Well, today was pretty much a bust.
As I've mentioned before, the building site is all clay. Also, recall that clay retains water - it doesn't drain well. The site hasn't dried out in a little over a month, and today made a real mess.
I discovered last night that the siding crew left all of their tools out, and left boxes of siding, as well as their supplies, sitting outside. I had a little clean-up to do when I stopped by tonight, because they didn't work today, and the wind got ahold of things.
One of the trim carpenters was working today. On the inside of the house, they need to do about 20% of the kitchen island yet, about 25% of the laundry room cabinets, 25% of the staircase, build the shelves in the pantry and a cabinet over the toilet in the master bath, and hang the baseboards in about 75% of the main floor. They're planning on being done Tuesday. The painter is planning on starting Wednesday, and will take approximately two weeks. Another week or two for carpet, countertops, tile, and finish plumbing/electrical, and we're in.
On the exterior of the house, the siding is about 25% of the way done, the stone pillars need to be built on the front porch, and the deck railings built. Sounds like cake, right? We'll see - I'm more worried about the exterior of the house than the interior. It's taken us 90 days to get siding started, so I think my worries are pretty reasonable.
We are also still waiting for DTE to come and hook us up to natural gas. We called to place the work order six weeks ago, and they assured me it would be done by Wednesday, so we can paint. The siding guys have already sided where the meter goes, so they'll have some rework to do. Fortunately, I had the foresight to bury a piece of conduit under the retaining wall on that side of the house, so they can get their line from the side yard up to the meter (otherwise, they'd be digging down about six feet, and under the retaining wall.)
When we originally broke ground, the builder was pretty optimistic that we'd have the project done in three months. Our goal of being in by Thanksgiving was a slam dunk. However, due to all the rain and associated delays, we're looking at roughly a week or two after Thanksgiving. You're probably able to tell that I'm not really thrilled with that, but there's not really much I can do about it, so we'll deal with it.
On we go......
Friday, October 30, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Exterior Progress!
As of the last blog update, the exterior of the house was still blue styrofoam. As of tonight, the back of the house, and half of the North side, are covered in siding. The deck stairs are done, and the posts and railings are cut, waiting to be installed. The stone for the front columns also arrived today.
The trim carpenters will be done mid-next week, then the painting begins. The cabinet openings are all built, so we're able to order the cabinet doors - a two week lead time.
On we go......
The trim carpenters will be done mid-next week, then the painting begins. The cabinet openings are all built, so we're able to order the cabinet doors - a two week lead time.
On we go......
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Bumping Along......
A little more progress today.
On the outside of the house, the deck stairs got finished, and the posts and handrails are cut. I would imagine that they'll be installed tomorrow.
Miss-Dig was also out today, and marked where the electric/telephone/cable lines are buried. This is a precurser to DTE coming in to lay the gas line. FINALLY!!!!!!!
On the inside of the house, the trim guys have the kitchen island almost done, started on the cabinet above the refrigerator, and started installing the stairs/newell posts/handrails.
We'll see what tomorrow brings......
On the outside of the house, the deck stairs got finished, and the posts and handrails are cut. I would imagine that they'll be installed tomorrow.
Miss-Dig was also out today, and marked where the electric/telephone/cable lines are buried. This is a precurser to DTE coming in to lay the gas line. FINALLY!!!!!!!
On the inside of the house, the trim guys have the kitchen island almost done, started on the cabinet above the refrigerator, and started installing the stairs/newell posts/handrails.
We'll see what tomorrow brings......
Monday, October 26, 2009
More Rain?!?!?!?!
Yup. More freakin' rain.
Today, on the outside of the house, the deck stairs got almost done before the rain started up. They're going to turn out a little better than I expected. With today's rain, it's pretty much a given that we're not going to be able to put up siding this week, and the weather forecast looks like rain every other day (at least) for the next 10 days. That, folks, isn't good.
Inside, the trim carpenters built our master closet, started the kitchen island, started on the baseboards, and got the drawer slides mounted in the cabinets.
We had a snag today with the island - we ended up doing a redesign on the island, as it would've required an awkward seam on the quartz countertop. Disaster averted!
It's safe to say, at this point, that we're not going to hit Thanksgiving. We're a good week to two behind. I guess we'll have to make it work.
Today, on the outside of the house, the deck stairs got almost done before the rain started up. They're going to turn out a little better than I expected. With today's rain, it's pretty much a given that we're not going to be able to put up siding this week, and the weather forecast looks like rain every other day (at least) for the next 10 days. That, folks, isn't good.
Inside, the trim carpenters built our master closet, started the kitchen island, started on the baseboards, and got the drawer slides mounted in the cabinets.
We had a snag today with the island - we ended up doing a redesign on the island, as it would've required an awkward seam on the quartz countertop. Disaster averted!
It's safe to say, at this point, that we're not going to hit Thanksgiving. We're a good week to two behind. I guess we'll have to make it work.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Rain, Rain, Stay Away!!!!!!!
With about a month to go to move-in, we're entering crunch time.
This week, provided the heavens don't open up, and re-soak the lot (remember, wet clay = slippery mud pit), we're hoping to get the house sided this week, and finish the deck stairs and railings.
After pulling some strings, we got bumped up on DTE's list, and should have our natural gas hooked up by the end of the week. That allows us to get the water heater and HVAC units installed, and have non-kerosene heat (which will be nice - it gets a little "thick" in the house with the kerosene fumes.)
The trim carpenters have the interior doors hung and trimmed, the two side bedrooms' closets are finished, and all the windows are trimmed out. The cabinets are built in the bathrooms, part of the kitchen cabinets are built, and the upper cabinets are built in the laundry/utility room. This week, we need to get the island built, the cabinet above the refrigerator, the lower cabinets in the laundry room, and the pantry and master closet done. While the guys think they might get it done this week, I'm not that optimistic.
In any case, by next weekend, the house will change quite a bit more......
This week, provided the heavens don't open up, and re-soak the lot (remember, wet clay = slippery mud pit), we're hoping to get the house sided this week, and finish the deck stairs and railings.
After pulling some strings, we got bumped up on DTE's list, and should have our natural gas hooked up by the end of the week. That allows us to get the water heater and HVAC units installed, and have non-kerosene heat (which will be nice - it gets a little "thick" in the house with the kerosene fumes.)
The trim carpenters have the interior doors hung and trimmed, the two side bedrooms' closets are finished, and all the windows are trimmed out. The cabinets are built in the bathrooms, part of the kitchen cabinets are built, and the upper cabinets are built in the laundry/utility room. This week, we need to get the island built, the cabinet above the refrigerator, the lower cabinets in the laundry room, and the pantry and master closet done. While the guys think they might get it done this week, I'm not that optimistic.
In any case, by next weekend, the house will change quite a bit more......
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Schedules, schedules, schedules!
Quick update:
The trim guys will be done in the house next week. They're about 1/2 to a full week ahead of schedule. The painters have turned our basement into a paint booth, and are refinishing somebody else's cabinets, while they wait for the trim guys. So, the inside is ahead of schedule.
DTE is set to run our gas line next week. The deck stairs got started today, then the rain came. The siding is scheduled to go up starting Monday. So, the exterior is well behind schedule.
We're on schedule for a week-of-Thanksgiving move-in......
The trim guys will be done in the house next week. They're about 1/2 to a full week ahead of schedule. The painters have turned our basement into a paint booth, and are refinishing somebody else's cabinets, while they wait for the trim guys. So, the inside is ahead of schedule.
DTE is set to run our gas line next week. The deck stairs got started today, then the rain came. The siding is scheduled to go up starting Monday. So, the exterior is well behind schedule.
We're on schedule for a week-of-Thanksgiving move-in......
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Cabinets, Doors, and Trim, Oh My!
It looks like it was a big day at the site today.
J ran some 4" pipe to the corners of the house, and tied them in to the footing drains, so that we can run the downspouts into the pond in the back yard. He then did a rough grade on the lot. No more big dirt piles!
There are two guys trimming out the house - one of them is doing closets/doors/casings, and the other is building cabinets. As of tonight, Clayton's room and the spare bedroom had shelves in the closet, the windows were all trimmed, and three interior doors were hung. The main bathroom's vanity and linen cabinet are built, the upper cabinets are built in the laundry room, and the vanity is almost done in the master bathroom.
I learned today that the trim guys have three jobs lined up after ours, so they're probably going to be done quicker than the original two to two-and-a-half week time frame.
The siding also arrived today, as well as the lumber to complete the deck stairs. If the weather holds the rest of the week, there should be some more progress on the outside.
J ran some 4" pipe to the corners of the house, and tied them in to the footing drains, so that we can run the downspouts into the pond in the back yard. He then did a rough grade on the lot. No more big dirt piles!
There are two guys trimming out the house - one of them is doing closets/doors/casings, and the other is building cabinets. As of tonight, Clayton's room and the spare bedroom had shelves in the closet, the windows were all trimmed, and three interior doors were hung. The main bathroom's vanity and linen cabinet are built, the upper cabinets are built in the laundry room, and the vanity is almost done in the master bathroom.
I learned today that the trim guys have three jobs lined up after ours, so they're probably going to be done quicker than the original two to two-and-a-half week time frame.
The siding also arrived today, as well as the lumber to complete the deck stairs. If the weather holds the rest of the week, there should be some more progress on the outside.
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