Our House

After having gone without a garage for nearly 2 years, I am soooooo pleased to announce that our garage is finally done. And, with that, the major remodel, overhaul, development of our little house by the creek is complete – for the time being 😉

The biggest Thank You goes to our builder AtoZ Home Solutions, Darin Adams for making our vision and dream home a reality (once again)! We could not have made it through without you Darin!

So, with all permits signed off and approved through final inspections, all questions about floodways and floodplains answered, fire marshals review and advice on mitigation, Tim and I are now in peace to enjoy our home.

While the garage project began, we also started our Spring Landscape projects. The first of which entailed clearing out all the flood debris that was left wrapped around trees, in ditches, and along the creek bank. We found some interesting things. Chain link fence sections about 15′ long, a baby shoe, adirondack chair, barb wire, cans, bottles, a boot, chunks of twisted metal and aluminum, fence posts, to name a few…. We had our path rebuilt along the creek, and graded out the center part of the property that had been so ravaged by water and debris. The back lot area will be seed sprayed the first week of May with a natural grass mix with wildflowers!

The Landscapers also started the stone walls that would support the new garage level. All the rocks were harvested from the property. Turns out we have a lot of rocks 😉

The most exciting project that was started was the “Kitchen Courtyard”. I was excited to see the courtyard fence go up, but I was blown away when the plants were put in! Instant privacy comes in the shape of a 14 foot Pine. We’d been feeling like we were living in a fishbowl for the past 6 months and this project really created a cocoon feeling to the front area off our kitchen and dining room. We christened the courtyard by eating breakfast outside last Saturday.

The front of our home is starting to soften up now that we have some plants and trees! The rest will come after we finish the garage and create our new entry courtyard and fire pit! So much to look forward to this Spring and Summer!

It came 6 months later than we planned…. but at long last we have our garage building permit and have started our new garage project – aka Phase Two. It was very satisfying to see the old thing brought down. Even our neighbor’s have been commenting that they hoped we’d do it.  The building was deconstructed, per Boulder’s requirements, and everything recycled that could be. It took a few more weeks to get the concrete out and we hauled off  four concrete loads that were also recycled. Now that the slate has been wiped clean, let the building begin!

Darin, Dan and Ryan get huge huge huge kudos for managing to pull off the impossible and 4 weeks after a flood have the entire yard not only back to where it was before the water came through, but WAY ahead! It started 7 days ago on Thursday the 3rd when Darin said about 4:30 let’s go pick up those Oaks you bought. It’s going to rain tomorrow and we should get them in…. turns out that meant get them into the ground in the dark and in the rain!

That night we got our first snow… but our new Oak stood tall. I still don’t know how we got it so straight in the dark!

Once you have a tree, you have to finish! Over the next 7 days Darin, Dan and Ryan installed sprinkler systems, all the edging, all weed barrier, the mulch beds and rock retaining walls to finish up everything around the house. Finally, today, a mud free zone to take the dogs out in! Just in time for a huge rain tonight! Oh well, at least I don’t have to worry about the sod staying moist!

After the “Big Dry Out” the day finally arrived where we could pour the concrete that had been thwarted by the storm. It took forever for the thick goopy mud to dry on the north side of the house, but it finally did! So our concrete crew spent two days and knocked out our colored-patterened patio. I know it looks kinda mauve in the pics, but that’s just the color agent. I’m told once it’s cleaned and sealed that will be gone and the true colors will come out…. At least I hope 😉

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My last Blog was 10 days prior to move in… I had planned a big reveal with photos of the finished product all decorated with our furnishings and Tim and I leisurely sipping a Martini on the deck! We moved in on September 6th and spent the weekend getting stuff organized and put away. Monday the 9th the concrete guys came out to put the forms up to pour our concrete on Tuesday and Wednesday. Darin and team busted their butts to grade everything and get dirt settled down everywhere that we were going to concrete, gravel or sod. 

Alas, Mother Nature had other plans. On Tuesday it started raining and didn’t stop until the following Saturday afternoon. We had several flood surges as the rains poured down on Boulder County and several other areas around us. In all we got 18 inches of rain. The creeks rose to unprecedented heights, shattering local records.  The damns were at or over capacity. The water blew past the 100 year floodplain and tore into many homes and business. Many structures were filled with mud, some were carried away and others just demolished and broken to pieces where they stood.

We were soooooooo fortunate! South Boulder Creek tore our entire yard apart, rerouted the creek, carried all our retaining rock walls away, and sent all our carefully leveled dirt to Kansas. Everything surrounding the house became a muddy swampy mess. Luckily for us the water that entered the basement wasn’t from the creek, it crept into the cracks of the foundation when the water table rose. It was crazy! On Thursday night Tim and I moved everything up stairs that we didn’t want to get wet. We went to bed in the guest room not knowing what the basement would look like in the morning. We never got the evacuation call that went out at midnight because we hadn’t set up that connect yet. Almost none of our neighbors got it or left either. In the morning the basement only had a couple inches of water in it, about up to my ankles, that was enough to have us pull all the carpets. My brand new carpets I had only lived on for 7 days. Darin was a life saver!!!!! He was here all day Friday! He and Tim cut out all the carpet and hauled it into the mud. Then they jackhammered through the floor and dropped in a sump pump that Darin brought us. I shop vac’d water as it crept in and seeped across the floor. Once the sump pump kicked on the water stopped seeping. It was kinda crazy watching the water run through the sump pump hole west to east like a mini river running under your house !

Crazy and stressful and sad… that’s all I can say about the flood. We were so fortunate compared to so many others. We had ruined carpets, swollen door jams, dirty water from the well, and a leaky septic leach field, BUT, we had our home, our power, each other, our animals, and plenty of bottled water, food and wine 🙂 Many of our neighbors had the creek sweep through the house and tear our doors, dry wall, and furniture. Many won’t be dried out enough to put it all back together for weeks. Some might have to rebuild parts or all of their home. And that’s just our neighborhood. There are many areas where the devastation was so much worse. Were are thankful we had such a slight brush with this devastating flood!

Well were coming down to the wire. Only 10 more days until move in! So very excited!

It’s about time the stucco guys got the job going. They’ve been giving us headaches!

The backyard grating and wall building still continues. Darin and Tim decided to work on it last weekend, and got caught in a HUGE thunder, lightening and downpour. I was sure someone was going to get zapped! It even hailed during the storm! The yard turned into a giant mud puddle thus ending work on the outdoor projects for the day.

The Septic Company we hired bailed on us for Septic Install. Construction is so busy in CO right now we couldn’t find another company who could get us in without delaying us by months. So Darin took the state exam and passed! He’s now a certified septic installer! We hit groundwater at about 6 feet down, so we have a weighted tank and had to use a sump pump to keep the water out so we could place the tank!

Septics are a lot of work… this may be Darin’s first and last install… 

Still Waiting for Stucco, but the front kitchen courtyard area is starting to take shape. July has been full of moving rock and dirt. The well cistern took a BIG hole! Thanks Darin, Cody and Jeremy!

It’s great to see some finish work start. This week we’ve had our tile guys, masons, stucco, and cabinet installers! 

We’ve got roughly 5-6 weeks left! We can’t wait to get back into our house. The big thing now is the Septic Install. We have no plumbing in the house until that’s finished. Darin is tackling that one himself. He took the test, and passed 🙂 and is now licensed and certified to do Septics! More dirt work, OH MY! Pictures to follow on that next week 🙂

So, I’ve been very bad about keeping up on my writing. 60 days have passed and a lot has happened! Main Windows were cut in and the New Windows installed!

The House was wrapped in Tyvek and looks like a giant white marshmallow. The Windows have dark brown outside trim and raw wood interiors which we’ll stain to match the floors.

We even have soffits and a new shingles.

Starting to look like a house now!

Darin and Dan did a creative and fabulous job finding a way to frame all the odd shapes and sizes this house has. Walls were off height from one end to another almost an inch when we started. To make the walls taller they added a header cap around the whole house then strapped it to the walls below. All of the rough HVAC, Plumbing and Electrical were installed. Then came the spray foam – whoo hoo! We passed our rough inspection without a hitch! Way to go Darin, Dan, Dan, Mike and Stan!