Showing posts with label roof. Show all posts
Showing posts with label roof. Show all posts
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Where's the shotgun?
Strange knocking in the house on Saturday evening. Strange knocking on Sunday morning. Diagnosis? There is a woodpecker hammering away at the wooden shingles on our roof.
Monday, April 26, 2010
C Day plus seven...and we really are there on the interior
Over the past week, Site Supervisor II and the other guys have been working away on all the little bitty punch list items. They really are all pretty small beer, and most of them have been despatched with little effort. I reckon that, of the list we compiled on Wednesday/Thursday, SS2 had tackled about 75% by the end of Friday. We added maybe a half dozen more over the weekend, but it is trivial stuff.
On the exterior, we've been waiting for the brown coat of the stucco to cure/dry. The brown coat is the second coat of stucco, so called because once upon a time it was made from dirt taken from the lot. These days it is a cement mix, but the name sticks. The final, finish coat is due to be applied on Wednesday this week, weather permitting. (Unbelieveably, we are scheduled to have another day or two of rain.) When that has been allowed to cure for a week or two, the painters will be able to come in to do the exterior paint. We're having the exterior done in a combination of Swiss Coffee (white) for the trim and Brewster Grey (a blue grey) for the walls.
On Saturday a subcontractor was out putting gutter guards on all the gutters, to stop them filling up with tree needles etc. He came out with two buckets of baby pigeons that he'd rescued from another job. The kids were entranced to watch him feed the babies with baby rice from a syringe. Little Starlet was brave enough to pick one up.
On the exterior, we've been waiting for the brown coat of the stucco to cure/dry. The brown coat is the second coat of stucco, so called because once upon a time it was made from dirt taken from the lot. These days it is a cement mix, but the name sticks. The final, finish coat is due to be applied on Wednesday this week, weather permitting. (Unbelieveably, we are scheduled to have another day or two of rain.) When that has been allowed to cure for a week or two, the painters will be able to come in to do the exterior paint. We're having the exterior done in a combination of Swiss Coffee (white) for the trim and Brewster Grey (a blue grey) for the walls.
On Saturday a subcontractor was out putting gutter guards on all the gutters, to stop them filling up with tree needles etc. He came out with two buckets of baby pigeons that he'd rescued from another job. The kids were entranced to watch him feed the babies with baby rice from a syringe. Little Starlet was brave enough to pick one up.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Activity Before the Rain
It poured on Friday night. The weekend was dry and fine, but the sky is darkening now. The Cardboard Box is surrounded on all sides by people working away, trying to get things finished before rain starts up again. We are forecast to have rain tomorrow and all through the rest of the week, peaking on Friday with another monsoon.
In the back yard, the hardscaping guys with the CAT have been digging trenches, back-filling and compacting all morning. They've just finally ripped out the remnants of the lawn in preparation for puttin gthe disipator into the ground. At this moment the digger is getting tangled up in the gopher-resisting net that our gardener installed under the lawn a couple of years ago. The guys look a bit surprised.
Out front, the men from Jim's Bunch are busily wrapping a 15 lb felt moisture barrier around the exterior of the additions. Site Supervisor II explains that this is the final frontier for penetrating damp coming in from the outside. The additions will be pleasingly black and shiney when they have finished.
The roofing people were out this morning too, replacing all our remaining old gutters with new galvanised steel ones. None of them are painted though. I expect that painting them will turn out to require yet another "change order" and an additional expense. Presumably the activity can be picked up when the house exterior is painted. The forthcoming rain will be a good test of their weather-worthiness.
In the kitchen, not much happening today. The dry wallers are there again. That may be putting a stop to the cabinet installation. I shall go and have a nose later on.
Noisy drilling on the outside of the house outside the kids' bathroom resulting in the removal of a strip of stucco and the peeling back of the chicken wire underneath. Hmm. Can't quite see what that is for, though Azmir worked away at it with a will for over an hour.
Over the weekend we chose paint colors for the kitchen and the office/laundry addition. Honeywheat for the office and Golden Labrador (can you believe it) for the kitchen and laundry. Swiss coffee for the ceilings (that's off-white to you). We also went back to Artistic Tile to make yet another selection of tile for our kitchen floor. We went for something that is similar to the last one, but a little colder in tone. The main thing was that it wouldn't take weeks to arrive, as the tiler reckons he'll be ready to start at the end of this week.
In the back yard, the hardscaping guys with the CAT have been digging trenches, back-filling and compacting all morning. They've just finally ripped out the remnants of the lawn in preparation for puttin gthe disipator into the ground. At this moment the digger is getting tangled up in the gopher-resisting net that our gardener installed under the lawn a couple of years ago. The guys look a bit surprised.
Out front, the men from Jim's Bunch are busily wrapping a 15 lb felt moisture barrier around the exterior of the additions. Site Supervisor II explains that this is the final frontier for penetrating damp coming in from the outside. The additions will be pleasingly black and shiney when they have finished.
The roofing people were out this morning too, replacing all our remaining old gutters with new galvanised steel ones. None of them are painted though. I expect that painting them will turn out to require yet another "change order" and an additional expense. Presumably the activity can be picked up when the house exterior is painted. The forthcoming rain will be a good test of their weather-worthiness.
In the kitchen, not much happening today. The dry wallers are there again. That may be putting a stop to the cabinet installation. I shall go and have a nose later on.
Noisy drilling on the outside of the house outside the kids' bathroom resulting in the removal of a strip of stucco and the peeling back of the chicken wire underneath. Hmm. Can't quite see what that is for, though Azmir worked away at it with a will for over an hour.
Over the weekend we chose paint colors for the kitchen and the office/laundry addition. Honeywheat for the office and Golden Labrador (can you believe it) for the kitchen and laundry. Swiss coffee for the ceilings (that's off-white to you). We also went back to Artistic Tile to make yet another selection of tile for our kitchen floor. We went for something that is similar to the last one, but a little colder in tone. The main thing was that it wouldn't take weeks to arrive, as the tiler reckons he'll be ready to start at the end of this week.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Activity Explosion
The rain finally stopped yesterday morning and we suddenly saw an explosion of activity in and around the Cardboard Box.
First, the windows that have been patiently sitting in the garage have been installed. We are now fully fenestrated, both in walls and roof.
Second, the kitchen demolition was completed. Floor totally gone. The central island wall has been moved about two inches to give more space between the refrigerator wall and the center island (so that Hubby and I will need to engage in less physical contact whilst cooking and cleaning up).
Third, the dry wallers (that's plasterers to the Brits out there) have appeared in the kitchen to repair the walls. They have incredibly funky stilts for plastering the upper parts of the wall, like prosthetic lower legs. Fabulous, I am sure the kids would like some.
Fourth, the kitchen cabinets have arrived and are in the garage awaiting installation.
Fifth, the landscapers are trenching in the front yard with great vigor. They are laying drainage pipes.
Sixth, the pool people are out back putting the new Connecticut blue stone coping around the edge of the pool. Mike the Pool explained that this will be the last thing they do until the rest of the hardscaping is in. They'll be back to plaster the pool, fill it, brush it and install the cover later in the process.
I'm sure I've forgotten something, but that seems like a fair bit to me.
First, the windows that have been patiently sitting in the garage have been installed. We are now fully fenestrated, both in walls and roof.
Second, the kitchen demolition was completed. Floor totally gone. The central island wall has been moved about two inches to give more space between the refrigerator wall and the center island (so that Hubby and I will need to engage in less physical contact whilst cooking and cleaning up).
Third, the dry wallers (that's plasterers to the Brits out there) have appeared in the kitchen to repair the walls. They have incredibly funky stilts for plastering the upper parts of the wall, like prosthetic lower legs. Fabulous, I am sure the kids would like some.
Fourth, the kitchen cabinets have arrived and are in the garage awaiting installation.
Fifth, the landscapers are trenching in the front yard with great vigor. They are laying drainage pipes.
Sixth, the pool people are out back putting the new Connecticut blue stone coping around the edge of the pool. Mike the Pool explained that this will be the last thing they do until the rest of the hardscaping is in. They'll be back to plaster the pool, fill it, brush it and install the cover later in the process.
I'm sure I've forgotten something, but that seems like a fair bit to me.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Cascades and Lemon-aid
Rain pouring off the office addition roof. We experience future rot anxiety. The Architect says not to worry about it - another drainage gutter has yet to be installed. Large and enlarging puddle next to the office. All very muddy and battlefield-like.
Three men appeared in the back yard at lunchtime armed with two spades and a wheelbarrow. They left with our lemon tree. Presumably they have taken it away on the orders of the Landscape Designer to safekeeping while the back yard make over continues. Nevertheless, we are bereft. It even had a lemon.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Elf and Safety
One of the things I've been meaning to comment on is the lack of health and safety obsession we're seeing in our building crews. It all seems very different to the UK. Take, for example, the two jolly guys who have been demolishing our front yard last week. Both are using hand-held jack-hammers. Neither is wearing a hard hat, gloves, or eye protection. They do seem to have ear plugs in, but they aren't wearing those all-singing and dancing ear protectors that are common in the UK. The one with the moustache was wearing jeans and a vest/singlet to do his work this week. The other one is at least wearing a long sleeved shirt.
The men working in the pool renovation, who are also using jack-hammers, though smaller ones, are wearing goggles, but again no hats, gloves or other protective gear.
Everyone seems to wear proper boots, but they don't look like anything special.
The men from Jim's Bunch haven't worn any special gear either. They are up on the roof without hats, no knee pads or anything when they are crawling around. They were wearing gloves when they were handling the lumber, so I suppose they must be alive to the danger of splinters.
It all seems odd at first, but you get used to it. All the companies have workmen's compensation insurance, so it is really up to the individual contractors to decide what their employees need to wear.
The men working in the pool renovation, who are also using jack-hammers, though smaller ones, are wearing goggles, but again no hats, gloves or other protective gear.
Everyone seems to wear proper boots, but they don't look like anything special.
The men from Jim's Bunch haven't worn any special gear either. They are up on the roof without hats, no knee pads or anything when they are crawling around. They were wearing gloves when they were handling the lumber, so I suppose they must be alive to the danger of splinters.
It all seems odd at first, but you get used to it. All the companies have workmen's compensation insurance, so it is really up to the individual contractors to decide what their employees need to wear.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Shingle-drills, shingle-drills, shingle all the way...
We now have a roof on the bedroom/bathroom addition - complete, nailed down and light brown in its cedar shingley goodness. The roof over the office/laundry is nearly done.
The drilling continued unabated till 4:30pm. The demo guys are now taking out the front path, which is made of bricks laid on concrete. It's very noisy and dusty. No mail came today: I suspect the mail man took one look at what was happening in our front yard and declined to come further.
This evening I received an email from Mike the Pool Guy, warning me that tomorrow around lunchtime they'll be "doing the gunnite" for the pool. I have no idea what that is, but Mike says it will be noisy and dusty. Well, I wonder if I'll notice the difference.
Weather continues bright and sunny.
The drilling continued unabated till 4:30pm. The demo guys are now taking out the front path, which is made of bricks laid on concrete. It's very noisy and dusty. No mail came today: I suspect the mail man took one look at what was happening in our front yard and declined to come further.
This evening I received an email from Mike the Pool Guy, warning me that tomorrow around lunchtime they'll be "doing the gunnite" for the pool. I have no idea what that is, but Mike says it will be noisy and dusty. Well, I wonder if I'll notice the difference.
Weather continues bright and sunny.
Catch Up Report
Hello, dear readers (that means you, Anthony). I know you will be worried that my lack of writing will be a reflection of lack of progress, but how wrong you are. Even over the holiday period the guys have been working away, and things are going very well (at least to this amateur's eyes).Landscaping:
The back yard is now a wasteland. All the concrete has now gone, except for a small piece around the pool which they have clearly decided to leave and concrete over, as part of the raising of the grading of the backyard. This was an exceptionally noisy and intrusive part of the whole remodel experience, with three BobCats in the yard at one point, one with a jack hammer attachment, the other two with different kinds of scoops; plus numerous guys with hand-held jack hammers and shovels. The planters are gone, the wall under the trees has gone, the lawn has gone. We have a big pile of mess in the area that used to be designated lawn, including all the loungers and chairs that Hubby wouldn't let me dispose of, and the old pool cover.
The pool has had its coping and water line tile removed, there are several holes punched in the bottom, and the light has been taken out. The bottom of the pool is full of shards of stuff. One of the pool's wall steps has been broken.
(Hold on, a man has just appeared in the ha
llway.)(Just the electrician looking for the sub-panel.)
The wood framing for the concrete pouring around the pool has been erected, and rebars have been inserted around the top of the pool, presumably to hold the new coping. That is supposed to be arriving in the third week of January.
The little lemon tree that the kids bought for Hubby's 40th birthday is still standing bravely in the midst of all this. I tied some "Caution" tape around a couple of bamboo stakes to protect it, and miraculously this seems to have worked. Elsewhere, the drainage plans have been marked out on the ground in orange paint, so we can now see where the barbeque is going to be and also the planting beds near to the house.
House:
Jim says that we have a delay in the windows arriving, and that will slow down the completion of the walls. In the meantime, his guys are working away on the roof. The bedroom/bathroom addition now has roofing felt, and a pile of cedar shingles is waiting to go on. On the office/laundry addition, the shingles are already going on; the roof over the dining room is finished, and the office roof looks like it may be finished today. While we were away at the snow, the new gutters went on. The guys have also started to rough in the plumbing and electrics. Lots of thick yellow wires are strung across the wall framing, and a lovely black pipe indicates where the washing machine will go.
Current discussion is focusing on the kitchen. We have been scheduled to have the kitchen demolition next week, but our architect is now wondering if it can be put off a week, as we'll be away for a few days in February. Personally I suspect that they will over run anyway, so they may as well over run while we're away.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Action all around
It's all happening here this morning:
- men on the roof over the kitchen
- men in the family room engaging in more mysterious banging
- men in the back yard demolishing the coping from around the pool
- big crane on the drive in preparation to take down the Monterey Pine
Lots of noise. Rain currently staying away.
- men on the roof over the kitchen
- men in the family room engaging in more mysterious banging
- men in the back yard demolishing the coping from around the pool
- big crane on the drive in preparation to take down the Monterey Pine
Lots of noise. Rain currently staying away.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Jigga jigga jigga jigga
On returning from dropping the kids for the last day at school, I had to enter the house through the garage as the Bob Cat was running up and down the front path demolishing the courtyard wall. Now I have one man jack hammering in the front yard, and one in the back. The guys from Jim's Bunch are on the roof pulling off the shingles. The hanging light fitting in the dining room is swinging gently from side to side. Oh, it's started rattling.
The fish are looking a bit traumatised. I just spent half an hour hiding in Little Starlet's room drinking tea and reading a book. That's the only room in the house that doesn't have a man outside it jackhammering, or anyone on the roof pulling the shingles off.
Now I am heading out to Hayward to look at Caesarstone. I can only take so much of the noise, so I might as well do something useful. Unfortunately, Achilles came by to take away the stain samples yesterday, so I don't have anything to compare the stone to, but I'll use my imagination.
The weather is mild and beautifully sunny today. The rain that was forecast for this week has not materialized.
The fish are looking a bit traumatised. I just spent half an hour hiding in Little Starlet's room drinking tea and reading a book. That's the only room in the house that doesn't have a man outside it jackhammering, or anyone on the roof pulling the shingles off.
Now I am heading out to Hayward to look at Caesarstone. I can only take so much of the noise, so I might as well do something useful. Unfortunately, Achilles came by to take away the stain samples yesterday, so I don't have anything to compare the stone to, but I'll use my imagination.
The weather is mild and beautifully sunny today. The rain that was forecast for this week has not materialized.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Raising the Roof, Draining the Pool
And here is a round up of photos of the construction work.
Here's the empty pool, slowly filling up with tree debris, and the office addition taken from both inside and outside. Note the roofiness of the roof!
Here's the empty pool, slowly filling up with tree debris, and the office addition taken from both inside and outside. Note the roofiness of the roof!
We have a roof
Both sides of the house have men standing on the roof. The good news is that both additions now have sheathing over the roof joists, so we have some level of waterproofing for the next bout of rain (due to start this evening). Hopefully this will also improve the temperature in the family room, as the whole front of the house is now enclosed. The builders haven't cut the windows out of the bedroom addition yet, for overall security of the house.
We also have The Return of The Bob Cat in the back yard. Yesterday they seemed to just run up and down the side yard demolishing camelias and azaleas, which honestly didn't seem to call for a Bob Cat with a jack hammer attachment; but now they are getting down to business in the back yard demolishing the wall under the redwood trees and the brick planters.
We also have The Return of The Bob Cat in the back yard. Yesterday they seemed to just run up and down the side yard demolishing camelias and azaleas, which honestly didn't seem to call for a Bob Cat with a jack hammer attachment; but now they are getting down to business in the back yard demolishing the wall under the redwood trees and the brick planters.
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.
Monday, December 7, 2009
And the rain went away
We were forecast to have rain all week, so we were feeling pretty gloomy about the likelihood of much progress. It did indeed rain a lot overnight and earlier this morning, but it is now sunny, and the house is swarming with men. They are trying to finish the roof framing as quickly as they can. There is also a lot of banging coming from the family room.
Met Achilles in the street this morning. He's been in conversation with The Structural Engineer, and the latter will be at the house tomorrow. They think they've got a solution that will allow the building addition to be tweaked so that no fudging is required, and no demolition either. A good thing.
Met Achilles in the street this morning. He's been in conversation with The Structural Engineer, and the latter will be at the house tomorrow. They think they've got a solution that will allow the building addition to be tweaked so that no fudging is required, and no demolition either. A good thing.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Progress photos
I've finally got the camera software loaded on this new computer, so I can bring you new photos of current progress. Here (first photo) is a picture of our kitchen with the new dustwall built across it. Those readers with an intimate knowledge of our house will spot that the wall runs across the area where the dead drinks fridge lived, and also cuts across the windows on one side and half the sliding door on the other. 
And here (second photo) is a photo from the other side of the wall. Note the white painted kitchen wall to the right of the photo with half the sliding door. The framed area is the end of the office, looking out to the side yard.
The white wall in photo 3 is what used to be the inside of our kitchen toilet (now nailed shut with plywood across it for insulation and security). This area will become the laundry room.
Here's a photo of the exterior showing the roof framing on the office/laundry in progress. Note the large blue tarpaulin. Jim's Bunch pulled off quite a large chunk of the roof over the course of the week, so we are hoping that the tarp is in the right place...
And one final photo: Our pool being drained in preparation for the remodel, which should start in the next few days.
Alas, it is now raining heavily, and due to rain for several more days. This will be good for the snow in Lake Tahoe, but not so good for the progress on our construction, I fear. We were also expecting the guys from Mr Hardscape's company to be out this week to demo the back yard, but I'm guessing that won't happen with lots of rain, because it will just turn the lot into a big mud bath.
Word from The Arborist: The permit for the Monterey Pine is signed off and the crane is booked for December 21. This is the first day of the kids' winter holidays, so they will be able to enjoy watching this massive tree coming down.
Still no sign of new neighbors next door.
And here (second photo) is a photo from the other side of the wall. Note the white painted kitchen wall to the right of the photo with half the sliding door. The framed area is the end of the office, looking out to the side yard.
The white wall in photo 3 is what used to be the inside of our kitchen toilet (now nailed shut with plywood across it for insulation and security). This area will become the laundry room.
Here's a photo of the exterior showing the roof framing on the office/laundry in progress. Note the large blue tarpaulin. Jim's Bunch pulled off quite a large chunk of the roof over the course of the week, so we are hoping that the tarp is in the right place...
And one final photo: Our pool being drained in preparation for the remodel, which should start in the next few days.
Alas, it is now raining heavily, and due to rain for several more days. This will be good for the snow in Lake Tahoe, but not so good for the progress on our construction, I fear. We were also expecting the guys from Mr Hardscape's company to be out this week to demo the back yard, but I'm guessing that won't happen with lots of rain, because it will just turn the lot into a big mud bath.
Word from The Arborist: The permit for the Monterey Pine is signed off and the crane is booked for December 21. This is the first day of the kids' winter holidays, so they will be able to enjoy watching this massive tree coming down.
Still no sign of new neighbors next door.
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.)
Monday, November 30, 2009
Eights week begins
Or more specifically, the eighth week of our remodel. But I thought some of my loyal readers (hello Kim) might like the Oxford reference. And I also thought it was time to bring the blog up to date so that other loyal readers (hello Mom) don't think I've fallen off the face of the planet. So...
Last week included the Thanksgiving holiday. Jim's bunch were here with the framing guys on Monday and Tuesday, but there was little activity on Wednesday and, of course, nothing at all on Thursday and Friday. So quite little to report.
The guys completed the sheathing of the bedroom/bathroom addition. They also opened out a nice big slice of the family room roof and began the framing/tie in of the addition roof. Photos here of the bedroom from outside and through the door looking at the roof tie in.
Photos here of the hole in the roof of the family room. When we sit in the remainder of the family room to watch TV, there is an interesting sense of being in a tent, as the road noise is much louder than you'd expect, and the plastic dust wall billows gently in the breeze. We've bought an oil radiator, though, so the temperature isn't too bad.
On Friday it rained a lot. The fact that there was no tarpaulin over the aforementioned roof hole was of some concern to us, but we took a look at the construction area and decided it could be lived with. There are now so many holes in the family room floor in that area that any pooling water would just drain away. It was a shame to see all the timber and sheathing getting soggy, but luckily the weather was lovely on Saturday and Sunday. Everything just dried out again.
Today the guys completed the framing of the office/laundry addition, and also framed the wall dividing the two new rooms. Progress suddenly seems slower, but I wasn't around today to see how many workers were on the project. I saw Achilles here this morning before I went out, so there is obviously supervision taking place.
Still no word from The Arborist on the Monterey Pine. Here's a factoid for you: The pine is 11 feet 13 inches in circumference. That's a big tree.
More material from the Landscaper Designer, bids for the hardscaping. I haven't yet felt strong enough to open them. I suspect the numbers will be larger than we had previously imagined could be possible. Also more material from The Architect relating to the kitchen cabinets. Much discusion of the location of the garbage and recycling bins; and do we want to be able to see all the little holes in the adjustable shelves, or do we want the adjustment to be limited to a couple of places in order to eliminate the holiness...? Finding it hard to care about that one. We have our regular site meeting with The Architect and the guys from Jim's Bunch on Thursday, and the Landscaper will be joining us; so I guess we have to find the inner strength to look at all this.
I keep telling myself that there can't be many more decisions we have to make. Wishful thinking, eh?
Still no sign of new neighbors in the recently sold house next door.
Last week included the Thanksgiving holiday. Jim's bunch were here with the framing guys on Monday and Tuesday, but there was little activity on Wednesday and, of course, nothing at all on Thursday and Friday. So quite little to report.
The guys completed the sheathing of the bedroom/bathroom addition. They also opened out a nice big slice of the family room roof and began the framing/tie in of the addition roof. Photos here of the bedroom from outside and through the door looking at the roof tie in.
Photos here of the hole in the roof of the family room. When we sit in the remainder of the family room to watch TV, there is an interesting sense of being in a tent, as the road noise is much louder than you'd expect, and the plastic dust wall billows gently in the breeze. We've bought an oil radiator, though, so the temperature isn't too bad.
On Friday it rained a lot. The fact that there was no tarpaulin over the aforementioned roof hole was of some concern to us, but we took a look at the construction area and decided it could be lived with. There are now so many holes in the family room floor in that area that any pooling water would just drain away. It was a shame to see all the timber and sheathing getting soggy, but luckily the weather was lovely on Saturday and Sunday. Everything just dried out again.
Today the guys completed the framing of the office/laundry addition, and also framed the wall dividing the two new rooms. Progress suddenly seems slower, but I wasn't around today to see how many workers were on the project. I saw Achilles here this morning before I went out, so there is obviously supervision taking place.
Still no word from The Arborist on the Monterey Pine. Here's a factoid for you: The pine is 11 feet 13 inches in circumference. That's a big tree.
More material from the Landscaper Designer, bids for the hardscaping. I haven't yet felt strong enough to open them. I suspect the numbers will be larger than we had previously imagined could be possible. Also more material from The Architect relating to the kitchen cabinets. Much discusion of the location of the garbage and recycling bins; and do we want to be able to see all the little holes in the adjustable shelves, or do we want the adjustment to be limited to a couple of places in order to eliminate the holiness...? Finding it hard to care about that one. We have our regular site meeting with The Architect and the guys from Jim's Bunch on Thursday, and the Landscaper will be joining us; so I guess we have to find the inner strength to look at all this.
I keep telling myself that there can't be many more decisions we have to make. Wishful thinking, eh?
Still no sign of new neighbors in the recently sold house next door.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
And the walls go up
We seem to be spending a lot of time at the doctor's surgery this week, with Hubby's head, so I'm not so quite in the swing of keeping up with this blog. But here's a recap for the past couple of days...
Yesterday the guys from Jim's Bunch finished putting hardboard onto the floor joists of the office/laundry. The framing subcontractors also put up most of the framing for the bathroom/bedroom addition.
Today they are completing the framing for the closets in the bedroom. Today they are working on the framing at the office/laundry, and it is going up very fast. The kids are impressed by the large, loud nail gun - Little Starlet wondered if we could get one for us to use - and are enjoying seeing what a house looks like from the "skeleton" inside.
After the guys had cleared up yesterday I went outside for a peek at what they'd been doing, and was alarmed to see what looked like a gable end going up over the dining room. On the plans the dining room roof is a smooth incline down, no pointy bits.
So I emailed The Architect to register my concern, and she was straight on the phone to the Site Supervisor to prevent any further work in that area until she had been able to see it today. Turns out that they were experimenting: The plans call for a tie in to bring four planes of roof together, and the construction crew is concerned that it can't really happen in the way that the plans envisage. They consulted the structural engineer and he suggested this way forward. Well, this morning the Architect climbed up onto the roof with Achilles and the Site Supervisor, and after some viewing and discussion declared that this additional gable end approach was not the way we intended to go. So they will be dismantling that tomorrow! (I enjoyed watching her up on the roof telling the guys to stick with doing what they've been told - "I have lots of insurance" she said.)
We had our weekly meeting today - including with Jim himself - to discuss outstanding issues. Most of them seem to involve questions around the intersection of the landscaping design with the construction, so the onus is on us to conclude the landscape design discussions. We still need to choose the washer and dryer, and think more about the blessed medicine cabinets.
Lots of activity at the Cardboard Box today. Lucky really, as it is probably going to rain tomorrow, and next week is Thanksgiving, so for most of the week the Cardboard Box will be a scene of silence.
Yesterday the guys from Jim's Bunch finished putting hardboard onto the floor joists of the office/laundry. The framing subcontractors also put up most of the framing for the bathroom/bedroom addition.
Today they are completing the framing for the closets in the bedroom. Today they are working on the framing at the office/laundry, and it is going up very fast. The kids are impressed by the large, loud nail gun - Little Starlet wondered if we could get one for us to use - and are enjoying seeing what a house looks like from the "skeleton" inside.
After the guys had cleared up yesterday I went outside for a peek at what they'd been doing, and was alarmed to see what looked like a gable end going up over the dining room. On the plans the dining room roof is a smooth incline down, no pointy bits.
So I emailed The Architect to register my concern, and she was straight on the phone to the Site Supervisor to prevent any further work in that area until she had been able to see it today. Turns out that they were experimenting: The plans call for a tie in to bring four planes of roof together, and the construction crew is concerned that it can't really happen in the way that the plans envisage. They consulted the structural engineer and he suggested this way forward. Well, this morning the Architect climbed up onto the roof with Achilles and the Site Supervisor, and after some viewing and discussion declared that this additional gable end approach was not the way we intended to go. So they will be dismantling that tomorrow! (I enjoyed watching her up on the roof telling the guys to stick with doing what they've been told - "I have lots of insurance" she said.)
We had our weekly meeting today - including with Jim himself - to discuss outstanding issues. Most of them seem to involve questions around the intersection of the landscaping design with the construction, so the onus is on us to conclude the landscape design discussions. We still need to choose the washer and dryer, and think more about the blessed medicine cabinets.
Lots of activity at the Cardboard Box today. Lucky really, as it is probably going to rain tomorrow, and next week is Thanksgiving, so for most of the week the Cardboard Box will be a scene of silence.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
The kitchen toilet is officially history. 
Well, dear reader, you may have noticed that I haven't written for several days, which is quite unlike me. Hubby had a cycling accident on Saturday - no major injuries, some cuts and bruises etc - which resulted in us spending most of that day at the local ER, then Sunday was back to back soccer, then Monday we toured the local dentist and optician facilities, then today we were back at ER... So I've been a bit focused on other things.
Anyway. Time to catch up.
The guys from Jim's Bunch, with the assistance of the framing subcontractor, have been adding plywood boards to the floor joists, so there is now the appearance of a floor over the office/laundry addition. They started doing the same at the bedroom/bathroom addition today. Before that, the heating ducts and some plumbing pipes were run under the office floor, insulated, inspected by the City and passed.
The washer and dryer are in the garage and working just fine. Shame the same can't be said for the water dispenser on our fridge-freezer, which stopped working on Friday. I presume that is something to do with the water having been turned off -maybe there is an air lock or some valve needs to be turned back on.
Meanwhile, up on the roof, the shingles are flying off, along with some of the framing. The guys have opened up a big piece of the roof over the dining room, and some over the kitchen, and they have also opened up part of the wall of the kitchen (on the outside only, for now) in order to be able to tie in the framing for the office.
We have a comfortingly large blue tarpaulin over the roof void and a promise of no rain for a couple of days.
Still waiting to hear back from The Arborist about the Monterey Pine.
One interesting side effect of having Hubby at home - the way he looks, he can't go into work - is that the Site Supervisor is not coming in so much to chat. So although there is a lot of noise, there is a lot less disturbance to the day. (I confess to being glad that Hubby is getting a taste of what it is like noisewise.) And, perhaps needless to say, with all that happened over the weekend, we haven't quite managed to choose a washer, medicine cabinet, etc etc. Still on the list. We're both feeling a bit frazzled.
Well, dear reader, you may have noticed that I haven't written for several days, which is quite unlike me. Hubby had a cycling accident on Saturday - no major injuries, some cuts and bruises etc - which resulted in us spending most of that day at the local ER, then Sunday was back to back soccer, then Monday we toured the local dentist and optician facilities, then today we were back at ER... So I've been a bit focused on other things.
Anyway. Time to catch up.
The guys from Jim's Bunch, with the assistance of the framing subcontractor, have been adding plywood boards to the floor joists, so there is now the appearance of a floor over the office/laundry addition. They started doing the same at the bedroom/bathroom addition today. Before that, the heating ducts and some plumbing pipes were run under the office floor, insulated, inspected by the City and passed.
The washer and dryer are in the garage and working just fine. Shame the same can't be said for the water dispenser on our fridge-freezer, which stopped working on Friday. I presume that is something to do with the water having been turned off -maybe there is an air lock or some valve needs to be turned back on.
Meanwhile, up on the roof, the shingles are flying off, along with some of the framing. The guys have opened up a big piece of the roof over the dining room, and some over the kitchen, and they have also opened up part of the wall of the kitchen (on the outside only, for now) in order to be able to tie in the framing for the office.
We have a comfortingly large blue tarpaulin over the roof void and a promise of no rain for a couple of days.
Still waiting to hear back from The Arborist about the Monterey Pine.
One interesting side effect of having Hubby at home - the way he looks, he can't go into work - is that the Site Supervisor is not coming in so much to chat. So although there is a lot of noise, there is a lot less disturbance to the day. (I confess to being glad that Hubby is getting a taste of what it is like noisewise.) And, perhaps needless to say, with all that happened over the weekend, we haven't quite managed to choose a washer, medicine cabinet, etc etc. Still on the list. We're both feeling a bit frazzled.
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...
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