The turn of the screw....

The Turn of the Screw....

November 29th -- After a very quiet Thanksgiving, by 9:00am the activity started to crank up. The painters were back to finish the garage.  Adam was back to work on the floors.  And, I can only imagine the conversation my contractor had with the owners of the drywall company, but it was effective.  The father and son who run the drywall company, who had only previously been around to provide an estimate and to supervise the work, were actually drilling screws into the drywall that were somehow missed or were not installed correctly.  Below you can see the contractor's writing on the drywall, "3/4" screws on both sides," where there is a doorway to the stairwell that will be closed with a pocket door.

Below are a few photos of the drywall with the correctly installed screws. 

Then the contractor texted and asked if I would be around.  Fortunately, I had already done the extent of my post-Thanksgiving bargain shopping, having driven to the Home Depot about 2 miles away to pick up two 50% off  "Black Friday Door Busters" -- a wet/dry shop vac and a 5' ladder.  

The contractor, who is supposed to fly out for a week-long vacation early this evening, told me that the screw inspection was scheduled for this afternoon and that he would be here for the inspection.  He didn't want to leave town for a vacation until the inspection had taken place.  I appreciated that and if I was him I know I would not have enjoyed a vacation with the drywall stuff hanging over my head.

The contractor also gave me a bit of a sense of what will happen next.  Assuming the screw inspection goes well, another team from the drywall company would come in to tape, mud and sand the drywall.  If it all works out, everything about the drywall installation should be done by this time next week.  Although next week will no doubt be another round of trying construction filth and dust, at least the worst of it should be done.  

The next big milestone will take place around December 12th -- at that time all the mill work for the windows, baseboards, and doorways will be installed by the finish carpenter, Jeff and his crew.  The finish carpenters will be here for about 6 days and they will also hang all the new doors and work on the built-ins for the two fireplace mantels, the AV cabinet in the gathering room, the floor-to-ceiling bookcases in the gathering room, the built-ins for the mudroom and the shelves in the pantry.  At that time the kitchen cabinets will arrive, and work will begin on the tile floors in the bathrooms.  Then the bathroom vanities and the cabinets for the laundry room will arrive and be installed.  This week the kitchen sinks that were on back order arrived and soon Ivan, who is doing the granite counter top install, will need the schematics for the sinks for the granite counter top cutouts.  I. CANNOT. WAIT.FOR.ALL.OF.THIS.TO.HAPPEN!!!

The painters finished all the exterior painting today.  These photos were taken late in the afternoon, so the colors will look a bit different in that light.

Here are photos of the sanded and stained timbers, cedar shingles for the covered deck and the corbels.

The blue accent on the garage is shown below

Here is the completed garage from the alley

Here is a photo of the complimentary painting scheme of the house and the garage.

Here is the completed garage door view from the mudroom doorway.




Adam's work on the floor is truly a work of art.  He has completed the gathering room floor, as shown in the next photos.

Adam also completed the landing off the gathering room to the basement stairwell.

 Notice how Adam trimmed the landing ledge -- it is that kind of attention to detail that is so wonderful about his work.

Adam still needs to lay the hardwood floor in the laundry room and the pantry, and he has already set aside the planks for those rooms, as shown next.

So, what about the screw inspection?  

The contractor showed up around 3:00pm to wait for the inspector, and to wait, and to wait.  At around 4:30pm the inspector finally showed up.

Yippy Skippy!  The inspection went well, we passed, and so we're on for the last big push on drywall for next week.

Construction roller coaster.....

Construction roller coaster...

November 27th -- Well, the suspense is over.  At 7:15am two drywall hangers showed up.  It was a classic moment; they knocked on the front door and told me that the lock box was frozen and would I let them in.  I said sure, and then showed them the dry walled closet and said that I had no way to let them in because they had put the closet wall up and did not cut out a passage way as they were supposed to do.  One of the dry wall guys suddenly remembered what he was supposed to do yesterday.  Great way to start the day...more on the dry wall later.

Since the base of the garage was previously painted a shade of gray that was similar to the gray for the accent for the house, the painter suggested "flipping" the colors for the garage.  So, gray is the base color for the garage, instead of the trim.  The base color for the house has now become the trim on the garage.  Here are some photos of the painting of the garage that is in progress and that will be completed on Friday.

The door from the garage to the yard, above, is opposite the new rear entry of the house, shown below, and picks up the door color.

The painters are also putting a clear stain coat on the timber beams and cedar shingles on the rear covered deck and the corbels, as shown below.  You can also see the blue accent color has been painted on the gutters on the garage to pick up the blue on the house.

Adam, the floor guy, showed up as I was getting ready to leave, and I wanted to compliment him on the beautiful work he was doing on the floors.  I went off to work and as I was leaving, one of the dry wall guys told me that they should be done today.  In the meantime, the contractor called me to say that he was trying to schedule the screw inspection for Friday.  Okie, dokie.

When I got home a bit earlier than usual, the contractor was just about to leave.  He told me that the drywall was installed but they have to make a few changes with some of the screws in order to pass the inspection.  He was calling for the inspection on Friday, right before he leaves for a week of vacation.  Okie, dokie.

All seemed well until the roller coaster ride started.  Unfortunately, the drywall guys had "breached" the plastic barrier I had set up between the dining room and my living room/temporary kitchen. My temporary kitchen area was absolutely filthy with dust and debris.  It looked as if they simply untaped the barrier and intruded into this area.  I was not happy, to say the least.

 Not only have the dry wall hangers consistently left the biggest mess of all craftsmen, but they do absolutely nothing to clean up or at least move their detritus to a central pile. They have shown the least amount of respect for my living area or my house, for that matter.  I don't know how they can work among their own mess, and they certainly have little regard for me having to live among their mess.  In absolute contrast there is Adam who is so neat and tidy that he actually cleaned up some of the mess left by the dry wall hangers because he couldn't stand seeing it and didn't want me to have to see it.  Nice guy who is doing beautiful work on the floors.

Adam was still working away when I started to tackle the mess that was made by the drywall guys.  I also had to figure out how to repair the breached barrier.

So, after I changed into my grungiest clothes and put on a respiration mask, I got the shop vac and went to work.  I cleaned all the dust and dirt out my temporary kitchen and then I installed another layer of plastic sheeting (on top of the two that had been breached) and then on the dining room side of the barrier I hung a large, thick tarp, as shown in the photos below.

I spent about 2.5 hours cleaning, running the shop vac and hanging and taping the plastic sheeting and the blue tarp.  It was not a fun job, but it had to be done before I could feel comfortable enough to make and eat dinner.

       On other fronts, the mason removed some of the brick from the 8-inch thick front wall for the mail slot that I asked the contractor to install.   In the photo to the left, you can see that the mason has removed enough brick for the brass mail slot and the wooden box that will be built to catch the mail.  

Below you can see my temporary passage way through the new closet in the guest suite. The photo on the left is the view from the foyer.  The photo on the right is the view from the guest suite looking into what will be a nice guest closet when the temporary passage way disappears.

Adam will come back on Saturday to finish laying the new flooring and then to repair the floor in the dining room and guest suite.  Although there are drywall dust particles flying in the air, you can see below how the oak floor will run through the kitchen into the gathering room.

The mudroom will have oak flooring, and there will be a 4' by 4' patch of ceramic tile to hopefully catch the mud and dirt from the yard.  Adam created a "picture frame" (shown in the photo to the right) where the entry tile will be laid to meet the oak floor.

Back to the dry wall saga....all the dry wall has been hung.  In the photo below and to the left, there is the dry wall around the original hutch that was in the kitchen.  Below and to the right is one of the kitchen walls.

The dry wall has been hung from the ceiling on the main floor, and below you can see where it "joins" the original lath and plaster ceiling, which will eventually be covered by a "light orange peel" texture so that the original plaster ceiling and the new sheet rock ceiling will look the same.

This photo shows the dry wall on the ceiling of the guest suite where plumbing and heating chases had to be "boxed in" with the framing and then drywall.

  I don't know if someone from the drywall company will come to address the issue about the screws that need to be fixed before the inspection scheduled for Friday.  For all I know, they could come tomorrow or Friday morning before the inspection.  Okie, dokie.


Hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving.  I will be thinking about the Thanksgiving feast that I will prepare and enjoy next year in my house!

What a difference a day makes....

  What a difference a day makes.....

November 26th -- Things were looking pretty bleak yesterday, and I wish I would have remembered that tomorrow is another day, because today things turned around into a really good day in the construction zone.

At 7:00am the same two drywall guys who picked up their tools and left yesterday reappeared with a new guy.  Then one of the framers, Mike, appeared.  After several conversations between Mike and the drywall guys, I could hear the buzzing of power tools.  The painter came to meet with me at 8:00am and his crew showed up at 9:00 as the sun was coming out and warming up what had been the past few chilly days.  Then Adam, the hardwood floor guy showed up.  

The contractor also arrived and the construction train that pretty much had derailed off the tracks yesterday, seemed to be back on track chugging along.  It took a lot of yelling, and cajoling and negotiating, but whatever my contractor did saved the day as we are back making forward progress.   In the end it was a combination of a challenging star gable and having the drywall guys with some additional help and experience to get this ceiling done.

The drywall guys are pretty much done on the upper-level and headed downstairs to finish hanging the drywall for the ceiling in the guest suite, in the stairwell to the basement and the new closet off the guest suite, in addition to installing the necessary screws for tomorrow's inspection.

I don't think we can make up for the three lost weeks, but if they can finish the drywall at the end of the day then we can proceed with the screw inspection tomorrow.  If that doesn't happen, then we are delayed again until probably Monday for the screw inspection.

Adam, the hardwood floor guy is super nice and wanted to explain his process to me.  I enjoyed learning about the tongue and groove method for installing hardwood floors and how he selects the boards by the the direction of the wood grain.  I love how some of these guys take so much pride in their work and craftsmanship, and that is Adam.  He also showed me how it uses very small staples and how he will fill them in with wood filler once the flooring is laid.  

Also, in the photo directly below if you look up to the right hand corner you can see one of the painters working on exterior trim.

By the end of the day when I came home from work I was thrilled by the progress that Adam had made on the floor -- it was just amazing....

However, it seems that with every two steps forward, there is at least a half-step backwards.  The contractor explicitly told the drywall guys to leave an opening in the drywall between the studs in what will be the guest suite closet (formerly a door that led into the foyer -- see below), as that is the only way now to get to the second floor as I have the doorway between the living room/temporary kitchen sealed with plastic in an attempt to keep my living area clean.  

Here is the door that led from the small main-level bedroom to the foyer with the framing to close this area off to make a closet for the guest suite.

And here is the view of the newly dry walled closet wall from inside the guest suite .....notice anything?

Surprise!!!  The drywall guys did NOT leave an opening, as we had requested.  This will have to be cut tomorrow and then eventually patched when we no longer need it.

That means that when I came home and walked through the back door there was no way for me to get upstairs to my living area other than to go back outside and walk around the house to the front door.  Yeah, I know, yet another character building experience.  The only problem is that I didn't have my flashlight (which is upstairs) and I had to walk around the house in the dark, and because the painters repainted the front porch and removed the light fixture, I could barely see how to get my key in the front door lock to get in my house.  Fortunately, when I sent an e-mail to the painter asking if they would replace the light fixture tomorrow, within 10 minutes there was a knock on the front door, the light fixture had been replaced and one of the painters was apologizing.  How amazing was that?  This is just one of the reasons why I love these guys.

Although there was significant progress by the end of the day, as shown by these photos of:

....the dry walled fireplace in the master bedroom

The completed dry walled ceiling in the master bedroom

Unfortunately, the remaining drywall in the stairwell to the basement and the guest suite bedroom was NOT completed.  Unless the inspection is scheduled for late afternoon and the drywall guys can get here by 7:00am and are finished by noon, I don't think the screw inspection will happen until after the Thanksgiving holiday.  Yeah....yet another cliff hanger in the drama of this project.  So, stay tuned for tomorrow's episode.

 Oh well....at least today was a better day than yesterday and who knows how good tomorrow will be, as only time will tell.

Oh...one more thing.  My so-called "Christmas Cactus" is somehow managing to thrive despite about an inch coating of construction dust  -- I have had this plant for about 8 years now and it is on its own schedule.  It should be called a "Thanksgiving Cactus" because it never blooms for Christmas, as shown below.

Drywall debacle....

Drywall debacle....

November 25th --   Ugh....it was going well until it wasn't.  

So, the drywall guys did not show up on Sunday.  At 8:00am Monday morning they arrived.  I told them how happy I was to see them and asked if they would finish today.  They told me that they only came by to pick up their tools as they were going to another job.  What?  I asked when they would be back and they said maybe Wednesday or Thursday.  I asked if they really intended to work on Thursday, which is Thanksgiving.  They said yes, picked up their tool belts and left me literally speechless, stunned and in a state of disbelief.

About 15 minutes later I heard someone arrive downstairs.  There I met a new face, who was equally surprised to see me as I was to meet him.  He is the guy who will install the new oak hardwood flooring and he apologized because he didn't know anyone was living in the project.  He also told me that he felt bad that the drywall guys had left such a mess and he would never do that.  I instantly loved this guy. 

He had just got off the phone with my contractor and said he was on the way over.  After the floor guy and my contractor talked, it was my turn.  First, the contractor shared some words of wisdom, "In the construction business, the bullshit flows downward."  Ok...what this means is that the drywall guys decided that the gable ceiling in the master bedroom was "bowed" and they stopped work on Saturday.  The contractor was annoyed because he had sent the framers to the house on Friday and told the drywall guys that if there were any framing problems to tell the framers so they could fix it.  The drywall guys told the framers there were no problems on Friday.  So the contractor couldn't decide if the drywall guys found hanging drywall on the gable ceiling too challenging or if there really was a problem with the framing.  In the meantime, the contractor blamed this problem on the architect and muttered that he is the only one who designs "star gables" which are a pain to drywall, but they are quite beautiful.

I just stood there listening to how each person blamed the other and yes, the bullshit was flowing downward, and I was drowning in it.  The contractor told me that he was meeting the owner of the drywall company in a few hours and would yell at them.  The drywall company was also sending someone in to clean the drywall detritus so that maybe the hardwood floor guy could actually begin installing the tongue and groove flooring.  

Hanging the drywall to the point where the screw inspection could be scheduled should have taken five days, max.  We are now delayed on the project by three weeks because the drywall was late to get started and is still not completed.   The contractor is almost as frustrated as I am, but he gets to leave for a week's vacation after Thanksgiving, and I get to spend Thanksgiving here.  I tried to get a sense from the contractor about when the house would be done, and he said that if "done" meant that I could have livable space that I could move into, probably January.  So, it looks like I will be without a working kitchen and sleeping on my "dog bed," uh I mean "alternative sleeping arrangement" for about another 8 weeks.  I gave myself 72 minutes to wallow in my disappointment before trying to climb back to the heights of uber zen ville.  Let's just say that I'm approaching zen ville with the assistance of red wine, but I am not yet at the uber stage.

On the bright side...at least the first floor drywall detritus was indeed removed and the space clean when I came home this evening.  It was a pleasure to walk into a cleaned main level of the house, even if the dry wall is still only 80% complete.  The kitchen plumbing (farmhouse apron style sink with "intense" faucet and pot filler bar sink) has arrived and the order is ready to be picked up by the contractor before he goes on vacation.  I got a killer "Black Friday" bargain by accident this afternoon -- I logged into Amazon with the intention to order the range vent for the range top when the garbage disposal I had decided upon popped up as a "Black Friday" sale item (even though it was Monday, not Black Friday, go figure).  I saved over $50 and got free shipping on the garbage disposal, and in the excitement, I realized afterwards that I had forgotten to order the range vent, which I will save for tomorrow (maybe I will get another Black Friday bargain on Tuesday).   I will also meet the owner of the painting company tomorrow morning at 8.  I really like this guy and his painting crew, who are in a Reggae band when they are not painting (they are the only blond haired, blue-eyed Reggae musicians I know, but they are really sweet guys).  They will paint my garage, which was not included in the original bid from the contractor.  The painter gave me a very reasonable price and they can get the garage done tomorrow, so we're on as the weather will be decent. They will also power sand the timbers on the covered deck and apply a stain clear coat to the timbers and corbels.  If all works out, tomorrow afternoon I will go back to the "we're more than a brickyard brick yard" to place the order for the thin brick for the kitchen (Pawnee won the vote, by the way).

On Thursday I am hoping that I will be giving thanks for all the drywall being hung, but I am not holding my breath (although I will be holding a large glass of red wine).  I am, however, very thankful that I have shelter and will have an amazing house to live in when all of this construction becomes a faint memory that will be refreshed by a visit in the future to this website -- that is when I have hopefully repressed the memories of the drywall debacle.