I've never particularly enjoyed vacuuming, as anyone who has seen my house can attest. But today I met someone who has got that job beat in the "it sucks" department.

His name is Brent, and he showed up about 9:30 a.m. to work on the job site (our house), a time when many might be just finishing their first cup of coffee and a cruller. His mission ( Read more... )

You can't fool Mother Nature--or the City of Portland Erosion Control officer. Our dirt and trash piles were covered and at least four or five chip-filled sacks were placed strategically to stop mud. Pea gravel covered hunks of cement and huge river rock in the area used as a staging point for heavy equipment.

But it wasn't enough. The inspector, ( Read more... )

It's been like a movie marathon at the house the last three days and I've been too enthralled to even get a chance to update until now. Just after the stump grinding concluded, the demo of the cement portion of the porch began--at about 7:30 a.m. Wednesday to be exact.

Wednesday's matinee: Randy the 13th

Randy Parker of Brothers Concrete came armed ( Read more... )

It was about lunch time Tuesday when it finally happened, one of the inevitabilities of construction that I'd been anticipating with much trepidation:  The HoneyBucket arrived. The delivery folks didn't make a fuss about it, either. In fact, i was in a mid-day nap when a slight noise awoke me and called my attention to a flatbed truck with a dozen ( Read more... )

Every project must have several Joes, so it seems.  Ours is no exception.  Early Friday (OK so it was 9 a.m. but that's like dawn to me) the first Joe showed up within minutes after I'd finally listened to my voicemail pre-warning of his arrival. So at least I was dressed. Joe Ellis of Brothers Concrete Cutting measured the front porch and other ( Read more... )

We're beginning a remodel of our 1927 bungalow in Southeast Portland. It's going to be a big, big (did I say big?) job. There will be dust. Lots of it. The front porch will be entirely gone for at least a few months. Trees will be cut down. Holes will be cut into the ground, the foundation, four walls, the garage, a carport by the garage and in the ( Read more... )