Day 93 - 10/30/11

So we have a new guy working on our job and I really like his work ethic.  He said he'd be here at 9:00 today and he was there on the dot!  And he was so distressed by the chaos in my garage, he cleaned the whole thing.  I helped cuz I felt guilty about some of it.  So now the insulation in the garage is all done and tomorrow they will finish everything they need to to pass inspection on Tuesday...hopefully...

Day 92 - 10/29/11

Well, it was a mixed bag inspection.  We passed the "parging" drainage inspection, but barely.  Apparently, they used the wrong gravel, and if my husband hadn't insisted on filter paper, the inspection would have failed.  And yes, that is SNOW you see on the ground, not lightly colored gravel.  Unbelievable. 

The inspection did not pass because we have to fix our rafters, install the access door to the storage area on the second floor, and various other little things, but the inspector did say we could put insulation in the outer walls.  I think he felt sorry for us because it was snowing.  I like the inspector - he's a stickler for quality and won't let our contractor get away with shoddy work.

Meanwhile, somehow a BIRD got into our house during the inspection! You can see him sitting on the cabinet to the left of the window.  He flew around the first floor once before flying out.  We think he got in through the garage.

It is amazing how much work CAN get done in one day.  It's been a long time since any progress on the house has happened, and BOOM, almost all our insulation is in.

The carpenters also fixed the rafter issue, but still need to put the metal brackets back on.

The snow fell all day long, and it was awfully pretty.  I'm feeling much more magnanimous now that I have insulation.  :)

Day 91 - 10/28/11

Ten days ago, I was annoyed.  I am now one step below irate.  I don't even have a name for it.  Not only has nothing happened this week, we found out today from the inspector that we missed an earlier inspection for the drainage around the foundation.  My contractor wasn't even there this morning to meet the inspector.  If my husband hadn't stayed home, we would've missed the inspection and not known why we didn't pass.  I don't even speak to the contractor anymore, except in clipped tones to clarify next steps. 

Luckily, my architect will tell me the real truth.  It turns out, we didn't have drainage pipes installed on the outside of the foundation.  The guys are now here, digging up all the dirt around the foundation so they can put in these pipes. 

The inspection is rescheduled for tomorrow morning.  Since inspectors don't usually work on Saturdays, we had to request a special overtime inspection.  I am not paying for any of this.  I'm not shelling out one penny for the extra labor, parts, lights they need to install since they won't finish before the sun goes down, or gas they're wasting driving around the area.

This is RIDICULOUS.  Time is moving backwards, and not in a good way.

Day 90 - 10/27/11

AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGHHHH!!!!!!!!  Yup, you guessed it, no inspection today.  Grrrrr...

I can't even believe we're on Day 90.  I can't believe I haven't taken a new picture of progress since Day 77.  Two weeks of nothing.  I can hardly speak to my contractor, this is getting so annoying. 

Day 89 - 10/26/11

So we passed one inspection - the water people OK'd the plumbing rough-in.  Now the closing inspector has to come tomorrow and OK all the rough-ins so we can finally install insulation and walls.  Since it's going to be in the 40s as a high temperature this weekend, I'm really pushing ahead.  Someday they will invent a contractor that doesn't have to be nagged daily.  :P

Day 88 - 10/25/11

Well, we had another snafu with the inspector arriving with no workers here to meet them, and my contractor got another tongue-lashing.  Luckily, my husband was home today and he took note of what still needed to be done in order for us to finally pass inspection.  Apparently, when they installed the drain pipe for the bathtub, they cut a hole through the joist underneath the floor.  This does not meet code, so the carpenters had to glue another joist next to the cut one. 

On a more fun note, I picked out the vanity, shower wall, and toilet today!  Seriously, there are just waaay too many design options.  It's a good thing I'm a fairly decisive person, otherwise, I'd have collapsed on the showroom floor!

The bottom tile is the floor, the walls will be the light purple on the sample card, the vanity wood is dark cherry (matches our bedroom furniture), the marbly square on top of the wood will be our vanity top, the little porcelain tile on the bottom left is our tub color (white), and the square on top of that is the color of our solid surface shower wall.

The toilet is a double flush system - a half flush for liquid waste and a full flush for big stuff...  :)

Day 84 - 10/21/11

Well, the last few days have been a lesson in patience.  My husband is much better at it than I am.  Apparently, the issue here is the closing inspection.  The electrical, plumbing, and HVAC all have to be approved by separate people before the closing inspector can OK it for drywall and siding.  Literally nothing that would cover any access points to the utilities can be accomplished while we coordinate all these inspections.  Meanwhile, I feel like the coordination should have happened last week, so when we wanted all the inspections done this week, they would have gone smoothly.  Now the inspections won't be done until Monday.

Some little things that were done: drywall patching on the wall connecting the master bedroom and bathroom, concrete stuff under the tub to prevent it from bowing and flexing, we got a new doorbell (surprise!)

Day 81 - 10/18/11

Nothing happened.  We have moved from displeased to annoyed.  My contractor does not want to see irate.  According to the week's schedule, we should have had an electrical inspection, the HVAC crew should have finished duct work, and siding installation should have begun.  It will be cold in a couple days and I require and was promised insulation.  We are two weeks past our original completion date and still have at least five weeks worth of work.  You know what's in five weeks?  Thanksgiving.  If I can't make a pumpkin pie for my husband on Thanksgiving, there will be hell to pay.

Day 80 - 10/17/11

Installed the second story window in the master bathroom and built the framing around the bathtub.  Not sure if the tub is really fastened in yet - hope not, cuz it doesn't look like the drains are set up. 

Day 78 - 10/15/11

Removed the old sink and toilet from the master bathroom.  Apparently that's all they could handle on a Saturday.  Displeased.  Wrote the contractor an e-mail asking him to detail his schedule for next week so we could keep an eye on progress.

Day 77 - 10/14/11

They took the plastic separating the old kitchen from the new one down and you can really imagine what the whole thing is going to look like now!  You can see the new sliding glass door, window, plumbing rough-in, wiring, and where the cabinets will hang from.  Yay!

Our bathtub and shower pan also arrived today, but nothing's hooked up yet.

Day 76 - 10/13/11

New lights installed in the kitchen - so nice and bright!

Day 75 - 10/12/11

They put in framing for the pocket doors that will lead into our closet and toilet nook.  The electrician started his piece today as well.  He says we need a bigger circuit box.  But the important thing that happened today was picking of tile floor in bathroom!  It's not too exciting - creamy gray.  We also stopped by the Kohler showroom and picked out our bathtub and shower.  I will go back at the end of the week to pick out the shower wall, vanity/sinks, and hardware stuff.  So many decisions to make!

Day 74 - 10/11/11

We were away for my cousin's wedding this weekend, so we missed some of the day-to-day stuff, but when we got back, our closet had been opened up to the new area...

we had a big support beam running across our kitchen...

our old shower had been removed...

and there was dust EVERYWHERE!

Day 68 - 10/5/11

They put framing inside our kitchen - apparently this supports the wall while they pull out the sliding glass door and prep it for the real support beam. 

We also have paper covering major walkways in our house. 

Spent about an hour clearing out the tall dresser from our bedroom and emptying out the closet.  Man, we have a lot of clothes!

Day 67 - 10/4/11

New bathroom framed out!  I can now see where our toilet nook will be...it's in the right hand corner there.

The storage area above our garage is going to be quite large - it's my husband's new man cave!

I also had to clear all our stuff out of the bathroom since they're starting to take it apart...that's where our window used to be.

Day 64 - 10/1/11

Happy October!  Fall has arrived with a vengeance.  Our backyard was cleaned up yesterday, so it doesn't look as much like a junkyard.  It's pretty darn cold and rainy today, but no dripping in our house!  Now all they have to do is close the hole in my basement ceiling so it doesn't get so cold and drafty down there.  The carpenter got the flu, so I don't think anything is going to happen in the near future.  Hopefully the electrician will get his permit soon and we can start that whole process.

Day 62 - 9/29/11

No, I haven't forgotten about the blog.  Not much has happened that's notable.  They finished the roof - it's all shingled, but I'm too short to take a picture of it.  :)  The real test will be this weekend, when it's supposed to rain more.