...a framed in arch for the wall by the front door. Additionally, the furnace vent had a small leak in it. The project manager caulked around it so hopefully we'll be able to refrain from having a new roof for a little while longer. By a little while, I mean 6-12 months.
A few nails & screws were pulled off the ceiling & walls to prepare for drywall installation. Oh yeah, someone put white plastic lattice in the dumpster. I'm gonna look around the neighborhood to see who's using white plastic lattice. Perhaps I could create a lattice/dog poo sculpture and place it in their driveway as a reward for them. I think the white & brown would contrast eachother nicely and create an interesting composition.
I'm hoping for some insulation & drywall to be delivered tomorrow. We'll see...I'm tired from travelling and going to bed...
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Monday, June 23, 2008
Friday, June 20, 2008
Inspection Week & other small stuff
This week was rough inspection week. Not a whole lot happened.
Plumbing:
- not too exciting. There are holes & pipes in the floor now. The old plumbing was cut out & plugged where appropriate.
- The plumbing contractor was pretty funny. He certainly showed up pretty early one morning.
- passed inspection
Electrical:
- completed
- passed inspection
- Electricians were very nice, very professional. They were very helpful when walking through where the switches & fixtures are going to be placed. I would've had the switch be the door turn on & off the fridge if I did it so I'm glad the pros are working on it. He also pointed out some stuff that needed to be fixed and offered to take care of a thing or two free of charge.
HVAC:
- almost completed. one supply needs to be removed since it will no longer be needed. We now have 4 supplies coming through the floor. Three under the windows and one will come through the toe kick under the cabinet.
- passed inspection
Framing:
- Almost completed. Inspection is Monday
- The arched cutout still needs to be framed in. The opening will be 4ft wide & 34 inches off the ground.
Other stuff that happened this week:
- Appliances were ordered
- picked out a vent hood (big honkin' Kitchenaid)
- Ran wires for in ceiling speakers in the tray ceiling
Next Week:
After framing inspection and the arch being completed, they'll insulate the space and begin drywall. I'll be real happy when the drywall is completed & primed so the dust will be way down. I have to start some painting & trim work. I'm also putting the drywall back up in the garage. I'm going to keep the door that led from the kitchen to the garage and use it as the door that leads out to the garage. It needed to be replaced and the two doors are identical except for their condition.
We need to pick out the following in the next couple weeks:
- Pendant Lights (2)
- Ceiling fan (42")
- Light for dining room
- Faucet for kitchen
General Thoughts:
The project is moving along quickly. I'm hoping for a mid-august completion. We should know a ballpark completion date once there's a delivery date for the cabinets. Lots of stuff happening next week!
Canine Situation:
The dogs have settled in finally. They don't seem to care about people being in the house. They're sequestered in our bedroom with the TV on to drown out the sound. They have learned to crawl under the plastic that's not taped to the floor. They'll do that when we're walking around in the construction zone which is pretty darn cute.
Plumbing:
- not too exciting. There are holes & pipes in the floor now. The old plumbing was cut out & plugged where appropriate.
- The plumbing contractor was pretty funny. He certainly showed up pretty early one morning.
- passed inspection
Electrical:
- completed
- passed inspection
- Electricians were very nice, very professional. They were very helpful when walking through where the switches & fixtures are going to be placed. I would've had the switch be the door turn on & off the fridge if I did it so I'm glad the pros are working on it. He also pointed out some stuff that needed to be fixed and offered to take care of a thing or two free of charge.
HVAC:
- almost completed. one supply needs to be removed since it will no longer be needed. We now have 4 supplies coming through the floor. Three under the windows and one will come through the toe kick under the cabinet.
- passed inspection
Framing:
- Almost completed. Inspection is Monday
- The arched cutout still needs to be framed in. The opening will be 4ft wide & 34 inches off the ground.
Other stuff that happened this week:
- Appliances were ordered
- picked out a vent hood (big honkin' Kitchenaid)
- Ran wires for in ceiling speakers in the tray ceiling
Next Week:
After framing inspection and the arch being completed, they'll insulate the space and begin drywall. I'll be real happy when the drywall is completed & primed so the dust will be way down. I have to start some painting & trim work. I'm also putting the drywall back up in the garage. I'm going to keep the door that led from the kitchen to the garage and use it as the door that leads out to the garage. It needed to be replaced and the two doors are identical except for their condition.
We need to pick out the following in the next couple weeks:
- Pendant Lights (2)
- Ceiling fan (42")
- Light for dining room
- Faucet for kitchen
General Thoughts:
The project is moving along quickly. I'm hoping for a mid-august completion. We should know a ballpark completion date once there's a delivery date for the cabinets. Lots of stuff happening next week!
Canine Situation:
The dogs have settled in finally. They don't seem to care about people being in the house. They're sequestered in our bedroom with the TV on to drown out the sound. They have learned to crawl under the plastic that's not taped to the floor. They'll do that when we're walking around in the construction zone which is pretty darn cute.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Ummm...errr...we're finally back
Yeah...sorry. Finally back in the game. Long story short...it's not the best time to have your home appraised.
Things got a little scary there for a little while. We've been sitting with a demolished 1/3 of our home for a bit too long as we stepped gingerly through the mortgage minefield.
The demolition has been the best part so far. We were able to fully demolish the main floor of the house and fit it all in a 20yd dumpster. One aspect of the house that sped up the process of demolition was the method in which the drywall was originally attached to the studs. Construction adhesive doesn't do the best job of attaching to studs after 40 years...who knew? :o) The drywall came down in huge chunks which was a huge timesaver for us. Ron introduced us to the art of ladder-walking which sped up the process and sent shivers down the spines of those representing OSHA.
The old kitchen fought gallantly to stay on the walls, but its resistance was ultimately futile. Cabinets dropped on a corner fell like a house of cards, and there were giggles all around each time they were tossed on the floor of the garage.
A couple of other thoughts from demolition. Gas from drain lines...not the most pleasant aroma.
The project is smaller and the loan is closed so construction is ready to start and it did today.
Day 1 Activities
1. Portable toilet delivered this morning. It's emblazoned with the moniker "Happy Can". It's resting comfortably by the mailbox in a Walden-like atmosphere under a magnolia tree.
2. Dumpster showed up.
3. Lumber delivered
Work Completed Today
1. Laminated beam set (three of them sandwiched together. Individual beam is 14X2). It's freakin' huge!
2. 24X24 concrete pillar poured in the crawlspace to spread the load.
3. Wall framed that will make up the third wall of the kitchen
4. Ceiling joists cut in preparation for the tray ceiling
5. Temporary supports put in place to compensate for cut ceiling joists.
Next Steps...
1. Hopefully the tray ceiling will get framed in this week
2. The wing wall by the front door needs to be moved, thickened so the vent for the furnace can be hidden in it, and an arch cutout be framed in there as well.
Canine Reaction
This was of significant concern due to outsiders being in our home and making a bunch of noise with power tools and other construction related lunacy. We were pleasantly surprised that the man & little lady were okay with the work in the house after a few minutes. They are being placed in the bedroom with the television on (I may move the station around for variety over time). It's nice that they didn't decide to rearrange the furniture (aka destroy it) and behaved like the little angels they are.
Things got a little scary there for a little while. We've been sitting with a demolished 1/3 of our home for a bit too long as we stepped gingerly through the mortgage minefield.
The demolition has been the best part so far. We were able to fully demolish the main floor of the house and fit it all in a 20yd dumpster. One aspect of the house that sped up the process of demolition was the method in which the drywall was originally attached to the studs. Construction adhesive doesn't do the best job of attaching to studs after 40 years...who knew? :o) The drywall came down in huge chunks which was a huge timesaver for us. Ron introduced us to the art of ladder-walking which sped up the process and sent shivers down the spines of those representing OSHA.
The old kitchen fought gallantly to stay on the walls, but its resistance was ultimately futile. Cabinets dropped on a corner fell like a house of cards, and there were giggles all around each time they were tossed on the floor of the garage.
A couple of other thoughts from demolition. Gas from drain lines...not the most pleasant aroma.
The project is smaller and the loan is closed so construction is ready to start and it did today.
Day 1 Activities
1. Portable toilet delivered this morning. It's emblazoned with the moniker "Happy Can". It's resting comfortably by the mailbox in a Walden-like atmosphere under a magnolia tree.
2. Dumpster showed up.
3. Lumber delivered
Work Completed Today
1. Laminated beam set (three of them sandwiched together. Individual beam is 14X2). It's freakin' huge!
2. 24X24 concrete pillar poured in the crawlspace to spread the load.
3. Wall framed that will make up the third wall of the kitchen
4. Ceiling joists cut in preparation for the tray ceiling
5. Temporary supports put in place to compensate for cut ceiling joists.
Next Steps...
1. Hopefully the tray ceiling will get framed in this week
2. The wing wall by the front door needs to be moved, thickened so the vent for the furnace can be hidden in it, and an arch cutout be framed in there as well.
Canine Reaction
This was of significant concern due to outsiders being in our home and making a bunch of noise with power tools and other construction related lunacy. We were pleasantly surprised that the man & little lady were okay with the work in the house after a few minutes. They are being placed in the bedroom with the television on (I may move the station around for variety over time). It's nice that they didn't decide to rearrange the furniture (aka destroy it) and behaved like the little angels they are.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Sub Bids & Appliance Selection
Subcontractors were at the house today taking a look around so they can provide estimates. Roofing, plumbing, carpentry, hardwood floors. Electrical & HVAC will be able to work from the plans. We still need a lighting plan which will come when the construction drawings are developed.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Waiting on Revised Pricing...
Okay...so the pricing for the first round of schematics went a bit on the exorbitant side. Once I had time to let this settle, I came to the conclusion that this was part of the process in determining what we really need for the house
The Badger is Being Reassigned!
I have spoken with 3.5 lenders about their construction-to-permanent loan programs (I'm only counting the yahoo at Citimortgage as 0.5 based on his abundance of enthusiasm). Each program offers pretty much the same flexibility and general logistics. Current rates for both the construction period and the permanent mortgage are all within 25 to 50 basis points of each other. And costs are what they are for this type of project. HOWEVER, all lenders want to charge origination fees! *Gasps*
Can someone shed some light on this for me? Granted, construction/perm loans are not your bread-and-butter refinance. But that aside, how, in today's lending environment, are two borrowers, contributing both equity and cash to the project, with 800 credit scores and documented income, expected to agree to an origination fee? I'm calling up The Badger.
Can someone shed some light on this for me? Granted, construction/perm loans are not your bread-and-butter refinance. But that aside, how, in today's lending environment, are two borrowers, contributing both equity and cash to the project, with 800 credit scores and documented income, expected to agree to an origination fee? I'm calling up The Badger.
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