I've been spending money again. Today I ordered another extending patio table - this one extends to 130", a full 20" longer than the last one - with six chairs, a 10' by 13' rectangle patio umbrella (in taupe Sunbrella fabric), and an umbrella stand capable of stabilizing 70lbs of weight. As the umbrella is custom made, it won't be ready for about four weeks (i.e. the end of the summer), but the table and chairs will be here next Tuesday. This will give us dining capacity for 22, which is about what we need.
I've also sent my three old teak chairs - purchased about 13 years ago in England - to the patio furniture vendor to be refinished to their original brown color.
Meanwhile, back at the outdoor kitchen, the appliance guy was here again today to tweak the warming drawer, which is now straight in its space.
Inside the house, SS2 was here this morning with Dave the Bath Vendor, who started refinishing the tub in the guest bathroom. It stinks.
Remaining items:
The House:
- two exterior lights are not working.
- screen doors will be coming in about 10 days
- one sliding screen door is loose on its track
The Garden:
- still some plants on site needing to go in
- waiting for some plants to arrive, most notably two espaliered mandarin orange trees for the fence
- grass to be laid in the back
- mulch to be added everywhere
- landscape lighting to be installed (waiting for lights to come)
- the pool cover is still not closing properly every time (small gap on one side)
- pool light is not working, and different subcontractors are currently blaming each other
- mastick around the pool
- cleaning and re-sealing of the stone patio(to combat the redwood staining)
- doors under the outdoor kitchen sink need adjusting (one has sagged)
- fence repair where a couple of planks have fallen down
- creation of gate next to the office, for the "dog run" area
- a stone has fallen out of the hardscape and needs to be glued back in
Showing posts with label money. Show all posts
Showing posts with label money. Show all posts
Monday, July 12, 2010
Monday, June 7, 2010
Men Everywhere
I have some work to do, but can't do it because the painters are in the office, touching up the ceiling. The painters are also working on the exterior.
There is also a man changing out the door hardware on the front door. Alas, as always, there is a problem with the product - or should that be, we were fooled by yet another DIY effort performed by the previous owners. Turns out that they sawed off part of the handle mechanism to make the hardware fit. The guy from Jim's Bunch that is trying to install the replacement is now wondering what to do, and waiting for Site Supervisor II to appear from his other site.
In the back yard, men are digging trenches for the irrigation and lighting conduits. They were here on Saturday morning at 7:30am, digging just outside our window. Hubby lay there half awake asking weakly, "Is that really workers out there?"
In the front yard last week we had our new gate installed. It cost $1,600 and is the wrong color. As Little Starlet helpfully demonstrated, you can scrape the paint coating off with your finger nail. I pointed this out to the Landscape Designer, and she is going to chase up the metal guys to get this put right.
Last week I also ordered shades and drapes for the guest bedroom and family room. A painfully large sum of money, but at least we're not paying all in one go.
We have guests arriving next weekend, so we've been gently "encouraging" the construction crew to get a move on.
There is also a man changing out the door hardware on the front door. Alas, as always, there is a problem with the product - or should that be, we were fooled by yet another DIY effort performed by the previous owners. Turns out that they sawed off part of the handle mechanism to make the hardware fit. The guy from Jim's Bunch that is trying to install the replacement is now wondering what to do, and waiting for Site Supervisor II to appear from his other site.
In the back yard, men are digging trenches for the irrigation and lighting conduits. They were here on Saturday morning at 7:30am, digging just outside our window. Hubby lay there half awake asking weakly, "Is that really workers out there?"
In the front yard last week we had our new gate installed. It cost $1,600 and is the wrong color. As Little Starlet helpfully demonstrated, you can scrape the paint coating off with your finger nail. I pointed this out to the Landscape Designer, and she is going to chase up the metal guys to get this put right.
Last week I also ordered shades and drapes for the guest bedroom and family room. A painfully large sum of money, but at least we're not paying all in one go.
We have guests arriving next weekend, so we've been gently "encouraging" the construction crew to get a move on.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Slow progress...but will it never end?
Welcome to week 29 of our remodel.
I know things have been quiet in the Cardboard Box's blog recently. Well, there's not been a whole lot to report. First of all, we've had rain again. Bah. Second, we've been waiting, and waiting, and waiting...for subcontractors...for supplies...for an act of God maybe.
Site Supervisor II had a bit of a triumph last week on the kitchen skylights. He finally found someone who actually knew something about Velux windows. The diagnosis was that we need insect screens which will keep a magic button depressed, thus enabling the windows to open. They are now on order and, in the meantime, SS2 has put a stick pressing one of the magic buttons, and we now have an openable window. Yay! He's installed the new blinds too. We're waiting on a new transformer and new keypad, and hopefully that will result in the skylights being fixed.
The electricians came back yesterday to install the exterior lights. (We still have a couple on back order.) They also installed a couple of new telephone plates inside - with the result, it seems, that our phone is now out of order.
It would be nice if we could finally get the interior of the house fully complete. We have new furniture on the way for the family room, and we particularly don't want painting to be done after it arrives. We've not seen a sniff of the painters and the majority of the outstanding work is now for them.
Alas, SS2 has gone off to start supervising another job which is not so close to completion. I fear this will result in a long slow tail of our unfinished items being polished off.
On the landscaping, the inclement weather has not put the hardscapers off. They can't grout when it's wet, but they have finished laying all the ashlar paving. They've done an amazing job of laying out the crazy paving, and are waiting for the weather to improve before mortaring it. In the meantime, they've moved on to the stone cladding on the back wall, under the redwood trees, and the walls of the outdoor kitchen. I'll take photos tomorrow when it's not pouring with rain.
Just paid a bill for almost $8,000 for the granite countertop for the outdoor kitchen.
Finally, a prize to anyone who can explain why we have this little witch's hat on the roof?
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Shopaholics
I took Hubby and the kids down to Scandinavian Designs in Cupertino this afternoon to check out the bed. After much discussion of whether we wanted mocha (his choice) or cherry (my choice), we plumped for the cherry. I poisoned his mind by commenting that the mocha had a purple hue under the table lamp lights. We held off buying night stands (bedside tables to the Brits) as we don't think they'll fit in the space where we're planning to put the bed. They can always be bought later if necessary. Follow this link to see a picture of the bed ("Reflections"). We also chose a new mattress from Beauty Rest. This will be delivered next weekend.
We took a break in Peet's Coffee, then headed into a store we'd not visited before, called "Nu Image Furniture for Modern Living". Very stylish stuff. We ended up making an impulse purchase of a funky coffee table which has two glass surfaces and chrome legs that allow the surfaces to swivel across each other; four kitchen chairs in orange and white plastic with chrome legs; and three matching bar stools in orange/white/chrome. These should arrive in about two weeks.
We are definitely in stage two of the remodel now. Stage one is when you spend all your money on updating and extending the house. Stage two is when you spend all the money that remains on furniture to fill it up and make it look like the remodel was a good idea. Home Beautiful magazine, here we come.
We took a break in Peet's Coffee, then headed into a store we'd not visited before, called "Nu Image Furniture for Modern Living". Very stylish stuff. We ended up making an impulse purchase of a funky coffee table which has two glass surfaces and chrome legs that allow the surfaces to swivel across each other; four kitchen chairs in orange and white plastic with chrome legs; and three matching bar stools in orange/white/chrome. These should arrive in about two weeks.
We are definitely in stage two of the remodel now. Stage one is when you spend all your money on updating and extending the house. Stage two is when you spend all the money that remains on furniture to fill it up and make it look like the remodel was a good idea. Home Beautiful magazine, here we come.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Views of the Family Room/Bathroom
The cabinets at the base of the "media center" have an enormously expensive metal grill in rubbed brass over them, backed with very cheap speaker cloth (in "cocoa"). This is to help the remote controls communicate with their machines. See also the window seat, which is long and wide enough for an adult to sleep on (and, yes, the purple cushion fits beautifully, we just haven't installed it yet to prevent dust contamination). Also a photo here of the guest bathroom, still in progress, but now with a glass door on the shower.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Wet Weekend Round Up
So little seemed to happen last week that I gave up writing the daily blog. So here's a brief summary of action:
- wood floors went into the bedroom, office, and the base of Little Starlet's closet, and each received their sanding and first two coats of varnishy stuff;
- the gimble mounted lights went into the bedroom and office ceilings;
- the snap-on outlet plates were installed in the kitchen (mostly);
- the baseboard and crown molding were painted in the master bedroom;
- the tile was almost finished in the guest bathroom, except for a small area around the toilet sewer pipe;
- the tub deck in the guest bathroom had the corner rounded to eliminate potentially injurious point;
- some of the cabinets in the kitchen were adjusted (again);
- the shelf inserts inside the main food pantry were installed - but they have to be removed because now the rolling shelves have no way to come out.
- the door bell was repaired, and now plays the first couple of bars of the 1812 overture (not sure this is a big improvement on the last tune).
- wood siding installation began on the exterior of the bedroom/bathroom
- the "scratch" coat for the stucco was installed on the office/laundry and the rear main wall.
That may sound like a lot, but is actually not a great deal. Most days we only had one or two guys here, which is a big difference. There was no action in the landscaping at all, as our stone layer was off with family issues.
In other news, I had a bit of taxpayer triumph. A couple of months ago, Site Supervisor II spoke with the City about repairing our sidewalk and road. The City told him that it would be ten years before they were back on our street, and that we were essentially out of luck. Last week I took matters into my own hands - inspired by new puddled formed by new rain - and contacted the Public Works Department. Long story short, they came to inspect and agreed to add our section to their repair schedule for 2010. In fact they said there were 20 places on our street that needed repair, so they'd be repairing the whole block! Hubby says, maybe they checked the computer to see how much property tax we pay....
- wood floors went into the bedroom, office, and the base of Little Starlet's closet, and each received their sanding and first two coats of varnishy stuff;
- the gimble mounted lights went into the bedroom and office ceilings;
- the snap-on outlet plates were installed in the kitchen (mostly);
- the baseboard and crown molding were painted in the master bedroom;
- the tile was almost finished in the guest bathroom, except for a small area around the toilet sewer pipe;
- the tub deck in the guest bathroom had the corner rounded to eliminate potentially injurious point;
- some of the cabinets in the kitchen were adjusted (again);
- the shelf inserts inside the main food pantry were installed - but they have to be removed because now the rolling shelves have no way to come out.
- the door bell was repaired, and now plays the first couple of bars of the 1812 overture (not sure this is a big improvement on the last tune).
- wood siding installation began on the exterior of the bedroom/bathroom
- the "scratch" coat for the stucco was installed on the office/laundry and the rear main wall.
That may sound like a lot, but is actually not a great deal. Most days we only had one or two guys here, which is a big difference. There was no action in the landscaping at all, as our stone layer was off with family issues.
In other news, I had a bit of taxpayer triumph. A couple of months ago, Site Supervisor II spoke with the City about repairing our sidewalk and road. The City told him that it would be ten years before they were back on our street, and that we were essentially out of luck. Last week I took matters into my own hands - inspired by new puddled formed by new rain - and contacted the Public Works Department. Long story short, they came to inspect and agreed to add our section to their repair schedule for 2010. In fact they said there were 20 places on our street that needed repair, so they'd be repairing the whole block! Hubby says, maybe they checked the computer to see how much property tax we pay....
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Properly Appraised and Making Progress: It's Official
Mysterious activity outside the house today by a bunch of Spanish speaking guys I've not seen before. They seem to be trimming the stucco back from the exciting shiney flashing. Well...ok.
Damien the Irish Concrete Guy has been here with his crew reforming around the walkways in the front yard. They demolished the incorrect concrete yesterday and cleared up today, new rebars, new forms, touching up and tweaking. Damien spent twenty minutes with a leaf blower - no exaggeration - creating a big cloud of dust, apparently making sure that the front door step is completely clean. I now hesitate to step on it at all. Damien tells me that the concrete will be poured for sure tomorrow (unless it rains, which it is not forecast to do). By the time Hubby returns from his trip to Baltimore, there should be hard concrete upon which to walk to the front door. Whoopee doo!
Inside, the office is really starting to take shape. Two of Jim's Bunch have been working all day installing the cabinets. We have four cabinets with lateral files, the desk tops, and book cases. It's actually looking like a room at last. We also had two people over today to give quotes on the wood floor for the office and the bedroom.
At lunchtime the appraiser from our insurance company popped by to have a look. I got a call yesterday to say he was coming, so I was able to ask Site Supervisor II to make sure that the fire extinguishers were in the right places. The fence that the appraiser had asked to be erected between the front and back yards was not there, but he could clearly see the men working away on the concrete forming in exactly that place, so that did not create any issue. My only worry is that when the job is finished, the appraiser will insist on pushing our house rebuild value over the magic threshold ($1.5 million) at which the insurance company will require us to install sprinklers and an alarm system. When he came out to do the appraisal in September, before our work started, he valued the rebuild at $1.45 million.... That was before we added the kitchen remodel and a bunch of other stuff. Luckily, this figure doesn't include the pool or any of the hardscape.
Writing another check for the house remodel work today. So far we've paid just over $400,000. This time round, we even have the money in the back account already! Nice.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
The heat is on
More rain today, lots of it. Big puddles and getting bigger all the time. The road outside the house is semi-flooded. This weather is forecast to continue through next week.
Still, there is activity at the Cardboard Box. The HVAC guys have just arrived with the new furnace for the bedroom/family room end of the house. They carried it with enormous difficulty across the muddy patch that used to be our front yard, eventually having to take it out of the cardboard container which simply disintegrated in their hands. Tomorrow they will be under the house installing more duct work.
Ron the Plumber also came in today to discuss gas lines - apparently we will be pulling 100,000 BTUs for the BBQ grill island, which means we have to upgrade our gas lines. The Landscape Designer thought maybe we could have that tagged onto the line for the pool heater, but it's not big enough.
The windows are waiting for the rain to stop for installation. The faucets are all ordered and some have arrived too. The door furniture order is about to go in. We finalized the plans for the family room TV cabinet and the study file drawers this morning too. In order to get the kitchen cabinets, and to pay for other things, of course, I wrote a check for the fourth installment of the construction company's charges this morning: $82,000 and change.
On the landscaping, more deliveries this morning: many white plastic pipes and an enormous black one, which The Architect thinks must be the dissipator for the back lawn (i.e. the key part of the drainage). Apparently this gets sunk in the ground, filled with gravel and all the drainage pipes attach to it. We could do with a bit of that right now.
Still, there is activity at the Cardboard Box. The HVAC guys have just arrived with the new furnace for the bedroom/family room end of the house. They carried it with enormous difficulty across the muddy patch that used to be our front yard, eventually having to take it out of the cardboard container which simply disintegrated in their hands. Tomorrow they will be under the house installing more duct work.
Ron the Plumber also came in today to discuss gas lines - apparently we will be pulling 100,000 BTUs for the BBQ grill island, which means we have to upgrade our gas lines. The Landscape Designer thought maybe we could have that tagged onto the line for the pool heater, but it's not big enough.
The windows are waiting for the rain to stop for installation. The faucets are all ordered and some have arrived too. The door furniture order is about to go in. We finalized the plans for the family room TV cabinet and the study file drawers this morning too. In order to get the kitchen cabinets, and to pay for other things, of course, I wrote a check for the fourth installment of the construction company's charges this morning: $82,000 and change.
On the landscaping, more deliveries this morning: many white plastic pipes and an enormous black one, which The Architect thinks must be the dissipator for the back lawn (i.e. the key part of the drainage). Apparently this gets sunk in the ground, filled with gravel and all the drainage pipes attach to it. We could do with a bit of that right now.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Pool progress again
The weather did its Californian monsoon thing this morning. One moment dry and sunny, the next pouring buckets, another moment sunny again. Result: big puddles all across the back yard.
Not much happening in the house at the moment. The electricians were here again today, moving cables and panels and such like, in preparation for a slew of city inspections tomorrow. I hope none of the inspectors cares about the tree protection fencing, which is leaning at a rakeish angle.
According to Site Supervisor II, the house remodel is now being held up by the windows order. They really can't get on with finishing the walls until the windows are installed, which makes sense. I imagine we'll learn more about the impact on the schedule at tomorrow's site meeting.
The landscaping is going along though. The Jolly Demo Man finished clearing all of the rubble away, front and back, and the BobCats have gone again. So we are ready for hardscaping action, pending completion of the necessary elements of the pool. In the pool, two men have been working away today installing the waterline tile and it looks just about done. I'm not sure if coping or plastering comes next.
In other news, yesterday I received three invoices from the Arborist. Turns out that his initial estimate did not include the charges for the crane hire, so his bill is twice as much as his estimate. Also it looks like he is trying to charge me twice for removing the same pine stump. I complained to the Landscape Designer about this - as she recommended we use him - and she said she'd call him.
Not much happening in the house at the moment. The electricians were here again today, moving cables and panels and such like, in preparation for a slew of city inspections tomorrow. I hope none of the inspectors cares about the tree protection fencing, which is leaning at a rakeish angle.
According to Site Supervisor II, the house remodel is now being held up by the windows order. They really can't get on with finishing the walls until the windows are installed, which makes sense. I imagine we'll learn more about the impact on the schedule at tomorrow's site meeting.
The landscaping is going along though. The Jolly Demo Man finished clearing all of the rubble away, front and back, and the BobCats have gone again. So we are ready for hardscaping action, pending completion of the necessary elements of the pool. In the pool, two men have been working away today installing the waterline tile and it looks just about done. I'm not sure if coping or plastering comes next.
In other news, yesterday I received three invoices from the Arborist. Turns out that his initial estimate did not include the charges for the crane hire, so his bill is twice as much as his estimate. Also it looks like he is trying to charge me twice for removing the same pine stump. I complained to the Landscape Designer about this - as she recommended we use him - and she said she'd call him.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Rain, Rain, Go Away, come again on Friday
It rained a lot over night, and our back yard is doing its best Somme impression.
The Jolly Demo Guy was out in back again this morning with his jack-hammer. Quite what he could find to dig out this time was beyond me, but he managed to produce yet more bricks and rocks. Astonishing.
He is also working away at the front clearing rubble. We are the proud foster parents of a CAT in the back and a BobCat in the front. Yesterday the back yard CAT was busily removing piles of debris from the pool, and then it stopped. This morning I noticed that we still have two large piles of rubble in the far corner of the back yard. Are they, like, someone else's rubble to deal with? Do the demo guys only deign to take their own rubble? Oh come on.
The pool has a puddle in the bottom from the rain. I'm not sure what comes next for the pool, could be the tile or the new plaster. The new coping is supposed to be arriving next week some time.
I approved new doors for the house interior today. Chose MDF over Douglas Pine on the grounds that it is (1) harder and less prone to denting, (2) easier to prep for painting and gives a smoother finish and (3) is cheaper. This may be the first item in the whole remodel that we've chosen (or had chosen for us) the cheaper option.
Hubby is still engaged in a life-or-death struggle with the landscape designer over his choice of BBQ grill for the outdoor kitchen. He keeps saying "I want charcoal" and she keeps sending over plans including a gas grill. I said to her last week, there's a "Man he make fire" thing in play here. Hubby will either get his way or she will grind him down and make him change his mind. I'm just an innocent spectator on the side lines.
Quite a lot of banging today from the bedroom/bathroom addition. It's a little frustrating because it is now impossible to have a nose about and see what they're up to. At the end of each day the workers nail up temporary shutters on all the openings to the outside, which is good for security, but bad for curiosity. I know the electricians have been in today. They stopped me to ask what some switches operated, and of course I didn't know. I never know. They must think I am some gormless bimbo, or that I am a recently acquired trophy wife! (LOL, as the young folks say.)
The Jolly Demo Guy was out in back again this morning with his jack-hammer. Quite what he could find to dig out this time was beyond me, but he managed to produce yet more bricks and rocks. Astonishing.
He is also working away at the front clearing rubble. We are the proud foster parents of a CAT in the back and a BobCat in the front. Yesterday the back yard CAT was busily removing piles of debris from the pool, and then it stopped. This morning I noticed that we still have two large piles of rubble in the far corner of the back yard. Are they, like, someone else's rubble to deal with? Do the demo guys only deign to take their own rubble? Oh come on.
The pool has a puddle in the bottom from the rain. I'm not sure what comes next for the pool, could be the tile or the new plaster. The new coping is supposed to be arriving next week some time.
I approved new doors for the house interior today. Chose MDF over Douglas Pine on the grounds that it is (1) harder and less prone to denting, (2) easier to prep for painting and gives a smoother finish and (3) is cheaper. This may be the first item in the whole remodel that we've chosen (or had chosen for us) the cheaper option.
Hubby is still engaged in a life-or-death struggle with the landscape designer over his choice of BBQ grill for the outdoor kitchen. He keeps saying "I want charcoal" and she keeps sending over plans including a gas grill. I said to her last week, there's a "Man he make fire" thing in play here. Hubby will either get his way or she will grind him down and make him change his mind. I'm just an innocent spectator on the side lines.
Quite a lot of banging today from the bedroom/bathroom addition. It's a little frustrating because it is now impossible to have a nose about and see what they're up to. At the end of each day the workers nail up temporary shutters on all the openings to the outside, which is good for security, but bad for curiosity. I know the electricians have been in today. They stopped me to ask what some switches operated, and of course I didn't know. I never know. They must think I am some gormless bimbo, or that I am a recently acquired trophy wife! (LOL, as the young folks say.)
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Rapid Fire Decisions
I just had a five minute conversation with Achilles and told him that we could give up on trying to reuse the Corian counter tops. We're going to go with Caesarstone (which is what our architect recommends and also was the recommendation of Monday's countertop guy). Achilles will get quotes.
I also reminded him to give us the quote for replacing the kitchen floor. I told him we're inclined to do it. Off the top of his head he thought it would be in the region of $8,000 to replace. Usually when I talk to Achilles, we come out of it with an additional $10,000 bill, so this is a better than the usual result.
I also reminded him to give us the quote for replacing the kitchen floor. I told him we're inclined to do it. Off the top of his head he thought it would be in the region of $8,000 to replace. Usually when I talk to Achilles, we come out of it with an additional $10,000 bill, so this is a better than the usual result.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Hardscape starting
It's dry and sunny today so the place has exploded with people.
Mike the Pool Guy is in the pool drilling more holes in it.
Someone from the hardscape company is demolishing an old built-in seat under the redwood trees (concrete and planks). To do this they've had to move some of the tree protection fencing - shh, don't tell the city.
I got home from volunteering in the school library this morning to find a counter top salesman in the kitchen measuring up. I liked the way that he just said hi and carried on. Luckily I've got used to meeting strange men in my house. After he'd finished, we had a conversation about Corian versus manufactured stone versus granite. He thought manufactured stone was the way to go: a bit greener, plus harder than granite and a lot harder than Corian. He also thought that removing and replacing the existing counter top was a bad idea. He thought the shape of the current counter top left something to be desired: the overhang by the cooktop will always be prone to splitting in the heat, the breakfast bar area isn't properly supported (should be 6 inches deep, not 8 inches without support) and the bull nose at the edge of the counter top allows liquids to run into the top drawers (which it does).
The guys from Jim's Bunch are working away outside like maniacs. They appear to be putting sheathing on the roof joists on the office/laundry side. Over the weekend, in between rain showers, I took a quick look at what they'd been doing and it seemed that they'd started to install the ceiling joists there. Putting some kind of roof on the new additions would be a good thing. Everything looked pretty mucky after all the rain we had this weekend.
Can't see any action on the bedroom/bathroom addition. I wonder if they're waiting for foundation work?
We found a problem with the wall in Deep Thought's bedroom yesterday. It could be a leak, but we think it more likely that they nailed the tarpaulin to the sheetrock on her wall, causing it to splinter. Doesn't look like a big deal, but I'll be pointing it out on Thursday.
We got a very large invoice for an installment payment on Friday. Waiting for our architect to say we should pay it.
Mike the Pool Guy is in the pool drilling more holes in it.
Someone from the hardscape company is demolishing an old built-in seat under the redwood trees (concrete and planks). To do this they've had to move some of the tree protection fencing - shh, don't tell the city.
I got home from volunteering in the school library this morning to find a counter top salesman in the kitchen measuring up. I liked the way that he just said hi and carried on. Luckily I've got used to meeting strange men in my house. After he'd finished, we had a conversation about Corian versus manufactured stone versus granite. He thought manufactured stone was the way to go: a bit greener, plus harder than granite and a lot harder than Corian. He also thought that removing and replacing the existing counter top was a bad idea. He thought the shape of the current counter top left something to be desired: the overhang by the cooktop will always be prone to splitting in the heat, the breakfast bar area isn't properly supported (should be 6 inches deep, not 8 inches without support) and the bull nose at the edge of the counter top allows liquids to run into the top drawers (which it does).
The guys from Jim's Bunch are working away outside like maniacs. They appear to be putting sheathing on the roof joists on the office/laundry side. Over the weekend, in between rain showers, I took a quick look at what they'd been doing and it seemed that they'd started to install the ceiling joists there. Putting some kind of roof on the new additions would be a good thing. Everything looked pretty mucky after all the rain we had this weekend.
Can't see any action on the bedroom/bathroom addition. I wonder if they're waiting for foundation work?
We found a problem with the wall in Deep Thought's bedroom yesterday. It could be a leak, but we think it more likely that they nailed the tarpaulin to the sheetrock on her wall, causing it to splinter. Doesn't look like a big deal, but I'll be pointing it out on Thursday.
We got a very large invoice for an installment payment on Friday. Waiting for our architect to say we should pay it.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Latest construction problem
We had a two and a half hour site meeting today, with Achilles, the Site Supervisor, The Architect, Jim the Boss, the Landscape Designer, the guys from the cabinet company, the pool remodelling guy, and Mr Hardscape. Hubby joined us about half way in and instantly started to try to make decisions, which isn't allowed at all.
The first 45 minutes of the meeting was spent (sans cabinet guys and landscaping crew) outside the house staring at the front where the bedroom/bathroom addition is being created. So it turns out that the existing house is not quite square. The addition has been built square onto the end of the family room, with the side walls perpendicular to the end wall; but the end wall was not perpendicular to the existing side walls. Are you following? The result is that the new part of the house does not line up with the old part of the house. The old walls lean away from the new walls and the overall line is not flat.
The Architect is very exercised by this error, which could have been compensated for during the foundation pouring if anyone had noticed. She claims that it's all to do with there being too many supervisors involved in actually doing the work, and not enough of the usual workmen who actually know what they're doing. That sounds a bit feeble to us, but hey. As a matter of fact, we're not talking about 12 inches, or even 2 inches in difference. The Architect says the difference is between an inch and an inch and a half; but she says that will be enough to be visible. There was much talk of amending the gutter line on the eaves so that the main sight line from the front will be straight, and of "furring" with felt inside the walls to compensate for the lack of straightness.
One option, of course, would be to pull the whole thing out and start again; but Jim isn't keen on that (as they'd have to bear the cost) and we're not keen (as we'd be put back four weeks in the project). So I guess a fudge is where we'll end up.
This explains why there has been a lot of work going on around the office/laundry and none on the bedroom side.
Other activity today: By the end of Monday, all that stood between us and the elements in the kitchen was a layer of fiber glass insulation. So we requested a dust wall to provide a bit of security and fewer drafts. Today Azmir has been building a very study looking wall out of 2 by 4s and plywood across the side of the kitchen. Behind it the guys have pulled out the windows in the kitchen and the toilet room. They've demolished the external wall of the toilet, and look like they will be pulling out the wall with the kitchen cabinet and dead fridge very soon.
The framers have erected the roof ridge across the laundry and office and have started to frame the gable end.
With the Landscape Designer, we met with Mike the pool remodeller and Mr Hardscape. What amused Hubby and I the most was the fact that we had no discussion of the price at all - it was totally taken as read that we would accept the figures, and of course we have. We agreed to the raising of our entire back yard two inches. Mike the Pool Guy put his pump into our pool to start draining it. Mr Hardscape said he'd be back next week to demolish the back yard. Hubby and the Landscape Designer had more discussion of the "outdoor kitchen" and he was persuaded to add an ice maker to the design!
(No photos because we're moving onto a new computer and I still have to reload the camera software. There's always something new to keep a gal busy.)
The first 45 minutes of the meeting was spent (sans cabinet guys and landscaping crew) outside the house staring at the front where the bedroom/bathroom addition is being created. So it turns out that the existing house is not quite square. The addition has been built square onto the end of the family room, with the side walls perpendicular to the end wall; but the end wall was not perpendicular to the existing side walls. Are you following? The result is that the new part of the house does not line up with the old part of the house. The old walls lean away from the new walls and the overall line is not flat.
The Architect is very exercised by this error, which could have been compensated for during the foundation pouring if anyone had noticed. She claims that it's all to do with there being too many supervisors involved in actually doing the work, and not enough of the usual workmen who actually know what they're doing. That sounds a bit feeble to us, but hey. As a matter of fact, we're not talking about 12 inches, or even 2 inches in difference. The Architect says the difference is between an inch and an inch and a half; but she says that will be enough to be visible. There was much talk of amending the gutter line on the eaves so that the main sight line from the front will be straight, and of "furring" with felt inside the walls to compensate for the lack of straightness.
One option, of course, would be to pull the whole thing out and start again; but Jim isn't keen on that (as they'd have to bear the cost) and we're not keen (as we'd be put back four weeks in the project). So I guess a fudge is where we'll end up.
This explains why there has been a lot of work going on around the office/laundry and none on the bedroom side.
Other activity today: By the end of Monday, all that stood between us and the elements in the kitchen was a layer of fiber glass insulation. So we requested a dust wall to provide a bit of security and fewer drafts. Today Azmir has been building a very study looking wall out of 2 by 4s and plywood across the side of the kitchen. Behind it the guys have pulled out the windows in the kitchen and the toilet room. They've demolished the external wall of the toilet, and look like they will be pulling out the wall with the kitchen cabinet and dead fridge very soon.
The framers have erected the roof ridge across the laundry and office and have started to frame the gable end.
With the Landscape Designer, we met with Mike the pool remodeller and Mr Hardscape. What amused Hubby and I the most was the fact that we had no discussion of the price at all - it was totally taken as read that we would accept the figures, and of course we have. We agreed to the raising of our entire back yard two inches. Mike the Pool Guy put his pump into our pool to start draining it. Mr Hardscape said he'd be back next week to demolish the back yard. Hubby and the Landscape Designer had more discussion of the "outdoor kitchen" and he was persuaded to add an ice maker to the design!
(No photos because we're moving onto a new computer and I still have to reload the camera software. There's always something new to keep a gal busy.)
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Landscaping update
All I can say is, HOLY COW, who knew that landscaping could be that expensive? We are meeting the Landscape Designer tomorrow to talk over the - large - estimates for the hardscape.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Hammer, Saw, Drill, Hammer, Saw, Drill
Plenty of activity around The Cardboard Box today.
In the new bedroom/bathroom area, the guys from Jim's Bunch have demolished some of the existing framing that separated the old bathroom from the family room, and they have installed a post to hold up the ceiling/roof in preparation for rebuilding the walls.
(The new bedroom starts to take shape.)
Out front, a couple of Latino guys are crawling around over and under the new floor joists of the bedroom addition, hammering, drilling and generally making construction noise which I presume has some overall purpose.
In the office/laundry addition, Azmir (who is Bosnian) and Senmet (who is Egyptian) are installing floor joists under the supervision of the framing subcontractor (who seems to be from Texas). In the kitchen, a plumber and a gas engineer are working together to move our washer and dryer into the garage. There is currently a large man lying on the kitchen floor with his head, arms and shoulders dangling down into the crawl space through the hole that Azmir cut a couple of weeks ago.
Much drilling and sawing and hammering noise throughout the house.
Yesterday afternoon I got a call from the Site Supervisor saying we need to have selected our new washer and dryer by the end of the weekend, so that they know where to put the dryer vents etc. So that's on the list for the weekend, along with making a final decision on the medicine cabinets for the new bathroom (do we want them custom made so they are flush with the wall, or do we want to buy ready made from Restoration Hardware which will stick out a bit).
Over the weekend we will also need to make some decisions about the landscaping. I had a good meeting with the Landscape Designer yesterday. She proposed raising the sides of the pool by three inches so that the grade of the lot can be altered, with the effect that water would drain away from the house instead of towards it, as it does at the moment. (Hm, does that sound expensive to you?) Also, she brought estimates for the work to put the pool cover box under ground instead of on top, which would allow the cover to have runners under the coping and thus hidden out of the way, instead of on the surface so that they run along the coping. (Are you keeping up?) The estimates for that specific piece of work run around $40,000. Hubby swallowed quite hard when I told him that. He was thinking, maybe $10,000...
In the new bedroom/bathroom area, the guys from Jim's Bunch have demolished some of the existing framing that separated the old bathroom from the family room, and they have installed a post to hold up the ceiling/roof in preparation for rebuilding the walls.
(The new bedroom starts to take shape.)
Out front, a couple of Latino guys are crawling around over and under the new floor joists of the bedroom addition, hammering, drilling and generally making construction noise which I presume has some overall purpose.
In the office/laundry addition, Azmir (who is Bosnian) and Senmet (who is Egyptian) are installing floor joists under the supervision of the framing subcontractor (who seems to be from Texas). In the kitchen, a plumber and a gas engineer are working together to move our washer and dryer into the garage. There is currently a large man lying on the kitchen floor with his head, arms and shoulders dangling down into the crawl space through the hole that Azmir cut a couple of weeks ago.
Much drilling and sawing and hammering noise throughout the house.
Yesterday afternoon I got a call from the Site Supervisor saying we need to have selected our new washer and dryer by the end of the weekend, so that they know where to put the dryer vents etc. So that's on the list for the weekend, along with making a final decision on the medicine cabinets for the new bathroom (do we want them custom made so they are flush with the wall, or do we want to buy ready made from Restoration Hardware which will stick out a bit).
Over the weekend we will also need to make some decisions about the landscaping. I had a good meeting with the Landscape Designer yesterday. She proposed raising the sides of the pool by three inches so that the grade of the lot can be altered, with the effect that water would drain away from the house instead of towards it, as it does at the moment. (Hm, does that sound expensive to you?) Also, she brought estimates for the work to put the pool cover box under ground instead of on top, which would allow the cover to have runners under the coping and thus hidden out of the way, instead of on the surface so that they run along the coping. (Are you keeping up?) The estimates for that specific piece of work run around $40,000. Hubby swallowed quite hard when I told him that. He was thinking, maybe $10,000...
Monday, November 9, 2009
Day of Reckoning
I'm back from my trip and, as you can see, Hubby totally failed to keep the blog current, so I'll bring it up to date...
The wood encasing the concrete foundation footings on both additions has been removed, the footings have been inspected and passed, and we are good for the next stage. As I write, Azmir and a couple of other guys are installing the floor joists across the foundation footings on the bedroom/bathroom addition. Gentle sounds of sawing and hammering in the background. Nothing happening on the office/laundry side.
The lights throughout the house are now working, though we're not sure why.
Installation of a new furnace and ductwork was completed on Friday. We now have a new thermostat in our bedroom hallway, and a defunct one decorated in blue builder's tape in our living room. The furnace seems to be working well.
The Landscape Designer and our Site Supervisor met last Wednesday to discuss issues like grading, drainage, landscape lighting conduits, and the location of the "backflow trap T connector". No, I don't know what that is, but I'm sure it's important, or she wouldn't have come all the way from Oregon to discuss it.
The Arborist has applied for the permit to remove our second Monterey Pine. He expects to get it next week. In the meantime the debris from grinding the first stump is sitting in two mounds that look for all the world like a termite holiday camp. The Arborist says they'll dispose of that when they come for the second tree.
We have started to receive and pay the bills for the construction work. Largest check (for over $47,000) to Jim's Bunch for work completed in the first month plus supplies on hand. Also checks for $5,000+ to The Architect (on top of $30,000+ we have already paid for the design phase); $1,300 to The Surveyor; and $3,300 to The Arborist. And there are probably others I've forgotten, but those are the big ones I wrote this morning.
Now I need to think about bathroom medicine cabinets and drawer pulls.
The wood encasing the concrete foundation footings on both additions has been removed, the footings have been inspected and passed, and we are good for the next stage. As I write, Azmir and a couple of other guys are installing the floor joists across the foundation footings on the bedroom/bathroom addition. Gentle sounds of sawing and hammering in the background. Nothing happening on the office/laundry side.
The lights throughout the house are now working, though we're not sure why.
Installation of a new furnace and ductwork was completed on Friday. We now have a new thermostat in our bedroom hallway, and a defunct one decorated in blue builder's tape in our living room. The furnace seems to be working well.
The Landscape Designer and our Site Supervisor met last Wednesday to discuss issues like grading, drainage, landscape lighting conduits, and the location of the "backflow trap T connector". No, I don't know what that is, but I'm sure it's important, or she wouldn't have come all the way from Oregon to discuss it.
The Arborist has applied for the permit to remove our second Monterey Pine. He expects to get it next week. In the meantime the debris from grinding the first stump is sitting in two mounds that look for all the world like a termite holiday camp. The Arborist says they'll dispose of that when they come for the second tree.
We have started to receive and pay the bills for the construction work. Largest check (for over $47,000) to Jim's Bunch for work completed in the first month plus supplies on hand. Also checks for $5,000+ to The Architect (on top of $30,000+ we have already paid for the design phase); $1,300 to The Surveyor; and $3,300 to The Arborist. And there are probably others I've forgotten, but those are the big ones I wrote this morning.
Now I need to think about bathroom medicine cabinets and drawer pulls.
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