we have gas!!!

Hard to believe, but we just, this past weekend, got gas to our cooktop (what the Brits refer to as a "hob"). The hob we bought came from Europe, and they do things differently in Europe than we do, including how they connect their gas appliances. Since we bought the hob and shipped it out of the service area, the manufacturer (Whirlpool) refused to help (fair enough). The local installers were also not able to deal with the hob. So it was up to us.

First, after Googling the Google-space, I tried to contact several European parts providers for help (dealing with different gas fittings is a common problem when U.S. soldiers go to Germany with their gas grills [a common occurrence it seems...]); however, I couldn't get any play out of them.

After searching and searching (and searching...), I finally found Malone Specialty, who sells a variety of fittings, including metric to standard fittings. After researching about different types of fittings and figuring out sizes and whatnot, I ordered the part I thought would work. And it worked except that the metric side was too long resulting in an inadequate seal. For an amazingly reasonable price, Malone machined the part down to the appropriate length. With fingers crossed (and the bride glaring expectantly over a well-used hot plate...) I connected the various bits, and..... Koala! It worked! We have gas! No longer will we have to live like crack addicts in an abandoned flophouse stewing crystal meth on a caramelized hot plate!

So, be aware (beware?) buying non-standard kitchen ware. You might not get great local and manufacturer support. Having said all that, we are pleased as Punch (go look that one up...) with our hob. It's beautiful and works great!

If you look closely you can see the suds to test for leaks.

moving (and going dark...)

Whelp, we started to move in! There are loose ends to tie, one of which is the cable, which is why we may be dark on the blog for a bit.

The cable is going to be a bucking bull.

The builder was reluctant to run cable from the house to the garage because he said the cable folks will do what they want to do regardless of what you do. He knows this from personal experience when they refused to connect into his underground line and instead ran their own underground line (barely two inches deep!). Several months ago I attempted to figure out how TimeWarner dealt with brand new connections and was bounced around about a dozen times before I gave up. I asked the builder to go ahead and run cable underground to the garage the same time they ran the electrical underground. However, they didn't run it.

Yesterday I stopped by TimeWarner's offices to get cable hooked up. When the cable teller looked up our address, he said that it was not possible to run cable to our house because the computer said our property was "unserviceable". That can't be, I replied. "Are you in a neighborhood?" Yes. "Is the neighborhood new?" No. "How long has the neighborhood been there?" More than 50 years. Hmmmm...

I pointed out that the neighbors all had cable running to their houses from the same lines that ran behind our house. "Are you sure?" Yes. One of the lines actually runs over our property.

The long and short of it is that we had to wait "24 to 48 hours" for someone to stop by and determine whether or not our house was serviceable (tried to save 'em the time and money...). We got the call at 47 hours that (shock of all shocks!) we're serviceable. We're now scheduled to get connected back into the Borg next Wednesday where we'll get to have fun discussions on how exactly they will connect us (No, you may not drop a line straight to the house.). I do not expect a(n early) happy ending...

The other curveball is that the floors seem rather unsmooth with little stalagmites every six inches or so. I sent a note to the builder about this ("Are you sure they're done?"). The builder and floor sub checked it out yesterday and decided that, nope, they aren't done. Something had gone wrong. So late this afternoon they were back out there sanding and adding another layer. Good news: It's getting fixed. Bad news: We're moving in tomorrow, and this epoxy stuff stinks like all Hell No for several days. Maybe it's best we won't (necessarily) be posting tomorrow...

The ovens are coming tomorrow, and the gas will get connected (hot water! [we hope...]). We also have a sense of doom over the cooktop. The installers seem to poopoo the metric connection to the cooktop ("Yeah, yeah."). We shall see...

week 45: walls, landscaping, mailbox, floors, eyebrows, gas, glass, handrails, light, killer bugs

Lots going on as the builder punches the house like a boxer practicing for Vegas!

garden walls

The biggest addition since last week are the garden walls, four walls in the front yard. They haven't been painted yet, but they are in. Bigger than we thought, but they do a great job of carrying the neoplasticism to the front yard.

The neighbors are a bit perplexed by the walls (and think I'm crazy once I start rambling incessantly about neoplasticism). One of immediate neighbors is a designer, so he understands art history and has heard of Piet Mondrian (and even asked if we were building in some primary colors). Starting to describe is as "Mondrian as expressed in landscaping". However, not a lot of folks know who Mondrian is...

landscaping touches

The landscaping, as contracted, is nearly complete (we will do more later). The only things missing are the feather grasses in the front yard.

No more porta-pottie; all square wave!

The red bud is planted in the patio. When it gets cooler (and we have time...). we'll be modifying the hole to be more "random" and irregular.

We planted a blue fescue in the sidewalk up front (shade tolerant). We love this hole in the sidewalk.

The fescue from a distance. It tells guests "Whoa! That there sidewalk ends soon!"

The landscaping dude has installed these things he calls gators, which are real handy. You quickly fill them up and then they slowly disperse water over eight or nine hours.

Here you can see why it's called a gator: It looks like an alligator snout biting the tree!

This Texas Mountain Laurel is off the south side of the house and will be inside the fence line. The builder and landscape installer were perplexed as to why this beautiful tree would go here. It's there for the privacy and enjoyment of the office. We've learned that unless we have a visceral negative response to something, it's best to go with what the designers come up with. They're the pros, after all.

Our German-built greenhouse, something we brought from the old place, fits right in.

mailing it in

Finally decided on a mailbox: the "Etsy" box, designed and built by an artist. Does a great job of tying in with the wood on the soffit and ceiling. We were originally planning on putting the box on the wall near the front door, but given the handycraft of the box (it's too nice to put in the rain!), we decided to place it under the eave. Turns out to be a good choice.

floored

The floors are getting re-epoxyed (part of the overall installation), so the death tape was out to keep folks out until the floors cured. Stinky as all hell in there.

hot

It was 108 yesterday in Austin. Because of the epoxy, they turned off the AC. When we could finally go inside the house, after 24 hours of curing, the temp inside had only risen to 85. Not bad, not bad...

eyebrows painted

The eyebrows are touched up and looking spiffy!

gassed up

and under pressure!  Still need to get the gas connected. We have a certificate of occupancy, but we have no gas yet. Hope we get gas (the warming kind) before we move in!

glass rails

The glass rails are in, and they are gorgeous! Keeps everything open.

temporary handrails

The original plan was to not have any handrails to preserve the clean look of the stairwell. However, after going up and down the stairs several times, we found ourselves (and others) using the bare walls as props. Plan B was to have the the metal railing guys come in and build a single piece rail about the inside of the stairwell (this was a suggestion [a good one] from the architect). It was expensive, but it was going to fit in well with the rail. However, we did have some reservations about these guys since they had no sense of their surroundings when they installed the rails shown above, burning the hell out of everything around them (I had visions of them driving off, hi-fiving for a job well done, while the house burned behind them). The builder had the same qualms. Furthermore, they were ssslllloooowwww. We needed handrails quick, and three weeks later, nothing, while everything else around them was done (and therefore more susceptible to scorch damage). 

The last straw was when they did finally show up to fab onsite and discovered it was going to be harder than they thought (which is code for "more money, please"). We sent them on their way and went forward with Plan C, temporary handrails:

Which we'll replace later with Plan D, these:

with the wood rail in hickory. We ordered and received the hardware already, and it is impressively solid and heavy (and beautifully neoplastic!).

let there be light (in the stairwell)

We took time earlier in the week to connect the flowers to the IKEA lights in the stairwell. The builder was happy because he thought the flowers had been tossed. I found them while looking into and testing every drawer and cabinet in the house.

The plan is to ultimately restore a couple schoolhouse lights from the 1930s and hang them here. Spoke to a friend who does immaculate restoration work, and he's interested in fixing them up. It will be nice to have a wee bit of actual 1930s bling in a house with direct design ties back to the 1930s.

a visitor

Saw this bejeweled bug hanging out on the fence this past week. My buggy Facebook friends say he's an assassin bug! Kind of like a spider with six legs, they kill other bugs and drink their juices. Yum!

week 43: landscaping, plumbing fixtures, appliances, doorware, clean windows, wood stairs, gate, hot water, clean-up, loan

Lots happened over the past week as the builder and his crews worked to finish the house. Still unclear when the finish date will be, but it's getting closer every day. The builder won't commit to a solid date (frustrating...), but we reckon it's because he doesn't actually know: There are still a few things to work out, Murphy's Law is prevalent, and who knows what luck we'll have in getting a timely inspector for the certificate of occupancy.

landscaping is scaping...

Lots of progress on the pavers. It's slow going (they're still working on 'em...), but they're looking real good:

The guy laying these pavers is a little unclear on random...

Cutting up a brick. It drives the bride crazy to see folks not wearing eye protection...

The grass is in the grassy knoll:

We'll need to be out there every evening making sure it gets watered until it settles in.

The horno base has been poured and the horno is placed:

That horno looks rather epic in the distance, like something out of Egypt...

The bride is already making plans to cook a chicken in there this weekend!

Some of the mulch and gravel has been placed in the back-back yard, including beside the garage:

And here's the Texas black (which is a bit gray with dust at the moment...):

Here's the grasscrete with my foot for scale. The builder said it originally got delivered to some dude up in Dallas. Had to get reshipped here.

They have the rock and sand base laid for the driveway, so they should be setting this stuff soon.

plumb happy about the plumbing

A goat herd of plumbing fixtures got installed over the past week (all except the tub):

The robot arm for the kitchen sink.

The potfiller.

That expensive (for) IKEA faucet in the laundry (buds-n-suds) room.

One of the faucets in the master bathroom.

Powder room.

The tub in the master, not yet placed.

The toilet in the master (with beautiful dual-flush buttons on top).

The master shower fixtures.

The tub spout (in the ceiling...) for the master.

Faucet in the guest bathroom upstairs.

Tub fixtures.

The sink and faucet in the powder room.

The toilet and flusher in the powder.

appliance reliance

Many of the appliances are now installed.

The Bosch dishwasher, which is not the one we ordered (wanted one with none of the controls showing). Apparently the one we picked out is no longer available, so the appliance provider chose a comparable model (without talking to us...). We think it's actually OK, but will check to make sure it's not a downgrade...

The Whirlpool fridge in the mythic "White Ice" color, which is really just a shinier white without all the texture low-rent white appliances tend to have. It works! and is already producing ice cubes. The color of it and the dishwasher (and the range hood) go well together (something I was worried about...) and with the cabinets.

The hood is now installed (yay!).

It sticks out a wee bit from the wall, but it matches the size of our goofy three-burner cooktop. We're visiting with the cabinet lady tomorrow to discuss exactly what we want to do to cover up the tubing at the top. Something asymmetric methinks...

Yes, it has a light.

doorware

Getting some doorknobs:

clean and clear windows

All the stickers and stuff on the windows are off, so we can see clear through. Nice! The large window in the living room is particularly dramatic.

Out the master bath.

Out the upstairs Romeo-et-Juliet landing.

Out the guest bath.

Corner of the bedroom upstairs.

Another upstairs bedroom window.

Yet another.

Out the kitchen window.

wood on the stairs

The wood floor upstairs on the stairs is all done.

gate posts

Steel posts for the gate are in:

in hot water

And the hot water heater is hooked up. No gas yet (my understanding is that the city will only allow either gas or electric on at a house under construction to prevent folks from moving in before a certificate of occupancy is issued).

clean-up crew

The builder had a crew in the house cleaning it. They made two passes. Stocking feet in the house here on out... The floor is supposed to be polished this week.

leaning out of the loan

Here's another advantage to going with a single-close loan: No worries on scheduling a closing date for final financing with all the uncertainty concerning when the house will be finished. Stopped in to talk to  the banker today, and he said "Move in when you can. You don't need to tell us or get our approval." There will be some paperwork to close-out the construction pay out (and make sure the builder has paid all the subs and there are no liens on the property).

It's a relief to not have to worry about scheduling a closing while at the same time trying to figure out when we can move in. Yikes!

punch list

black = builder
orange = us
gray and crossed = done!

general items:

- touch-up paint
- touch up drywall
    - various locations
    - tops of doorways

- polish/finish concrete floor

- clean windows

- seal sills

- door hardware

    - knobs (partial)

    - doorstops  (partial)

- pocket door hardware
- wood floor
- general clean-up! (partial)

master bedroom:

- art can (partial)

- seal outside door

- outside door hardware

- plugs in bedside tables

master closet:

- light

- hanger poles (partial)

master bath:

- faucets

- toilet

- tub (partial)

- shower faucet

- tub spout

- tub faucet
- plumbing connects

- mirror

- vanity lights

- above tub light cover

- drawer plug

- cab adjusts

- switch cover in toilet room

- touch up tile trim

master hall:

- thermostat

buds and suds:

- faucet

- LEDs

- backsplash

- plug cover

- counter plug electric

- light

- cab adjusts
- drawer interference with sill (bumper on sill?)
- plumbing connects

rear entry (hee hee!):

- CO detector

- art can (partial)

- level door?

- thermostat

pantry:

- hot water control

- cable/data hookups

kitchen:

- wood for peninsula
- reinstall drawers

- back splash (partial)

- cooktop electric (partial)

- cooktop gas (partial)

- fridge

- oven/microwave

- dishwasher

- LEDs

- cab adjusts

- sink faucet

- potfiller

- seal countertop edges

- hood

- hood top cap
- plumbing connects

dining:

- art cans (partial)

- paint pillars

- crystal

living:

- speakers

- art can (partial)

- LEDs

- touch up cabs

- cab pulls

- seal upper windows to wood?

- floor plugs

entry:

- light switch covers

- door bell chime

- door knob
- door bell working

coat closet:

- pole

powder:

- sink

- light

- mirror

- toilet

- toilet buttons
- plumbing connects

office: (done!)

stairwell:

- missing plug?

- treads

- hand rail (partial)

romeo landing and hall:

- railing (partial)

- floor plug

- thermostat

- gas to furnace

- ceiling switch covers

- cans

- pendant lights (partial)

- switch cover

guest bed:

- closet pole

- closet doors

- closet door hardware

guest bath:

- faucet
- plumbing connects

- mirror

- light

- tub faucet

- can light

- shower rod

- toilet

work out room:

- ERV cover

- closet bars (partial)

- light

- closet light

garage:

- garage door

- entry door paint?

- entry door hardware

- garage door opener

- stain floor?

- switch cover

- lights

- faucet

- back light

outside:

- faucet by master

- plug by master

- cable

- plug by condenser

- water heater
- wiring to stage  (partial)
- wiring to hot tub  (partial)

- gutters

- gas meter

- gas connection

- finish out sewer clean-out under cantilever

- wire to outdoor light on front wall (partial)

- window bottom trim at front

- window bottom trim at back

- entry plug

- doorbell

- seal limestone to door at front entry

- roof over limestone/bookshelf bump-out

- carport faucet

- paint eyebrows (partial)

- seal to cypress?

- clean roof
- holes for outside speakers
- install outside speakers
- house numbers
- mailbox

landscaping:

- north side fence Sol

- north side fancy fence (partial)

- gate (partial)

- south side fence Sol

- south side fancy fence (partial)

- rear fence (partial)

- white gravel in back  (partial)

- mulch in back (partial)

- pavers (partial)

- grasscrete (partial)

- black gravel in back (partial)

- black gravel in front (partial)

- mulch in front

- feather grass

- trees in front

- trees in patio

- tree on south side
- front walls
- horno base
- place horno

stuff we'll address later on our own:
- built-in shelves in the master bath
- gate beside the garage and property line (to hide trash)
- built-in shelves in the guest bath
- built-in desktop in the guest bedroom
- in-shelf shelves in the kitchen
- cat door
- stage
- planters
- garden
- shorter drop pole for the ceiling fan in the office
- upgrade plugs and switches
- upgrade outdoor plug covers
- upgrade outdoor spigots
- cabinets in pantry
- glass shelves for buds-n-suds
- wood for shelf in living room window
- plug cover for living room
- front agaves
- hedges
- rainwater tank
- solar
- wine fridge
- window treatments
- security
- clothes line