Studio Interior Primer Coat

Today I fired up my new Graco Magnum X7 Airless Paint Sprayer for the first time to paint the Studio interior. I sprayed an entire 5 gallon bucket of Kilz2! The sprayer is fantastic and made quick work of a difficult job; i.e., painting over fresh, rough wood. I had a little trouble at first with a leaky tip and managed to cover myself with paint. LOL. The downside is the clean-up that takes a while. Ryan stopped over to visit and Karen bought us some delicious food from Kristina's Cafe. They make fantastic Philly-Steak sandwiches.

Studio Interior Prep

Today we cleaned up some of the tree clippings and electrical work trash and prepped the Studio for interior painting. I was happy to see the plumber completed all the piping in preparation for moving the hot water tank outside in a custom hurricane-rated enclosure. Linda and Paul stopped by for a visit.

Studio Painted

Rick went over and painted the Studio with Behr Premium Plus Ultra, Siesta Tan ECC-59-5, Satin Finish. This is the main color we will paint the garage and eventually repaint the house.

Electrical - Day 4

Well, not really Day 4, but actually Night 4! I met Adam and Lee at the house. Adam trimmed some tree branches over the garage that were close to the power drop. Then we made a trip to Home Depot to buy some pressure treated 2x4's and plywood to build the channel above the new breaker box. When everything was completed, Adam climbed up on the roof, disconnected the old service, and attempted to swing the drop to the new service pole. Unfortunately, the drop was not long enough so I have to call Progress Energy to have the drop replaced.

The Bad Discovery

We bought this house "As Is" and we knew it had previous water damage. The leak was in the kitchen and some of the drywall needed to be replaced -- or so we thought. Today I removed the side kitchen counter, lower cabinets, and upper cabinets. Then I started pulling out all the bad drywall. And pulled, and pulled. Much to my dismay, the lumber in the corner is rotten from the ceiling to the floor with much of the floor rotted away. Hugh sigh! This will require more than minor repair.

Electrical - Day 3

I rode my bike to St. Pete Friday morning and met Adam for breakfast at the Four Coins Restaurant. Adam installed the new 200 amp panel, new electrical meter, and new service pole. He finished all the cutouts (except for the kitchen) and I helped him run all the bathroom wiring. This was a real pain. On his first attempt to cut out a quad outlet opening where we wanted it, Adam found a 2 inch galvanized pipe. Then we found a cross beam above the medicine cabinet frame. In true Tim Allen style, rather than cutting straight up, I cut at an angle right through the adjoining bedroom wall! I finally managed to get the 2 foot long auger bit up through the cross beam so Adam could feed me the wire down from the attic.

Thanksgiving Day

Our first fire at Casa del Bella!

Central Oak Park: A Bit of History

Boundaries:
5th Avenue South to 13th Avenue North and from 34th Street west to 49th Street. in St. Petersburg Florida

Amenities/ Character:
Central Oak Park is unique because of its central location. This attribute makes for easy and quick access to the Gulf beaches, downtown, Tropicana Field, north Pinellas, I-275, Tampa, Bradenton, and points beyond. The entire area is easily traversed. Large oak trees and a mature tree canopy provide a park-like setting for many homes. Many brick streets dating back to the 1920s add to the charm and character of the neighborhood. An additional bonus is the area's high and dry elevation, among the highest in St. Petersburg. The St. Petersburg Main Library is located within our borders. Central Plaza nearby offers shopping and the new YMCA athletic facility to open soon. The Pinellas Trail originates a few blocks away and provides 43 miles of biking, running, or blading. A new trolley service will begin running down Central Avenue to connect to the beaches and downtown. Central Oak Park is the only neighborhood association in St. Petersburg that crosses Central Avenue.

History:
The westernmost boundary runs along Disston Ridge, named after early land magnate, Hamilton Disston, who purchased 150,000 acres in Pinellas County in 1881 and instantly became the largest single landowner at that time. Originally considered a woodsy fringe area west of St. Petersburg in its early development, home building of any consequence began in the booming 1920s. Shadowing the boom/ bust history of Florida, substantial housing development really took off in the World War II and continued through the 1950s.

Organizations / Programs:
Originally the area was called North Central Neighborhood Association in 1989, then subsequently changed to United Central in 1998 with the expansion to 5th Avenue South. After much discussion in February 2000 the name Central Oak Park was chosen to more accurately represent the area. Central Oak Park Neighborhood Association (COPNA) has several accomplishments to date: the Neighborhood Conservation Program, North Central Neighborhood Park, supporting the Salvation Army, community-based policing, interaction with Crime Watch groups and participation in the Certificate of Inspection Program for rental housing. COPNA has been working with the Economic Development Office and the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce to assist with redevelopment of the business corridors surrounding the neighborhood. COPNA has also been involved in the Parade of Neighborhoods, the Block Party and the Florida Neighborhoods Conference.

Architecture:
There is an eclectic mix of architectural styles, sizes and
prices. Styles include those with Spanish influence, Colonial, English Tudor, cottages, bungalows and many American hybrids. Many homes have hardwood floors and alley access to separate garages. Ample opportunities exist for amateur and professional renovators alike. With sizes of homes in the neighborhood ranging from 700 square feet to more than 3,000 square feet, there are homes for just about any lifestyle.

Electrical - Day 2

Adam and Lee continued rewiring the house today. They cutout most of the outlets and ran more wiring. This is very tedious work since almost all the wiring runs are new and must be fished through 85-year-old plaster and lath walls. The most important tools are set of walkie talkies and an long wood auger drill bit. There is a great deal of "do you see that?" and "move over about 2 feet!"

While Adam and Lee worked on re-wiring, I replaced all the door hardware and locks. The Kwikset SmartKey technology is really cool. I was able to key all four locks to a single key. Karen worked on her USF homework amidst the noise while Hunter an Eve-A played.

Home Depot Shopping

Today we went to Home Depot to stock up on some fixtures and supplies. We bought three contractor packs of beautiful exterior lamps. They match our Mediterranean decor: black iron with frosted glass. There will be one over the front door, one on the side of the house over the sidewalk, one over the back door, one over the Studio door, and two over the garage door.

We also bought new matching exterior door hardware: a beautiful Baldwin Venetian Bronze handleset to compliment our heavy wooden front door and matching Kwikset Venetian Bronze levers and deadbolts for the back door, garage, and Studio. All the locks feature SmartKey technology so they can be re-keyed in 30 seconds!

I bought a 5 gallon bucket of Kilz II and a 5 gallon bucket of exterior white semi-gloss to paint the Studio interior, the garage interior, and the attic interior. And to spray all that paint -- I bought a Graco Magnum X7 Airless Paint Sprayer. This is an appropriate response. We are also going to use it for various other projects.

Chimney Sweep

Shades of Mary Poppins! The chimney sweep is here to clean and repair our chimney. I think the pictures speak for themselves. This is Tom Doty from Swept Away, Inc., 727 596-5946.

Karen's Studio is Built

Florida Shed is building Karen's studio today. It will be 8 foot by 12 foot with 8 foot walls and a standard exterior door. It will also have 4 windows and a loft for storage. Later we will add a wall air conditioning unit. The walls are constructed of Smart Panel siding. It is a plywood siding with an 1/8th inch tempered hardboard face. It looks natural, resists dents, chips and cracks and is 100% clear. Not only that, but it is impregnated with a resin that makes it totally waterproof. Karen is at the house working and taking lots of pictures.

Electrical Rewiring is Started

My son, Adam, and his friend and co-worker, Lee, starting on the electrical last night. They pulled out most of the outlets, switches, and lights; then started running new wiring in the Living Room. We have several holes in the walls, but installing new outlets in an 85 year-old-house is not easy. I took a bunch of photos after they left that I will post later. We had electric to one outlet (the refrigerator) and hot water. Everything else is dead, so we had orange extension cables everywhere to charge our phones, provide some light, and most important: Internet! LOL. We sleep on a queen-size blow-up mattress and woke up to all of St. Petersburg covered with fog. This morning my commute to work was amazing easy compared to driving from Lutz. We will be working on and off all weekend on the house.

Patched Hole in Garage Roof

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

I didn't get the roof work done this weekend, but I did manage to patch the hole my leg went through. I thought it only fitting to use the seller's sign. LOL!

Tree Trimming

Today I wanted to start repairing the garage roof, but ended up spending most of the day trimming trees over the garage. I also raked off all the old tree debris from the garage roof. I tried to be careful, but my leg went through one of the rotten areas. Now I have a temporary sky light! I pulled my trailer piled high with tree trimmings to the Pinellas County Recycling Center by Tyrone Mall. Afterwards Karen treated me to lunch at Mazzaros Italian Market. OMG! This is my new favorite place to shop and eat. They had a great live Jazz trio. Our next stop was Lowes where we bought a door for Karen's new studio and two new garage windows.

Camping Out

I picked Kayla and Abby up for the weekend. While I was gone, Karen set up the house for us using our many camping supplies. She had blow-up mattresses for the kids and camp cots for us. She'd really cleaned and prepared the house, including setting up a coffee and tea bar in the kitchen. (We do not want to bring much into the house until the electrical wiring is completed and the floors are refinished.) We're sort of camping without the tent. Karen also utilized the camping equipment to make us a fantastic breakfast of sausage, oatmeal, toast and fresh brewed coffee. There's fresh linens in the bathroom. Each girl has a bag of essentials: clothes and toileties to last the weekend. Including a bag of toys for Abby. (Of course our laptops are with us too and WiFi!)

Permit

After only three trips to St. Petersburg Construction Services, I finally managed to get my Homeowers permit.

Updated Casa Del Bella photos

We added some photos from this weekend. A work in progress...a labor of love.

Electrical Survey

Today my son, Adam, and Lee from J & L Sanchez, Inc. came to survey the rewiring work. The house still has some knob and tube wiring from when it was built in 1924. We are going to rewire the entire house and upgrade the electrical service. We pulled out carpet squares that covered the original hardwood floor in our soon-to-be-bedroom. We pulled out several mini blinds. Then we pulled out all the old drapes and installed sheer, white curtains in the living room and dining room. What a difference. It is so light and airy now. I cleaned out the garage and trimmed some trees while Karen put her special touch on the kitchen and bathroom. We also met our neightbors next door. They are very nice and have a beautiful pond, deck, and garden in their back yard.

First Load

We loaded up the trailer and hauled it to the house today. We mainly took big outside things like the wooden picnic table, umbrella, chairs, and some tools. The house was already fairly clean but Karen got busy cleaning and organizing while I worked outside. We had our first meal outside on the picnic table with a nice breeze blowing through the Jacaranda tree. Most importantly, I installed a new Belkin N+ Wireless Router with 4-Port Ethernet Switch and USB Port. It was on sale for $79 at Best Buy. That's what I'm talkin' about!!! Only our second day at the house and we both had our laptops. LOL.

We Closed!

We closed on the house today. After a nice lunch we went to house to meet the Bright House Network techs who installed Road Runner. This was an absolute first priority for Karen and I. LOL! Karen had taken care of everything: power, water, trash, and internet. Later we met with a Florida Shed salesman to design the 9' x 12' studio for Karen. It is going to have 8' walls and a roof to match the house. She will have a dedicated studio and I will have the entire garage as my Man Cave!

Photos: In The Beginning...

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