We are closing in on the END of our flood rebuild…….somewhere in the near distance! The flood waters raced into our life and home on May 1, 2010.



As of this time we have a new roof and painters have been back to do their final touch ups. Our pretty floors have been stained, sanded, poly-ed 3 times and our cabinets are in the kitchen and baths.

The most welcomed return was the washer and dryer last week. Our builder brought the plumber in early to get Roxie back in business on the property. She is most grateful to the neighbor who permitted our laundry business for 3 months and our builder who made it happen on the home front once again.

We selected granite counter tops after much consideration and two trips to Natural Stone in Nashville searching for a lighter color. We did succeed and they are to be installed on August 30, 2010. The small porcelain back splashes have been selected.

Cabinet with granite and paint samples.

The electrician will return to complete some installations and the plumber will be here to connect our kitchen sinks and lavatories and toilets and install the refrigerator with ice maker and dishwasher. Those two appliances will be delivered when called for.



Our builder has begun to prepare the ground for our HVAC system…………..some day!

Contractor Don Balthrop  is always hands on in our rebuild.

Painting our library shelves in HIS SHOP!

Charles has worked with our builder sometimes doing wood work for the neighbor. He has almost painted the outside of our home. There is new wood where his new shop French doors took the place of the damaged ones. Inside the shop he has painted our library shelves. And, he borrowed space at the neighbor’s small house to stain and seal the quarter round and store painted library shelves. He has cleaned the windows and rehung the storm windows.

 
 

Home to most of our furniture since May 8, 2010.

While we look forward to the time to occupy we know the difficult job ahead of us. Our POD and barn are chucked full of mud caked furniture that must be cleaned before taking a place inside the house. We will try Restor-a-Finish by Howard recommended by a neighbor for our antique furniture. Until the shop is free of shelves we cannot begin this several day process per piece. Your suggestions are welcome to our E mail address. Thanks.

Each step of the way we have had the required inspections by our mortgage company to “plead” for our flood money. We have now reached 90% with them. Snail mail has been their delivery system but on the third draft they offered us next day, Fed X, at their expense! We took it. Also…we also must comply with the final codes inspection for our town. Finally we will get a ‘RIGHT OF OCCUPANCY” document.



Roxie has manned the constant paper work trail per occurrence in this rebuild. The state of TN has made taxes exempt for flood victims through Sept. 30, 2010. Receipts have been carefully kept and the forms to use have been downloaded. We have lost so much furniture that we will not have the necessities replaced by this date but we will take the tax refunds for our present purchases. This includes taxes on our building supplies bought through our builder.


It has been necessary to monitor the trades workers who have spoken very little English and understood less. With the painters it was necessary to insist that our windows were not to be painted shut! This is but one example of the need to be on site for the rebuild.




Regardless of where we are in the return to the house we will release the brakes and travel to Galax, VA and Winston Salem, NC for another Frustrated Maestro appearance at the area FMCA –GEAR in October. We will be gone about 3 weeks stopping in East TN to visit relatives a night or two. November will find us also collecting those tons of leaves that fall from our beautifully shade producing trees. December until the first of April will find us on our “home turf” in FL at Holiday Travel Resort in Leesburg, FL. www.holidaytravelresosrt.com Once here we will dive back into the welcomed “jobs” with the volley ball and computer seasons.


This will not be a summer to forget easily. But…we are grateful for the endurance to get through it even when the weather was a stifling 95-100 for over 30 days.



We always welcome your news and thank you for staying in touch.

As I write tonight we are progressing right along. We now have dry wall and unfinished hardwood floors completed. We did the cleanup of the dry wall clutter and dust. At last after mudding and sanding dry walls became complete to form rooms.

Our tile is in progress now. It will take a long time to adjust to putting floor tile on the walls but this is now the “in” way to finish a bathroom. I likely will always pine for the sweet, pink 4 inch ceramic tiles that met their demise at the hands of our tear out crew’s sledge hammers. I can still hear them falling!

Our general contractor used his heavy equipment and dug out the tree stump of the tree that feel on the house during the flood.  We get a new roof this coming week.



Painters are arriving next week and finally those plaint colors have been selected. We have only our braided rugs from which to pull colors. In fact, we have no soft furniture in the house and no mattresses! The trim carpenters have put up our very first crown molding and are adding their magic to the window and door trims. Doors arrived and some are hung. Kitchen cabinets are scheduled to arrive on August 17. We have miles to go before we have our home complete. 




We had the honor of providing the birthing room for Mother House Wren. She insisted on being in the “garage-shop.” After running her out for her persistence in coming in it was time to close the doors and turn on the window AC unit. One afternoon Roxie needed to shop. She heard birds “in the wall” that Chas was sealing up with insulation and finished wood. When she returned she was ready to have Charles tear apart his work because he surely had sealed a bird in them. With disgust Charles offered her the crow bar. To this she replied that this was way beyond her strength. Then Charles made the discovery that on a shelf in one of his tennis shoes were 4 widely stretched mouths waiting for groceries to arrive.

We moved the babies out on top of the AC and for a week mother was diligent to feed them. Of course, we protected them from rain. Finally after a week plus it was time to join the world and one by one they left under the watchful eye of mommy. She sat on a line above the motor home and chirped to them. And…we felt that empty nest syndrome.

When will be be done? The right of occupancy will be issued by the City of Franklin’s Codes department. Meanwhile we help with our home, answer questions from our subcontractors and never have enough time in a day.



Our mud caked furniture is waiting in our POD. There is a lot of clean up before we move it into the house. Refrigerator, washer dryer have been purchased and await the nod to deliver. We have nothing soft in the house for sitting or sleeping. We did loose several pieces of furniture. The good news is that the gentleman who took in our piano says it is fine and in his garage. His children are even playing it!

Tennesse weather has been as brutally hot as the nation has endured.  After a weekend of relief we return to near 100 degrees for most of the days this week.