Altman's Acre
This page is for our family, friends, and those curious about the goings on at this place
Nestled among the hills south of Milan near the old Hillandale Stables sets the house that Roger (Craig to some) and Wanda built. When we bought this place, with it's existing ramshackle shack of a house, we had a vision. Well, at least I did. We have almost attained that "dream" and things are getting close to completion. Although, I will probably always want to build or landscape something!
From the day we took possession of the property, this place has been under construction. The fact that Wanda has put up with all the dust and sometimes less than ideal living conditions still amazes me! And, believe it or not, very few arguments ensued! A brief history in pictures.
The old house came first. Something had to be done just to make it livable. A new roof, siding and moving around some walls and creating a closet in a house that had none. We later found out that this house was originally built as a garage. I believe it! At only 600 square feet, things were cramped! The intent was to live in this small house for about five years, then build a new one in it's place. Things accelerated when the interest rates dropped.
First step was the garage. 24' x 36' , three car with a two bedroom loft apartment above it to live in while we built the house. After this project, I came to realize that I'm getting just a little too old to handle this much concrete work on my own! Same for sheetrock! All in all, though it went pretty well. With the exception of the floor slab that we had to contract out (takes too many bodies all at once) and the roof that Wanda's cousin Larry did for us, we did it all ourselves (with the help of the kids.............Forced labor)
The house was supposed to start in May of 1998, but it rained. And rained. And rained. The contractor that we had hired to do demolition and excavation could not get his heavy equipment in or out since it was constantly wet. The end of June came around and I decided that maybe we should just go away over the July 4th Holiday weekend. When we came back on the 6th, the old house was gone and there was a big hole dug. Hey! We've got a basement! Sort of. I also noticed that all the dirt they dug out was piled on the new sod that we had put down before we left. This, I wasn't pleased about.
It took about four more weeks before the footings, walls and floors were poured and cured. We started framing in mid-August. By the end of September, most of the house was framed and partly closed in. OK, I've got the whole month of October to get it weather tight. Wrong! On the 5th, I had to start working seven days a week and 10-12 hours a day, some even longer. This went on the whole month. Hard to get anything done when you aren't there. Larry did get the roof on though, which was a big relief.
November and the weather is getting chilly. No heat in the loft because we had to have gas in the house before we could have gas in the loft and there had to be a furnace in the house before we could get an inspection to get a gas line run in. Mid November and we finally had a furnace in the house. I ran all of the internal gas lines and we had an inspection. No problems there, but it then took Mid America until mid December to get us a gas meter. Sure glad it was a mild winter! We were heating the loft with electric and "that ain't cheap".
Once we had heat, it was time to "rock & roll" I had not intended to do the plumbing myself, but there were no plumbers available that could get to it before spring except one who wanted $12,000 just to rough it in. I don't think so. In three days, I had the plumbing done. Within a few more weeks, the electrical was done (now, that part was easy, being an electrician, and all), the heating was roughed in (we contracted that out. I hate sheet metal work), the house inspected and ready to have the sheetrock hung......................................Only everybody was too busy to do it...............Except for one bid we had of $20,000. Well, here we go again. One of those things that I had never intended on doing. Once Wanda's son, Steve had all of the insulation in place it was time to enforce some more of that "child slave labor". With the help of Steve, a couple of his friends, and my son Jason, we had most of it up in a few weeks. We called the plaster contractor that we had hired and told him he could start upstairs. Only the family room and the basement stairway remained along with the attached garage. We couldn't do the garage as that was where we were storing everything.
I figured that it would take Bob (our plater contractor) quite a while to do the first floor since it was taking so long to do the second floor. Problem was (at least for me) there are a lot fewer walls on the first floor. I came home one night and he had caught up with me! So much for taking a breather. Had to hustle up and get the rest up. We did it and he finished up that week. The garage had to come later.
The strain of stain
This house has 20 doors and 29 windows. All of these needed to be sanded, sealed, stained, and varnished. Dare you to ask Wanda if she would help you do this! All of the trim is oak and also had to have the same treatment. Miles of sanding and gallons of stain, sealer, and varnish! Add to this all of the rosettes and plinth blocks that I made in my shop (four for each window and door) with the intricate pattern and it seemed like a never ending job.
In at Last!!!
Once the quarry tile floors were in (900 square feet...............Don't try it all at once!), the wood floors (not too difficult of a job, although I still have two pieces to put in), the stone was on the fireplace (don't even think of calling me to help you do this!), we had the carpet laid. Furniture was slated for delivery on Monday, except..........................We didn't have our final inspection yet! We had to wait for the State plumbing inspector before we could get our final and he didn't come up this way but once every two weeks. The county inspector still let us move our furniture in so long as we didn't live in the house. This seemed strange because I was in this house a lot more than I was in the loft! Anyway, the plumbing inspector finally came, gave us his blessing, got the certificate of occupancy, got the bank's approval of construction, we closed, and moved in in mid May of 1999.
It's been a long road, but in retrospect, it has all been worth it.
NOW>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Where I'd like to spend more time
Da' Garden(s) and WHY
Deserves a page of it's own. Some think I'm obsessed! I am! CLICK HERE
2001:
JUST when I though it was done.....................Now the deck addition and swings! The big 2001 "get it done in time for the party" project.
Now, this is quite an undertaking. Party is July 3 and I'm starting on this in June! The deck was added to the back of the house adjoining the two existing decks, but on a lower level. what started out as a modest addition of 12 x 16 feet has grown to 16 x 32 feet with an enclosed arbor complete with swing. Neighbors were asking if we were going to have concerts on our new stage as I was building the foundation and under structure. Considering that the original house when we moved here was 24 x 30, I guess I could see where they were coming from. Wanting the new deck to "match" the existing decks, I opted for the Deckmaster fastening system we used before. That is: No visible fasters from above. All the deck boards are fastened from below. makes for a good look, although it is expensive and takes a lot more time. I also thought it would look good with the decking running at a 45 degree angle from the original decks. And it does. And it takes more wood. And it takes a WHOLE lot more time when you have to miter cut EVERY board! Well, anyway, completed (sort of) on July 2nd and we had our party on July 3rd like every year for the Camden Park Fireworks. I HAD to HAVE this glass topped bar on the new deck and that is where most of the guys hung out. The glass topped table and comfy chairs that Wanda just HAD to HAVE is where most of the ladies hung out. All the kids ran amok in the backyard which is what kids are supposed to do at parties like this. This party gets bigger every year, so this year I got out the DJ equipment and we had a yard/ street dance before and after the fireworks. It sprinkled a little rain early, but then cleared up. When the fireworks started (This is the biggest display in the Quad City Area), our neighbors and their party joined us since we have the "best seats in the area". I lost count at the number of people we had in the yard, house, and deck, but after the fireworks when the music resumed, there was lots of dancing and partying until 11:00 when it happened.....................The skies opened up with a genuine Midwest summertime DOWNPOUR. And I have $10,000 worth of sound equipment setting outside! Quick with the tarps, towels, and some brave volunteers, we got it inside the sunroom of the house. Sure am glad we put quarry tile in there! Water everywhere! It took a good three days to clean up the mess from this party! And, we'll do it all again in 2002!
Why plastic frame greenhouses are not a good idea in the Midwest Winters.