Ceiling water damage

We noticed some discoloration of the ceilings in some of the second floor rooms a couple of weeks ago and wondered whether it was hailstorm related. Our insurance company, Auto Owners, sent out Charles Schaal, a representative from Rainbow International, to assess whether or not there was still moisture present anywhere using an infrared gizmo.

He didn’t find any existing moisture but found plenty of evidence of recent moisture. The insurance adjuster, Todd Hodapp, and Jon Cooper from Midwest Roofing, Siding & Windows, came out to take a look and a few days later, we were approved for ceiling repairs. Evidently, when the hailstorm broke the roof vents, the rain during that 10 am storm and the heavy rain later in the day from the 6 pm storm leaked into the attic and seaped its way into the second floor ceilings. So now we have a big repair job to contend with, since the old ceilings have wallpaper on them. Oy.

Construction photos of where we moving

On Saturday, my wife Robbie and I got a tour of the condo we’re buying at Northfield Crossing on the northwest edge of downtown Northfield — about 8 blocks away. Click photos to enlarge and see more photos of our tour in this album.

Fall colors

Our neighbors to the north and west have maples that turn in the fall before any of ours do. We appreciate it! The photo in the center is taken from the second floor room where Robbie currently has her office, looking east at the tree in the left photo.

Bronze door fixtures

Nearly every door in our house has bronze door knobs and backing plates, including closets and doors to the outside. Click photos to enlarge.

Gutter crew arrives, departs

Heinrich Schonheit (left), owner of Nürnberg Construction from Andover (“Seamless gutters, siding, soffit and fascia windows”) and his assistant Andy arrived promptly this morning and installed all the gutters and downspouts by 4 pm. Heinrich named his compay after his hometown of Nürnberg (Nuremburg), Germany. He moved to the US in 1986.

Storm repairs update

Robbie wrote up this summary of work done and work to come:

We watched Mark and Brad’s siding crew pack up on Monday the 2nd. The were very fastidious and tidy. Lee got a ladder out to go back up to a window that had paint on it from before we moved in, and scrape it off for me. We have never been able to get to it. He even did it with a smile on his face. These guys we very pleasant to have around. Having a team be in your yard — pounding on the walls, wrapping windows, no privacy — without getting on your nerves says a lot. We were sorry to see them leave but grateful for the silence. They did a great job and all had a sense of humor. Thanks Mark and Brad….. your team did a great job and we will certainly recommend you to others.

The siding crew had not been gone for more then a couple of hours when Mr Kim showed up and was walking up and down the street. Apparently he has the painting crew that will work on our house as well as the neighbors around us. He had a great smile and introduced himself. Said it would be a week or so before he got down here.

On Wednesday, John and Justin both called to let me know that the gutter guys would be here on Monday the 9th.

We are moving into some cold weather so the exterior painting is going to be tricky to work in, plus the neighbors all have painting work to be taken care of. Our new windows are scheduled to arrive sometime after the 20th. Pretty good timing since they are custom. We picked up a new front storm door at Menard’s and John said they would install it for us. This is turning out to be virtually painless.

John also said that Mark and Brad’s team will be back to put the new screen around the porch. The house is really looking nice and all these repairs will be a real great plus for someone interested in buying it. The outside stuff is pretty much all new, with good, transferable guarantees.

The Carleton Arb

Carleton College is on the other side of downtown from our house and adjacent to the College is the Cowling Arboretum, aka “the Arb.” It has an amazing network of trails for walking and cross country skiing, plus some for biking.

I took these fall color photos in the Arb yesterday and today. Click to enlarge and see the full album of a couple dozen high res photos here.

Siding’s finished

I took this group photo last Friday of the siding subcontractor crew, Professional Exteriors, as we handed over the co-signed check from our mortgage company. They finished at noon today, doing a nice job of cleaning up the yard… they were even hand-picking tiny scraps of materials from the flower beds. What a great group — skilled, fast, meticulous, and very personable.

L to R: Midwest’s Jon Cooper, and the crew from Professional Exteriors: Scott Greene, Lee Eden, James Jensen, Brad Hildreth, and Mark Feldhacker. Click to enlarge.

Next up: Midwest should be here tomorrow with a crew to work on the attic windows, as well as the screens on miscellaneous windows and the porch.

New dog park nearby

Last week, workers put up the outer, removable fence for the new dog park in Babcock Park next to the rodeo grounds on Hwy. 3. The park is accessible via trail/walking path from our house, once you walk north on Linden St. two blocks to Riverside Park. From there, it’s under the bridge and you’re there.

The weekend prior, volunteers from the group, Canines at Play, dug the holes and installed the poles for the permanent fence along the back of the park.

I drove by the park last weekend and took these photos of a father and his two kids giving their dog a workout. Click photos to enlarge.