Chilly Busy Tuesday

Nate and "Little" Mike showed up this morning to continue carpentry work. I moved both the cars back out to the front of the house. I moved them around back last night due to potential issues associated with the Ferguson grand jury decision. Our vehicles were almost the only ones remaining on Russell Boulevard (everyone else had relocated theirs). As this made them very conspicuous, it seemed a prudent precaution. Thankfully, there have been no events on our block, yet.

"Our" Mike and Tyler (architect) showed up later in the morning and I went out to listen to the discussion regarding the garage floor height. The result was that the floor will be lowered 4-1/2" by adding three 2x4" spacers to each door frame. This will minimize the slope of the entry apron.

Mike and Tyler also discussed the wood to be used on the interior exposed sunroom roof. Mike had previously suggested the use of fir. Today however, he suggested to Tyler that we might use spruce. Tyler cautioned that spruce does not take a stain very well and suggested a treatment may be required prior to staining. Tyler offered to take samples to their shop to determine the stain formula. I requested that they include T in any decision regarding the stain to be used. Mike then showed both of us a sample of cypress wood that he recently was given. Tyler really liked them and they were very nice. In Tyler's opinion, if the cost was reasonable, that was the way to go. Intuitively, using cypress sounds appealing due to my latent concern of moisture exposure.

In regards to the windows on either side of the south entry door, Nate and "Little" Mike had raised the top of the frames to match the top of the door. I asked "Our" Mike about this and he said he decided it would be best to go with a custom non-standard size window. I asked about the added cost. The number he gave me would increase cost about 7%. That is acceptable and was later confirmed by "Salesman" Mike (Marvin window dealer).

In an attempt to finalize our window order, I told both Mike and Tyler that we were planning to put a stained glass window above the south door. I also got Tyler's opinion on the direction of swing ("handings") of the casement windows. His opinion coincided with mine, in that, all the bay windows should be left-handed, which would maximize the air flow, minimize the traffic noise and give the room a very smooth and uniform appearance. The only thing remaining is for T to decide.

Mike said he received my note requesting to have Rob (electric) include a power cable from the garage to the basement. This would be used to transfer power from our gasoline powered portable generator in the garage to an outlet in the basement. Mike said this would required an additional conduit to be laid between the garage and the basement. Mike also said I could contact our cable company and arrange for them to come out and pull wire through the conduits to replace the overhead line.

"Salesman" Mike (Marvin Windows) called and said once he gets the dimensions of the window opening above the south door, he will quote us the cost of a simple picture window (both single pane and double pane). We will have the option of either removing the clear glass pane(s) and replace it with the stained glass or we can put the stained glass behind the clear glass. The later option makes the most sense as it will improve the thermal insulation as well as provide some measure of protection to the stained glass. This is the stained glass design we are going to use. T will work with the craftsmen on the colors.

I also called, and left a message, for Bobby (fireplace) today to get the order placed for the fireplace so we can capture the November rebate. Bobby returned my call late in the afternoon after, apparently, talking with "Our" Mike. Bobby said he would place the order and I could send the down payment. Bobby confirmed the quote was on an installed basis. I queried Bobby as to whether he believed he would need a permit from the City. Bobby's store is located somewhere in Illinois and, based upon his conversation with "Our" Mike, he did not believe he would need at City permit. I told him to be careful and not to get into the same trouble as our HVAC contractor. Later, when I was talking with "Our" Mike, I mentioned that Bobby did not believe he needed a permit. Mike was pretty sure he would need one. I can see another Stop Work Order in our future!

Mike had the slate roofing guy out today to finalize the quote. This guy is going to not only roof the new addition, but also the main house.

Tomorrow, we are expecting Nate, "Little" Mike and "Our" Mike back out. Mike said we should be close to starting to work on the connecting porch between the main house and the sunroom. We also should have the electrician out to lay the additional conduit and the cable company to pull cable through the new conduit. We might have "Bobcat" Tom show up to start filling in the trench. We also need to get some gravel on the alley. It is a muddy mess and the neighbors have noticed. Mike is aware.

"Our" Mike said Rob is working with Ameren (power utility) to get scheduled to have power lines pulled through the new conduit. Once accomplished, the next milestone will be getting everything under roof.

By the end of the day, Nate and "Little" Mike had added more shape to the sunroom. It is really nice to see progress!!!