Holiday Makeover - Demolition

While the well was being drilled we also began work on the yard and pool.  The pool was drained...

The coping and tile was chipped away...

We have a crack in the pool  To repair it, a 3.5" grinder was used to cut the mortar alongside the crack.  Every foot or so a perpendicular cut was made.  A rotohammer drill was used to drill a 1/2" hole on either side of the crack, and a square "U" shaped piece of rebar was hammered into the holes to keep the crack from spreading.

Meanwhile, the landscaping crew demo'd the front walk, which will be donated to Habitat for Humanity.

And the landscape crew had some local help...

Next week we'll be working on the stone patios, pool, and yard.  Merry Christmas!

Holiday Makeover

Now that rains have returned to central Texas we are finally tackling the exterior of the house.  We hired a landscape architect to help us come up with an overall plan.  We're going to be working on:

 - landscaping (irrigation, new plants, rocks)
 - new front walk
 - new hillside seating with firepit
 - new coping, tile, and pebble finish in the pool
 - new deck with cabana around pool
 - natural stone to cover concrete patios

But first we need to address our lack of water.  Our 480' well went dry in August.  Luckily we had just installed a 2500 gallon external water tank.

We've been having water delivered by truck every couple of weeks since August.  Water is a precious resource - this experience has been an eye opener.

We finally drilled a new well yesterday.

We began reaching really good water flow around 720'.  In the picture below you can see the water spraying up as the pipe is drilled down.  In the background between the trucks is a large square silt bag.  The water coming out of the well flows into the silt bag where the particulate matter is trapped.

 

Here's another view of the silt bag and a silt fence to catch the silt while drilling.

Once we reached ~720' we were in the Trinity aquifer.  It is recognizable by the red, sandy drilling waste that comes out of the hole while drilling.  As we drilled further and neared the bottom of the aquifer, we began encountering a more yellowish limestone mixed with black gravel.  This was the indication to stop drilling so as to not reach the shale level.  Here's some of the limestone and gravel that came up at the 800' level.

Our completed well is 820' deep and flows over 60 gallons per minute.  We'll be putting in a pump and connecting it to the 2500 gallon storage tank next week.

Playhouse Part II

After a few more weeks of work the playhouse is ready for kids.  It is painted to match the house; the fascia and siding are the same paint.  The light brown color is the house soffit color and the dark brown matches the exterior of the house windows and doors.

The swingset, pullup bar, and fireman's pole are schedule 40 galvanized pipe, which I found wholesale in town in 21 foot lengths (2" inside diameter for swingset).  For the swingset I used a commercial fitting (green piece on the end) to connect them, plus a floor flange on the other side.  One more swing coming.  The ends are sunk into concrete which has rebar drilled into the underlying stone, like the playhouse itself.

I found some great rock climbing holds online that included the T bracket, 30 for $30.  The back wall has 1" plywood under the Hardie board so it is plenty sturdy.  The pull-up bar is 1" inside diameter pipe.

The inside black areas are primed, sanded plywood with chalkboard paint applied.

The fireman's pole is also 1" inside diameter pipe.  I spent a lot of time looking at the BarbaraButler.com website for ideas.  One thing they do is leave 1/2" around closing doors so that if the door slams on little fingers there is no injury.  I installed my doors with the same type of spacing around them and spring loaded hinges to keep them shut.

Upstairs there is a bench across one wall and a moveable work bench for building projects.

To access the upstairs, rather than putting in a tall ladder I put a platform a few feet below the scuttle hole.  That way if anyone falls through the hole it will not be a long drop.

A few more small touches to add but overall it is ready for the kids.

The Railing

Now that we are living in the house we've started working on more of the outside.  One of the first projects to tackle was the lack of railing between the patio and the pool. (I removed the rotten existing planter boxes during the demolition phase of construction.)

Dad suggested we fill in the existing steps to the pool to give us more patio space.  (We'll build new steps to the pool at the end of the patio when we replace the pool deck.)  Here's the form being created...

And the poured concrete...

We like the look of the cable rail systems - wood posts and stainless rails seem a good match for our transitional home.  After researching online I settled on the Feeney brand and emailed a picture of my plans (below) and the existing patio to a helpful representative to verify my order.

We ordered 10 strands of 1/8" stainless steel in 55' lengths.  The wood choice is cedar to match the ceilings and because redwood was 4x the price. 

We spent a lot of time researching how to attach the posts to the concrete and decided that expoxy and threaded bolts were the best solution.  Using a 9/16" rotary hammer drill we put two 4 1/2" holes into the concrete for each post.  We used a grinder to cut bolts from 10' lengths of 1/2" all thread pipe.  Here they are attached with two part concrete epoxy from our local Fastenal store.

Note also that the posts are in the above picture and the bottoms are stained with Duckback transparent stain and sealer in canyon brown to protect the cedar.


Attaching the posts to the wall was easy after *precisely* measuring each bolt location on each post.  Remarkably they all aligned nicely.  We used a string and level throughout as any deviance from level, straight lines would  be visible in the finished product.

To attach the 2"x4" braces between posts we used a Kreg system and stainless screws my Dad bought for the task.  This is the same system used by cabinet makers and worked great.  It allows you to drill an angled pilot hole for each screw, which provides a strong and hidden bond between perpendicularly joined wood.

We put on two coats of Duckback stain everywhere and attached 5/4" x 6" decking as the top of the railing.  We used PL400 adhesive and wood screws (screwed from underneath so as not to be visible) to attach the railing.  The Feeney system used 316 stainless throughout and came with protectors so the cable would not bite into the wood at the angle from the steps.  Drilling 10 holes in every post and cross brace for the wire to pass through took some time as we did it manually (no drill press).  We measured every hole carefully on both sides of each post and drilled from each side to ensure a straight line.

Installing the 10 strands of cable took less than an hour - that was the easiest part of the project.  Here are a couple of pics of the completed fence. 

 

Now we have to decide how to cover our patio - flagstone, travertine, concrete resurfacing????

The Rising

We moved in last week but it has been hectic.  Lots of pics of the house, but for now a break to show the weekend project - a playhouse for the kids.  After searching craigslist, costco, and the internet for options, I was inspired by the outrageously priced playhouses at www.barbarabutler.com.  Most of the designs I liked were 6'x6' squares with 4"x4" corner posts.  I decided to make my own.

First step, the foundation.  Pour the footings for the base, set up batten boards, and run string lines to create a perfectly square foundation.  In the foreground are Simpson  post bases which were bolted to the footings with concrete anchors. 

Next up bring back James and Skip from the house framing to build the frame.  James and Skip required a site visit before the weekend to discuss the project (finish a Bud Light 12 pack).  We upsized the Barbara Butler playhouses with 16 foot 6"x6" posts and an 8 foot square base.

Pressure treated 2"x8" bands with 2"x6" joists on hangers.

The roof will be the same pitch and overhang as the house.  We'll also mirror the fascia with Hardie board.

Lots of workers helping...

The view from the top.

And the completed roof:

Next up will be floor decking, walls, railings, and accessories - monkey bars, swings, slide, fire pole, rock wall, picnic table, etc.

Miscellaneous Photos

Here are a few updates from around the house.  First, the Cornell Garage doors look great painted and the belt drive is super quiet.

We went with old fashioned hot water heaters rather than the propane tankless models.

The ceiling fan in the master is mounted high so we can fit our tall wrought iron bed.

A couple of views in Emily's office, the doors and the file cabinets...

We moved the elk from the garage to my office to make more room. Even with 12 foot ceilings the elk makes it look smaller.

Here's a view of the entertainment center from the kitchen.

And another view from the kitchen...

Kitchen

In the background you can see the vent hood which now has the fan installed and working (the fan blower is mounted on the roof).  Gabby is actively working on the backsplash, which consists primarily of 3"x8" Jerusalem stone subway tiles.  A pencil mold of the same stone frames a hand made marble mosaic tile that runs horizontally the length of the counter.  In the center, under the vent hood, is polished carrara.  The idea was to bring together the colors of the floor and counter and tie them together in the backsplash.

Here's my Dad "supervising" Felix the master plumber as he works on the complicated install of the foot pedals for the kitchen sink.

And a view of the installed foot pedals.  These are great features - you can step on hot or cold without ever having to touch the sink faucet to get the water flowing.  These are from a medical supply company and are the same stainless steel and brass ones used in hospitals.

The island, which is painted a base coat of gray as you can see in the photo above, will be faux finished to look like the sample on the left below.

The vent hood top will be plastered and faux painted to look like the cloudy bit on the left sample above.  The window cleaners were in yesterday to clear off the gunk accumulated from the painting/staining/etc.

Guest Bath

The guest bath has a contemporary look.  Textured porcelain tiles on the floor and shower, with green glass tiles for accent in the shower and for the backsplash.  The vanity is beautiful solid walnut and we selected chrome pulls and fixtures throughout.

We splurged and went with a frameless glass door for the tub (not installed yet).  That way when you enter the room and look in the large mirror above the sink you will have a clear view of the tub.

Our laundry room is not huge but looks like it will be plenty big.  I have had to custom order a few items for the house that the commercial supply places couldn't get in time - I have found the Internet to carry the same brands, but with better selection, better prices, and quicker delivery in many cases.  The utility sink is a case in point - we were able to get a large and deep sink that fills the cabinet.

We had to raise the cabinet 7 inches to allow our extra large HE washer to open, and to provide room for the faucet.  We chose a slate remnant for the sink which turned out great.  After seeing it in person I think we would have considered this for the kitchen instead of the marble we selected.  The slated is very practical and has good natural looks.