A Beautiful Day!

It was a beautiful day in the neighborhood...the lake neighborhood, that is! However, the work we had to do seemed extra hard, and we struggled to get it done.


We got more brush cut back so that the builders will have room to maneuver around the perimeter of the house. There is still a bit more to do, and the more we cut, the more it seemed to multiply!


The soil test was done this last week, and we should have the results this next week. I am not sure what they do with the information, but I guess we'll find out. We could tell that someone had been there. There were some markings spray painted on the ground near the electrical pole with a couple of new flags that had not been there before. We could also tell that someone had driven down through the sand - there were some fairly deep ruts, so I'm guessing they may have gotten stuck. I don't know if it was the soil testing people, someone from the building company, or a neighbor. I don't think we really want vehicles driving down through the footprint of the house, but if it is someone representing the builder, I guess any issues will be their problem!


Despite our lack of energy and stamina for the work to be done, the day was beautiful, and the sun reflected off the lake making it just sparkle. 

We also had a couple of visitors - doe and a buck - who were happy to eat some lettuce that we brought for them. The doe would have eaten from my hand, but I kept trying to take a picture while feeding her, and she didn't like the beeping of the camera!

New Home for the Brown Shed

The moving of the brown shed has been pretty labor intensive, in my opinion. I understand that it is the only structure left on the lot with a functioning door...and we do still have a need for that. Spending the better part of four valuable Saturdays has meant that completing all the other tasks that need to be done is taking a longer than anticipated.
There was a lot of jacking up and putting blocks under the corners, then jacking up some more with more blocks. It may be the only shed known to man that was moved on a boat trailer! Then, after it was moved, all the stuff with blocks and jacks had to be done in reverse. So the shed has found its new home...its temporary home. 

The truck is parked in the driveway which comes in from the road on the right side of the lot and curves around to the center of the lot. If the shed stays in its current location, it will be the first thing you see when you come in the drive. It will also block the view of the new house, so it just can't stay there! For the time being, it will stay where it is, but we will eventually do something else for the storage of tools and outdoor equipment. I guess that will be Phase II...hopefully it won't take as long to do as Phase I did! 

The Little Shed That Didn't

The silver shed that was tucked deep in the bushes was not as lucky on moving day as the bigger brown shed that came out several weeks ago. It had several things working against it - it was farther back in the overgrown brush, it was fully loaded, and the method of moving it was a bit risky. None of these risk factors were the shed's fault, and even then, it almost made it out in one piece. I suppose one might argue that it still is in one piece...just slightly rearranged...

There is not much to do but dismantle and dispose of it. Sorry, little shed...with a little more effort your fate might have had a better outcome!

Getting Closer

Progress continues as we get closer to starting construction. 


I  called a person about removing the two stumps from the cedar trees last week. He said he would go by that evening and call me to let me know if he could do the job. Apparently he couldn't because I never heard back from him! Terry and Matt were going to try to move the second shed last Saturday, so I called someone that I found on the Camp Creek website. (Residents often have trouble getting reputable and experienced help because it is off the beaten path, so the website includes a page that lists service people along with recommendations from residents.) I spoke with the gentleman's wife who said he was looking at another job that morning but might get by our place to look in the afternoon. Not only did he come to look, but he also removed the stumps AND helped move the shed!


So, with that job out of the way, we were cleared to do a re-stake of the house. I keep calling it a stakeout...but I guess that is something slightly different! The re-stake guy, Jerry, had an opening today, so I went up to meet him. We decided to pull the house back away from the lake about 5 more feet. It is not that we are close to the lake - probably 200 feet away - but it just seemed a slightly better placement. Jerry agreed and completed the re-stake. He gave me a list of things that we still need to do - trim back some yaupon, cut a limb, remove a couple of chunks of concrete, etc. We should be able to complete that this weekend.


Jerry also had the septic guy come to look and give us the word on whether we can go traditional or aerobic. He said traditional was fine. That is good for us because it it less expensive than an aerobic design.


Now the plans go back to drafting for whatever  pre-construction things need to be done. I am hoping that building might start in two weeks...three weeks at the most! Hard to believe that we are almost ready to get started. Exciting!!

Jerry doing the re-stake

A Clean Slate

All remnants of the old cabin are gone. It looks very strange to us without it there!

Looking toward the lake

Huh? It was here last weekend!

From the lake looking up the hill

Demo Shots

Here is a sampling of the pictures taken during demo. They started on the road side and worked their way around in a counterclockwise direction. It was quite amazing to watch, and the Bobcat operator had obviously done this sort of thing before. He worked very meticulously to break up, level, and push the debris inward. As you can see in the second picture, he drove right up into the cabin to get interior walls broken.

Moving the Shed

Remember the shed? Matt and Terry had worked very hard to get the shed jacked up and on a trailer, only to find that the truck could not pull it up the hill. The soil is very fine sand and affords no traction, so we wanted the demo guys to pull it out. Before starting the demo, they did just that! Here is a version of that process at 4X normal speed.

Good day for a demo

So, today was the long awaited demo day. I was able to get a lot of photos and videos, which I will wade through. I will add thoughts along with more pictures this weekend. For now I will leave you with this...

Sad Little Cabin

The old cabin is looking very sad. With the two cedar trees cut down and some fairly severe scavenging done to the cabin, the results are rather pitiful.

This past week, a guy that Terry knows came in to take out the old appliances and other larger items that we were not planning to keep. They did what we asked, but it now looks like a tornado went through the place! 

They also removed the knotty pine paneling that I wanted to save. There was absolutely no insulation in the middle room, but something did occupy the space between interior paneling and exterior siding...

Creepy!

Terry and Matt worked on getting items out of the sheds. Both sheds will have to be moved before construction  begins, so that was the goal of this weekend's trip. They emptied one, jacked it up, got the trailer underneath it, but Terry's truck could not pull it up the hill. One mower was dead, so it had to be towed out of the way.

I am anxious to get going with demolition - it is just a bit painful to see the old place in such a forlorn state. I can see the new house in my mind, but it will be good to get moving on demolition and be that much closer to having the new construction begin!