End of Week/End of August Wrap

Well, we are off! You may interpret that statement in many ways and they would all be correct. It seems as if this project has been going on a long time. Actually, it was June of 2013 that we started playing around with the concepts that have, in August of 2014, entered the construction phase. It appears that progress will come in spurts. There will be periods of inactivity and boredom interspersed with periods of intense activity and insanity. But, we are finally at the point of tangible changes and we are very excited.

Here are some elevation plans for the sunroom.

This past week was busy, but we are now entering the quiet period of the Labor Day weekend. We may do a little digging for collectibles in the backyard, but the major objective for the weekend is to finish the rehab of our first-floor half-bath, off the butler's pantry. We started this project earlier in the year. We have all the parts, just need to put them in place.

Here is where we have left the backyard project going into the long weekend.

Last night at 1900 hours, after not hearing from the Ballwin Tree Service, I called Nick and, reminding him that he said he would call be back before the end of the day, told him I was afraid I had missed his call. I had not missed his call, as it was obvious that he had forgotten all about it. He repeated what he had told me earlier in the day, that he could probably pull the tree stumps the week after next. I thanked him, but said we needed something sooner. I then called Mike and told him that Ballwin Tree Service was not going to be timely if we needed to have the stumps pulled before the sewer work was started next week. We both agreed that this sequence of events is really the only one that makes sense and any postponement meant we might loose our spot in the queue for doing the sewer work. Vern (outdoor plumbing) had made it very clear to us that he and his crew are very busy. I also relayed to Mike my discomfort with my initial impressions of Tony, the alternative tree puller who Mark (indoor plumber) had sent out to look at the job Thursday night. Tony just did not seem enthusiastic about doing the job. Not a good sign in my book. Mike said he had never met Tony, but based on my first impression, now he was concerned as well. Being late Friday night, and going into a holiday weekend, Mike was not even sure how successful he would be in contacting Mark about getting Tony lined up to pull the stumps on Tuesday. He said he would try.

Mike called back around 2100 hours. He had successfully talked with Mark, as well as with Betsy (solar) and Rob (electrical). The new tentative schedule for next week is that nothing will happen on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Tony will be out to pull the three tree stumps. Mike said that Mark vouched for Tony's ability (despite his apparent lack of enthusiasm), saying "Tony is the best there is". For Mike, who knows Mark,  who knows Tony, that was good enough for him. For myself, who knows Mike, who knows Mark, who knows Tony, that is good enough for me. It feels like we are lining up like dominoes!

Also on Wednesday (not sure where or when), Mike, Rob and Betsy will be meeting to discuss the electrical infrastructure issues. I have sent a note alerting Bob (landscaping) of this meeting so that he can participate and contribute how the landscaping of the yard may impact the decision on where to trench for the underground cables. Vern is now scheduled to begin the sewer work on Thursday. When Vern was here this past week, he stated he thought the sewer work would take a couple of days. Not sure when Vern intends to replace the city water supply line (currently the lead pipe original from the 19th century) on the front of the house. This, however, is not essential at this time to proceed with the backyard work.

Mark will be out either Wednesday or Thursday to bore scope the gutter downspout laterals.

Earlier in the evening, I got a note back from Betsy saying by Tuesday, she would have a contract for the solar part of the project ready to bring to me for signature and to pick up the down payment. They will have identified the solar project manager by then who should be at the meeting with Mike and Rob (and maybe Bob) on Wednesday.

This morning, I sent emails to the three other solar companies we had talked with about our project. Only one of these had ever actually submitted a proposal, but I let them all know the competition is over.

Have a good weekend!

Last Work Day in August

It was a little cooler today, and actually quite nice in the shade. Mike and Nate showed up this morning along with "Bobcat" Tom. Their mission was to remove the garage slab, the sidewalk from the garage to the house and the porch rubble. They did a fine job indeed. It took four dump truck loads. They also "scooped" out the four azaleas and the Rose of Sharon along the east side of the garage and placed them along the east fence. Don't know if they will survive, but the azaleas are probably quite old and the Rose of Sharon has nice red blossoms and, considering the garage fell on it, seems very resilient. Here are the pictures from this morning and this evening.

From the 2nd Floor Bedroom vantage point

This Labor Day weekend, T and I will be doing a little archaeological digging around in the freshly uncovered yard. We have already found a few interesting items. No privy or cistern yet, but we are still hopeful.

This morning, a gentleman from Ameren showed up (at the request of Rob, the electrical contractor) to review the situation. He told me that Rob had told him that they were going to start the electrical work next week. Wow! Wasn't expecting that yet! At this point in the project, the electrical work would all be infrastructure: upgrading the system from 200 amp to 400 amp with addition of a second breaker panel in the basement of the main house; relocation of the outside Ameren meter; replacing the existing overhead electrical, phone and cable lines with underground lines. It is this last item that caught my attention (we can always spend the day(s) at the Scottish Arms if they shut off our power and air conditioning).

Installing the underground power lines means trenching, which means we need to know the route of that trench. We know it starts at the power pole in the alley. We know it stops at the meter on the back of the house. Trenching a straight line between the two is one option, but we have landscaping plans to take into consideration. Our landscaper (Bob of Poynter) is still working on the basic landscaping design. It will have planted trees, shrubs, walkways, retaining walls and water feature(s). The water features will be deep enough to accommodate koy. Mike said that typically, the power lines are not that deep, maybe 18" or so. Therefore, knowing the landscape layout will be important. I quickly shot a note to Bob making sure he is aware of the potential for next week. He suggested, and I concurred, that we need to get together with Mike and Rob next week to discuss the matter. This electrical work also prompted me to go ahead and formally award the solar panel part of the project to Straightup Solar. We have been working with Betsy at Straightup. We have opted to go with a system consisting of 30 x 300 watt panels (made by LG) with a rated capacity of 9 kW. I sent Betsy the contact information for Mike, and told her the electrical work may start next week. She is going to need to coordinate the solar work with the electrical contractor (Rob) and get their power cables in the trench as well.

If that is not enough for next week, the sewer work is supposed to begin as well. Last night, Tony (never did get his company name) came by and said he had been asked to provide an quote to remove the three maple tree stumps. He looked at them, shook his head, sighed heavily and said "he would put some numbers together". This morning, Mike told me what those numbers were. They could take the stumps out next Tuesday, but the cost would be 25% higher than the quote I had received last month from Nick of Ballwin Tree Service. Ballwin is the tree company Bob (of Poynter) had recommended. I suggested to Mike that I call Nick to see if he was still interested and when he would be available. I called Nick and he said he was interested and would get back with me before the end of the day on when he could do the work. So far, I have not heard anything from him. When he was leaving this evening, Mike and I agreed we needed to have the stumps removed before the sewer line was installed. Also on Tuesday, the inside plumber (Mark) should be out to bore scope the downspout laterals and determine if we have a problem and what our options are.

Late note: I was copied on an email from Betsy (Straightup Solar) to Mike, introducing herself and stating that a project manager for the solar part of the project will be assigned and contacting him next week.

It is going to be a busy week.

Update on Silver Seal Soda Bottle

I know you have not been able to sleep wondering about the soda bottle we found in the garage slab. Me either. As we were standing out in the rain yesterday chatting, Vern warned T and I that if they run into a privy during the trenching, we'll have all the bottles we ever dreamed of. T, while doubtful it would actually happen, was very excited with the possibility. Anyway, after soaking the bottle in vinegar overnight, I was able to get the concrete off the bottom to observe the bottle maker marks. Here is the bottom of our bottle,

From the web site: http://www.glassbottlemarks.com/ (a neat site), the "N in a square"

was the trade mark of the Obear-Nestor Glass Compay, East St. Louis, Illinois. According to the web site, they were in business from 1894 to 1978. "The 'N in a square' mark was used from approximately 1915 to the glass plant closing in 1978. Often, the mark is accompanied by a date code, usually two numbers located to the immediate right of the “N”, which would stand for the last 2 digits of the year the bottle was made".

On our bottle, there is no number to the immediate right of the mark. The numbers 16 and 46 do appear however. Since the copyright was 1924, I would assume, for now, that the bottle was made in 1946.

This does not pin point the age of the bottle. We still need to find out more about the American Soda Water Company. I need to get this done before we unearth the privy!

Yesterday It Rained

Yesterday we had thunder boomers and a moderate rain. Ever since I retired, I have enjoyed a good thunderstorm, however, it is not conducive to outside labor. Nothing happened, project-wise, yesterday and it doesn't appear anything is going to happen today. This is, therefore, the end of this day's entry. You may find the rest of this posting boring unless you enjoy plumbing and guttering. Continue reading at your own risk. Do not continue if you are operating machinery and/or have a history of dozing off due to excessive boredom.

T and I went out on an errand yesterday afternoon. When we returned, we found Vern (the outside plumbing contractor) in the backyard looking at the situation. A pile of rubble was is still surrounding the porch. I told Vern that Mike told me that his plan was to breakup the garage slab and haul that debris, along with the porch debris, by the end of the week. Vern said that was good since he was targeting to be on-site next Tuesday (after Labor Day) to start the sewer trenching. The demolition work needs to be completed before his work begins. As we stood in the back yard chatting about the project, taxes, politics, etc., it started to rain and the perennial topic of gutter downspout discharge came up (doesn't it always?).

I have been continuously confused about the local politics of downspout discharge. We have five gutter downspouts (probably should have six). Four tie into the sewer system via underground laterals. The fifth just discharges to the sidewalk (why is still a mystery). Vern asked me if we had validated the integrity of the laterals. To which I responded, "No, should we?" Vern reminded me that his scope of work was to replace the existing clay sewer line (the original 19th century line) with a new 6" PVC line, reconnecting all the existing laterals that tie into it. If those laterals are not intact, it is not in his scope to either inspect or repair. He suggested we should have someone "scope" out the laterals and determine if they are functioning properly BEFORE he digs up, replaces and reburies the sewer line. Makes sense, right? While it was raining (not hard), we walked around the perimeter of the house and looked at the downspout discharges. One of the four downspouts that are connected to sewer was overflowing...BAD NEWS. Obviously, it is plugged up. The others did not show any signs of overflow, but again, it was not raining very hard. Vern ventured a guess that, as is the case with many of the old houses in the area, the laterals actually run under the foundation. So, I asked sheepishly, what if we find one or more of these need to be repaired? Do we have to dig up the basement and foundation or can we just abandon the lateral and discharge the downspout into the yard? To this, Vern said "yes, we can do that, but not legally unless we get a variance from the City". Great! I told Vern that I was under the impression that "they" were trying to get people to get rain runoff out of the sewer system. Vern agreed that the MSD (Metropolitan Sewer District) is trying to do that so that they don't have to process rain water. However, it is the City, not the MSD, who would have to grant the variance. Obviously, not the same entity.

Bottom line is that after Vern left, I called Mike and relayed to him that Vern was recommending we get someone to scope out the laterals and determine our options if they are not functioning properly. Mike was also confused about what our options might be, but he said he would call Mark (inside plumbing contractor), who has a bore scope. I have not heard anything since then. Waiting to hear from Mike.

Thirst Quencher

Inspecting the soon-to-be-history garage slab, we noticed that along the rear edge, flush with the slab was, what appeared to be, the bottom of a glass bottle. Closer inspection verified it was some kind of bottle, probably a soda bottle. After Mike and crew left for the day, I fetched my trusty hammer and screw driver and started chipping away at the concrete. I quit when I broke the screw driver and was starting to feel a little anemic due to the loss of blood (mosquitoes were dining out in force).

This morning, I went ALL the way down to the basement to find a proper chisel and continued with my attempt to free this object from its long imprisonment. My efforts were successful without breaking the bottle. It is a 7 fl oz Silver Seal soda bottle (empty and without cap), "prepared and bottled" by the American Soda Water Co. St. Louis, MO. There is a copyright date of 1924 on the front of the bottle, so we know that is the earliest it could have been there. We are looking for more information about the company on-line. Apparently one bottle served multiple flavors since the back of the bottle says "Flavor designated on crown".

Who knows what we find under the slab or when we start our trenching work?!?!

Porch Gone

Yesterday and today, Mike has been working on the demolition of the back porch. Most of it is now a pile of rubble. Interestingly, the reinforcing bar (rebar) used was everything from wire fencing to bed springs. Waste not....

Before from 2nd floor door

During

After

May get started breaking up the old garage slab tomorrow.

Plans

Below is the layout of the project. Our original hope was to not lose any trees. However, it gradually became clear to everyone that the three silver maples closest to the existing house would probably not survive the construction process. Therefore, the first task was to remove those three trees. These were cut down the first week in August. The stumps were not ground out as we were advised to have them pulled. That still is to be accomplished.

Trees are gone!

Once the construction permit was granted, the next step was to push over and haul away the old garage. This was accomplished on August 15.

While the construction phase has begun, we still have decisions to make. We have decided the company we are to use for the cabinetry (bar and paneling). We met with them this week to discuss details of the bar. We are also selecting the bar counter top and appliances to go under the bar, including refrigerator, dishwasher, ice maker. We also decided who we will be using for landscaping and met with that company to continue the design considerations for both the front and back yards.

Hello World

Welcome to the renovation of our St. Louis backyard. The project has been under consideration since we moved into our house back in 2003. We briefly explored replacing our 1920's era garage in 2004, but that project was shelved due to cost and lack of interest. We got used to not having a convenient car shelter and besides, it never snows in St. Louis...until last year (thank you global warming).

With our retirement last year, we decided to give the project a new beginning. The scope has expanded beyond just replacing the garage. Through the second half of 2013, a lot of thought and sketches went into deciding what we wanted to achieve. By the end of the year, the concepts were established and they have not changed much since then. By February 2014, we were ready for professional help and we enlisted the services of our architect/neighbor. On June 17, having already received approval from the neighborhood association, we were ready to seek approval and permits from the City of St. Louis. On June 26, approval was received from the Cultural Resources Office, and on August 8, we got the construction permits. While the approval process consumed over two months, it was achieved without the need for any alterations or adjustments to our plans. A lot of the credit goes to our Architect who knew what issues and concerns might be encounter. During the design phase, he was able to guide us through those areas without sacrificing any of the basics we wanted to achieve.

Below are some pics taken prior to any project work. Lots of shade! Lots of squirrels!

As we move forward with the project, we will attempt to keep this blog updated with the highlights. Our stated goal is to have the project (except for all the landscaping) completed before the end of this year....finances permitting.