Home Stretch

Most of the work is complete and we will be moving back home soon. All of the walls and most of the trim are painted, with help from Auntie and friends. Even Ohm wanted to help out with painting.

The electrician came out and did the final electrical trim out. He put in all the switches outlets and lights.

In preparation for the trim, we removed all the boards we put down back in December to protect the floors.

We were worried about the condition of the floors under the boards. They survived fairly well. There were a couple spots of mold in areas where water made it under the plastic sheeting. The most of the mold came off with some bleach water. We will try vinegar on the leftover mold spots

The finish carpenter came out and put in all the trim and made the bench.

The finish carpenter also installed the bathroom vanity. We installed the counter top (which we ordered online).The tile installer put in the shower and the backsplash in the kitchen.

The forms are up for the front and back steps.

We are having bamboo stair pieces installed to match the downstairs floors. We ordered caramelized bamboo pieces, but when it arrived, it appeared to be uncaramelized. Ohm's Mom stained all the parts at the last minute so they would be ready for installing today.

The concrete will be poured tomorrow. On Thursday and Friday we will install carpet. This weekend we will start moving back home!

Siding and Piles

We got rid of one pile and created another.

Since the framer finished his work, we got all of the unused lumber together and put it on our RV parking. The lumber company came by on Monday the April 7 and picked it up. We will get a refund from them for our left over lumber.

The house also got its siding in the last couple weeks. They started installing the siding on the 4th. It took a little over a week for the installation portion to be complete. They finished up last Monday.

By Wednesday the painters had started in on the exterior.

After the first day of painting, we were a little worried that it looked too yellow. By the time it finished drying, and the trim was painted, the house looked a bit less yellow.
The siding company will be hauling off their pile in the next few days.

The only things left for the exterior are to add a concrete step out the front and back door, and for the lighting to be installed.

The interior has been moving along as well. The drywall is complete. For painting, we hired painters to paint all of the ceilings, the stairwell area and the main area downstairs. Ohm's aunt is in charge of painting the rest. The painters finished their portion on Friday. We now have enough complete for the finish carpenter to start his work tomorrow morning.

Drywalling begins

It was quite the happening day today. The drywallers came today and started installing drywall. They should be finished tomorrow with the nailing and we will get the drywall nailing inspection on Friday.

We also had someone come by to haul away our trash pile. It took one and a half truck loads for them to haul it away.

When Ohm's mom stopped by the rental house for lunch, she got word that the siding materials would be delivered in the afternoon, and work on the siding will start tomorrow. To get ready for this, Ohm's dad came home early and removed a couple sections of fence and a trellis that were attached to the house.
We stayed at the house late into the evening getting Ohm's room ready for retexturing and the new windows in the old bedrooms ready for the drywall surround, which will also occur tomorrow.

It feels like we're closing in on the finish line!

Insulation and Heating

The house has insulation and the furnaces are on. We were scheduled to have the insulation installed on Thursday and the insulation inspection Friday morning. Thursday afternoon, Ohm's mom arrived at the house to discover that the insulation installation company had not shown up as scheduled. This is the same company that put the insulation in before they were supposed to. After calling them, and rescheduling the inspector for Friday afternoon, they came out Friday morning to reinstall the insulation. The inspector passed the insulation, fire blocking and extra nailing.We have also started using the furnaces over at the house. We had to start it Friday night in anticipation of the drywall delivery Monday morning. It is much nicer working over there with the heat. It feels much warmer than the rental house. The downside is that there is no attic insulation and we are sure that most of our heat is escaping through the roof.

The drywall is now stacked around the house. They will start hanging it tomorrow. The end is in sight!

It Passes!!! (almost)

Getting the framing inspections complete has been quite the adventure. We first attempted to pass on Friday, March 7. After have our special hold down testing done (see Solving a Series of Problems) we called for the framing inspection. We were hoping that the inspector would do the interior framing inspection so that we could get started on the drywall upstairs at the same time as finishing the exterior shear wall downstairs. Then we would be on track to move back in by the end of April. But when he came (after Ohm's mom had been waiting at the house with Ohm for almost 2 hours) he said that we needed to have the exterior shear wall installed, and the house exterior wrapped before he would do the framing inspection. This meant coordinating the following sequence of work and inspections before starting any drywall.

1. Put insulation in downstairs exterior walls.
2. Have that insulation inspected.
3. Put the OSB (plywood) on the downstairs exterior walls.
4. Have a shearwall inspection for that.
5. Have all of the exterior OSB (upstairs and downstairs) wrapped with waterproof material.
6. Have the framing inspection.
7. Do any fixes required from the framing inspection (we hear they never pass the first time).
8. Put in the insulation upstairs.
9. Have that insulation inspected.
10. Start drywall!

With this list we sadly realized that we wouldn't be able to move back at the end of April as hoped.

We called the insulation company and told them we needed only downstairs exterior insulation on the first trip. Unfortunately, the company was a little over zealous in their work, and installed all of the interior and exterior insulation. After a few frantic calls, apologies from the insulation company, and a stern note from the inspector that it was not OK to install insulation quite yet, the installation company came out and removed the insulation from the interior. They left it in piles throughout the house for later use.
The next challenge was getting the house wrapped. We hadn't scheduled the exterior siding company yet. The house was ready for the wrap on Monday, March 17. However due to a backlog of work at the siding company, they told us that they would be able to get to wrapping our house until last weekend. It wasn't until Friday that we realized that it was Easter weekend. By then we had the final framing inspection scheduled for Monday afternoon with the inspector and framer. Ohm's dad was going to take a vacation day from work so Ohm's mom wouldn't have to be there. By 1 PM Sunday we had not seen the siders. Ohm's mom made a call to make sure they were coming, and was assured that they were still planning on coming. By 4 PM, the company president and a helper were out installing wrap on the exposed shear walls. The schedule hiccup was averted and the inspection would continue as planned.At 8:30 Monday morning, Ohm's dad had just delivered Ohm to the babysitter for the day. He was just getting ready to go work at the house when his cell phone rang. It was the city calling. The inspector had called in sick and was unable to make it. After consulting with the framer for his availability, the inspection was reschedule for Tuesday afternoon. Ohm's dad made it into work around 9:30, and rescheduled his vacation for Tuesday.

Tuesday morning at 8:45, Ohm's Dad was getting ready to go over to the house. The city called again and said that the inspector was sick again. After being told that the inspector's back up from another local town was in class all week and checking the framers availability, we rescheduled for Wednesday morning. This time Ohm's mom would attend. Her cell phone number was left with the city as a contact number. She was planning on calling the framer in the morning and asking him to call her when the inspector arrived so that she wouldn't have to wait at the house with Ohm for 2 or 3 hours.

Wednesday morning at 8:45, Ohm's Dad was at work. He received a call on his cell phone from the inspector saying that he was getting ready to head out for inspections. His schedule was packed and he wanted to make sure someone would be at the house. He didn't know when he would be there, but he would be there.

Ohm's dad called Ohm's mom to relay the message. Ohm's mom tried to contact the framer but was unable to get a hold of him. So, she very quickly loaded up Ohm and headed over to the house. When she arrived, she discovered that the framer had been there earlier that morning, but had left. Ohm's mom had no other choice but to wait for the inspector to arrive. Ohm took this opportunity to play in the puddles in the driveway.
The inspector arrived about an hour later. After looking through the house, he requested that some fire blocking be added to a wall over the garage on the second floor, and a few more nails be added to some of the brackets. He gave the OK to install the insulation, and he will sign off on the framing inspection when he performs the insulation inspection.

Not long after the the inspector left, and Ohm's mom had returned to the rental house, the framer called. After arriving at our house this morning, he discovered that his cellphone had died. Rather than wait around, unable to to know if the inspector had called in sick again, he had gone to the Sprint store to get his cellphone fixed. All of the inspectors pickups have been performed, and the house is now ready for the interior insulation to be added tomorrow.

Whew!

Catch Up

Lots has changed since our last picture post. We have all done a lot of work in the house since then.

The framed stairs were added,

The Plummer came out and completed the rough in.

He then informed us that code required that a certain window can't be a type that opens due to the sewer vent just a few feet away.

The chimney was taken down to the floor,

rebuilt through the second floor,

and through the roof.

The HVAC and electrician have been out to do the rough in.

The front gable and bay window have been added,

and the roofers have finished their work, the upstairs windows have been added.
We are currently working in the kitchen putting in a new floor and stripping wall paper. (Sorry, no photos yet)

If all goes well, we will pass the framing inspection on Monday and we will then be able to get the insulation and drywall started.

Solving a Series of Problems

We haven't yet shared very many of the challenges that have come our way. One of the things that Mark at UBuildIt said in our initial planning meeting was "A construction project is just solving a series of problems." We have found that to be very true. Most of them have been relatively small problems, but with the potential to slow down progress.

We (usually Ohm's mom, since she is most often the one talking to the subcontractors) have to deal with little things (like deciding where light switches should go) almost daily. Often Ohm is with mom at the house while she's talking with the various subcontractors and trying to deal with whatever has come up. It is challenging to keep a 2 year old out of trouble in a construction zone while trying to focus on the issues of the day. But Ohm loves to go because he always sees something fun, like people climbing ladders, hammering, sawing, etc.

Another challenge is scheduling everyone to keep the work moving forward as quickly as possible. Our detailed manual from UBuildIt, and our regular meetings with Mark have helped immensely with that. So far we haven't had any major delays. Ohm's mom usually spends most of Ohm's nap time either on the phone scheduling subcontractors and dealing with any problems that have come up, or on the computer doing research for the next step.

Now, back to some of the more interesting problems we've encountered. The cast of characters are Ohm's mom, Ohm's dad, Mark, and various subcontractors. Also, occasional appearances by Ohm. For the sake of brevity, most of Ohm's role has not been included. You can insert "mommy pick me up", "O want down", "mommy all done with phone", and similar phrases throughout the narratives.

The Chimney
Ohm's dad (a day or two after signing our contract with the HVAC contractor): Is HVAC putting in the pipes to extend the chimney?
Ohm's mom: Hmm. Good question. No that's not in the contract. I'll call them.
HVAC contractor: No, we don't do chimney's. You need a mason for that.
Ohm's mom to Mark: I don't see a bid for anyone to extend the chimney. Do you know of anyone?
(Insert a flurry of phone calls and meetings with masons. Independent from each other, all 3 masons we meet with say extending the existing chimney by adding a pipe on top is not a good plan (earthquake issues), and even if it could be done it would be just as expensive as building the chimney all the way up.)
(Also insert ongoing conversations with the framer. The trusses are scheduled to come in a few days and he has to know how the chimney area will be framed before the roof goes on.)
Framer to Ohm's mom: Have you thought about just leaving the exposed brick chimney instead of framing around it?
Ohm's mom and dad mull this over and decide it's a good idea. They choose the mason and the specific brick to be used. Problem solved (for now).

The Shower Pan
Ohm's mom to herself (one week before the plumber is scheduled to come): How is the plumber going to know exactly where to put in the drain for the shower? I wonder if all shower pans have the drain in the same place, or if he'll need to have the actual pan.
Ohms' mom to plumber: Will you need the shower pan when you come next week?
Plumber: Yes.
(Insert a flurry of internet searches for shower pans during Ohm's nap later that day. What kind of material is the best, and how can we get one quickly? Not too hard to pick the type, but not finding any to buy online for a reasonable price.)
Ohms' mom to Ohm's dad (at work): We have to get a shower pan right away.
(When Ohm's dad gets home we eat quickly, and then all three of us pile in the car for a shower pan shopping trip. First stop, Lowes.)
Ohm: Home Depot.
Ohm's mom and dad: No, this is Lowes.
Ohm: What's Home Depot doing? Go to Home Depot.
(Note: We don't know why, but he prefers Home Depot to Lowes.)
Lowes Guy: We don't have any of those in stock. Yes, we can order one. It will take at least 2 weeks to get one.
Ohm's mom and dad: No thank you. We need one in a few days, not a few weeks.
Ohm's mom to Ohms's dad: It's almost Ohm's bedtime. Maybe you should drop us off at the house and then go to Home Depot.
Ohm: Go to Home Depot!
(Insert quick trip into Home Depot. There aren't any in stock. We don't even bother to ask about ordering one. Back at the house after Ohm is in bed, both mom and dad search the internet for something to order quickly. No luck.)
Ohm's dad: Seattle is a big city. There must be someone who has one in stock.
(Insert more internet searching, this time for any place in the area that might have what we need. Ohm's mom finds a wholesale plumbing supply place that is about 2 blocks from her work. She will be going in to work the next day, and plans to be at the wholesale plumbing place when they open.)
Ohm's mom to the wholesale plumbing sales guy: I need a 36 inch neo angle white acrylic shower pan.
Wholesale plumbing guy (after checking on the computer): We have one in stock. It costs $x (a number lower than Ohm's mom was expecting). Do you want your plumber to get that for you?
Ohm's mom: No, I want to get it now.
Wholesale plumbing guy (who can tell that Ohm's mom is not in the mood to be told that she is not a plumber and can't buy at wholesale prices): OK. I'll just have to set up an account for you first.
(The rest of the story: We first actually saw the shower pan after it was installed. We really like it, and the plumber said it is a good high quality brand.)

Special Inspection
Note from city inspector: You need an inspection by special inspection agency for the hold downs.
Ohm's mom (on inspector's voice mail): Who's the special inspection agency, and how do I contact them?
City inspector (returning phone call fairly promptly): You have to hire an independent company like X or Y.
Independent company X: Usually we would watch the hold downs being installed and verify that it was done correctly. Now we'll have to do a load test instead. That will cost more. No, we can't just ask the framer how he did them.
Mark and framer: The inspector should have marked on the approved set of plans that a special inspection was needed. Then it would have been checked while being installed. You should ask the inspector why he didn't mark the plans.
(Ohm's mom and dad decide that since there is only one inspector, who has to come for several more inspections, they wouldn't risk making him annoyed by fighting him on this. The load test is done and of course passes.)

I want it my way
Ohm's mom has discovered that she really has to quiz the subcontractors about certain details before they start. They often want what's easiest for them, no matter what impact that has in the existing house or on other subcontractors. A few short examples follow. (Note: For brevity most of Ohm's mom role has been left out. She's the one being told all of this, and then sorting it out with everyone.)

HVAC guy: Have the framer leave the floor off above this section of the kitchen so that we can hook up the range hood vent.
Framer: I can't leave the floor off. I have to build a wall there. They'll have to cut a hole when they're ready.
(Fast forward a few weeks.)
HVAC guy (ready to do installation): Why isn't the floor off like I told you? Have the framer cut a hole.
Ohm's mom to framer (who is near by): Can you please cut a hole for them.
(The framer cuts the hole without too much protest, but Ohm's mom can tell he's irritated with the HVAC guy.)

HVAC guy: The roof has to be dried in (just paper) before we start, and then the shingles have to be put on after we're done so that the roofers can do the flashing.
Roofer: In all the years I've been doing this I've never heard of such a thing.
(Insert several phone calls back and forth. Finally, we all agree that the HVAC guys can cut through the shingles, and the roofing guys can come back to do the flashing. Ohm's mom wants to know why they couldn't have just said that in the first place!)

Plumber: I'll just route these pipes from the upstairs bathroom down through the corner of this room to the crawl space.
Ohm's mom: This is our dining room. On the other side of the wall is our utility room. Could you possibly route the pipes through there?
Plumber: Hmm. That would be hard to do. I guess if I did this, then that, I could just squeeze it in.
Ohm's mom: Please do that.
(Ohm's mom doesn't know what she would have found if she hadn't been there to double check the plan.)

It's not my job
Often Ohm's mom has to get someone other than the current subcontractor to do one relatively small thing. And if it doesn't get done, work will stop. So far, the two choices for who does it have been either the framer, or Ohm's mom and dad. A few examples:

Demolition guys: We don't put on tarps (after tearing off the roof).

Roofing guys: We don't take off tarps.

HVAC guys: We don't cut holes in the floor (where a duct has to go).

Masons: We don't cut the hole in the roof (where the chimney has to go).

Drywall guys: We don't remove and replace the window that the drywall has to go through.

(Solution to all of the above: Ohm's mom asks the framer to do it. He's been pretty good about pitching in. He's probably used to it.)

Almost everyone cleans up some of their mess, but not all of it.
(Solution: Ohm's mom and dad get to clean up.)

Final Note
It looks like a long list of problems, but it's been spread out over 2 months. Nothing has really been too big of a problem, and nothing has really slowed us down very much. Most of the time we're glad that we're dealing with the subcontractors directly, rather than through a general contractor. (Occasionally we want to stop the train and get off!) We're also glad for all of the help from Mark and for the organization system from UBuildIt. And we will, of course, be very glad when it's all done!

Then and Now

We were going to title this "Before and After", but we're not quite all the way to "after" yet. However, since it was pointed out to us that we have not yet included any before pictures, we decided to show the changes to date.

Front view, then

and now



South side view, then


and now



North side view, then


and now


We're gradually adjusting to the new look. We've gotten several comments from neighbors and others that they like how it is turning out. After the windows and siding are done it will look much more cohesive.

Roof's On

The roofers made their first visits on Friday and Monday. Jeff was quite glad to be finished with the tarps, and they are now relegated to our trash pile (if anyone has a use for beat up tarps let us know). We are glad we don't have to make any more evening trips to arrange various containers to catch the leaks. The roofer will come back out after all the penetrations are in place and the bay window and front entry areas are complete.

Our trash pile has also started to shrink. One of our neighbors stopped by and asked for the wood to burn in his fireplace. He spent quite a bit of time today getting lumber and hauling it back to his house. It's a great solution for both of us. He gets a free wood pile, and we don't have to pay to get it hauled off.

Things are starting to move a little faster now. The framer should be finishing up in the next week or two. The mason tore our chimney back down to be flush with the second floor, and he will build it back up with brick as soon as weather permits. The plumber was out today and the plumbing rough in should be ready for inspection on Thursday. We will post more pictures as things progress.

Up, Up, Up

We have been very fortunate that it didn't rain very much during the day for the last week or so. (It has rained quite a bit during the night, which has created more lakes in our dining room and living room. We are pretty sure it's still not doing any serious damage.) The framer was able to get a lot done without rain interfering.

Throughout last week, he put up walls. It was nice to see the pile of wood in the driveway rapidly shrink. When Ohm saw the new walls up he said "two houses". At the moment it does indeed look like someone accidentally landed a new house on top of ours. We trust that it will look more cohesive when finishing touches, like siding, are done.

The windows arrived on Wednesday, and we are keeping them in the garage until the framer is ready for them. We're looking forward to replacing all of the old metal frame windows in the existing house.

On Friday, the trusses were delivered. Ohm was mesmerized with the crane operations. He told the neighbors who stopped by to chat that the trusses were going "up, up, up to the sky."

When we stopped by on Sunday, all of the trusses were up. The tarp is now held securely in place, and we can sleep better knowing that there shouldn't be large puddles downstairs any longer.

We had fun walking around our new upstairs, looking out the "windows", and visualizing what it will look like when it's finished. It's getting easier to believe that it will indeed be finished in the forseeable future!

First Wall Up

The rain stayed away today and the framer was able to put the first three walls up on our second floor. When Ohm's mom and Ohm stopped by before lunch, Jeff (the framer) said the first wall would be up in about 20 minutes. After lunch Ohm's mom decided to make up for her earlier missed photo opportunities and take a quick trip back before Ohm's nap. He was happy to be going back to "Jeff's house" as he now calls it. When we arrived the first wall was already up.


While Ohm's mom was taking pictures of the first wall, the second wall was put in place. Ohm really enjoyed watching it being hoisted up, and then nailed.

When Ohm's dad stopped by after work (without the camera), a third wall was up over the front of the garage, and the framer was putting up the tarps for the evening. We hope the weather holds out so that the framing can be finished enough for the trusses to be delivered on Friday as scheduled.

Frozen Hoses, Drips, and Cleanup

During last week's cold snap, we experienced our first frozen hose. After shutting the house water off a few weeks ago, we opened a few faucets to allow water to expand when frozen. Unfortunately, we forgot that we had previously turned off the washing machine water supply. When the water inside the washing machine hose froze, it was not able to expand freely, and broke the hose at the wall.

The floor joists are now in place and most of the plywood is down for the flooring. Since the old trusses are all gone, the tarps are lying directly on the flat plywood. Because of this, the water does not flow off of the tarps as well as it used to. The rain started yesterday afternoon, and when we went to look over the house last night we saw all of the drips. We spent quite a bit of time looking for enough containers to cover all of the drips. Here is a picture of our dining room.



Our family room also had some leaks. The rough framing for the stairs is done. Now we can get a better idea of what the room will look like with the stairs.Besides rearranging the buckets this morning we decided that we needed to clean up the yard and house a bit. We had all of the old trusses, scrap lumber, and old heating ducts in our yard and driveway. And the house had scraps and sawdust everywhere.
By the end of the day today, we had piled most of the trash on our RV parking, ready to be hauled off to the dump later this week. Ohm's mom is somewhat amazed and amused about her changing perspective on the state of the house. After cleaning up the sawdust and debris from inside, she said "wow, that looks great." Then she realized that she was saying that with walls torn up everywhere, floors covered with plastic and hardboard, no ceilings, and with water dripping in a cold, dark house, all of which had her a bit traumatized when they first happened.
We're not sure if we'll be able to move tomorrow. We're both sore already. It was quite a workout.

Moving right along

The footing framing inspection occurred on Wednesday the 16th. Thursday morning the concrete mixing and pumping companies came out and the footings were poured.

The tarps have been doing a decent job of keeping the water out of the house. Every once in awhile we have to go knock water off of the tarps. Last Sunday morning Ohm's mom went to the house to take the old ratty insulation off of the heating ducts in the crawl space. Code requires that we reseal the existing ducts with mastic compound and that they be insulated. When she arrived at the house she found a spot in the dining room where the tarp had filled up with water. When she pushed on the bubble to get the water out, she discovered that the tarp was no longer extending outside the house. Instead the water rushed down the inside edge of the wall and into the dining room.
There was also water down in the crawl space, so Ohm's mom repeated Ohm's dad's exercise from a month ago of moving all the water down into one big puddle. Later that day Ohm's mom and dad brought out the shop vac and vacuumed out the rest of the puddles of water.

Tuesday morning, the last load of lumber was dropped off in our driveway. The only wood we are missing now are the new ceiling trusses. They are on order and should arrive on Friday, February 1.On Wednesday, the 23rd, major external changes started to occur. The remainder of the old trusses started to come out, along with the wall around the front window. (Good thing we locked the front door!) The new floor joists are going in and the old trusses are now in the way. Luckily we have been rain free the past couple days. The next possible forecast of rain is on Saturday. We hope all the tarping still works without the trusses facilitating water flow. The framer has started to comment on the poor framing job performed by the original builder.

The current plan is to have the house framed in by February 5th or 6th. The plumber is scheduled to come on the 6th. The roofer will come sometime shortly after that. We hope that the major wind and rain storms stay away until after the house is weathered in.