If you're thinking of a new home, you may be interested in the actual building process. We've started construction on a new home at 224 Harvey Street in Punta Gorda. As I was taking photos  of the progress, I thought you might be interested in seeing how a house is built from the ground up. (See photos in column at right.)

This house will be a two story wood frame craftsman style home. Traditionally, craftsman style homes have spacious front porches with distinctive square pillars. The interiors feature built-in cabinets, nooks, seating, shelving and stained wood trim.

After the design and permitting process has been completed, the build begins. The site was cleared and prepped to ready it for the foundation. In this area of Punta Gorda we needed to build 5 courses of block to allow the final foundation to be above flood elevation. Once the perimeter block wall is completed, the area within the walls is usually filled with soil and compacted to create a stable surface pre-treated with a termite control product and the concrete slab is poured over the soil to seal the ground and form the base of the home - the first floor. In this case, the owners opted to keep the block wall hollow and use a lumber floor system resulting in a "crawl-space" for a true traditional feel to the floor of the home.

The next step was framing the first floor and working our way up to the second floor. Plywood sheathing encloses the exterior perimeter.

While it's nice to see the photos, if you would like to check our progress in person feel free to drive by. We'll have more photos in next month's newsletter to show our progress. 

Their maintenance list should include :

     Checking Freon levels & Electrical connections

     Cleaning the coils

     Flushing the lines

     Adding chlorine tablets to the drain line
     Changing the filter

     Clearing away leaves & debris

We recommend using local A/C companies that are licensed and insured. Their charge for preventive maintenance should be approximately $65 to $85.

Beware of national companies that advertise $19.95 "specials" then find nonexistent "problems" that they'll charge exorbitant fees to "fix".

Don't sign a contract until you've had another estimate. Always make sure to compare "apples to apples"!

If you're not sure what to do, call me and I'll give you the names of reputable companies that I deal with.

Jessica and I haven't spent as much time on the water so far this Summer as in the past, work has been very busy and life tends to "get in the way".  We did manage to spend the 4th of July at the Freedom Swim on the Peace River and recently took a boat ride down to one of our favorite destinations - Tween Waters Inn on Captiva.  If you've never been, I highly recommend the trip down.  You can relax in the pool to cool off while you wait for your cheeseburger in paradise from the cabana bar - and the food is very good! 

The water, harbor, and the barrier islands are truly the gem and beauty of our area.  I hope that you make the time to get out and enjoy it.  As the great philosopher Jimmy Buffet once said "there's just something about time on the water and it's good for the soul!"