I have mentioned before that my father and I are building an addition. It has been several months since my last update.
No. I am not slacking. We are still making progress. 96.75% done. I am still doing my best to chronicle the entire experience. Oh my, folks. There is never a dull moment. My online updates continue to turn heads. Our lack of progress and foolish mistakes are still trending on Instagram. We are getting close. People marvel at our work. Especially the neighbors. “Hey. Maybe these two actually know what they are doing.”
We had some delays with our permits. It also didn’t help that my mates never return my calls. My father was hoping to start sooner than later. But unfortunately, we had to push everything to late September of last year. Pops now lives in California. And he has been with us off and on since the beginning. He has built a few homes in his day. Rough carpentry. But that was thirty years ago when he was much, much younger. He means well, but Jim needs to sharpen his pencil. I am thankful for his efforts, yet he continues to struggle. The Spencer gals have completely lost their patience. Rome wasn’t built in a day. Give us a break, ladies.
In the previous installments, I shared a few tales of our major mishaps. Oh, it has been quite the adventure. Who frames a wall with an upside-down door? That pushed us back even further. The folks on YouTube make it look so easy. Everyone is an expert. You should’ve put that one-unit bathtub in first. Gee, thanks. I will surely remember that next time. Not. You can’t make it up. I make several trips to Lowes each week. The customer service desk and I are on a first-name basis. “What are you returning today, Mr. Spencer?”
I now park my car in the PRO lot. Many contractors laugh when I use the canoe rack on my Renegade to transport 2x4s and sheets of drywall. I often run into some familiar faces. They offer free advice and constantly poke fun. No. I don’t take it personally. My son Jensen and I were asked to leave. Yes. We recorded a few videos when we were loading our rolls of insulation. I thought it was hilarious. Some guy in a red vest named Bill did not.
Over the summer, my father and I kicked tail. We were rolling after the drywall was in. Spence and I finally came to our senses. We decided to hire someone to do the siding. The guys at East End absolutely nailed it. They were so efficient. What they did in three days would have taken us fifteen weekends. The quality of work was superb. I highly recommend them. Correct. Only seven out of the ten outlets in the great room worked. But that wasn’t entirely our fault. I laid the LVT flooring and tiled the bathroom. My bearded brothers built and installed some gorgeous, glazed maple cabinets. The guys from work helped me cut some Calcutta Supreme Quartz. Jensen and I put the pieces in by ourselves. Chuck and Jason helped us plumb. Oh, we have running water and another place to shower: stainless steel appliances and a king-sized bed. Jim and I managed to set up the Mr. Cool mini split heat and air-conditioning unit, too. We are 96.75% done.
When Jim is in California, he sends me plenty of notes. I cross off one job, but then he sends eight more. So, I am starting to get the hang of this building thing. No. I will not give up my day job and all my part-time gigs. I love looking back and seeing our progress. Having my father around sure is grand. We all appreciate his efforts. Big Jim is our hero. Yes. I sometimes complain. My parents are flying in for Thanksgiving. Yes. We will be ready. Everything is hooked up. We are hoping to have our family dinner in the new addition. But there is no time to celebrate. Forget football. There is trim to paint. Cheers.
