Today received the phone call from the shipping company that there is a delivery to Natural Art Garden Center. That was a weird feeling. I guess it is official and there isn't any turning back.
So, we got the starter posts for the greenhouse. It will be 48' x 48'. We have lots of rock to get through and hopefully it will go smoothly.
Scott met with the pole building salesman today and we are in the process of deciding on that building.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Greenhouse
Met with Bob, the owner of the greenhouse house company we are going to use. There are so many companies out there but Bob has been the one from the start. He is a small business and all of his parts are made in the USA in New Hampshire. He has been a gem to work with.
We finalized the details, added a few items, deleted some others. And I do believe we will have a much better working sales space than anything we have thought of before!!
Here is hopefully what the greenhouse will look like in the coming months. We should be building it by November. This is actually an organic raised on the farm restaurant.
We won't have as many doors and they will be french doors all glass no middle partitions in the glass. We are adding the knee wall for a detail that will blend the office and the greenhouse!!! Yay.
Lots of work to do in FIVE months.
We finalized the details, added a few items, deleted some others. And I do believe we will have a much better working sales space than anything we have thought of before!!
Here is hopefully what the greenhouse will look like in the coming months. We should be building it by November. This is actually an organic raised on the farm restaurant.
We won't have as many doors and they will be french doors all glass no middle partitions in the glass. We are adding the knee wall for a detail that will blend the office and the greenhouse!!! Yay.
Lots of work to do in FIVE months.
FREE POWER COMES AT A COST...
So, if you were told that in order for you to get your power hooked up, you will have to pay $30,000.00?
That could buy a new pole shed x two. A new office space, pay for the Living Roofs for two buildings. Inventory. You get the pictue.
So, we started downsizing the project and trimming where we could. We did just that.
This week, Scott gets the phone call:
POWER MAN: "Are you sitting down"
Scott: Yes. (scrinching eyes, hoping the news isn't as bad as it sounds and wondering if he is going to have a heart attack if it is $30,000)
POWER MAN: Well, it isn't going to cost a dime. It is free, I worked it out, and got it to be zero. So, I hope that is alright.
Scott: I guess I owe you dinner.
POWER MAN: I will definitely take you up on that offer.
What a blessing this has turned out to be.
That could buy a new pole shed x two. A new office space, pay for the Living Roofs for two buildings. Inventory. You get the pictue.
So, we started downsizing the project and trimming where we could. We did just that.
This week, Scott gets the phone call:
POWER MAN: "Are you sitting down"
Scott: Yes. (scrinching eyes, hoping the news isn't as bad as it sounds and wondering if he is going to have a heart attack if it is $30,000)
POWER MAN: Well, it isn't going to cost a dime. It is free, I worked it out, and got it to be zero. So, I hope that is alright.
Scott: I guess I owe you dinner.
POWER MAN: I will definitely take you up on that offer.
What a blessing this has turned out to be.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
When you visit...
....may you always be greeted with a smile and a friendly "Hello". May you always feel welcome and invited. May you never feel dejected or belittled. If we ever get out of hand, may you feel free to slap one of the employees.
There is a very big story behind this but it is so petty that it bears no repeating here. Suffice it to say, a big lesson was learned today and I would hope the person who spoke out of turn would liked to have started their day over and take back all the nasties.
There is a very big story behind this but it is so petty that it bears no repeating here. Suffice it to say, a big lesson was learned today and I would hope the person who spoke out of turn would liked to have started their day over and take back all the nasties.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Yes, Virginia there is more Rock.
Yesterday was our family's 24th anniversary of moving to Virginia.
This morning Scott gets up bright and early to hammer on more rock. About 15 minutes into the hammering, the machine spews hydraulic fluid everywhere.
Hence, NO more hammering.
So, Scott moves over to the mini excavator to see what he can do about the rest of the road going up the hill. Track falls off the machine. Can't get it back on.
Service phone call to Rental Company for the Big Excavator & Hammer. Goes to central dispatch and they send out a crew. Well, kind of. Turns out the service truck guy is no where to be found. Not reachable by phone. So, two mechanics in the shop this morning head out to Toms Brook with a truck, a couple of tools and a 5 gallon bucket of hydraulic fluid. Scott was like where is the service truck. The mechanics explain about the truck and have no idea where the service guy is, they think he is off fishing. Doofus.
Second Rental Company gets a call for the MINI excavator. They don't have a service guy for the weekend. In the meantime, I got a phone call to bring tools. I grab some wrenches in both millimeter and standard and head down the hill. Call Scott to see if I forgot anything. Turns out the mechanics cannot fix the hydraulic problem and need more tools. They might come back on Sunday with more tools and take off the side panel and track the problem. It is not obvious from the outside.
Get a phone call back from the Salesperson that Scott has a cell phone number for. He finally calls back and Scott basically tells him, he is done for the day and he can't fix it.
Every single weekend or time he rents something, it breaks. The bucket on two different machines have been ripped off, teeth still in tact. He has ripped off the sleeves for the teeth. Welded back all parts and they rip again.
So, Scott decided enough was enough because he could not do anything without the rock hammer or bucket.
Monday hopefully the hammer guy has some better news.
This morning Scott gets up bright and early to hammer on more rock. About 15 minutes into the hammering, the machine spews hydraulic fluid everywhere.
Hence, NO more hammering.
So, Scott moves over to the mini excavator to see what he can do about the rest of the road going up the hill. Track falls off the machine. Can't get it back on.
Service phone call to Rental Company for the Big Excavator & Hammer. Goes to central dispatch and they send out a crew. Well, kind of. Turns out the service truck guy is no where to be found. Not reachable by phone. So, two mechanics in the shop this morning head out to Toms Brook with a truck, a couple of tools and a 5 gallon bucket of hydraulic fluid. Scott was like where is the service truck. The mechanics explain about the truck and have no idea where the service guy is, they think he is off fishing. Doofus.
Second Rental Company gets a call for the MINI excavator. They don't have a service guy for the weekend. In the meantime, I got a phone call to bring tools. I grab some wrenches in both millimeter and standard and head down the hill. Call Scott to see if I forgot anything. Turns out the mechanics cannot fix the hydraulic problem and need more tools. They might come back on Sunday with more tools and take off the side panel and track the problem. It is not obvious from the outside.
Get a phone call back from the Salesperson that Scott has a cell phone number for. He finally calls back and Scott basically tells him, he is done for the day and he can't fix it.
Every single weekend or time he rents something, it breaks. The bucket on two different machines have been ripped off, teeth still in tact. He has ripped off the sleeves for the teeth. Welded back all parts and they rip again.
So, Scott decided enough was enough because he could not do anything without the rock hammer or bucket.
Monday hopefully the hammer guy has some better news.
Friday, August 15, 2008
More Rock
I think this rock is attached to Australia and they don't want their rock back. It turns out the rock is limestone not bluestone.
Called a couple of dynamiters and no one was in the office or available to answer my question. How much does it cost to BLOW UP ROCK.
I guess they are so busy blowing up other people's rock that I will have to wait until Monday.
Called the county to check on getting the sewer pipe in and they all leave early on Fridays. UGH. So Again, call back on Monday.
Called the Sanitation District about the sewer pipe and they said call the county. So, obviously I did that. Plus I asked about the fees for the sewer tap, it went up by $700 again. Now just so I can "hook it up myself", $8,500.00 That's a lot of expensive crap. In Front Royal, a nearby town, it is $10,000 and the town hooks it up for you. Go figure. One county away and the difference in price is crazy. But the funny thing is that in Warren County, a bit cheaper to get in but a lot harder to go through the process because NOTHING is by-right whereas in Shenandoah county a lot more expensive in some cases, double or triple the money. But, almost everything is by-right in some fashion.
So, Monday a hammer excavator company is going to meet Scott out there to see what he can do with this rock. I guess we will wait and see.
It is a lot cheaper doing it this way but I just want a stick of D Y N A M I T E!!
Called a couple of dynamiters and no one was in the office or available to answer my question. How much does it cost to BLOW UP ROCK.
I guess they are so busy blowing up other people's rock that I will have to wait until Monday.
Called the county to check on getting the sewer pipe in and they all leave early on Fridays. UGH. So Again, call back on Monday.
Called the Sanitation District about the sewer pipe and they said call the county. So, obviously I did that. Plus I asked about the fees for the sewer tap, it went up by $700 again. Now just so I can "hook it up myself", $8,500.00 That's a lot of expensive crap. In Front Royal, a nearby town, it is $10,000 and the town hooks it up for you. Go figure. One county away and the difference in price is crazy. But the funny thing is that in Warren County, a bit cheaper to get in but a lot harder to go through the process because NOTHING is by-right whereas in Shenandoah county a lot more expensive in some cases, double or triple the money. But, almost everything is by-right in some fashion.
So, Monday a hammer excavator company is going to meet Scott out there to see what he can do with this rock. I guess we will wait and see.
It is a lot cheaper doing it this way but I just want a stick of D Y N A M I T E!!
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
How many licks to the middle of a tootsie pop??
So, how many hours does it take to hammer on a rock? Scott has been hammering away at the rock in the middle of the road going on 4 days. Yesterday he talked to Jim (rental guy) about getting a new bit for the hammer as the original one broke twice after two weld jobs by Scott. Scott spent Saturday evening welding the broken bit back together.
The bit is so heavy that you can't lift it easily even when it is in two pieces!!
The progress today has been great. The lower part of the garden center is coming together and we will not have to buy any fill dirt or find some. They used all the dirt from the road and the junk VDOT dumped this past spring. The lower pad will have the mulch, rock, and other bulk items. Plus a turn-a-round area for the tractor trailers and the customers who have trailers for mulch pickup!!
Saturday evening, we were invited to a party of one of our clients. It was a great evening and we were showered with the highest of compliments of our work. We got it finished just in time as well. We are entering this project in the Keep Virginia Beautiful contest.
We are renting the mini excavator for the rest of the week. We will probably rent a much bigger excavator with hammer for the weekend.
That's all for now!!
The bit is so heavy that you can't lift it easily even when it is in two pieces!!
The progress today has been great. The lower part of the garden center is coming together and we will not have to buy any fill dirt or find some. They used all the dirt from the road and the junk VDOT dumped this past spring. The lower pad will have the mulch, rock, and other bulk items. Plus a turn-a-round area for the tractor trailers and the customers who have trailers for mulch pickup!!
Saturday evening, we were invited to a party of one of our clients. It was a great evening and we were showered with the highest of compliments of our work. We got it finished just in time as well. We are entering this project in the Keep Virginia Beautiful contest.
We are renting the mini excavator for the rest of the week. We will probably rent a much bigger excavator with hammer for the weekend.
That's all for now!!
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