Wednesday March 9

TODAY - she now sits on her own laurels!!! The house movers came - took care of their business - and are gone. No more dealing with them. And, no I wouldn't recommend them to anyone either. This has been 4 months plus of delays and unnecessary anxiety!

Raul and the guys did great on the piers - she looks real level. We have a few beams yet to replace (about 5 - 8 footers) then her under carriage is complete.

Now the work begins on getting her ready to paint! OH HAPPY DAY!

Termite thingies get put on today. Then, once again, we wait on Burkart to come and lower her down. Once his beams are out we need to replace a few more bad spots on beams. By the weekend, we will have scaffolding and a pressure washer. House gets pressure washed this weekend, next week we scrape, and hopefully by the 18-19th we are painting. I have my folks lined up to paint.

It's almost time for additional permits. I'm so looking forward to dealing with the City again (yes that is true sarcasim!) I wish I didn't feel that way - but I do. Maybe something will happen to adjust my attitude!

Anyway - we are progressing like a turtle in a vat full of chunky peanut butter with molasses on a very cold day. I am ready to see things rocking and rolling.

Darryl

Darryl has been in and out of my neighborhood for a long time. We've had our "ups and downs"; he'd get mad at me or I'd get upset with him - but he always knows if I have work - especially painting work - it's his.

It may be months before I see Darryl. He has had his own personal demons to deal with and for a mid-40 year old man, he is old. He looks old. Darryl used to drink a lot. His drinking never interfered in his vast ability to be a perfect painter. He's done time in prison for drugs, he's married divorced a few times. No matter what his problems have been - I like Darryl - and there's something about him that let's me know when the work is available he is the man for painting.

I haven't seen Darryl in a long time, when he showed up at my back door this afternoon. He smelled as if he hadn't bathed in weeks. But, he wanted work.

We agreed he could come to work after the house was set down. We agreed on a price per hour and the hours that we all work. Before he left, Darryl turns and says, "Ann (no that isn't my name but he has always called me Ann), I need a favor from you."

"Darryl you always need a favor from me."

"No I'm serious. I got a ticket riding my bike at night without lights and I need you to pay it like you did my other one. I need you to take care of my ticket with what I earn. I'm not on paper no more, but you understand that stuff more than me."

"Okay Darryl, work good, be on time, and I will deduct it from your earnings."

"You a good friend Ann, you always been good to me."

I think having the Langham House is more than "my project". It is a project that is bringing my neighbors and friends together - to share, to laugh, to work and to fellowship.

Darryl had no sooner left, when I got a phone call from Manuel, "Senora, si tenemous trabajaho de la pintura?" (Ma'am do you have work in the painting?) I now have three extra hands to clean, scrub, and paint. I know they are going to do great work. I'm grateful and counting blessings.

Friday March 4

The piers and footings passed inspection this morning with flying colors. We were told we "did a great job." Not bad for a girl led crew I suppose.

We are on to painting - rather scraping the house to get ready for painting. Looking for scaffolds - for the upper regions. I'm so excited. Setting a goal for 3 weeks to have the place painted. With a new coat of paint, sitting on her laurels, she will look like a brand new place!

I'm buzzing! Doing the Happy Booty Bump (_/_)(_|_)(_\_)!!!

Wednesday March 2

Today has been an awesome work day. WE almost have all of the cinder blocks filled with concrete and their hurricane straps. It should be finished tomorrow - but that means I have to go under the house again! ;-(

I don't know if I wrote, but last time I went under the house a snake crawled up my shorts, I dropped them in the middle of the yard - luckily no one else was around - and it was a grass snake.

If we can get finished tomorrow, we can have Burkart come on Saturday or Sunday or Monday or whatever day he can come to sit her down.

Some of the rotten beams were replaced on the outside of the building so those are now taken care of. I'm SO ready to get her painted!

I'm real pleased with the progress.

We didn't get near accomplished this last week that I would have liked to have had. We did get the footings in and those needed to "cure". Monday Jess and Martin will start setting the 3 cinder blocks, pouring concrete in them to stabilize them and adding the hurricane strap. That should pretty much finalize that except for adding the metal for termite protection. A lot of waste of money. So far, this expenditure has run me about $3000 extra dollars that I, nor the contractors and the Windstorm Engineers thinks is necessary at all. Sighh..... but that's what the City of Beaumont wants. Total for replacing 44 footings (which this house never had) the cinder blocks, concrete and more concrete, rebar and other materials is going to run real close to $4500. Just think how far $4500 would have taken us on repairing and refurbishing the house!

Jess and Martin will also replace the outer rotten wood that will sit down on the cinder blocks. They can't get to any more of it until after the mover comes back and sits her down on her Laurels. (We are thinking Thursday or Friday but knowing his work pattern of the past, I will believe it all when I see it.)

I've called Jefferson County probation department and will be working with probationers needing community service hours - they will start scraping the house and preparing her for painting. That is going to be my next step - getting her painted.

I will start getting the little bit of plumbing and electrical done - yes, I learned to do this when I refurbished my historical home! And, I want to also start pricing sheetrock.

There was a study done that said it would take $40,000 to bring the house back to code. I do not think so and I am making real certain that it doesn't. I am shooting for $15-20,000 maximum. Yes, that is a lot of money - but - it's all going to be worth it in the long run. I want to prove to these people that they lied to the US Government about the costs of refurbishing this house and I want to prove to FEMA that they lied to get this lady a new house.

Had she taken care of the house in the first place, it wouldn't be in the situation that it is in.

Bottom line, I love the house. I think it adds charm and beauty to my "compound" as it is referred. And, I think when she is finished, the walk ways and gardens are put together, this ol' place of mine is going to be an exclamation of "OH MY!" I want many generations to come to enjoy these houses. And, hopefully, the City of Beaumont will realize how important keeping these and other historical buildings within our City is.

It's been a roller coaster and I've not kept up with the blog the way I should. Darlene Chodzinski with Beaumont Heritage Society was here on Thursday for the big move. YES - she is moved. Watching her come down the street - the wrong way- so massive and with dignity - was just awesome. To say that I was jubilant when she hit my soil, is just a real mild understatement!

Today we ordered the rebar, over the weekend we built the forms so we can make the piers, I arranged for a Windstorm Inspector to come and check us out on Thursday - so looks like we will be pouring on Thursday - at least the piers.

Wednesday Jess goes and picks up 200 cinder blocks. And, the only thing left for me to find are the "boot chairs" for inside the concrete. Walthall concrete will be here to assist us with the concrete. Jane Walthall is a woman owned business - and I just sort of like doing business with her! She's a friend. And, I like that.

Ted Harp will be doing our inspection. And, Raul will be building things and doing the concrete work. Pictures on Facebook will be posted.

Today I had sort of a little "scare" - I was under the house counting any seals that may need replacing as we put the piers under. I felt something wriggling in my shorts. I jumped out from under the house and stripped down in the back yard - thank GOD no one but me was around! Out fell a grass snake - but it was a SNAKE! I peed my pants right there and then.

We are moving along - slowly - a lot more slowly than I had wanted. Tomorrow I am calling probation to see if they have 5-10 folks who need to do community service - I will have them scraping paint! And, depending on what all we have going - may can use them later on as well. If they work well, I will write a letter to probation AND to the Judge in favor of them - if they don't - that will be their bad!

I'm loving seeing her sit out my back window. I'm just hoping for more and more jobs so that the work can progress while I'm not here.

Keep up with our journey on Facebook - Langham House Author - and I will try to keep things up here as well!