Stair Treads Installed

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 08:55:48 -0500

Our stairs were installed this weekend. Yay! This was supposed to occur several weeks ago, but we were in no hurry because we didn't want to have to pay for them immediately. As you can see from the photos they look really good, and I think they were done well, all except for the wall trim on the top step. Quite frankly, I think it is a fine example poor craftsmanship and as much as I hate to do it, I'm going to have to make the installers redo it. Ron from Mid America Hardwoods did the install, and the last time I made him change something (oval handrail mounting plates to square ones, I mean who has ovals in a craftsman home?) he huffed and puffed about it but he got it done.

As much as we paid for the install I hope this isn't going to be an issue. Problem is, I paid him before I noticed it. Being busy with other projects I scanned over it and told Kristin to go ahead and write him a check. Ugh, so now we're a bit worried that it might not get fixed. Hopefully that won't be the case, but then again it wouldn't be the first time I had to rake a contractor over the coals and drag them through the mud. Ah, really I say this out of my own worry about getting in a tight situation. Honestly, I have faith in good ole' Ron and I'm sure he'll stick by his work. Everything else has been done, if not perfect, then to satisfy his own pride in a job well done.

On another note our "cabinet-rockstar" (I'm going to suggest that title for his business cards) is finishing up today and I'll be damned if we aren't as tickled as a couple of hogs knee deep in slop. I can't wait to come home and see them. I don't know if Kristin is more excited about seeing them or being able to put stuff in them.

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Then and Now

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 09:12:23 -0500

In some ways, not much has changed since we purchased the house. From day one it has been an adventure in organization. Normally, Kristin and I are very organized, well mostly she is but she keeps my organization skills in check. When does it become overwhelming? Probably when you are trying to keep up two houses and one of which is a construction disaster area. I found these 2 photos interesting in that, the floors and cabinets have changed, but the mess... It's still the same.

On another note, this weekend we are doing some more painting and hopefully the guys are coming to install our stair treads and risers. Been going on about 3 weeks now waiting for them, but really it's ok because we're not in any major hurry. If they finish it's just another check we'll have to write, and our checkbook seems to be running out of checks.

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Basement Precautions

Mon, 9 Jun 2008 08:57:09 -0500

Well the moment of truth came for the heat and air unit. For those of you that don't remember, it was submerged under two and a half feet of water after our basement flooded. But Troy from Airtech fired it right up and it worked like a charm. So all in all the flood damage didn't cost us a dime.
Since then we have taken precautions against any future mishaps because I have a feeling if that unit had been running at the time of the flood then I would be writing a different post. Basically I dug a footer around the water entry point and I'm pouring a small concrete wall to redirect the water. Also, Kristin's sister and her husband (the plumber) came to visit and while they were here he installed a sump pump as a back up. Really they did a lot more than that, and honestly we wouldn't be moved in now had they not come to help.
I don't know if you've ever seen a sump pump in action but it is pretty impressive. Adam poured a 5 gallon bucket in the floor well to test it and in about 2 seconds the entire bucket of water was violently pumped out. So hopefully we won't have to worry about this in the future.

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We Have Moved In!

Fri, 6 Jun 2008 15:36:20 -0500

Where have we been, you might ask. Well, we have done in two weeks what needed to be done in one but should have taken three. We painted the whole house (post coming soon about color selection) and moved in. Yes we are living amongst the wreckage of a half put together house, but at least we have water and electricity, sort of. We are cooking outside on the grill and eating off paper plates and plastic forks every night, however, we managed to keep out a couple of wine glasses. I mean, after all, wine from a plastic cup? We’re not savages...
We are loving it and it feels good to be this far along. It has been a long, grueling six months trying to get to this point, but now it seems that it’s all down hill from here. Woo Hooo! In fact, Kristin and I did something that we haven’t done since we started the project. We went to a MOVIE! And a Sunday matinee at that. What? Blowing half a Sunday afternoon? There must be some sort of Renovation Police who would have loved to have told us to get back to work.
The picture in the upper right hand corner... Yes I am sweating my ass off, while I’m painting. I find this funny because when we started the project, I was freezing my ass off.
Anyway now that my computer is unpacked, it’s back to blogging. I’ve got lots to tell you about so check back soon.

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Is This What Final Inspection’s Supposed To Look Like?

Thu, 22 May 2008 08:48:04 -0500

I need a few extra hours of sleep, my wife needs a break from the house, my plumber needs more money, and my electrician needs a good beating with a blunt object. In fact, we have now postponed the final inspection another day so that the electrician can figure out why half of the house does not have electricity. Grrrrrrrr.

The above photos show the current state of the house going into the inspection. It’s sort of ironic how the whole inspection system works. It exists to protect the homeowner, and by all means it is a good tool to keep contractors from screwing you over; but for a renovator who does most of the work themselves it can be quite a pain in the arse. For instance, I had to buy the cheapest flimsiest fixtures just to slap up to pass inspection. And normally I would take my time and do it right with the highest quality of materials and the finest attention to detail. BUT, in order to pass final inspection, so we can move in (because we can’t move in until we do), we have had to cut a few corners. In the current state of the house I feel it is slapped up and duct taped together so that we can pass inspection and get in there. After we do, of course we will go back and fix it all. So in this case the inspection system is causing me extra work, extra money and extra headaches, when I would LOVE to do it right the first time.

I understand it is partly my fault for agreeing to let the renters move in on June 1st at our current house, but you can’t pass up a good renter when they come along. Trust me, in another house that we have in Rogers, we have renters that most landlords have nightmares about. But that is another story.

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