Day 77-81: Final Trim, Initial Cleaning and More

Day 77: Wednesday, July 3rd, 2013
The cleaners came in and did an initial clean of the house. Tubs, sinks, stairs, etc. were wiped down and dusted.

All the screens were installed throughout the house (except the patio).

The towel holders and paper holders were installed.

Also, the closet and pantry wire racks were installed.

Day 78: Thursday, July 4th...Day off.

Day 79: Friday, July 5th, 2013
The gutters were installed but they didn't put in the down spouts.  Which turned out to be a bad thing with all the rain we got.  So instead of the rain evenly rolling off the roof, it was concentrated through holes in the gutters and drilled large holes in the ground near the foundation.  Then filled with water and made nice large lakes.

Day 80: Saturday, July 6th, 2013
The trim carpenters were back in and did their final punch list.  They installed our double oven (the cabinet had to be cut out), installed all but one of the door knobs and finished putting the molding on our stairs (they were missing one of the pieces they needed from the factory).  Finally they installed the pull down stairs for the attic.

Day 81: Sunday, July 7th, 2013...Day off.
We did go shopping and purchased a dinette table and chairs.  We were back and forth on this and decided not to spend the money on the heirloom quality pieces we were looking at until our little boy gets older.  Although you could refinish the stuff we were looking at... it would have broken our hearts to have to.  So we are still upgrading from what we have but not spending nearly as much.  We went with the Ronan Dining table set from Pier 1 with 4 of the wooden chairs and 2 upholstered chairs to put on the ends of the table (The chairs we purchased are not on the website so I'll have to get a picture of them).

Powder Room

Powder Room

There is no way this dude was going to fit in that cabinet

Jack and Jill

Master Closet #1 (Only showing 1 wall)

Master Closet #2

Master Closet #2

Master Bath

Master Bath Linen Closet

Upstairs Linen Closet

Walk-in (kinda) Pantry

Pantry

Gutters

Oil Rubbed Bronze Door Handles

Not really crazy about this style door stop but they were installed...check

The last bit of trim on the stairs

Double Oven Installed

Basement Vanity came in and was installed...
Still needs faucets and drains.

Attic stairs. Not sure what they are going to do to finish
this. Probably just paint it. They can't put insulation over
it like what they normally do. Again, not sure how this
will be finished.

The Ronan Dining Collection and Pier 1
Tobacco Brown Finish

Ronan Dining Table for Dinette

Day 76: Final Stair Staining and Appliance Delivery

We received a few more of our appliances today.  The double oven shipment was refused because it was the wrong model but the microwave and gas cook top was received.

The stairs received their final coat of lacquer and are just beautiful.  They won't let us leave them as bare wood "due to liability" issues.  Honestly, covering up such beautiful wood is almost a criminal act.  Now that I see how chewed up the treads are from construction I see what "liability" they are talking about...it's having to pay to replace damaged treads.  I'm conflicted as to whether or not to just take the carpet runner out after closing.

We got an email today saying our ceiling fans had been discontinued and we were going to have to pick new ones.  We really won't know until the new ones go in, if it will be a big deal or not.  We had to select from a scanned copy of a photo graph...and the picture was just the fan without our lights on it.  I would say that although this "last minute" ordering is good for their bottom line, it is horrible for customer service and stress on our end.  We are so close to finishing and closing, I'm over these little things that would have sent me overboard even a month ago.  We are certainly overpaying for these fans but I'm not even considering doing a DIY fan install in the 2 story family room.  No sir, someone else can do that.

Based on what the PM is telling me...there will be absolutely nothing going on in our house until next week...and there was next to nothing going on today.  So now I know why they needed an extra 3 weeks beyond my projected completion date.  They were going to take a week off.  Bottom line, I may not have anything to write about until next week.

Microwave and Gas Cook Top

Stairs with final stain

Day 74, 75: Granite Counter Tops and More

Day 74: Sunday, June 30, 2013...No Work

Day 75: Monday, July 1st, 2013

Plumbers:
The plumbers were in and installed bath, shower and sink fixtures and drains.  They still have a few items to do but are almost done.

Painters:
The painters were still working away finishing all the trim in the dining room and stairs.

The stainer finished the stairs.

Counters:
The granite counter tops were installed.

Some how there was a mix up and they didn't order/measure/cut/make the counter top for the butler pantry.  This hopefully will be ordered and installed soon.

Still need the formica counter top in the laundry room so the plumbers can set the sink.

A look ahead...
- There may be little to no work going on in our house this week due to the holiday. The PM is scheduling nearly everything for next week (My theory is that he is realizing I was right and he was 2 weeks off on his estimate, so he is sand bagging the project to bring us in closer to the projected finish date).
- The PM did say we should have cleaners in on Monday, then carpet shortly there after.
- We are waiting on weather to pour the remaining walkways and sidewalks.  They have been trying to pour since last Saturday.  As soon as they poor, they will re-grade the front of the house and bring in sod and landscaping.

So what's left?

Counters:
- Granite counter tops in Butler Pantry
- Formica in Laundry Room

Electricians:
 - Swap wrong fixture in the Formal Living Room
 - Missing parts to install electrical for double oven
 - Need to install under cabinet lighting (x5)
 - Need to install light in upstairs niche
 - Need to install all our ceiling fans (x4)
 - Missing 1 Smoke and CO2 detector in basement
 - Need can light for one of the bathrooms
 - Lights in basement (Storage areas) are all linked together are supposed to be on their own switches

Trim:
- Basement vanity top and sink
- Interior Door Handles
- Trim around double oven after installation
- Missing piece of trim on stairs
- Install attic stairs
- Replace cabinet back for cabinet above microwave (they were going to install the electrical outlet for the microwave in the glass front cabinet...so basically you would see the outlet and plug for the microwave)

Plumbers:
- Kitchen faucet
- Set sink, faucet and drain in laundry room
- Basement Bathroom sink, faucet and drain
- Shower surrounds (x2)
- Towel rods and paper holders

Painters:
- Do touch ups from future blue tape rounds (this will probably include all the painting from the repairs above)
- Exterior trim needs to be painted
- Paint front door (apparently the door that was painted in our house was not ours...but the same color)

Appliances:
- Install Microwave (Still need to cut vent for the hood portion of this appliance)
- Install Double Oven (Electricians still need to do their part on this)

Siding:
- Finish trim around front door and foyer palladium window

Masons:
- Finishing pouring: Stoop, walk-way, sidewalk and bottom of driveway

Excavation:
- Finish grading the front yard after cement is poured

Flooring:
- Install carpet and transition strips between different flooring.

Landscapers:
- Everything (Trees, shrubs, bushes, sod, seed and straw)

Drywall:
- Fix hole made from moving light switch at bottom of stairs
- Fix hole made from moving air return in dining room
- Fix holes made from moving electrical outlets in kitchen for back splash
- Work off blue tape discrepancies

Other Misc.
- Install Mail Box
- Install permanent air vents on first floor
- Install Closet Racks
- Hang front door and install handle and lock set
- Caulk around the outside of the windows and in between the brick
- Install all the screens on the windows

Inspections:
- Energy Star Inspection and Certification
- Water Inspection by Health Department
- Final County Inspection for Certificate of Occupancy

Utilities:
- Need to run cable to the street (or the ugly box in front of my yard)
- Need to run telephone to the street

Home stretch:
- Clean house, garage, yard and get ready for closing

Here are some Pictures from today...

Wanted a picture of the Foyer Chandelier from the outside

Let there be Granite and there was...

I wanted it to have some gold but it may be a little too gold...not sure yet.
I think when the cardboard comes off the floors it will have help ground this space

Dining Room...with paneling

They had to mount these outlets in the back splash :(

I really like that detail about the fire place

Missing can light and some of these fixtures just
don't match.  We'll have to ask about this.

Awww...the bathtub is calling my name...just needs a good thorough cleaning.

Roman shower...just need surround.

Columns installed and painted

Almost done, just need ceiling fans

I'm pretty sure this chandelier isn't crooked (not centered on window) and it
was just where I was standing when I took the picture.