Just Thinking...

So, was on Google updating my soccer team's website, and saw and thought about this blog.  It's been a while, lots of hits over the last year, thought I'd add for posterity.

House is still great.  Still no air conditioning failures, so I figure all is well by now.  Even the crawl space moisture has stabilized.  Looking for a new hobby - nothing to do around here anymore...  Ha!

Health has been good since surgery - no cancer residual or recurrence (knock wood).  Have a few more scans, in fact, another coming up soon - doctors all happy, me too.

People now ask me most about finances.  No, have not received a dime ('cept county tax refund back in 2010), judicial system still thinking.  What a broken mess.  It's all about keeping this going to maximize lawyers' fees as far as I can tell.  The local defendants (Porter Blaine, Venture Supply, Tobin Trading) are finally settling.  They aren't well enough insured, or at least, we aren't getting enough of their liability coverage.  Need to accept the settlement before we know what it is (did I mention a broken system), but best math looks like about $10-15K per family.  I spent $60K plus labor, and this was the super cost effective method.  Maybe we will see something this year.   The suit against the manufacturers continues, who knows for how long.  Orleans Homebuilders looks to be avoiding everything due to bankruptcy, scumbags.  Will build my own house next time - no builders required.

Anyway, I have a plan, and it is on track.  I expect to be free of all of this, financially speaking, by 2018 no matter what else happens.  New family motto: Ne Quaesiveris Extra (Self Reliance, or more literally, "do not seek outside yourself").

So, what brings you to this blog?  Leave a comment if you read more than a post or two...

Afterward

It's has been about 10 months since our remediation project finished, and was thinking people might want an update on how it went.

The good stuff: I think we did a great job on the remediation. The AC is working great, all electrical looks great, and the kids can get over colds like normal children. The house looks great! No corrosion on any of the copper or silver, and the fixtures are holding up perfectly - unlike previous. And yes, 10 months is a long time for these corrosion processes. I think all in all, the remediation has been a great success.

The bad stuff. There has been one development worth noting. I was diagnosed with a mass on my kidney this June (2011), and when it was removed in August, it turned out to be papillary renal cell carcinoma (cancer). Stage 1, grade 2. It was 6cm in size. The good news is it is out, and I'm cancer free with a great prognosis. No additional therapies, just monitoring for the rest of my life. The question that remains is did toxic Chinese Drywall cause my cancer? That remains to be seen. I'm 35 with no family history, so a bit outside the normal bounds of those who might develop it naturally, maybe I'm just unlucky to have gotten it. Maybe there is a connection. Regardless, it is a fact that I had it, and thought it was relevant enough to share for other victims of Chinese Drywall to consider along with everything else. Did remediation cause this? Also don't know - I tend to doubt it based on its size, unlikely to me it grew that large in a single year, but what do I know. That said, I do think it originated within 5 years, meaning since I moved into my toxic home. Again, just my opinion.

In the end, I have no regrets for taking on the project. I sleep well knowing I did the best I could for my family, and they are in a safe environment now. The finances will work themselves out in time - and while waiting, we are back together, in a great home. In the end, I do consider myself lucky - to have beaten Chinese Drywall and cancer both, and am on a path to put all of this behind me. If you're reading this considering options for your Chinese Drywall nightmare, I hope this has offered some degree of help to you.

DONE!

Well, the welcome home party was a success. The house is unpacked (mostly, don't look in our closets) and grass is growing where the dumpster once was.

We still have to move in the piano ($) and take some clothes and toys to Goodwill.

One of these days, I'll update the actual man-hour returns, but otherwise, I think this is the end of the line for the Victory Over Chinese Drywall Blog.

Victory!

Signing off...

Inspection Passed!

Been a while - hit a new milestone - we passed inspection!

Was not too eventful - I had not caulked the kitchen counter, and that was an issue, but small enough to be overlooked (and now corrected anyway), so I can take down the permits - all done by the book.

If you're interested in coming to the Open House next Saturday, you're welcome to; if you don't have my contact info, just drop me a line or leave a message and I'll follow up with more specifics. Panera catered for lunch, chicken for dinner - fun in-between.

Moving, moving, unpacking, moving

More unpacking.

The computer is now back on a floor I'm living on... back in the guest room... I can start catching up on my receipt processing... tomorrow.

Nothing else to say today...

Finally, a shower door!

The shower door finally made an appearance...

Decided I will take out and replace the lag screw in the newel post; the gap is driving me nuts. Once that is done, I have to (still) install one outlet in the kitchen island (about 10 seconds), touch up some paint in Abby's room, and then construction is done-done. Pushing off inspection again mostly because of actual work schedule - present plan is for Monday, will take day off and unpack without kids underfoot.

Today moved some bookcases around - one left the guest room and into Will's room. Another moved to another wall in the guest room. They're very heavy, and too tall to go through the door... quite the challenge. Some heavy duty vacuuming tonight too - fixed a door (master bath hanging wrong), installed the first picture on the wall - my closet - the rest will wait for, well, uncluttered floors.

Banister Done... mostly...

OK, been a while. So where am I...

Saturday, mostly a wash - some grand unpacking, Jennifer returned from Michigan at 5pm; Abby and I caught up; I cooked dinner - noteworthy, since I hadn't done so for the family in about 6 months (take-out doesn't count).

Sunday, more productive. Ran some errands, then I installed the newel post - which was hard - and Jennifer replaced all of the exterior door knobs and deadbolts. Some more unpacking. The post is very sturdy.

Today, I installed the rest of the banister. While installing a 9/16" lag screw between the newel post and the handrail, I sheared off the head. Not really a problem except for the 1/4" gap between the handrail and post that I now cannot close. Not sure what I'm going to do... so calling it a night. No more power tools this late anyway. Still have to polyurethane the newel post, and set a handful of nail heads in the balusters.

I have a new hardest job as well... no not the banister (though it's up there)... it's the job you're trying to do with a 2 and 4 year old under-foot. Maybe I needed one more weekend...

As for packing situation - kitchen, family room are messy, but no more boxes. The second floor is generally in good shape - 2 boxes of office stuff in the guest room, but that's all. No pictures on the walls though. The living and dining room are another story...

As for other major construction - not much remains. One outlet in island, the cable jack in Abby's needs sanding, paint, reset. And the banister... guh... the shower door is planned for Wednesday AM. Would be nice to get inspection knocked out then too... we'll see...