Tuesday, October 6, 2009

October 4, 2009

More rain this week, so the grancrete is still waiting patiently to be used, and the roof still needs to be put on. But the BIG NEWS this week is the the Brendle house now has a FLOOR! Yup! An honest-to-goodness, real floor! Concrete was placed this week in all three of the main rooms. The two porches couldn't be placed because of the rain, but that's okay. It seems strange to be able to actually walk from room to room without stepping up and over the thresholds. AWESOME!

Monday, September 28, 2009

September 27, 2009

More rain this week, so the grancrete still hasn't been applied, but no one is complaining. Most the work this week has been on the inside. The tin from the roof is being used for the inside ceiling. Not my first choice, but it doesn't look nearly as bad as I thought it would. Given time, I might even learn to like it!

The entryway porch has had the shutters installed. They're hinged at the top so they can be raised to let in light, but closed in inclement weather--necessary since there will only be screen and not windows on the porch.

The rain also brought another potential problem to light. For about 18" inside the house, the ground is damp from water seeping underneath the foundation. Might be a reason why the foundation in those areas was in such bad shape. Not sure what Mr. Brendle did about it (if anything) but it has highlighted the need for a porch to make sure we don't have a repeat of this later on down the road.















































































































































































































































































Friday, September 25, 2009

September 20, 2009

Rain prevented a whole lot of progress being made--which is why there is no post for September 12 0r 13. But that's okay--we needed the rain!

This past week has seen a lot of brush being cleared. Some of it because of the work on the foundation, but not all of it. The cedar between the Brendle house and the little smokhouse has been cleaned out, and it's beginning to look more like the "oak prairie" that it's supposed to look like!

The windows have been put back in, although one pane of glass is going to need to be replaced. Hardi-plank has been installed on the backside of the house which is subjected to weather out of the north. The other side has been painted white.

Obviously, with all the rain, the grancrete still hasn't been applied to to the outside of the house. The tin from the roof was removed in order to replace rotted boards that came to light when the ceiling was taken out.

The most exciting "find" was a message left by the original roofer. In it he stated that he had lost his punch when it rolled beneath one of the sheets of tin. If and when found he would like it back, and he left his address. He also left a date: January 4, 1939. So we finally have an exact date for the age of the Brendle house! Oh, and yes, we found his missing punch! It had indeed rolled beneath the sheets of tin.