We start "New Moon Cottage"

Half of a New Moon!


Today we started to demolish the house in Harvey Cedars after a long time planning and and waiting for approvals. We got about half the house knocked down and tomorrow the rest will come down. We also got our bulk head permit formally today so they can start to reconstruct the new bulk head and the retaining wall on the West and North end of the property. The bulk head should not take more than a week or two? The wall should also go up pretty quickly and then the piles for the house can go next. It is exciting to start the project and the house should move along regularly from now on.

Approval and blood pressure medicine... for my dog?

We received approval to go ahead on the house in Harvey Cedars. First we have to build a bulk head and retention wall along the west and north wall of the property so drainage issues are taken care of. Then we can begin construction of the actual house.
But it is nice we are approved. I spent the morning picking up blood pressure medicine for my 12 year old dog. They have come so far with medicines for animals like they have for humans. it just seems strange to be picking up her medicine . She is a wonderful animal and is healthy other than a little high blood pressure. We hope she lives many more years as the pleasure she brings is unmeasurable. By the way its Christmas week. We are not back to having normal Christmas's yet and this year we are having it in a hotel.

BTC

Walmart and waiting for approval on our application.

You can get anything at Wallmart .
You can get food , clothing , Electronics and almost anything you can imagine. You can also see people on those ride around carts. I understand that there are people who need them, and are disabled in some way, but there are also people who look completely normal, and I think they

are lazy and ride the carts just for the fun of it. This sounds terrible ,but I am willing to wager to prove this theory. There were also people yelling at each other across different isles, and over the top of 2 or 3 isles. They were carrying on fights literally across isles and over partisans and continuing to yell at each other until they left the store.

I found this behavior a little over the top. I am sorry but this was like being in a movie and was as surreal as any place I have ever been. On another note when you are waiting for approval of an application for building permit in the one town we are building in ,you have to wait for a long time, as the building department only works on Wednesdays and Fridays. Go figure! I would love to work two days a week. Either way you have to wait.
BTC

Started Demolition of Bay House Today!

They started the demolition of the house on the bay today. The machine and the guy running it are amazing. Now a days the machine does all the work. It destroys the house and picks up the rubble and loads it into the trucks very efficiently and quickly.They only worked a half day today and they will be back to finish on Wednesday.
Amazing.

I am enclosing pictures also.
HERE WE GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We now have a black card at Costco.

As previously stated in my blog the only club we belong to is Costco and as of today we are black card holders at Costco. I am not sure what that does for you, but you get discounts and points ,and stuff like that. Some people aspire to be a American Express Black Card holder and some are looking for the Costco Black Card. It 's a matter of personal taste. I bought pj's today for 18 bucks. No club is better than that! And the special apples they have that taste better than any apple in the modernized world.
Just thought I would mention that we are now black card holders.
BTC

I will post pictures of house number three soon .

The third house is up north and is half way in the process of the major renovation.

Tim

Haven't written about up North yet!

I haven't really written about the house up north yet. We moved in 26 years ago and basically put off major repairs until this ;ast spring. We are replacing the windows ,roof , adding a large master bath ,walk in closet , and workout office for Deb. Also all new den with fireplace and out door fireplace on patio also. Basically redoing the entire house.

It should be beautiful and have all new doors windows and air and heat and 5 fireplaces.Also all new furniture and decorations. We have been displaced since June and living at the shore . They are getting the house closed up now so they can do the walls and floors and such. Major renovation I guess.

We need to get it done and then move back up north and spend the summers in LBI and the winters back and forth and some time down in the islands or somewhere we like. These are all fortunate problems and I am by no means complaining just relating our situation.
BTC

Gobble Gobble!!!!!

Thanksgiving is here and we have our permit on the big bay house. The temporary electric pole is in place and demolition will start next week. We are excited about the project it is a dream come true. There are many reasons to build or own a large shore house.My wife really gets it! It is simply about the people you spend time with at the shore. Once you own a house at the beach, not only do your kids come to see you much more often, but you can entertain friends family and loved ones . The times here are so special, because everyone is relaxed and at their best. The shore becomes the center of the family time.

The core of the universe.
It is truly the place where memories matter and love abounds. We are heading north for Thanksgiving but back on the weekend with the kid all visiting .

Even all the Dogs are showing up so we will have a house full. Thanksgiving is the best of all holidays because there is no false pretence and no gifts and no pressure. It is about family time and good food, good company, football and sleeping on the couch.

It is quite that simple.

BTC

America is Dog crazy!

Took our two dogs to Pet Smart today. Only in America do we have stores where you can bring your dog with you and spend ridiculous amounts of money on our animals. I can't help but think of Mexico and Costa Rico where dogs run in the streets by the millions and have no creature comforts (Pun Intended.) Most people from third world countries would not understand or believe the insanity that is the pet world in America.
I am not saying it isn't OK because there is no finer animal on earth than the house hold Dog. Unconditional love and they literally fill up the lives of the owners. YOU can get anything in America for your animal at Pet Smart. It is almost embarrassing. Almost.Anyway we made I.D. tags for our two Dogs and laughed through out the entire process. Anyway regarding the houses we signed our contract on the bay house today and hope to start within two weeks on demolition. Getting excited but ouse will take 11 or 12 months to build.

Boats are up and the Winter is starting.

Today the boats are out of the water. The sail boat is up on the lift and covered. The motor boat is at yard being winterized and scrapped for next spring. The fall has been particularly warm and we have just now gotten temps in the 40's for the first time on November 17th. I think global warming is really nice if this is what it's about. Now don't take offense to the comment I am just kidding around. Still waiting for the plans to be approved for both houses at the shore. Once approved we will dive in. The house in Essex Fells finally had the windows show up and they are being put in as we speak. Now some are the wrong windows and some are put in incorrectly and some are not fit properly. The window company will make it right. The good news is they are beautiful windows . Le Page from Canada.

Anyway we will get them in soon and then the inside of the house can be finished . Anyway the design of 7 Camden house is finalized and today we saw one elevation design with combination of wood shake and clapboard siding . I really like it but the final decision will be Mikes.

See picture!

Dogs , Music ,Visiting my Dad and building three houses at once.

I spent the day up North yesterday and went to visit my dad in the place he now lives.nHe is 86years old and has dementia or Alzheimer's. What I am writing about is the effect that my visit had on the people in the infirmary, and the effect it had on me.
I brought my toy labradoodle "Honey Pie" with me . She is a great ice breaker, and gives us something to occupy the time that I am there. Dad doesn't offer much anymore, and I find myself at a loss for words.(Believe it or not) Honey Pie creates quite a stir when she arrives, and elderly people who have not spoken in months ,wake right up, and relate a dog story from their life. Smiles abound as the visit goes on. Yesterday was a very special day ,and they had a fellow come by to sing songs ,with a guitar and a synthesizer . He was great and sang songs like "Under the Boardwalk." What I noticed is that Animals ,especially Dogs (Sorry for the Cat people out there) and music have a amazing ability to cheer the human soul.

What is amazing is how music and Dogs are universally able to brighten up a r0om ,and the positive energy is pure. Both have a kind of unconditional love aspect that change things immediately. If there is a supreme being, these two things were made a part of life to ease the pain we all face in our daily lives. Anyway the effect was remarkable, and I will continue to bring the dog to the visits ,and to listen to music for obvious reasons. Regarding the house projects, we met with the architect and builder on" New Moon" today , and the plans are going in tomorrow for approval.

We have plans submitted on both houses at the shore now. Once approvals are received we will be aggressively moving forward. Hope by the 20th of November we will start both houses.
I'll keep you posted and the blog should soon become about the actual building of the houses from then on.

BTC

Atlantic City and living at the shore.

Yesterday We went to see Dennis Miller at the Borgata. You have to lean right a little to enjoy his very intelligent style of humor. Even if you disagree with him politically you have to agree he has a way with simile and images that make you see what he is talking about and feel what he means.

This is a gift. We laughed and enjoyed the show he was truly entertaining. One of the joys of living at the shore is having the shows so close. Could care less about the gambling. Stupid putting money in a box or on table, and having someone take it away fast and over 99% of the time. Think about it ?

Anyway we didn't gamble, but we had a great dinner, and a lot of laughs at the Miller show. Ray Davies is playing at the Borgata in late November and I can't go . I would love to see Ray as I think he is a musical genius. The Kinks wrote and played such a simple style of music . Not evident in today's music much. We are in Limbo on the houses waiting for the boroughs to approve plans in both cases. Once approvals are issued I am sure we will hit the ground running.
Patients is a virtue, yet I am not sure I understand being patient as it has never been one of my strengths.

PS: Above is a picture of my life long friend Bootch's back yard in Hawaii. Never been there but maybe in the next few years. Paradise!!!

More Later!
BTC

70 BAYVIEW

Today I have chosen to write about 70 Bayview. Since Deb and I have been coming to Long Beach Island we had talked about having a house on the Bay We never thought that day would come, but we are about to renovate 70 Bayview in Loveladies. The architect we chose on this project was Jay Madden a very established designer on LBI and his associate Amanda.
They have been nothing short of wonderful on the project, and our plans are being submitted for approval as we speak. As previously mentioned we selected Dan Cummings to be our builder as we have seen the workmanship he represents, and his quality is exceptional. He is a no BS kind of builder ,and if you don't hold him up he doesn't hold you up.

Anyway he is close to starting, and we are excited about the project.Above are a few drawings of 70 Bayview that Jay and Amanda have finished. We are building this house for a few different reasons. One being we will have plenty of room for family and friends to visit as at 31 Panorama we loved the house but could not comfortably fit everyone. We love to entertain and have visitors and family down. Also I imagine in a few years ,we will live there for 8 months a year. Hopefully renting or owning a house either in the islands, or somewhere warmer. Anyway that is the plan ! I will take some pictures as we progress on this project, and the others.

PS:
By the way the surf is huge today, and once the wind kicks around from the storm, tomorrow might have great surf.

BTC

Rendering of New Moon Cottage

You will see a rather large depiction of Mikes house at the top of this blog site.




Thanks to Richard Bubnowski Design LLC, we are close to submitting plans to the borough and should have submitted by next week. We are submitting plans to Borough today on 70 Bayview. Oh Well here we go. Last night Barack Obama was elected as President of the United States. No further comment at this time. I am not a re-distributionist but he is my president and I will back him when and if I can.Enough about politics.

Anyway we are starting projects in a few weeks . I know it seems like I keep saying that but these things take time. I'll post more once we get approval to start.

BTC

70 Bayview the project begins!

Well we have a complete set of prints and we are submitting to borough for plans. The builder will now put pricing together for the house. This is nerves time and will be time to sit down and draft a contract with the builder and get started. We are more than ready ! Also we have a rendering of Mikes house on 7 Camden Ave in Harvey Cedars and If I can figure out how to post it I will.

I am learning about this Blogging thing as I go. This year for those of you who haven't been paying attention has been one of the worst economic years in memory other than the great depression. The banks and brokers and mortgage brokers sold countless mortgages they knew couldn't be paid and then resold them and insured them way beyond there capability and basically shook the world and all it's financial markets. The house of cards came tumbling down.
Anyway crazy time to be building multiple dwellings and going through this insanity. I believe in America and our ability to out produce and create and be the most brilliant and inventive people on the face of the earth. Anyway we are about to undertake the projects of building the two homes at the shore and complete the one in Essex Fells. It is a little overwhelming but I am sure it will work out in the end. I'll write soon as we begin construction.

Tim

Surfs Up again!!!!!!

I Don't want the blog to be about surfing but today 10/21/08 the wind was north east all day then south then hard west tonight.I went up in a full suit but actually didnt need it . ( No Boots or Gloves)Actually a Patagonia suit my son gave me for x mas and it is long ,but short sleeved and really warm...Thanks Mike!!

The water was amazingly warm and wind hard west ,and swell 3 to 4 feet. It was a blast. I think I got one of the best rides I have ever had in New Jersey. It was holding up all along the wall and really nicely shaped. Anyway enough about me, I met a nice guy who is a fire pipe fitter for the union and has had no work since last fall. He has worked for his brother in law building houses and his wife works as a teacher and is also working tutoring at night. It is just a testament to the fact that there is not enough work to go around. I am sure I will see him again he surfs on 78th street in Harvey cedars all the time. Really nice guy House-wize ,we are very close to getting final plans submitted for 70 Bay View and one or two weeks away for plans being ready on 7 Camden also. Looks like we will be building these two homes simultaniously. Should be fun. I will write next week as I am heading to north Jersey for a few days, and then to Cape Cod to see my nephew get married. We are all excited because we love our nephew, and he is marrying a really nice girl. Should be fun as no one from our family has ever been to the Cape. Anyway houses will start soon and I will keep updates coming.

Big Tim Champion

For those who are interested

Richard Bubnowski Design Engineer LLC
Check him out, his stuff is great!!!!!!!!

http://www.richardbubnowskidesign.com/

BTC

10/15/08 meeting and a surf!

Well, we met with the architect on 7 Camden today to finalize the decisions regarding the house. Rich Bubnowski renowned designer from point pleasant New Jersey , Home owner Michael McWilliams, Builder Brian Kidd and Tim and Deb McWilliams. This is really going to be a special house.Anyway we finalized some issues and decisions we needed to make to complete the plan.

Everyone seemed on board with the design and time schedule as we now see it. Brian Kidd had many questions and ideas that wee important in the building of the house and I am sure we now have a final design that is both buildable and special. I will say working with Rich has been a true pleasure, he is professional ,and works hard to get to agreement to move the project forward. More Importantly he enjoys a good Oasis cheese steak and is a surfer. Mike, Rich and I went out for a nice 1 1/2 hour session after the lunch and had a blast .3 foot waves granted on shore winds but some fun waves, and the water temp was 66 to 68 degrees. This is October 15th mind you.The beach was beautiful and very few people on it. This time of year in LBI is really wonderful. Anyway I believe the design of "NEW MOON COTTAGE" is really great. You can ask Mike about the meaning of the house name later.Thats it for today it was a great experience.

BTC

Buiding at the shore.

You really have to realize that things at the shore move on island time. It is a smaller world here as it is on all island communities. You have to be patient and schmooze rather than kick butt down here.Once you get state approval to build you have to then formally apply for plan approval form the town.

Once that happens you can begin to get permits and start construction. I left to go surfing ,one of the great things about being at the shore all the time is today there was a pleasant surprise and a small but beautiful swell poped up and Deb came up to the beach and read while i sirfed some really fun waves. Any way two Bootches which only MAZ AND BOOTCH WILL KNOW WHAT THAT IS. Thats all for today!
BTC

Dickey Betts and Craigslist!!!!!

I went to the Paramount theatre last night for the "Dickey Betts and Great Southern" concert. I have been watching Dickey play since Orlando spring of 1970.
It has become a tradition to see Dickey play at least yearly.The show last night was one of the best I can remember.He has a tremendous band playing with him including his son Duane, named after you know who. Anyway he is the last of a breed that we should enjoy as long as he can play.He played for almost 4 hours non stop last night and was nothing short of fantastic."Dickey Is Lord."

Craigslist or E Bay is the topic for today. I am aware of these vehicles but have learned that you can sell anything on these sites, from clothing to windows to carpets and furniture. Pavers ,tiles and bathroom fixtures. Everyone needs something and will pay to get it. The prices are great deals for the buyer and help make the demolition of the house and there contents much less painful. We split the proceeds with the person who takes the picture and posts these items. It has been amazing. Anyway I am sure I am late in this realization but thought I would share this. The houses are progressing and we should begin work on the two homes at the Jersey shore within the next few weeks. I'll post an entry later this weekend and keep you informed .

http://www.craigslist.org/about/sites
http://www.dickeybetts.com/
http://www.ebay.com

Big Tim Champion

Just starting the insanity

Sold my business a year and a half ago and decided to get heavily into real estate. Actually had always wanted to build a big shore house on the bay. So when one came available I jumped in and bought the existing house. The most wonderful view of the Barnegat bay I have seen. What i forgot to tell you all is that I also am completely updating my house in North Jersey, and bought an old house at the shore in my sons name and am also building a new house there.

So much for the insane part right? Carrying the debt is one thing but the planning and designing is another. It is actually quite fun designing the house. When the architect of the bay front house says this is a really big house and will be expensive I love the feeling it gives me in my nervous system like someone just chewed on tin foil. I feel I know enough to not get nervous and after the first month or so of waking up at night with a calculator in my bed I decided to not run the numbers anymore and just work at the project. We are now well in to the northern refurbishment and are well over budget. The beauty of this is I am learning very fast how to deal with the builders ,and how to quote the jobs in an intelligent way so as to reduce overages and extras. They are the gravy of the builder. They I am sure count on you changing things, and all changes cost money. Once in a while you find a way to save some money ,but if the house will have integrity it must be built correctly. Anyway I feel so lucky that I can do these things ,but this blog is to merely discuss the whole experience and get out of it what you will. Next entry will be about craigslist and how if you know someone or can do it yourself you can sell everything in the old house and some of your friends stuff too. Signing off for now !

BTC