The Countdown

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

In Anticipation of the Party

Week 7 brings a whole lot of less obvious progress. The [enormous box of a] fireplace is in, the AC duct work is strung out all over the place like a space-age octopus, the outside is 90% Tyvek'ed and sided, and most windows, except the ones that arrived wrong, are all in place. A few of the windows were the wrong size (master bedroom and kitchen) and need to be replaced before they can be welded together and installed. We're still waiting on the balcony doors (more unnatural excitement from me). The electrician was pulling wires all the way up until it got dark tonight. All this is preparation for numerous City inspections next week. During that lull, the GC is hoping to get the sewer and water hook-ups squared away with the City. The walls can't be sheet-rocked until that is done, so timing is counting on that being completed next week.

Andrew and I made one more trip to Dal tile (we can't seem to get enough of that place, I would tile every surface if Andrew would let me) to pick an alternate surface for the balcony. Originally we had gone with the spec choice, slate, but have heard mixed reviews about its durability when exposed to weather [i.e. water]. Hence, a trip to pick out simple, gray, concrete-resembling tile. I will write in lengthy detail about all the tiles here I am sure, I just think it'll be more effective to show you the product when it goes in. I fully plan on taking off the day from work in order to oooh, aaaah, and supervise on Tile Day, making sure it goes in exactly as I saw it in my head. What? That's not your idea of a party?

Andrew walked in one night to a different kind of party. Someone had set up a feeding and watering station for some kind of animals (cats? possums? [gulp] rats?) on the 3rd floor of our house. It is confusing to me why someone would make an animal travel up 4 flights of stairs to eat when it would make more sense on the 1st floor. Really, I can't say that was the kind of house-warming party I envisioned. I have a soft-spot for animals, but let's keep that outside, ok?

In terms of scheduling, we had an informal conversation with the Superintendent and GC today during our meeting, and it appears that they had a different idea about the completion date that we understood. Turns out the 23 weeks is VERY conservative in their opinion. The GC claims he has us scheduled to be done by July 1st (!!). The Super even went so far as to say that if things continue to move along like this, we could be done the end of June. I'm trying not to get too excited, especially because I don't want to be disappointed if I plan an impromptu July4th party only to run over that estimate. However, they said they would have a better idea when tile is going in, so we'd get a confirmation at that time. Just another reason to look forward to Tile Day really. That being said, this earlier schedule very possibly will blow away all the dates chosen previously (closest without going over), so I'll give everyone until after Tile Day to use their ESP to hone in on the magic day. Second chances rule. I don't think I've ever seen a construction project finish ahead of schedule (and I've observed a few), so I'd be thrilled to be surprised.


Week 7 - The Kitchen longs for awning windows.



Week 7 - A peek at his back side. That's what she said.

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