It's been like an HGTV remodeling show with the deadline fast approaching over at the house lately. Lots going on as the builder hacks his way through the lingering items list. Let's check in, shall we?
front landscaping
...has been going fast and furious and it's looking great. The landscaper has been putting in metal edging that is just perfect (as in straight and crisp) for our modern house. They were also able to square around the trees out front, something the builder was balking at early in the process. That gravel is Texas Black, but it actually looks grey, which is fine by us.
alls the walls
They were working yesterday (Saturday) to get the footings in for the four (count em: four) neoplastic walls in the front yard. Next up will be laying the concrete block and then the stucco on top of that to match the house. May get done next week; may not.
That nub is to run power to the wall.
a feat of grasscrete
Besides the wall footings out front, they also poured a concrete edging for the grasscrete driveway (and also did a mighty fine job). That was a surprise to the budget but was needed to hold the grasscrete drive in place. We also think it will look good as well.
Still curing...
garage door
Did you notice the final garage door in the photos above? It looks nice! It allows a nice amount of light inside and, surprisingly, keeps the garage cooler than I would of thought (think hothouse with that western exposure).
The installer also installed the electric door opener, a belt-driven deal that doesn't look too bad:
landscaping overall
Overall, we're really happy with the landscaping. The minimalism complements the house, and the mixture of materials (done more for cost cutting than anything) works quite well and even enhances the cubism,
inside?
There's been a lot of detail work going on inside, including touching up the drywall and the painting.
Still need some glass.
Cover for the ERV.
Not sure about this color for the posts. Meant to approach the color of the anodized aluminum. Something we may change later...
mirrors mirrors on the wall
We hung up the powder room mirror(s). Looks good!
drivegate
Primed and (nearly) ready to go.
green-tagging
The builder has been using blue painter's tape to mark where something needs to be done. We went ahead and marked stuff with green. Besides the obvious stuff, there's not much more to do! A couple examples...
Missing a bulb here...
When they siliconed the countertop to the wall, they neglected to first clean the groove. Here are two wire bits "petrified" into the groove. (sigh...)
schedule
The builder hopes to have the city inspector over mid-week to inspect for the Certificate of Occupancy. He says it's a crap shoot: How long does it take for an inspector to show, what does he find, how long it takes to address what he finds, how long does it take for him to come back and re-inspect (and does he find something else)? So we shall see. At least we're days away from having that inspection.
Drama-wise, we have to be out of our apartment July 7th, so we will be cutting it close. We haven't scheduled movers yet. Ideally we get the CoO by mid-week and schedule a move for next week. Non-ideally we plan for a July 5th move either to the house (if we get a late CoO) or (very non-ideally) to storage and get a hotel room. Talking to various friends and colleagues, it doesn't seem uncommon for this to happen, with unexpected stays in hotels ranging from two days to two months. The German blood that courses through the bride's veins doesn't appreciate the scheduling uncertainty. Her right eye has developed a persistent twitch...
overall...
...the house is looking great! The builder says this is the nicest house he's built (he prolly says that to all the girls...). He, the cabinet lady, and the architect all plan to hire photographers to come shoot the house, evidence, perhaps, they're not flattering us. The builder and cab-lady are taking photos before we move in; the architects after.
black = builder
orange = us
red = new item
general items:
- touch-up paint (partial; almost done)
- touch up drywall
- various locations
- tops of doorways
- polish/finish concrete floor
- window hardware
- window hardware
- general clean-up! (partial; almost done)
master bedroom:
- art can (partial)
- seal outside door
master closet:
- hanger poles (partial)
master bath:
- cab adjusts
- touch up tile trim
master hall:
buds and suds:
- cab adjusts
- drawer interference with sill (bumper on sill?)
- plumbing connects
- drawer interference with sill (bumper on sill?)
rear entry (hee hee!):
- art can (partial)
- level door?
pantry:
- cable/data hookups
kitchen:
- cooktop electric (partial)
- cooktop gas (partial)
- oven/microwave
- cab adjusts
- seal countertop edges
dining:
- art cans (partial)
- crystal
living:
- speakers
- art can (partial)
- touch up cabs
- cab pulls
- seal upper windows to wood?
- floor plugs
entry:
- door bell working
coat closet:
- pole
powder:
- mirror
- toilet stability
office: (done!)
stairwell:
- hand rail (partial)
romeo landing and hall:
- railing (partial)
- pendant lights (partial)
guest bed:
- closet pole
- closet doors
guest bath:
work out room:
- closet bars (partial)
garage:
- entry door paint?
- stain floor?
- faucet
outside:
- plug by master
- cable
- wiring to stage (partial)
- wiring to hot tub (partial)
- gutters
- gas meter
- gas connection
- wire to outdoor light on front wall (partial)
- window bottom trim at front
- window bottom trim at back
- seal limestone to door at front entry
- roof over limestone/bookshelf bump-out
- paint eyebrows (partial)
- seal to cypress?
- clean roof
- holes for outside speakers
- install outside speakers
- house numbers
- mailbox
- holes for outside speakers
- install outside speakers
- house numbers
- mailbox
landscaping:
- north side fancy fence (partial)
- gate (partial)
- south side fancy fence (partial)
- rear fence (partial)
- plant grass in grasscrete
- black gravel in back (partial)
- black gravel in front (partial)
- mulch in front (partial)
- feather grass
- trees in patio (partial)
- front walls (partial)
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
