and we are moved in

This is it, the final post. We are moved in, pictures hung, toothbrushes in their little places, and all is well. The POD is gone!! What a long strange trip it's been, to coin a phrase. Took twice the money and twice the time, and we will be enjoying it for a long time to come. A friend said at the beginning, be kind to each other. I think we were. At least we are still together!

final inspection!

We passed the final inspection - which means we can actually move into the new space, and also make changes we want that might not have been exactly "kosher" for the city planning department.

We have a new walkway; a new deck and ramp; the fireplace is in and will be "fired up" on Tuesday. Little final touches here and there, but ...done!!

the floor is done

I know I keep saying it's almost done, but it is! Almost done that is. We got the floor in yesterday; Monday, the walkway and the deck footings get poured. Then it's just a matter of all those little things... and there's a long list of those "little things" I won't bore you with.

Could move the furniture back in by the end of the week, which would be good, as I am out of town the next weekend!!!

we're almost there

You can't see much difference, but the plumbing is all in and working, the gutters are up and, obviously, the night lights are installed, and it's beginning to look like someone lives there.








There's still the floor, and a zillion little things, to go, but ... I felt so at home, I took a bath in the new bathtub!

Another week, another $10,000

Either the boss has read this blog or he was just feeling guilty, but he has been paying extra attention all last week. The stucco guys have come and gone and the house is now a beautiful pale green.



The bathroom floor tiles are all laid over the special nu-heat wiring in the floor, and are being sealed as we speak (or, as I write).





The custom 3-mirror medicine cabinet has been installed, and the light fixture. Here's the electrician putting the finishing touch on the switch for the vanity light over the mirrors.




We bought all the outside sconces and an entry hall fixture (ka-ching!). Here's the front entry hall light. It really looks cool in the evening, on a dimmer.




The pocket doors in the bathroom and the closet will be hung today (we hope, barring any unforeseen problems - like the hose bib that the stucco guys broke off last week in the middle of their job, halting the whole process until the plumber could be pulled off his other job to fix the water gushing out everywhere!). Here are the double pocket doors leading to the shower.

Oh, and have I mentioned the flooring snafu? When we first began the project, we gave a sample of our present flooring to the flooring company the boss suggested we go through (because he has a good relationship with the head salesman). They came to the house (twice) to look at the floor, took the sample, and said let us know when you need it. So, we did - and, lo and behold - "They don't make that kind of floor any more" and, "Steve is on extended leave" and "Here's one the same kind" - only it's different - has little grooves between each plank. Our present floor doesn't - it's all one smooth surface. And, worst of all, they don't seem to care. So, the boss is scrambling to preserve his reputation and our business. We'll see.

So far, we're a month over time and $30,000 over budget. Par for the course.

Dog days of August

The end of August is notoriously when things slow down: the days are hot, and energy levels are low. Energy levels around here seem to have dropped to an all time low, even though it's not even hot!

Here it is a week later, and not much to show for it. Everyone seems to have slowed down - it took all afternoon for 2 guys to install a medicine cabinet. The painters came and painted one place on the eaves they missed - and left. Promises of stucco seem to have evaporated. The bathtub is still sitting in the middle of the room. The Nu-heat and the tile floor are still in the box in the corner.

I feel there is no excuse, other than the boss seems to have another, bigger job on his mind and isn't riding herd the way he did in the beginning. Having a blog is a good way to ventilate frustration without yelling at the crew and making it worse.

And, of course, the yard is a mess, from everyone tramping through it and around it, tossing our furniture and yard art off in a corner like so much junk.

what a difference in 2 days

The bathroom tile is in; the sinks and tub have arrived; the electrician installed lights; the closets have shelves and poles. what more could anyone want for 2 days work!
That's the new light in the entry to the bedroom, and the inside of our new closet. May not look like much to the casual observer, but it looks great to us!!

Everyone loves the tile pattern in the bathroom, even the tile man!


Once the tile has been grouted and the tub installed, the painters will return to finish up the inside walls, and then, oh miracle of miracles, the stucco crew will come and put the final color coat on.




The reason everything inside has to be done first, is that the stucco guys seal off the house and spray a thin layer of colored cement on the walls. We'll have to sneak the dog out for walks along the side of the POD!

Our fearless construction leader says we'll even have the new floor by the end of the month.

hurry up and wait

The list of things to be done gets longer and longer, but there's a definite order in which everything has to be done. First the inside walls are painted; then the last, outside, color coat of stucco. Then the Nu-heat under the bathroom floor to keep our tootsies warm in winter, and then the tiles on top of that, and all around the walls. Somewhere in there the bathroom fixtures get installed: the bath tub, the toilet and bidet, and vanity sinks. Then the flooring. Sometime in there some electric lights get put in (the electric wiring is there, but nothing is hooked up).

And there's the list of little stuff - another shelf in the garage; the screen doors; the water line installed around to the back of the house for the drip controls; gutters; closet hardware (shelves and poles).

And final finish work - new cement walkway, ramp from the bedroom to that walkway, a deck in front of the bedroom, and a million other things.

Here's the room before, and after:

That's Habanero Chile red, Golden Vessel yellow, and Travertine on the ceiling. That greenish wall is actually Travertine, but with no lights, it's hard to tell in the corners.










Here's a sample of the stucco color - it's called Jade. Nothing is red, green, yellow. We toyed with an orange-y color (to match the solar lantern), but it looked too strong, and out of place with the woodsy surroundings and "nature" color green trim.

and now, a word from Gary...

Thought I would comment a little about this construction. The stucco is cracking in. As concrete is a ‘living product,’ as explained to us, it always cracks. And stucco being basically cement/concrete it will crack. So they put on two thick layer and wait for it to finish cracking and then they put on the color coat. As Angie has said we are looking at, I think, terracotta or jade, and as with everything else these are the premium colors. More $ but better stuff.

The choosing of the colors for the tile has turned out to be quite a project. We are going with basic white with big stripes of rainbow colors. The white tiles are cheap but the colors get much more expensive with red being the most. So, of course, we like red. Think of a birthday cake for a 4 year old, which is our style. The tile guy looked at our design and said, “You have to give me a complete print out of this.” So we printed out a complete wall design with every tile showing the color. Thank god I have experience with drafting programs. The floor will be two shades of blue, to look like water. And will be heated.

If you are ever going to re-do your bathroom I highly recommend in-floor heating. It has gotten much easier and cheaper and will make the bathing experience … well extravagantly nice. There were discussions about sitting on the toilet and would you want your bare feet on cold or warm tiles. We chose warm.

Then there is the bidet, the plumber and the rest of the construction guys seem a bit embarrassed to even talk about it. But we have pushed on and after I had to read up on how to use one, I am converted. One item we found out is that a bidet is very good for people, as they get older. It seems that the inability to clean up ‘the nether region’ is one of the main reasons that people have to move into assisted living facilities. So we are planning on being here a long long time.

We are at the point of having a punch list of all the little items that must be done. And that is quite a list. We are very lucky to have such a good crew and project boss.

I think the end is in sight. Or at least the light at the end of the tunnel can be seen, albeit with a telescope.

We seem to have designed the ultimate bedroom/bathroom/walk-in closet. We’ll be having a bedroom party when it is done to show it off. And we might have to rent out the room to actually pay for all of this. Want to use our bidet with a heated floor? A shower built for two, a 60” bath? That will cost you, big time.

Enough blathering, I do feel somewhat guilty about all the extravagance, it did not start that way, but …

little things mean a lot

There aren't really any changes now to see, visually, so there are no pictures, but things are happening.

The tile man has put the shower pan in and it's been inspected; we have a pattern for the tile in the bathroom, and are getting estimates on cost; everyone is fascinated and discussing the "Nu-heat" floor system - electric wires under the tile, which emit enough energy to keep the floor in the bathroom at 76 degrees - yippee! - but it hasn't gone in yet.

The bidet has arrived, but not the tub.

The pocket doors for the closet and bath have been ordered- "rain" pattern glass, to match the windows in the bathroom. We are going to be so-o-o fancy!

Today they are busy digging a trench around the house for the water line so we have water in the back yard. When the water system was re-configured, the backyard got cut off, and we have been running hoses all around the house from the street to water the plants. Right now, the noise from the drilling (into cement, naturally) is more than annoying, but the result will make it easier for us in the long run.

And, the stucco guys are ready to come back and invade us again. We have to pick a color for the final coat. We're thinking haystack or honeydew - otherwise known as pale yellow or light green.

Everything has a fancy name - the pattern we want uses a combo of rainbow colors - you know, the old ROYGBIV - but you can't get "red" or "orange," you have to get "pacific coral" or "tangerine."

As my mother always said, "this too shall pass."

we have our house back

The stucco guys came in with a vengeance, put up scaffolding everywhere, taped all the doors and windows shut, sealing us in, and proceeded to slop plaster all over - the house, the roof, the yard, the plants, the walkways, you name it.

We had to sneak in and out through the side garage door while they were working.

But, 3 days later, it is done, and we have our house back. They still have to come again after this coat "cracks" to put on the final layer, and we will be sealed in again for 3 days.

the week in review

I am getting mighty tired of this "experience." It's getting on my nerves. People here every day - even the weekends sometimes, which although admirable, is still a pain. For instance, it might have been a holiday weekend last week, but our crew was around fixing the little stuff and prepping for the next week. Bill made all the frames for the doors and windows, so the painter could paint them the same forest green as the eaves etc, before the stucco guys come. Saturday the scrappers came, to clean up after the drywall installers, and next, the mudders came to tape where the screws are and slap a layer of "mud" on the drywall to make it smooth. Well, actually, not smooth, that takes a lot of work - we opted for a finish that supposedly dries with just enough texture to make the paint look interesting. And, the painter came and did his thing, and also brought some samples of wall paint. We're thinking orangy-red and pale goldy-yellow.

While prepping the chimney for the stucco (because we had a leak near it in the big rains last December) it turns out the chimney was inadequately made in the first place - it needs a far larger flashing, called a rooster, and, as a result of the inadequate flashing, the paper underneath got wet and it all has to be replaced. So now we have people in the front, AND in the back, at the same time. That's the chimney, stripped of its stucco box (and our decimated fig tree).

The good news is, the mudders finished with the front door ceiling and walls, and we tore down the breathing Art installation! We have our new front door!







We ordered bathroom cabinets, and since oak is the same price as the plain wood stuff we were thinking of, oak it is! We still have to order the tile. Got an estimate of the square footage from the tile man.

After the stucco guys put 2 layers on, it has to dry for a couple of weeks, to make sure it doesn't crack. After all, it's 16 pounds per square inch weight, hanging off that chicken wire and holding up our house.

During those 2 weeks, the crew will be working inside the new room - pocket doors in the bathroom, and the closet, light fixtures, etc.

next steps

What did I say about no more rain? Forecast for June 28 was rain, from Tuesday night through Wednesday. Of course that was the day the crew removed the stucco and prepped the chimney for re-papering, re-wiring, and eventually, with the rest of the house, re-stuccoing. It is, as we speak, wrapped in black plastic, because it did, indeed, rain Tuesday night!

Little things are finally getting done, such as the new (wide enough for a wheelchair) door to the bedroom from the hall, and replacing the door on Gary's study; installation of the double-paned, tempered windows in the back and the solarium door; moving the front hall closet door, necessitated by the re-configuration of the front entrance way with the double French doors. Of course the "natural breathing" art installation, aka plastic sheeting, is still up and breathing in the front entry way; we are still using the garage to go in and out of the house.

The new walls and ceiling are now insulated, and inspected, meaning the Sheetrock can go up. The Sheet-rockers showed up at 7:30 AM to put up Sheetrock - not only the new room, but also the front area and the garage where they had to tear out a wall to put up the "strong" wall that helps to support the connection between the old part and the new part.

As long as the garage wall was torn out, the crew could reconfigure the cleaning closet, the washer, dryer, and cabinet, leaving room for a washtub sink!! yeay!!

But all is not well in paradise. The (expensive) double French doors we were talked into buying for the bedroom have a flaw, either in shipping or at the factory, but not our problem. Back they go and replacements will be forthcoming. Just one of those little annoying delays.





And, of course, the main telephone line to the house is out. The electrician spent over an hour trying to trace where and why, no luck, He's supposed to be back... In the meantime, use the cell phones!!

summer solstice

Things are much better now! That last post really sounded whiny - and you know I heard the study on NPR that said the most unpleasant sound in the world, bar none, is a whine. Sorry.

Things are better. First of all I took 3 days off for Live Oak and listened to great music all day and night, watched birds and squirrels and bugs, heard the sounds of happy campers all round, and no construction noise!! Plus, I guess I missed the worst of the noise - generators and air guns for putting in the roofing nails on one side, and chipping out the stucco on the other side. Where the 2 parts of the house got joined, and where they had to demolish to build the new roof for the garage, all has to be stripped off, re-papered and re-chicken wired before the actual stucco gets applied. By hand, I am told. More than one coat. But some say they can't apply the stucco til the drywall is up and nailed on the inside of the walls - and inspected before the nails can be taped over. Others say do the stucco first, so it dries slowly (it is, after all, cement), and the drywall gets screwed in, anyway. There seems to be some confusion about the order of things, so, while the stucco job will probably take a week to do, it may or may not be for a while. The crew is busy stuffing in the insulation between the other stuff, so it is ready for the drywall, if, in fact, that happens first.

But other stuff happens at the same time. We have a roof now; it has skylights in place (haven't tested for leakage yet). The gas Franklin Stove for the bedroom was delivered and the connections are in place. It looks more like a house every day!

Now come the hordes of sub contractors - stucco installation, painters, tile installers. The stucco people are sub-contractors: they come in, do the job, and split. not connected to the outcome. Dave, the painter, and your next best friend (yes, there's a story to that and, no, I won't tell it), came by with a helper and painted the rooster tails, fascias and eaves under the new roofs. The trim will be forest green; we are still deciding the paint color for the outside walls. So far, we're leaning towards a yellowy-orange-ish shade.

With the construction crew work winding down, it seemed a good time to have a party for the guys who did all the dirty work up to now, including coming out in the (literal) middle of a Saturday night when it poured down rain (not once, but twice) to put (more) better covering over the holes in the roof(s), and mopping out the garage where it flooded. Hotdogs, hamburgers and beer. A few neighbors came too, and it turned into a great driveway barbeque.








Things are much better now. And, it's officially summer!!

slowly, step by step...

For a while we had no water; then we had no gas; and even for a while, no electricity either. The plumber was working on replacing all the plumbing lines and hooking up the new on-demand water heater; that meant cutting off the gas, too, as it is gas fired.

Then the electrician was busy hooking up all the connections from the new room to the circuit box - including the new circuit box, because there wasn't room in the old one for the new lines.

Meanwhile, the carpenter is busy doing the finishing for the front door and the roofer is busy laying the roof.

So, it doesn't look much different on the outside, but there's been a lot of activity on the inside.

On top of all that, it is a full moon. And, oh, the plumber, who had gone fishing last weekend, leaving Bill and Gary to fix the water leak, didn't catch any fish and was in a foul mood. Mel, the carpenter, apparently over-did it one night and was a bit out of it at work the next day. The heating guy hasn't even bothered to call to say why he hasn't showed up in 3 days. There has been a bit of tension on the job...

Here's Bill, peering through the sheeting at the front door. At least we can use it now; for days, we had to go out through the garage.