Nashville spent Friday bracing for a snowfall, with predictions ranging from three inches to as much as a foot of the frozen stuff. We settled on about four inches of snow and a little bit of ice on top of that. But as I sit inside the relatively warmth of my home, staring at my addition shrouded in white, I can only ponder all of the things that still need to be completed with the addition.
1. Gutters - The contractor finally thought it was a good idea to put gutters on the house. A little late in the game for that, but better late than never, I guess. So the addition has been up for weeks and weeks, yet he decides Tuesday to finally get estimates. When they came to install gutters on Wednesday, the gutter guy asked the contractor if he wanted to paint the trim on the house before placing the gutters on the house. Duh...another oversight. So they spent all day Wednesday and Thursday painting the trim, then couldn't understand why the gutter company wouldn't install them on Friday, just hours before the flakes started flying. Can't wait until the icicles and snow starts to melt to see what new leaks appear.
2. Porch railings and caps - Wish I could say I looked out on my front window to measure the snow on my new front porch, but the railings all around the porch, the hand rail on the stairs, and the post caps are all still M.I.A. I thought I heard someone say the contractor measured the length of the rails incorrectly. Seems to be a re-occurring theme, doesn't it?
3. Paint - Certainly would be nice to finish painting inside the addition, but it is way to cold for the paint to be spread efficiently and for it to adhere properly. Why is it so cold in the addition?
4. HVAC - The new HVAC unit has been installed and hooked up to the ventilation system, but no one has flipped the switch. Why has no one flipped the switch yet?
5. Electrical - Nothing electrical in the addition is ready to go. The HVAC, thermostat, lights, light switches, outlets and everything else that should have a surge of power are currently absent of such. No lights, no heat, no patience.
6. Tile - Our tile should be firmly in place now, but this has been another point of frustration. A delay on another job pushed the start of the tile job back to Tuesday. An illness pushed the job back to Wednesday. They installed the backer board Thursday and showed up on Friday before being scared away by the snow. They asked if it was okay to work this weekend if they could get by. I hope they show Sunday, because they were not seen today.
7. Wood floors - The wood floors aren't done because the floor guy did not want to finish the floors only to have every other sub-contractor screw them up. Good move on his part. The floors have been scuffed, scraped, and soiled.
8. Doors - Interior doors still have not been installed and the back door still has not been installed and insulated correctly. The trim around the doors is still being installed, but they are screwing up the trim in the existing house. We have asked them to put up new trim in the addition that is different from the trim in the existing house. But because they have no foresight whatsoever, they threw away all of the trim they removed from the doors and windows of the existing house. Now, they can't find the same stuff to match what we currently have. The stuff they are using is about 3/4-inch too slender. Guess they had no idea that they might have trouble matching trim that was 50 years old. I went dumpster diving and salvaged some (but not nearly enough) before the dumpster was pulled early last week, but I am not going to tell that to my contractor. I'm going to let him sweat this one out.
9. Retaining wall - The retaining wall and concrete pad outside the back door are still non-existent. This, coupled with proper grading of the yard, would go a long way in keeping the water from coming in the back door. My contractor spoke to the sub-contractor who did the brickwork about doing job, and that's a good thing. He did very good work and I trust he will get it done quickly and correctly. Just don't know when he will start.
10. Cabinets - We went out of our way to paint one wall and the ceiling of the now-expanded family room in our existing home first so we could get the contractor to re-hang our cabinets...which would allow us to start moving some of our stuff back to where it belongs. Six days later and the cabinets remain covered in dust on the floor.
I think what would make me happy would be in my contractor would start looking at this project as if it were his own home. There is nothing I would rather see than him walking through the house with a clipboard writing down everything he sees that needs to be completed - the chip in the frame around the bathroom door, installing the door at the bottom of the stairs, fixing the bent nails and setting the others in the trim around the windows, installing the electrical on the front porch, picking up and installing our lights, cleaning up trash, finish painting the porch, installing the final can light downstairs, and on and on and on. Is it too much to ask him to be as picky as we are?
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010 - Oops!
Okay, maybe I sounded the alarm too soon on the floors. There are no issue with the floors. We found out the floor guy did not nail down the boards, which is why the came up. The floor guy was quite humored that everyone, including my contractor, was in such a tizzy about it. Oh well.
More painting tonight...coming up on 35 hours over five days. I also had to move all of the bathroom tile from the garage to the new master bathroom. Nothing quite like moving 30 boxes weighing 35-40 pounds each for about an hour and a half. My hands hurt. My back hurts. My feet hurt. I struggle on.
More painting tonight...coming up on 35 hours over five days. I also had to move all of the bathroom tile from the garage to the new master bathroom. Nothing quite like moving 30 boxes weighing 35-40 pounds each for about an hour and a half. My hands hurt. My back hurts. My feet hurt. I struggle on.
Monday, January 25, 2010 - Out of Patience
If my work performance was anything like that of my contractor's I would be fired and on the street. Lucky for him, we are too close to the end of the project to find someone else to finish the job. Needless to say, in was not a good weekend. I put in about 27 hours of painting over three days, but as exhausting as that was, it was my contractor that completely wore me out.
On Friday, we noticed water in three different spots in the basement. A quick inspection showed the downstairs window still had not been insulated, wrapped, and caulked correctly, so water was sneaking in between the window and the cinder blocks...all the way to the basement floor. An easy fix that was taken care of later that afternoon. And it wasn't the first time I had made him aware of the windows not being completed. Bullet dodged...until Sunday.
Cara took an early morning walk into the new master bedroom only to hear creaks and pops in the brand new hardwood floors. All of the sudden, the floors had a lot of play in them and you could tell by walking on them. We also noticed water under the hallway window and water in the corner right where the existing house and the addition meet. One of the issues was the fact that the back gutter runs straight into the brick of the new addition...no connection to a new gutter or into a downspout. Once they put the new gutters on, everything will tie together nicely, but that is the issue. No new gutters yet.
When it rains, as it did this weekend, not only does the water rush off the roof into any crack it can find under the lip of the shingles, it also flows from into the gutters and them smacks into the addition, where it bubbles up into the rafters, into the attic, and back down into the house. On top of that, there is a large triangle-shaped opening that will house a vent for the attic. I don't know how many more ways we can offer water to freely enter our house. I have raised my concern over the gutters and the vent opening on several occasions, but my contractor must love spending extra money on replacement drywall and insulation. No concern of mine, it is coming form his pocket, not mine.
I think the house has become a break-even proposition for the contractor due to cost over-runs on his end. It's things like these, however, that causes him to shoot himself in the foot. Now, not only does he still have to install the gutter and the vent, he will have to replace insulation and drywall...and possibly wood floors...all because of his own laziness and his lack of oversight...and his inability to respond to my requests and suggestions. I know he is tired of my emails and Post-It Notes on the walls, but I often wonder what kind of house I would have if I didn't speak up. He is losing money and I have long since lost patience.
On Friday, we noticed water in three different spots in the basement. A quick inspection showed the downstairs window still had not been insulated, wrapped, and caulked correctly, so water was sneaking in between the window and the cinder blocks...all the way to the basement floor. An easy fix that was taken care of later that afternoon. And it wasn't the first time I had made him aware of the windows not being completed. Bullet dodged...until Sunday.
Cara took an early morning walk into the new master bedroom only to hear creaks and pops in the brand new hardwood floors. All of the sudden, the floors had a lot of play in them and you could tell by walking on them. We also noticed water under the hallway window and water in the corner right where the existing house and the addition meet. One of the issues was the fact that the back gutter runs straight into the brick of the new addition...no connection to a new gutter or into a downspout. Once they put the new gutters on, everything will tie together nicely, but that is the issue. No new gutters yet.
When it rains, as it did this weekend, not only does the water rush off the roof into any crack it can find under the lip of the shingles, it also flows from into the gutters and them smacks into the addition, where it bubbles up into the rafters, into the attic, and back down into the house. On top of that, there is a large triangle-shaped opening that will house a vent for the attic. I don't know how many more ways we can offer water to freely enter our house. I have raised my concern over the gutters and the vent opening on several occasions, but my contractor must love spending extra money on replacement drywall and insulation. No concern of mine, it is coming form his pocket, not mine.
I think the house has become a break-even proposition for the contractor due to cost over-runs on his end. It's things like these, however, that causes him to shoot himself in the foot. Now, not only does he still have to install the gutter and the vent, he will have to replace insulation and drywall...and possibly wood floors...all because of his own laziness and his lack of oversight...and his inability to respond to my requests and suggestions. I know he is tired of my emails and Post-It Notes on the walls, but I often wonder what kind of house I would have if I didn't speak up. He is losing money and I have long since lost patience.
Friday, January 22, 2010 - A Lot of Paint Down, A lot More to Go
Author's Note: Due to a so much going on toward the end of this project, I have not had much time to post, so I will play catch-up when I can. I have been writing, mostly in the wee morning hours on my BlackBerry. I have also realized something else. Instead of being able to copy what I have written in an email and pasting it into my blog, I must re-type everything. I used to be able to copy and paste, but the newest version of IE does not allow this any more. Not sure if this is Blogger's fault or Microsoft, but I will quickly blame Microsoft for making a competitor's application harder to use.
Five gallons of primer used can only mean one thing...five gallons of paint is soon to come. All of the main level is primed - walls and ceilings. However, we still have 600 square feet downstairs to prime...another five gallons, at least. Everything in the addition still needs to be painted, as does our existing bedroom, our family room, and our soon-to-be guest bedroom. Actually, the family room is about one-third of the way done, we just have to move some furniture around before we can finish it. Looks like Saturday will mean painting the master bedroom and bath, and at least getting a coat of primer on the walls of the stairwell.
I met the guys doing the floors today and, so far, he seems to be the most considerate of all the sub-contractors. He will be coming back on Monday and Tuesday to finish installing the floors, and then will come back later to sand and stain all of the floors when we tell him to come back. That way it keeps him from staining the floors and having the other subs destroy the floors during the installation of doors and trim, which would force him to come out and have to do it all over again. He must know my contractor's staff pretty well. Guess this isn't his first rodeo.
In what was probably the most amazing development, he brought his own Shop-Vac to clean up his mess. Go figure that a sub would care about a client's house. Nobody else has cleaned up after themselves over the last four months, why is someone starting now?
Dodged a bullet with the water in the basement.
Five gallons of primer used can only mean one thing...five gallons of paint is soon to come. All of the main level is primed - walls and ceilings. However, we still have 600 square feet downstairs to prime...another five gallons, at least. Everything in the addition still needs to be painted, as does our existing bedroom, our family room, and our soon-to-be guest bedroom. Actually, the family room is about one-third of the way done, we just have to move some furniture around before we can finish it. Looks like Saturday will mean painting the master bedroom and bath, and at least getting a coat of primer on the walls of the stairwell.
I met the guys doing the floors today and, so far, he seems to be the most considerate of all the sub-contractors. He will be coming back on Monday and Tuesday to finish installing the floors, and then will come back later to sand and stain all of the floors when we tell him to come back. That way it keeps him from staining the floors and having the other subs destroy the floors during the installation of doors and trim, which would force him to come out and have to do it all over again. He must know my contractor's staff pretty well. Guess this isn't his first rodeo.
In what was probably the most amazing development, he brought his own Shop-Vac to clean up his mess. Go figure that a sub would care about a client's house. Nobody else has cleaned up after themselves over the last four months, why is someone starting now?
Dodged a bullet with the water in the basement.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010 - Rain? Don't Get Me Started...
Rainy days caused many delays back in October when it rained and rained and rained some more. "Once we get the walls in and roof up," says the contractor, "there will be nothing to slow us down." Except maybe some rain.
Today's rain has caused the painting of the front porch to come to a grinding halt. No trimwork and no gutters because of the rain, and we could have really used the gutters today. The heavy rain also caused the wood for the floors to not be delivered, so one more lost day there. Hope he is ready to lay the floors on Friday so we can trip all over each other while I am trying to paint. He did pull up some of the boards so he can tie old floors into the new floors. He also brought over a huge Shop-Vac; the only sub-contractor so far to be somewhat concerned about the mess he will make.
I did pick up the IKEA bed we managed to snag off Craigslist earlier in the week. Perfect shape and it broke down nicely to fit in the car. That's probably where I should have left it because there was no room for it in the house, especially with a little bit of wall sanding, floor sanding, and painting still to do. I feel like our house is on big puzzle, the type of puzzle that has 15 pieces in a square with one piece missing. You have to move all of the pieces around in order, one at a time, until you find the perfect picture in the end. Is the end coming soon?
Today's rain has caused the painting of the front porch to come to a grinding halt. No trimwork and no gutters because of the rain, and we could have really used the gutters today. The heavy rain also caused the wood for the floors to not be delivered, so one more lost day there. Hope he is ready to lay the floors on Friday so we can trip all over each other while I am trying to paint. He did pull up some of the boards so he can tie old floors into the new floors. He also brought over a huge Shop-Vac; the only sub-contractor so far to be somewhat concerned about the mess he will make.
I did pick up the IKEA bed we managed to snag off Craigslist earlier in the week. Perfect shape and it broke down nicely to fit in the car. That's probably where I should have left it because there was no room for it in the house, especially with a little bit of wall sanding, floor sanding, and painting still to do. I feel like our house is on big puzzle, the type of puzzle that has 15 pieces in a square with one piece missing. You have to move all of the pieces around in order, one at a time, until you find the perfect picture in the end. Is the end coming soon?
Monday, January 18, 2010
Tuesday, January 19 - Drywall Done
The installation and mudding of the drywall is officially complete. Well, basically complete. There is still a section in the existing house, a door that was closed in, that they forgot early in the process, so they will need to come back and sand that section again. But besides that, everything is done and sanded. However, during the two hours I spent cleaning the fine drywall dust particles from everything our existing bedroom, I noticed that there is still a long way to go before it is prepped properly for painting. I brushed up against one of the walls and a shower of dust came down. A pushbroom rubbed on the wall released a much thicker shower. So, I will have to hit all of the walls and ceilings with the pushbroom in order to get all of the drywall dust off the walls and onto the floor, so I can track that all over the house.
Next step, spreading 20 gallons of paint and primer. If I can get the walls prepped on Wednesday, I can start painting Thursday night. Think I may take Friday off, so I will have a very big stretch to get about 1,900 square feet of our house painted...walls and ceilings. The main level of half the existing house, the new stairwell, and the main level of the addition will get the top priority. The basement is secondary at this point and is pretty dependent on how sick of painting I am at that point.
Next step, spreading 20 gallons of paint and primer. If I can get the walls prepped on Wednesday, I can start painting Thursday night. Think I may take Friday off, so I will have a very big stretch to get about 1,900 square feet of our house painted...walls and ceilings. The main level of half the existing house, the new stairwell, and the main level of the addition will get the top priority. The basement is secondary at this point and is pretty dependent on how sick of painting I am at that point.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010 - Nip and Tuck
Ugh...so I missed another post. My bad.
Before I tell you about the construction update, I want to mention something bizarre, but very cool. We have been talking about getting our oldest son a new bed from IKEA. We have been checking occasionally on Craigslist to see if one becomes available before buying one new. We don't need it until April, so we are in no rush. Well, about two minutes after discussing it this evening and hitting refresh on the Craigslist webpage, the exact bed pops up, just a couple of miles away. A quick email and a little bit of cash and a new bed and nightstand are all ours. The problem, however, is where to put a queen size bed when everything is consolidated into just a couple of rooms. On top of that, we found out they are going to refinish the floor in our current bedroom when they lay and stain the rest of the floors, so we have to find room for another queen size bed, nightstands, two dressers, etc. Is this a good problem to have?
The drywall is close to getting completion. Last Friday, we had the drywall completion date pushed back to Tuesday, which was inching closer to my Wednesday projection. Then on Monday they said they are now projecting Wednesday, but the confidence in their voices is waning, even for that day. They haven't even started sanding yet, so I am even tempted to push my bet to Thursday. Not really looking forward to the start of sanding, however. The house is unorganized enough without a layer of white dust on top of everything.
The porch continues to take shape with painting started and the new front door installed. The front door is something so simple, but the one we had was simply pitiful. But since we will be now using the front porch and the front door as our main entrance, we wanted to get those right. Now we just need the front steps and the hand railings and we will be set to go until we get to stain the porch floor in about 12 weeks. There is still a little nip and tuck to go before it is just right.
But, I finally was able to get my hands dirty this weekend. I wasn't real thrilled with the job they did putting the trim around the inside of the front door, so I took it off and fixed it just right. I then set the nails and spackled the holes. Now the door is ready for me sand, caulk, and paint on Monday. Just a nice warm-up to a lot of work to go on our end. Anybody up for a painting party this weekend.
Before I tell you about the construction update, I want to mention something bizarre, but very cool. We have been talking about getting our oldest son a new bed from IKEA. We have been checking occasionally on Craigslist to see if one becomes available before buying one new. We don't need it until April, so we are in no rush. Well, about two minutes after discussing it this evening and hitting refresh on the Craigslist webpage, the exact bed pops up, just a couple of miles away. A quick email and a little bit of cash and a new bed and nightstand are all ours. The problem, however, is where to put a queen size bed when everything is consolidated into just a couple of rooms. On top of that, we found out they are going to refinish the floor in our current bedroom when they lay and stain the rest of the floors, so we have to find room for another queen size bed, nightstands, two dressers, etc. Is this a good problem to have?
The drywall is close to getting completion. Last Friday, we had the drywall completion date pushed back to Tuesday, which was inching closer to my Wednesday projection. Then on Monday they said they are now projecting Wednesday, but the confidence in their voices is waning, even for that day. They haven't even started sanding yet, so I am even tempted to push my bet to Thursday. Not really looking forward to the start of sanding, however. The house is unorganized enough without a layer of white dust on top of everything.
The porch continues to take shape with painting started and the new front door installed. The front door is something so simple, but the one we had was simply pitiful. But since we will be now using the front porch and the front door as our main entrance, we wanted to get those right. Now we just need the front steps and the hand railings and we will be set to go until we get to stain the porch floor in about 12 weeks. There is still a little nip and tuck to go before it is just right.
But, I finally was able to get my hands dirty this weekend. I wasn't real thrilled with the job they did putting the trim around the inside of the front door, so I took it off and fixed it just right. I then set the nails and spackled the holes. Now the door is ready for me sand, caulk, and paint on Monday. Just a nice warm-up to a lot of work to go on our end. Anybody up for a painting party this weekend.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Thursday, January 14, 2010 - A Muddy Mess (and it has nothing to do with the yard)
I apologize to my loyal readers for missing an entry on Wednesday. A 12-hour workday followed by a three-hour business dinner didn't leave much time or energy for an entry.
(As a quick sidebar, The Germantown Cafe may have surpassed Sunset Grill as my favorite restaurant in town. The Germantown Cafe is pretty close to my office and I usually end up there about once a month for lunch and a little less frequently for dinner. But the food is always great, the service good, and I have never had to wait for a table. I have never had a bad experience there, which is why I return there again and again. Come to think of it, whether it is Germantown Cafe, Sunset Grill, The Tin Angel, Copper Kettle, or many of the other independent restaurants in town, we have got it pretty good in Nashville.)
Where was I? There have been many times, probably more often than not, when I haven't written an entry until the next day, but I am just going to let things slide since only a little drywalling was done. But Thursday, was a mixed bag of tricks. All of the brickwork is done, which is a great milestone. I didn't get much of a look because it was well past dark by the time I arrived home tonight, and the dangling floodlight wires haven't yet been connected to the new fixtures. I did get to flip on the (old) front porch light to inspect the bricks on the posts of the front porch, and it looked good. I think the brickwork has been the best part of the project...maybe the one part of this process that has kept me sane.
But I also came home to a drywall process that will, without a doubt, run long. Seeing the mud smoothed along the seams of the wall is a beautiful sight. Mud on the floor, not so pretty. But if they want to trash the floor of our current bedroom, more power to them. That just means they will need to refinish the floor when they install and finish the rest. In fact, we were going to go ahead and drop down the extra cash to have them do it so we could have the entire addition and the east half of the existing house all done with nice shiny floors. Think I will let it slide and get it done for free.
But they still haven't put mud over the dimpled screw holes, nor have they messed with any of the windows or the joints where the walls meet the ceiling. They have projected Monday, but I say Wednesday at the earliest. I am not even sure if what they put on today will dry well enough to sand on Friday. They placed two large kerosene heaters/blowers in the addition (one on each level) to assist in the drying process. One ran out of fuel around 7:00, and the other at some point before 10:00. I have set up an electric heater in one of the interior rooms to dry the mud in two rooms of the existing structure, and we will see if that works in the morning.
As I lay here in bed taking four or five times longer to key this into my BlackBerry rather than my PC, I am actually warm for a change at bedtime. All of the heaters have warmed up this part of the house nicely. Maybe even too nicely. We will see if the dogs and I are completely dehydrated in the morning. It is certainly a change of pace from the last two weeks.
(As a quick sidebar, The Germantown Cafe may have surpassed Sunset Grill as my favorite restaurant in town. The Germantown Cafe is pretty close to my office and I usually end up there about once a month for lunch and a little less frequently for dinner. But the food is always great, the service good, and I have never had to wait for a table. I have never had a bad experience there, which is why I return there again and again. Come to think of it, whether it is Germantown Cafe, Sunset Grill, The Tin Angel, Copper Kettle, or many of the other independent restaurants in town, we have got it pretty good in Nashville.)
Where was I? There have been many times, probably more often than not, when I haven't written an entry until the next day, but I am just going to let things slide since only a little drywalling was done. But Thursday, was a mixed bag of tricks. All of the brickwork is done, which is a great milestone. I didn't get much of a look because it was well past dark by the time I arrived home tonight, and the dangling floodlight wires haven't yet been connected to the new fixtures. I did get to flip on the (old) front porch light to inspect the bricks on the posts of the front porch, and it looked good. I think the brickwork has been the best part of the project...maybe the one part of this process that has kept me sane.
But I also came home to a drywall process that will, without a doubt, run long. Seeing the mud smoothed along the seams of the wall is a beautiful sight. Mud on the floor, not so pretty. But if they want to trash the floor of our current bedroom, more power to them. That just means they will need to refinish the floor when they install and finish the rest. In fact, we were going to go ahead and drop down the extra cash to have them do it so we could have the entire addition and the east half of the existing house all done with nice shiny floors. Think I will let it slide and get it done for free.
But they still haven't put mud over the dimpled screw holes, nor have they messed with any of the windows or the joints where the walls meet the ceiling. They have projected Monday, but I say Wednesday at the earliest. I am not even sure if what they put on today will dry well enough to sand on Friday. They placed two large kerosene heaters/blowers in the addition (one on each level) to assist in the drying process. One ran out of fuel around 7:00, and the other at some point before 10:00. I have set up an electric heater in one of the interior rooms to dry the mud in two rooms of the existing structure, and we will see if that works in the morning.
As I lay here in bed taking four or five times longer to key this into my BlackBerry rather than my PC, I am actually warm for a change at bedtime. All of the heaters have warmed up this part of the house nicely. Maybe even too nicely. We will see if the dogs and I are completely dehydrated in the morning. It is certainly a change of pace from the last two weeks.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Tuesday, January 12, 2010 - Been There, Done That
After surviving the second wettest October on record, Nashville has now suffered through the third coldest start of the year ever. It hasn't been this cold to start a year in seven decades. Why now???
The cold weather meant no drywall mud slapped on the walls today, which really screws with our schedule. The drywall guys did come by late today to say they definitely will be here at 11:00am on Wednesday, so that's good. However, instead of them being able to wrap things up on Saturday in order for us to begin painting Saturday night and all day Sunday, they won't finish until Monday. Monday is when they are supposed to start laying the hardwood floors and bathroom tile. We really wanted to paint before both were put down, just in case we were a little sloppy. Now it looks like we will have to break out the tarps, sheets, cardboard, and whatever else we can find to cover the floors while we paint late into the nights next week. Been there before and will probably be there again.
The cold weather meant no drywall mud slapped on the walls today, which really screws with our schedule. The drywall guys did come by late today to say they definitely will be here at 11:00am on Wednesday, so that's good. However, instead of them being able to wrap things up on Saturday in order for us to begin painting Saturday night and all day Sunday, they won't finish until Monday. Monday is when they are supposed to start laying the hardwood floors and bathroom tile. We really wanted to paint before both were put down, just in case we were a little sloppy. Now it looks like we will have to break out the tarps, sheets, cardboard, and whatever else we can find to cover the floors while we paint late into the nights next week. Been there before and will probably be there again.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Monday, January 11, 2010 - Am I Dreaming?
I have been burned by this promise many times since October, but I have a good feeling about this one. So many times I have been told that something would be completed tomorrow, or "we'll get to it tomorrow." Well, we will see how the next 10 days go. Everything is prepped and ready for a very busy week or so.
All of the drywall is installed and the mudding will begin Tuesday. It is a five-day process, so it should be done on Saturday, just in time for us to spend the rest of the weekend painting all of the ceilings and the wall behind where our cabinets and computer desk will be placed.
After a predicted dusting of snow tonight it should warm up enough to get the brickwork started on Wednesday and finish by the end of the week. Same goes with the front porch - painting, gutters, handrails...everything.
Hardwood floors and complete bathroom tiling start Monday of next week. From there it appears it will just be finishing up electrical, finishing up the interior staircase, hooking up and flipping the switch on the HVAC and all of the other finishing touches to be done by the end of the month. And, dare I forget, finishing the painting. Maybe I am dreaming, but we will see.
Still will have the staining of the basement floor, grading the yard, and other things to do on top of that, but the sooner we can get them out of the main living level, the better. It will be nice to have the house back again. New pictures to come soon.
Oh, by the way, our HVAC solution of putting all of the addition and one existing bedroom on the new HVAC unit while leaving everything else on the old unit was deemed acceptable. And they would re-route the duct work at no charge...although I feel like we are paying for it one way or the other.
All of the drywall is installed and the mudding will begin Tuesday. It is a five-day process, so it should be done on Saturday, just in time for us to spend the rest of the weekend painting all of the ceilings and the wall behind where our cabinets and computer desk will be placed.
After a predicted dusting of snow tonight it should warm up enough to get the brickwork started on Wednesday and finish by the end of the week. Same goes with the front porch - painting, gutters, handrails...everything.
Hardwood floors and complete bathroom tiling start Monday of next week. From there it appears it will just be finishing up electrical, finishing up the interior staircase, hooking up and flipping the switch on the HVAC and all of the other finishing touches to be done by the end of the month. And, dare I forget, finishing the painting. Maybe I am dreaming, but we will see.
Still will have the staining of the basement floor, grading the yard, and other things to do on top of that, but the sooner we can get them out of the main living level, the better. It will be nice to have the house back again. New pictures to come soon.
Oh, by the way, our HVAC solution of putting all of the addition and one existing bedroom on the new HVAC unit while leaving everything else on the old unit was deemed acceptable. And they would re-route the duct work at no charge...although I feel like we are paying for it one way or the other.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Friday, January 8, 2010 - C'mon Spring???
I spent the entire month of October writing about the rain and how record rainfall amounts had put us behind schedule. Now it's the cold...maybe not record cold, but certainly cold enough. I had a strange amount of fun writing about the rain and I guess it was slightly therapeutic. There is nothing fun about the cold.
About 95% of the the drywall has been hung and is now ready for mud. That can't happen because it is too cold. It may be the end of next week before it is warm enough to finish the drywall...and maybe the brickwork, too. Then, maybe, it will be warm enough to paint and tile.
The expected 12-degree overnight low probably means our front door will not be installed on Saturday as promised. I could sit here and say, "come on spring," but that just means more rain, right?
About 95% of the the drywall has been hung and is now ready for mud. That can't happen because it is too cold. It may be the end of next week before it is warm enough to finish the drywall...and maybe the brickwork, too. Then, maybe, it will be warm enough to paint and tile.
The expected 12-degree overnight low probably means our front door will not be installed on Saturday as promised. I could sit here and say, "come on spring," but that just means more rain, right?
Thursday, January 7, 2010 - Otis Takes a Header
Otis is our 15 year old beagle...that's 105 in human years. He is one of two dogs we own. The other is Minnie, our two year old rottweiler. I have written about Minnie before. She is still upset that her back yard has been temporarily taken from her while construction is in progress. Otis, on the other hand, has been affected by the construction in a different way. He is blind and deaf, both senses failing him slowly over the last three years. It hasn't really been that big of a deal because he has slowed down in his later years. He also had a somewhat decent knowledge of the layout of the house, so he could miraculously avoid furniture and other obstacles. This reminds me of the old Helen Keller joke. How did Helen Keller's parents punish her? They rearranged the furniture (add laugh track here).
Up until this last year, we have always had to keep Otis on a leash, otherwise he would follow his nose and never be seen again. He did break free four times in his 15 years. The first time he escaped we panicked, then I found in the woods behind a neighbor's house eating ham and white beans someone had thrown out. It was as disgusting as it sounds. His second escape ended in a different neighbor's garage. It was a neighbor I didn't know, but the garage door was cracked open, and I had a hunch. I'm glad I didn't get shot, but sure enough Otis was in there chowing down on some other dog's kibble. The third and fourth times involved great diving saves by me and Cara on separate occasions, with only a couple of skinned knees to show for it. Now, we can let Otis out without having to worry about putting him on a leash. Not only can he not move so swiftly these days, but because he can't see he simply doesn't stray very far away.
We did have to be careful at the beginning of the construction process, however, to make certain that he didn't walk into the six-foot hole we had dug, which then sat untouched by anything but rainwater for the month of October. This winter, however, Otis has been very active, and over the last 10 days, we have been consolidated into just a couple of rooms while some interior demolition takes place. I feel like one of those hoarders on some TLC television show that have boxes stacked to the ceilings with a lifetime worth of stuff. Our situation is not as severe. We have had to move our entire house into primarily three rooms while they not only finish the addition, but also demolish one bedroom to extend our family room (which puts that room out of commission) and demo part of our existing bedroom to close in a window, extend a closet, and move some electrical and cable outlets. If anyone were to peek in our windows they would run away quickly from what appears like a freak show.
I guess we find some sort of sadistic humor in watching Otis bump into things throughout the house. Granted, he sleeps about 22 hours a day, but when he is up, he is moving...taking headers into furniture, getting behind doors and closing himself into rooms, and getting tangled up under tables and chairs. And when the whole process is said and done, and everything is rearranged again, Otis will try to learn the layout of the land for the final time. Well, at least he will figure out the path from the sofa to his food and water bowls to the bean bag chair. What more could a dog want?
Up until this last year, we have always had to keep Otis on a leash, otherwise he would follow his nose and never be seen again. He did break free four times in his 15 years. The first time he escaped we panicked, then I found in the woods behind a neighbor's house eating ham and white beans someone had thrown out. It was as disgusting as it sounds. His second escape ended in a different neighbor's garage. It was a neighbor I didn't know, but the garage door was cracked open, and I had a hunch. I'm glad I didn't get shot, but sure enough Otis was in there chowing down on some other dog's kibble. The third and fourth times involved great diving saves by me and Cara on separate occasions, with only a couple of skinned knees to show for it. Now, we can let Otis out without having to worry about putting him on a leash. Not only can he not move so swiftly these days, but because he can't see he simply doesn't stray very far away.
We did have to be careful at the beginning of the construction process, however, to make certain that he didn't walk into the six-foot hole we had dug, which then sat untouched by anything but rainwater for the month of October. This winter, however, Otis has been very active, and over the last 10 days, we have been consolidated into just a couple of rooms while some interior demolition takes place. I feel like one of those hoarders on some TLC television show that have boxes stacked to the ceilings with a lifetime worth of stuff. Our situation is not as severe. We have had to move our entire house into primarily three rooms while they not only finish the addition, but also demolish one bedroom to extend our family room (which puts that room out of commission) and demo part of our existing bedroom to close in a window, extend a closet, and move some electrical and cable outlets. If anyone were to peek in our windows they would run away quickly from what appears like a freak show.
I guess we find some sort of sadistic humor in watching Otis bump into things throughout the house. Granted, he sleeps about 22 hours a day, but when he is up, he is moving...taking headers into furniture, getting behind doors and closing himself into rooms, and getting tangled up under tables and chairs. And when the whole process is said and done, and everything is rearranged again, Otis will try to learn the layout of the land for the final time. Well, at least he will figure out the path from the sofa to his food and water bowls to the bean bag chair. What more could a dog want?
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Wednesday, January 6, 2010 - Good Walk-through
Had a great walk-through with the architect and contractor today. I think we were able to come to an amicable resolution to our HVAC issue, pending a thumbs-up from the HVAC sub-contractor. The drywall subs did not show up today due to a backload of work as a result of the cold weather. Hopefully they will make an appearance on Thursday so we can get things going there, despite a threat of snow…originally forecasted to be as much as six inches, but then fizzled to a prediction of maybe an inch. The most optimistic news we heard was that if all of the sudden it were to turn warmer, we would be about two-and-a-half weeks away from finishing. So, if it were to all of the sudden turn 75-degrees tomorrow (or even 45-degrees, for that matter) we could easily be done by the end of January. However, not only did we suffer through the second-wettest October on record, we are facing one of the longest stretches of sub-freezing temperatures this fair city can remember. We have had six straight days of not getting above 32-degrees and are bearing down on at least four more days before it finally gets into the 40s.
No additional brick work will take place until we get a string of two or three 45-degree days. The cold isn’t going to help the drywall mud dry quickly either. Since we are doing all of the interior painting ourselves, we are anxious for the weather to warm up so the paint will adhere properly and dry quickly, too. So, instead of a half-glass-full view we are taking the glass-half-empty approach and are still guessing at least four more weeks. On top of that, we still have exterior painting of the trim and staining of the front porch that will need to be done, and it must get much warmer for that. So we could be done in February, but not really be done until April. Blah!
On the bizarre side, I received an email from our lighting contractor asking for an immediate signature on the purchase order so he could place the lighting order. I signed it and sent it back with a reminder that I had done this previously on December 23, 2009…14 days ago…which is the same day my contractor came and paid for them. I just wanted to make sure the order didn’t get placed twice. He then left me a convoluted message apologizing for the confusion, that he accidentally didn’t place the order and will eat the cost of placing the rush order to get the lights in next week. He also said he left a message for the contractor to come by and pay…which he did 14 days ago. Not a real big deal, but just a little strange. He was very helpful and very patient, but what we told him one day seemed to be out of his memory the next. Out of sight out of mind, I guess. But we can’t do anything with the lights until we prime and paint, which we can’t do until they finish the drywall. I don’t think we will get to begin painting for another week, so I would rather the lights be kept nice and warm somewhere else because there is no room at the Smith house to put them until we are ready to hang them.
No additional brick work will take place until we get a string of two or three 45-degree days. The cold isn’t going to help the drywall mud dry quickly either. Since we are doing all of the interior painting ourselves, we are anxious for the weather to warm up so the paint will adhere properly and dry quickly, too. So, instead of a half-glass-full view we are taking the glass-half-empty approach and are still guessing at least four more weeks. On top of that, we still have exterior painting of the trim and staining of the front porch that will need to be done, and it must get much warmer for that. So we could be done in February, but not really be done until April. Blah!
On the bizarre side, I received an email from our lighting contractor asking for an immediate signature on the purchase order so he could place the lighting order. I signed it and sent it back with a reminder that I had done this previously on December 23, 2009…14 days ago…which is the same day my contractor came and paid for them. I just wanted to make sure the order didn’t get placed twice. He then left me a convoluted message apologizing for the confusion, that he accidentally didn’t place the order and will eat the cost of placing the rush order to get the lights in next week. He also said he left a message for the contractor to come by and pay…which he did 14 days ago. Not a real big deal, but just a little strange. He was very helpful and very patient, but what we told him one day seemed to be out of his memory the next. Out of sight out of mind, I guess. But we can’t do anything with the lights until we prime and paint, which we can’t do until they finish the drywall. I don’t think we will get to begin painting for another week, so I would rather the lights be kept nice and warm somewhere else because there is no room at the Smith house to put them until we are ready to hang them.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Tuesday, January 5, 2010 - Random Thoughts
Battled with the contractor over HVAC. We originally thought we were going to have one new unit covering the whole house. Contractor says we had agreed on one new unit for the addition, and the existing older unit for the existing house. He's wrong, but we are too far gone to turn back. Hope to strike some sort of deal with him Wednesday that would allow him to rework the ducts so all of the bedrooms are on the new unit, and everything else is on the old unit.
We now have a back door, and that was a battle that lasted way too long. The concrete frame was widened to 36-inches from a very skinny 30-inches, so it is now wide enough to easily get items in and out of the bottom level of the house.
Amazingly, the house is a little bit warmer now that the back door is in place. It also helps that all of the drywall is now in place and the drywall sub-contractor will be out Wednesday to starting mudding and skimming the walls. The problem now is getting the mud to dry quickly. Normally you would mud and come back and sand the next day, and repeat that process two more times for a total of six days. With it being as cold as it is, it might take twice that long.
Because of the cold weather, we have stopped placing bricks on the house. It has to be above freezing for the mortar to set properly, so we won't be seeing the brick masons for a least another week
The architect and builder will be on site Wednesday for a walk-through with me to ensure that we have no other issues like the HVAC issue the remainder of the project.
Sub-contractors and the project foreman were all very happy to see me go back to work Monday.
We now have a back door, and that was a battle that lasted way too long. The concrete frame was widened to 36-inches from a very skinny 30-inches, so it is now wide enough to easily get items in and out of the bottom level of the house.
Amazingly, the house is a little bit warmer now that the back door is in place. It also helps that all of the drywall is now in place and the drywall sub-contractor will be out Wednesday to starting mudding and skimming the walls. The problem now is getting the mud to dry quickly. Normally you would mud and come back and sand the next day, and repeat that process two more times for a total of six days. With it being as cold as it is, it might take twice that long.
Because of the cold weather, we have stopped placing bricks on the house. It has to be above freezing for the mortar to set properly, so we won't be seeing the brick masons for a least another week
The architect and builder will be on site Wednesday for a walk-through with me to ensure that we have no other issues like the HVAC issue the remainder of the project.
Sub-contractors and the project foreman were all very happy to see me go back to work Monday.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Monday, January 4, 2010 - Taking the Plunge
I watched in amazement and disbelief this past weekend, as I do each year, at the number of idiots who decide to take the polar bear plunge - jumping into a local pool or lake in freezing cold temperatures to prove, well, I don't really know what it proves. Running around with ice in one's hair after the fact is not my thought of New Year's entertainment. That is what football bowl games are for...in the warm confines of one's living room.
Fortunately, watching bowls games in my living room was on my agenda for New Year's weekend. Unfortunately, you may have noticed I left the word "warm" out of my weekend description. My house is cold. Very cold. And I hate the cold weather.
The workers have started to hang drywall throughout the house, which is a great sign of progress. However, it does nothing at this point to keep out the cold weather that has hit Nashville. Last night was my fourth night of sleeping in a very cold bedroom, completely clothed, and under thermal sheets, a down comforter, and a down throw blanket. I am actually very warm throughout the night, it's just getting into and out of bed that a icy challenge.
Four straight days of temperatures not getting above freezing and at least seven more days straight are in the forecast. Hopefully when they get things all taped up and covered with drywall mud, all of the little gaps and crevices will close up and allow us to keep some heat inside the house. A back door would be nice, too.
Fortunately, watching bowls games in my living room was on my agenda for New Year's weekend. Unfortunately, you may have noticed I left the word "warm" out of my weekend description. My house is cold. Very cold. And I hate the cold weather.
The workers have started to hang drywall throughout the house, which is a great sign of progress. However, it does nothing at this point to keep out the cold weather that has hit Nashville. Last night was my fourth night of sleeping in a very cold bedroom, completely clothed, and under thermal sheets, a down comforter, and a down throw blanket. I am actually very warm throughout the night, it's just getting into and out of bed that a icy challenge.
Four straight days of temperatures not getting above freezing and at least seven more days straight are in the forecast. Hopefully when they get things all taped up and covered with drywall mud, all of the little gaps and crevices will close up and allow us to keep some heat inside the house. A back door would be nice, too.
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