Autumn Has Fallen

Right on cue, the weather turned significantly milder, if not chilly. Today the high is supposed to be around 66F, but it will warm back into the upper 70's over the next week.

On Tuesday of this week, Chris and crew showed up to do some electrical work. They got a lot done and we now have more than just one outlet to use in the sunroom. The refrigerator, ice maker, ceiling fan and dishwasher are all in use. There are a few things left to finish. The disposal and the cupola exhaust fan do not work and a couple of outlets don't have power. We have already decided we want to make a couple of other changes.

When Chris showed up, he asked if we had the three can lights for the east porch and basement, the connecting porch pendent light, the six step lights and the four flood lights. To all these questions, the answer was NO. While the electricians worked, T and I went down to Metro Lighting and found everything we needed. We got the equipment back to Chris in time for them to have everything installed before quitting for the day.

Step Lights

Bar Bat and Stained Glass

Connecting Porch Pendent

Wall Sconces

Step Lights

Mike has finished with installation of all the paneling and trim with the exception of the base boards, crown moldings and the fronts on the bar appliances. It is beautiful!

Bob (cabinetry) stopped by one day to see how things were going and noticed that the ice maker door needs to be reversed and the divider between the refrigerator and the ice maker needs to be cut back. This is to allow the door of the ice maker to open fully once the wood front is installed. Bob sent a note to Mike accordingly.

We also talked with Bob about putting a rail on the bar. I had previously sent Bob pictures of our decanters on the bar with and without a rail. I had put together a temporary rail out of wood scraps. I thought it was obvious that a rail was needed. Bob was not as sure.

With Rail

Without Rail

The rail lifts the decanters up and gives a little reflection in the mirror. It also gets the bottles out of the path of the two power receptacles. After much discussion, it was agreed that Bob will fabricate a simple rail that will not span the full length of the mirror. He will also build two shelves for each side of the mirror.

The Silver Maple on the east side of the garage is gone. It was a shame to do it, but one of the main trunks was very hollow. In addition, with all the root damage done due to the trenching, it was a risk that it might not survive anyway. One less thing to worry about and it has helped access a lot. The removal has also helped with our solar collection.

Over the past week, we have painted the sunroom truss plates using the brown paint used by Jerry on the exterior. They now are much less conspicuous. We also painted the interior component of the heat pump, which was white.

Makeshift Scaffold to Reach Peak

Pre-Painting

Post Painting

On the landscape front, after much research, we finally decided to use the pavers acquired by the previous landscaper (the one who walked off the job) for the chess board. This week, work started on the remaining wall (along the east fence) and, today, Scot is here to work on the chess board. Our east neighbor has been very concerned about maintenance along his new fence (along our east boundry). Primarily, how are weeds going to be controlled. He worked with the landscaper and the result was that they poured a layer of concrete from the fence to our wall. Our neighbor said he could not be happier with the result.

It does not appear they will get more than a couple of rows done today. They spent most of the morning preparing the site. Apparently, the walkways surrounding the north and west sides of the chess board do not form a perfect 90 degree angle. This is unfortunate since it means the gap between the board and the walkways will not be completely uniform. However, unless it is pointed out, I do not believe anyone will notice.

To our surprise, Mike and Nate showed up around 11:00 am. Seems they are going to start working on the crown molding. Mark (plumbing) also showed up and met the City plumbing inspector. Everything passed the inspection. Mark said he someone would be back  before the end of the month to show us how to winterize the garage plumbing.

We have decided to stain/seal the Tigerwood decking ourselves. We have been waiting for several months now for Jerry (painter) to give us an estimate. It became apparent that Jerry did not know the best approach for sealing this type of hardwood. In consulting with others, we decided to use a Penofin product. Today, I went down to a decking company to pick up a cleaner recommended prior to application of the sealant. We may try our hand on the second floor balcony this weekend.

We received more security sensing units and have now installed sensors on all the doors of the main house, the sunroom and the garage. We still have four motion detectors to install somewhere.

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.