| History of the Double Luck |
| (2000) |
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These are some significant events in the history of the Double Luck. The events are listed in reverse chronological order, with the most recent events at the top of the list.
| 21 December, 2000 |
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A new Olympus D-460ZOOM digital camera is acquired to make the pictures for this web site.
This will be a lot easier than taking standard photographs using a throw away camera, having them developed,
and using a scanner to get them into a computer format.
And I expect the pictures will be of a lot better quality!
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| 17 December, 2000 |
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| 4 November, 2000 |
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(Photo courtesy of Harry Deal) |
| 14 October, 2000 |
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Once again, we go to the Austin County Fair.
When we went to the fair last year, we were convinced at that time that we would now be living there!
If we say that again next year, we will not be very happy campers.
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| 30 September, 2000 |
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The framing subcontractor begins work on the
Double Luck Station.
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| 16 September, 2000 |
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Not much construction progress occurred during the week, but at least there is relief from the brutal drought
of 2000!
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| 9 September, 2000 |
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| 25 August, 2000 |
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The framing subcontractor begins work on the
Double Luck Farm House and
the Double Luck Garage.
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| 21 August, 2000 |
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The last of the concrete work is completed.
The breezeway is poured between the
Double Luck Farm House and
the Double Luck Garage.
In addition, the foundation extensions are poured for the
Double Luck Station.
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| 18 August, 2000 |
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147 cubic yards of concrete are poured into those forms, completing the foundation for the
Double Luck Farm House.
Another 28 yards is used for the
Double Luck Garage.
Forms are placed to build the breezeway between them, and to extend the existing foundation for the
Double Luck Station.
A few more yards of concrete remain to be poured for these last items.
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| 14 August, 2000 |
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The foundation subcontractor begins building forms.
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| 12 August, 2000 |
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Site preparation work is in progress.
We watch as a bulldozer spreads red clay over the site to build the foundation pad.
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| 5 August, 2000 |
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| 21 July, 2000 |
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The bank has finished its black magic.
We sign the papers for the construction loan!
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| 12 July, 2000 |
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This day marks an unofficial "ground breaking" of sorts.
Rogers Engineering of Brenham, Texas sent a crew to the site to drill core samples in order to make engineering
recommendations for the foundation.
What a fascinating operation!
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| 29 June, 2000 |
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Another fire adventure for Larry!
A bunch of brush and scrap wood had been gathered into a pile, ready to be burned, and this is the day.
After a gallon of fuel is burned, there is no apparent affect on the pile.
So we pack everything up and go back to Sugar Land.
That is enough work for now.
We will spend most of next week on South Padre Island.
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| 20 June, 2000 |
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The architectural drawings, specifications, and proposed construction contract are taken to Steve Zapalac
(First National Bank of Bellville) so that they can begin the appraisal process.
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| 16 June, 2000 |
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The final architectural drawings are received from drafting consultant
Tim Davis.
The drawings are have been plotted locally
(by Ridgway's, Inc.,
and several sets of blue lines have been made.
The design phase is officially complete!
The next step is to get the bank appraisal.
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| 5 June, 2000 |
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A revised set of elevation drawings are back from drafting consultant
Tim Davis.
We review them and return with comments for the next round.
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| 1 June, 2000 |
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The first set of elevation drawings are back from drafting consultant
Tim Davis.
A few adjustments will be needed, but we are making progress.
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| 10 May, 2000 |
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The die is cast!
We are going to build a conventional frame house using a floor plan very similar to that we
had for the log home.
Philip Garcia (Country Time Homes) has been selected as the builder.
The floor plans and other information have been sent to drafting consultant
Tim Davis for creation of the construction plans.
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| 1 May, 2000 |
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The month of April was spent looking at houses on property in the general area around
Bellville, Texas.
So far, none of them have jumped up and said, "Buy me!"
We also have been working with two builders to convert the timber framed log house into a house with
conventional framing.
We expect to receive their bids early this month.
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| 1 April, 2000 |
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We visit another antique (1906) Victorian home that is for sale, located just two blocks off the central square
in downtown Bellville.
Once again, it is a quite a beautiful site, but still not a replacement for the previous dreams and plans.
The soul searching continues.
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| 25 March, 2000 |
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We visit an antique (1888) Victorian home that is for sale, located just one block off the central square in
downtown Bellville.
While it is a beautiful site, it just will not do as a replacement for the previous dreams and plans.
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| 22 March, 2000 |
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It is now official.
The construction plans that so many people have worked on for so long are now dead.
We simply cannot get the costs of this project down so that the eventual mortgage payment would not force
dramatic changes in our life style.
We will now explore radically different possibilities, looking for a new plan for the
Double Luck.
All we know at this point is that the log home design we have been working on is not going to get built.
We may keep the same floor plan and build a conventional frame house, change the design, or something even more
radical.
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| 20 March, 2000 |
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We receive a written proposal from Chip Conaty for construction of the
Double Luck Farm House,
the Double Luck Garage,
and the Double Luck Station
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It does not appear that we have successfully trimmed enough to bring the project within the constraints imposed
by the budget.
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| 4 March, 2000 |
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After acquiring an air mattress for the purpose, our second attempt to spend a night of sleep at the
Double Luck is dramatically more successful!
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| 14 February, 2000 |
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We produce what we hope to be the final revision of the plans, print them, and make several copies.
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| 6 February, 2000 |
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We meet once again with Chip Conaty to review some revisions.
He is now working on revising the estimates and formulating the construction contract.
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| 4 February, 2000 |
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We meet with Steve Zapalac (First National Bank of Bellville) to begin the process of getting a construction
loan.
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| 31 January, 2000 |
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We meet again with Chip Conaty to review his revised estimates and to go over some ideas for modifying the
house plan.
Some of these ideas are improvements in the overall plan, and some are for cost reduction.
We are going to rotate the second floor by 180 degrees.
As a result, the staircase is moved to the front of the house, and becomes a design feature.
Reducing the front and rear porches from 10 to 8 feet will result in a significant savings, without changing
the spirit or functionality of the original plan.
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| 11 January, 2000 |
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We meet with Philip Garcia to review his cost estimates.
He wants to do the project on a "cost plus" basis.
His estimate, however, is a lot more than the previous estimates, because he appears to be thinking more
up-scale.
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| 3 January, 2000 |
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We meet with Chip Conaty to review his cost estimates.
This estimate is more in line with what we expected, but still needs to be trimmed down.
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| 1 January, 2000 |
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As we start the last year of the second millennium, we eagerly await the construction of our new dream home.
Chip Conaty has scheduled a meeting with us on Monday so that he can submit his bid, and Philip Garcia has also
indicated that he is ready to submit his.
Oh, and by the way, the year 2000 is not the first year of the third millennium, so all of you who
celebrated that event jumped the gun a bit.
The good news is that you can do it all again next year!
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