Shock of the New (Year)

Hope the New Year has found everyone well and geared up for a busy and productive year. Our project took little time off for the holiday - a couple of slow days around Xmas and New Year's, but momentum was never lost, and if it was good weather, in particular, the roofers kept on hammering.

As we greet the New Year, we're about half way through our project. If we got started, for real, in September, perhaps this means we'll be done by the projected date of May 1 - that would be sweet, as my 12 year old says. The framing is virtually done - just a few adjustments here and there.

Some last touches - like the frame for the bar area of the kitchen -


The roofing and shingling is also so close you can taste it. Apparently they will be putting back the solar panels this Thursday, which means that we've re-roofed, new roofed and over roofed just about everywhere. Our retaining wall has been poured and the footings placed, so we'll be refilling the gapping hole in the front yard in the next couple of days. Then the roofer can get up to the last side - the east side, and the shingling will be done.

Big Gapping Hole












The electrician has been wiring away - Mike and his team have been swift and quiet, I might add. They go about their work with little interference and little trouble. The top two floors are complete and they are lacing their lines throughout the main level at this point. I went through the other day and made a list of all the fixtures I'll need to purchase - basically anything decorative - pendants, bathroom vanity lights, outdoor lights, reading lamps in the master bedroom. Jonathan's doing his own plan for the studio - yesterday they were talking about line voltage track lights in there which do seem like the right idea - that way you can point them either up at the ceiling for reflected light, or spot light areas down below. If they can’t be on wheels (Jonathan's preferred venue for all objects in the house), than at least they are still flexible, so your options are never hampered.

Mike, the electrician doing his handiwork










The final plumbing lists have been submitted and Steve, and plumber John, promise that everything will be roughed in on that end by the end of January. They have a few things in place but the bulk of the work still remains. We did add in the 2nd floor bath, which was originally supposed to be part of phase 2. But then I realized - I can’t live through another phase!!! So we tore out the old bathroom - it never looked better - and they will have replumb in there as well. We were able to reconfigure the floor plan in that area as well by decreasing the size of the closet adjoining the guest bedroom, and carving out a space for an upstairs laundry. Apparently since the laundry is going to open up inside the bathroom we can’t use the gas dryer from downstairs - a code thing. If we had left it opening into the hallway, we could have used it. But this would have made for a much more awkward space in front of the stairwells, so inside it went. Steve recommended getting front loaders with the controls along the front panel. This way we can have a counter right over the machines for folding - could be quite the efficient set-up.

Demo-ing the old bath




When all the electrical wiring and plumbing are complete, they will move on to the insulation and wallboard. Following that comes the plaster and tape, and the spaces will really start to look like their intended selves. This next step is slated for the month of February, so that the kitchen and baths can go in at the beginning of March, followed close on their heels with all the trim. I think I can taste it - but probably shouldn't get too ahead of myself.

Earlier in December - the deck frame going on


All in all it’s going well - oh the shock... I finally got an accounting from Steve on where we stood with the add-ons, surprises, and budgetary variations. He threatened all through the holiday season to get it to me, and finally faxed something this past Sunday. I wasn’t sitting down, but I should have been. Let's just say that it was another 20% over what we've put out thus far, which isn’t unusual for a contingency budget, I just hope that we don’t see another chunk like this required at the end as well. With taxes coming up next week when I'll need to reconcile our capital gains from the sale of Concord house, the savings are dwindling. I know, costs more, takes more time, but always works out in the end. Let's hope.