Life after the tornado......

[Greenbomb]

I can't even imagine what you've been through. It's absolutely amazing! It's a heck of a way to accomplish it, but you'll have a clean shop for a while, when you're done rebuilding. I hope it all goes fast and to your satisfaction.

[BobT-47P15]

Hi again.

Finally got an internet connection here at our rented house in Anderson, MO.

Steve, one of the girls in the office lost her home, and the other lost a rental

house. Our old office where you came was demolished. The boss has rented

a temporary new location on the other side of town.

Building to hurricane standards would probably be a good idea, but probably

be overkill.....but you never know these days with the multitude of tornados

and high winds happening. The contractor says he plans to make a walk-in

closet a safe room. Dont know yet what construction method he favors.

May have to have the property surveyed again as the chain link fences

are pretty much down, and who knows if they were accurately on the

property line. I didn't feel as if there was any problem in that regard, but

perhaps it would now be wise to know where the line is again. Don't want

to put the new garage on the neighbor's land.

We're now in the process of making lists of contents of the house, garage

and sheds for the insurance co. We had quite a bit of "stuff" in the house

after several years.....so we'll see what they do with what we send them.

We have the "replacement cost" feature, so you have to present a copy of

the bill for the new replacement item when it's bought, then they make up

the difference between old and new.

Had to get Mary Ann's new (to her) car a state inspection, as part of

the license process. The shop we usually go to got blown away also.....

but has re-opened about halfway across town.

There are still a lot of volunteers in town, from all over the country, but

in our neighborhood things are getting cleaned up fairly well. So, tomorrow

some people working thru our church are coming over, but they will do

mainly light cleanup work, as opposed to those early on who had chainsaws

and axes. The contractor says he will begin demolition of the house

on maybe the 27th or 28th of this month. Think I've found everything I'm

gonna find. So, will be time to finish things off prior to building again.

Naturally, the design and floor plan will be some different than the old,

but haven't decided the layout yet. (More to do). (Always something

to do, even now-a month later)

Dale has begun work on the convert......says he will work on one item, such

as a fender or area, at a time. Will end up with a smoother body than

before plus new paint and top. Hard way to get it, eh???

Thanks to those who've expressed their concern and well wishes.

Very nice to hear from you all. Reckon it's about like working on an

old car - just keep plugging along and eventually things will get done.

Bob

[greg g]

Bob do houses in your are have full basements crawl space or built on a slab. As my wife and I get older were are beginning to not like the split level we have lived in for the last 20 years. To many stairs and no bathroom on the main floor so it up e or down five each time nature calls. If I could find a 4 car garage with attached kitchen and small living quarters we'b buy it....

Good to see you and your city are plugging along.

[JerseyHarold]

Bob,

My wife and I favor ranch-style houses to avoid steps, but they're difficult to find outside of adult communities because they actually cost more to build (larger foundation and roof) and take up a greater percentage of the lot.

If you have time, it may pay to visit any new active adult communities in your area and see what their floor plans look like. You might get some ideas for your rebuild.

[BobT-47P15]

There's a mixture of basements and no basements throughout town.

Some areas, they didn't do them because of underground mining that

took place- for fear they'd run into a biiig hole. There was a lot of lead

and zinc mining in the area way back.

Most "newer" houses are ranch style on either a slab or crawl space.

Ours had a crawl about 36 inches or so deep.

I think we may use a split floor plan, where the master bedroom/bath is on one end of the house,

and the second two with bath are at the other end.

Maybe an open area for living room/family room adjoining the kitchen -

instead of a living room and dining room. There will be another screened

in back porch for Mary Ann since she really enjoyed the one we had.

I appreciate the thoughts and will look at various ideas for the new

structure.

Another part of the picking up of "stuff" remaining is - where did we

put a certain item I'd now like to find. It will be in one of four small

mini storage spaces in a pile of things. Have to begin sorting thru

boxes and containers to find whatever it is. With helpers picking up

things and boxing them, I did not see where some things went. So will

just have a "treasure hunt" when there's time. And, the storage units

are in 3 different nearby towns. Hopefully can get a larger one in one

location to consolidate.....but that means moving things a second time.

The fun just keeps on keeping on...............

[Captain Neon]

Bob do houses in your are have full basements crawl space or built on a slab. As my wife and I get older were are beginning to not like the split level we have lived in for the last 20 years. To many stairs and no bathroom on the main floor so it up e or down five each time nature calls. If I could find a 4 car garage with attached kitchen and small living quarters we'b buy it....

Good to see you and your city are plugging along.

When I was single, I gave serious thought to buying a gas station as my home. Two pump Texaco type place with two work stalls that had been closed for over a decade. I was going to convert the office area into a living area and then park my two cars in the work spaces.

One place I looked at even had two above ground tanks, and the idea of re-installing two working gas pumps was very appealing. However, in the interim, I lost my job and then got married. Were I still single, I might be in the market for such an arrangement again.

[busycoupe]

Bob,

I'm glad that you are making progress. You sound very upbeat and in good spirits. It must be hard to maintain a positive outlook in light of all that you have been through.

Your idea of a home with split bedrooms sounds great. We bought a home last summer and looked at several with that layout. We eventually bought a home with a more traditional ranch layout because of its location, but I liked the split bedroom layout better.

Take care, keep us posted on progress,

Dave

[P-12 Tommy]

Do you still have blueprints to your old house? That would be cool to have a duplicate.

Tom

[TodFitch]

Do you still have blueprints to your old house? That would be cool to have a duplicate.

Tom

I know a fellow whose house burned down due to a fault with So. Calif. Edison. He had it rebuilt to the original blueprints. He later said that he sometimes had problems finding things: He'd remember putting it in a specific closet. And then realize that he did put it in the closet but before the fire..

[Young Ed]

I know a fellow whose house burned down due to a fault with So. Calif. Edison. He had it rebuilt to the original blueprints. He later said that he sometimes had problems finding things: He'd remember putting it in a specific closet. And then realize that he did put it in the closet but before the fire..

Tod we had a similar issue the first couple summers after our cabin got burglarized and pretty much emptied. The insurance replaced everything we told them about but of course there were things missed.

[B1B Keven]

Glad to hear you and your's are alright and life is sort of returning to 'normal'.

My dad is from Joplin. He was born at his grandparents place on Schifferdecker Ave. My wife and I were there a few years back. It was really weird to see all the damage on the news here in Washington.

Thoughts and prayers.

Keven

[Reg Evans]

And, the storage units

are in 3 different nearby towns. Hopefully can get a larger one in one

location to consolidate.....but that means moving things a second time.

The fun just keeps on keeping on...............

Glad to hear things are turning around for you Bob!

I had my own very local disaster back in 1982 with a land slide on my property. The slide was triggered by and unknown spring next to the house and over 96" of rain that year. It took several days after we noticed the first crack in the driveway for it to look like this so we had time to put all our possessions in a rented storage container on our property far from the slide area. Maybe one of those would work for you right on your property? It would save a lot of driving back and forth to a storage facility. Just an eyedear.

[Young Ed]

Reggie huh? I like it!

[Reg Evans]

Reggie huh? I like it!

Wanna trade? Reginald = Reggie = Reg

[Young Ed]

Wanna trade? Reginald = Reggie = Reg

I've got Edward=Eddie=Ed

[kbuhagiar]

I've got Edward=Eddie=Ed

Kenneth = Kenny = Ken

Kenneth: What my wife calls me when the UPS man delivers another package

Kenny: What my high school buddies know me as

Ken: My "grown-up" nomenclature

[Don Coatney]

Wanna trade? Reginald = Reggie = Reg

Reg;

Did you trade Diane for Lisa?

Donald, Don, A$$ hole

[Reg Evans]

Reg;

Did you trade Diane for Lisa?

Donald, Don, A$$ hole

Yes!...better than any name trade I've ever made.

[blueskies]

Naturally, the design and floor plan will be some different than the old,

but haven't decided the layout yet. (More to do). (Always something

to do, even now-a month later)

Bob-

If there is anything I can do to help with your new plans, let me know...

Pete

[BobT-47P15]

Bob-

If there is anything I can do to help with your new plans, let me know...

Pete

Thanks, Pete. I'll keep that in mind.

Edited June 24, 2011 by BobT-47P15

[Phil Martin]

Bob, are you going to springfield swap in august?

[BobT-47P15]

I think so Phil. I'll send you my cell phone # in a P M.