Rebuilding The 11 Dollar House™ (continued from Page 5)

September 2008

Two years after we got the house, and I had the pleasure of really getting a good look at just how bad the basement was, we finally finished getting a new basement by pouring the basement floor.  There is nothing too special about the floor, other than the concrete is fiber-reinforced with little polypropylene fibers, which is supposed to make it a little more stable.  Also, in most places, the concrete is about 6 inches thick, a little more than the typical 4 inches.  I was worried about running out, so I ordered extra just to be sure.

In the end, I think my kids were more excited about the new floor than I was.  At last, I'd kept my promise, and they could ride their "car" around the smooth, basement floor once again.

Also in early September, my in-laws came for a visit.  They've often offered to help on previous visits, but I was generally in the middle of something or other that didn't require assistance.  But this time, I had the perfect job, and they brightened up the front fence very nicely.

For much of the rest of September, I was kept busy putting up the railings and getting the upper deck on the balcony so that things would be nice and dry on the porch below.  Once the railings were up, I could get around to painting the whole front porch/balcony.  It now looks nice and white, very crisp and clean.

This picture is of one of the last warm fall days we got at the beginning of October.   The street is really glorious this time of the year, with the elms yellow and bright.  However, since then, the trees are bare, nice for letting the early morning light through, but a little more forlorn looking.

Now, it's getting cold, and I'm busy insulating (definitely not worth a picture).  The heat is getting turned on this next week, so at least I won't have to go through another winter working inside and out in below freezing temperatures.  Within the next month, I hope to have the siding mostly done, and to have things drywalled.  Whenever it happens, I'll update things then, since at last, the house will begin to look like a house inside and out.

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