Christmas in the new house

This was the first Christmas in our new house.  It also was the first Christmas that Henry was aware of presents.  You can see he ripped into them with gusto and then proceeded to play with the wrapping paper.  It was a wonderful Christmas. 

Another day at work

We had a large pick today involving a mobile crane capable of picking 500 tons... and 8 large air handler pieces.  The tower crane for the job wasn't able to handle the weight of these units.  They were not extremely oversized (20,000 lbs) but were outside the load limits for the picking radius of the tower crane.  The closer to the base of the crane, the more it can lift.  Wind was a factor and kept us from meeting our goal of getting 8 units to the roof.  Above 20 mph and things get tough to keep steady. 

6:45 am and the crane has not yet been raised into position.

Looking down on it while it is the street below.  The whole setup is simply massive!

Now being raised into position.  The tower crane is off the the right with the lights

Our elite crew :)  Joe, Me, Richard and Steve. 

Picking up the first piece with multiple spreader bars attached.  These keep the cables in the correct position for picking the load properly.

The crane boomed out and setting the air handlers down on the roof.  Really amazing how far it can reach.

Tankless water heater is installed

We beat the deadline for the Federal and State tax credits and got our tankless water heater installed.  It took a couple of weekends and some permits but it is done and up and running.  The permits for gas, plumbing and electrical were over 300 dollars.  I wonder why people don't pull more permits. 

This was the most convenient spot to mount the water heater where we could meet all the necessary clearances for the exhaust vent.  There was a boarded up window that made it easy to run the vent through. 

We had to change the sizing on the gas pipe in in order to accommodate the new gas flow needed by the tankless water heater.  The new water heater at peak demand will use over 4 times the BTUs of the old water heater.  This meant hand threading new gas lines and actually replacing every foot of gas line from the meter on in.  It wasn't necessary to replace everything, but it sure cleaned up the piping in the basement and made for a safer and better system. 

The water heater mounted and the concentric vent run outside.  The vent allows the water heater to use outside air for combustion which saves on heating costs.  This means you aren't burning and venting your 70 degree heated indoor air but instead using the cold air from outside. 

Almost there.  The water lines and electricity are run over.  You need a dedicated plug for the water heater as I found out during one of my inspections.  I had to add a breaker in the electrical panel and pull some new wire.  Pretty easy and I am glad I did it myself and didn't hire it out. 

The final product.  Installed and up and running.  It makes hot water and that's all there is to it.  We'll see how it impacts our gas bill.  It was not a hard project, just time consuming.  Maybe we'll paint the basement walls next :)

Total time on the project-- 18 or so hours. 

Total tax credits-- 55%

Projected gas savings-- 30% ($15-20 per month)

Ahhh yes, Portland

Click above to watch video

Things are shaping up

The dining room now after shades, a new coat of paint, new lights, and the floor being done.  I promise that the paint is not that yellow.  It's just the picture.  I swear.  Right now you can see we are stripping the paint off of the built in behind the table.  Every piece of trim is beautiful fir waiting to be exposed but most will never see the light of day because it is a pain in the arse to strip paint!

The dining room before... a sight to behold.  That shag was vintage but we wanted to go circa 1911 retro with wood floors. 

As usual, Henry is close by helping his Mom and Dad with the household duties.  The latest project is to install a tankless water heater before the deadline for the Federal and State tax credits.  The race is on.  Pictures of the installation to follow. 

At the beach

Kind of a rainy weekend but that won't stop us from going out to enjoy the beach.

Henry was enjoying himself in wind. 

Sand is good even if it is wet and you are wearing your hat, two coats and shoes.

The house

Well, we are finally moved in.  What a week it has been.  Between moving, having the house painted and cleaning the old house, it has been a rough 10 days!!  But, we are through the hard part.... now all we have to do is fix up the house. 

The painter we hired (Lo's Contracting) was amazing and did such a great job for us.  He was fast and professional AND did the job right!  Shocking for a contractor. 

The new paint job.  Check out the old blue a couple of posts below this one. 

The floors after I spent 14 hours scraping linoleum that was glued to them. 

The floors after being finished!

Good help is always close by.

Recap

Henry walks!

Well, Henry walked today on his own for the first time.  It was pretty cool to see him take those first steps.

Home is where the Hart's are

Well, we finally purchased a house.  It is a two story Craftsman, built in 1911. We have been looking to buy for the last 2 plus years and finally found a house that meets our needs.  It is large enough to grow in, has a large yard, is in a decent neighborhood, is not on a busy street and was a fair price. 

We had our offer accepted in June and will finally close on August 31st  by September 10th.  There were many repairs that had to occur before that bank would loan on the house.  The seller paid to have the sewer replaced, a new roof put on, new gutters, new facia and new tongue and groove in the eaves; new tongue and groove on the front porch, and a new side porch.  We hired a contractor to lift the rear 2-story porch and pour a new foundation for it, making it structurally sound.  If that seems like a lot of work, that's because it is! 

We're taking the month of September to have the hardwoods refinished and paint as much of the interior as we can.  At the end of September the exterior will be painted---about the same time we plan on moving in. 

Our new house!  Please note, this is prior to any work, paint, etc.  We'll post our progress as we make it.

The rear porch being lifted over 12 inches.

The front porch in the process of being repaired.

Henry is 1

--Henry Stats--
Weight : : 26lbs 6 oz
Height : : 31 1/4 inches

Here are some pictures of the party in the park with Henry and friends.

Marilynn made mini cupcakes with butter cream frosting.... they were awesome!

Henry with Penny.  They are about a week apart.

Marilynn's Mom staying cool during the high 90's day.

Erin and Isaac. 

Marilynn and Erin playing with Penny and Isaac.

The party was at Grant Park and it was so nice outside... a little hot, but there was a breeze.

Uncle Nate fueling up after his drive down from Seattle.


 

The birthday boy himself.  We can't believe a year has come and gone so quickly.  Henry is almost walking now and is working daily on finding his boundaries.  He knows so many words and sometimes comes up with some crazy phrases like "blah blah blah."  Where did he hear that?

Henry is 11 months old!

Wow...we apologize for the lack of posts.  The past couple of months Jonathan has been hard at work, 10 hours a day, six days a week.  Needless to say, blogging moved to the back burner.  But now we're back!  Henry has moved steadily forward...he is 'cruising,' which is walking while holding onto the couch.  He's eating pretty much everything we do, albeit in smaller pieces.  He can say:  Dada, walk, cat, block, and quite recently has added Mama to his repetoire.  In September, he will take his first plane ride when we visit friends in Utah.  We are still working out the Big Birthday Bash, and we'll keep you all posted.

Henry and his pal Isaac taking a walk through Mt. Tabor park.

Henry and Dad on the tire swing.

What's so funny?  Only Henry knows!

A good shot of his eight teeth, and how he spends a lot of his time when the door is open.