New Roof!

At long last, we tackled the roof on the house and the garage. For five days straight, we stripped shingles, patched soft spots, wrapped, and shingled. We began last week Wednesday, when Cory stopped over at the house to start ripping off shingles. He got started, and then Chad and I went over after work to continue stripping shingles, and we all met up again the next night to do some more.

Let me tell you something about tearing off shingles: I was very naive. I assumed that if we bought a potato fork (or pickle fork as Chad once called it), that removing shingles would be EASY! Okay, sure, maybe the nice tool made it EASIER (as I can't imagine what it would have been like without one), but it was definitely not EASY. Removing shingles is hard work, people! But, I am proud to say, the girls got up on the roof and stripped shingles with the guys, and we were GOOD at it! Poor Steph had a bad blister on the bottom of her foot, and my back started to get a bad pain in the lower left side, but we stripped and ripped and removed while we grooved! (Of course, you have to have a stereo while you work)!

Cory had finished up removing shingles on the west side of the house Thursday afternoon, and then he and Dad worked on attaching the roof edge and patching soft spots on the roof. Then they laid down the freeze guard and the tar paper. We actually used something a little different called PermaFelt. It is tougher than tar paper, and we liked it a lot better!

Thursday night we also had the shingles delivered. We paid extra to have the shingles brought to the roof for us (to save our backs from having to carry them up a ladder to the roof). However, the delivery guy doesn't actually unload the shingles - he just has a nice easy job of running the crane which brings them up to the roof. We got the lovely job of taking them off the pallet and putting them on the roof. And yet again, the two girls worked right alongside the guys unloading the shingles in our pink work gloves! And I do feel the need to point out that the delivery guy yelled up at Chad and Cory that they needed to pick up the pace because the girls were whooping them...:)

Once Steph and I got as much of the east side of the roof done as we could that night, we all started shingling on the west side of the house. Since it was already dark outside, it was quite a team effort! Cory was on the pump jacks on the side of the house where he would line up the shingles. Stephanie tried her hand at the nail gun and got the first shingles tacked on. After that Chad ran the nail gun, and Steph and I rotated between being Light Girls or handing out tools and more shingles. Kelly also came over shortly after we got started, and then he helped line up shingles and pounding in nails that didn't quite go in straight with the nail gun. We had been hoping to get just the starter strip and first row of shingles on the roof, but we ended up getting a lot more done than that! With all of us up on the roof and in our groove, we figured we might as well keep going. We shut down the production at about 9pm and were very proud of the amount we had accomplished!

Friday, Cory headed back over to the house to continue with the shingling. He was on his own for awhile, and then I took off work a couple hours early and went over to help. Cory and I finished tearing off the rest of the shingles on the east side of the house. Then, while Cory worked on patching bad spots in the roof, I walked around the looked for nails to pull or pound in, and I picked up loose nails. We got the roof swept off and it looked much better!

I took a picture of myself since I usually don't make it into the pictures...:)

Cory likes to live on the edge...



We continued shingling Friday evening, and we called it a night around 10pm. So far, so good!

Saturday morning was time to do a thorough clean-up of the yard, as we had old shingles, tar paper, and nails littering the yard and driveway. One thing we feel very important about is keeping a clean workspace. Not only is it more beneficial to us as we're trying to work, but it also keeps the neighbors happy! We are now on our second Boltes dumpster, and we will fill up a third for sure before the end of the project. I was so busy helping clean up on Saturday that I didn't get a chance to take a picture of the huge pile of shingles in the driveway. Chad and I tackled that pile first, and later when Cory and Steph showed up, we all worked on the perimeter of the house. It was so nice to have everything picked up and swept clean!

Kyle was also able to help us out on Saturday, as it was his day off. He showed up (we could hear his bass coming down the block), and we all got to work. Chad and Steph tackled the stripping of the shingles from the garage, and Cory, Kyle, and I climbed up to the roof of the house and started shingling over there. Cory was the liner-upper, Kyle was the nailer, and I was the shingle layer-outer...:)

After a long hard day on Saturday, the shingling of the house was pretty much done! The west side of the garage was wrapped, and everyone was glad to be close to finished! Dad, Chad, Kyle, and Jenn's brother ventured to the house on Sunday. Dad showed Chad how to finish the caps on the house, and then Kyle and Michael started shingling the garage. Kyle went to the house on Monday and finished the caps on the garage to mark our mission completed. Great job on a big job, everyone!!

 Even Jessica was able to get a photo op at the flip house!

A little love to celebrate a job well done! :)

More work has been happening at the flip house this week! Keep checking back for updates on the finishing of the soffit and facia, as well as my project painting Cory's garage door! :)

Finally an Update!

Days and evenings have been very busy at the flip house as of late! Hence, the lack of an update in quite some time. I have to go back a couple weeks just to catch up! Here we go...

Dad and Cory spent a couple of days at the flip house working on the soffit. The original overhang on the house was about 3 1/2 feet wide...not standard and there's a reason for that! It looks awful. So that means we got rid of 18 inches of the soffit, and it looks MUCH better! It actually made the whole driveway area seem larger, as well as the west side of the house. Dad and Cory set up the pump jacks, which I had never seen before. I have no idea how I missed seeing those things all my life being the daughter of my father, but I guess this is the first time I have ever been able to go to work with him...:) Once the soffit was properly trimmed, they were able to install the facia and boy does it look good!

One big change in the work on the house has been the amount of weekday help Chad gets to be part of. His department at work was set to be eliminated and moved to the home office in Des Moines. That means, a layoff for Chad was inevitable. No one ever likes to hear that word, but with the project going on the flip house, we actually were thankful for it coming at an "opportune" time. However, before his official layoff notice, he was offered a position in another area at the same job, and he took it. So while we were relieved that we didn't have to worry about a job loss, that also means that taking vacation is pretty impossible. So while Chad has been relegated to helping on the nights and weekends only, he is still able to pop over at the house on his lunch breaks and after work to at least check out all the progress.

Mom is also one who never gets to be here during the work week, so she misses out on all the fun as well, unless we are working on the weekends. However, she is at least present by phone, as she calls Dad on her lunch breaks to make sure no one misses her...:)

The end product of cutting back the soffits looks spectacular! Tomorrow Dad, Cory, and Kyle will be back at work finishing up all the soffit and facia, and maybe get started on the east side main door. I can't wait to see it all when it's finished!

This past weekend, we worked long and hard getting the entire roof of the house and garage stripped, patched, wrapped, and shingled - and we have succeeded!! I will post updates and pictures of the shingling endeavor (and massive clean-up) tomorrow, so stay tuned! :)

Stay Tuned

Okay so I've been getting a lot of hassle about not having the blog updated lately. I apologize - I have been very busy! I have A TON of new pictures to post, which I am going to make a point to do tomorrow night. However, in the event that I don't get to it, please forgive me! We have been getting a lot of big work done at the house, including the new roof! So stay tuned for more updates and great pictures on their way! I will leave you with a nice picture of Dad working hard...haha! :)

A Few Days Off...

Not much new has been going on at the flip house over the last few days. Sundays are break days by default: we get a day of rest and we get to watch football! However, Chad and I did head over Sunday afternoon to get some more things tossed into the dumpster. We got rid of the old doors in the house along with a few other things. The dumpster was then full and ready for removal on Monday morning. Chad has been to the flip house since the dumpster was hauled away, and he said the garage looks even better with a clear view of it!

Other good news is that the appliances are picked up and ready for their new home! We took our truck and Cory & Steph took their truck to Menards Sunday evening and we picked up the fridge, stove, dishwasher, and microhood. I can't wait to see them out of the box!

Chad also got a call today that the cabinets are in! I CAN'T WAIT to see them! We ordered them through Mac's Cabinet Center here in Sioux Falls. We chose an oak cabinet with a pecan finish and raised panel doors, and the countertop is the granite-look Formica in a black/brown blend. We picked up hardware in an oil-rubbed bronze finish from Menards. The kitchen is a complete destruction job right now, so it is really exciting to imagine it with the new cabinets and new appliances!

I would like to take a moment to give a quick shout-out to MENARDS. They have totally come through for us for the vast majority of our supplies: siding, shingles, appliances, roofing materials, house wrap, windows, and on and on. The Sunday ads have been a blessing to our budget when planning our supply purchases. We plan to give a lot more business and recommendations to Menards in the future...as well as all of our vendors that we have good experiences with!

That's all for today...stay tuned for more updates later this week!

The Boys at Work

Friday was another successful day at the flip house! Kyle was able to join the guys today for a few hours of work, and they were able to finish up the siding, soffit, and fascia on the garage. They had a little bit of a hiccup at first as they had to spend about an hour drilling some concrete away from the base of the garage so they could start the siding. None of us have any idea why there was concrete poured on that side of the garage. One of the many things that had been done in this house that we can't quite figure out.

After the work on the garage was finished, the guys went over to our house for some leftover meatloaf for lunch. I have to make sure all these guys' tummies get fed! :)

Later the same night, Chad, Cory, and I went over to the flip house to do some more destruction work. We have our big dumpster in the driveway until Monday, and we wanted to make sure we had it completely filled for our money's worth. We ripped down some old sheetrock in the kicken and the boys tore up three layers of flooring. We have some mold and rot in the subfloor underneath the dishwasher. I love how these people didn't care if they had leaking water all over the floor and just let it go. I assume we will find plenty more of these type of situations as we go.

Due to the mold, we all wore masks as we were working in the kitchen tearing up the floor. I got some dandy pictures of the three of us all decked out in our surgeon's best...:)

I decided to have some fun with the hammer tearing down some sheetrock. The guys had to help me with the higher parts of the wall.

Once we got the sheetrock torn down around the windows, we discovered another form of idiocy with one of the previous owners. We think that where the windows are now, there used to be cabinets. At some point, the cabinets were removed and the windows were installed...if that's what you call it. Cory gave us a short tutorial on how a window is supposed to be installed, and he showed us all the wrong ways these windows were installed. Check out the pictures below to see for yourself.

All in all, it was a very productive night. I ended up being on the phone with my bestie Jessica for about an hour, and then I was on the phone with Mom for about 40 minutes while the guys worked in the kitchen and chatted away like little old ladies...haha! They sounded like they were having a good time. I ended up heading home before the guys, who stayed after midnight to get the entire kitchen floor torn up. They did an excellent job!

Cory and Chad went back to the flip house the next night in order to get a few more things "destructed" for the dumpster. Kyle has been saddled with a bad head cold, so he was not able to join then. The dumpster is adequately full now and should be good to go tomorrow! This afternoon, the boys are going to head to Menards to pick up the appliances for the house. Woohoo!! Our cabinets should be in next week, so things are starting to pick up pace. Hopefully a lot of pieces will start falling into place over the next month. It should be a lot of fun!