runlikejoy

Displaced Stay At Home Californian in rural N. Carolina

The Many Faces of Joy

The Many Faces of Joy

Sunday, January 17, 2016

Gabe the Builder

I said I was going to post the rest of what we did during the holiday and then I never did.  I got too busy.  I remember thinking when the girls were babies that I could not possibly be any busier but it turns out that I am like a whirlwind.  As I write this, it is snowing outside but it is a wet drippy kind of snow so I don't think it will stick and that makes the girls sad.  They each got a sled for Christmas and are dying to use them.

We are in the finishing stages of the upstairs of our house.  When we bought our house it had this huge upstairs attic and we knew we would finish it but the cost seemed so unreal to us and so did the work that it would require.  We got a bid or two but they wanted so much money and we didn't have that.  So 2 years later and we are in the finishing lap.  What we wanted was one bedroom, one sitting room, one bathroom and one big closet and one smaller closet.  In the sitting room there will be a built in desk, some built in bookshelves and an entire electrical/media set up for a big screen tv.

I like to say "We" because I have made lunches and listened to stories of what Gabe will do to this and what he will do to that but in all honesty I haven't really done much other than "ooo" and "awww" over his work.  He (and his Dad) have done the following:

Framed - that means to put up the beams and make the open space into rooms
Electrical - put all the wires in that will be recessed lights, bathroom lights, light switches, etc
HVAC - put in the heating and air conditioning unit since it is either blazing hot here or really cold
Insulation - All the fiberglass puffy stuff that goes into the walls and ceiling to keep you warm and cool
Roughing in the plumbing - we farmed that out
Hanging sheet rock - that covers the insulation and makes the room look like a room
Taping and Mudding - covering up all the sheet rock with goo
Sanding and Painting - that is where he is now
Putting in fixtures and tile
Carpet
Furnish

I include some pictures so you can see where he is in the process and so you can "ooo" and "awww" over the process too.  It is impressive.  And so you know it is a legit operation, we have passed every inspection and we have permitted everything properly so that someday when we go to sell this monstrosity of a house, we can increase our sale price.

I am so proud of my Gabe (and his Dad).  They do not cease to amaze me.




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