Potentially Nice Week Ahead

The 5-day forecast for the upcoming week continues to look good. Little chance of rain, mild temperatures (40's-50's) and some sun. The lake in the back yard is not gone, but it is much diminished. Don't know if anyone will show up to work out there tomorrow or not. It will be muddy, but we only have two full weeks remaining for the remainder of the year. The 10-day forecast looks good right now as well. If we don't make progress, it will not be due to the weather.

We expect to have the new 65" sunroom television delivered tomorrow afternoon. We will set it up in the MIL room for now. The "small" 32" TV that was in the MIL room is now in the master bedroom. The "little" 22" that was in the master bedroom is now in the Red room. The old CRT that was in the Red room is now in the closet.

Last week we bought an Amazon Fire TV streaming unit. With the promotions that came with the new 65" TV, the Fire TV was effectively one-half the regular price. T really likes it compared to using the WiFi abilities built into our DVD players. The Fire's voice recognition capability is very good. Last week I also ordered a Google Chromecast streaming unit, which was about two-thirds the price of the discounted Fire. The Chromecast should be delivered tomorrow. We'll see how it compares to the Fire.

We are expecting our insurance agent tomorrow morning to review our homeowners policy and the construction project.

Of course we are expecting to hear from the cable company on when the next appointment will be for the relocation of the overhead cable line. Maybe we'll find out something about relocation of the power cable as well!

We may go down to the lumber yard tomorrow and compare the cost of the siding "Our" Mike showed us last week to the pine board that Tyler recommends we consider for the exposed interior roof and gables. We are also looking forward to hearing what Tyler finds out about the gable truss alternatives, per our discussion Friday evening.

Cable Company Drama

On Friday, the cable company failed to show up for their fourth appointment to relocate their line to the new underground conduit. On three of the previous four appointments, they just did not show up. The one occasion they did show up, they did nothing and departed. This morning I called their service number and talked with Kay. I explained to her that my patience was running out and that there was no excuse for the service failures over the past two weeks. Kay agreed and could not offer an explanation. I informed Kay that, going forward, there were three possible course of events: 1) a new appointment is made and the company completes the work satisfactorily, at which time all of their past sins may be forgiven; 2) a new appointment is made and they again fail to show up, at which time I will personally cut their line and cancel our service; 3) a new appointment is made but, prior to that appointment, the construction project is delayed due to the overhead line, at which time I will personally cut their line and cancel our service. Kay talked with her supervisor, Brian, and assured me that either Brian or the service dispatcher will call me on Monday to let me know of the new (fifth) appointment. I assured Kay that the outcome of this mess is up to them and if I end up cutting their line and canceling our service, I will ensure they are exposed to a lot of unfaltering publicity.

Rainy Friday

With 100% probability for rain today, it is almost comforting that it is, indeed, raining. It should stop raining by this evening. This is good because if the water standing in the back yard gets much deeper, the trusses, which will be exposed in the sunroom at the end of the project, will be sitting in water.

The current forecast for this weekend and next week remains favorable. Cool, but dry and mostly sunny. That may change, but for now, our hopes are high that we might get a lot accomplished next week. At least the weather will not prevent progress.

I called the cable company at 0800 hours this morning expecting, for the third (and last) time, to make an appointment to have the cable line relocated to run through the new underground conduit. Upon telling the automated voice that I was calling in reference to an appointment, the machine checked and informed me that there was an appointment for us scheduled for today. OK!! That is good in that it saved me the irritation of a verbal confrontation with someone who really does not care if our cable gets relocated or not. The last time I called (Monday), I was not so much irritated by having to call them again, the really irritating part of the call was the redundancy of scripted apologetic statements I had to endure, knowing the person really could not have cared less. If they show up, and actually get the job today, I will forgive them for their past three appointment failures. By 1530 hours, no one had shown up so I called their automated voice again and was told again by the computer that there was still an appointment scheduled for today.

We have invited Tyler (architect) over to talk with us this afternoon. The primary topic will be the west gable (at the hot tub end of the sunroom). Prior to getting the construction permit in early August, we were reviewing the permit drawings and raised the question of the gable surface below the interface with the glass roof over the hot tub. The drawings indicated the gable would be "wraped" and extend down to the same level as the other roof trusses. This would create an enclosed "box" similar to the one on the east gable, but not as wide. We are OK with the "box" on the east gable, and in fact, we had considered installing the inside HVAC unit inside of it. On the west gable however, it seemed to us that such a "box" would obscure the interior view of the glass roof and it would not be appealing from the exterior, viewed through the glass roof. In a meeting with Tyler and "Our" Mike at our house in late July, we broached this concern with them. Their response was that they did not see any reason we could not work with the truss design and be able to have the gable truss follow the contour of the glass roof. This was very comforting to both T and myself and we put the concern out of our minds.

When the trusses were delivered earlier this week, I asked Mike about that contouring of the gable truss and, to my surprise, he expressed surprise at my question and responded, "oh no, the truss has to come all the way down". I did not comment more at the time, but reflecting upon it, I came to the conclusion that what he must have meant that the truss will come down to the same level as the others, but the solid gable surface (the "wrap") would follow the glass roof contour. While this is not what we were led to believe would happen, I decided that they must have come to the conclusion that this was the best solution. To satisfy my curiosity, I wrote a note to Tyler asking for clarification. While Tyler said he remembered the conversation we had four months ago, it became clear to me that he never intended to alter what the permit drawings showed. This upset both T and myself since this was a concern we had made a point of bringing up. Now it seems, the concern is being brushed aside by both Mike and Tyler. Rather than trading emails of a potentially increasingly contentious nature, we decided it would be better to ask Tyler to stop by and talk through the matter. We are expecting him at 1630 hours.

The meeting with Tyler went very well. Tyler explained that the major change between now and, what we thought four months ago, was that the trusses selected for the west gable are girder trusses and not standard trusses. Tyler was very patient in explaining the difference, which is basically that the standard truss is designed to only hold vertical loads while girder trusses hold both vertical and horizontal loads. Although I asked several times, I still do not fully understand, and Tyler could not adequately explain, why the decision was made to use the girder trusses. Tyler did not know if the people who designed the trusses were ever asked to consider a truss design which would follow the contour of the glass window. We asked Tyler to speak to the truss people to find out what such an option would require. Better now than after the trusses are in place.

We also discussed the exposed interior roof material and the material to be used on the interior of both east and west gables. Bottom line is that the gable material will be the same as that used on the interior roof. We showed Tyler the pine tongue-n-grove siding that Mike brought to us to consider. Tyler's opinion is that, compared to the other elements in the room, it will look too casual. He suggested we have Mike get a price comparison between the siding and a clear select grade 1"x 6" pine flat board. I have written an email to Mike asking for this price comparison.

It is 1900 hours and no cable company guy has shown up. I just called their robo call center and we are still scheduled for an appointment today. I will call them again on Monday.

Guess What?

The cable company did not show up....again. I will call them, for the last time, tomorrow. Thank goodness they are not the only game in town. We may be switching to AT&T!! One way or another, the cable is coming down!

Very light, intermittent rain today...no work in the yard. Tomorrow, 100% probability. Guess what?

December 3

Noticed Nate's truck parked out front around 6:45 am so I went down to the basement, unbarred the door and turned on the lights. This may be the last dry day of the week. Forecast is for 40% probability of rain on Thursday and 90% chance on Friday.

We got a note from "Salesman" Mike yesterday evening acknowledging that he has received the needed dimensions from "Our" Mike. The Marvin windows can now be ordered. Hurrah!! "Salesman" Mike also gave us the "tight" dimensions of the picture window glass above the south door ( 29 7/8’’ wide, 32 1/8’’ tall). I passed this on to Kim and Gerald at the stained glass company. These will also be the dimensions of the stained glass. I also sent to them an annotated sketch from "Salesman" Mike showing how the art glass will fit into the picture window frame, behind the insulated double paned glass.

"Our" Mike, Nate and "Little" Mike are back out there this morning, huddled around the drawings. They started yesterday to "cleanup" the back of the main house where the porch will connect to the back door. There is a bit of repair work to do, including some tuckpointing, where the old porch had attached to the house. Mike was showing me yesterday that the drawings were missing some details in this area and contained others that just were not correct as drawn. 

Connecting Porch Floor Joists

Attached to the main house

Flooring

Hurray!! The gravel arrived today.

First Load

Second Load

We got an email from Bob (landscaping) asking about our progress and telling us he was sending us a plan and proposal for the Phase II plants and lighting which were removed from the Phase I scope of work. He also sent a new Phase I proposal showing the new total after reducing the fencing not needed since our east neighbors are extending their west fence to the north. T will be reviewing the plant listings and giving Bob some feedback.

While Spenser and I were talking during our afternoon walk, we remembered a discussion we had with "Salesman" Mike (Marvin dealer) a couple of months ago regarding getting the locks on the garage french doors specified so that they, along with the sunroom doors, can all be keyed alike. When we got home, I called Mike and left a message asking him to send me an email detailing what "Our" Mike needs to specify on the Lincoln order for the garage doors. "Salesman" Mike responded and I have passed on to "Our" Mike that the Marvin doors will come with Schlage brand locks. If possible, we need to have the Lincoln doors similarly equipped.

Before they concluded for the day, Mike, Nate and Mike got the connecting porch framing in place. For the first time since early August, we can (except for the brace across the door) step out the back door again. Cannot go very far, but it is progress.

The bar sink disposal arrived today. The new TV should arrive on Monday. 

Mike pulled a string through both the underground conduits today. Hopefully, the cable company guy will show up on Thursday. Mike had no further information on the power line. We have to get the overhead cables down before the trusses can go up.

Hello December

Thanksgiving is behind us and December is here. Sunday night, we had freezing drizzle and Monday morning everything was covered in a sheet of ice. It did not reach above freezing on Monday and nothing was done in the backyard. This morning however, "Our" Mike, Nate and "Little" Mike arrived at 7:00 am. It is supposed to get above freezing today. While perhaps a little more comfortable, temperature wise, it is going to be a muddy mess out there.

Yesterday (Monday) we got a couple of emails from Tyler (architect) in response to the emails I sent out last week. One touched on the window above the south door. Tyler expressed his opinion that we should strongly consider putting our stained glass pane behind a double glass insulated window, as opposed to just a single pane of glass. We agree. The other email ignited a little more conversation.

I had sent out a note summarizing the various species of wood that are going to be exposed in the sunroom and sought input on being able to coordinate the staining of all these. That list included:

Bar and wall paneling - Sapele
Exposed trusses - Select yellow pine
Door and window interior sashes - pine
Hot tub decking and interior steps - Tiger wood
Exposed interior roofing - #1 Ponderosa Pine siding (proposed)

My note was prompted by a discussion on the proposed material to be used on the exposed interior of the roof. Mike had shown Tyler and myself a sample of cypress, which we both liked, but turned out to be very expensive. Mike had also suggested using a spruce product. Tyler expressed a concern about how the spruce would take a stain and suggested a siding material. These discussions got me thinking about all the different wood species we are going to be using. I thought that, before we made the final decision about any of the woods (no orders have yet to be placed), we needed to ensure our decisions. Later, just before Thanksgiving, Mike stopped by and showed us the tongue-n-grove siding that Tyler had suggested. It turned out to be made of #1 Ponderosa Pine. This siding was shown in my post of November 26. In Tyler's email of yesterday, the only reservation he had regarding my list of woods was with the "standard" pine to be used on the Marvin windows and door sashes. His concern was "The standard mixed grain pine can vary in from light to dark in each piece of wood, so they will not all match around the windows". He went on to suggest that "Typically when the windows are going to be stained, people will upgrade to 'straight grain – fir'”. While we have had this discussion before, it has been awhile, and does not do any harm to reconfirm our previous decision. We talked with "Our" Mike and "Salesman" Mike (Marvin dealer). The result was the same as the last time. Both Mikes disagreed with Tyler's concern. "Salesman" Mike again assured us that, due to the care taken by Marvin in their wood selection process, upgrading the wood sashes as suggested by Tyler would not be a good use of our money. This issue is concluded...again!

"Salesman" Mike also told me he was still waiting for "Our" Mike to give him the dimensions for the south door side windows and the picture window above the south door. With this information, plus our decision on the specific picture window we want above the south door (single versus double pane), he can get the Marvin order placed. I encouraged "Salesman" Mike to pester "Our" Mike for the dimensional information he needs. I reminded "Our" Mike this morning that "Salesman" Mike was waiting to hear from him with the dimensions. "Our" Mike said he already had the side window measurements and proceeded to measure the opening above the south door. Hopefully he will remember to give this information to "Salesman" Mike.

I called Gerald (stained glass company) to discuss our revised plans for the stained glass above the south door. He was not available, but I talked with Kim, gave her the proposal number that Gerald had provided to us back in September and told her that we wanted to talk with Gerald about modifying the design so that the Gothic Arch would be in a rectangular glass setting. She seemed to understand and said she would have Gerald give us a call. I then called and left a message with "Salesman" Mike asking, once he gets the opening dimensions of the window above the south door to let us know what the glass size will be so we can pass this along to Gerald when he calls back. I did get a call from Gerald later in the day. We went over the changes we were wanting and the coordination with the window company. Everything seems set to go.

As for the overall question of coordinating the staining of the various woods, "Our" Mike is going to talk with the painter/stainer about doing some testing in which T can participate. I also called and left a message for Bob (cabinetry) to see if we could get a sample of Sapele for testing and to get a confirmation that Bob was recommending finishing the cabinetry on-site. Bob returned our call this afternoon. We went over the staining issues and he agreed that we need to get samples of all the woods to the painter/stainer so they can experiment. Bob confirmed the recommendation that the final finishing be done on-site so the painter/stainer can see it all together and make any required adjustments. Bob also said he would get us a sample of bare Sapele and call us when we could come pick it up. Bob also said we could borrow his stained Sapele cabinet door display sample as a guide.

I also called the cable company yesterday and rescheduled the rerouting of the cable line through the underground conduit for today. They offered no explanation as to why they did not show up last week as scheduled.

In talking with "Our" Mike yesterday, he told us that he is expecting the trusses to be delivered on Tuesday (today) and was working with Rob (electrical) to get the utility scheduled to pull the power lines through the new underground conduit. While this is required before we can install the roof trusses, Mike said they still have a lot of carpentry work to do before they are ready for the trusses to fly.

Nate and "Little" Mike finished application of the Tyvek wrap while awaiting the trusses, which arrived about 10:00 am.

Mike measured to see if the truck could maneuver down the alley. It was going to be tight. I suggested that, as an alternative, we could check with our west neighbors to see if we could use their drive and take a section out of our west fence. Mike did ask and Jeanie said it would be OK. They are great neighbors.

As the trusses were being unloaded, it was noticeable that the delivered garage trusses were not exactly as portrayed on the Permit Drawings.

The 6 foot horizontal "head knocker" is much higher, probably 10 foot. While I like this, the original design was presented to the City claiming that the 6 foot truss brace made this space uninhabitable per code. I mentioned this to "Our" Mike, but he did not seem concerned.

Permit Drawing Garage Truss

Delivered Garage Truss

The sunroom trusses are consistent with the revised Permit Drawings, eliminating the one horizontal member.

Sunroom Trusses Delivered

Permit Drawing Sunroom Truss w/revision

Once the trusses were unloaded, the remainder of the day was spent working on the connecting porch interface with the main house.

The cable company representative did make an appearance, but left without doing anything. According to "Our" Mike, he expected to find a string had already been run through the conduit for him to use to pull his cable through. Mike told him he would do this and the fellow said he would be back on Thursday. I won't hold my breath.

Black Friday Sales

Don't know if anyone will show up to work tomorrow (Monday) or not. Today, we decided to go ahead and capture a couple of on-line sales including the sunroom television and the bar sink disposal. For the TV, we determined a 65" diagonal screen would be the maximum we would want to mount above the fireplace. The horizontal dimension of the chimney breast above the fireplace is 68". The width of the unit we selected is 57". My first preference was to go with a plasma flat screen, but for less than one-half the cost, we finally opted for a Samsung LED (Model UN65H7150). It is a "smart" model with WiFi, so we should be able to use it to access our wireless internet network. The sale was for 45% off list (free shipping and no sales tax), but I have no doubt someone will offer it at a lower price tomorrow. The unit will be delivered on December 8. We will set it up in the MIL bedroom and enjoy it until the time arrives to install it in the sunroom. We did not order the wall bracket yet. We want to discuss how this unit will "sit" on the wall before determining the proper mount.

As for the bar sink disposal, we selected and ordered an InSinkErator Cover Control Plus Evolution 3/4 HP. This unit is supposedly very quiet and features a safety device which will not allow it to operate unless the sink drain cover is in place. Will keep little hands (and bigger hands of the inebriated) away from harm. This unit was discounted by 50%. It will be delivered this coming Wednesday (December 3).

While the weather today is very mild and sunny, there is a chance of rain turning to snow tonight. Monday and Tuesday are supposed to be dry and cool before the chance of rain comes back during the later part of the week.

I forgot on Friday, but I will call the cable company Monday and see when they intend to come out and reroute their cable through our new underground conduit.

Thanksgiving Eve

It was a chilly Wednesday morning. Nate and "Little" Mike arrived to continue with the carpentry work. The forecast is for snow to begin around 10:00 am and continue throughout the day. Josh (electric) arrived just after 7:00 am to install the additional conduit in the trench between the garage and basement. "Our" Mike showed up with additional lumber. The cable company guy is scheduled to be here to pull their cable through the new underground conduit.

The lumber company fellow stopped by and he talked with Mike for quite a while. He brought another wood sample for us to consider for the sunroom exposed roof. Mike told us later that he was told that the cypress roofing planks, that he showed me yesterday, were four to five times the cost of the wood he showed us today. It is a tongue and groove with a V notch. We could opt to either have the notch exposed or not if it makes the interior roof look too "busy". It will be stained. Mike believes these planks are spruce.The exposed trusses will be yellow pine. The bar and paneling will be Sapele. The decking and interior steps will be Tiger wood. The interior door and window sashes will be pine. We will need to work with Tyler, and perhaps Bob (bar cabinetry), to ensure the staining of all these different woods will coordinate.

The snow held off until around noon, but by 1:00 pm, it was coming down pretty heavy and the guys knocked off for the day. They finished the sunroom plywood facings and got a good start on the Tyvek wrap. By 4:30 pm, the snow had essentially stopped. We got about 1-1/2". It will not stay around long.

"Bobcat" Tom showed up and filled in the trench after the electrician finished laying conduit. While the alley is filled and level, it is now muddy and needs new gravel. Mike said it will be next week before that could happen.

T made her decision on the swing direction of the sunroom casement windows and I communicated that to "Salesman" Mike. All of the hot tub bay windows will swing in one direction. As for the four casements on the sunroom south wall, two will open left and two right. 

As soon as "Our" Mike gets the south door side windows and overhead window dimensions, we would be able to place the Marvin order. I don't know if Mike ever placed the Lincoln order. He did not ask for us to make a down payment.

The cable guy never showed up.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

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!!!

Trim Color

T and I went back to the supplier of Lincoln windows and doors for the garage today and confirmed that their standard bronze trim will be acceptable. An email was sent to "Our" Mike that this was our selection and that we told the supplier that Mike would be getting with them to authorize the order. They also showed us the proposed replacement basement door. We told "Our" Mike that this was acceptable as well.

Since we are also at the point of actually placing the order for the sunroom Marvin windows and doors, we have to finalize our decision on which way we want the casement windows to swing. We have analyzed prevailing wind directions, traffic noise, neighbor pet noise, general ventilation, security issues and overall aesthetics. After all of that analyzing, I came to the conclusion that I was over analyzing the situation. My selection was one that seemed to me to be the most aesthetically appealing. I also concluded that, since I don't believe there is really a "wrong" answer, the only "right" answer is what T wants to do. I have sketched up several options to help her visualize. Once she makes up her mind, we can let "Salesman" Mike know and he can get the order placed. However, he said he is also waiting to hear back from "Our" Mike on the height of the windows on either side of the south door. If we get the order placed this week, delivery will probably be after Christmas and maybe after the new year.