Almost In the Dry

This area of South Carolina has been in a drought for a couple of years. Wouldn't you know
the time we start building, the drought ends! We have lost a couple of weeks due to the
weather. I am glad that the drought is over. Just wish it could have waited until the house
was in the dry. That means that the exterior is done such as roofing, brick, windows, and
doors. Hopefully, the brick will be completed by Friday at the latest. The masons didn't work
the day after Thanksgiving. Kind of a surprise to me in light of the all the days they have lost
due to the rain. It is supposed to be nice tomorrow and then rain again on Wednesday. Every
time it rains there are three areas where it leaks into the house. There are two heating/cooling
ducts that will have to be replaced because the water has drained into them. What a hassle.

Some good news-we finally passed the rough inspection. That was a relief. We will have one
more inspection of the insulation and then we will be good until the final inspection. The plumber
has really messed us up with the septic which has resulted in having to have a pump. However, we only need one leech field instead of two so I guess it is a wash. He is a great guy but I'm not sure I would recommend him as a plumber.

To help us keep things in perspective, the triplets arrived on November 10th. What a blessing that they were only in the hospital for two weeks and have been doing so well. Jim and I were
able to see them the weekend after they were born. They are so precious! Also, Paul graduated from TBS in Quantico on November 5th. We were able to get away for a couple of days and enjoy being with him.

Here are some pictures of how things are looking now. I will post more pics when the brick is
completed.

Bricking Has Started

We still haven't passed the rough inspection but at least the inspector said he would not
hold up work beginning on the outside because the issues that still need to be addressed
are inside. We needed to have two windows replaced with tempered glass. They are
supposed to be delivered tomorrow. The plumber drilled two more I joists of which
one needed to be repaired. We also need to have the vents roughed in for the water heaters.
The HVAC company insists they cannot do this until the water heaters are installed. We are
using tankless water heaters and certainly don't intend to leave them in the house unsecured.
Jim was referred to a man who works for the gas company who is going to be able to do what
is necessary for us to pass inspection and he is doing it for a lot less than the HVAC company
was going to charge us. Once the vents are in we will call for- hopefully- the last inspection until
the house is completed. The brick work has begun. It looks beautiful! I will get some pics and
post them soon. Too much going on right now.

Adam and Sadies babies arrived on November 10th. We were able to see them over the weekend. They are beautiful and doing well. It was nice to get away from everything happening
here and just enjoy being with our new grandchildren. What a blessing.