Day 86: More Plumbing, Electrical and Concrete

Electrical:
The electricians finished hooking up our double oven, installed the two bathroom lights that were missing and all our under cabinet lights.  They still have a few items to do on the punch list below.

Plumbing:
The plumbers installed the laundry sink, kitchen faucet, basement bath fixtures and swapped out all the chrome fixtures for oil rubbed bronze.

Trim:
The trim carpenters installed our microwave, replaced the paneling that was removed to patch the air vent in the dining room and installed trim pieces to hide the gaps behind the cabinets in the kitchen.

Concrete:
The concrete crew was out to install the rest of our driveway, the sidewalk at the street and our walk way and stoop.  They ran out of concrete and left 1 section of the sidewalk not poured...but for the most part they are done.  We can start landscaping now.

On the Horizon:
- Continued punch out items getting ready for Quality Inspection.
- Landscaping this upcoming Wednesday... we hope. They are supposed to do the final grading and run a rock hound over the lot.

Missing parts:
- Cabinet back for Glass Cabinet in Kitchen
- Columns for either side of front door
- Ceiling fans
- Surface mounted light for formal living room
- Door knob for laundry room door
- Cracked front window in dining room

Laundry Sink. Bigger than I thought it was going to be.
That is the Travertine Laminate top. Not bad actually, a good match with cabinets.

Sad little faucet for such a grand house. We didn't like any of the upgrade
options and especially the prices. They didn't have an
oil rubbed bronze option at all.

Microwave in and ready for use. Plumbers are supposed
to be installing the gas cook top. Also, notice the under cabinet lights.

Under cabinet lights in butler pantry.

I think this is supposed to be the niche light. What a mess!!!

All the chrome was swapped out for bronze.

Bronze vice chrome

Basement bath finished

This is how they hooked up our microwave.

Finally a walk way

Walk way...Yeah!!!

This should make it easier to step up into the house.

 

So what's left?

Electricians:
 - Swap wrong fixture in the Formal Living Room (Still waiting on Light)
 - Need to install all our ceiling fans (x4). Waiting for these to come in.
 - Lights in basement (Storage areas) are all linked together are supposed to be on their own switches (didn't verify this was done yet.).

Trim:
- Interior Door Handles (They missed 1. Will probably be installed by Punch Out Guy)
- 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)
- Tighten one of the railings on the cat walk

Plumbers:
- Shower surrounds (x2)
- Install Gas Cook Top

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 (Finish this once parts come in for trim around door)
- Paint front door (apparently the door that was painted in our house was not ours...but the same color)

Appliances:
- Install Gas Cook Top (Done by Plumbers)

Siding:
- Finish trim around front door and foyer palladium window (Still waiting on parts)

Excavation:
- Finish grading the front yard after cement is poured. This will be done by the landscaping company.  I also asked if they were going to run a rock hound over the yard and the answer was "Yes".  This is going to be done by the landscaping company, not the excavation company.

Flooring:
- Install carpet runner on stairs (still haven't done this)
- Fix large gap they left next to wall in basement. The carpet didn't quite make it all the way to the wall.

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

Drywall:
- Patch new holes made by electricians
- Work off blue tape discrepancies (This has already begun)

Other Misc.
- Install permanent air vents on first floor
- Hang front door and install handle and lock set
- Caulk around the outside of the windows and in between the brick
- Put Address #'s on Mail Box
- Insulate Attic Stairs (They are going to do some sort of batting at the top of the scuttle)
- Paint Attic Stairs closure
- Install covers/trim pieces over dryer vent in laundry room
- Install covers/trim pieces over washer spigots in laundry room

Inspections:
- Energy Star Inspection and Certification (Can do now that carpet is installed)
- Water Inspection by Health Department (Can be done at any time now)
- Final County Inspection for Certificate of Occupancy (This is ready once electricians and plumbers are done...can be anytime between the end of this week and end of next)
- Quality Inspection by Third Party (This is a bigger deal to the PM than the above inspections. This is one of the things that effect their bonus...I suspect they will be preparing for this the next week or more).

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
- There is tons of boxes and trash in our garage since the dumpster has been taken away.
- The brick in our front yard was finally hauled off

Day 84, 85: Plumbers and Electricians

Day 84: Wednesday, July 10th

Insulation
The insulation company was back out and insulated the unfinished portion of the basement with that silver blanket stuff.  I smelled awful.

Drywall
The drywall crew was back in sanding what that done the night before.  Now it's over to the painter to come in and touch up.

HVAC
The HVAC company came out and cut the vent for our microwave.  Now it can be installed.

Plumbers
The plumbers were in and did some work.  I just missed them, so couldn't go in and see what they actually accomplished.  I literally missed them by1 minute.  I saw them walking to their vans from the end of the street.  By the time I turned in to the development, they were pulling out.  I stopped one asked if they were the last ones and they said the locked up and were heading out.

Day 85: Thursday, July 11th
The electricians were in today.  Again, passed my PM just as I was pulling in and he had just locked up.  I met up with him later at the sales office but he was taking a test for his continuing education, so wasn't going to be able to let me in.  I'm going over there tomorrow and lunch to get caught up and snap a few pictures.

On the horizon:
The trim carpenters are going to be back in tomorrow to do a few odd items.  I believe they are going to install our microwave as well.

The concrete crew is supposed to be pouring...for real this time. ;-)  They poured a driveway at another house yesterday and a freak storm blew through.  It ruined the cement and cost them over $10,000.  So they are being very careful to watch the weather closely.

If we get concrete, then we should get sod and landscaping next Wednesday.  This is supposed to be a 1 day event.  They also set up a portable irrigation system.  Basically a battery operated multi-zone timer and sprinklers with hoses from your outside bibs.  RH pays for the first 2 weeks, then you can extend the contract with the contractor on a week-by-week basis.  They say it takes 3 weeks for the sod to take.

Missing parts:
- The cabinet back that had holes drilled in it was supposed to be in today.
- The columns for either side of our front were supposed to come in tomorrow. Hopefully will be installed after they pour concrete.
- Our ceiling fans should be in soon.  There was some talk that they may have had stock on the ones we originally ordered.  We had supplied them with an alternate fan because the ones that match our other lighting were discontinued.


So what's left?

Electricians (I Will Verify what was done tomorrow):
 - 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:
- Interior Door Handles (They missed 1. Will probably be installed by Punch Out Guy)
- 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)
- Fill visible gaps behind cabinets and walls on right side of kitchen

Plumbers:
- Kitchen faucet
- Set sink, faucet and drain in laundry room
- Basement Bathroom sink, faucet and drain
- Shower surrounds (x2)
- Change out chrome drains and overflow valves with oil rubbed bronze

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 (Finish this once parts come in for trim around door)
- Paint front door (apparently the door that was painted in our house was not ours...but the same color)

Appliances:
- Install Microwave (Should be installed by trim carpenter tomorrow)
- Install Gas Cook Top

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

Masons:
- Finish pouring: Stoop, walk-way, sidewalk and bottom of driveway (Tomorrow?)

Excavation:
- Finish grading the front yard after cement is poured. This will be done by the landscaping company.  I also asked if they were going to run a rock hound over the yard and the answer was "Yes".

Flooring:
- Install carpet runner on stairs

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

Drywall:
- Work off blue tape discrepancies (This has already begun)

Other Misc.
- Install permanent air vents on first floor
- Hang front door and install handle and lock set
- Caulk around the outside of the windows and in between the brick
- Put Address #'s on Mail Box
- Insulate Attic Stairs (They are going to do some sort of batting at the top of the scuttle)
- Paint Attic Stairs closure

Inspections:
- Energy Star Inspection and Certification (Can do now that carpet is installed)
- Water Inspection by Health Department (Can be done at any time now)
- Final County Inspection for Certificate of Occupancy (This is ready once electricians and plumbers are done...can be anytime between the end of this week and end of next)
- Quality Inspection by Third Party (This is a bigger deal to the PM than the above inspections. This is one of the things that effect their bonus...I suspect they will be preparing for this the next week or more).

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

Day 83: Final Carpet, Granite and More Drywall Repair

Flooring:
The carpet installers finished all the carpet last night as promised.  They had to make the runner for the stairs off-site and then will bring it back and install it.

Blue Tape Jamboree:
The drywall crew was in fixing scrapes and dings.  Still lots of blue tape to work off and the PM's haven't even finished putting all the blue tape in the house.  This process will probably be going on for the next week to get the house ready for the QI (Quality Inspection).

Counters:
The granite company came back and installed the granite in the butler pantry and dropped off the laminate counter top for the laundry room.

No sign of:
 - Concrete company (going on 2 weeks now). They set the forms and gravel on June 24th (15 days ago).
 - Electricians. They said they would be in last Wednesday, then Friday, then Saturday...now we can't get them on the phone. Time to Hire Someone else.  You know you are in trouble when the housing inspector has nicknamed your electrician "Easy Money".  I was hoping he was just kidding but I'm seeing he must really know this guy.
 - Plumbers.  The only excuse I would give them is they were waiting on our laundry counter top to come in...but other than that, they have plenty to do.

The only thing left where we will see some real transformation is the landscaping.  I'm running out of things to report because there is so little going on at the house (which is discouraging).  My blog posts may become a bit bland.  I can only take so many pictures of blue tape and drywall patches. :(

The Study

First time closing these doors to see what they look like

First look at faux area rug

Granite in Butler Pantry

Laundry counter top with sink installed.
Just needs to be paired with base cabinet.

Travertine formica...

Bedroom #4 looking toward stairs and Jack & Jill bath
This is the smallest bedroom but has the best view

Looking through Jack & Jill to Bedroom #3

Landing with carpet finished

I don't think we will get the full effect until
that blasted cardboard is removed

Master bedroom

Looking out of Master Bedroom

Basement stairs



Finished portion of basement



So what's left?

Counters:
- Formica in Laundry Room (Arrived but need to be installed)

Electricians (STILL MIA):
 - 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:
- Interior Door Handles (They missed 1. Will probably be installed by Punch Out Guy)
- 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)

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 (Finish this once parts come in for trim around door)
- 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 Gas Cook Top

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

Masons:
- Finishing pouring: Stoop, walk-way, sidewalk and bottom of driveway (Who Knows When?)

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

Flooring:
- Install carpet runner on stairs

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

Drywall:
- Work off blue tape discrepancies (This has already begun)

Other Misc.
- Insulate unfinished portion of the basement
- Install permanent air vents on first floor
- Hang front door and install handle and lock set
- Caulk around the outside of the windows and in between the brick
- Put Address #'s on Mail Box
- Insulate Attic Stairs (They are going to do some sort of batting at the top of the scuttle)
- Paint Attic Stairs closure

Inspections:
- Energy Star Inspection and Certification (Can do now that carpet is installed)
- Water Inspection by Health Department (Can be done at any time now)
- Final County Inspection for Certificate of Occupancy (This is ready once electricians and plumbers are done...can be anytime between the end of this week and end of next)
- Quality Inspection by Third Party (This is a bigger deal to the PM than the above inspections. This is one of the things that effect their bonus...I suspect they will be preparing for this the next week or more).

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


Day 82: Carpet Going In, Down Spouts and More

Flooring:
The carpet installers were in today and installed the tack strips, carpet pad and cut, staged and rolled out carpet in each room.  The installer said they would be done today (around 8pm tonight).

They measured for the runner on the stairs and will have to come back to install that.

Drywall:
The drywall guys were in and patched the holes made by the electricians and started working off the blue tape discrepancies.  20 Blue tapes down, 5,000 to go.

Painter:
The painter was in and painted our exterior trim.  We had a few of the pieces for the trim around our front door, he went ahead and painted those pieces.

Gutter:
The gutter company was back and finished all the down spouts.

Misc:
Our Mailbox was installed.

On the horizon:
Tomorrow (Tuesday, 9 July 2013)
 - Counter tops for Butler Pantry
 - Counter top for Laundry Cabinet
 - Supposed to pour the rest of our driveway, walkway and stoop

- Still no sign of the electricians to finish their job and the plumbers should be able to come back in once the laundry counter top is installed. I'm not sure if they plumbers install the gas cook top or not?

"I'm going to put the Punch List on the bottom of the pictures.  This is both for me and anyone who is interested...also, maybe it will prevent some carpal tunnel for those that might get cramps from their scrolling mouse."

Down spout

Down spout

Rain deflector

Front door trim painted

Another down spout

...and yet another down spout. There are more I
didn't even get pictures of.

Tack strips and padding installed upstairs

This is where our faux area rug will be

Carpet cut and staged in Master Bedroom

We have a mail box...no number yet.

Carpet going in Study

Drywall patch from raising switch up on the wall

Drywall patch from moving register

Starting to work the blue tape discrepancies off

The carpet looks really light here but look at the next picture...

Same room in the closet it looks much darker and more warm

Basement carpet. Not the same quality but similar in color



Trim painted around garage doors

So what's left?

Counters (Supposed to be Tomorrow):
- Granite counter tops in Butler Pantry
- Formica in Laundry Room

Electricians (MIA):
 - 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:
- Interior Door Handles (They missed 1. Will probably be installed by Punch Out Guy)
- 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)

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 (Finish this once parts come in for trim around door)
- 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 Gas Cook Top

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

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

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

Flooring:
- Install carpet runner on stairs

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

Drywall:
- Work off blue tape discrepancies

Other Misc.
- Install permanent air vents on first floor
- Hang front door and install handle and lock set
- Caulk around the outside of the windows and in between the brick
- Put Address #'s on Mail Box
- Insulate Attic Stairs (They are going to do some sort of batting at the top of the scuttle)
- Paint Attic Stairs closure

Inspections:
- Energy Star Inspection and Certification (Can do now that carpet is installed)
- Water Inspection by Health Department (Can be done at any time now)
- Final County Inspection for Certificate of Occupancy (This is ready once electricians and plumbers are done...can be anytime between the end of this week and end of next)
- Quality Inspection by Third Party (This is a bigger deal to the PM than the above inspections. This is one of the things that effect their bonus...I suspect they will be preparing for this the next week or more).

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