by the Carpenter
... and we have had very few cold days and very little snow so far the winter. We had a pretty good cold snap last week, but it was short lived. And we were inside for a change! We have another two weeks or so before we go back out.
We will be starting a fairly involved exterior/interior remodel project. Yes we will be starting outside, that’s just how it goes. But it is almost February, which in my book spells spring. The days are definitely getting longer, it hit 21 degrees today and they say maybe 30 again this weekend. If you are a fan of Joe Soucheray of "Garage Logic" fame http://www.1500espn.com/shows/garage-logic/, you already know we are in the middle of spring. In "Garage Logic" land, spring started December 22nd, the day after the shortest day of the year. The first day of summer is March 21st. Unfortunately that also means the first day of fall is June 22nd, the day after the longest day of the year, but we won't think of that right now. I will continue to enjoy being in the "middle" of spring for now. (this is how you have to think if you live in a part of the country that gets long winters!)
I need a good long dry spring. Our up-coming project will be starting outside. We will be handling a variety of areas with this project. Removing stucco, replacing old shingles, framing new roofline details, adding insulation, installing new windows, doors, siding, soffits/fascia, wood floors, carpet, and interior trim. We are in the middle of meetings with the homeowners, building inspectors, architects, engineers and subcontractors. Yesterday I had our lead carpenter up in the attic and down in the crawl space, getting more information for the engineering that has to be done to satisfy the inspectors.
There have been several design meetings, many hours of tweaking drawings to give the homeowners our best ideas to assist them through the planning phase. The goal being to land in a place where they are happy with design, products, colors, and the overall feel of the home.. all within their budget. We are getting there.
All that is happening along with another addition we are bidding on, another interior remodel, and I think now I have four bathrooms on my desk (make that six, I looked at two more last week) that are in various stages of the bidding process. This jigsaw puzzle is growing. It will be a good challenge to see how all of it fits together. One of my brothers recently asked me why I keep pricing things when so much is happening already. The answer is.. nothing is for sure. Ever! Easy come easy go. In a blink of an eye, those projects you thought were solid can disappear in a heartbeat. Through the course of this past fall and winter, I had three projects. I thought they were for sure. Had proposals on two of them. I usually know I have the job before I type up proposals. One of those projects I was actually meeting with the homeowners to sign the proposal and receive the down payment and they decided to pull it. Put it on the shelf for a while. Yep, nothing is for sure.
If everything happens to go our way, well that’s a good problem to have. It will put our backlog well into summer. It will help nudge along the task of building our crew, and maybe, just maybe I will get one of those new shiny shoulders I have been admiring through the front window of the "New Shiny Shoulder Shop" on 5th and Main.
Ok, time for bed. I told the artist I was not going to work tonight and all of a sudden I have been working on this for over an hour.
Good night Gracie!