great to relax and get to know each other during the down times. Nora couldn't stand me when we first met, now we're almost inseparable.
2. If you don't understand right away, ask more questions. It's a lot easier to do it right the first time than to have to fix it later. I learned that the hard way.
3. Before you argue, remember that these people will be your neighbors for the next 30 years. That has kept our arguments down to just a few.
4. Don't get cocky about your new skills. Right when you think you know it all, a wall will fall down or you'll fall off a ladder. Always think Safety first.
5. Most importantly, listen to Joe, he's like Yoda. He has seen it all and can fix it all.

Day 116: Confrontation

2012-01-15T21:10:00.000-08:00

Today started out beautifully. We started with a little sand work and then Toby had Nora & I go back to cutting closet kits, while Troy & Shorty continued on baseboards. We cut and delivered kits for 6 houses in 3 hours.

Working on 3 driveways at once!

We've been having some issues with a few women in the group. Today, Teresa yelled at Shorty. For the past 3 working days she's found and yelled at me 7 times. Each time I tell her that I am doing what Toby wants me to do and to talk to him. I usually find and verify with him that he still wants me to do what he told me to do. I told him of this issue and he told me to talk to her about it. At lunch, Toby told us that we were to continue with the closet kits. Nora and I both told him that we think we should help with the sand because of the issues that these women are causing. He said okay.
We spent 2 1/2 hrs shoveling sand and then had break. At the end of break it started getting cold out so Nora & I ran over to my house to get my jacket and take a picture of the installed closet kit for my blog. I wasn't in my house 2 minutes when Teresa walked in and started yelling at me that I needed to work and stop hiding in my house. I started to tell her that I just came in for my jacket when it hit me that I didn't want this behavior to continue. So, I told her, "No more, don't come in my house and yell at me. If you have a problem with me talk to Toby. She said, Well Matty said.." I said," I don't care what Matty said, get out of my house, don't come back in to find me again and talk to Toby if you have any problem with that." She ran off back to the sand pile with me and Nora following her and ran right up to Matty to tell her what I said. Matty started saying loudly that it was okay that she shouldn't feel bad because we were just lazy people that didn't want to work and hadn't been working this past year. Now I didn't see the next part coming at all. Nora was in front of her in a flash and a large, loud confrontation started.
All work stopped while the three of us went back and forth. She called Nora ghetto and I was sure for a moment that I would have to hold Nora back. I think the guys were getting ready to place bets. In our argument Matty talked about how we only get easy jobs, that we're lazy, and now that Toby was here we were going to have to work. Then she started in on Joe. Now, I can take people telling lies about me. Matty has disliked me since day 1, so I'm used to it. But I don't handle it well when people talk about my kids, my friends or Joe. I have the utmost respect for him and he wasn't there to defend himself. He treated us all the same. He was a great supervisor. I told her to mind her own business and stop worrying about what we were doing. She has managed in the 3 weeks that we've had Toby to cause a rift in our group. I don't like this one bit. We are too close to finishing to have this happening. Toby came over at the end and had me and Nora start sweeping. He said we would be talking about this in a group meeting because Matty left right after that to go to work. Toby is not a babysitter and I know that he's not happy about having to deal with this petty nonsense. I feel really bad because this should be the easy part of our journey not a daily battle.

Moises screeding before rebar

Even with the drama, we still managed to have 3 driveways sanded, 1 with rebar, and the long driveway between lots 28 & 29 is formed and ready for sand. We did run out of sand. I have only 1 more house to cut closet kits for and next Saturday morning, Nora & I should be able to install all the houses before lunch.

1 down, 6 more driveways to go!

Toby and Nora: I'm sorry that by throwing Teresa out of my house, I caused this chain of events to occur.
Nora: Thank you for loving me enough to try to defend me. I love you girl!

Day 115: Driveways!

2012-01-14T21:04:00.000-08:00

Last weeks hours were 534! We're doing well to stay above 400. Our safety meeting was on preventing back injuries. It was 20 degrees this morning when we arrived! Toby had a plan today to have Luis and some others learn how to prepare driveways. Troy and Kelly started on baseboards in lot 3 and the rest of us started cleaning around the last 4 lots so that the backhoe guys can grade those lots and prepare for driveways. We were done by first break with the lot cleaning, so Nora and I started cutting and installing closet kits in my house, while Shorty and Jesus installed our mailboxes out on Petersen Ranch Road. There was a little standing around as there always is when we start something new. We had to wait until Luis's crew was comfortable with forming the driveways and porches before we could add sand.

Toby with the laser level

Luis's uncle adding string lines
He is a professional concrete worker!

Forming porches was easy because Nora and Shorty chalked those last weekend. But to form the driveways, there is the laser level, then stringing the property line and the outer lines of the driveway to make sure it's straight, measuring to make sure the incline is right, and digging out the drain trenches to add drain pipes for water to get to the street.

First forms going in

I knew we would do well at this because Luis was the crew leader and he is an award winning builder (if awards were given out for such things). He excels at everything he tries and I love him for it! He and Nora are like family to me.

Luis - Master Builder!

Rafa's side done

By 4 pm we were ready to sand the first driveway between lots 24 & 25. Toby came and got us and I couldn't wait. I love shoveling sand! I know that's crazy, but I got really fast at it while we were preparing footings and it's a great workout. We have it down to an art now. We situate ourselves around the sand heap and the guys bring our 4 wheelbarrows and space them so that we don't hurt anyone. We tell jokes and race each other. It's just alot of fun. We finished just after 5pm. Luis and his crew had 3 driveways formed by then. Tomorrow they'll start on the long driveway between lots 28 & 29. Toby realized that we might not have enough sand to complete all those driveways.

Sand complete, ready for rebar

He ordered 40 yards, but we think it might be closer to 60 yards that we need. We find out tomorrow. Secretly, our plan is to finish prepping these driveways next weekend (don't tell Toby). We believe we can do it and believing it is half the battle!

Meeting Kyle Lombardi

2012-01-13T20:27:00.000-08:00

Today I was as the site so that I could meet Kyle Lombardi from Senator McCarthy’s office. He is visiting the Central Coast. He was there to meet with Jeanette Duncan, Sheryl Flores and our Supervisors, Phil, Facio and Toby. They also invited homeowners to come out so that he had the opportunity to meet the families that are actually building their own houses. I got to show him my house, talk about my blog, and how great this whole experience has been for me and the kids. He was very nice. It was great getting to meet someone who can then go back to Washington and help us fight for our funding. This is a great program and I'm always available to help when it comes to trying to keep it alive for future families like mine. You know, my blog was originally intended for my family and friends, but I'm glad that it can also be used as a tool to help people see what we're doing and how this program is making a difference in people's lives around the Central Coast. I am honored to be part of this.

Group 2 Houses ready for inspection

While I was waiting for him to arrive, I wandered down the street to see the progress on Group 2. Steve was also at his house, so I spoke to him about how they're doing and when they get to move in. Their inspection date was moved again. It is now on January 20th. I could feel his frustration. I feel it too. They have worked so hard. I can't wait to see the moving vans down the street!

What a view Steve has out his kitchen window!

I got to meet another neighbor, Holly, who was part of Group 1 that moved in way back in August of 2010. She let me see her house and gave me great ideas for what I'd like to do with mine once we move in. I look forward to seeing more of her in the future. My neighbors are all really cool people.

Digging the driveway
Lots 28 & 29

I see lots of shoveling in our future

At our end of the street, they are digging driveways, delivering sand, finishing the roof tile installation, and making rain gutters to fit! That is really cool because they start with a flat sheet of metal and cut it to the length of where it's going to be and then make it into a gutter right there on the street with this special machine. Mine are installed except the part that comes down the side of the house.

My house
Roofs done, gutters on, outdoor lighting, Yea!

Also, the electricians were in my house today and now I can turn on all the lights! Which means I can be there at night if I have to, to finish the little things that I'll need to do, like paint the door trim in the rooms before the carpet is installed.

I have power! Aren't they gorgeous?

I got to talk to Facio and he told me that group 4 is right behind us. He's really pushing them and they'll probably move in right after us. They have a few houses that have been color coated already and when the guys are finished digging our driveways they'll move onto theirs! It would be great if we could all be in by Spring. Sheryl told me that someone donated apple trees for everyone on the block. So, once we move in I get an apple tree for my back yard! It just keeps getting better. See ya tomorrow!

Day 114: More Prepping

2012-01-08T18:18:00.000-08:00

Today, Shorty and I were out sick. I was not feeling any better. After speaking with some of my friends, I learned that we are continuing with the baseboards, porches and driveways. Also, during the day the counter top guys installed my counter tops and Toby sent me pictures of them finished.

I plan on making cookies on this counter

The bar was installed too. Looks amazing!

They look wonderful. I hate not being at the site to see what we're doing. So much is happening so fast lately that when I'm not there I feel like I've missed alot. I'm hoping to be there half day on Friday and then all next weekend.

Day 113: Porches & Driveways

2012-01-07T19:42:00.000-08:00

Last week's hours were 485 and our safety meeting was on Safety Rules for Power Tools. Toby broke us into groups. He had the door crew, the baseboard crew, the sills crew and everyone else. The crews got started on their jobs while all the rest of us started on the trash bin. Our trash bin is a thing of the past. We are removing it so that we can prep for landscaping. I still remember when Shorty and Cuara built that, like it was yesterday!

Goodbye, cutting table. I will remember you fondly

After trash, I went into my house to begin grouting. Grouting is alot of fun. Very messy, but fun. Alfredo helped me and we got it done by just after noon. We would do a section, then clean it, then another section, and so on. Once we were done, we started at the beginning and cleaned again. Alfredo put heaters in the house to help it dry and told me not to let anyone in until tomorrow.

Grouted tile in my living room, before cleaning

After cleaning twice. Is it not adorable?
Toby said it was a great contrast

Shorty and Nora started chalking entryways for porches. The concrete forms will be set by those marks later. They completed 7 houses by the time we left. They just have 3 left tomorrow. Toby and a few of the guys started using the laser to prepare the driveways. I'll take pictures of their progress tomorrow.

Shorty and Nora chalking Nora's porch

When I was done cleaning grout, Toby assigned me to cutting closet kits. I had Rich as my helper. We measured and cut the kits on lots 24 and 26, but then I started feeling very sick. I think my lunch didn't agree with me. I sat for a while, but ended up leaving a little early because I just wasn't getting any better and I wasn't working.

Color coating looks awesome!
What a difference color makes!

All the houses got their color coats this week; Most of the interior lighting was installed; and some of the outdoor lighting was put on.

Luis & Nora's house color coated with outdoor light

The counter top guys started installing the counter tops that were delivered this week too. We are just flying now. Toby believes it will take 4 weeks for driveways and porches and another 3 to 4 weeks to landscape. That puts our tentative end date in March! I really hope we can cut down on that time by working faster and harder.

Our dining room & kitchen lights

Nero Visits the Site

2012-01-03T18:45:00.000-08:00

Today, we took our dog, Nero to the site. I know I don't talk a lot about my home life, but today I will a little. A few months ago, we found out Nero, who is almost 13, has cancer in his lungs. He has been with us since he was 7 weeks old. We have been working hard to get into the house hoping that he'd have a chance to live here. Well, his condition has worsened and it's time for us to say goodbye to him. So, we decided that he should at least get to see where we've been every weekend for the past year and 2 months.

Nero admiring the view from the backyard

He walked into the house and went over to the windows and looked out. Our windows are lower in this house so he could see out. He went into every room and looked out every window and finally settled himself in the living room by the glass back door to watch us remove thin set from between the tiles. We're going to be grouting this weekend and needed to do that. He met lots of contractors today. He also met Troy, Nora, Doug and Toby. He sat in our backyard and looked out at the view and wandered around in the field behind our house. He watched as Shorty finished painting the closet doors, while I vacuumed the tiles. He had a wonderful time and I think he would have loved living here. Tomorrow, we say goodbye to him, but today was a great and memorable day for us.

Just hanging out with his boy

I also talked to Toby about the group's issues. Toby is very open and direct. I respect directness in a person. I believe that we need to take a few weeks to see how his plan is working. He listened and we agreed that in-fighting will only slow us down and hinder progress and our main goal is getting in these houses as quickly as possible. We discussed our time-lines and I came away feeling that everything is going to be alright as long as people give it a chance.

My bathroom lights! So Cool!

While we were there the contractors installed our bathroom lighting fixtures and the stucco guys were across the street color coating lots 24 & 25. They are really fast. They taped Rafa's house in 20-25 minutes.

Working on Luis & Nora's house

Still Painting & Issues

2012-01-02T21:43:00.000-08:00

Today Shorty and I arrived ready for more painting. We needed to paint the rest of the baseboards, interior doors, and interior door frame trim. We painted the trim in the master bathroom when we realized that we hadn't put wood putty in the nail holes! So we stopped and went and got the putty and started prepping all that trim. Shorty started painting baseboards and I started painting closet doors in the garage, but I have the rollers that we used on the walls and we didn't like the texture they were making on the doors. So, tomorrow I'll be stopping at Home Depot on the way in to get sponge rollers that make a smoother finish. We still need a second coat anyway and then we'll primer and paint that trim. 6 hours of prepping and painting and we're still not done.

Look at all the cookie making space I have!

While we were there, the counter top guy came in and delivered our counter tops! They're not installed, just delivered. They are perfect. I couldn't be more pleased with my choice. They are slightly darker than my cabinets and go wonderfully with the floor tile. Things are really coming together.

My dad mentioned we have a lot of kitchen outlets

I also had a few visitors today and spent a few hours, once I got home, on the phone with others in the group. We have an interpersonal issue brewing that I don't want to deal with, but I know we have to deal with it before it gets out of hand. I'll talk to Toby tomorrow and try to forestall what I believe could be a huge problem on Saturday. I'll blog more about it then because today I just want to wish it all away...

Day 112: New duties and Cleaning

2012-01-01T18:22:00.000-08:00

This morning, Toby is implementing his plan. Luis and 1 helper will be setting all the remaining interior doors. Rafa, Troy and Rosa will be cutting and installing baseboard and sills, starting in lot 24. Everyone else will be cleaning everything from all the driveways. Late this week or first thing next week, the graders will be here to dig out the driveways. We also have another roll-off coming. Shorty finished the last of the painting on our house and then helped me move all the roof tile debris from our driveway. there was a lot of tile and stucco debris there. We moved the stucco off to the side so the stucco guys could collect it easier. They are responsible for their messes. We also swept and made the street look nice and inspection ready.
Shorty and I will be here tomorrow, we still have to paint interior doors, trim and clean between the tile so that we can grout next Saturday.

Day 111: Our New Supervisor

2011-12-31T18:02:00.000-08:00

After Joe left, Toby told us a little about his experience in building and his plans to help us finish. He wants to get back to us as a group not individuals. Which means specialized teams putting in baseboards and doors. That will be faster. We read our hours, 250, not bad for only working 1 day due to Christmas. The safety meeting was on sorting, stacking and storing items so that they don't fall and injure us. Today we are all in our own houses and he will walk around and try to remember our names and which lot is ours. Since he was group 2's finishing supervisor, he already knows me because I was down there alot taking pictures. I'd be surprised if there was anyone on my street that doesn't know me. He told us that we needed to paint all the rake walls, above the decorative bumps and the power boxes the color of our stucco. The color coat will go on starting this coming week!

Shorty about to paint the metal thing

So, Shorty got started painting everything and I went back into the house with Alfredo to finish my tile. Lots of cleaning and sweeping of the area and I got to use this weird saw to cut the trim at the bottom of the utility room doorway. Alfredo and I worked very hard and finished my tile at 4:30. Toby was in and out talking to me and everyone else.

Last of my tile is in!

When we started to roll up, Toby called a meeting. He said he loved his meetings. He told us that today was a test and we got a 96%. Everyone laughed. He told us that tomorrow we'd be starting his new plan. We need to arrive by 8:30am.

Evening meeting with Toby (red jacket)

Group 2:
I talked to Steve today. He was bringing us stuff that they no longer need. His wife delivered their baby boy on December 23rd. Little Grandpa John, welcome to the neighborhood! (yes, that is the baby's nickname)
Steve told us that the inspection is still set for January 5th, with Move-In day on the 15th.

Saying Goodbye to Joe

2011-12-31T17:00:00.000-08:00

This morning, Joe said goodbye to us. He will be moving on to his next group soon. He also needs a break and this allows him a little vacation time. He arrived and introduced Toby to us. Toby will help us finish. We took a vote and gave Joe our framing nail gun for use with his future groups. Everything was going ok until Toby told us we could have a few minutes to say goodbye. Then, Jesus stepped forward and said," Joe we just want to thank you for being with us from the beginning and getting us this far". That's when I started to tear up, and I turned away and looked at Nora and she was all teary too. I didn't say goodbye to Joe, I just couldn't do it.

This is my all -time favorite picture of Joe

This is somewhat stressful for me because he has been with us since before day 1. We met him at our builder's meeting and had no idea what kind of person he was. I'm sure he was wondering the same about us. Over the past year and 2 months, we've gotten to know him well. He's also gotten to know us. He's like part of the family. I know having me in this group was stressful for him in the beginning, once he realized my blog was real. I mean, how many people would like being scrutinized by someone that is sharing everything with the rest of the world. His first real group and I'm telling everybody everything he says and does. He's been very gracious about it. He knows that if I ask him for extra details it's because I want my blog to be accurate. I've even called him while I'm blogging to get the verbiage right and he never got mad.
He's seen us on good days and bad days. You all remember my bad days, right? He's had to instruct us in different ways. Some people had a little experience, so they're easier to teach. I had no experience at all coming into this. He taught me everything I know and in a way that I would understand, even drawing pictures. I am a concrete worker, framer, carpenter, and painter because of what he taught me. I love the process of building because he made it easy and fun. He always had a plan. He learned what we did well and used our individual skills for the benefit of the group. He laughed with us, lectured us and sometimes pushed us to realize our full potential.
Joe, I am forever in your debt for making me the builder that I am today. I will miss you.

Baseboards

2011-12-26T19:27:00.000-08:00

Today, Shorty and I went to home depot to buy finish nails for my finish gun, then we went to the site to install baseboards. We installed baseboards in the bedrooms. We noticed that some of the corners had plops of drywall stuff in them. So we had to scrape that out first. We also removed the spacers from the tile that was done Saturday. Once we had everything cut, Shorty located all the studs and I followed behind him nailing.
Took us hours, but it was just a great day! Troy, Rosa, Rafa, Cuara, Moises, Kelly, Doug and Matty also were at the site today. It feels really good to be where we are now.
We were going to tile a bit but it got late and we got really tired. So, we'll be back to tile on Saturday!
Group 2 Update:
I found out that they didn't go to inspection on the 20th. The gas meters weren't connected and the gas company closed for the holidays, so their inspection date was pushed back to January 5th. They are done and just waiting, but still in good spirits!

Day 110: Christmas Eve in Templeton

2011-12-24T22:27:00.000-08:00

Last week's hours were 695! We are really moving now. Joe said if we can keep this up we'll be done in no time! Everyone is really motivated. Everything we do changes how the inside looks. Our safety meeting was "Supervisor for the day". Joe told Alfredo that he should listen because it was about him! Alfredo laughed and as soon as it was over he was off getting his equipment.
Today my goals are:
1. redguard & tile
2. install all door knobs
3. paint metal things on the roof

Shorty installing at the back door

Completed, dead bolt didn't fit
so we need to modify the opening

Shorty started in on the door knobs. He's getting pretty good at installing them. I went straight into cleaning, vacuuming, & sponge bath for the kitchen and utility room. I need to do it again because I didn't get the red guard down last week and it's dirty again. Alfredo was working on the special cuts for the tile. Some cuts are just too advanced for me, like curves and circles. Once I was done with the red guard, I started removing all the spacers for the tile that was set last week. We don't leave them in because Alfredo says it makes those grout points weaker. We tiled the bathrooms, hallway and more of the front room.

Bathroom with cabinet

Linen closet!

During the week all my cabinets arrived and were mostly installed (still need some baseboards). I just love them! They really change the landscape of those rooms.
Joe told the group that we needed to paint these metal things that are on the roof. They were installed by the roofers and before they finish we have to have them painted the same color as the fascia. Roof tiles are attached to them where the roof elevation changes. Once Shorty installed all the door knobs, he went on to painting. It was warmer outside than in my house. It's so cold in there that Alfredo brought a heater!
Shorty ended up painting on 3 different houses today. I love that kid!
Our garage door and opener were installed during the week too. All I can say is "Wow"! It looks alot different on paper than it does full size. I'm very happy with it. Shorty helped me choose and I think we did a good job.

My house can be completely secured now! Sheryl arrived and handed out candy canes. They were yummy. Thanks Sheryl! We ended a little early because of the holiday with hugs and well wishes all around.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Day 109: Tile 101

2011-12-18T21:29:00.000-08:00

Today we started right away because it was so cold that we thought if we moved it wouldn't be so bad! Alfredo walks up to me and says," Are you ready?" I say yes and he says," Let's Fly!". He is a very smiley person. I really like having him for a teacher. He doesn't mind that I ask a million questions about what he's doing.
He's tells me and Shorty to bring in tile, lots of it and lean it up against the wall so it's easier to get to. Then he tells me to make a line of tile in my room with spacers all the way to the door. This helps him measure for the layout. He starts measuring everything! I can only watch this. I have no idea what's going on. He explains there are many ways to center tile in a room and he's trying to find the different ways so that I can decide what I want. He asks me if I want my tile centered in front of the fireplace or the middle of the room. Huh?

Afredo making sure the chalk line is square

I ask him," What would you do?" and he tells me that when we're sitting we'll probably be in front of the fireplace, so he'd center the fireplace. "Ok then! Sounds good to me". Our layout conversations for the next hour will all sound exactly like this because I trust him. As long as the room is mostly symmetrical, I'm good. I have an issue with things needing to be symmetrical. He made it so that all the edges are within an inch of each other. No long side, short side. I can totally handle that. Once he has everything worked out, we chalk the center of the floor and he smiles. "Ready to make thin set?", he asks. Yes!

Showing me how to make thin set

He shows me once and then the rest are my responsibility. He talks as he shows me how important it is to keep everything straight. Lots of double checking because tile is not all the same size. Some are smaller, some are thinner. He has a fix for everything.

First tiles going in!
(Right now I'm screaming "YES!" in my head)

I help him by getting tile, sponges, and making cuts on the hand tile cutter. This is a cutter that makes only straight cuts. You score the top and then tap the handle and it splits perfectly....for him. I try once and break a tile, then another and another. He's watching me, smiling. He says," Score just once, tap fast, not slow". I try again and it's perfect. I smile like a kid with a new toy.

My first cut. I love saws!

He also shows me how to use the big tile saw. I'm pretty good at that, but I keep messing up the edges, he tell me to slow down. I'm moving to fast. No more mistakes after that for me. We work until lunch and I don't want to stop. Alfredo makes me take a break.

Tile centered on the fireplace

After lunch, we start again. Time flies by because I'm having so much fun! During all this Shorty is painting trim and baseboards in the garage.

Joe instructing Shorty

After second break, Joe shows him how to install the locking door knobs. We now have keys to our house! Today has been amazing! I can't wait to do this again next week.

A days work! Isn't it beautiful?

Day 108: Prepping for Tile

2011-12-17T20:44:00.000-08:00

Today I am super excited. I get to set tile this weekend! At our morning meeting, we meet Alfredo, who is an assistant supervisor. His whole job is to teach us tile setting, start to finish. Joe reads our hours for last week~ 534! I believe that is the most hours we've ever had in one week. We're doing great! Our safety meeting was on "our first day". Joe says it's appropriate because we should be treating every day like it's our first when it comes to safety.
We are still all in our own houses, so I don't get to see what everyone else is doing. I'm planning on visiting a few houses later to see what everyone is up to. Shorty and I start cleaning out our house. Tile setting is all about being clean. We have to sweep and vacuum, then Alfredo tells us that we need to wash the floors that will be tiled, with sponges, not a mop. This took a little time, but he was right. When we were done my floor was very clean!

Floor drying after it's sponge bath

Luis and Nora used a paint roller to apply the anti fracture red guard. Alfredo says,"No, use a trowel because it has to go on very thin, like plastic, not thick." Alfredo has been a tile setter for 9 years so I trust him, but man is this a lot of time crawling around on my knees! He explains and shows me how to apply the red guard. Now, it's not red to start with. It goes on bright pink and dries red.

Alfredo applying Red guard

Once it turns red, it's ok to walk on it. So, he puts on a large amount of red guard and used the tooth side of the trowel, swishes it around, flips the trowel over to use the straight edge and he's done. Looks so simple. He says, "You try". So he talks me through it and I look down and it's horrible! He says," Use less, work faster, it dries so fast that if you don't get it done it will be too thick and then you have to scrape it off and try again". So, I do it again and it's better. He tells me he'll be back later to check on my progress. Meanwhile, Shorty is in the garage painting baseboards.

Luis's house before tiling

Luis's brother helping tile the living room

Later in the day, I wander over to see how everyone is doing. Kelly & Logan are installing baseboards in their bedrooms; Nora & Luis are tiling their living room; and Troy & Rosa are painting trim and doors.

Kelly & Logan installing baseboards

We also went down to see how group 2 were doing. Said hello to Steve and his family while roaming through his house and joking with him that once he moves in he needs to start supplying lunch for us! They are putting in all that sod that we saw yesterday.

Looks awesome with sod!

Steve told us that they have their Final Inspection on the 20th. He's hopeful that they might actually be in by Christmas. I hope so too Steve!

... & More Painting

2011-12-16T20:36:00.000-08:00

Today, Shorty and I arrived to find the Stucco guys finishing the 2nd gray coat on our house while Phil, Toby, Facio, and Joe were having a Supervisor's meeting.

Stucco guys at my house

We unloaded and prepared to finish painting the interior walls. They are worse that I originally thought. The stucco guys took the plastic off the windows so I could see better. There were more spots to touch up. It took us 5 hours to finish painting the house. By then, my arms, shoulders and neck were killing me. I think I never want to paint again!

It's rare I get the supervisors all together.
Too bad they are facing the wrong way!

Shorty also swept and we taped the bottom of some of the door jambs and the space where my cabinets should be so that tomorrow when we apply the anti-fracture stuff we don't get it where the cabinets should be. My tile arrived and looks great. I can't wait to start tiling! We have a lot of work ahead of us, but we're ready for it!

Group 2 Update:
They will be putting in sod tomorrow I think! lol

Boy, will Steve be cleaning up tomorrow!

See how great the fence looks?!

Re-thinking Working During the Week

2011-12-13T19:25:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking about how I need to paint after work in the dark by construction light and how much gas I'm going to go through driving up to Templeton every night. If you remember, I live an hour away from the site. I think it would be easier and cheaper for me to just take the day off. So, I've taken Friday off again and Shorty and I will be up at the site all day. I think it'll only take 2 to 3 hours to finish painting the house. Then, I'll have time to clean the floors really good and possibly start on the anti-fracture stuff.
Joe told me my tile arrives Friday and I have to get it into the house. I want to be able to start tiling first thing Saturday. That's my number 1 priority right now. I believe I'm the only one that chose 12 inch tile, which means it'll take alot longer to install it all. It also means that I'll be a pro tile setter when this is done. I have 700 square feet of tile to install. My plan is to also work part of the day on Christmas and the whole day after Christmas to get it all done.
This also helps my leg recover from the fall I took a few weeks ago. I've been really busy and haven't given it proper time to heal and it's been bugging me the past few days. So, I'll update Friday. Have a great week everyone!

Day 107: Interior Doors & More Painting

2011-12-11T19:55:00.001-08:00

Today we went back to our jobs from yesterday. I looked over my paint job and noticed quite a few spots we missed yesterday. Today I'm alone because Shorty is finishing up a final exam paper that's due tomorrow. I was not looking forward to painting alone. If you've never painted a whole house in one day by hand you don't realize how much work it is. I hurt everywhere especially in the shoulders and neck from all the ceilings.
Luckily, Joe told me that I needed to get my interior doors in first and then I could do the touch up work. So, he assigned Troy to help me install doors because I'm short and can't reach the top part of the door to adjust it.
The new door systems are really fun to install. You first place the hinge side and then the top and other side. They fit together like a puzzle. You make sure the hinge side is level and then nail it in place on one side. Then you put the door on and close it and check the reveal along the top edge. Once you make sure it's uniform, you nail that part on, then you check the vertical reveal where the door closes, adjust the casing and nail it on. Then, you nail the other side in the same place and some in the frame and you're done!

Kelly's kitchen tiled

After that, I went in to repaint Angelina's room, the utility room and the kitchen. Tomorrow I'm not coming in to paint. I need a day to recover from 3 days of painting. But I will be here Tuesday and every day until I get the painting done. Not sure when my tile will be delivered, but I want to be ready for it.

Silvestre's living room tile

Luis and his brother were painting his house. Lots 29, 24, 1 & 3 were installing tile or preparing to do so. Troy finished helping me and went to install doors in Rosa's house.

Joe with the trencher

Cuara Jr trenching my water line

The Cuara's were using a trencher to dig the last 3 water lines. My water line is very long because it had to go around the storage shed in my front yard. Joe showed them how to use it and then Rafa and Cuara installed the water line and buried it again.

Joe reminded us in our recap meeting that we really need to work during the week. Tile is going to take alot of time and we need that done as soon as possible. He also reminded us to arrive on time in the morning and that if we need to use his tools we must ask first. He's missing tools and that's not good. Today was also Luis's birthday. We surprised him at break with a cake! You have to make time to celebrate when you're working all weekend. Luis and I have celebrated two birthdays here at the site! All in all, a very productive day.

Day 106: Painting & More Painting

2011-12-10T18:48:00.001-08:00

Last week's hours were 433! We had alot of extra help due to the painting. Friends and relatives love to paint. I have my nephew Tommy today. Joe told us that we are now at the point where we need to be here during the week. Finishing has a lot of detail work to it and if we don't come in more we're going to fall behind.
Today we finish filling the roll-off, Luis and his brother are installing doors, window sills, and baseboards. Kelly and Ben are preparing lots 1 & 29 for tile. That's alot of cleaning of the floor so that the red anti-fracture stuff can adhere correctly.

Anti-fracture stuff in Kelly's house

Doug had Kelly's done by the afternoon and was starting to chalk out the diagram for tile installation. He will start tile in her guest bathroom first.

Doug & Logan chalking diagram for tile

Since Luis was busy in his house, Nora came over to help us paint. So, Nora and Tommy started on painting corners while Shorty and I followed on the walls. We did the primer-ed areas first, then moved onto the flat paint for the rest of the house.

Tommy painting corners in
my living room

My goal today is to paint the whole house completely, so that if I missed some spots, I can do that first thing tomorrow before I start hanging interior doors. We got it done and I can already see a few walls that I'll have to redo, but it looks really good. It's not easy painting a vaulted ceiling when you're only 5'2". We worked hard and I am sore everywhere, but I'm feeling very accomplished right now! I'm a painter now. Just adding to my resume. Everyone painted their own way, some complained that there wouldn't be enough paint, but Joe gave us instructions on how to paint and I followed him to the letter. I have all kinds of paint left over.
Future groups: Always listen to your supervisor. They really do know what they're talking about!
We finished by pulling out the rosin paper and adding it to the roll-off. Luis is almost done with his house. Ben was starting the red anti-fracture application, Doug had Kelly's guest bath tiled, and everyone was either cleaning or painting.

Group 2 Update:
They are so close now. They're landscaping and it looks great!

Primer & Tape

2011-12-09T18:32:00.001-08:00

Today I took the day off so that we could primer and tape our house. When I arrived on site, all the stucco guys were already working! They are almost done with our group. That grey coat they do is actually 2 coats. They were working on the 2nd coat for the houses across the street.

Stucco machine guy

Shorty and I started primer-ing the kitchen, utility room, and bathrooms. This is important because we have to use the semi-gloss tomorrow and I wanted it to have time to dry. We also taped all the windows, bath tubs and the fireplace so that we can paint the other rooms too. Since the rest of the house doesn't get primer-ed, we have to apply 2 coats of the flat Navajo white in the rest of the house. Thankfully Tommy is going to be with us tomorrow, so it should all go as planned. While I was there Hayward Lumber came out and brought my doors and trim. That means more to paint and, of course, install. Not sure we can get it all done in one weekend, but I'm gonna give it my best try.

My house- textured, before painting

This week Joe called me to tell me that the tile I picked out was no longer available and they have no white tile to replace it . He needs to order right away, so I had to pick another tile. I did that after much thought and a little whining (ok, alot of whining). Joe was very supportive through all this and I'm now happy with my choice which is a warm peach-like color tile. Hopefully, it'll be here in about a week.

Stucco! Stucco! Stucco!

2011-12-05T20:20:00.001-08:00

Oh My Gosh! Kelly was up at the site and she took pictures of the stucco guys doing my house! I am so excited right now, I could just scream (and have been)! Look Look!

You just don't know what I'm feeling right now!

I could just kiss these guys! What a great job! OMG!

Thank you Kelly for being there right at the right time! I love you Girl!

Day 105: More Painting and Digging

2011-12-04T19:48:00.001-08:00

Today we will continue to get the 4 houses that are textured painted and dig more water lines. We started back in Ben's house. We need to tape the door frames because they will be painting in here later. While we were doing that, Shorty started to get sick. He's had a cough for a few days, but when he said he was nauseous, I decided that painting a house was a little too much for him. So, I took him home and came back to the site. When I arrived, Joe told me that I needed to make sure that Kelly's bathrooms, kitchen and utility room were painted with the semi-gloss quickly so that we could move onto Ben's house and do the same.
Yesterday, Joe specifically said that we needed to get the kitchen and bathrooms primer-ed and painted by Monday because the cabinet installers were coming to put those in. He said we could do the rest of the house after that was done. Like always, most people did what they thought was best by starting in the back bedrooms and working forward. This meant that we had to move fast to get those houses finished. So, Ben, Enrique, Luis, Nora, Rosa and I ganged up on Kelly's house and got it done fast. Then we went over to Ben's house after lunch.

Ben's house- textured, before painting

His primer was still wet, so we waited and waited. The water lines were dug and the rest of the group wanted to leave. It's not like we can have 20 people in one house painting (that would be dangerous). So we had a group meeting and decided that those people that left early would be coming back tomorrow to fill up the roll-off that Joe ordered. Our small group stayed to finish Ben's house. We swept around the site while we were waiting for the primer to dry. Then we'd paint a room and wait and paint another one and wait. The kitchen had been primer-ed last, so that wait took hours. We even painted each other while we waited. When we ran out of things to do, we just sat and waited and waited. We brought the construction lights in hoping that would help the paint dry faster. When it was finally time, we had the kitchen painted in 20 minutes flat! We had so much fun!

Ben & Luis, right after finishing the kitchen

Next weekend Preview:
We have a busy weekend ahead of us. We have to paint the next set of houses that are textured (mine is part of that set), install more interior doors, the garage doors arrive, and our tile arrives! This week the gray coat of stucco will go on 6 houses (mine too) and of course we have more trash to throw out! I'm tired just thinking about it.

Day 104: Interior Doors & Painting

2011-12-03T19:35:00.001-08:00

Today, it was incredibly cold when we arrived. So cold, that I can't remember our hours from last week. The safety meeting was on proper lifting techniques. The rails were installed during the week on my house for the solar panels.

Rails on my house

Joe told us that today we will be installing interior doors and painting walls on lots 24, 29, 1, & 3; burying gas lines and digging for water lines, and cleaning and papering lots 2 & 27. We're all in our own houses...sort of. Obviously we don't all have stuff to do in our houses, so we help out where we can. Shorty and I started with re-papering portions of our house where the wind tore up our paper. Then, we started burying our gas line. We also buried Nora & Luis's gas line, helped Kelly paint some trim boards and prepared Ben's house for painting tomorrow.

Grid Alternatives installing inverter

Grid Alternatives was in Kelly's garage installing her inverter box today too. They were really nice. One of them kept helping me reach high spots that I was trying to tape for painting.
Joe taught Luis and Ben how to install the new interior door systems in Ben's house. They're really cool. They come in 3 pieces with the trim on both sides.

Then, one side get nailed

Joe placing the pieces

They fit together like puzzle pieces and then once the door goes on, you move them around until they're perfect and shoot them with the finish nailer. Looks simple, huh? Joe makes everything look easy!

Once the door is perfect the last
side gets nailed down

At lunch Rosa surprised me with a carrot cake (yesterday was my birthday) and everyone sang to me. I love these people!
I picked up my paint today at Kelly-Moore Paints Store in Atascadero. I'm not sure anything else will fit in my car now. By last break my leg was starting to bug me. This is the same leg I hurt last week, so Joe told me that I had to fill out an accident report. I really don't feel like I'm hurt, so I argued, but he won and I filled out the report. This was our first full day of work in almost a month! I'm sore from inactivity.
We work all day tomorrow too! And our start time is back to 7am because we're no longer making lots of noise.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Group 2 Update

They now have driveways and they're getting ready to install they sprinkler systems. They go to inspection on December 17th and have a tentative move in date of December 22nd, right before Christmas!

driveway and trench for sprinklers

Sprinkler parts ready to install

Day 103: Trying to Keep Busy

2011-11-26T12:26:00.001-08:00

Our hours for last week were 130. We only worked part of Saturday. Matty read the Safety Meeting which was on Concrete safety since we'll be preparing for driveways and porches in the next few weeks. Today will be another short day.

Rich tidying up

Cleaning up around the site, loading our wood to be taken by another supervisor, and preparing Rafa's house for texture. Lots of sweeping and organizing today. We were only there a few hours. No other houses are ready for cleaning out. Shorty and I left at 9:30. Just two hours on site. We missed the group meeting at the end.

Loading wood for the other Supervisor

Toby bringing more wood from group 2

I hate to admit this, but while papering Rafa's house, I lost my footing by his back door and fell/slipped into the back yard. Scraped down the inside of my lower leg and slightly twisted my knee and ankle. Not badly, but enough that it swelled and I was having a hard time walking. They were just about done anyway. I'm hoping it'll be alright by Monday, so that I can help with the rails install for my solar panels. No work tomorrow. Joe thinks next weekend we'll be busy for both days. I hope so!

Thanksgiving Day Cleanup

2011-11-24T19:43:00.001-08:00

Today, Shorty and I were up at the site at 8am. We are trying to stay ahead of the tape and texture guys. When we arrived the drywallers were already there. They were just starting on Rosa's and Cuara's houses. The texture crew were in Silvestre's house taping.

Silvestre's taped garage

My house looks amazing! It's just incredible what drywall can do for a room. There was one drywall guy in my house finishing placing the metal rounded corner things on my fireplace and windows.

Rounded corner things on my fireplace

We started cleaning out drywall and placing it in the garage. After he left, we started sweeping and getting ready to paper the floors. Papering takes time with just 2 people. We try not to waste paper. We used two rolls and a few small partial rolls.

Shorty notching paper around his closet opening

My bedroom: ready to tape & texture

When we left at noon, the texture guys were starting on Luis & Nora's house. We got home just in time for a wonderful Thanksgiving feast with my family.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Here is my special Thanksgiving 30 second tour of my house

(which actually took 48 seconds)

Meeting with Sandra

2011-11-21T12:06:00.001-08:00

     This morning I met with Sandra from Grid Alternatives. We went over the installation agreement; the construction plans for my house; Solar cost summary, which breaks down projected usage and savings to me and the environment; my request for reimbursement for the system cost through the SASH program; and the application for Net metering from PG&E.
     My system is covered by a 10 year warranty against it breaking down, but not if I break it. So, Sandra recommended that I have the system added to my homeowner's insurance once it's installed. That requires that I know the replacement value of the system should something other than defects happen. To replace my system, it would cost about $20,111.
     In 10 to 15 years, I'll have to replace the Inverter. This should be between $2,500-$3,000. Do you think that's alot? I don't and here's why: this system is free to me and it will enable me to save 75% or more off my electric bill , making my projected bill less that $20/mo. If I'm efficient, I might never have to pay for electric usage, just taxes. If I saved just a small portion of the money I'm not paying out, the inverter pays for itself.
     As I've said, this system is free to me, but it's not free. Grid Alternatives pays for the system and installation. I signed a reimbursement request so that the SASH Program will pay Grid Alternatives, but that doesn't cover the full costs either. Grid Alternatives uses money from additional grants and various fundraisers they do throughout the year. The Solarthon they did last month at our development is one of their bigger fundraisers. There's a link to their website under "Check out these links".
    The Net Energy Metering application took the longest. Before I can use the system, PG&E will take out my smart meter and install a Net Energy meter. This two-way meter measures the difference between what my system produces and what I use from PG&E. I will only be billed once a year. Could be scary, huh? Not really. Every month they provide a traditional bill (with just taxes on it) and an additional mailing showing my net metering usage.
     So, if it's summer and I'm using just solar and maybe they're getting some of my power because I'm producing alot, then I will have a credit on my mailing. If it's winter and I'm using some PG&E electric, then I have a debit on the mailing. Then once a year they see how it balances out and either bill me or refund me all at once. Sandra recommended that I pay any debits by adding that amount to the taxes I'll be paying anyway, so I don't get hit with a larger bill at the end of the billing year.
    They will call me a few days before my install, so that I can be there. I'll get to help with my installation, but the next class for volunteers isn't until December 13th. I've already signed up for this so that I can help out in the future. Very informative meeting. This experience just keeps getting better!

Day 102: Prepping for Texturing & Updates

2011-11-19T15:20:00.001-08:00

This morning's meeting was in my garage. It was foggy and we decided to be inside. Hours for last weekend: 98! Crazy low, but we didn't work much. The safety meeting was on the top 10 safety hazards per OSHA. Today we will be digging to locate the gas lines;

Where is that gas line?

placing rosin paper in lots 1, 3, & 29 because they have drywall; and applying primer to the beams and posts of lots 1, 4, 25, 26, 27, & 29.

Primer-ed beam & post (my house)

During the week drywall was installed and the drywall guys are here today to finish Kelly's house. They leave a huge mess that they usually clean up, but Joe wants those houses to be ready to texture by Monday,

After: Placing rosin paper

Before: Right after drywall

so we're cleaning and leaving a pile in the center of the garage for the drywall guys to take when they do their trashing. Once it's clean and swept, we put down rosin paper to cover the entire floor so that the wall texture guy can go crazy in those houses and not damage the floors.

My 2 favorite building Supervisors! Joe & Phil

After we're done with Ben's house, we start painting on primer on the beams and posts for the houses that don't have columns and arches. Mine is in that group. The beams and posts will stay exposed so we primer and later paint them to match the house trim. Everyone else starts digging to find the gas lines. We worked hard and didn't take lunch and were out of there at 3pm. No work tomorrow. My house now has insulation (looks like the inside of Chewbacca) and will probably have drywall Monday! Go! Go! Go!

My living room, Chewbacca style

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Updates: Group 2

Still working on finishing. Houses have their color coat of stucco and driveways are almost ready for concrete. They've had their move-in date changed to late December and they're not happy about it.

Isn't this gorgeous?

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Group 4 is moving quickly! At least it looks like it because we're slowed by the drywall. Good work guys!

I remember being at this stage!

Getting Ready for Solar Power

2011-11-17T19:46:00.001-08:00

Yesterday, Sandra, from Grid Alternatives called me at my office and told me that she'd help me change the PG&E account over. I told her I had already done that, so she had me call back and get account and meter information so that she could prepare the contracts and paperwork for PG&E. She had to check on the construction plans, but my house will be the third in my group to get solar panels. She also told me to ask PG&E if I qualify for the FERA program for a rate reduction. I do!
The CARE/FERA programs are setup to help reduce power rates for lower income families. You can get more information at pge.com.
Today, she emailed me and told me that she will be coming into town to meet with me next Monday to sign the contracts, answer any questions, and give me information on the installation class. This is very exciting for me! I really want to learn how to install solar panels. I'd like to give back to the community and taking the class will enable me to volunteer on future installations around the Central Coast. She checked and my construction plans along with all the proper permits are ready and waiting. My house will have solar panels the last week of November or the weekend of December 3rd, which is right near my birthday! I can't think of a better way to spend my day than helping install a gift that keeps on giving!
I'll post more about this after my meeting Monday morning.

Update! Update!

2011-11-15T17:19:00.001-08:00

So, lots of things are happening at the site this week. We had inspection yesterday and Joe says, " We passed with flying colors." Joe does not usually speak like this, so I'm excited! So far, Ben & Teresa's house has been insulated. In lots 1, 3,4, and 29 drywall is loaded in the houses. (mine is lot 4!) Most of the houses should be insulated by this weekend, so the drywall guys can install! Yes!
We also received a notice from Sheryl at PSHH that we needed the PG&E bill in our own names ASAP so that the solar panels can be installed. Grid Alternatives is calling people in the group to tell them that they will be installing our panels the last week of November. So I'll have solar panels for my birthday! What a nice gift. I called to have PG&E put the bill in my name, (which was super easy) and they transferred me to the Solar Billing dept to find out when I needed to notify them and they said that I don't have to do a thing! Grid Alternatives will take care of the installation & the paperwork! Could this get any better? I think not.

Day 101: Prep work for Inspection

2011-11-12T15:49:00.001-08:00

It's raining today, so we started at 10am. Our hours for last week were around 200. We only worked 1 day, so that makes sense. Our safety meeting was on driving safety. Joe's plan for today is to finish up as many houses as possible, so that we can go to inspection on Monday. This is the inspection that will allow the insulators and drywall guys to come in. Next weekend, we'll be installing interior doors and painting them. Joe is walking into all the houses and using his inspector skills to find all the little things that the inspector might call us on. We are all in our own houses. In my house, there are random nails sticking out of some walls, I need to get into my fireplace and throw the bag of lava rocks in, there's a 1x4 stuck to one wall ( I have no idea why) and it's dirty again! I don't know how a house with all the doors and windows closed could get so dirty since Wednesday.
Shorty and I start with the fireplace. I had to break out the manual to figure out how to get into it. It's easy once you know. Then he starts on the nails while I start sweeping. Joe comes in and helps install a small piece of drywall behind the tub in the main bathroom, then screws in the tub. He's doing this because if you do it wrong, you could break the tub. Once done, I go over to Luis's house and start sweeping there and taking out his random nails. Nora is sick today and Luis is installing the cable for the sprinkler systems in all the houses.

Shorty starting on that wood pile

Meanwhile, Shorty is re-stacking the lumber that we used as forms way back when we were doing our footings. We saved all that wood because we'll need it again for the driveways. We're all about saving money!
When Luis runs out of cable, Joe has us go into Kelly's house to install some missing pieces of blocking. Joe goes back into my house and finds that one stud in my master closet is crooked, so we have to fix that and we need to cut a notch in the last piece of attic access so that it'll fit around the sprinkler pipe that is sitting in the way. One last walk through, and Joe says my house is DONE! We think we'll have 8 houses go to inspection. All that work only took 4 hours. No work tomorrow. Joe says it's probably going to be the last time off we'll get until we move-in.

My house 90% roofed!

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. My house was roofed on Wednesday! It looks so good. They just have the edges left to do! And Grid Alternatives is here installing the metal rails that hold up the solar panels on our houses!

Day 100: Tile Class

2011-11-06T15:43:00.000-08:00

Today, all my information is 2nd hand and the pictures were provided by Troy, who understands my need to blog about everything to do with this process. I was too sick to go to the tile setting class at Home Depot.

Ready for class!

Joe assures me that he can teach me all I need to know about tile setting and I believe in him 100%! Plus, I chose 12 inch tiles, so by the time I'm done, I will definitely be an expert.

David from Home Depot

The tile class started just after 9am. David was the teacher. From what I've been told the class was basic. A lot about cleaning and making sure the lines were straight, complete small areas, don't spread out too wide. We have to mix our own grout and mud. Joe said he would teach us.
After class a group of the guys went back to the site and finished up the tv/cable lines. We can't start tiling until the drywallers are done and the walls have been textured and painted. I'm sure Joe will be pushing the trades to get in there and get it done. We are running out of work and those contractors are what's between us and finishing!

Day 99: Power

2011-11-05T19:15:00.000-07:00

This morning our safety meeting was on Personal protective equipment... again. Joe is running out of meetings since we should be moved in by now. Darn rain!
It's so cold this morning. I wish the weather would decide what season it was. Earlier this week it was hot now it's freezing. I have been sick for a few days so this cold is not making me happy. Our goal this morning is to bury the electrical because PG&E is coming out to install electrical in the houses. Not full electrical, just one outlet each for construction with limited power. Joe says we need to keep ahead of them. They won't pull the cables through unless the lines are buried. So, we all start shoveling and wheeling sand around. The PG&E guys arrive and they are really fast! We just keep ahead of them.
Once that's done everyone starts either cleaning or placing the lines in for tv and phone. Later those will be buried too. A small group of us are to finish the carpentry work. Attic access in 5 houses and a little missed fire blocking. No problem, except while PG&E is connecting the power to the houses and installing the smart meters, they have shut off our power. So we start measuring and setting up. It's still only about 40 degrees and my lungs are killing me. I can't seem to stop coughing and I feel like I'm freezing. Odd for me since I'm always in a tank top. Around 11am, I tell Joe that I'm going to buy cough drops and some tea. He says, "You should just go home so that you can make it to work on Monday". I say," What about our tile setting class at Home Depot tomorrow?" He tells me that it's just an hour class and I can do it anytime. I hate not being here, but I feel horrible. Home I go. Hopefully they will tell me how the class goes tomorrow and I can set up a time this week to take that class with Shorty.

Day 98: This Day in History

2011-10-30T08:36:00.000-07:00

One year ago today we started building our houses. Actually it was raining that day, so the only thing we did was our Safety Meeting and electing the Safety Officer (me). We are in a festive mood. I had a cake made and some of us are going to BBQ when we're done.

Today we had very little to do. Joe told us that we could leave when we finished. Nora and I started cutting and installing towel bar backing and fire blocking in her house. Then, I cut Towel bar backing for the rest of the houses that needed them and was done by noon. People were still painting doors. The digging crew left about an hour after we did. They had the hardest time locating the electrical for lot 29.

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Group 4 did alot of digging and burying. Here is a video of the teamwork and dedication it takes! Ha! Nora and I were cheering them on! (sort of)

Day 97: Painting, Digging & Carpentry

2011-10-29T19:28:00.000-07:00

Today I arrived and went to look in my house. My tubs are fully installed and I have a fireplace!

Cool!

It's the cutest little gas fireplace I've ever seen. We had 415 hours for last week and our safety meeting was on safe driving.
Our plan today is to finish up on the towel bar backing, paint the doors & trim in the houses, finish digging & installing for the electrical hookups,

Luis and Ben digging at my house

and finish the towel bar backing or carpentry work as Joe calls it. But first, we have to load the roll-off with more trash.

I'm shuddering just looking at this...

This was the most stressful moment of my day. If you remember I had a bad experience with the trash back in September. Joe found my anxiety very humorous.
We're hoping to get everything done by noon tomorrow so that we can leave and have an anniversary celebration!

Shorty painting our door

Done! Great job boy!

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Group 4 Update

They have all but 2 houses past that first inspection. This weekend they are digging for electrical and installing windows on the west side of the street. That's all Facio would tell me. I'll sneak over tomorrow and see what's really going on over there!

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Group 2 Update

Solar Panels

They are moving along wonderfully. Some of the houses have stucco color, they have solar panels, tile's in, counter-tops are going in, and they're digging their driveways!

It's really coming together

While I was taking pictures, Steve walks up to me and says," Angela, I think I have you all figured out". "Oh yeah?", I say. He says, "Yeah, all these pictures you're taking are spy photos! That's how you're all catching up to us so quickly!" I love this neighborhood! It's gonna be fun!

Oppose The Coburn Amendment

2011-10-26T15:56:00.000-07:00

Rural Development funding is under attack. Senator Coburn proposes eliminating the USDA Rural Development 502 Self-Help502 Loan Program and other Rural Housing Programs. It is because of these loans that I am building my home and that my parents were able to build their home many years ago. Please oppose the Coburn Amendment.

Please follow the link below to sign the petition.
Excerpt from National Rural Housing Coalition website:
When the Senate returns from recess next week, it will resume consideration of HR 2112, the FY 2012 Agriculture Appropriations Bill. Among the amendments under consideration is No. 800, sponsored by Sen. Tom Coburn ( R-OK), which proposes a $1 billion reduction in rural development programs. This is about a 40% cut from the levels recommended in the Senate’s bill. Attached is a letter to Senate urging a no vote on the Coburn amendment. If you wish to sign on please complete below. The closing date for signatures is Friday, October 28.

http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5172/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=8587

Day 96: Little Things

2011-10-23T20:55:00.000-07:00

Sunrise at my house....love it

Today we try to finish up all the little things. Nora and I installed handrail backing in Matty's house, installed walls around another HVAC duct in the upstairs closet, and added more backing and a cover to go over the wires in a closet in Ben & Teresa's house. Joe told us that the walls in the closet should take us no more than an hour. So, we built them in 54 minutes. He said that's how it should always be...fast.
The ladies were painting doors in the garages, more digging for Rich and Pedro, Luis & Ben prepped the houses for exterior vents and decorative vents.

Kelly's house wrapped!

After 2nd break, everyone started cleaning. The contractor's have been making huge messes in the houses with all the drilling and installing they have to do. So, I swept, trashed, and even shop vacuumed my entire house. It's super clean. The fireplace guys should be here this week to install my fireplace!
Joe is also worried that we're getting too far ahead of the contractor's. This is actually the plumber's fault. He just isn't keeping up with all the work. The electrician can't start until the plumber is done, so Joe will be calling the plumber first thing tomorrow morning to motivate him. He also wants the roofers to start on some of the houses. We have very little to do in the houses and we need the contractor's to come in so that we can start finishing. Next weekend, we'll be forming the front porches and finishing up on some towel bar backing in a few of the bathrooms. That's not alot! The worst thing we can think of is that the plumber doesn't catch up and we have no work for a weekend. That's time off, but we want to move in and this kind of slow down is bad for morale!
We finished with a pep talk from Joe. He told us we're doing a good job and to keep it up. He also talked about how we're going to be in our own houses as soon as the drywall goes in and of course his pending talk with the plumber.

My house from above

I still didn't get down the street to take pictures, but I promise I'll have solar panel pictures first thing next Saturday. I did take some aerial pics of the houses while I was in Matty's house though. Have a great week everyone!

Kelly's, Jesus's, and Sivestre's house from above

Day 95: Soffits and Solarthon

2011-10-22T19:22:00.000-07:00

Today we arrived to a blocked off street. Grid Alternatives are doing their annual Solarthon for Group two. There were around 150 volunteers down at the end of the street ready to install the solar panels that I took pics of last week. To volunteer for this you have to take a class in solar installation and agree to volunteer so many hours to the cause. A lot of group two had taken the class and were installing their own panels! All 3 news crews were on site today. This is really great for promoting Grid Alternatives SASH (Single-Family Affordable Solar Homes) program here on the Central Coast as well as promoting Peoples' Self-Help Housing Corporation! As you know, without them and generous donors, none of this would be possible. I didn't get a chance to take pictures so I'll take some in the morning to post tomorrow night.

My house almost ready for stucco

Today our safety meeting was on cell phone safety. Things we all should practice but don't. All five of the first set of our houses that passed inspection have been papered and wired for stucco! Mine is in that group! It's an amazing process to watch a house take shape. I've decided that I'm going to keep building houses, even if I have to volunteer for it. I just love the process. Nora and I are building a soffit box today and a small wall for the entrance to the stairs.

Soffit Box built around duct

Soffit boxes cover the HVAC ducts in certain areas. Most of the HVAC stuff goes in the trusses but in places it comes out and we build a box to fit around it. The drywallers will come in and cover it. We also fixed the ceiling in Matty's house where the water heater goes and fire blocked everything in sight. We're getting pretty good at building specialty items.

Small wall for entry to stairwell

Luis and Ben installed most of the garage door trim, the ladies were painting that trim, Troy, Rosa and Shorty were doing the same thing Nora & I were in Jesus's house, Rafa & Cuara were building fireplace mantle areas, they did the one in my house, and many of our guys were starting the digging out of utilities. Joe bought a new jack hammer for this. We all worked hard and completed almost everything were were supposed to. What a day! Beautiful weather, publicity and great community volunteers. That's what this is all about!

Sewer lines

2011-10-19T21:11:00.000-07:00

Today Joe called me and told me we needed a group to bury some of the sewer lines that were dug this weekend. The contractors need to get into the houses and they are limited by the trenches. When I arrived there was a large group there and they only had one more to bury.

We buried the lines in lots 1, 2, 3, 4 & 28. The trenches were 4 to 6 feet deep. I stood in one and no on could see me! We had to use native soil under the pipes and then 12 inches of sand and the rest was more native soil.

I worked on lot 28 hoping to get the dirt in so that when they were done across the street they could just start with sand. It's amazing how tiring shoveling is right now. A few months ago I could shovel for an hour and not be this tired!

Tomorrow the other 5 houses will be inspected and we'll have to do it again. I won't be out here tomorrow though because Angelina has a school performance.

Garage Door Jambs

2011-10-18T22:10:00.000-07:00

Tonight Luis and I worked on garage door jambs. Luis was working during the morning and told me that they installed a bunch of metal vents in the gables so that the stucco guys could finish those houses.

They also installed the garage door jambs for lots 28 & 29 and added the trim.

jamb & trim

We called Joe to ask him what he wanted us to do. He told me that we had to cut down the 2x6 timbers that he brought to 4 1/4 inches wide and install them for the jambs.

Luis cutting the 2x6

He asked me if I brought my finish nailer, so that we could also install the trim. I told him no because we weren't on finishing yet and I didn't want it in the car. He then reminded me that we had a meeting on Sunday about bringing ALL tools with us when we're on site! That made me laugh and I told him I'd bring it tomorrow. So, we installed the garage door jambs for Luis's house and my house. It was pitch black when we left. Templeton is an unincorporated area so there are no street lights. Good thing we brought out lights tonight!

Finished jamb on Luis's house

Tomorrow Joe and whoever shows up in the morning will install the trim. The stucco guys are papering really fast. They are already on Kelly's house and they'll probably Luis & Nora's house done tomorrow. I think they might just have to stop so that the other contractors can catch up to them! It's just all happening so fast now. Everyday I'm blown away by the progress. If we're not in by the end of the year, it'll be all our fault...

Water heater platforms & battery failure

2011-10-17T21:33:00.000-07:00

Today, I arrived and two of the houses have been prepared for stucco!

This is soooo exciting!

It's happening so quickly that Joe has called people to come in tomorrow so that he can stay ahead of them. Before starting, I walked down the street and noticed these tiny decks behind the group 2 houses. They're really cute, but very small.

I can't BBQ on this...

Luis and I worked on water heater platforms in lots 2 and 27. Those are bigger than the ones I built yesterday because they're in the garage and per code they have to be at least 18 inches off the floor. I cut for Luis and he assembled and installed them. We work pretty well together.

WH Platform lot 2

It's getting dark early here now and Luis remembered to bring his clip on light but I forgot to bring mine. Luis ended up parking his car and using headlights too. That was fine until we had to leave and his car wouldn't start! We had to jump-start it! It was actually a cool ending to the day. We laughed alot!

Starting Luis's car :)

Day 94: My melt-down

2011-10-16T21:07:00.000-07:00

Today we rolled out quickly and got started. Nora and I started by shearing a space over my front window, then moving on to Silvestre's house to build another column, shear it, and install an eyebrow arch. I'm getting good at columns coming off a 9 degree roof. I told Joe it wasn't fair that when I get good at it, we run out of columns.

Before

After

He laughed and said that I could go dismantle some arches and rebuild them if I wanted to. Luis is still installing doors, and Joe has two more crews also installing them so that we can have the stucco guys here on Wednesday. Shorty and Kelly moved the kitchen wall in Nora's house. She has the exact same house and the exact same issue with the kitchen cabinets. The ladies are still painting fascia and Rich and Jesus helped the backhoe guy finish the sewer lines.
At lunch everyone was looking at tile, carpet, and counter top samples. I printed out the window choices for the garage doors and brought them in so everyone could make better choices. We have to decide by the end of the day. I chose a very pretty creamy white 12 inch tile for the entire house except the bedrooms. We had to choose between carpet and laminate for them. I chose a medium sage green for those. The kids and I talked about carpeting last night. I'm actually lucky because alot of the couples were arguing over the choices,but being a single parent, I got my way. I chose white tile because I figure you can change area rugs and paint cheaper than you can change tile flooring. Garage doors were easy, I chose one that will match very closely to the stucco color. My most stressful moments were trying to choose counter-tops. It's all Formica, but the samples are 2x3 inches. I just can't imagine it bigger, so I chose what appeared to be an Italian sandstone like top, with a slightly more golden top for the bathroom counter tops.
Now, remember I told you all that I would be honest, so I will admit that I yelled at Joe today. I work really hard and I know that he's come to depend on me and Nora to do the more skilled jobs in a timely manner. He gave us a new job quickly after inspecting the column and arch. I was hoping for a little praise. I've been stressing lately about our time-lines and really needed a "good job". Instead I got, "here's another job". I could feel my meltdown coming, but just couldn't keep it in. I am not proud of my outburst and he didn't deserve it. I worked very quickly and got 2 water heater platforms built and installed before it was time to roll up. I didn't talk to anyone during that time.

Then, I went looking for Joe. I found him in the storage shed organizing. I waited for him to finish and apologized to him. He told me that he knows that sometimes people need to vent and that it was okay. I'm really going to miss him when he leaves us next month. Who else will let me freak out and then smile and tell me it's okay?

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Nora and I walked down to see what group 2 were doing at 2nd break and found them still installing tile. I met Anabel cutting tile. She did a great job too.

Anabel cutting tile

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Group 4 are all really working hard to get those first houses ready for inspection. They still had time to smile and wave though!

Now that's Teamwork!

They always have time to say hi!

Day 93: Choices

2011-10-15T21:25:00.000-07:00

Today, Joe read the hours and we had 403 for the previous week. Joe said he hoped that was an off week and that we'd get closer to to 450 like the week before. Our safety meeting was on heat and heat related illnesses including skin cancer.
We were put into groups. The ladies are repainting in spots and painting the metal strips that the roofers put on. Luis & Ben are installing the outer doors that came in this week. they did my house first!

My front door (before painting)

Luis installing my back door

Nora and I are building the box that hides the condensation line for the forced air unit that goes through the garage, placing blocking for the stucco guys and making any corrections that Joe can find.

Box for condensation line Nora & I built

Troy and Rosa are moving my kitchen half wall because the cabinet guy was here and said that the cabinets are bigger than the spot they go in. I personally think that's really cool, but it's just 3 1/2 inches more.
The backhoe guy is here digging the sewer lines and the roofers are here placing the tiles on the roofs. They felted the roofs during the week. We also have to make all our choices for flooring, counter tops and garage doors by tomorrow.

Roofers loading my roof with tile!

One of my oldest and dearest friends drove down with her mom from Sacramento to come see the progress. It was a really special moment for me. I haven't seen Pati in 5 years and to have her and her mom in my house was just a thrill!
We wandered down to see what group 2 was up to and Steve told us that Grid Alternatives were about to install his solar panels! How exciting for them! It's a long process, but really cool to see them here in action.

Steve's solar panels

We had a wide array of floor tile, laminate and carpeting to choose from, as well as, about 10 choices for the counter tops. This is really hard for me! I wish there were less choices. Joe had us roll up early so that we could see it all and choose.

I decided on tile easily, but the carpeting will only go in the bedrooms and I wanted the kids to have input too. I honestly don't know how to choose counter tops.

The samples are small and I just can't get my mind to imagine it that big. I'm kind of stressing over this. I mean, it's going to be in the house for years! What if I make a mistake? I'll let y'all know tomorrow what we decided on.

Last Minute Roofing

2011-10-12T19:54:00.000-07:00

Today Joe called me and told me that the roofers will be starting tomorrow morning at 7am! He needs us to finish adding the 1x6 to all the spots where the roof touches a wall or roof transitions. Also since they'll need a place to put all the tile and supplies, we need to move a pile of wood and place it in the house.

For the solar panels

Luis, Jesus, Kelly, George, Troy, and I all showed up for this. I started moving wood, while everyone else started on installing the 1x6.

For the panels on my roof!

Kelly and George installing 1x6 on my roof

We just barely had enough. I climbed up on my roof to get better pictures and see if Kelly needed help. the hard part was coming back down. Weird that I can truss my house and then get scared trying to get down. Luis laughed and told me he'd catch me!

Tile roofing

The subcontractors have been busy this week. They installed the metal things that will hold in the solar panels, installed bathtub units in lots 28 and 29 and more fire sprinklers. We are going to beat the rain if it kills us! I can't wait to see how far the roofers get by Saturday. Of course, I'll be taking pictures!