Today we flew from Houston to Fort Lauderdale. We spent the last two nights in Houston. Sunday morning we embark on a week-long Carribbean cruise. We really did not expect to have anything to post until our return, but as soon as we got to our hotel room today we had messages from the Overhead Door Company and our security company. While listening to the messages that were left, I got a call from our east neighbors saying they had gotten a call from the security company saying our power was out. It took about six calls to get it all sorted out. The solar people were out to install the inverter panels and shut off the power to the house. This prompted the security company to call us and the neighbors. When I called the security company, I reminded them that last week I told them we were going on vacation and to call "Our" Mike if anything went wrong. They finally admitted they had this information, but ignored it. I freely expressed my displeasure to them. Enough said!
Then there was the Overhead Door salesman who called to say our doors had arrived, but "were not there yet". Say what?! I had also informed them to contact Mike when the doors arrived. I called them to reenforce this instruction. They promised to call us back, but never did.
I then talked with Mike. The brick work and the slate work was completed this week. He is expecting the window sills to be installed next week. He said he talked with the solar people who admitted they had cut power to the house, but it was back on now. I had sent a note to Erik (solar) notifying them we were leaving, so common sense would have been for them to let Mike know they were going to cut power. Mike also told us that the solar people did not properly install the inverters. They installed both of them on one side of the rack instead of one on each side as agreed. Mike said he had a call in for Betsy. I will forward the email to Erik, Betsy and Mike, reminding all of the plan.
Could have been worse!
Update: Very shortly after sending my note to Eric about the inverter rack installation, Eric responded saying he had received my message and that he "will work with Rick and Angelo on Tuesday to remedy the issue...then follow up with Mike when we have a workable solution to meet our agreement". He concluded saying "we will take care of everything for you". Sounds good!
Friday, May 22, 2015
Monday, May 18, 2015
Brick, Slate, Power
Brick layers have returned along with the slaters and the electrician.
Chris (electrician) started work on the exterior wiring on the sunroom. Other than installation of the boxes on the garage, no wires have been installed yet in the garage.
Last week the brick layers spent two days working and probably completed about 70% of the garage. This morning it is sunny and cool. It will be a muddy mess out there due to the recent rains. The forecast shows a 30% chance of rain today and then a 60% chance on Wednesday. The remainder of the week is supposed to be dry. By the time they finished for the day, they had not quite finished the garage, missing only a few flights on the west side. They left their brick saw in the middle of the yard indicating they will be back soon. No doubt they will be finished with the sunroom before we return.
The slate installers finished the garage that they started a month ago and started and finished the east and west gable of the sunroom. They then started work on the main house slate repair.
Noticed they are starting to stage bricks around the sunroom.
The main news from the weekend was T's suggestion that we consider going with the Rejuvenation Sunset Artistic Pendant for the bar. She believes it will provide a "wow" factor that no other pendant light would be able to match. We have been watching for an opportunity to justify the cost of this pendant for years. It is not cheap. They are having a sale going on right now (15% discount if ordered before June 1) that would make us feel a bit better, but it is still expensive. An online inquiry to the company revealed the wingspan to be 23", but they did not have the nose-to-toe length. They suggested I call their Portland store who could actually measure it for us. I call and spoke with Lisa at the Portland store. She measured and found the nose-to-toe length to be 8-1/4". Much less than I predicted. We need to consider if this fixture may be too large to hang over the bar. The mirror on the bar is 61" wide and the depth of the vault over the sink is 18". The long wingspan will cast a broad shadow from the can lights above. We will think about it. Lisa said if we order this Memorial Day weekend, there is free shipping which equates to an additional 10% discount. But, it is still expensive.
"Our" Mike and Gerard (stainer/painter) came by to discuss the staining with T. They got a consensus on the staining of the wood surfaces. Mike and Gerard first said they wanted to do the pine staining AFTER the installation of the sapelle wood paneling. This did not make any sense to us, and after a little discussion, everyone agreed it would be best to do the staining before the paneling is installed.
We showed Gerard the sample of Tiger wood decking. He was not sure whether or not there would be any staining to be done on the Tiger wood decking or if it would just require a sealing coat. He told Mike that we need to find out from the lumber company.
As for the exterior painting, T told Gerard that the exterior trim (and I assume the soffit and fascia) should match the exterior window clad color (bronze). Gerard suggested we might want to select a different color for the exterior paneling (above the connecting porch door and window and on the north face of the sunroom). T said she would reflect on this suggestion. Later, after Gerard had departed, T told Mike that we should have Gerard plan to paint the exterior paneling to match the red brick on the house.
We received the proposal for the two bar cabinet windows form Gerald (stained glass). T liked it and we went down to their shop before lunch to select the colors. She essentially wants the windows to compliment the window they previously made for us to mount above the south door. Everyone agreed on the color layout and I told them that I would (and did) send a note to Bob (cabinetry) and ask Bob to send the final glass dimensions to them once he determines them. Later in the day, Bob responded that he wanted to wait a couple of weeks to have the actual doors fabricated so that they can see the "routed out lip in the back" so they can make the leaded frame fit in that lip or let some hang over the lip. Whatever will give the best look. Sounds Greek to me, but I am sure everyone else understands. I responded that we are OK with the delay. We just did not want everyone waiting for us to return from vacation.
Mike told me this morning that he expected Bret (roofing) to be here later today or tomorrow. I have submitted my punch list to Bret and Mike indicated he has some issues for Bret to address as well. Bret did not show today, so I guess it will be tomorrow.
Chris (electrician) started work on the exterior wiring on the sunroom. Other than installation of the boxes on the garage, no wires have been installed yet in the garage.
Last week the brick layers spent two days working and probably completed about 70% of the garage. This morning it is sunny and cool. It will be a muddy mess out there due to the recent rains. The forecast shows a 30% chance of rain today and then a 60% chance on Wednesday. The remainder of the week is supposed to be dry. By the time they finished for the day, they had not quite finished the garage, missing only a few flights on the west side. They left their brick saw in the middle of the yard indicating they will be back soon. No doubt they will be finished with the sunroom before we return.
The slate installers finished the garage that they started a month ago and started and finished the east and west gable of the sunroom. They then started work on the main house slate repair.
Noticed they are starting to stage bricks around the sunroom.
The main news from the weekend was T's suggestion that we consider going with the Rejuvenation Sunset Artistic Pendant for the bar. She believes it will provide a "wow" factor that no other pendant light would be able to match. We have been watching for an opportunity to justify the cost of this pendant for years. It is not cheap. They are having a sale going on right now (15% discount if ordered before June 1) that would make us feel a bit better, but it is still expensive. An online inquiry to the company revealed the wingspan to be 23", but they did not have the nose-to-toe length. They suggested I call their Portland store who could actually measure it for us. I call and spoke with Lisa at the Portland store. She measured and found the nose-to-toe length to be 8-1/4". Much less than I predicted. We need to consider if this fixture may be too large to hang over the bar. The mirror on the bar is 61" wide and the depth of the vault over the sink is 18". The long wingspan will cast a broad shadow from the can lights above. We will think about it. Lisa said if we order this Memorial Day weekend, there is free shipping which equates to an additional 10% discount. But, it is still expensive.
"Our" Mike and Gerard (stainer/painter) came by to discuss the staining with T. They got a consensus on the staining of the wood surfaces. Mike and Gerard first said they wanted to do the pine staining AFTER the installation of the sapelle wood paneling. This did not make any sense to us, and after a little discussion, everyone agreed it would be best to do the staining before the paneling is installed.
We showed Gerard the sample of Tiger wood decking. He was not sure whether or not there would be any staining to be done on the Tiger wood decking or if it would just require a sealing coat. He told Mike that we need to find out from the lumber company.
As for the exterior painting, T told Gerard that the exterior trim (and I assume the soffit and fascia) should match the exterior window clad color (bronze). Gerard suggested we might want to select a different color for the exterior paneling (above the connecting porch door and window and on the north face of the sunroom). T said she would reflect on this suggestion. Later, after Gerard had departed, T told Mike that we should have Gerard plan to paint the exterior paneling to match the red brick on the house.
We received the proposal for the two bar cabinet windows form Gerald (stained glass). T liked it and we went down to their shop before lunch to select the colors. She essentially wants the windows to compliment the window they previously made for us to mount above the south door. Everyone agreed on the color layout and I told them that I would (and did) send a note to Bob (cabinetry) and ask Bob to send the final glass dimensions to them once he determines them. Later in the day, Bob responded that he wanted to wait a couple of weeks to have the actual doors fabricated so that they can see the "routed out lip in the back" so they can make the leaded frame fit in that lip or let some hang over the lip. Whatever will give the best look. Sounds Greek to me, but I am sure everyone else understands. I responded that we are OK with the delay. We just did not want everyone waiting for us to return from vacation.
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