We are in the final phase of renovation of our home. This weekend I must tear
down the station and remove everything from the shack
in order for new carpet to be installed next weekend. Finally, nearly two
years after Katrina, I can see light at the end of the
tunnel. It has been an interesting journey and one that I hope I never have to
take again. The plus side is this:
New roof - done.
New windows - done
New exterior doors (installed today - really nice).
New (and quite beautiful) porcelain tile in the living room/dining room and
both bathrooms.
New hardwood floor in the living room, foyer and hallway (to be installed next
week).
New carpeting in all four bedrooms (next weekend).
All new lighting and ceiling fans - done.
All new electrical outlets and switches - done.
New interior paint (3 coats) - done
New baseboards - 1/2 done (did the bedrooms, still have to do the rest of the
house after flooring installed).
New water heater - done.
New interior door hinges and door knobs - done.
New interior trim around all windows (except master bedroom).
New shower stall - done.
New decorative tile around the garden tub in master bath - done.
New refrigerator, new range, new dishwasher & new microwave oven - done.
New kitchen countertops (to be done at a later date).
New living room and bedroom furniture (not yet purchased).
I did a lot of the work myself and left the hard stuff to subcontractors. I
think my favorite task has been doing the baseboards
and window trim. I seem to have a knack with wood for some reason. Heck I may
even try my hand at crown molding. If I can cope a
baseboard, I should be able handle crown.
The downside is that a new patio cover will force me to take down the smaller
tower. With no room to put it, I guess I'll take
three sections and stack it on top of the 65' Rohn 25 already installed (oh
that's new too). I really don't want to do this, but I
see no way around it. Since I can't afford a ring rotor, I guess I'll fix a
tribander to EU and one to JA below the main antenna.
Details to be worked out later.
I'll have to rebuild the shack to its permanent state again and this may take
some time. I'm sure glad it's the low part of the
sunspot cycle. I should be back up and running temporarily by NAQP and
hopefully permanently by CQWW RTTY.
I have to thank my wife, Sharon, who's been acting as our contractor, lining up
the subcontractors and making sure things are right
(I mean perfect). She's doing a great job. I'm not real happy about having to
take down one of the towers but maybe there'll be
enough money left over for a new 3-element SteppIR. And who knows, it might
even play well at 95'.
73, Don AA5AU
http://www.aa5au.com
http://www.rttycontesting.com
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