Two Down

The first two weeks of work have gone rapidly. We had a couple of episodes of putting "humpty dumpty" back together again after winter damage but overall not to bad. Things are shaping up, we have four new houses signed with complete landscaping, a large finish for a project we started last season, a job with rock wall terraces and a large flagstone patio and walk.

Theresa has been out applying fertilizer and herbicides, evaluating the needs of our maintenance customers and gearing up for spring clean up and flower planting. We do not install annuals in this neck of the woods until after mothers day the traditional last frost day.

We have picked up a couple of new crew mates this season and lost Darrick who left us to move away and get married. Rick Roudebush has returned, a former employee who has been attending college he will work through the summer. One of our good pals has a son taking landscaping in college he has joined us part time and will work full time in May. Our multi talented employee Gary crashed his 3 wheeler last week end and has been in the hospital having had surgery to repair a broken bone. He will be missed during his convalesces but we are fortunate to borrow Bruce Pardue a 16 year veteran equipment operator who is laid off from M & C Trenching our excavation partner.

Larry and Charlene's flagstone patio and walk is nearly complete and looks awesome. One of the coolest features are the two snap cut steps that span the 16' staircase and they were not part of the original plan. After taking drop (the distance between the top of our patio and the bottom stair) it was evident that we would either have to have steps or a retaining wall or possibly a combination of both. I saw the opportunity to add a greater sense of elegance with a sunken patio in an already stunning location. It took a bit of convincing for others to see my vision but I think everyone really likes the result. We should wrap it up this week. Charlene and Larry will be grilling bunnies on the patio for Easter .

Progress at Jane and Craig's has been stellar for the painters, they are mostly finished and have produced the warm and cozy background that is the foundation for the interior decor. I did learn a new unique method of painting doors from the painters. The barrel roll porch has been framed and the concrete steps and porch have been poured. We will be installing pavers over the concrete surfaces. The siding is progressing and should be complete this week. Our final hurdle is waiting on the dredging of the channel between the shoreline and the island, the state of Michigan has been holding this up since last fall in the Never Never Land know as the permitting process.

Craig and Jane Choose Millgrove

Last fall I recorded a video of Jane and Craig's house moving from one side of Lake George to the other, you can go to the post entitled, "House Causes Traffic Jam" and watch. This couple is not looking back as they now have a brand new house where the old one sat and a tentative completion date of mid April.
The new house is gorgeous already. The unique floor plan, expansive views of the lake, screen porch and ground level master suite are just a few of the features that will sustain this loving couple for many years to come.

The house is on the final countdown with painters hot on the heals of the finish carpenters. Every fixture, color, cabinets and furniture has be chosen for the inside. The outside siding will be started this week. When gutters are on and the drive has been poured it will be time for landscaping. One small hitch in our get-a-long is the dredging of the channel in front of their home which separates the shore from the small island they own. Trying to stay ahead of the game permit processing for the dredging was done last fall, hoping that the actual work would take place over winter. The permit gods of Michigan have delayed that aspect of the project but our hopes are high as Jane and Craig just got word that permission should be granted about 20 days from now if all goes well. I plan on getting some video of that process and posting on the blog.

One of the things I admire most about this house is the way the architect and designers took full advantage of the lake views. There are windows everywhere, the light is fabulous and the space open and inviting. I am anxious to see the rooms painted, Jane says she has chosen rich dark colors.

This weekend we picked out pavers about 1100 square feet will be installed in multiple locations. We are going to be installing a paver from a new company, Unilock. For a variety of reasons we are gradually going to switch paver and block manufactures this year. Sadly our local hardscape supplier was forced out of business last year and we are shopping suppliers this year. We are pleased so far with our choice, Felger's in Fort Wayne, IN. Felger's is backed by their distributor, Masolite also located in Fort Wayne, Felger's has a great display of hardscape which makes selection easier. And Matt Felger is a knowledgeable and gracious salesman.

It has been nearly three weeks since I left Florida and I have been busy getting Millgrove up and ready for the season. We have signed a couple of new home construction jobs, looked at some smaller projects and are getting our maintainance division geared up. Gary Baker will start work in the morning getting equipment around and we should be running full speed by April 3.

I sure miss my internet connection in FL and even ST. Lucia, my connection in IN is from a satellite in my yard and the Dish network. I loaded Craig and Jane's video last night and twelve hours later it was nearly finished. My winter connections would have accomplished that task in under five minutes. Imagine.