12/18/07

5Gsalot
I looked up the number for lawyer #2 and called him. They told me that they would get back to me. $5,000 is lot of money, but I'm adding 50% more property. We'll see what happens. Changed the format a bit on the blog lately with some links to Picasa so I can show photos/slide show. This is one of the little green gem.

12/17/07

Budget addition - Budget subtraction
Busy Day. I finally caught up with the lawyer Don Ferguson today. I tried to feel him out with a few questions before springing the serious questions. I mentioned the Shop on the square — Bang!...He hit the bait. This guy was no slouch, and got around to business fast. 4-5Gs to get the paperwork to the right people and six months later and we could own that property. I guess I thought it would be a steal. Consensus is that it’s worth it, but I want to to check a few things before I sign up. I’ll call the lawyer we used to do the buy sell —Keene— and see if their might be a cheeper way. Dan - my son in-law called today with a line on two large 7x3 ft. glass doors being discarded by the business he works for. They are now sitting in my garage—to good to pass up. I think they might work for the shop doors on either side of the overhead or some elsewhere. The frames did not come with them so we might have to track down the manufacturer. Still should save me some money and save some resources too.

12/13/07

Land Grab- breathing room.
My builder Jim called me today very excited - said he had been down to the assessors office in Cleveland to see if he could find out the names and addresses of the owners of the property just adjacent for easements on the overhangs. The small green house directly behind us is owned by Angela Henry who lives here in Atlanta. Harrison Allison is the owner of the other property - he lives near Cleveland. This is all pretty dull, but it gets better. Jim say’s the lady in the assessor’s office is a member up at Center Baptist Church.( across from the shop) Well he finds out first that the square passed ownership as recently as 2004 to the church - Bob Wurl told me they owned it way before that. Then he finds out that the plot just to the left of the property is not owned by Ms. Henry. Well this is news! The Community Evangelical Methodist Church own’s the land—and guess what? They apparently do not exist anymore! Story is that when they (?) carved up Robertstown they gave some land to two churches. This other church never made it. So this property is not ton the tax records - strange. Center Baptist may own it as a default but if they do they do not know it. Unless this assessor lady spills the beans. I need to contact Don Furgeson, some lawyer in Cleveland for more info - maybe we can pick up this small piece cheep and give Wurl Wood some breathing room.

12/10/07

SketchUp - Got to love it!
I’ve redone my my SkectchUp model and it came out great. As we go along I’ll try to keep it as close as possible to the real thing. I put in all truss work without having to redo everything. Added cabinets and built-ins, detailed the bathrooms and bedrooms. It’s amazing how much is available online —combine it with some creative changes and you can really do wonders—and spend hours and hours of time!
I’ve learned how to peel off the roof and take these overhead shots.

11/15/07

Down to Business — Architect Talk
I contacted Bob Cain by email Tuesday he replied that we could have a meeting anytime to discuss any modifications to the design.
He is discussing with my builder Jim how to build the studio. Since it’s a major component of the design and affects most of the drawings, he’s looking to him to advise on whether we use sips panels or conventional construction. We have obtained costs for the site delivered sips system. However, we don’t know what it will cost to erect it.
Since Jim has not done a sips installation, he’s researching the effort it takes and should soon arrive at a labor cost that will tell us if sips make economic sense.
Once they have that info, they will present it to me for an ok and then launch into construction documents (plans and specifications are needed for the loan). The construction documents and the price Jim gives me based on those documents will provide the bank with the info they need.
I have to discus the eave easement with my neighbors on both sides of the building. I will try to get some of that done while up there on Thanksgiving day.
In the mean time I’ve been working on my SketchUp model of Bob’s plan. I found lots of cool stuff to put in it on the web - even my car. More to come.

11/8/07

Waiting for Demo (Gadot)
Not much going on with the shop—waiting for that December demo day. I’m not sure how fast work will progress even after that. In the mean time I’m trying to get the loan all buttoned up. Not easy!—the Bank had not spoken to me since I dropped off the application from the builder two weeks ago. The loan officer never returned my call last week so I took the bull by the horn this week and made sure things are moving along.
I still need to contact my contractor to get an estimate for the demo and talk to the architect to see what he is doing.
I'm still enjoying the satisfaction of getting everything out of the shop—but I'm looking forward to my next fix. This is a shot from last year next to a recent one. Missing - about 5 tons of heavy woodworking equipment and scrap.

10/25/07

Implosion or what $? & Good bye old paint.
Oct. 25, 2007 -
Today Bob Cain e-mailed me and said we should go to all costs to save the existing cinder block structure during demo. This may be more expensive so he wants to explore conventional construction on the roof to compensate for costs.
I don’t like this. I like the sips - but again this is his expertise.
Anyway, I asked if he might be able to do - deconstruction drawings - or come up with an alternate plan.

I also called the dumpster company to have them pick up for a last time - with no return.
I’ll miss it. You get a lot thrown out and completed when you have one around. It was much easier than trying to organize trash to throw it out. I‘d like to have one of those big wheeled, flapped ones you see in the city.
Cost was a monthly $115 plus a dump and return fee of $125.00- this varies by weight. It’s a $47.00 per ton - not much. I dumped it four times. I spent $2,500 to have it up there for 14 months. Not bad - it was a lot of stuff.
All my neighbors will not miss it. The only problem remains the container, eye sore to some. Not me.