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.

Cabinetry Coming

Daniel (tile) picked up where he left off last week. The remaining tiles were laid along with the tile on the hearth. He got about one-half of the grouting accomplished. He will be back tomorrow to finish. T chose the charcoal grout and it looks very good.

We got an email from Bob (cabinetry) saying that Mike has requested the bar and wall paneling to be delivered on Wednesday. We may not get all the wall paneling installed before our guests arrive on the 17th, but it would be very nice to have the plumbing and electrical systems functional.

Not Quite Finished

Daniel (tile installer) got some help on Friday but they did not quite finish laying the sunroom tile floor. They left some color chips for T to select the grout color which they will apply on Monday. T says she is very happy with the way it is looking. She also needs to select the specific tiles she wants on the hearth. Looks like we are going to have quite a few tiles left over.

I mentioned to Mike that we have guests arriving in a couple of weeks. He said he would try to have the deck around the hot tub installed so we can use the tub, as we are sure everyone will be anxious to sit in a hot tub in the middle of August. When John delivered the hot tub several weeks ago, he said that when we were ready to commission the tub to call him and he would come out for the initial fill and chemical treatment. Today, I called and talked with Bobbe. She said when we were within a couple of days of being ready to fill to call again and schedule with John. She said it would only take an hour or so for John to do what he needed to do.

Tile Started

Today, Daniel (tile installer) arrived and actually got started laying tile around 10:30 am. Earlier, he laid out a one-half overlap and a one-third overlap for us to evaluate. T had a long night and was not up when Mike and I discussed the options with Daniel. The bottom line was that we agreed we would go with a one-third overlap with a stair-step arrangement. Daniel had gotten the first course down when T arose. I related our discussion to her and she quickly went down to take a look. Her decision was to got to the one-half overlap. Lucky for me, Daniel did not have to undo anything to go that direction. He expected to have some help today that did not materialize. Someone is expected to help him tomorrow. He predicted he would not be finished until Monday of next week. It looks good so far.

No other activity today. Mike said that we was hopeful we would be ready to begin installation of the bar by the middle of next week.

Sadly, we received a letter from our landscaper today informing us that they are withdrawing from our project. The letter was full of false statements, trying to justify their actions, but the bottom line is that they were unwilling to honor the common sense conditions we had insisted upon for their installation activities. Those conditions were to not to block our neighbors driveways and to stay within our property lines. Too bad. It will set back our landscaping schedule, but it will not prevent our ultimate achievement.