Roofers win, hands down...

The roof was completed late yesterday evening, and the wall painted and everything. I've not doubled back with our roofer as of yet, but we're expecting that everything in the billing process will go smoothly. Our roofer was fantastic and went above and beyond in terms of problems and solutions. I will definitely share his name here, assuming everything works right with the billing and payment process. Don't want to jump the gun.

I'll have roof pictures soon, I hope. In the meantime, Gina and I are prepping for our belated first anniversary trip to San Fran. So there's much on our plates right now for that, and less going on with the house. When we get back, hopefully we'll be all set to get the window repairman out here to do the work on our windows. Then it's further on to other things...including buying a new refrigerator with our HCBA voucher.

So, for now, sit tight...we'll be back "on the air" in about a week or so...

It's a race against time (Roofers 5, Bungalow 4)...

Water damage from yesterday's storms was mild, but annoying. The roofer offered to cover any damage (mostly to the 2nd bedroom light fixture/ceiling fan, where water came through), even though they were able to get tarps up over the entire house. This guy is the best...he's taken two bad situations--one of which he had no control over at all (the weather)--and made me and my wife feel good about things. That's why, today, the Roofers take a one-run lead over the Bungalow.

But, the clock is ticking. The roofer said they should be done today, barring anymore weather problems. I just looked at the radar, and there's a line of strong storms out west and north of the city, lunging forward, stalking my unfinished roof. Like I say above, it's a race against time. Let's hope the roofers win the race.

Good lord...Bungalow 4, Roofers 2...

You know, just when I thought it couldn't get better, it does. Yes, our roofer agreed to repair a serious boo-boo when we showed it to him this morning. Kudos to him for that.

But, I guess I forgot to explain to him that he's working on a H-------- (my last name) Project. Therefore, anything and everything that can jeopardize smooth sailing WILL happen.

Of course, today's storms wreaked HAVOC on the proceedings. Yet, instead of just delaying the roof getting done, fate had to throw a curveball. Though our roofer got the tarps on the roof quickly, it wasn't perfect. We had water coming into the house in three damned places. The most disconcerting was the 2nd bedroom upstairs, where it was pooling IN the ceiling fan's light fixture. BAD. Very, very BAD. It also came in through the leak in the skylight in the bathroom and apparently in the master bedroom near the window.

So now, I don't know what to do...I'm seriously, seriously worried about the electrical up there, among other things. Truthfully, I don't know how I'll get any sleep...but we'll see.

Therefore, "bungalow" earns two points for today...

Who thought homeownership was a good idea? You're nuts! :)

Round One: Bungalow 2, Roofers 1...

So, the roofers have been out and did a solid job from what I can tell in terms of quantity of work done. Although I can't tell much, since I can't actually get up on the roof. Here's a pic taken by my mother-in-law mid-day to give you an idea of the madhouse it is, apparently, when roofers take over the outside of your house. :)

That said, they made a big boo-boo today (thus the score of Bungalow 2, Roofers 1)...we'll see how the owner responds. If he's as reputable and as good as I've heard and as his company's supposed to be (it was a recommendation too), then I'm guessing there won't be a single problem.

If he's an ass, well, we have pictures. ;)

Also, but in the good news department, we received our Appliance Voucher from the HCBA (really, from the city through the HCBA), so we can go out and buy a new refrigerator now! No more stupid side-by-side (some people like them, I can't STAND it, particularly the freezer). Hooray for that!

The roof, the roof, the roof is on the lawn...???

Well, here's the before picture...they delivered the roofing materials Friday for tomorrow's work. Can't wait. Here's the before pics, for your enjoyment.


As you can see, it kind of announces to the neighborhood, "Hey everybody, check out what's going to happen at my house!"

Actually, it was kinda funny that they dropped the materials off Friday (they hadn't warned us of that), because I was able to tell everyone that came to my belated birthday/housewarming party, "Hope you brought some work clothes with ya, because we're all getting up on the roof and replacing it together!" Folks laughed...mostly. :) I also got a kick-ass gift from one of my good friends at work...if I get around to it, I'll share that photo too. I might have to take orders from some of my loyal readership here. :)

Anyway, that's about it for now...I'll have more photos as the roof progresses.

Projects galore...

Well, we've decided to go with Cinnamon Frost (aka, "light brown"). I was never able to find any full-roofed photos using the colors, so I'll have to go on instinct on this one. Honestly, my instinct is not feeling very good about it. I have a feeling I'm not going to like it. So, here's hoping my feeling is wrong about this one. They're coming out Monday to do the work, which is exciting. :)

Haven't heard from our window repair guy. He was going to come out this past Monday to repair only our shattered window, but he never called. So, I'm assuming he's going to call when he has some free space in his schedule. Let's hope that's soon.

Meanwhile, I've been researching as best as I can how to install my 125-gallon fish tank that was left here behind the wall in the basement family room. Shouldn't be a terrible, terrible project.
Here's where I'm looking at installing it...on the wall that is behind the post in this picture. The wall part should be "easy" enough, even with the outlet down at the bottom. The utility room (boiler, furnace, etc.) is behind on the other side of that wall, and it has pretty solid clearance back there...it's fixing up the tank that likely will be more difficult (and costly).

Also, I need to repair the wall in the upstairs bathroom after the roofers come through and re-roof the place. There's a nice-sized hole around one corner of the skylight, where we had some leakage and I wanted to dig out the drywall and take a look at what was going on underneath.

So, as usual, much to do, much to do. I need to, again, make a list.

As promised...garden photos...

Blazing Star Liatris
Originally uploaded by southsideandy

I took a bunch of pics of my fledgling garden. Also, there's a great pic of Kazak on the deck...if you've never seen his black tongue, voila! :)

Happy Father's Day to any dads out there...now that I have my Flickr account actually being used, expect more pics than you've been seeing.

Time for a decision...

Well, we've chosen our roofer, and now we're waiting patiently for him to fit us into his tight schedule. Honestly, that's a good sign, to me anyway. It means that at least he's not looking for work--so his work must be good. Nevermind that I got him recommended from a coworker I trust and that his Angie's List ratings were exceptionally high and frequently high. Now, we just have to choose a color. It's currently between Cinnamon Frost (A), Sandalwood (B) and Timber Blend (C). I think we're going to go with Cinnamon Frost. Believe it or not, it's not an easy decision, since I don't know of any houses that I can look at with these specific colors.

(A) (B)
(C)

As for the windows...screw replacements! :) We could only afford to replace five windows...for the repairman we found, we get to keep our well-cared-for wood windows, and we get ALL 11 in the bedrooms, dining room and living room repaired to working order for $900 less than outright replacing only five. That's awesome! I still have to call though, to lock that in.

Otherwise, I've begun my fence-long garden...I've done about 5-10 feet worth of the strip along the fence. I'll post pics, as the flowers have even begun to bloom. I forgot how much I missed having my own garden...though this isn't really a "garden" like I had in Bolingbrook back in the day. But, it's ground with flowers in it, as opposed to pots on a balcony, so I'll take it.

That's that for now...pics coming as projects get underway.

I can repoint my bungalow!

Well, at least I see that it's not difficult at all to do--it'll just be time-consuming. Our face-brick definitely needs a repointing in spots. Now, instead of hiring someone to do it, I know how to do it myself. Including how to mix up a good mortar from scratch, rather than using the pre-mixed stuff sold in hardware stores. This is great. :)

I learned this, along with a bunch of other tips, at the "Caring for Your Bungalow" seminar that the HCBA hosted. It was in a bungalow near Cicero and Diversey, for those of you who know Chicagoland...very different-shaped bungalow, inside in particular. At least, different in my eyes, and lord knows I've seen loads of them over the years. :)

Anyway, I'm also now reconsidering purchasing replacement windows. I was told by the architectural engineers who ran the seminar that if our wood windows weren't rotting and were in solid shape, wood-wise, we would be smarter to have them restored...either ourselves, or get someone to do it. One of the other attendees recommended a window repair shop not far from my home, actually, so I'm probably going to set up an appointment with him to see if he can simply repair our windows for cheaper. Maybe he could do ALL the windows for the price that replacing five would have cost? We'll see...I hope so. It would be nice to open all these windows in nice weather. :)

Benefits of being certified...

Well, I'm about to leave for a four-hour seminar hosted by the Historic Chicago Bungalow Association on "Caring for Your Bungalow." It's a hands-on seminar at an actual bungalow...they're supposed to show how to take a survey of the bungalow and develop maintenance plans and such. Should be interesting to say the least. Hopefully it won't be a waste of time...though I doubt that is the case.

Meanwhile, things have moved along...planted a garden, of which I'll post pictures sooner than later (just like I said I'd post house pics too, right!), and have pretty much narrowed down our list of roofers to the guy we want to use. Same with the windows. Now we just have to call them and figure out when all this can go down. More later...