Sunday, October 30, 2011

What a Difference a Day makes . . . well, actually, 14 days but who is counting

Hello everyone!  It has been exactly 2 weeks since our last visit to the Sack of Crabs and all we can say is "WOW"!!  We will let the pictures do the talking.




Ronnie and Pogie (the builder) checking out some of the details
Dana, Frank and Susie on the dinner deck (Go Hokies)





Ronnie talking with the one of the "trim" guys in regards to the wainscotting on the breakfast island, stain or paint, hmm?



Living Room
Looking our from Kitchen into Living Room (left) and Dining Room (right)
Master Bedroom Upstairs

Master Bathroom upstairs

Half bath on the stair landing between 1st & 2nd floor with transom window and decorative alcove above

Master Bathroom on First Floor

Jack and Jill Bathroom on First Floor
The plan is to close on Friday December 2nd @9:00 and have movers and furniture delivery late morning. . . .the trick will be getting everything to go as planned!!??!  Until next time, sea ya!!
xoxox
Kim and Ron

Monday, October 17, 2011

Pogie and Team Shift into "High" Gear

The Collins and Stutts went down Saturday (Oct. 15th) to check out the progress on the Sack of Crabs and to witness first hand the damage left by Irene.  It has been about 60 days since we were last down and about 45 days since Irene hit Rodanthe, Waves and Salvo.  Irene came on shore August 27th, cutting 3 new inlets and disconneting the tri-villages from the rest of the world (unless you were fortunate to be able to travel by boat).  The estimated impact from Irene on the completion date of our cottage was approximately a 3-4 week delay.....nothing compared to the residents that lost a lot of personal affects and are dealing with damaged homes caused by 3-4' of moving water.  The towns are working hard to clean up the debris left.  Unless you see it first hand you truly cannot imagine the debris that is left behind in these types of situations.  Some of the items that were relocated by the waters of Irene anywhere from 50 feet to many miles away from their place of origin were mobile homes, decks, TVs, jet skis, boats, insulation, more insulation, fences, refrigerators, washers, dryers, soda machines, fruit stands, road side kiosks, trailers, road ways, asphalt, concrete driveways. . . I could go on and on.  Unfortunately, it looks like some of the business owners will not be re-establishing their businesses.  However, there were no lives lost and I am convinced the tri-villages will rebuild and prospers while establishing personal bonds stronger than ever before amongst their residents and businesses.  On a real positive note, the TOP DOG Cafe made it through Irene with minimal damage and was open for business!!!  We were thrilled to see that and enjoyed yet another great meal at out favorite cafe.

As far as the cottage goes, Pogie and his team have shifted into high gear!  We were so excited to see that the Sack of Crabs has all her shingles on, drywall hung and the first coat of paint (inside) on.  The exterior doors do not have paint yet.  This week (10/17) they will be laying all the flooring (upstair's hardwood, bedroom carpet and laundry room/bathroom 12" tiles) and then the following week (10/24) it is the cabinetry and trim work.  We will be going down in a couple of weeks hoping to see more of the exciting progress.  We are planning for a November 30th or December 1st closing which is only a 1 week delay at most.  Pogie and his team are amazing!!  Below are a handful of pictures.  In all the excitement we neglected to take a lot of pics - promise to have more next time!

Front and East Side of Cottage
 
Front and West Side of Cottage
  
Ronnie taking a picture of Frank taking a picture of Ronnie taking a picture.....you get the picture! 
This is the top floor dinner deck off the dining room.
 
Dining Room. All rooms are now painted but not trimmed out.
All windows and 4" floor molding will be in white semi gloss trim.

Kitchen - pantry is structure on left.  Sink will be under window. 
L-shaped knee wall will be the island.

Top Floor Master Bathroom - The color throughout the house is "Cottage Yellow".

 

Living Room/Kitchen.  The paint color is more of a beige with yellow undertones - hard to tell in these pictures.

Until next time - Sea Ya!!
xoxox
K & R

Saturday, October 8, 2011

We're Baaaaccckkkk!

Irene has certainly taken her toll on Rodanthe, Waves and Salvo (also known as the tri-villages).  After 40 days and 40 nights of incredible efforts and a new 600ft. bridge span by the NC Department of Transportation, the Civil Corp of Engineers and Dare County it looks like we will be able to get to see the progress, first hand, on our beach cottage by mid October!

Irene hit the tri-villages on August 27th  cutting 3 new inlets and preventing the residents, merchants and seasonal renters access.  By Labor Day weekend Pogie (our builder) was busy making arrangements to get his contractors there by boat and finding them housing since getting to and from by car was not possible.  Miraculously, by the 3rd week of September work on the Sack of Crabs had begun again after inspections required by the county.  She now has all her cedar shake siding on, insulation complete and dry wall is going up.  We are waiting for an estimated close date, however, I suspect even with Irene, we will be in our new beach house before Christmas thanks to the work ethics and tenacity of Pogie and his crew!! I have included some pics of the home below. 

If you are interested in seeing the aftermath of Irene and the progression of the recovery efforts, the NC Department of Transportation has done an incredible job covering the efforts and keeping the residents, property owners and business owners up to date.  Here is the link - it is truly worth checking out:  http://www.ncdot.gov/travel/nc12recovery/

She held up well during Irene - missing some wrap paper and a few shingles but all and all pretty good!

The Porta-potty was no match for Irene :-)

Re-wrapping and putting on the remaining cedar shakes

Cedar shakes almost complete!


Living room and Dining room insulation is up

Kitchen is insulated!

Working on the stairwell/landing

The Sack of Crabs is coming to life!

Dry wall is going up - one of the bedrooms on the 1st floor

Upstairs master bathroom

Dining Room

Stairwell/half-bath/landing


East side of her.  Jet out is the half-bath on the stair landing

Back wall of Living Room and then kitchen is on the left.  Behind living room is the upstair master bedroom and bath.

We hope to get down to see her the last weekend of October.  We want to give the local residents/merchants some time to spend on their homes and businesses before we head down.
Until then - SEA YA!!
xoxox
Kim & Ron