Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Progress of Just Movement?




Beams in Garage Ready to Lift (If you click on this pic it should get BIG)

When things have been static for awhile it is easy to assume that any movement is ‘progress’, and that ‘more’ and ‘faster’ is therefore better. This desire for progress can lead to some faulty decisions, and the resulting movement MAY wind up being in the wrong direction. Randonneuring is a good example: Forward progress is required for success but sometimes you can’t be positive you are heading in the right direction. You just have to do the best with the information you have and sometimes make that leap of faith that you are moving in the right direction.

I got really fed up with being sick last week so made a couple feeble attempts to resume life as I knew it last year, … with varying degrees of success. Was it Thursday, or Friday I got all the way out to the truck and was on my way somewhere, I don’t even remember where. I do remember turning the truck around and driving back to the rental house(RH) thinking “not today”. This was a case where static was actually the right option; it wasn’t the right time for movement.

Saturday I went over to Rocky Acres and worked half a day. We got a little work done and then I headed back to the RH to watch the Seahawks dash the hopes of Hawks fans yet again. (Mrs. C had taken the kids from Church to the skating rink as a reward for being in the Christmas program.) Was it the football game or had I overdone it? I turned that pathetic football game off at half time and quietly slipped into an exhaustion induced coma on the couch. It did not bode well for Sunday. (Had I “progressed” in the wrong direction?)

If you will remember, Sunday was a pretty nice day (at least in SW Washington) so we went back to the place and put in a good days work. We made sure to get finished before we got done in. We were home before dark and though I was tired I didn‘t feel like a cast extra for Night of the Living Dead. It was actually a sunny day, so we moved a lot of stuff out of the garage and into the Garage MaHall. We didn’t get it completely cleaned out but we did get all the appliances moved, and then lots of other stuff, sorted, packed, and stashed into every nook and crannie.

All of which is good because I got a call from Jeff-the-House-Moving-Guy early Monday morning saying they were on the site, starting the process of getting the house ready to lift! Did you hear that? Getting ready to lift the house! He said they would need to move the remaining “stuff” in the garage back into the house to get it out of their way. (We will have to deal with this “stuff” later but we’ll deal with it)

He called again later to talk details and in conversation I mentioned the
photo album with all the pics that K&K had taken during the construction of the house. He said that these photos had been extraordinarily handy! Using the photos they were able to quickly locate every J-Bolt holding the house to the foundation. This saved time and also allows them to avoid having to cut the bolts to lift the house. It will also reduce the stress on the house during the lifting process. Instead of having to lift the house a bit and then cut the J bolts with a sawzall they will be able to loosen the nuts as they raise the house and then save every one of these J-bolts making for stronger pony wall construction once the house is ‘up’. Does this make sense to you? It does to me.

Jeff plans to lift the house a foot above the high water mark, making the total elevation gain right at 21 inches. We got an elevation survey with an elevation certificate back in April so we know the exact elevation of the front step. I also have photos of the house showing the high water line on the wall. I shared these things with Jeff. He will use this information along with transit shots on several other certain locations of the high water mark to assure that the house is raised to the correct elevation.

Sunday I took “before” pics of the house. I went by yesterday after work and took pics of their progress. I took off part of today to go out to the PUD office and submit the request to disconnect power, and then went by the house again and took more pics and talked the process through with Jeff. He said he was confident the way things were going that if we can get the power disconnected by Friday he should be able to have the house “up” and ready for the next step (pony walls) by Monday night. DID YOU HEAR THAT?!

Hole ready to insert 60 foot beam under the house

Is this progress? After a depressing lag, it feels like incredibly fast movement. Given what I know (and what I suspect) it appears to be in the right direction. So yes, this is great progress! A castle in the sky!

I know that to the casual observer it may look more like demolition than reconstruction. Aesthetically it’s still not ‘prettification’ but I’m feeling better and better about the pace and direction of developments. (A little sunshine and better breathing does not hurt)

We spoke to the SBA loan specialist yesterday. He decided he needed a little more info so I got some docs together and faxed them to him. He said based on the info he had that he was recommending a loan, (less than I had hoped for) and that approval (or denial) should be forthcoming in a couple days. Completing the loan docs and closing will take maybe a couple weeks.

We ordered our cabinets for the kitchen and bathroom today (will be 8-9 weeks for delivery). We MAY be ready for the flooring to go down in 5 weeks or so, but the cabinets should go down first so this MAY be a point of delay. I had been hoping that we would be settled back in the house by April 3rd, the one year anniversary of the date we moved in. We may not make that. I can’t quite see it yet but I’m getting my first whiff of what it may be like to be back in our place.

On Sunday we took a little time out to visit with the next door neighbors. In the new TV reality game “Flood Survivor - Race to Get Back in Your House”, we are Waaaaay behind the neighbors. The next door neighbors are looking like about two weeks out. They have gotten a lot done and now suffer the distress of waiting for this or that last detail:
Cabinets before the floor, the trim and doors, the finish painting, well, you know how these reality TV shows are. The couple one house over were actually moving back in on Sunday! I know I will probably need to up daily dose of patience pills, time to put my McCubbin on a short lead. I'm thinking of asking my Sibs to collaborate in developing a definitionof our McCubbin. (they might tear each other apart in the process) It could be a funny story, stay tuned.

Listen to me: The lifting crew has just torn off some siding and cut some holes in the walls and already I’m stressing over the order of finish for the painting, carpets, flooring etc. Hilarious: The hope that wells from the heart of mankind is incredible. Is that the defining human character? Hope? In the face of a mess, a person can still hope for an orderly, tidy life at home.


Happy (or distracting) thought for the day:

First I apologize for being so long between posts, nice to know that you are interested. (I am amazed to see over 5,000 hits on this site!) But if you are interested in blogs and blogging consider "The Bloggies". Sort of an underground academy awards ceremony for Blogs. When I first heard about this a few years ago I thought it was a joke. Then I decided it was just fanning the flames of narcissism. But checking out nominated sites the last couple years I’ve found examples of great writing and interesting perspectives. One site I am fond of is Daily Dose of Imagery. Mostly photo’s and about photography.

Hopefully the next time I post you’ll see pics of the incredible flying house!

1 comment:

  1. !Keep the faith, the sun will shine again, the house will fly and so will you on the bike (or at least roll)!! Best wishes from your rando friends.

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