Saturday, October 24, 2009

week 30: still inching towards completion

Alex of Crestwood affixed the cabinet doors to the kitchen cabs and access panel to the main water shut off. He placed the knobs and pulls on the stair pull-outs, medicine and linen cabs, and the water and electrical access panels. He made sure the drawer glides on the kitchen and stair pull-outs were smooth. He’ll return with new cabinet doors for the kitchen as the ones he had were warped.











Dana of Guillory Construction switched out the handrail brackets to ones with a more traditional profile. He installed the last of the door hardware, doorstop, medicine cabinet ball-chain stop and mirror bead, AV shelves and custom-made removable return grille. Dana, you’re amazing! We love that grille!













Jeff of Anctil Heating secured a loose wire that was rattling in the furnace, flashed the utility chimney (so that’s why it was leaking) and refitted the dryer vent so that the hoses aligned and the machines could sit flush to the wall. In a tiny laundry room, every inch counts! After a couple of hours, the mechanical work was complete!




Craig of NW Glass Specialties affixed the towel bar and toilet paper holder. It was tricky avoiding the drain pipes. All bath accessories are now done!




Andrei and Val of Vic’s Hardwood Company sanded, double-coated the oak hardwood floors and stair treads and filled a few small holes on the main floor. It looks awesome! Now, all the finish flooring is complete!







Aaron of Portland Metro Electric installed more shades in the cellar and refurbished and installed some old fixtures in the store room.




Seth and Matt of Integrated Technologies returned to complete the finish installation on the AV equipment. They installed the in-wall and in-ceiling speakers, mounted the TV on the wall, installed the remaining coverplates on the phone jacks, ethernet lines and cable, activated all the phone lines, programmed the remotes, installed the antenna in the attic and hooked up and calibrated all the equipment. Now all the low-voltage items are done! Check out the wireless repeater at the base of the TV; that little "eye" enables the handheld remote to communicate through the wall with the AV equiptment. Also, look how tight the drywall and millwork fit around the sub-woofer. Awesome!













Even our own contractor Erik of Ostmo Construction was on site working to get the project done. He attached the cover panels on the undercounter refrigerator at the wet bar.




We have been vacuuming the basement almost daily to make sure that the construction dust and debris do not get ground down into the new carpet. It is amazing that we’ve already filled one vacuum bag. I’ll need to get rid of the three brooms we’ve used throughout the project as the bristles have all been worn to shreds.

We put up the new, wood storm windows from Classic Sash & Door. They look just as fabulous as the new, bronze wood screens, but now we are ready for winter.




This week marks the third time that I have separated the recyclable paper and cardboard from the landfill. It is astounding how much packing stuff there is. I am doing everything I can to reduce the amount of landfill created. The construction industry is one of the biggest producers of landfill in this country.

And I found the most perfect item at Rejuvenation; a porcelain toilet screw cover! It really made me happy to remove those awful plastic ones from the main floor bath.




The HBA came by to assess whether or not our project will be on the 2010 Tour of Remodeled Homes. Keep your fingers crossed! You might be able to see the finished project in person in March next year.

With that, we have substantial completion of the project. Home owners should note that this means the start of the warranty period. We’ll clean the house thoroughly inside and out and "blue-tape" construction-related items we would like fixed or completed. These items become part of what is called the punch list.

Tune in next time for the punch list and the neighbor’s garage!


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