And the blizzard of 2009 is over... 19 inches is the official total recorded in Westminster, but it seemed like an awful lot more. It started on Friday night around 11PM and most of the snow was done with by 11PM Saturday night. That left Sunday morning to clean out the mess.
I got the Bolens tractor all set up for snow, but it just couldn't cut through the mass of snow that was drifted in the back yard -- probably 2 1/2 feet in some places. So, back into the shed the tractor went, and 4 hours and a semi-sore back later and the driveway was clear. UGH! 4" of snow is great, 8" is plenty, but 19"? Yuck! Check the pictures on the deck in the evening... that is a LOT of snow on that table! Also take a look at how high the snow is on the railings.
Now that the tractor is all set up and ready for the next snow, I bet it won't snow again the rest of the year!
Showing posts with label house. Show all posts
Showing posts with label house. Show all posts
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Sunday, September 13, 2009
The much-awaited for barn picture post
All,
I know that many of you have been waiting with bated breath to finally see progress pictures of the shed. The shed was temporarily delayed while the necessary legal paperwork was put in order, and then work continued on both the barn and the patio during weekends and evenings. With one final push consisting of Labor Day weekend and this weekend, however, I'm proud to report that both the barn and the deck have completed all exterior work.
Exterior work? Yes, the deck has some electrical work left to do and the barn has interior stuff such as railings and bracing for the stairs, a few supports to make the county happy with the roof, as well as a lot of work finishing the inside. However, the barn is now officially under lock-and-key, and the deck is now officially covered and closed-in.
Accepting the fact that "finished" is more of a relative term, I would call both projects now "finished enough for pictures".
So, please take a look at how Holly and I spent every spare moment of our Summer.
Special thanks to everyone who pitched in and helped... the work was hard, but we couldn't have done it without you!
Dad -- the mastermind and craftsman (wow did I learn a lot on this project!)
Mom -- the help, the pictures, and the food!
Matt -- Because at 22 years old, how else would you want to spend your Summer, but helping your older brother with his crazy projects? (He was such a hard worker, and so strong!)
Uncle Cal and Nate -- "Hey, welcome to Maryland... would you mind helping us raise the roof of our barn?" (Thanks for being good sports and turning your visit into a working visit!)
Anne and Spencer -- I finally took Spencer up on his offer to help build something, and Anne and Spencer both were such great troopers. Bottom line, the back wall would not have gotten sided without their help!
Holly -- You let me build a gorgeous building in your backyard... and not only helped, but learned to be handy as well! You can side a building, you can use a circular saw, install garage doors... you can do it all!
Thanks everyone!!!
--Jason
I know that many of you have been waiting with bated breath to finally see progress pictures of the shed. The shed was temporarily delayed while the necessary
Exterior work? Yes, the deck has some electrical work left to do and the barn has interior stuff such as railings and bracing for the stairs, a few supports to make the county happy with the roof, as well as a lot of work finishing the inside. However, the barn is now officially under lock-and-key, and the deck is now officially covered and closed-in.
Accepting the fact that "finished" is more of a relative term, I would call both projects now "finished enough for pictures".
So, please take a look at how Holly and I spent every spare moment of our Summer.
Special thanks to everyone who pitched in and helped... the work was hard, but we couldn't have done it without you!
Dad -- the mastermind and craftsman (wow did I learn a lot on this project!)
Mom -- the help, the pictures, and the food!
Matt -- Because at 22 years old, how else would you want to spend your Summer, but helping your older brother with his crazy projects? (He was such a hard worker, and so strong!)
Uncle Cal and Nate -- "Hey, welcome to Maryland... would you mind helping us raise the roof of our barn?" (Thanks for being good sports and turning your visit into a working visit!)
Anne and Spencer -- I finally took Spencer up on his offer to help build something, and Anne and Spencer both were such great troopers. Bottom line, the back wall would not have gotten sided without their help!
Holly -- You let me build a gorgeous building in your backyard... and not only helped, but learned to be handy as well! You can side a building, you can use a circular saw, install garage doors... you can do it all!
Thanks everyone!!!
--Jason
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
The ChalkBarn is in Progress!
All,
It took a little while to finally get around to posting, but here are the latest photos of the "Garden Shed" in our back yard.
Thanks to the hard work of my Dad, brother, myself, and the help and patience of my Mom and beautiful wife, the storage shed sprang to life over the 4th of July weekend and the succeeding week.
In 8 days, working from 7am to sundown, we worked in the (relatively pleasant) outdoor sun, and if it wasn't for the pesky county, we would have likely gotten very close to finishing the project.
Instead, someone decided to call the county and tip them off to our project. They came out to have a look and decided that we should probably stop work until we filed all of the valid paperwork. Now, I'm not a big fan of breaking laws, but the reality of the situation is that my fine help (and myself) only have a limited number of days in a given year that we can work on projects like this. Time is money, and in my mind, time can be better spent being productive and producing a quality product without having someone looking over your shoulder. Plus, it helps having a fantastic building expert at your disposal (Hi Dad!) who has built a few buildings and decks in his years and knows what he's doing.
I also knew I'd have a bit of a fight on my hands as well, as I knew that the county had a few incorrect drawings on file regarding my septic. Shame on my builder, because they filed plans for a septic system in one part of my yard and then decided to put it somewhere else. We knew where the septic was, so we built the building where it wasn't... but I knew if the county came calling, there would be some explaining.
Fast forward 3 weeks of submitting plans, hiring a SURVEYOR! ($$$!!!), and inspections later and we're completely legal on both the DECK and the BARN. I need to add a few small braces to the deck (they had to find something), and then add a few extra braces to the rafter and a couple of other places on the barn, and we're good to go.
We received the permits for everything on Friday, and on Sunday were treated to a great rainbow over the building. The inspectors came out on Monday and now we're back in business. We'll wrap up construction on the weekend of August 14th, 15th and 16th and should be good to go.
What did we do the rest of the week after the county shooed us off of our barn project? Why we went to Washington, DC of course! A few pictures of that are in the massive barn project picture page below as well.
Now without further ado... the pictures you have all been waiting for... the shed in progress.
It took a little while to finally get around to posting, but here are the latest photos of the "Garden Shed" in our back yard.
Thanks to the hard work of my Dad, brother, myself, and the help and patience of my Mom and beautiful wife, the storage shed sprang to life over the 4th of July weekend and the succeeding week.
In 8 days, working from 7am to sundown, we worked in the (relatively pleasant) outdoor sun, and if it wasn't for the pesky county, we would have likely gotten very close to finishing the project.
Instead, someone decided to call the county and tip them off to our project. They came out to have a look and decided that we should probably stop work until we filed all of the valid paperwork. Now, I'm not a big fan of breaking laws, but the reality of the situation is that my fine help (and myself) only have a limited number of days in a given year that we can work on projects like this. Time is money, and in my mind, time can be better spent being productive and producing a quality product without having someone looking over your shoulder. Plus, it helps having a fantastic building expert at your disposal (Hi Dad!) who has built a few buildings and decks in his years and knows what he's doing.
I also knew I'd have a bit of a fight on my hands as well, as I knew that the county had a few incorrect drawings on file regarding my septic. Shame on my builder, because they filed plans for a septic system in one part of my yard and then decided to put it somewhere else. We knew where the septic was, so we built the building where it wasn't... but I knew if the county came calling, there would be some explaining.
Fast forward 3 weeks of submitting plans, hiring a SURVEYOR! ($$$!!!), and inspections later and we're completely legal on both the DECK and the BARN. I need to add a few small braces to the deck (they had to find something), and then add a few extra braces to the rafter and a couple of other places on the barn, and we're good to go.
We received the permits for everything on Friday, and on Sunday were treated to a great rainbow over the building. The inspectors came out on Monday and now we're back in business. We'll wrap up construction on the weekend of August 14th, 15th and 16th and should be good to go.
What did we do the rest of the week after the county shooed us off of our barn project? Why we went to Washington, DC of course! A few pictures of that are in the massive barn project picture page below as well.
Now without further ado... the pictures you have all been waiting for... the shed in progress.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Deck Project "Complete"
After 8 long days (6:30AM - 9PM) as well as several evenings of hard work as well as the last few evenings after everyone has went back to work, the Deck Project is mostly complete. It was a beast of a project, but turned out exactly as we had planned.
Some stats on the project:
Deck size: 35 feet wide by 14 feet long (including steps)
Deck height: Approximately 9 feet above the concrete patio.
Number of steps: 14 (which took about 2 days all by themselves)
Unique Feature: Chalk Water Drainage System (patent pending) funnels all rainwater through a gutter system, allowing for a finished ceiling (along with lighting, ceiling fans, etc) to be installed at a later date.
Holly actually put the last screws into deck boards today, and the only things left to do is to install the downspout off the gutter and do a massive clean of the deck, patio, worksite, house, and garage. We worked our tails off, but the project turned out pretty good.
A **HUGE** Thank-You to my parents... Dad is a tremendous engineer and carpenter, and the deck is truly one of his masterpieces. Mom made many, many, many trips to and from Lowe's, Home Depot, and several other places as well as helping to craft and install the drainage system. Matt and Jenn also came out to visit, and while the visit involved mostly work (Thank you!), they did get a chance to stop in at Ravens Training Camp, Gettysburg, and have a nice Seafood dinner. As you can see in the pictures, Holly got her hands very dirty as well, and she wasn't afraid to grab a hammer, start cutting deck boards, or throw herself into a million other tasks as well.
I'll post more pictures of the completed project once everything is cleaned up, furniture is set up, and it is truly "done". There is still probably a solid day of cleanup left, but I hope to spread that over Saturday and Sunday among frequent dips into our new hot tub (that Jenn and Matt helped us break in!).
Without further ado, ChalkDeck 2.0 (ChalkDeck 1.0 can be found here):
Some stats on the project:
Deck size: 35 feet wide by 14 feet long (including steps)
Deck height: Approximately 9 feet above the concrete patio.
Number of steps: 14 (which took about 2 days all by themselves)
Unique Feature: Chalk Water Drainage System (patent pending) funnels all rainwater through a gutter system, allowing for a finished ceiling (along with lighting, ceiling fans, etc) to be installed at a later date.
Holly actually put the last screws into deck boards today, and the only things left to do is to install the downspout off the gutter and do a massive clean of the deck, patio, worksite, house, and garage. We worked our tails off, but the project turned out pretty good.
A **HUGE** Thank-You to my parents... Dad is a tremendous engineer and carpenter, and the deck is truly one of his masterpieces. Mom made many, many, many trips to and from Lowe's, Home Depot, and several other places as well as helping to craft and install the drainage system. Matt and Jenn also came out to visit, and while the visit involved mostly work (Thank you!), they did get a chance to stop in at Ravens Training Camp, Gettysburg, and have a nice Seafood dinner. As you can see in the pictures, Holly got her hands very dirty as well, and she wasn't afraid to grab a hammer, start cutting deck boards, or throw herself into a million other tasks as well.
I'll post more pictures of the completed project once everything is cleaned up, furniture is set up, and it is truly "done". There is still probably a solid day of cleanup left, but I hope to spread that over Saturday and Sunday among frequent dips into our new hot tub (that Jenn and Matt helped us break in!).
Without further ado, ChalkDeck 2.0 (ChalkDeck 1.0 can be found here):
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Patio Project Complete -- Stay Tuned for Deck!
Fellow Chalboard readers,
We couldn't keep you in suspense any longer. The patio project is 99% complete, and we had to share pictures of the beautiful patio that we now have in our back yard...
We also have the last gallery of patio pictures. This should fill you in on what happened since the last step. They power-washed the concrete to bring it to the basic white-with-beige-texture color. They then finished and textured the sides. All of this happened yesterday, and today they came out to stain and seal the patio.
The staining process took about 5 hours, as two of Visual Concrete's best painstakingly stained each individual "brick" by hand. They also stained the sides and the steps as well. As you can see from the pictures, this brought the patio to life. Finally, they applied a sealer to lock in the color and to protect the concrete, stain and all so that we can enjoy this beautiful masterpiece for many years to come.
We had high expectations for the patio, but I honestly believe that Visual Concrete managed to exceed those expectations. This sets a high standard for our deck project next week! Stay tuned for pictures from the deck, as well as final pictures (hopefully!) of the entire project!
We couldn't keep you in suspense any longer. The patio project is 99% complete, and we had to share pictures of the beautiful patio that we now have in our back yard...
We also have the last gallery of patio pictures. This should fill you in on what happened since the last step. They power-washed the concrete to bring it to the basic white-with-beige-texture color. They then finished and textured the sides. All of this happened yesterday, and today they came out to stain and seal the patio.
The staining process took about 5 hours, as two of Visual Concrete's best painstakingly stained each individual "brick" by hand. They also stained the sides and the steps as well. As you can see from the pictures, this brought the patio to life. Finally, they applied a sealer to lock in the color and to protect the concrete, stain and all so that we can enjoy this beautiful masterpiece for many years to come.
We had high expectations for the patio, but I honestly believe that Visual Concrete managed to exceed those expectations. This sets a high standard for our deck project next week! Stay tuned for pictures from the deck, as well as final pictures (hopefully!) of the entire project!
Monday, August 04, 2008
Concrete Poured and Stamped
Today was a big day in the Patio/Deck saga that is our summer. Bright and early at 6:30 this morning, the cement truck pulled up (the first of 2...). It was time to pour concrete!
Everything was a blur, but here were the key steps (once everything was prepared):
1. Concrete was poured and smoothed to a glossy finish (16 yards of concrete--which is about 1.6 loads of a heavy-duty concrete truck!).
2. Color Hardener (which is "Ash White" in color) was then thrown on the entirety of the concrete. The concrete is re-smoothed to a glossy finish so that the Ash White color is completely in the top layer of concrete.
3. Stamping time! Release color (which is "Smoke Beige" in color) was then thrown onto the top of the concrete just ahead of where several guys were starting to stamp. They used about 8 different stamps (all of them were numbered for a specific pattern). The workers would throw Release, put a stamp down, stamp it with a big, handled, weight, and then repeat. They worked one end of the patio to the other on the top, then the same on the bottom.
4. They finished the tops of the steps with a texture stamp, but not with a pattern (since the steps are too small with a pattern).
They were all done and cleaned up by noon, and the results are amazing. (Pictures below). The pictures show more the beige color in the release, but once they pressure wash it, the hardener "white" color will come back through.
Next up, they will come back and finish the sides and the risers in the steps, cut relief lines, and then power wash it.
On Wednesday, they will be back out for the staining process, where the actual "stones" will come to life as individually colored pieces. At that point, the Patio will be complete!
ALL Pictures (of the process too) below:
Saturday, August 02, 2008
Patio Project -- Getting Ready for Concrete
All,
The Patio Project is moving on schedule. Concrete is being poured on Monday, and the whole patio will be finished on Wednesday... just in time for deck construction to begin.
Here are some pictures I've taken after the two main days worth of excavating and framing. You can really see the patio starting to take shape.
Enjoy!
The Patio Project is moving on schedule. Concrete is being poured on Monday, and the whole patio will be finished on Wednesday... just in time for deck construction to begin.
Here are some pictures I've taken after the two main days worth of excavating and framing. You can really see the patio starting to take shape.
Enjoy!
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Patio Project Under Way!
Dad and I are at it again.
Digging, digging, digging, and then more digging. We dug post holes, we dug trenches, we dug around boulders... we dug in 95 degree weather.
We also determined that approximately 50% of the land we own consists of rock. One boulder in particular caused us to grow our deck an extra foot, because the 4+ foot long rock was exactly where we wanted to put a deck posts.
However, with steady work from sunrise to sunset and careful planning, the end of the weekend yielded all objectives complete and a job well done. Our deck posts are set, our drainage tiles are ran, the hot tub wiring is complete, and we even ran electricity to the corner of our property for a future outbuilding.
Everything is set for the concrete crew to come next week. We'll keep you posted as we continue on the project.
Thank you so much, Mom and Dad, for driving all the way out here and helping us build our backyard masterpiece!
Digging, digging, digging, and then more digging. We dug post holes, we dug trenches, we dug around boulders... we dug in 95 degree weather.
We also determined that approximately 50% of the land we own consists of rock. One boulder in particular caused us to grow our deck an extra foot, because the 4+ foot long rock was exactly where we wanted to put a deck posts.
However, with steady work from sunrise to sunset and careful planning, the end of the weekend yielded all objectives complete and a job well done. Our deck posts are set, our drainage tiles are ran, the hot tub wiring is complete, and we even ran electricity to the corner of our property for a future outbuilding.
Everything is set for the concrete crew to come next week. We'll keep you posted as we continue on the project.
Thank you so much, Mom and Dad, for driving all the way out here and helping us build our backyard masterpiece!
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Jenn and Buttons--Homeowners
Congratulations to Jenn and Buttons who just closed on their beautiful new home. From the pictures below, it looks gorgeous! Holly and I are jealous at the size of your kitchen!!!
Enjoy the fun owning a home can bring... as well as the true enjoyment of knowing you don't have to move out when the lease is up! (Year, after year, after year...)
Enjoy the fun owning a home can bring... as well as the true enjoyment of knowing you don't have to move out when the lease is up! (Year, after year, after year...)
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Cabinet Project Complete!
Finally, after several weekends of work and phone calls to Dad (the visionary of the project), our garage now has cabinets to store all of our stuff. We are starting to get storage back, and these shelves allowed us to officially empty the very last of our moving boxes before the end of the new year.
Dad was able to scribble out the design for these shelves on a sheet of paper, and every measurement was dead-on... I cut (wishing my measurements were dead-on), and put everything together. In the end they look pretty good, even if I do say so myself. I have the doors cut and ready to go, but that will come when we have a little bit more time.
All done! The flecks in the picture that you see is all the sawdust swirling around the garage that reflected the flash off the camera. It was dusty, but we survived.
Dad was able to scribble out the design for these shelves on a sheet of paper, and every measurement was dead-on... I cut (wishing my measurements were dead-on), and put everything together. In the end they look pretty good, even if I do say so myself. I have the doors cut and ready to go, but that will come when we have a little bit more time.
Holly is freezing, but is now happy that both cars fit into the garage again!
All done! The flecks in the picture that you see is all the sawdust swirling around the garage that reflected the flash off the camera. It was dusty, but we survived.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
New Sunny Pictures
Sunny is doing well in his new home. He is set up in the middle of our family room so he is certainly still the center of attention!
Here he is as he stretches his legs in our living room and dining room.
Here he is as he stretches his legs in our living room and dining room.
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| Sunny |
Sunday, November 04, 2007
All Moved In!
We finally consider ourselves 100% moved into our home, with a place for everything and everything in its place. Motivated by Holly's family joining us for a weekend, we were able to have one last push to get everything inside the house all done, clean, and sparkling for their visit... perfect for taking pictures and sharing with all of our fellow ChalkBoard readers.
So, without further ado, as the French would say: Le maison de Chalk!
So, without further ado, as the French would say: Le maison de Chalk!
 |
| Our House |
Monday, September 03, 2007
Just in time for football season...
Holly and I have completed one room of our house (the others aren't far behind... trust us!). The most important room, the game/rec room is now completely set up. We built blanket hangers for our college blankets -- one for each institution we attended -- Wake, OSU, and McDaniel. I put my new power miter saw to use and built the hangers myself, and Holly and I hung them over the weekend.
As we get the finishing touches in our other rooms, we'll post them.
As we get the finishing touches in our other rooms, we'll post them.
 |
| College Blankets |
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Homeowners -> Squatters -> Homeless...
It all happened so quickly that I didn't even stop to take pictures. Fortunately my Mom did (those pictures we'll be posted soon).
Holly and I are now officially homeless. For the next 4 weeks and 1 day, anyways.
We'll be posting pictures soon, but wanted to thank everyone who worked so hard yesterday to help us move out... Mom, Dad, Jenn, Matt, and Buttons. It took a lot of work, and Holly and I are so very thankful that we were able to count on you all to help out on what I think was the hottest day so far this year!
Also, out of respect to the new homeowners, I've taken down http://www.269Rainswept.com. However, I couldn't bring myself to delete the webpage entirely. We'll keep up http://gallowayohiohome.googlepages.com/home probably forever, as we have tons of wonderful memories of our time on Rainswept, and we hope that everyone reading this blog were able to enjoy the house when you were able to visit us as much as we did.
The one thing that you learn going through a move is that it isn't about the house, and it isn't about the stuff in the house. It's the people in the house that make a house a home, so we hope all of you will visit early and visit often when we do finally become homeowners in Maryland so that you can help us make new memories there!
Holly and I are now officially homeless. For the next 4 weeks and 1 day, anyways.
We'll be posting pictures soon, but wanted to thank everyone who worked so hard yesterday to help us move out... Mom, Dad, Jenn, Matt, and Buttons. It took a lot of work, and Holly and I are so very thankful that we were able to count on you all to help out on what I think was the hottest day so far this year!
Also, out of respect to the new homeowners, I've taken down http://www.269Rainswept.com. However, I couldn't bring myself to delete the webpage entirely. We'll keep up http://gallowayohiohome.googlepages.com/home probably forever, as we have tons of wonderful memories of our time on Rainswept, and we hope that everyone reading this blog were able to enjoy the house when you were able to visit us as much as we did.
The one thing that you learn going through a move is that it isn't about the house, and it isn't about the stuff in the house. It's the people in the house that make a house a home, so we hope all of you will visit early and visit often when we do finally become homeowners in Maryland so that you can help us make new memories there!
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Tulips in Full bloom!
The tulips took a beating with the late-Spring freeze we had over Easter, however they still ended up looking pretty good. Check the pictures out below to see our landscaping come back to life after an odd start-stop-start Spring!
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| House Tulips |
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Offer Accepted!
So I was getting a bit of grief about how I never update this blog... so my fellow blog readers (you know who you are), here is a hum-dinger of a blog post:
We just received word that a buyer has accepted our counter-offer on our house. If nothing crazy happens, that means we've just agreed to sell our house!!!
The details are as follows: our house closing is on April 30th (less than 3 weeks away!!!). We then have until May 9th to hand over the keys and move out. To where? Good question. Hopefully I will be traveling with work by then during the week. Holly has her Miami apartment, and we have a pretty full social calendar between graduations, weddings, and family events until then that will keep us on the move. Holly's lease is up on her apartment on June 30th, so we'll then officially be homeless as we head for Europe in July. When we get back, we'll get serious about actually making the final move to Maryland.
Our crazy year just keeps moving along. One more piece is falling into place, and the picture is becoming clearer and clearer!
Thanks to everyone for the positive vibes and well wishes that you've sent our way! We're very happy to have a few more answers out of this stressful part of our lives!
We just received word that a buyer has accepted our counter-offer on our house. If nothing crazy happens, that means we've just agreed to sell our house!!!
The details are as follows: our house closing is on April 30th (less than 3 weeks away!!!). We then have until May 9th to hand over the keys and move out. To where? Good question. Hopefully I will be traveling with work by then during the week. Holly has her Miami apartment, and we have a pretty full social calendar between graduations, weddings, and family events until then that will keep us on the move. Holly's lease is up on her apartment on June 30th, so we'll then officially be homeless as we head for Europe in July. When we get back, we'll get serious about actually making the final move to Maryland.
Our crazy year just keeps moving along. One more piece is falling into place, and the picture is becoming clearer and clearer!
Thanks to everyone for the positive vibes and well wishes that you've sent our way! We're very happy to have a few more answers out of this stressful part of our lives!
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