Week Ending 05/24/2008

Of the three concerns the inspector had, one has been addressed. Though we appealed to him for how to deal with the other two, the electrician will have to come. That is being scheduled.

The screens were delivered. All fit but one. We're getting there.

The foyer was tiled; and, with that, the floors are finally done. It is the first time we've not had exposed sub-floor since last May.

With help from the boys (a little) I created a small garden area in the front, the first real landscaping effort. The 18 square foot area yielded over 4 5-gallon buckets overflowing with rocks.

Some interior painting and general detail work was also done.

Week Ending 05/17/2008

I don't know if "the devil's in the details" or "the devil's in the process." Possibly both.

Most of the last two weeks I've been driving for the final inspection. The good news is that the leak in the front door and the footprint issue seem to be resolved. We have received a Waiver of Lien from the builder, and he has received our last payment. I've been preparing the foyer for the tile (sub floor layed, lines snapped, tile ordered). The oak treads on both front entrances have been sanded, stained and polyeurothaned. Similar small work has been done; thus, the details comment above.

On Friday, 5/16, the inspector came by for the last time...we thought. Unfortunately, he found three items of concern. One, installing a steel door in the garage for plumbing access, was mentioned previously and not completed. The other two were never mentioned. They are, 1) the light above the master bath either shouldn't be there or needs to be at a regulation height. He wasn't sure which and will get back to me. The second, the outlet by the boy's sinks should be in the middle, or there should be one on both sides. In both cases, there have been several opportunities to address these, including from the drawings and at the electrical inspection. Waiting until each room is nearly complete is ... very unfortunate. More to come.

Week Ending 05/03/2008

Several benchmarks this week.

- Heavy rain showed the front door leak is now resolved;

- The builder surprised us by coming over and replacing the exterior basement door with a smaller version, thereby reducing the overall footprint of the house to the legal limit;

- The door headers were finished;

- The 2nd floor linen closet was built out (as the first of 5 closets upstairs).

The saw still does not work properly, and has been returned for complete repairs. Plenty to do in the mean time...