Railings

The last post from Heather had pictures that she took with her phone on panoramic setting.  The hurricane didn't really blow the building into a curve.

Railings are up on the balcony and roof deck.  They were built by RDS Industrial and are gorgeous.  They will be building the interior spiral staircase too.  Interior paint will be completed in a couple of days and the kitchen cabinets are being installed.

We ordered tile today and the elevator is coming next week.  I took this picture when the sun peeked out for a few minutes.  It has been raining and blowing for days and days.  Fortunately, most of the rest of the work is inside.

Hurricane Irma: The After

Just like we hoped- the house looks the same in the wake of Irma as it did before Irma!

The photos look funky because I used the panorama setting on my phone camera.  The house isn't bent!

The only damage the house saw was some leakage from the windows on the east side.  However, this might be not from the windows but from the electrical outlets.

Stay tuned for frequent updates on the construction of the ultramodern beachside stronghold with withstood a historical hurricane!

Hurricane Irma: The Before

On Thursday, we prepped the house for the hurricane.  This included sealing all windows and doors, bringing plywood, pipes, etc. in the garage, and picking up the loose scraps scattered around the property.  Then, on Friday, my mom and dad meticulously double-checked everything.

The yard is a lot more spacious, now that the old garage is removed.

Doesn't look much like hurricane weather, yet.

Hopefully, the "after" photos will look the same as the "before" photos.

Stay tuned for the "after" pictures of an ultramodern, beachside, Irma-enduring fortress!

The House Takes Shape

The house looks like a house.  Where once loomed dull, hulking blocks of cement, tall white walls stand proud and clean.  The Leisure-blue roof folds into the building in fitted layers.

So what happened?  What caused such a big change?

It's all in the stucco.  The stucco, which every day is closer to being complete.  This week, the workers began what my dad calls a synthetic stucco.  The synthetic stucco contains the acrylic colors we picked out.

Stick around for frequent updates on the construction of the ultramodern home with a backyard where Juan Ponce de Leon probably landed!

[and check out The Blergh.]

Blue and Gossamer

The first thing I said when I stepped around the house into the backyard was, "Wow."

Then I said a few choice words of which I will not post here.  Then, "Dad, come look at all the dragonflies!"

The air was thick with them.  A hundred, nay, a thousand dragonflies filled up the sky, humming and flitting back and forth on flat wings like airplanes in the early 20th century.  It was like nothing we had seen before.

Zoom in anywhere to see what I'm talking about.

We picked out the colors for the exterior and they've been painted in some places.  The choice for the accent color was between three shades of blue.  The three of us- my mom, my dad, and I- unanimously decided on "Leisure Blue".

Here are some other shades of blue I like:

Stay tuned for frequent updates on the construction of the ultramodern beachside abode watched over by a loyal legion of dragon(fly)s!

Heather

Playing On a Construction Site at Night

Most parents would strongly discourage their children from playing on a construction site at night.  My parents take me to the construction site.

To be fair, we don't actually hang out inside the in-progress-house.  We head to the beach out the backyard.

On Tuesday night, we got there around ten pm and saw the moon rise.  Then, trying to be very, very quiet, we watched dark shapes of mother turtles slide up the shore to the dune, where they flung sand behind them to make their nests.

Before that, we had gone out to dinner at a nearby restaurant.  See the bottom of this post for more on that.*

And before that, while it was still light out, we gave a guest a tour of the house.  During the tour, I noticed stickers like these on the windows:

"What do those numbers mean?" I asked my dad, and he explained.

The windows are designed to withstand hurricanes.  The number 65 on the left means that the window can withstand pounds per square foot of wind blowing inward.  There is suction pressure on the backside of a house, so the 70 on the right means the window can withstand 70 pounds per square foot of wind pressure going outward. 

I was confused, so my dad illustrated this concept by pushing me towards my right-the direction the hurricane wind is blowing in- then running to my other side to pull me in the same direction he pushed me-the suction pressure trying to suck the window out.  I think I may have made it more confusing than it is just by writing it down.

The windows are also rated for impact.  They have several layers of glass and air space between some of the layers, so if they are hit with flying debris, they don't shatter.  This may come in handy when Dad teaches me how to fly the drone.


*We went to a nearby restaurant called Ocean 302.  It's awesome.  This is the part where I advertise my blog:  If you like food stuff, check out The Blergh.

Also check out The Blergh's Instagram. @theblerghblog

Stay tuned for frequent updates on the construction of the ultramodern home so groovy that sea turtles swim by just to see it.

Stucco & Turtle Tracks

The exterior stucco is progressing and we should see some color on the outside in a week or so.  Check out all the turtle tracks and nests on the beach.