In September of 2011 we moved into our new House.

By that December, encouraged by the spacious garage I now owned, I had already accumulated a number of bicycles in various states of entropy.  The intent, as with all good things, was to obtain broke bikes for cheap, fix them and sell them. Riding them in the interim was the chief perk. This past weekend, (March 2013), I have completed the first full restoration.

I have been trading, buying, and selling bikes, but none that I parted with had been restored by any great deal.  The Sportsman was different.  I took every nut, bolt, and washer off this bike and thoroughly cleaned, greased and reassembled.  This is a photographic account of that process:

Before

After First Rinse

Head Badge

June 2012

The Parts

Fenders

Brake

Rims

Dissembling the Wheels

The Sturmey Archer 3-speed Internal Gear Hub

Hub Dissembled

Hub Partially Reassembled

Hub Ball Ring Assembled

Hub Mechanism on Axel and Hub Housing

Clean Parts

March 2013

After

So Shiny

I finally finished the Ryanverse series by Tom Clancy!………(with caveat)

As explained in previous posts, I have been making my way through the lengthy saga for several years now and since I began the series there had been no new novels, until 2010. In the past two years Clancy, with assistance from other writers, has published three additional novels, two of which extend the Ryanverse universe.  I have made the decision that since these novels are not “pure” Clancy that I will consider my accomplishment complete.

Of course I plan to read the additional novels, but with the vast myriad of books and genres available I find it more difficult to restrict myself to this narrow focus.

The Ryanverse Novels, by Tom Clancy

Thank you Tom Clancy, it was a memorable experience!

By popular demand, I present to you the “Before” photos of our new home!

The wife and I have many, MANY, great projects planned for this house and property. Most of which we plan to endure ourselves.  We have been in the process of attempting to begin a joint blogging project in which we document and share our progress as we tackle the challenges of moving into our first home and maintaining a nearly 100 year old structure.  This, coupled with the enormous amount of work involved in moving into a house and settling all our belongings has been a major cause for delay with updates.  Hopefully, this new model of progress updates will encourage us to post much more frequently with greater content!

The front door.

Living Room on the Right, Stairs to the Left, Kitchen Straight up the middle.

The Living Room

The Wood Stove (and Regis before we removed his radar dish)

View from the Front Porch, accessible only through the Living Room

The Kitchen and the largest complication with the house, this is the ONLY counter space.

The high shelves are fairly useless, even I, at 6’2″ need a step stool to reach.

The Dinning end of the combined Kitchen / Dinning Room

The Basement

The “Work bench,” obviously this is woefully insufficient for the projects we have planned, a planned expansion into the entire garage is in order.

The Second Floor

Master Bedroom

Second Bedroom

Bathroom

Third Bedroom

Attic

Outside

Garage

There will be many more photos to follow, and look out for an announcement of the new blog!

The process is lengthy and about as exciting as watching stain, or urethane, dry.  In fact that is precisely what I did for almost 3 weeks.  Each night after the 45 minute commute home I had enough time to apply exactly one-half of one coat of either stain or sealant to the disassembled cargo rack.

The following is largely a photographic documentation of the finishing process, and as a bonus, the first few truck loads of items we moved into the new place using the still-not-fully-cured cargo rack.

Sand

Stain and Seal

Assemble

Final

Move

Fin.

The Tacoma Rack was a sort of shotgun project with little planning other than a napkin sketch from just about a week ago.  The primary aesthetic was to be determined by the type of wood I would be able to salvage from the property.  I was pleased to find a few old barn beams roughly the same dimensions and I began leaning towards the clear sealant timber-framed look.

After fully assembling the frame it was clear that the clear sealant would be a difficult decision as there were many varying ages and qualities of wood pulled together for the final product.  Currently I am researching a few methods and products of spray applied bed lining for a final surface coat.  But I didn’t want to get the old beams wet until they were sealed with something.

The remainder of this week I plan to sand, prime, and finish the lumber to hopefully have it completed by next week.  As long as it was fully assembled on the truck though, I couldn’t resist trying it out.  I was relieved to find that two full kayaks are capable of laying flat side-by-side, and the big 29er still fits on the bed mounts without a problem.

Of course to fully understand the load carrying capabilities I had to crawl up there myself and see how it felt…

…a bit high, but with the addition of a sheet of 4′ x 8′ plywood it would work nicely as a sleeping platform.

One last exciting recent development, crawling around in the rafters  of the barns this weekend searching for quality lumber, I managed to pull down an old push reel mower that has been stored up in the rafters for as long as I can remember.  I was pleased to discover it still worked quite well and will work great for the .12 acre lot our future home sits on.

As the time swiftly approaches when we will be moving into our first home, it becomes painfully apparent how many unfinished tasks remain at my current residence.  We have some finishing touches to complete on the upstairs bathroom, (yes still!) The Wife is working on preparing some outdoor furniture for the new home, and my self-appointed task for the weekend is to get a hefty start on a new cargo rack for the Tacoma.

Quick design sketch

The initial catalyst for this project was the gift of an aluminum extension ladder from my in-laws, which is effectively longer than my little short bed, double cab.

As I began the sizing and design of the structure, I wanted to ensure flexibility for the future.  The main design consideration was adaptability.  For the moment, I will be transporting a ladder, in the future there is the potential for cargo such as Kayaks, plywood or over-sized drywall sheets, lengthy lumber, or camping gear if the bed is occupied with Mountain bikes or other equipment.  I would also like the structure to have the ability to transform into a sleeping platform or even a housing for the metal truck storage box I already own but currently cannot secure to the bed.

I will primarily be constructing the rack from wood, probably salvaged, and basing the decision of finishing methods upon the quality of wood I am able to find.  The idea is for this structure to be easily removable, weather resistant, durable, and to look good doing it.  My initial thought was flat black for the lumber pieces, but I have been toying with the idea of a clear coat sealant or even a tinted varnish.  Any thoughts?

I plan to begin collecting supplies and commence construction this weekend so look out for photos and updates!

We week was enjoyable but took a physical toll on all of us, The Wife most of all, as she came away with a minor case of sun poisoning.

The adventure highlight of the trip was our first ride on the Skycoaster!  We decided that we simply cannot stay at the park for 4 days without tackling the huge pendulum drop.  So we budget in the extra funds that we would need and made the leap.  Well. Worth. It.

We even had the good fortune to be camped directly across the driveway from Jim Kelly, or at least his family, because we have suspicion that he was only actually at the festival for one day for his presentation.  Our good friend Jeff made the rounds with the celebrities, because a few days after this photo with Jim, he was able to meet Larry the Cucumber and Bob the Tomato!

By the way…ask him about his braids next time you see him…

We had the sweet little bonus of arriving home to a broken water heater and leaking plumbing.  It was after midnight by the time the shiny new copper plumbing was sealed up again, but the water heater is still broken.  It is a good thing we have that great big camper to shower in!

I have learned that not everyone is looking out for your best interests all of the time.  I have learned that you need to establish your credentials as an individual educated in the building trades and as a design professional as early as possible.  And I have learned that no matter how much planning, looking, research or preparation you do in advance, somebody will screw something up at some point in the process.

Fortunately, these lessons were learned without much physical harm to us or our purchasing process (yet). But it is very apparent that if you identify yourselves as first-time home buyers and look even remotely young, you will be battling for control over the process every step of the way. In these situations it has been our research, past time spent looking, and strategically placed connections with individuals in all manner of building trades and banking positions that have saved us some headaches.

Experimenting with paint colors in the likley case of the bank appraisal requiring exterior painting.

It is my sincere hope that the majority of home buyers are genuinely not as ignorant as the real estate agents seem to treat us.  On a positive note, it has been quite amusing to catch them in their little “white lies” or stumble them up on a technical question to an issue they are trying desperately to glean over while displaying an air of understanding.

I am sure not all real estate agents are this manipulative, we will just be more careful with our selection process next time.

So, now that that is out, an update: the purchase offer was accepted, the contract was signed, the engineers inspection was completed with no surprises, the radon test said we are safe, and the mortgage application has been delayed because the guy filling out the paperwork made a mistake. The final contingency is the bank appraisal and the lawyers negotiating the final details of the contract before closing.

We took a break this past weekend from wrangling greased-up mortgage brokers and pompous real estate agents to partake in a day trip to NYC.  My father-in-law, home briefly from his job overseas, wanted to take the whole family to see the New York Yankees play at the new Yankee Stadium.

Our seats were high enough to be in the shade, a welcome respite from the oppressive heat, but if you squinted your eyes it looked like the players were miniature toys.

As part of our continuing house search, we toured a few homes Saturday, decided to lob an offer at one of them Sunday, had the offer accepted, and almost exactly 13 months after The Wife and I said “I do”, we had signed a contract to purchase a home.

It has been less than 24 hours since we received the news of the accepted offer, but already I have learned an immense amount about the inspection process, the mortgage process, and in some respects, the true character of some individuals seeking business deals.

Obviously, the contingencies of the contract have yet to be satisfied, but the process has begun in earnest and the closing date is set.  Baring any major complications, before long there should be a whole lot more projects for me to track the progress of on this blog.  Once the transaction is finalized I will release more details about the house, as I am sure the process of customizing the home to our unique personalities will dominate the content here for quite some time.  For now though, I need to call some home inspectors.

Enlarge for effect

This Monday morning felt like a good time to get back into the blogosphere as The Wife and I share a joint rejuvenation from our brief trip to the Adirondacks this weekend.  There must be something about the transition between the phases of dripping sweat while marching up and down a mountain to cooling off in a calm, cool lake that clears the mind and allows a greater sense of focus.

We have been meeting with a Realtor and searching for a house.  Despite the apparent abundance of housing stock in the city of Rochester we continue to be incapable of finding one that suite our particular requirements on our more particular budget.  A direct response to this familiar scenario is a continual change in priorities and locations.  We have widened our search so drastically that it is difficult to decipher exactly what we are looking for now.  It was perhaps a result of this bewildered mentality that caused us to begin considering the proposition of purchasing land and a cabin in the mountains of the Adirondacks and resolving ourselves as renters in Rochester for the near future.

The thought hasn’t fully permeated yet, and while there are many attractive prospects to the proposal, there are many complications as well.  But these are the sort of radical ideas that flourish between the shallow lakes and tall mountains in the great park.

As we have received a substantial amount of advice on the issue of purchasing a home to this point, we are not adverse to collecting a bit more. What do you think?

Should we get our heads out of the clouds and settle for a quaint suburban ranch and quarter acre like the vast majority of other first time home buyers?

or shoot for the stars and jump into a “vacation property” and worry about a home later?

or stick it out with the knowledge that at some point a unique home that suites our personalities will come along within reach of our grasp?

B.T.W. if you were interested in the post I did about the Mushroom House in Perinton last year, you will be interested to know that it is again on the market, currently a steal at $1.1 million. Listing Here.

Also, the photos found above are from other exploits from the beginning of the summer: Visiting Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater, a foggy overlook at Ohiopyle State Park, PA, and an all-time highlight for the summer season, cooking over an open fire.