A Side Note

FINALLY, Hick has the siding back on the outside of Lap House. It's the corner where he put in the new electric box. This was supposed to be a job for Old Buddy last week, but I don't think it happened then. Hick sent me a text on Monday that he was going out to put on the siding. Then a picture:

It looks like that corner is back to normal! Here's a closer look.

I can't even tell that the siding had been removed. Maybe the shade camouflages it, but I think Hick did a nice job fitting it back to the original condition.

Also, Hick has put some chairs on the front porch, making it look more home-y. I'm sure that was not the plan. It was likely to get the chairs out of the back yard for mowing purposes, and as a place to take a break from (sporadic) working.

Only the rest of the kitchen, two bedrooms, a living room, a laundry room, and a bathroom to go!

The Red-Porched StepFlip

Hick just HAD to have Lap House, the flip that some guy called him about, which wasn't even listed. So we bought it in March. Hick puttered around a bit with it, cleaning out the basement, and making plans. THEN he heard about the auction of Cheap House on the courthouse steps, and over-ruled me (with his minion The Pony) to buy it. The Cheap House deal was officially done on June 1st. Since then, Hick has devoted most of his time (not taken by his business or his Harem or his just over $300 a month apartment managing job and side jobs) to Cheap House. It seems like forever, but has only been not-quite three months.

Anyhoo... poor Lap House finally got its red porch painted black. And a new porch and partial roof. And an HVAC system. All things that were needed, but not really done by Hick. He hasn't forgotten Lap House. Just doted on Cheap House. Until a couple days ago, when he sent me a picture:

That's a nice addition. Hick called them "blocks," but he's been talking about yard pavers getting moved from Cheap House over to Lap House. I think this must be them. They give a walkway from the front sidewalk, and the side sidewalk. Such a path would be a nightmare for me, but surefooted people will surely like having something to step on besides bare lawn. Especially after a rain.

I asked if this would make mowing harder. Hick says it will not. That a mower can go right over them, and then you just have to weed-eat around the edges.

Hick isn't supposed to be lifting anything over 20 pounds since his surgery on the 13th. I asked how these pavers got from Cheap House to Lap House. A distance of about 2 miles. He said, "On the back of my truck. HOS hauled them over and put them down." Which I was glad to hear, because according to Hick, each paver weighs around 50-60 pounds.

Anyhoo... now Hick needs to put that siding back on the corner of Lap House where he had it off to install the new electrical service. He might need to delegate that to Old Buddy or HOS. I don't know if Hick is cleared for ladder-climbing.

Will the Real Pink Flowering Tree Please Stand Up

You may recall that Lap House has a tree in the front yard, with pink flowers. Not a lot of flowers. I don't know my trees or my flowers. The only pink flowering tree I know is a mimosa. Their leaves are distinctive, and the flowers all wispy. My grandma had several mimosas, and this tree is not it!

I went by Lap House for another picture out T-Hoe's window. You can see there are several flowers, but not a lot. It's not like a redbud tree, or a flowering dogwood (our state tree!). You can see that this one has a double trunk.

I tried to get a closeup of some flowers. My phone wasn't very cooperative. But I DID manage to zoom in on this photo to get one particular blossom.

I consulted my estranged BFF Google, and found a link for "45 Pink Flowering Trees (With Pictures): Identification Guide." 

I scrolled and scrolled. I think HIPPIE shut down twice from overheating. And then, on the 45th tree (ain't that always how it goes?) I think I identified this tree!

Pink Flowering Rose of Sharon. Also called Hibiscus syriacas. 

What do you think? It was the single blossom that fished me in. Also, I could see that the trunk(s) and leaves remind me of a shrub. Plus, it is blooming in the summer.

Anyhoo... it's a pleasant-looking tree to have in a front yard.

Another Photographer, Another View

Here's another view of the front of Lap House. The Pony took this one, as we drove down the block on Errand Day. I parked across the street by the elderlies apartment building, and The Pony took it out my window.

I am just loving the look of this! Hick says he will probably paint the wooden support posts black. He's not sure of the color, but he won't leave them as bare wood.

I don't know what kind of tree that is on the left, but it has pink flowers on it! Anyhoo... I just wanted to show this view of Lap House, because it never occurs to Hick that he can walk across the street, rather than down to the corner stop sign to get a full picture.

Again, here's a reminder of the "before" shape of Lap House when we bought it:

That tall pipe is gone. Might have been a flue of some kind, for gas heat. And the mailbox hanging on the rail. I'm not sure what Hick will do about that old TV antenna behind the tree. And the roof has been re-shingled.

To me, it looks like a different house!

Back to the Front Porch

Hick's Roof Guy and his crew got back to work on the Lap House porch and shingles on Monday. Hick sent me a picture on Tuesday. But you know Hick's picture style.

"Not finished yet but getting closer."

I was shocked that it wasn't Hick's usual panoramic view, with a tiny subject in the center of the photo. This was an extreme closeup. I suppose I'm looking at the underneath side of the boards that comprise the new front porch. I would imagine that up above, there is plywood decking, and possible shingles.

On Wednesday, I got another picture from Hick.

"Looks pretty good."

Yes. It looks good, though this angle makes either the house or porch look all cattywompus and warped. Hick says, "There's really not a good place to take a picture from." Well. If you count a wide street with no traffic, and a sidewalk across the corner, and an apartment parking lot across the street to be not good places.

The Pony and I drove by on Thursday, and it looks great! Of course we forgot to get a picture. Eventually, we'll have one. After all, Hick managed to get a picture of the front of the house when he first bought it.

Yes. That's Hick's USUAL picture style. So I zoomed in for you:

I think the porch has done wonders for the appearance of Lap House. Then again, you need a comparable full-frontal picture to compare it.

We'll work on that. At this point, a picture seems more likely to be squeezed out of Hick than any actuall work on this house!

AND... We Have Construction

Looks like those construction materials left beside Lap House were for the porch. The NEW porch! You may recall that the porch was not an asset for Lap House. Just a block of concrete. Not even a tiny eave to shield the rain from your head as you unlocked the front door. Not to mention the color.

Hick decided Lap House needs a roof on that porch. To make it a nice sitting area, and improve the curb appeal. The color will be resolved later, when we're almost ready to list Lap House for sale. Though I WILL caution Hick to get it done before freezing weather sets in.

Hick sent a picture of the progress Thursday afternoon:

It's true to Hick's photography style, you see. He might as well have taken it while standing on the moon. In fact, this is a zoomed-in view! There was a lot of front yard, sidewalk, and street, with Old Buddy on the sidewalk. 

Here's a zoom of the zoom:

NOW I see what The Pony was trying to explain to me, when I didn't understand the long-distance view. The rafters for the porch are in place! This picture was around 2:30. At 4:00, Hick sent another:

I think this porch improves the looks of the house a lot. Even though it's not finished yet. I can imagine sitting on the front porch. Perhaps in a rocking chair, heh, heh, shaking my fist at random kids who chase a ball into the yard.

Finishing the porch and putting shingles on it, and the front roof, shouldn't take too long. Then maybe Hick will get to work inside...

The Materials Have Arrived. Let's Construct.

Hick sent me a text Wednesday afternoon, and a picture from the side of Lap House.

"All the materials setting here for roof and porch but no work yet."

Well. At first glance, I assumed it was a picture of the yard. You know, Hick being proud to show off that he mowed it. And put fallen limbs out of the way. By reading his text, I understood that the shingles and lumber were the subject of the picture, in Hick's panoramic photography style.

Hick's Roofing Guy is going to build a porch on the porch. A real porch, with a roof tied into the front of the house. Hick will be painting the foundation a different color. Probably changing the porch rails as well. Only the front part of the roof needs new shingles.

I don't blame Roofing Guy for not having started the work yet. I wouldn't want to be sweating on a hot shingle roof with the heat index at 115. This day was "cool," with the temperature "only" at 90 degrees. Hick says the plan is for Roofing Guy to start the work on Thursday.

I think a front porch roof will make quite a positive change for Lap House's curb appeal.

Introducing: Lap House

Yes. The photographer is of questionable talent. At taking photos. But he's a whiz at fixing up old houses. Hick was sitting in SilverRedO, parked across the street in front of an apartment building, when he took the front picture of Lap House for me. You may recall that Lap House is so named because the deal fell into Hick's lap when he was least expecting it.

Lap House has a generous yard. Out of sight on the left is an old brick church. A street runs by on the right side. There's a public sidewalk out front, but strangely, no sidewalk to the house. I image any residents would park in the back, off the alley, and use the back door.

Let's zoom in a bit, so you can see the actual house, and not a panoramic view of the neighborhood.

Lest you think the previous owner was a patriotic sort, let the record show that the school colors in this town are red, white, and blue. So the windows in the front door, and the railings by the back door, as well as the foundation, are likely those colors to support the team.

The roof has a few missing shingles from where the wind took them. Hick has not been in the attic yet. He says it's possible that the roof may need to be replaced, depending on what he finds there. Or it may just needs a patch. The tall vent pole on the front of the house will go away. Hick has already talked to his HVAC Guy, who says that there's a new way of doing the vent for the gas. Hick is planning to put in a new furnace and add central air, because the only cooling the house has now is a window unit. The vinyl siding is fine, it just looks wavy from the shadows, and my zoom-in on the original photo.

The front left window is the living room. The front right window is a bedroom. The kitchen is the part sticking out at the back with the back door. There's a single bathroom, behind that front bedroom. And behind it is a second bedroom. It's basically a 4-room house. I guess five if you count the bathroom. From the looks of them, the windows are old, and might need to be replaced. Hick hasn't mentioned that specifically yet.

Interior views will be coming soon.