Day 8 ~ Being Framed

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, our framers disappeared for 4-1/2 days. We found out that there were some Covid issues with the framing teams so we figured they might not be back for awhile. 

 

Oh, but we had a nice surprise this morning when our future neighbor, Tony, texted and said the framers are back!  Woo-hoo!  So, of course we drove through around noon to take a peek.  

Stopping on the street behind the house, 

we found boards lined up vertically against it.  

It means they’re preparing 

to frame the roof rafters. 

Next, we drove around to the front. 

Boards were lined up on 

the left side of the house too...

...and the right side of the house. 

No framers were in sight but they may have been at lunch.  We're just pleased that they're back on the job!  

Go framers!

~ ~ ~ ~ 

See you soon.

Super Big Smiles,

Donna

Days 4 thru 7 ~ Being Framed

OR NOT! 

This was 11:30ish on day 4.

You may notice that the 

framing looks mighty similar 

to the previous day 3.

That's because it is the same, 

and it still looks like that 

here on Monday, day 7.

Our neighbors told us the framers left after lunch on day 4, and haven't been back since then.  

The builders are off on Sunday so Geo wanted to drive over and check out the framing, specifically looking to make sure none of the boards are warped.

While Geo looked around, I took photos.

This one is standing in 

the front outside entryway.

Below is a view that looks back to the dirt I was standing on when I took the above pic.

It's the front door and hallway.

I took this one standing on the back patio.

It's a view down the greenbelt, 

and the reason we picked this lot.

Inspector Geo doing his thing!

Chewy doing his typical thing--sleeping 

on Daddy's arm while riding in the truck.

Elmer doing his 

riding-in-the-back thing!

Geo sent an email to the superintendent earlier asking what's up with the missing framers.  We look forward to his reply!

We always drive around to watch, and compare the progress on other builds. Two other houses were being framed along with ours but there's no framers on those houses either.  

Odd but we have some theories:

1~Covid
2~They need more guys to build the roof area of the house. 
3~They needed a really, really long siesta after lunch.
4~They were kidnapped by aliens.
5~The dog ate their homework.  Make sense?  Yeah, it didn't to me either. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

EXTRA EXTRA READ ALL ABOUT IT!

This just in from the superintendent 

as I was about to sign off! 

"At this time, we are experiencing Covid issues with several members of our framing crews."

Theory #1 is the winner!

Well, in all seriousness, 

my heart goes out to them. 

We will certainly keep them in our prayers. 

In the meantime, 

we wait while they get better.

Smiles,

Donna

Day 3 ~ Being Framed

Here's the framing progress around noon on the third day.

That's not a second story on top.

It's a one-story home but the roofs are quite large.

See the green belt that runs between 

the back of the homes on our 

street and the street behind us?

It will turn and extend to the street you see directly behind us.  It will be our view from the patio as I mentioned in the previous post.

A view of the northern horizon 

off to the front left of the house. 

I tried once again to put yesterday's vid in here but to no avail!  I've tried all the things that Google has instructed.  I guess I need to find a different way to Google it.  If at first you don't succeed...

Bottom line:  No vid again today.

Smiles 

(and Frowns),

Donna

We’re Being Framed!

It’s not the devious being-set-up-to-take-the-fall-for-a-crime kind of framing.  Oh no, this is the kind of framing we greatly desire!  

Day 1

After a ten-month wait, 

our house is finally being framed!

Late morning on the first full day of framing.

Geo brings the drone to document the process. Of course, that can only be done until it's under roof but we'll take it!  He sure is having fun with the drone!

A nice start.

Day 2

These drone pics are of the back of the house.

The green area is a beltway.

The dirt around the house is our property.

From the back patio, our view will be down a beltway all the way to the street behind us.  No houses will be directly in front of our view, only off to the sides.  The beltway is not fully completed yet.

A closer view through the inside.

I attempted to add a 360° drone vid to this post but I need to learn more about how to do it.  A couple of posts ago, I did it with ease.  

What did I do?  

I have no idea.

I thought I was doing the same thing today but I don't have time to figure it out so this is the post for today. Hopefully, I can tackle this issue soon!

Joyful Smiles,

Donna

Oh, Lovely Lumber

 A week ago, the lumber for 

framing was finally delivered to our lot!

The next day, a little more lumber showed up, 

and sometime after that even more.

The lumber has been laying there through 

some major rain earlier this week, but hey, 

it’s progress and the rain is now gone!

We’ve been watching other houses in progress, especially ones that are being framed.  If our calculations are correct, we could start being framed this week.  Oh, how we hope we’re right!  

Once the framing starts, it could go quickly until under roof.  Seeing it begin to look like an actual house, will be very exciting!

Smiles,

Donna

Build Progress Update

I'm happy to say that we finally have progress on the house but let me back up a bit first!  Tired of watching and waiting for some action, Geo emailed our Project Superintendent to find out how soon we could expect something, anything!  

The Reason 

We needed to break out of our 

"Groundhog Day" cycle with something 

that would better pass the time like an RV trip!  

The Bad News 

He told us that it would be awhile 

before anything happens like 2 to 3 weeks.

(Turned out to be 6 weeks!) 

The Good News 

We could hop into Rama-Lama-Ding Dong, 

hook up Bee-Bop, and scoot on down the road!

With summer vacays in full swing, and more RVers on the road than ever before, I knew finding a place to go at the last minute could be an issue.  Immediately, a park in the Pigeon Forge area came to mind as a strong possibility, and sure enough we snagged their last spot for seven nights which I documented in my last three posts.  You can read them here, here and here.  It was the perfect, delightful break we need! 

We returned July 2nd, and stalked our homesite almost daily seeking to discover something encouraging happening on our lot.  

July 21st

A drone photo of the 

foundation almost ready to pour. 

July 11th

Here she is! 

Ready to  pour.

Proudly displaying her pretty, chalk-white 

PVC like a green NASCAR flag indicating "Go!"

July 23rd

 Alas, the foundation was poured!

If you look closely, you'll see little blue dots 

on the foundation which are the workers 

smoothing out the concrete.

We were excited!

A 360° drone vid.

August 3rd

We met up with our Superintendent, a very nice fellow, who told us that he couldn't tell us much!  Due to last year's pandemic, all building supplies are unpredictable, from lumber to framers to paint to appliances to windows, you name it.  None of it was a surprise to us though.  Insert heavy sigh here.  

The superintendent promised that we'd get an update email from him every Friday from here on out.  You can bet your sweet bippy that we're looking forward to email Fridays!  

The most disappointing info was finding out that we won't be moving into the house this year!  We so hoped to be in by Christmas but that's the way the Christmas cookie crumbles. 

His best news was that they'd be dropping lumber for framing anytime from the next 2 days to 2 weeks.  If that's accurate, we'll be getting it within the next five days!  

Sooo, as we've been doing since 

October, we continue to watch and wait. 

Life is a wonderful journey though, 

and this is merely a little rut in the road!

Keep Smilin' Y'all,

(We are!)

D~~~~ 

Part 3~Tennessee Aviation Museum & Geo's Family Tie

While in Pigeon Forge, we visited the Tennessee Aviation Museum in Sevierville.  Geo loves anything aviation or space related, and this museum has been on his radar since we first discovered it a few years back. This trip, we finally stopped in for a visit.  

As you'd expect, we found a variety of vintage warbirds and other types of aircraft, interesting memorabilia and exhibits, a few classic cars, military vehicles and more.  We didn't expect to discover a family tie though!  What a delight! 

A pretty straightforward declaration!

A colorful military clock.

Does it tell more than time? 

There were several displays like this one 

(without Geo in front of course). 😁

Hah!  
Geo appears to be a bit blurry!
How does  he do that?

One of us (not saying who),

initially wondered, 

"Is this a charging station for an electric octopus?"

Thankfully, the sign was right in front. 

It's a Gnome Rotary Model B Engine.

We get the "engine" part.  

Checking out the cockpit.

This Twin Beech Mock Up has spent time in the entertainment industry, mostly appearing in TV shows like Cheers, Coach, General Hospital, Days of Our Lives, Fantasy Island, Baywatch and Lassie to name a few.  It's also appeared in movies and commercials.

Below is the full list including producer and year.

Click to enlarge it.

This plane was the best part of the museum for us! 

It's a P-47D-40RA Hun Hunter XVI

made in Evansville, Indiana in early 1945.

George grew up in Evansville.

His Mom was a Rosie the Riveter 

at Republic Aviation in Evansville 

where the plane was built. 

We think it's very possible that 

she may have riveted on it!

A bit of the Hun Hunter's history.

A pretty cool array of old Jeeps outside the museum!

We chatted with the friendly gal at the front desk when we were leaving and told her about the family connection. She asked if we had any pics of Geo's Mom in her uniform, but as far as we know, there aren't any. If we should come across one though, this museum would be a mighty fine place for it to be shared!

See you soon with the latest on the build.

Smiles,

D~~~~