Renovation update - some pictures
A window installed, a few waiting to be. My car trunk is currently filled with 9 small double-paned windows, slated to go here as well, assuming they don't break during transit (they might, it wasn't my best packing job). The sooner we get a greenhouse area set up, the sooner we can bring all of the greenhouse plants! For the ATLians, sash windows are $2 ea at Lifecycle Building Center, down on my beloved Murphy Ave.
The container garden on the deck keeps growing. I planted more redbuds (all untreated), more lettuce (black-seeded simpson), and got around to planting some sugar snap peas from 2010. All of the cilantro pots looked like they had been disturbed by critters. I'll have to figure out a way to put protective screens on them or something. You can see the aforementioned wintersown beets in the old water jug. Today I picked up some whatever Broccoli seeds, de cicco or something, from Home Depot. Broccoli is my fave vegetable, but I have yet to grow it well - I've learned a few reasons why though - old seeds, trying to grow them at the wrong time of year, and that they need lots of water to be tasty...
So this is some of the engineering repair. V was originally going to go with something he called "spacers" but now he's going with this, I don't remember what it is called, but that's what it looks like. It stabilizes the rafters, prevents them from going wonky sideways, if I understand correctly. Something that is normally done in the construction of a building, but wasn't here. The wood siding has been removed, and re-used elsewhere. This also provides a great opportunity to replace and add insulation. The high ceiling means that heating this area is difficult, as far as I'm concerned there's no way to have too much insulation. Since I took this photo more work has been done, a giant beam has been put into place, to provide additional ceiling/roof support.
The fake rock/wood work has been removed! I'm hoping to find? a mantle (there's one at the Lifecycle place I've had my eye on), and I want to fill with mosaic stuff. Someday. The fireplace has some issues, something about leaks so one ends up with smoke in the main room. Fixing the fireplace is a very low priority according to V. I'm sad for him that it's not up to snuff - though he's able to use it right now since I'm mostly down here in GA. V loves fire!
V took down this ceiling fan, here it is in the garden tub in the Grand Bathroom. The plumbing in there needs to be redone. Then the pipes froze. V disconnected the water lines entirely, but this required first finding them all. V told me he was going to see what parts could be salvaged from the fan, so for now it will bask in the sun in the tub.
Last, this is a variegated .. uh .. well it sounds like V calls it a "schleffenberger" so we'll go with that. We have a non-variegated one at home in ATL, but it's very small, where this one is BIG. Came with the place. I don't know what the kittens will do to it. It has not frozen to death, despite definite below freezing temps. Also I don't know why the background is that color, in person it's vaguely soft pink/mauve. But anyway we've been really impressed with this house plant.
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There was a previous property that we looked at, and while it was unbelievably beautiful - it hadn't been logged in a very long time, if ever, the biodiversity of that place was on par with Pisgah National Forest - but I am absolutely confident that we made the right decision to go with this place. V is shouldering an immense burden, there's simply so much to re-engineer/rethink/repair/redo from structural to wiring to plumbing to under the house stuff to roofing to insulating to framing, and that's just the building part. Needless to say he's been working his ass off up there.
I'll head up there on Sunday. The focus currently is on the kitchen! My In-laws are up there helping! I'm so excited!