Busy Week Coming...Hopefully

Weather wise, this turned out to be a beautiful week. Mike showed up Friday morning to move some materials around the garage in preparation for the brick work expected to start next week. Other than that and the meeting we had with Mike, Tyler and Bob (cabinetry) on Monday, no other physical work was accomplished. Bret (roofer) promised me on Tuesday that they would be here Wednesday to finish the job and to clean up. They did not show up. Mike told me he talked with Bret Friday morning to learn that he was out fishing, but would try to contact his people. Apparently without any tangible success.

The lack of progress on the roofing has been frustrating. The felt was put on the garage on January 31. They put the felt on the sunroom roof on February 25. They started on the main house on March 9. When they started on the main house, Bret told me they would be finished in one week. They are still not finished. Over the past two months we have had some bad weather, but for the most part, the duration of this roofing job has been dictated by poor planning and just not showing up to work. Four times they ran out of materials (shingles three times and ridge vents once). They could have finished with a single day of effort this week, but, despite their promises, they did not show up. The only saving grace is that the remaining work is either cosmetic or inconsequential from the standpoint of protecting the underlying assets. We paid 1/3 down and will not pay any more until everything (including cleanup) is complete. They obviously do not have any cash flow concerns.

Yesterday morning, I called the fireplace dealer to talk with them about our notion of using a wall mounted fireplace vent instead of a vent through the roof. Bobby was not in the store, but I was told Chad would be able to help me. He was with a client and would call me back. There were three main questions we wanted them to comment on. First, was there any reason they would not recommend a wall mounted vent as opposed to the roof vent. Second, relative to any combustible surface, how far away did such a vent need to be (this distance is determined by the fireplace manufacturer). Third, were there other wall mounted vents that we might want to consider. We have only found one manufacturer on-line (DuraVent), but I did find a variant of the one I included in the posting of April 16. This one (their Sconce design) is smaller, 11" square versus 16" square for the other design.

I like the Sconce design more than the alternative below, but T has the responsibility for all aesthetic aspects of the project and she has not made a decision.

Chad did call back, but I was not able to take the call. The message he left said that they could mount the wall vent after the brick has been laid, or if we preferred, he could provide us with the size of hole to have the brick layers leave. As for the minimum distance between the vent and the closest combustible surface, he said the top of the vent had to be at least 18" from that surface. This is one-half the distance I was expecting. Also, I am not even sure the cement board eave material, under which the vent will be mounted, is even considered a combustible surface. The image below shows the two sizes of the vents situated 18" below the bottom edge of the east fascia. T and I have been trying to identify reasons not to go with this wall mounted vent approach. Unless we are informed of a technical problem we are currently unaware of, we will go this way. The only outstanding question then is if there are other wall mounted vent designs we might want to consider.

In the afternoon, I tried to call Chad back but was told he was out on a job but would call me back. He never did. I will call again on Monday.

As Mike was cleaning up around the garage on Friday, he took the opportunity to show T the "brick molding" that he is proposing to use around the garage windows. It is the current molding and not exactly the same as around the windows on the main house. T was completely satisfied with it.

Then we went down to our tile dealer and spoke with David, the owner. We took along the architectural drawings just in case he wanted to see the geometry of the sunroom flooring in order to determine the amount of tile we would need. Mike had provided us with the area estimate of the tile of 440 sq ft, but we knew we would need some extra. David had previously assured us that the Fitch Rainbow porcelain tile was still available. We had selected it in April of 2014, so it would not have surprised us if it had been discontinued (as was the stone we had previously selected for the chimney breast). Initially, David said he did not need to see the drawings. This changed as we described to him what was involved in the project and, by the time we were ready to depart, David not only wanted to see the drawings, he asked if we could leave them with him. He suggested he would bring them back to us over the weekend so that he could actually see what has been done so far. He also said he would call us back Friday evening with his recommendations on how much to order. He did not call, but he did send the proposal and we talked this morning. He is recommending 483 sq ft of tile and 12 feet of bullnose trim. David said he would place the order on Monday and it would probably take a couple of weeks for delivery. I suggested that we may ask him to hold the material until we need it, which may be a few weeks after delivery. David said he was planning to drop by Sunday afternoon to look at the project and drop off the drawings.

We also got a phone message from Michael at the Overhead Door dealership. He said he would call with our cost estimate. I tried to return the call, but he was not available. I will also call him on Monday. There is no rush on this order as Michael told us on Thursday that they will not be placing any new orders with the factor for two weeks.

Today, we were actually considering what decanter we want to put on the sunroom bar. This is the fun part of the project and it has taken a long time to get here. Here are the ones we are considering. We need to tell Bob (cabinetry) how deep to make the rail rack along the bar mirror. These decanters range from 3.5" to 4.25" wide.

 If we assume 4" decanters and a rail split on ether side of the bar sink, I think we can fit 10 decanters across the bar.

Fruitful Thursday

Yesterday we journeyed over to Damiansville, IL to visit the retailer through which we are buying our fireplace. I have talked to the owner (Bobby) several times, but this was the first time we have met. This is not just a retailer of fireplaces, but they also do custom woodworking. Our purpose was to meet Bobby, look at what they have to offer by the way of mantels and I wanted T to see the stove pipe vent that is going on top of the roof. I have never been comfortable with having this stove pipe sticking out the top of the roof. Bobby showed us what they look like and, sure enough, they are hideous. More to come on this topic.

Late in the day, we got an email from Tyler. He believes he has been successful in determining how to put the Xpelair fan in the 36" sunroom cupola. In the email, he included a drawing detail. It is the best news we have heard in a LONG time. We are very happy. The cupola manufacturer is going to make the cupola just a bit larger so that this is some room for error. Tyler also talked with the fan distributor and they came up with an air intake louver/damper which will be wired to the same switch as the fan and open when the fan comes on. This will prevent a vacuum being pulled on the sunroom if all the doors and windows are closed. Tyler suggested putting this louver/damper in the east gable wall. I responded that I did not think we could do that because it would necessitate cutting out one of the truss members. They actually included a quote for the louver/damper assembly, but not one for the fan.

We also got from Mike the quote from "Concrete" Mike on pouring the garage approach apron and the east slab. To my amazement, it was not that much less than what Bob had quoted for the exposed aggregate. I sent a note to Bob saying we would go with their proposal and he should contact Mike to schedule.

No work was performed today (Thursday), but it was a very fruitful one indeed.

Before heading out this morning, we had our security company drop by to discuss enhancements to our security monitoring due to the project. They are putting together some options for us to consider, including surveillance cameras.

We also had a phone chat with Tyler. We discussed several things, but what came out of it was that Tyler is going to have the Xpelair fan distributor put together a detailed quote for us so that we can order the fan and accessories needed. We also discussed placement of the air intake louver. This louver/damper is not a small item. It is 18"x 18"x 12", i.e., the size of a small window. T and I had identified three places which could accommodate this device. The one we liked the most was above the east window on the connecting porch. This is essentially "dead" area. When we talked with Tyler, he and Mike had talked about putting it under the eave above the east French doors (this was one of the other options T and I had considered). After discussing it, we opted to go with our first choice. There were some design issues which Tyler said he would look into. I also requested that Tyler talk with Mike to ensure that Tyler's assumption that the electrician would install the fan and louver was correct. I also put Tyler on notice that, after visiting Bobby the day before, we were not comfortable with the original design of the fireplace vent stack. While Tyler tried to assure us it would look fine, we told him we were considering alternatives. One of these was to not have a roof stack at all, but instead a wall mounted vent on either the east gable or the brick chimney. Short of this, we would have to camouflage the roof vent somehow. Tyler did not like the wall mounted vent idea, but I told him we were going to look into it. This evening, I sent Bobby a note asking him about his opinion of the wall mounted vent and spacing requirements.

After talking with Tyler, T and I went over to the Overhead Door dealership and selected our three garage doors. We spoke with Michael. A nice young kid who seemed to know his product line. The doors are 10' wide and 8' tall. We selected their Thermacore collection (sandwich construction of steel-polyurethane-steel), Model 194 V5 in a Terra Bronze. No windows in the door. Michael is putting together the quote and will call us tomorrow. This will include a opener for each door. We opted to go with a trackless, wall mounted Liftmaster opener with a battery backup. At least that is what he is going to quote us. We may change our minds once we get the quote. Michael said the doors would be delivered in six weeks, putting it toward the end of May. The Overhead Door company will install them

We then went to one of the plumbing fixture supply houses to try to narrow down our choices for the bar sink and faucet. Yesterday we visited a different one and really liked a 15" square sink made by Rohl (Italian). It was a copperized stainless steel. Today we found out why we liked it so much. It is REALLY expensive. We could buy two garage doors for the same price. We found another sink made by Kohler which is enameled cast iron, in any one of 20 colors, which costs about 1/5 as much as the beautiful Rohl sink. T is still considering.

While out and about, Mike called to give us the dimensional information so that we can order the stone for the interior chimney breast (86 sqft and 38 feet of corners) and the sunroom floor tile (440 sq ft and 8 feet of bullnose for the hearth). I have notified Ryan for the stone and tomorrow, we will go to our tile store and talk with David.

Mike also said that he talked with Rick (solar installation guy) and gave him the OK to begin installation of the garage solar panels on Monday. Wow!!! Mike also said the bricklayers will be here next week. Wow!! Wow!! This means we need to decide quickly on the fireplace vent if it is to go through the brick chimney. Mike also said that the house building job out in West County is at a point where he thinks he will be able to dedicate a couple of weeks to just our job. That will be nice.

We expected the glass roof installer to show up on Friday, but late today we got word that they were held up in Detroit and would not arrive in St. Louis until sometime this weekend. Probably will not start the installation until next week. It will be busy next week.

I was surprised we have not received any response from Bob (landscaping) about the pouring of the concrete for the garage apron and east slab. Don't know if that is a bad omen. I will call him tomorrow if we don't hear anything.

Lot's To Do

We met with Bob (landscaping) as scheduled at his office. We went over the Phase I and II of the landscaping plan with no alterations. We did discuss the need for additional area lighting on the patio east of the sunroom. It was decided to have Drew get with Mike to ensure there is power run over to that area for both the pond pump and any lights we decide to add. We are thinking of perhaps a couple of pole lamps, one on the south side of the main house and one on the east fence line.

After meeting with Bob, we went over the the stone place in Eureka. We met with Ryan. Last June we had selected to go with the Fond du lac White Sewn Bedford natural stone on the interior chimney breast. That material is no longer available. We looked at what is available and T selected another natural stone, also from Wisconsin, called Country Collection Hamilton. T likes the colors and, amazingly, it is 30% less expensive than the one she selected last year. As soon as we get the number of square feet and lengths of corners from Mike, we'll place the order.

I sent a note to the ceramic tile store we have used in the past asking if the porcelain tile T selected for the sunroom floor is still available. We got the quote in April of 2014. If it is and once we get the required square footage from Mike, we'll order it as well.

I sent a note to Jim (glass roof) this morning asking him to have the installers contact Mike (or me) when they arrive so that we can help them spot their trailer so that it does not inconvenience the neighbors. Jim responded that he understood and would do so.

Strangely enough, we also got a note from Eric (solar) saying that they intended to begin installation of the solar panels next Monday and therefore wanted me to submit another payment. I replied to his note asking him to contact Mike. Mike has told me recently that he had been in contact with this company and that he did not want to begin the panel installation until after the garage cupola is installed. I don't believe the manufacture of the cupola has even started yet. In my reply to Eric, I mentioned the cupola issue and that it would be at least several weeks. Eric responded that he would contact Mike. This is not the first time we have received a note from Eric wanting us to send them more money. We have not heard from John (the person we have been dealing with) for some time. I sent him a note today asking if he was still around. I received an automated response that John was no longer with the company. Who we are supposed to be dealing with now, I do not know. Later I got another email from Eric saying that he had talked with Mike and Mike denied ever talking with me. Obviously some other Mike. My last note to Eric explained that Mike was "Our" Mike and that he needed to contact him. I included Mike's phone number. I then called Mike and left a voice mail explaining that I had directed Eric to him. I did not get a return call from Mike.

I called Bret (roofing) when we returned from our travels. He said the materials he has been waiting for have arrived and a crew will be out tomorrow (Wednesday) to finish the job. I told him that was fine, but I especially wanted them to clean up the debris pile his people had left on the west side of the new garage. I explained to him that our west neighbors have put their house on the market and this does not add to the curb appeal. Bret said he understood and would take care of it tomorrow.

Wet Weather

It rained as forecast today. We arrived home from a weekend in Kansas City in time to meet with Bob (cabinetry), "Our" Mike and Tyler early this evening. This was Bob's first visit to the work site and really kicks off his part of the project. He took his dimensions and we discussed the details of the paneling he will provide. Mike suggested that Bob plan to finish all the woodwork in his shop with only required touch up to be done in the field. It was apparent that this was not Bob's first preference, but he said he would do it any way we wanted. As opposed to cut to fit and finish to match, all the pieces will have to fit perfectly. As Bob put it, it will be like putting a puzzle together in the field. We took Bob into the main house and showed him the paneling we have in a couple of different areas. Between he and T, they decided, due to the richness of the Sapele to be used, the paneling will be relatively simple. Bob will make a mock up for approval.

I passed on to Mike the estimate we received today from Bob (landscaping) to pour the garage approach apron and the east slab. Mike had not yet gotten in contact with "Concrete" Mike to get an estimate from him. Bob's estimate assumed 150 sq ft for the east slab and the apron to be 46'x6'. Both being 4" thick.

We asked Mike if we could go ahead and put the garage doors on order, he said "yes". He also said we could order the stone for the fireplace and the porcelain floor tiles. He promised to send up the amount of each we needed to order. Tomorrow we will restart our stone search by driving down to Eureka to revisit the place we would the Fond du lac natural stone before. They say they have new sample to show us.

We got an email from Jim (glass roof) saying the glass roof will ship on Wednesday and the installers will be here on Friday and work through the weekend. It is supposed to rain again on Friday, but maybe we'll get lucky. Mike had originally said he wanted to get the slate installed before the glass roof, but that has changed.

Mike said that once the glass roof is installed, he will finish the installation of the windows and arrange to have the hot tub delivered. Then the doors can be finished and the sunroom will be sealed for the first time. Contrary to what Mike said last week, today he said that the new basement door has not been delivered. He did not predict when it would be here.

We mentioned to Bob that we wanted to have a rail along the front of the bar, behind the sink, running between the side cabinets. Bob said no problem but we needed to tell him how deep it will be. I measured our crystal decanters and they are 4" square.

The meeting went well. Tyler gave Mike the detail drawing of the hearth and the hot tub access panel. Tyler also told me that he was still working on the cupola fan but has come to the decision that the fan we have identified will not fit into the 36" cupola. I told him that I had sent the cupola manufacturer the fan specification sheet and they assured me that it would fit. Tyler said they gave him the same assurance, but he does not believe they are correct. Anyway, he is still pursuing the issue. One solution he said would be to go with a square cupola instead of a the hexagonal. I do not understand how that would solve the issue, but we'll wait to see what he comes up with next.

Mike also discussed the garage window trim with Tyler. We decided to go with the arched brick above the windows in the same three row design as on the main house.

Tomorrow morning we meet with Bob (landscaping) to review the plantings and anything else dealing with the landscaping. After that meeting, we plan to go look at stone.