punch party! (attack of the HVAC, house numbers, you grasshole, and more!

Still ironing out the wrinkles on the house. Took Thursday off to sit with the builder and an army of trades as they banged on the punch list. Lots done, but still bits to go...

attack of the HVAC

The biggest wrinkle in our ironing has been the HVAC system. The sub came out and fixed the blown damper and also hardwired the ERV into the system such that it doesn't blow when the full system isn't blowing (all it would be doing at that point is wasting electricity). Unclear why they didn't install the Bryant ERV, which better integrates into the thermostat, allowing the user to control how much fresh air is brought into the house.

We're still having major temperature control issues with the various zones, and the sub basically doesn't know how to fix it (although they won't admit it). The on-site guys say that the system does it all itself, so there's nothing to worry about. Yet we continue to have serious problems:

Byant says "The system will never purposefully cool or warm greater than three degrees from the set points." Yet that is what it is doing.

I'm not an HVAC professional, but I figure it might be one of four things (or combos of all):

1. The dampers aren't working properly, particularly the damper to the master suite. There are times when we get a (comparatively) good amount of air into the bedroom, but more often than not we hardly get any air while the system dumps air into the rest of the house.

2. The dampers are working properly, but the "factory settings" don't send enough air into the master suite. The system is "smart" in that it measures back pressure in the main air distribution center and adjusts the dampers to maximize air flow and minimize air noise through the vents. I found dealer documentation for the system online, and it says that this function can be overridden. We're at the point we don't care about vent noise. Get us some damn air!

3. The ductwork "design" is causing problems. Air flows like water: it prefers the path of least resistance. The path to upstairs is short and sweet: 3 to 20 feet in large and relatively straight tubes. The path to downstairs is also short and sweet: 3 to 20 feet in large and relatively straight tubes. The path to the master suite is a nightmare, long and bitter: 20 to 40 feet through small tubes and various right angles. It is the path of most resistance. What might be happening is that at the lowest fan speed for the system, there's too much back pressure such that the other zones open up to dump the air, and then that's where all the air is going.

4. The ductwork to the master suite is somehow pinched or blocked, which would cause the air dumping just described. Since it appears the sub may have "disposed of" pieces of insulation board in the ductwork (that may have been the problem with the blown damper), it's possible a piece of insulation board is also in the ductwork to the master suite.

I'm thinking the issue is prolly a combo of 1, 2, and 3. Since 3 is impossible to address right now (at least not without tearing up half the house), we have to hope the problem can be solved with the dampers. I don't think 4 is the issue because there are two tubes that run to the master, and both seem to have issue with air flow.

The builder is working to get a Bryant technician (not a dealer tech) out to the house to check the system. The sub sent their best guy, and his response was "I've never seen a system like this." Hopefully the Bryant tech can fix it.

we have numbers!

and they look grand! These are the numbers we bought from modernhousenumbers.com who were kind enough to make us a small zero to riff on the up-and-down rhythm of the o's in our address. The first time we put them up (we being the builder and me), we put 'em up upside down. We were so focused on placement and distance from the light that we neglected to notice that the numbers work right side up (6909) as well as upside down (6069). After they were up the first time, I'm, like, "They look good! but something ain't right...". Fortunately, we only had to change two of the numbers. Our sock-of-the-month club deliveries will now arrive safely.

you grasshole

The first time around they forgot to cut the pavers for feather grass holes. We have them now:

power

We now have power to the hot tub as well as the (future) stage:

outdoor speakers

The outdoor speakers are now installed.

handrails

Our neoplastic handrails are installed! Interlocking-cubist-volume hardware with a slab-of-hickory rail. We bought the rail from stairsupplies.net. Reasonable price for some real nice rails.

tidbits

They put a wheel on the gate:

fill metal on the windows:

spigot on the garage:

and holes in the wire center cover in the pantry:

some laggards...

Besides the HVAC problems, a few other straggling issues...

The doorbell chime we got doesn't work with the doorbell button. Because the doorbell button rocks it hard, we ordered a chime that we know will work with the button. The only problem is that it never came. UPS says they delivered it, but it didn't show up. We had it sent to the bride's office. However, UPS says no one was home and left it at the front door at 2 pm on a Monday. Someone was at the office (they have a receptionist), so that suggests it was misdelivered. If that isn't frustrating enough, the chime supplier won't return emails about the order.

Fixing to go blog postal on 'em...

On Thursday (punch) morning I told the bride that I was going to shower in the guest bathroom to make sure everything was in working order. She looked at me like I was crazy (as she often does), but I tromped upstairs to get my scrub and suds on. After adjusting the water temp out of the tub spout, I went to engage the diverter to turn on the shower (the thing that forces the water out the showerhead instead of the tub spout). However, there wasn't one (this took a bit of time to conclude because I was sure I was missing something)!

After discussing the lack of a shower diverter with the builder and plumber later in the day and both swearing there wasn't one during the install, the builder checked in with supplier and found out they had sent us the wrong control assembly. In other words, there is no opportunity to install a diverter in the present set-up. That's bad news because replacing the control assembly requires tearing up the wall. Presently looking at tub-spout based alternatives...

This could be a blessing in disguise. The tub spout with this set-up, although gorgeous, is not terribly stable (the sealing has split several times now...) and, because of its heft, begs people to use it for leverage (which breaks the sealing and portends greater problems in the future).

Speaking of sealing issues, we still haven't dealt with the potty problems in the powder room. The toilet cantilevers off the wall, which fits the cantilever motif of the house but isn't exactly the most stable of configurations, especially when former football players stop by for a visit. The installation has left the toilet with a wobble, which breaks the sealing between the toilet and the wall and just feels ominous. After discussions with the plumbing sub and builder, the plan is to cut out the drywall (the source of the wobble) and replace it with Hardie backer and the large format white tile we used in the other bathrooms.

decorating news

Upgraded our IKEA dresser with a higher-end (IKEA) dresser:

Moving on up, baybee! (and moved the old dresser to the guest room.)

Found a cool neoplastic water bowl for the cat (he only drinking moving water...). Filtered and splashed with a UV light. Great for disco parties, too!

Found a new coffee pot. Had a cheap Black and Decker black pot for the apartment. This one fits the house better:

Also found a magazine rack for the "contemplation room". This clever little thing made out of silicon came from Kontextur. Only comes in packs of three, so we have two more to figure out what to do with...

Also from Kontextur are a toilet brush and plunger/roll holder. White and wood goes good (as it should).

coming up

More work on the punch list, more decorating.

week 37: fencing and fixtures and speakers, oh my!

Fixtures and fencing! (and a shower door!)

don't fence me in

The side fences are (almost) all the way in. We went with Hardie for the front part of the fence and treated for the remaining parts. The Hardie will be painted the gray on the house and the treated will be stained gray. It didn't go in exactly as planned, but it'll work...

fixtures

Our lighting fixtures are going in, and they look awesome! Neat to see the house starting to look actually finished.

Fan in the master bedroom:

Bedside sconces in the master:

Ceiling fan in the living room:

Dining room chandelier (we kept the crystal to install ourselves later...):

The Guggenheim-ish ceiling fan in the guest room upstairs:

The recessed smoke detectors:

The amoeba-ish light over the kitchen sink:

The PH5 in the front entry:

 The ceiling fan in the office (which is going to need a shorter down-pole...):

The outdoor plug covers (we have better ones but we'll need to replace the plugs):

speakers of the house

I spent a few hours yesterday working on the low-voltage stuff (the stuff that's "mine", not being handled by the builder). This included installing the ceiling speakers (not installing the wall speakers until move-in: too easy to steal):

shower door

And the shower door is now installed:

punch list

inside:

- countertops

- guest bathroom tile

- master bathroom tile

- plumbing fixtures

- lighting fixtures (partial)

- plugs (partial)

- switches (partial)

- speakers (us) (partial)

- security plug covers (us) 

- wifi stations (us)

- living room plug covers (us)

- master bathroom shelves

- guest bathroom shelves

- closet poles

- appliances

- gas (partial)

- power

- wood floor

- polish floor

- drywall touchup

- paint touchup

- master bathroom mirror

- guest bathroom mirror

- powder mirror

- kitchen sills

- range hood

- range hood cover

- living room floor plug covers

- railing for stairwell

- railing for balcony

- doorbell chime

outside house:

- outside lighting fixtures

- outside plugs (partial)

- cable

- roof over limestone/bookcase bump

- outdoor spigots

- solar (us)

- rainwater (us)

- gutters

- water heater

- doorbell

- garage door

- gutters

- touchup eyebrows

- clean roof

landscaping:

- gate

- fancy fence (partial)

- not-so-fancy fence (partial)

- back fence

- plant trees

- pavers

- grasscrete

- grass for grasscrete

- grass

- mulch

- stone

- horno base

- horno

- walls

- wall light and address numbers

- mailbox (us)

- feathergrass in driveway holes (us)

week 19: holidaze...

I figured that nothing much would happen this past week with the holidays and all, but I figured wrong!

we have door (frames)

The front and back store-front doors arrived (although we haven't seen them yet...), which apparently allows the store-front men to install the frames. No glass, no doors, but still coo as poo to see entry level progress!

an electrifying meeting

Had a sit down with the builder and the electric sub to go over the sub's (shocking) cost proposal on changes to the electrical plan. Several of the items that had me the most miffed were simple mis-understandings and went away and the builder assumed responsibility for several items, but there's still a big (additional) bill to pay at the end of the day for change orders. It is what it is.

One goofy thing was that the sub was working off the old electrical plans, the ones with the words "NOT FOR CONSTRUCTION" on them. So a sizable chunk of change orders was related to differences between the final and draft plans (something the builder is going to take care of). Then there's change orders due to changes to meet code (a number of additional plugs [including one in the stairwell!] and additional smoke detectors).

Other charges were due to honest-to-goodness change orders we asked for such as adding lights to the top shelf of the bookcase (to perhaps hi-lite my antique electric fan collection...), adding a recessed plug for the flatscreen tv, installing a data cabinet, moving a light fixture in the master bath (too close to the tub spout), changing phone lines to CAT5e, dealing with can locations at the rear entry, adding a plug below one of the counters in the laundry room (builder: "Why do you want a plug under there?" me: "So the cat can see when he's pooping." [uncomfortably long silence] sub to builder: "Don't ask questions you don't really want to know the answer to."), and moving the wires for the main service from the back of the house to the side. We were able to talk this latter cost down substantially when we noted that none of the home runs (long lines that go to the main electrical box) would have to be pulled and rerun.

One interesting discussion was the cost to change out the single-junction electrical boxes for the smoke detectors to double-junction boxes. The specs list the smoke detector, which requires double junction boxes, but the sub doesn't look at the specs. Essentially, according to the sub, if it's not on the electrical plan, then they are going to assume it's just like everything else they've ever done. I kinda find this amazing, but the plumbing sub (and to a small degree the framing sub) were the same way. The other item of note was that if the electrical plan doesn't show exact measures of where electrical stuff is supposed to go, then the electric sub is not obligated to put it there (makes certain amount of sense: they'll place stuff like plugs to the nearest stud).

lessons learned: Spend time on the electric plan to make sure it is exactly what you want, call out anything non-standard on the plan, include measurements on items you really want in a certain place, show where you want the electric box to go, and insist on a walk-through with the builder and the sub to discuss the electric before the sub begins work. This all will (hopefully) minimize change orders. Trust me: This will save you thousands of dollars...

electric (work ) back on!

With the sit down done, the electric sub is back on the job finishing the work. Regardless of the wee bit of drama, it feels good to have it resolved and be moving forward!

Electrical work is not terribly photogenic, but here's a photo of the moved electrical service:

Riveting!

sound and security

Our wee bit of sweat equity is to install the sound and security wiring, something we did this past weekend. I would say we ran about 500 feet of speaker wire and 350 feet of CAT5e wire in addition to  installing speaker guides.

Here's a neat resource on installing speaker wire. The key is installing in-wall wire, which meets fire code requirements (and is quite a hefty wire, thicker than coax!).

Media wall:

Kitchen ceiling:

Looking up at the kitchen ceiling:

Looking up at the master bathroom ceiling:

Looking up at the master bedroom ceiling:

Aimed to center the speakers on stuff they could be centered to.

memories...

It was rather chilly this past weekend. Whilst working at the house, the cold and working-at-the-house bit brought back a memory from when my folks were building a house back in northwestern Illinois (in John Deere country). It was the dead of winter and cold as popsicle. Ma and pa were inside working (no heat in the house at that time), so they left my two brothers and I in the International Harvester Travelall (example below) to stay warm. One of us was playing "Drive the Travelall" when someone disengaged the parking brake, which sent the IH rolling backwards down the hill and into (and across) the neighbor's fence.

We didn't destroy any fences today!