Day 17 - August 6, 2000 - Jay finished framing the back bedroom for the new bathroom and hallway.

Day 18 - August 7, 2000 - Ben arrived around 7:00 am and Tim showed up about an hour later. They started working on the siding with the intention of finishing most of it. But, by 12:30 the heat was just too much and they had to call it a day. I painted the front door and Jay put it back up when he got home from work.

Day 19-21 - August 8-10, 2000 - They finished putting up all the siding (except for a few minor pieces), finished the porch and finished framing the new closet. Jay put up all the shutters and finished most of the wiring.

Day 22 - August 11, 2000 - Final day for the exterior. They finished up some odds and ends and the Nitro building inspector signed off on the job. The dry wall guys were suppose to come by and give an estimate on the job and materials needed, but of course they never showed. They’re suppose to start Monday. The gutter guy stopped by to give an estimate and scheduled next Wednesday for the job. The heating and cooling guys finished installing the new system, but didn’t actually hook it up. They want to come back after the drywall is installed to put in the vents and cold air returns and then they will hook everything up and test the new system.

Day 23 - August 12, 2000 - no work, except for installing the door bell which should have taken five minutes, but actually took over and hour and few choice words.

Day 24 - August 13, 2000 - Jay, Stuart and I finished hanging most of the insulation and Jay finished the rest of the wiring.

Day 25-27 - August 14-16, 2000 - Jay finished up some odds and ends (wiring, insulation, removal of drywall,...).

Day 28 - August 17, 2000 - Jay finished up some more odds and ends. Jay and I borrowed Stuart’s truck, which turned out to be a fiasco, to pick up the shower stall from Lowe’s. The one we got wasn’t exactly what we wanted, but it would do. When we got it home, the two of us had to carry it around back. Then we discovered that it would not fit through the french doors. Jay had to take the doors out, he had to cut out the header for the bedroom door, and remove a few studs for the bathroom wall. We got the shower in the bathroom, then Jay had to put everything back together. Unbelievable!

Day 29-31 - August 18-20, 2000 - no work, Buffet break!

Day 32 - August 21, 2000 - Tim and Ben were suppose to be here at 7:00 am to start hanging drywall, but they never showed up. We called them all day long, but no answer. Jay and I used the left over siding to do the out building and I painted the doors.

Day 33 - August 22, 2000 - Still no word from Tim and Ben. I guess they decided to skip town instead of working on our drywall. We’ve called Tim day and night for the past two days with no answer. I guess I was bragging on them too much about how hard they work. They had to show me that they were typical contractors. Jay called every drywall subcontractor in the paper and phone book, but there was either no answer or they couldn’t get to us until next month sometime. So, Jay decided to start hanging what drywall he could. He finished the kitchen and started on the new hallway. He worked until around 9:00pm.

Day 34 - August 23, 2000 - Still no word from Tim. I don’t know what the h--- happened to him. Jay finished the hallway and started on the closets, when Scott (future brother-in-law) showed up to help Jay. They started on the bedroom ceiling when Wayne (a friend) showed up to help. They finished the bedroom ceiling and started on the living room ceiling, then they decided to call it a day around 9:00pm. I helped some with holding the "T" braces.

Day 35 - August 24, 2000 - Jay finally found someone to finish hanging the drywall. They showed up around 10:00am and finished hanging all the rest of the drywall and left around 7:00pm. I am so glad Jay found someone, it was money well spent. The guy who is going to finish the drywall may show up tomorrow depending on his other job. If not, he will be there Monday. (I hope)

Day 36 - August 25, 2000 - The drywall guy is still finishing up his other job, so he is suppose to come Monday. Jay started taking the deck apart to be able to fit it in between the two new rooms. The deck is about a foot wider than the opening. I started pressure spraying the block on the existing house so that it can be painted on Saturday and the front porch to get all the glue off from the outdoor carpet that was previously there.

Day 37 - August 26, 2000 - Jay finished taking the deck boards off and cutting off the end of the frame. Wayne came over and helped Jay prepare the frame to be moved, then Scott and Chris Braley came over and the four of them moved the deck into place. Stuart was suppose to come over, but got hung up at anther job. Then Wayne helped Jay set the posts and level the deck frame. The two of them finished up around 6:30pm. Sherri stopped by and painted the last set of shutters for the out building and I painted all the block on the existing house. The new block can’t be painted until Jay puts a coat of mortar on it to hide the seams.

Day 38 - August 27, 2000 - Stuart stopped by and helped Jay lay out the deck boards on the frame, then he took off. Jay nailed all the boards in place and shoveled off the dirt in front of the deck to prepare for the stairs. I finished pressure spaying the front porch. We finished up around 6:30pm.

Day 39 - August 28, 2000 - Duane, the drywall guy, arrived around 8:00am and applied the drywall tape and first coat of joint compound. He finished around 2:00pm. He won’t be back until Wednesday to put on the next coat of joint compound. Jay finished the stairs for the deck and part of the railing.

Day 40 - August 29, 2000 - Jay actually went to work at the real estate office. It had been awhile since he had been there. When he got home he finished up some odds and ends around the house. We called Duane to make sure he was coming on Wednesday to apply the next coat of joint compound. Tim’s wife called (the missing contractor) to see if we found someone to finish the drywall. Can you believe the nerve of that guy. It’s in his best interest to never use us as a reference.

Day 41 - August 30, 2000 - Duane showed up on time and applied the next coat of joint compound. Jay finished up some odds and ends, then he got the boat ready for Regatta. I met him in Charleston after work. We left the boat there and drove home.

Day 42 - August 31, 2000 - Regatta

Day 43 - September 1, 2000 - Duane was suppose to come back to apply the third coat, but decided not to. He’ll be back tomorrow morning. The City of Nitro dropped off a dump truck for us to load up all our trash. The truck was much smaller than the last one, so not all of the trash would fit. Stuart and Wayne came over to help load it. Off course it started raining so we were all soak and wet. Then, on to Regatta.

Day 44 - September 2, 2000 - Duane and his son showed up to apply the next coat of joint compound and stamp the ceiling. He’s suppose to be back on Monday with his wife to finish up. Jay decided to burn all the wood that was in the trash pile since it would not fit in the dump truck. He was a little too close to the shed and melted some of the new siding. Donna and I prepared for the Funeral Parade. As soon as Duane was finished we took off to Regatta.

Day 45 - September 3, 2000 - Regatta (broke the boat again)

Day 46 - September 4, 2000 - Duane was suppose to come and finish up the drywall, but decided not to. He’ll be back tomorrow morning. We were going to start painting as soon as he was finished, so it puts us back another day. Scott Sharp brought over paint chip samples so we could start deciding what paints we are going to use. Then Jay is going to go pick them up tomorrow after Duane is finished. Sherri and Donna are suppose to come over tomorrow evening to help me get started with the painting.

Day 47 - September 5, 2000 - Duane and his wife showed up to finish the drywall. They finished up around 11:30am. Jay cleaned up the drywall dust and picked up the paint. Donna and Sherri came over. The four of us applied primer to the new part of the house (until we ran out).

Day 48 - September 6, 2000 - Jay picked up more paint and finished applying primer to the remodeled part of the original house. Donna came over and the three of us painted the new part of the house.

Day 48 - September 7, 2000 - Jay painted the living room, it looks great. Then he and I went carpet shopping. Everyone is about the same price ($620-$660), but most of them have a two week wait for installation and we can’t wait that long. Lowe’s thinks that they can get it next week. We’re suppose to call back in the morning to see if they can get us in.

Day 49 - September 8, 2000 - Jay got the Lowe’s thing worked out on the carpet. They are suppose to come by this evening to measure and install on Monday. — Contractor came by and measured and scheduled us for Wednesday. Which gives us some extra time to get the bedroom ready. I spent the rest of the evening painting. Jay started to install the interior doors and discovered that not one of the doors were framed correctly. He had to cut out and reframe each door before the prehung door could be installed. (Thanks Tim)

Day 50 - September 9, 2000 - We went to Lowe’s in the morning to purchase all the door casings and pay for the carpet. When they totaled up the bill for the carpet, we discovered that the contractor took us big time. The original estimate was $620 (before taxes), the bill came in for $755! This included $50 labor for a small patch that needs to be done and $250 labor for the rest of the carpet. The original estimate was only $160 for labor, so he got us good. He knew we were in a bind and needed the carpet installed in a hurry. What a world. The rest of the day was spent painting and installing trim for the bedroom. Sherry and Stuart came over to help.

Day 51 - September 10, 2000 - Sherry came over again and helped me paint more trim while Jay installed the baseboard in the bedroom and hallway. Mom stopped by and made a food run for us.

Day 52 - September 11, 2000 - Jay finished installing the baseboard and I finished sanding all the nail holes in the casings and baseboard. Sherry and Donna came over to help finish up some painting while Jay hooked up the electric in the bedroom. Of course it was only suppose to take a couple hours and it took all afternoon and evening.

Day 53 - September 12, 2000 - The carpet guys called and want to install the carpet today and of course Jay has phone duty. So, I left work at noon so that someone would be home. They didn’t arrive until around 2:30 and worked only until 4:30. Then they came back around 6:00 and worked until 8:00. I painted more doors while I was waiting and Jay worked on trim. We paid the carpet guys $25 cash to re-stretch the livingroom carpet.

Day 54 - September 13, 2000 - Heating and cooling guys finished up the new zone control system. The hardwood floors were delivered. Jay worked on trim and hanging more doors. He also made a trip to Lowe’s to buy more trim and stuff and to exchange one of the boxes of hardwood. We took the evening off (WWW).

Day 55 - September 14, 2000 - I took the next few days off from work because we found out that the appraiser will be here first thing Monday morning, so we basically have to have the house finished by then (minus the new bathroom). I continued painting trim and doors. Stuart came by to help Jay hang more doors. Then Jay started on the trim for the living room window. It was only suppose to take a couple hours and of course it took all night. He finished up around 9:00 pm for a total of 5 hours.

Day 56 - September 15, 2000 - More painting and trimming. We took the evening off and went to dinner with Dean and Dreama. We stopped by Charleston Paint for more paint.

Day 57 - September 16, 2000 - Jay rented a nailer and started laying the hardwood floors around 1:00 and stopped around 9:00. He finished a little over half of the floor. I continued painting and cleaning. Stuart came over and helped Jay.

Day 58 - September 17, 2000 - Jay started back on the floor around 9:00 and finished up around 4:00 and then finished the baseboards and trim. Donna came over and helped me paint the kitchen and old livingroom. We move the furniture into the new livingroom and set up the new dining room. Then we cleaned everything to get ready for the appraiser tomorrow morning.

Day 59 - September 18, 2000 - Continued cleaning until the appraiser arrived around 10:30. He measured and took pictures and had really nice comments on what we have done. Thank god.

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