Battle Ground Home Makeover for The Epp Family

Open House

2012-09-26T19:33:00.001-07:00

This Saturday the 29th of September, we are having an open house to show off the great work that so many people did to make it possible for me to live on the lower level of our home with my disability.
Everyone is welcome to come out and take a look between 1pm and 5pm.
Our address is 204 SW 13th. St. 98604

Fence

2012-09-26T19:21:00.003-07:00

Our fencing is finished up now. I had a few different groups of people help me set the posts, and then Pioneer Fence heard about our project and volunteered to finish it up for us. They were so easy to work with and they did a great job.

Patio Step

2012-09-08T14:32:00.003-07:00

My friend Tim Wells came over and helped me build a step going out of our patio door. I removed the concret step when we first got the house over seven years ago, so I could fix the rotten wood that was behind it. Jennie is so happy to have a step back.

shuters

2012-09-08T14:17:00.003-07:00

My Dad put the black shuters on, and they realy looks nice with all the paint colors Jennie picked out. Christopher had to get in on the action, as it involved going on the roof.

Railing

2012-09-08T14:05:00.000-07:00

Tom Harris, owner of Harris Metal Fab. built the railing for in front of the house. It is very heavy duty and I know it will hold up to my boys! After the railing was all done, Jim Morris and one of his friends came over and hauled it off and painted it and brought it back. It looks great!

Shower door

2012-09-08T13:41:00.000-07:00

Tracy Town, with Hamilton Glass, put in our shower door and they look and work great. Tracy put in the mirror and got us some new screens for some of the windows in the house that have never had screens before and he replaced a piece of glass in the patio door that was fogged up. Thanks for all your hard work Tracy!

Putting in the plants

2012-06-21T22:22:00.000-07:00

Three guys from my church's mens group came over Wednesday night and put in the plants and spread the bark dust. My neighbor Jeff and Sarah helped out as well. We are so happy to have this part done. It looks so nice!

Night lighting

2012-06-21T22:10:00.000-07:00

Brenden and I put in the night lights and got them all fired up. They turned out good and Brenden did a great job of wiring them up.

Putting down the sod

2012-06-21T13:57:00.001-07:00

Last Friday my brother and some of his kids and some of my kids and my neighbor Jeff, helped put the sod down and finish building one of the garden boxes. It was a beautiful day and I got more color from the sun then I did when I was in Hawaii. Oregon Turf and Tree Farms donated 1500 square feet of sod. They are the company that I have been getting sod and trees from since the mid 80's. They were very excited to help out. My brother (Kevin) worked his tail off. He even final racked the soil better then he would normally do because he knows that that was my area of expertise, and I'm very picky. Way to go Kevin! You did a great job! I don't think I could have done any better.

Update 6/19/12

2012-06-21T13:26:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago a few guys from Home Depot came out and set some fence posts and some posts for some raised garden boxes. I waited to post this until now because they were going to come back and finish it up but they haven't made it back yet so I will post what I have.

Water feature

2012-05-30T11:08:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday Rick Hooks and two of his employees from Waters Edge came out and put in a little water feature for us. It looks and sounds great. Rick did the whole project at no cost to us. Stone NW Inc. off of 192nd Ave. and Hwy. 14 donated the rock, and Horizon 3112 NE 112th Ave # F, Vancouver, WA gave us the rest of the supplies at cost. We really appreciate Rick and his workers taking time out of there weekend to help us out. This is something that we didn't really need but it will be nice to have.

Update 5-10-12

2012-05-10T13:18:00.003-07:00

So it’s been a few months since I last updated you all. It’s been a slow time as most of the stuff is done but still when I sit down to recall all that happened and surprisingly there have been quite a few things that did go on here.

Sarkinen Plumbing came out and hooked up a water softener that we had picked up at Lowes.

Jennie has been working on furnishing the areas of the house that are lacking and updating and trying to coordinate everything. That is proving to be a very big job. I will add some pictures of the things she has been getting. We picked up a nice dining room table that is high enough for me to get under with my wheelchair at Cascade Furniture. We picked up a head board and night stands at Ashley Furniture and they really worked out a good deal for us. We’ve never had a head board or matching night stands before, so Jennie is thrilled. Jennie has always wanted a china cabinet, but she hasn’t been able to justify spending the kind of money they want for them. Well she just happened to look on Craigslist and she found one in Battle Ground that she loved and was able to get it for $150. She is just thrilled. It seems like we did a lot more but just to get these things you drive all over the place and look at tons and tons of things till you head swims. Jennie is still working on a couch and some chairs and coffee table and end tables for the living room. We have always have miss matched hamydown stuff, so we’re really looking forward to getting some nice stuff.

My brother has spent several evening over hear putting my sprinkler system back together. I even got a demonstrator trackchair to try out to help my brother in the yard. It worked really well and now I just need to figure out how I can get one of these. I had a friend that managed the United Pipe store here in Vancouver that was donating me the irrigation stuff I needed, but when I when in with my list of stuff he had this sad look on his face and broke the news to me that the store was closing down and was in bank ownership now and all of their irrigation inventory was already gone. I did need some night lighting and he had everything I needed for that but he was heartbroken that he couldn’t donate it because it was in bank ownership. He was able to give it to me at cost, which is still a very good deal. While he was in the back room getting me the supplies, he was talking with a representative from Ewing Irrigation. They are looking at taking over that store front when United Pipe is gone. He was telling the rep about my situation and when they came in from the back room the rep asked to see my list of things I needed for irrigation, and he said he would get them and drop them by the store for me by the next day(And we’re not talking about a few cheep items either). My manager friend was thrilled that the rep would step in and do that for us. So you might keep an eye out for a new Ewing store to take the place of the United Pipe store located to the west of the Costco in Vancouver.

Some upcoming events are; Home Depot will be coming out the first two Saturdays to work on the landscaping. A friend of mine (Rick hooks) will have his company (Waters Edge) put in a water feature in the walkway island we have. I am so looking forward to that.

We are looking at sometime in July for the grand opening/ribbon cutting ceremony.

God has been so good through this whole process. Things have gone pretty smooth, and so many people and companies have stepped forward to help out. We are so blessed.

Update 3-12-12

2012-03-12T14:44:00.002-07:00

I don't know why it is hard for me to keep current on updating this post when things are happening slowly on the remodel but for some strange reason I'm getting behind in posting when hardly anything is happening. I think part of my problem is that we are getting to the point that the inside is about done and now we need to get the landscaping and all the outside stuff done and I feel like I want to have more of a roll in doing that but I'm so limited in what I can do. So my brain has been preoccupied with trying to figure out how to make this all happen smoothly. There's one group that is going to do the landscaping but I have a bunch of other things that need to be done in the proper order before the landscaping and the weather is not cooperating very well either.

Back to the update, the tile in the shower was finished almost two weeks ago and it looks great. Steve Adkins did a wonderful job on it. We are just waiting for the faucets to come in so the granite counter guys can come back and drill the holes for them and then the plumbers can finish it all up. Then we can finish moving into the bedroom and bathroom. Diamond Concrete Cutting came out again and drilled a few holes through the foundation in the garage so we can hook up a water softener. Thanks Alex for your company's donation.

Last week we got the new pellet stove put in and I love it. It's nice to have the room nice and warm without the fear of the electric wall heater gobbling up power and costing a fortune to have the same amount heat. Morton's stove-pool-spa made us a very good deal on the stove we got and they were so nice to deal with.

It's like magic

2012-03-02T20:39:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday was a very fun evening as we went to Union High School and got to see the great magic show that Jennie's brother put together. Jennie's side of the family really worked hard to make this a success. The magicians that preformed were Adam the Great (Charles Adam Johnson), Curtis Carlyle, Matthew Singleton, William Scott Anderson, and of course Tom and Dave. They were able to raise $7500.00 to help cover the finishing up of the addition. This is a big help. Thanks to all that helped and came out and supported us.

Update to the Update

2012-02-25T15:27:00.001-08:00

After looking at my last post a little closer I realized I need to highlight some things. The painters where a crew from Krippner's Painting and the company was donating there time and materials. The carpet was put in by Nowland Floors, LLC and the two guys who did the work where Jim Nowland and Don Beall and they donated there services. The carpet and laminate flooring were provided by Contract Furnishing Mart (CFM) and they covered most of the cost on the materials. WE also had a under the sink reverse osmosis filtration system donated by Kinetico water systems and installed by Jeff Mueller, an independent dealer for Kinetico. I believe these systems are available through Home Depot. There was no cost to us for the installation on that system either.
Two more company's that I don't think got mentioned are Elite Woodworks, INC. They donated and installed the cabinets in the bathroom. They are very high end cabinets. The other contractor is Wall to Wall Tile and Stone. They donated and installed the granite counter top in the bathroom. It's a little hard to keep up will all the contractors. Some are in and out so fast I miss them.

Update 2-24-12

2012-02-24T13:26:00.000-08:00

Monday the painters came in to paint the trim and the shelves in the closet and pantry. It wasn’t a fun job because they had to mask off so much stuff. For less than an hour of spraying paint they had to take most of the day in masking off everything. Tuesday they finished up and then the carpet guys came in and put the carpet in the living room and bed room. The original plan was to wait on carpet till the bathroom was done but we just couldn’t take being cooped up in the dining room any longer. So we have moved into the living room and have put down some runners on the new carpet in the bedroom so the workers can walk on them until the bathroom is done. Steve is still working on the tile in the bathroom and it is looking good. Tuesday evening my dad and brother came over to set up our new TV and entertainment center. We have finally come into the modern age and have a flat panel TV so we can get rid of our very old big and heavy set. Video Only made us a very good deal on the TV and speakers and a blue ray player. It’s so nice to be into the new living room and being able to finally stretch out. We are so thankful for all the people who have made this possible. God is so good.

Update 2-17-12

2012-02-17T20:35:00.000-08:00

I haven’t posted in a while, and I’m sorry for those of you who check in on a daily basis. Things have been happening but at a little bit slower pace or maybe it’s just that the projects are a little smaller. We had the hard wood laminate installed in the entry way and to make everything match nicely they tore out the old flooring in the dining room and kitchen and put new laminate in there as well. So I had to get out of the house for the day so I wouldn’t be in the way. H&B Electric came out and did some finish electrical work. The trim guys put the interior doors in and trimmed everything and built the closet organizer. Joe Hess set the shower pan, which is a very involved process. Then Joe and Steve Adkins put the heated floor down so the tile can be put down on top of it. Steve got the floor tile down and is working on the shower tile now. The granite counter top was donated and installed today in the bathroom by Wall to Wall Tile & Stone. From the sounds of it on Monday the painters will finish up the painting and then on Tuesday the carpet will be installed. Of course we will have to wait to see if all goes as planned. This has been a very fast addition project but we are more than ready to move out of the dining room.

Concrete is in!

2012-02-06T19:05:00.000-08:00

Friday Dan Jones came out and donated his time and materials to help put gravel in the forms so we wouldn't have to use to much concrete, and so we would have a good base for the concrete. Then today(Monday) just before 7AM Seth Aho and a bunch of guys that he called all showed up to volunteer there time to help us out. Then by 8AM the pumper and concrete truck where in place and the concrete was flowing. CALPORTLAND supplied the concrete at a discounted price(thank you). The Pumper was from Best West Concrete Pumping Inc. but was line up through Procrete Concrete Pumping. The pumping fee was at a reduced price as well(Thank you). By shortly after lunch they where all done. Seth even went all out and and stamped a texture in the patio area. These guys all worked so good together, I was amazed. Thanks for the awesome concrete surfaces that you gave our family.

Magic and Mirth Fundraiser

2012-02-06T09:35:00.000-08:00


www.brownpapertickets.com/event/222072

Click on link above for more information, contact information, and to purchase tickets!

Painting

2012-02-03T22:06:00.000-08:00

Thursday five painters with Krippner Painting Contractors Inc. showed up to start painting. They managed to paint the inside and out in one day, and that was with using eight different colors.

Sherwin-Willams donated the paint and Krippner Painting donated their labor. We are truly blessed.

Update 1-31-12

2012-01-31T20:56:00.000-08:00

Monday my Dad picked up some supply's and then took off our pantry door and built the new door frame in for the expanded pantry. My brother Kevin stopped by to help out with the sheetrock installation and mudding and taping.

Today Seth Aho with Concrete Craftsman spent the whole day removing the old patio and getting it all ready for the new concrete. I was able to crawl onto his excavator to take out the old concrete and then I let him finish the rest. We used to have a gravel RV parking spot that lead to the back yard and the patio but the gravel was hard to get through with the wheelchair and it tracked into the house pretty bad, so having it all concrete now will be so nice.

I first met Seth about a year ago through a friend of ours and Seth has become a big supporter of ours. I try to join Seth on Thursday nights when he and a small group of people go to Portland to feed the homeless. It has been a very rewarding experience. Seth is very committed to this ministry and really cares about the people and shares the hope of salvation with them. Keep up the good work Seth. Check out his page on Facebook at Communityembraced@groups.facebook.com

1-28-12 work crew

2012-01-29T17:01:00.000-08:00

Saturday was a busy day at our place.

Nick Ritter owner of NTR Construction and Shawn Williams came out and finished the siding around the last window that finally came in.

A group of guys from my church came out to prep an area for some concrete and pull up some old carpet. I even had a couple of guys from the church that came out on Thursday to pull out some fencing.

Steve Akins came out to continue to mud and tape the Sheetrock.

Thanks for your hard work

Siding is almost done!

2012-01-23T12:04:00.000-08:00

The Home Depot donated the lap siding which was around $2500. James Mattila with JXL Siding Inc. came out on Friday, Saturday, and today they should have most of it wrapped up. I used to have lap siding on the front of the house but now it has lap siding all the way around and it looks great.

Thanks for your hard work guys!

Sheetrock is on

2012-01-20T17:06:00.000-08:00

Steve Adkins and Randy Woolliscroft came on Thursday and started to hang the Sheetrock and today they finished hanging it. Next is mud tape and texture. They worked hard and additions are always a challenge.

2012-01-19T13:55:00.000-08:00

I just remembered two more businesses that have helped out and I want to make sure they get recognized.

Maul's Hay Farm in Battle Ground loaned us a very large tarp to cover the roof until we got the new shingles on. That was a big help, and protected the inside stuff from water damage.

Pacific Perks, ran by Jim and Natalie Fairchild provided coffee and snacks for the framing crew during the time they were here. That was a blessing because those framers drank coffee like there was no tomorrow.

Thanks for your help!