hunching and punching
The electrical, mechanical, and framing subs have been out to the house to iron out the last few details before insulation goes in and drywall goes up. The changes at the house are subtle ("Wait a minute: That wasn't here last week!"), but they are there. In preparation for the insulation, we did a little vacuuming and blowing in the outer walls to clean 'em up. Not convinced the sub would do that...
That can to the back got installed. It's to light up art on the wall in the master bedroom.
Finally got the third thermostat installed!
The city inspectors wanted a header over this opening to the ERV (energy recovery ventilator). They got it.
Three of these were added by the HVAC sub. They will provide access to the zone controllers.
Also done, but not shown, is the addition of a 240 line to the garage for a future electric car (part of the original bid set but not installed until now [glad I noticed that last weekend!]) and a finish-out of the roof penetration in the laundry. There are still a few punch-outs to address, but we're down to the dregs. Even the Columbo "Just one more thing..." syndrome has dried up.
The insulation sub has been on-site and has started sealing around windows, in corners and seams, and in penetrations. In large part it's to seal the house from air penetration, but it's also to delay the spread of fire in the house if there's ever (let's hope not) a fire.
Foam and Fill Fireblock
Filled in the header holes for the old location of the electrical service.
Filling between the boards (guess the ladder wasn't tall enough?)
Foam sculpture. Looks like Circus Peanuts. Doesn't taste like Circus Peanuts.
fit and trim
The builder and sub haven't done trim with the look we want to achieve, so this is fraught with danger for all involved. Ideally, this is what we're looking for:
This detail, at least how it's done by Build LLC, involves first installing z-metal that holds the drywall, then installing the drywall, and then installing the baseboard. The builder is concerned that this allows little to no room for error and that the risk of having a gap of varying height is high (and that would not be good). There are also cost considerations. That z-metal is 'spensive. Although we have a healthy line budget to deal with this detail, it still may not be enough.
After hearing the builder's concerns, the architect has proposed that the baseboard be installed first but with a quarter-inch notch cut at the very top of the board (see below). Then the drywall would be installed to set on top of the board. The builder seems happier with this bottom-up approach, so he and the sub are going to install a mock-up to see how it works and looks. It won't be as deep of a reveal as shown above (3/8 inches tall, half an inch deep), but it will still be a single plane detail that perhaps looks even more refined.
Looking forward to checking out the mock-up.
Accidentally drawn to scale.
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