(Day 230) Putting on a show

We dropped by our son's home this afternoon, after a lengthy walk through a greenbelt area that connects various parts of the town we live near (well, 25km/15mi). No one has lived there since May when the renovations started. The water in their above ground pool is a rather murky shade of green, a Virginia creeper has crept over the entire gazebo, and plants in the small veggie garden are at least 3 feet tall ... and they're not veggies ! My son has tried to keep the lawn cut on a semi-regular basis and has pulled out the odd weed so the place doesn't look totally overgrown.

Some of the plants, in addition to the Virginia creeper, seem to be doing just fine without any fuss and attention. I found this one - I think it's a hibiscus - blooming profusely even though no one was there to enjoy it - at least until today.

(all photos were made with an 18-55mm lens, aperture of f8, ISO200, and shutter speeds of 1/800 - 1/400 sec)

Oh, and while we were there, I made a few photos of the renovations. You might recall what the demolition scene (third photo on this page) looked like; here's how it looks today looking down the front hall into the kitchen at the rear and living room off to the left. I'll post the results when they're (hopefully) done in another few weeks.

(Day 207) A renovation snippet

Mon. July 26, 2010

As I've previously mentioned, my son's 135-year old home is undergoing extensive renovations. Professionals are doing the bulk of the restoration work after we looked after the demolition and cleanup of the interior walls, floors and ceilings. The cellar has always been quite wet and to help with this problem, gravel was brought in - 17 tons, in fact. I brought the camera to document a day in the life of the renovation project. Oh, I also helped move gravel as it was being poured, via a conveyor belt, from a large truck. The task of distributing and leveling it throughout the cellar is being left up to someone with a much stronger back!

The photos were all made with an 18-55mm lens, an aperture of f8, and shutter speeds ranging from 2 seconds to 1/640 sec.

The start: my son raking furiously as gravel is poured in through the living room floor; he's working so fast, he's just a blur. Note the ray of hope though.

This is a view of the living room - part of the floor was removed to allow the gravel to be catapulted into the cellar (not all of it made it through the hole). Note that the exterior walls have new studs and have had insulating foam sprayed on them (there was no insulation previously). There is also a new sub-floor, new electrical wiring, plumbing and duct-work for heating and air conditioning.

This is the front window through which the gravel was catapulted - the conveyor belt was about 2' short of the window. Most of the gravel made it through, and we washed the lilies off afterward - they're expected to make a full recovery.

This is what 17 tons of gravel looks like, in cramped quarters. Someone with a strong back has been hired to spread it throughout the cellar this week. Then it will be covered with dimple wrap. Note all the new jack posts - these are now being used to slowly lift the floor to greatly reduce the sag and provide support. New duct-work and water lines can also be seen.