I'll let you put up drywall

if you give me $5.
I don't know why our neighbor is helping to put up drywall, but somehow Rob suckered him into thinking it would be a good time. Well, thanks Dave. And notice the short-sleeve shirts - it's around 70 degrees, on December 20th. Got to love the southeastern coast.
The money well is dripping dry, but at least Rob has the walls he can be doing. Our next costs will be paint and trim I guess. The insulation and drywall are on account, and payable by the 10th of January. It will all work out...

Sure, they GET there at 7 am...

but it took them hours to unload. Hours. Don't tell their boss, but they were in no hurry. Meanwhile, Mike (you KNOW who he is by now) put up some insulation under the attic flooring (see the picture album for visuals) before he took all the leftovers back for credit. We might have to name a tree after him, or plant a little memorial garden with nails and hurricane hangers in it... He's been above and beyond helpful.
So the sheetrock is all in the house, and Rob will start today on the hanging. He's rented a jack or lift of some kind - I haven't seen it, so I don't know, but its made for doing this specifically. Hopefully Rob is too.
So much shopping to do for the house, so little money to do it with. Even after we close and get the money, it will go fast and easy.

I can't see!

There's insulation in the way! And now you can see where the walls will really be. The sound is all muffled, and the breezes don't blow straight through the house. (This view is from the kitchen looking through the living room toward the 'hall')
Rob did the insulation, and it passed inspection. I was supposed to remind Mike to order the drywall today for tomorrow, but I waited too long so it will be delivered Monday. What will Rob do all weekend? He's back in go mode, because it's his turn now. He's even going to do the drywall to save $2000. Maybe because he has his eye on a piece of junk bulldozer someone wants to sell him...
We're scheduled to have the attic insulation blown in Thursday, so Rob wants to get the ceiling ready for that. Otherwise we have to wait until January for the insulation installer to get back from vacation.
Kitchen cabinets are drawn up and are being cut.

happy to comply...

Here's Mike, our ever-helpful and all-round great-guy materials rep, nailing up the required hurricane hangers while the inspector chats away about hanger requirements. Which is this particular inspector's speciality. And once he explained why we were putting up these hangers, it all made so much more sense that it had when we were just reading a cryptic note from the last inspector - "Tie studs to top plate in master bedroom on ea side of window". We thought he just wanted a couple of nails in a couple of studs, like in the similar dining room. Then we thought he wanted a couple of hangers, but where exactly? By the window? Or on the actual studs further out? He wanted hangers, on ALL the studs on that wall, so that it was consistant with the rest of the northeast facing wall. OHHHH. And all this confusion was AFTER I talked to the supervisor and the actual inspector. Luckily we were on the site when this inspector showed up, or we would have failed again, and probable still not understood why.
anyway and blah blah blah
The insulation was delivered today. I need to call our drywall contacts and get it set up for next week.
We are still holding $6000 in the bank, and waiting for the sale of this house to go through. I owe our framer his last $1700 now that we passed final. Land payments are deducted monthly, and our super-clean portapotty keeps getting serviced and paid for with no one using it. Insulation was bought on account, but the drywall supplier will want some money, and probably the installer will too.

can't picture failure...

so I put up a picture of my new puppy, with his jewely eyes (as Reese would say).
We failed our final framing inspection Tuesday. We puzzled and puzzled, but it was a little hard to figure from the inspectors note just what was needed, so I went to see the top guy in his office today, and we had a pleasant chat. Turns out some hurricane hangers were left off, and a new requirement calls for hangers from a stud to the top plate when its on the eave side over a window. So a total of 11 hangers. Rob is nailing those up even now, and I have called for re-inspection for tomorrow.
Also, tomorrow the insulation will be delivered, and that's what Rob and I will be doing this weekend. At least that's something I can take a picture of... Then Monday I should be able to call for the insulation inspection, and its go-go from there. Drywall, paint, trim, flooring, cabinets...

It's now official that we have sold our house. I couldn't tell everyone until I told my real estate agent, who is also my friend, but she was so gracious about it. It could not have worked out better for us, so thank you Rich Uncle, who now owns another rental property (that gives her a monopoly on the violet properties). Which, actually, we will be renting for a few months until the other house is finished. But at least now we will have the money to finish, and even buy a couch!

If you're not busy this weekend, come help install insulation. We'll let you do the crawlspace...