How to Kill a Sunday Afternoon in December

How about participating in Bike Friendly Oak Cliff’s Dallas Santa Ride? At Ian’s suggestion, Chris and I donned some goofy Christmas garb, grabbed our bikes, and joined Ian and three of his buddies to ride the Katy Trail downtown where we hooked up with a couple of hundred other disreputable characters to ride in Bike Friendly Oak Cliff’s Dallas Santa Ride.

Imagine if you will going on a leisurely bike ride with two-hundred other people dressed as Santa. Hilarious.

Steepest incline was on the bridge crossing the Trinity River bottoms into Oak Cliff. I’m guessing the Santas we spied smoking cigarettes prior to the start weren’t liking that much.

Check out the video on the Dallas Morning News web site (that’s Ian’s buddy Nathan with the star hat appearing numerous times). Ian can be seen talking and standing next to Star Man for a split second at around the 37 second mark, and that’s yours truly riding and waving next to Star Man at about the 51 second mark. All the Santas (and non-Santas, like us) appreciated stopping for a beer at Eno’s in the Bishop Arts District, where the Morning News shot their footage. A good time was had by all.

Random thought: there’s something inherently wrong about seeing Santa texting.

~kp~

 

Chris’ Infomercial Career Begins…and Ends

Okay, so Chris’ infomercial career flamed out faster than a roman candle. Regardless, you can see her debut (and sadly, she told me, her infomercial swan song as well), at AcquaEssentials.com. Our good friend Javier Martinez from Madrid, Spain, was recently in Dallas to launch his company’s line of high-end spa products in the U.S.

So check out his web site and have a look at Chris’ contribution recorded at the AcquaEssentials launch party from a couple of weeks ago. The food was yummy, plus I got to sample something called “Mondariz Hydro Man Cream”. Anyway, check it out, and buy something!

~kp~

 

Remodeling Update – July 5, 2009

After more than a month, it is done. And it’s raining.

View 1.

View 2.

View 3.

The two benches were made out of leftover materials.

View from the living room.

~kp~

 

Remodeling Update – June 14, 2009

After a week in which we endured downtime having run out of wood, deck screws, and cable hardware, and in which our area saw a wave of thunderstorms packing winds in excess of seventy miles an hour pelt us with anywhere between six and eight inches of rain in less than a twenty-four hour period beginning 7 p.m. Wednesday evening, construction on the deck is finally finished.

Now it’s a matter of letting the wood dry out sufficiently enough in order for us to stain it.

The new deck clocks in almost exactly at 275 square feet, and makes us feel like we will really be able to spread out when everything is back in order.

Special thanks go out to our friend Mark, not only for providing the structural design, but for lending his expertise and sharing his wealth of knowledge over the course of this project.

View 1 - Day 14

View 2 - Day 14

View 3 - Day 14

One of my favorite features: rows of 2x2 cedar serve as deck skirting, which looks great and denies our dog (and other critters) access underneath the deck.

Handrail, steel cable, and turnbuckle detail.

This shot shows the deck cantilevered out over the edge of the flagstone wall. The stairway handrail (top right) was a sorely needed addition; the flagstone can be very slick when wet.

Done! Except for staining and sealing.

~kp~

 

Remodeling Update – June 7, 2009

A little shorter workday Saturday, but we still made good progress. The first seven rows or so of decking material are in place, and our three outside handrail posts, which until now had only been held in place by a couple of temporary screws, are permanently affixed with a pair of six-inch bolts driven through them. They aren’t going anywhere. Trust me.

And the transformer for our sprinkler control box, which had been laying on the damp ground underneath the old deck for God only knows how many years (who made that wildly unstable decision?), is now safe, hidden, and secure in an external outlet box mounted to one of our new joists.

With my vacation over and my return to work imminent, my contributions on the deck are mostly over until sanding, staining and sealing. I’d anticipate that all the construction will be wrapped up within the next two or three days by our handyman extraordinaire.

View 1 - Day 6.

View 2 - Day 6.

View 3 - Day 6.

This mess of spliced wiring and the transformer for our sprinkler system was uncovered during demolition, laying in the damp soil below our old deck.

Not anymore. For about twelve bucks a weather resistant junction box mounted to one of the new deck joists has us breathing easier.

Shown here is the ledger bolted to the foundation of the house just below the sill of the sliding glass doors. With much of the weight of the deck now transferred to the house via ten 2x8 joists, we saved ourselves the trouble of digging and pouring concrete for four more posts. Metal flashing and liberal use of caulk should keep water away.

This shot shows the two center beams (bottom), one of ten joists hung over it, and the decking layer on top. One of our six handrail posts is at the top right.

~kp~

 

Remodeling Update – June 6, 2009

Another long but solid day of progress on Friday. All ten of our joists are installed, our hand rail posts are in, level, and at the proper height, and the funky corner around the top of the flagstone steps is framed. We are essentially ready to begin putting down decking material.

View 1 - Day 5. It's starting to look like something.

View 2 - Day 5.

View 3 - Day 5.

~kp~

 

Remodeling Update – June 5, 2009

A productive day Thursday, nearly eleven hours from start to finish, but for the first time our efforts are taking shape, and we can now glimpse what will be when this project is finished.

The day began by attaching seven cedar posts, then installing four beams that span the width of the deck. It took us a while to get everything square, but we are now within about 3/16″ of being exactly square, not bad considering the foundation to which our ledger is attached isn’t true either, and looks like it bowed in a couple of places when it was poured thirty-eight years ago.

View 1 - Day 4. Four days in, the deck finally begins to take shape.

View 2 - Day 4. The beams are nearly finished, and the first three of ten joists are in.

View 3 - Day 4. With the deck now cantilevered out over the flagstone wall, it feels like it will be much larger than the old one.

~kp~