May 8—HSV HOUSE: Finished, for all Intents and Purposes

A break in the weather allowed the ground to dry, and landscaping resumed Monday morning and was completed.  It looks great.  The irrigation system is progressing, with the distribution system essentially complete, and the entire system, pumping from the lake, will require only a day or two to complete.  And, the floor outlet in the great room was installed.   On Friday, despite a light rain, Sam Popham did final clean-up work, and took care of a few last minute fixes such as installing a towel bar in the guest bathroom, fixing a kitchen drawer that would not close completely, and tightening an electrical plug.  We still lack the walkway to the dock and the dock itself, but the material was delivered on Friday as well and it should be completed in the next couple of weeks.  So, for intents and purposes, the house is finished, and we are enjoying the heck out of it.  Brandon Tedder, owner of Renaissance Homes, Inc., and our builder, and his staff Sam and Cris have taken very good care of us and provided us a really nice house and landscaped property!

On Thursday, the hot tub was filled , chemicals added, and the temperature turned up.  We can’t wait to receive spa therapy on our aching muscles and joints.

Kay and I were out of town Monday through Wednesday, but resumed unpacking Thursday and Friday, making considerable progress.  Bar stools arrived Friday and were put together, and are now in place.  We still “need” wall hangings and art, bedside tables, and a few more rugs, but things are looking up. Also on Monday, the house became officially ours, as we signed paper after paper.  The guest bedrooms box springs and mattresses arrived Wednesday and good friend Martha Altom saw to it that they were uncrated and put on the bed frames in our absence.

Here are a few photos showing the landscaping and one of the guest bedrooms.

May 3—HSV HOUSE: Pushing Life’s Reset Button, Starting Over Again

New furniture arrived April 24, we moved into the near finished house on April 26, and our personal belongings were delivered on April 27.  With a new house, all new furniture and furnishings, a new local church, and a few old friends, we effectively pushed the reset button, and have begun one of the last adventures of our lives.  And at our age, I ask myself everyday whether or not we’re crazy doing all this, and have serious feelings of doubt.  While it may seem novel and refreshing, it has been incredibly stressful and physically demanding, as we left one dream house, with lots of room and storage, and a home with a very stable lifestyle, for a new start.  So, here we are in our mid 60s, and starting over—Dios dame fuerza—God give me strength.

After the first few days of having personal belongings back in our possession, and getting the majority of boxes unloaded, Kay has begun doing all the heavy lifting as I hurt my back in February, and have not given it time to heal; in fact it has gotten so bad this week that I can hardly walk, she  declared almost total rest for me.  We still lack almost 20 boxes, but that is a far cry from that with which we started Monday afternoon.  And, our rented storage facilities have been released.

The house is about 95% finished; painting was concluded Saturday, May 2, with only touch-up remaining.  Landscaping is scheduled to be finished Monday, May 4, but it will require a full day as much of the sandy clay soil brought in for planting was washed away by the heavy rains last week, a number of plants were dislocated, two evergreens in front are now leaning, and, some severe erosion occurred near the entrance.  In addition, we have a few drainage issues:  one is in the bed in front of the dining room, and three are in the rear near the deck—placing mulch on those will not solve the problem, but we will not be here when the landscape crew arrives, so hopefully the builder will set them straight on what needs to be done.  The irrigation system is about half finished, and the stone pathway from the patio to the dock has to be constructed, as well as the dock itself; the latter two can wait a few days or weeks if priorities necessitate.  Tomorrow, Monday, May 4, we close the real estate transaction, and in a few days or weeks, will conclude the contract with Renaissance Homes, Inc.

And not affiliated with the builder is final set-up of the hot tub; it is scheduled to be done Thursday, May 7, by Nolan’s in Maumelle.  By then, we should be up and running at full speed.

The new house is seeming more like home now that we have our STUFF, and are preparing a few meals despite not being able to find whisks, coffee mugs, and other things we are so used to having.  Bed frames, headboards, and footboards for the guest bedrooms arrived Thursday, and we assembled those Thursday evening.  Mattresses and box springs should arrive next week.  We still lack a couple nightstands, and lots of wall art, but we’re not going to be in a hurry with respect to the latter.

These first two photos show the partially furnished great room.

This is the breakfast area.  One chair is being repaired and the table has to be repaired as well.

The sunroom is shown in the next two photos.  It is our favorite room, except when we’re in one of the other rooms, and then that room is our favorite!

Last is the master bedroom.  As you can see by all the photos, much remains to be done to complete the decorating.

And, we are integrating into the very social neighborhood in which we reside.  Wednesday evening we watched as the Property Owner’s Association lake crew began a fish shocking activity in the lake to determine the health of the lake.  We visited extensively with the workers as they were waiting at the launching ramp, preparing for the night’s work.  Regrettably, it appears that there are way too many bass, and they may have been stunted to the point that recovery is impossible.  I’ll do my share to haul the little one’s off!

On Saturday afternoon, we attended a great Derby party at one of the neighbors, meeting many of the people who live near us, and around the lake.  It was a fun time with lots of great food and beverages, complete with a bartender.  As Little Orphan Annie said, “I think I’m going to like it around here.”

And last, but certainly not least, Kay’s first born, Ron, was married on Saturday, May 2, to his longtime girlfriend, Cheryl.  We wish them unlimited happiness.

Tomorrow begins the first day of the rest of our lives.

April 24—HSV HOUSE: No Closing, but Furniture Arrives, Part 1

With adverse weather and other delays, closing has been postponed, hopefully until only next week.  We have reconciled that it is what it is.  Yet another steady rain began about 8 AM this morning, preventing additional landscape work.  However, all was not lost as two furniture deliveries arrived.  First a few pieces from Cajun Brothers Furniture in Conway, Arkansas, arrived, and Kay had them placed.

Next, the major portion of furniture for the house arrived from Basset in Little Rock, along with our decorator Kecia.  She, Kay, and the delivery guys spent some three hours moving and placing furniture.

April 23—HSV HOUSE: Almost There

Painting has dominated the few remaining activities needed to be done to complete the house.  As painting requirements waned, a slight break in the weather allowed the landscapers a small window of opportunity to work.  Yesterday, Wednesday, April 22, a small crew arrived mid-morning, and immediately began moving and shaping dirt and moving rocks.  After only a few hours, the basic layout was established and ready for planting and installation of the irrigation system.  Fortunately, this was completed before yet another rain shower occurred.

 

We had previously provided Brandon Tedder, owner of Renaissance Homes, Inc. with a list of plants we liked, and today, Thursday, April 23, he and Renaissance Homes, Inc. superintendent Sam Popham arrived with a trailer load of plants, accompanied by a subcontractor crew of workers.  In coordination with us, Brandon personally placed all the plants, and the landscaping crew immediately began moving sandy loam into place, planting plants, digging trenches for the irrigation piping, and actually installing the pipe.  It was amazing how rapidly it all came together.

April 21—HSV HOUSE: Dress Rehearsal

While a few punch list items remain, mostly touch-up painting and clean-up, a few rooms in the house posed for “as built” photographs as follows.

The master bathroom,

the kitchen,

the great room,

the guest bathroom,

and the media closet.  Regrettably, the wiring was insufficient for AT&T U-Verse use, so the media closet will become simply a closet and used for storage.

April 17—HSV HOUSE: Closing In on Completion

This week proved to be a productive week as completion nears.  Several of the major “punch” list items were addressed, and a Certificate of Occupancy was issued by the Hot Springs Village Property Owners Association on Thursday.  However, we are not moving furniture or big ticket items in because of homeowner’s insurance versus builder’s risk insurance, i.e. homeowner’s insurance is reluctant to cover losses unless closing has occurred.  In this regard, closing is currently scheduled for next Friday, April 24.  The deck extension was essentially completed on Tuesday, and on Wednesday deck and stair rails were installed and painting and electrical completion items were resumed.  On Thursday, the rest of the appliances (washer, dryer, and extra refrigerator) were delivered and installed, plantation shutters and wooden blinds were installed, and electrical work was essentially completed (a couple of switches have to be replaced, a receptacle cover plate added here and there, and an outlet installed in the floor once furniture is delivered).  Today, Friday, hardware was installed on closet doors, mirrors adjusted in the master bathroom, interior doors adjusted for fit and finish, some masonry times addressed, a shelf and steps for the hot tub constructed, glass for the shower installed, and “tea” staining of the kitchen cabinets completed.  A significant amount of painting remains (a few days’ worth), and numerous small items need to be completed, but these shouldn’t take more than a day or two to complete.  Landscaping remains to be installed as does the irrigation system, and final cleaning and power washing are yet to be done, pending completion of the other items.  If the weather cooperates, this should all be done by closing next Friday.

This photo shows the deck extension and railing.

This photo shows the finished entry door as seen from the great room.

The finished sunroom…

and the finished dining room with plantation shutters.

This is the finished “front” guest bedroom, also with plantation shutters.

Our office is shown in this photo, which we’re liking more and more.  Up to now, we had not given this room much attention, and still have no furniture for it!

This is the “lake side” guest bedroom with wooden blinds.  Our thinking is that most of our guests would like to have these blinds up during the day to enjoy a great view of the lake.

April 11—HSV HOUSE: All but Finished

I didn’t catch last week’s title error until a few days ago reviewing the post.  Obviously, it should have read, Dotting the “i’s” and Crossing the “t’s”.  Oh well, either a Freudian slip or just one of many senior moments I’ve been experiencing of late.  Building a house at our age is a lot like having a baby.  It seems to take forever, though it really doesn’t, and is sometimes very painful, but the end product is well worth all the waiting and pain!

Though not much was done this week, what was accomplished made a huge difference in appearance and included some “big ticket” items.  The whole-house generator was installed, and the hot tub was delivered early in the week, though Nolan’s of Maumelle hasn’t set it up pending electrical hook-up.  Some electrical work fine-tuning was done, including adding 5 more can lights in the kitchen area, and more work remains.  Some painting touch-up was accomplished, but much more painting remains (the painters are at the tail end of the job, and are at everybody else’s mercy .  The clean-up crew was there bright and early Friday morning and spent several hours cleaning the house from ceiling to floor, and it looks great.  Landscaping is set to begin early next week, and some materials were delivered Friday afternoon.  We expect next week to be a “hell bent for leather” week with lots of workers doing last minute stuff.

Here are a few photos taken after the cleaning crew finished. The first photo is the great room and part of the kitchen looking towards the lake.

The next photo is the kitchen and great room taken towards the entry, where Kay is standing.

And, this is the dining room.

Finally, the master bathroom.

April 5—HSV HOUSE: Crossing the “i’s” and Dotting the “t’s”

Winter struck Hot Springs Village the last 3 weeks in February, and completion of our house was consequently delayed.  Of course, the domino affects have rearranged all our plans as well.  Much to our dismay, we’re getting booted out of the rental house before our house is finished, and Kay struggled to find another place to live for a few days—we ultimately resorted to our standby, a one room efficiency apartment that won’t even hold our clothes from the motorhome—as this is the heart of golf season with lots of corporate rentals of houses.  And all the stuff we’ve been accumulating at the rental house for the new house has to be moved again, now to an almost overflowing storage room, before it is moved once more to the new house. Combined with Kay’s son selling his house this week, buying a new house in a couple of weeks, and getting married on May 2, seems like everything is happening at the same time. 

Out of desperation, Kay called Brandon Tedder, owner of Renaissance Homes, Inc. on Monday morning requesting a closing date no later than April 28 to accommodate delivery of furniture from two different companies and moving two storage facilities’ worth of personal goods, all before Kay’s son’s wedding on May 2.  Brandon, always accommodating, completely understood and offered a completion date and closing for April 24.  It was a tremendous relief for us, and one could see the months of built-up stress disappear from each of us.  And with spring break over, activity really increased this week.  The electrical sub essentially finished their work except for some cosmetic work and completing some small tasks.  The trim carpenter essentially finished most of the trim, with only a few items remaining.  The painting duo painted trim and began touch-up work.  The plumber essentially finished his work, setting the commodes, hooking up the faucets, sinks, drains, and showers, running water from the main to the house, and installing the refrigerator and dishwasher.   And, the most visible work was forming and placing concrete for the driveway, front walkway, hot tub pad, grill pad, patio, and walkways from the deck to the patio and from the patio to the crawl space (see photos below)—all in all, a good week.  

One of the things we’ve discovered is that the new lighting regulations for bulb type and size really limit the amount of light produced.  Consequently, and particularly at our age, we are definitely going to need more light in the kitchen (Jim Passe told us so) and maybe in the master bathroom; we’re hoping that changing the glass shades on the light fixtures may solve the problem there.  Anyway, Brandon and Sam will know what to do.

March 29—HSV HOUSE: Not Much Progress

Not as much progress was made this week as we had hoped for.  Apparently, deer season and spring break are “sacred” periods in this part of Arkansas, and the craftsmen and women take advantage of this time with their family—a good thing.  How times have changed though—when I was growing up, we worked every chance we got.  There were no spring breaks when I was in high school, but in college I would return home for holidays and spring breaks, and work with my dad building houses.  And, we didn’t have enough deer to bother hunting in those days; besides we needed the money too much.  Oh well, another sign that I’m getting old!  We’re hoping substantial progress is made this week as everyone returns to a normal schedule.  We did notice that both our garage door openers and heating and air conditioning thermostat are “smart”, meaning they can be controlled by a smart phone.  We’re anxious to see how these work.  It’ll sure make coming home to a cool or warm house after a long trip something to look forward to.

March 19—HSV HOUSE: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Progress has been made this week, and even at this stage of construction, we can see a difference from day to day.  The electricians essentially finished their work early in the week, and powered up the house; only a few minor things need to be done in the electrical area.  Yesterday, the HVAC was turned on and the wood flooring was delivered for acclimatizing, and then today, the floor installers arrived to “level” the floors with a large disk sander, vacuum the dust, and begin installation.  Also today, Brandon Tedder and Sam Popham from Renaissance Homes, Inc. and their concrete “sub” came by to roughly outline the back deck stairs pad, the patio, the walks to the dock and the “crawl” space, the pad for the hot tub, the driveway, and the walk from the driveway to the entrance.  Hopefully, concrete will be placed next week.  Weather here has been less than desirable for construction activities the last couple of months.  Consequently, there have been delays, and when combined with recent heavy rains, completion has been delayed, now scheduled for the end of April.  Expecting an April 20 move-in date, our rental house “lease” expires on the morning of the 20th, so we are now looking for another place to live for a couple of weeks, and will again have to move all our current household goods, clothes, and food items.  Village Villas, the rental agency, is working very hard to accommodate us in some form or fashion, and we should know tomorrow what our future holds in this regard.  Nevertheless, we want Renaissance Homes, Inc. to have whatever time is needed to do the kind of excellent work they pride themselves in.  Thus, you have the good, the bad, and the ugly!

For a more positive ending, here are a few photos taken today.  In the first photo, Renaissance Homes, Inc. superintendent Sam Popham is on the left and owner Brandon Tedder is on the right.

The next three photos show hardwood flooring being installed in the great room.

These next two photos are of the master bathroom; first is the shower and second is Kay’s dressing/make-up area.  Mirrors will be hung soon.

The photo below is of the walk-in closet off the master bedroom, followed by the laundry room.

And finally, the master bedroom is shown in the photo below.