Thursday, December 20, 2007

Sheet rock.

The inside is sheet rocked. It looks much bigger inside now.

Before..
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After..
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Living room.
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From the kitchen.
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Bedrooms.
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More bricks!

More bricks delivered. To the right.

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These folks like to do it right!

In trying to be reasonable I suggested a compromise that would let them avoid tearing apart the stonework. This was the second time I had offered to accept a short cut when something was overlooked. In both cases they chose to do it as it was supposed to be done. They tore open the stone work to get at the box and made a hole to mount it facing the house, which I had indicated I preferred. I am still very impressed with their attitude and approach. These are good folks.
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Facing the house.
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Sunday, December 16, 2007

Oops, ver.01

There is an electrical box on the front of the pillar, inside the stone. Ouch!

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Oops!

Now that they have sand they seem to have run out of bricks.

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It looks a bit like a bunker. I like that.
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Inside. A new pan.
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Back wall.
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Sunday, December 9, 2007

Almost!

The bricks are almost done. They might have finished this weekend but ran out of sand. Some of the sand was taken earlier this week to finish a nearby house and it was not replaced yet. I am surprised how fast the brick went up, particularly as the workers told Elena the boss had told them to take extra care. The light colored bricks that Elena picked tend to show any unevenness in the bricklaying to a greater degree than the darker bricks, plus he said this house was "special" and he wanted it to look very good. Elena took them snacks and cokes Saturday and had a chance to talk to them about where they had come from, etc. They all spoke Spanish and Elena has commented that almost all of the people in the different crews have been very polite and nice to her. She is happy with the brickwork and the stone so I am sure they will pass anyone else's
standards.
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The back patio and back wall were finished this day.
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The stonework is this high and will be brick above. They could do no more for lack of sand (for the mortar).
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Friday, December 7, 2007

Bricks and stone!

They just started this morning and by late afternoon things are well in hand. Elena promised them sodas and snacks for tomorrow.

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The boss.
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The sliding patio door.
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The stone. I would have preferred brick, myself. I thought this was just thin layers of stone over the brick. Now I understand the price a bit better.
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Thats a big shower! 42" by 60" inside plus 12" for the seat. Marble pan and marble front and side walls. Glass end and sliding glass door.
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