Lots of Progress

It has been about three weeks since our last update. At the last update, the bar granite top had been installed, the sink faucets and disposal were installed and the Sapele styles and rails were starting to go up.

Since then, Mike and Nate have finished installation of all the Sapele styles and rails and are working on the panels. Mike said they are focusing on the panels with the electrical boxes so that we can get Chris back to finish the electrical work. This will be great. For the past month or more, we have had just one outlet available and the floor has been a mass of extension cords to the TV, the DVD, speakers, phone, etc.

Last week we found a replacement for the landscaper who walked out on us back in late July. That has put that portion of the project well behind schedule, but we are now making good progress. This week, they poured our exposed aggregate walkways. What a difference that makes. You can actually walk from the sunroom to the garage and not have to jump from board to board to avoid the mud. While the previous landscaper could not find the Old Monroe aggregate we liked, this would did find it and it looks good. T decided to eliminate the wood south porch deck and instead, have the concrete taken right up to the door threshold. Good decision!

A couple of weeks ago, still having 2,000 bricks in the front yard for over four months, I posted them on Greg's List to see if I could find someone interested in buying them. Chris (electrician) had said he would take them, but has not shown any enthusiasm in actually doing so. The Greg's Listing was out there for a week without any inquiries. Therefore, last week I let Mike know that I was going to offer them on-line for free, first-come, first-served. Within a week, Chris had removed all of them.

Brick-less Front Yard

We decided to have the large Silver Maple in the back yard taken down. Heartbreaking, but it will be for the best. We have the tree service company here today to take it down. Hopefully without dropping anything on the neighbor's fence or on our new garage.

John (HAC) is here today with the factory representative to study the performance of our new second floor AC system. It has not been able to reach set point on warm days. They concluded the problem was with the duct work. Hopefully they are correct. We may not know for sure until next summer.

The granite back splash on the bar is being installed today.

The roofer finally got around to finishing the flashing on the bay guttering. Mike presented me with an invoice for the guttering work. I told him that he could pass on to the roofing company that the invoice would not be paid until I have received a receipt showing the roofing of on the main house had been paid in full and a description of the work. I have been trying to get these for about two months so I can turn them into our insurance company for credit on our homeowner's insurance. Despite repeated requests and promises. We have never gotten receipt. About two days after Mike passed this on, I got a receipt showing full payment, but no description of the work. I sent the receipt to the insurance agent and was told they would see if the insurance company needed anything more. Until the claim is accepted, we will not pay the guttering invoice.

Bar Work

Last week we were told the bar counter top would arrive on Tuesday. We had almost given up on it but they finally arrived late in the afternoon and had the top installed very quickly. T likes it.

Wednesday, Bob (cabinetry) sent Todd to swap out the ice maker, deliver the cabinet pulls and pick up the excess Sapele lumber. As I had mentioned to Bob, I told Todd that Mike said he still needed a few pieces of Sapele. Todd said if he needed more, he would bring some back. At least the garage is starting to clear out.

Today, T and I were out for lunch when we got a message that the garage door had been opened. I called Mike to ensure it was him. It was. He said he just stopped by to retrieve his table saw. He noted that ALL of the Sapele was gone. I told him what Todd said yesterday about bring back more if needed. Mike also said he was trying to get a hold of Bob to find out when to expect the finishers to come out to start work. Mike also mentioned that Mark (plumbing) was going to have Pat come out Friday morning to install the ice machine and hook up the faucets. On the way home, Mark called and asked if Pat could actually start work this afternoon. That was good with us. Pat arrived a little before 1:00 pm and left about 3:00 pm. He said he would be back in the morning to finish, expecting it would take a couple of hours. He got the garbage disposal mounted, the ice maker installed and hooked up the water lines.

All the appliances are now in place. Just need to finish the plumbing and get some power.

It Has Been A Long Time

Today is Sunday, August 30. The last posting was almost three weeks ago. We had out-of-town guests which occupied us for a couple of weeks. During most of that time, not a lot happened on the project, but some significant accomplishments were achieved. Before our guests arrived, we "tested" the hot tub several times and found it agreeable. During that week (August 10-14), Mike and Nate started installing the Sapele "styles" and "rails" on the sunroom walls. Before the end of the week, Mike said that they had used all the lumber that Bob (cabinetry) had delivered. He informed Bob we needed more. This was surprising to me since Bob had led us to believe that we had received all the lumber.

Chris (electrician) also showed up briefly during the week to finish the wiring for the deck step lights so that Mike and Nate could finish the tub decking.

Mike and Nate also continued installing the appliances in the bar during the week.

Left to Right: Two Drawer Refrigerator; Ice Maker; Sink; Trash Can; Dishwasher

Much to my surprise, Mike announced that we purchased the "wrong" ice maker. The one we bought uses gravity to drain as opposed to one with a pump. The plumber did not install the necessary plumbing to accommodate a gravity draining ice maker. I found this amazing because we order exactly what Bob (cabinetry) advised. I clearly remember Bob telling us that the best route was to go with a gravity draining ice maker as opposed to one that pumped out. This was based upon his experience of pump failures and subsequent flooding damage. In fact, originally, we had specified a Kitchen Aid ice maker but, because Kitchen Aid no longer offered a gravity drain machine, switched to the U-Line brand. At the time, he suggested I ensure that the plumbing was such that it would be for a gravity system. I remember talking with the plumbers that very day to ensure they understood we were going to use a gravity draining ice maker. Despite their assurances, this is not what they set up. Now it is too late. Anyway, we ordered a replacement ice maker (with pump). It has been delivered to Bob and will be delivered to the sunroom on Tuesday, September 1.

Our new sunroom furniture arrived on Friday, August 14, the day before our Texas guests arrived. It looks good.

Also on August 14, our new potential landscaper (John) showed up with Joe (construction) to review the work to be done. We had a nice visit and John said he would be putting together an estimate for us.

Our guests arrived on August 15 and departed on August 22. Between those dates, the hot tub was put to the test. Everyone enjoyed it.

On Monday, August 17, the fireplace installer arrived to complete the installation. The replacement remote control and wall control unit had been delivered. While he was completing that, Mike installed the new stained glass panel above the south door of the sunroom.

With our daughter in town, T took the opportunity to get her opinion on the appropriate cabinet "pulls". The correct answer was the same as the one T had selected several months ago. We asked Bob to order the appropriate number.

After all our guests departed, we "burned in" the fireplace...very smoky! And T put her new candles on the mantel.

When we finally took off the protective plastic wrap around the mantel, we noticed that there was some grouting that needed to be finished. Not only around the mantel itself, but also around the hearth. We pointed this out to Mike and he said he would get with Jaime. This past week, Mike said he had talked with Jaime but we don't know when he will show up to finish the grouting. We also talked with Mike about having Jaime change the color of the grout on the sunroom exterior limestone window sills. Jaime had used a red colored grout. Perhaps in expectation of us painting the sills. T has decided that she does not want the sills painted and therefore the grout needs to be something that will blend in with the natural limestone color.

On Tuesday, August 18, more Sapele wood showed up and was stacked in the garage. On August 20, someone from the roofing company showed up to finally install the missing flashing on the sunroom bay. If I understood Mike, there would be sealant on the seems of these horizontal flashings. It does not appear to be sealed. I asked Mike to inspect the work and ensure he is OK with the quality. At least we no longer have bare wood exposed anywhere to the outside elements!

On Friday, August 21, someone did come out to take measurements for the quartz bar counter top. It was interesting. They did not actually take any measurements, but instead, put "dot" stickers all over the wood cabinets and then took a photo. The guy said he would take it back, feed it into the computer and the computer would determine all the dimensions.

This past week, Mike and Nate returned on Wednesday and, between then and early Friday morning, completed installation of all the interior paneling "styles" and "rails".

Mike said the plan was for Bob's finisher to come out and stain and seal the "styles" and "rails" before installation of the plywood "fields" and moldings, which will already be finished. Mike said he has informed Bob that we are ready for the finisher, but did not get a commitment on when they would be here.

I was surprised with the amount of surplus Sapele still in the garage, since Mike said he was essentially finished with the "styles" and "rails". Mike was surprised as well and, unless we wanted to try to use it to make furniture, he hoped Bob would be able to take them back the surplus. This is expensive stuff.

Bob sent a note saying the counter top will be delivered on Tuesday, September 1. Great news (hope it fits)! In response, I asked Bob about the delivery of the cabinet "pulls" and about all the excess Sapele lumber still in the garage. Bob responded that the cabinet "pulls" had already been delivered and that "yes" he would take back any excess Sapele lumber. He just wanted to ensure Mike had enough. Friday morning, Mike and searched for the "pulls" to no avail. I sent Bob a note to that effect. Soon thereafter, we got a note from Bob saying that he found the "pulls" in their shop. Whew!

On Thursday, August 27, I called John (landscaping) to get an update. It has been almost two weeks since he was here with Joe. John apologized and said he would try to have something for us by Friday. We heard nothing on Friday.

Hot Water

I arranged for John (the hot tub guy) to come out on Monday to help commission the tub. We could not wait and filled and adjusted the chemistry over the weekend. When John arrived Monday, he checked things over and said we did a good job. T enjoyed the tub throughout the weekend.

Yesterday, Monday, no one showed up to work. Today, Mike and Nate arrived and started assembling the bar and installing the wall paneling. They also installed the bracket for the TV above the fireplace. A plumber also showed up to work on the bar plumbing. Mike said Bob (cabinetry) will be here tomorrow to take measurements for the counter top and answer questions. Mike says he has several.

 

Frank, Tim and John arrived to start replacing the second floor AC system in the main house. They promised it will be finished and in service before the weekend.

Yes, Yes, Yes

Yes, our landscaper abandoned us, Yes the polar caps are melting, Yes the world is coming to an end...but today, we commissioned our hot tub.

Mike and Nate finished the deck around the tub and the south porch,

We also had another John come by to scope out the retractable screens for the sunroom french doors

Cabinetry Arrives

The cabinetry and appliances arrived today. Looks good. Mike and Nate put a few more panels on the hot tub decking. I met with our attorney to discuss our landscaping issues.

Cabinetry Tomorrow

Not sure why, but they delayed delivery of the cabinetry until tomorrow morning. In his note telling us of the delay, Bob mentioned that next Wednesday, they plan to have the template for the counter top made. It may be another couple of weeks before it is installed.

Mike appeared with an irrigation person (Wally) and a landscaping person (John) to discuss the landscaping effort. The previous landscaper backed out of the project last week. We discussed the plan and they will be providing us with an estimate next week. We liked them and they appeared to be very professional. With respect to the water feature, John suggested we go by the water feature at St. Mary's Hospital and see if this is somewhat what we had in mind with respect to the rocks and approach. We did that and directionally, it is close to what we want. Ours will be on a different scale.

Mike and Nate continued work on the decking around the hot tub. They did not quite get it finished today. T talked with Mike about reducing the extension of the west porch steps as much as possible and about application of a sealant on the Tiger wood to help prevent stains.

Yesterday, Daniel finished installation of the tile. It looks good and Spenser seems to like it too.

Yesterday we also went shopping for some rattan furniture. T made her selection and it will be delivered Friday of next week.

The set includes a love seat, glider/rocker and a coffee table. It was supposed to have an end table, but they could not find it. So, T decided to get a wrought iron end table instead that has a wine bucket incorporated into it.

Frank and Tim were here yesterday and worked on things they could without shutting down the last old AC unit on the main house. Frank sent a note last night saying they may not be back this week but he was still hopeful they would have the new system in place before our guests arrive in two weeks.

We also stopped by the retractable screen place and arranged for John to come by Friday morning to evaluate the screen options for the two french doors on the sunroom.