More Driveway and Power Meter News

I've been busier since leaving my job than I was for months at my job! Last week and today have been a constant whirlwind.



They're continuing to make progress on the driveway. The photo below is from a couple of days ago. Since then, they've compacted crushed concrete and limestone in the back and down the driveway to the street. And also most of the circle in the front. Then they spread sand in the back and down the driveway to the front of the house. That's what the bricks will lay on, but they didn't start the bricks today like they planned. I'm guessing that the bricks weren't delivered in time. Spotty rain is expected tonight and tomorrow, so I hope they can cover where the sand is before rain does any damage to their setup.






Today, I managed to get some friends over to take some of the dirt before I had to pay to get it hauled off. The driveway guys had to split time between spreading limestone and scooping dirt into trailers with their bobcat. After that, I had time to rush home and eat lunch before going back to meet the plumber and the inspector coming to look at the hot water heater. He passed us, but only after talking like he wasn't going to because I don't have a dryer vent on the outside of the house yet. I have the vent, but I just hadn't installed it yet.

I discovered that the trim kit that came with my microwave is too big for the face of the cabinet it's supposed to go in. The cabinet guy came out today and looked at it. He doesn't see a way to make this piece work with the cabinet. A call to Lowe's and a trip to Home Depot revealed no other types of trim kits. My next step will be to Google for some generic kit that will fit.


Tomorrow morning the surveyors are coming out to take measurements for my "final FEMA certificate". I'm told that it's the same thing as the elevation certificate I already had to get, so I don't know why I need another one. But the parish wants that before they will come inspect for the temporary power meter.



My head hurts from trying to keep up with everything that's going on. But at least it means that progress is being made! I can't imagine having to work on these last few days. I would never have been able to get everything done.

Driveway Update; Trying to Get Temporary Meter

The driveway crew is on day two of their work. Yesterday, they skimmed sand out of the back and the side of the house where the driveway will go. They filled in the alley and piled some sand in the backyard. Today, they're laying the drainage pipe and basins. There's a huge pile of crushed limestone and concrete in the street waiting to be spread everywhere. They still need to skim out the front yard. Tomorrow, they should be spreading the limestone and the sand on top.

My electrical inspection passed yesterday! Immediately, the electrician filed for a temporary 30-day meter on my behalf. I needed to go and sign a paper saying I won't move in until the inspections are all done. Then I found out a few more hoops I need to jump through before I can get my meter: I need the final FEMA certificate from the surveyor (which means another trip out for them to take measurements), and I need a "temporary meter inspection" by the parish... So it looks like maybe next week sometime before I can get the meter.

Cabinets, We've Got Cabinets. We've Got Lots and Lots of Cabinets!

They delivered the cabinets for the kitchens and bathrooms on Monday. They worked to install on Monday and Tuesday. There are a few pieces in the kitchen that they did not install, either because I asked them to hold off or because they need to wait until the countertops are in. Here are some pictures:

The driveway guys came this morning to start working. They staked out the horseshoe part of the front yard and dropped off some of the fabric that goes underneath everything... Then they left because it was too cold to work! I can't blame them. It was cold today. I ordered the materials for the underground drainage. I don't even want to think about how much that cost. :-( The stuff will be delivered tomorrow, and the driveway guys tell me they'll be back out to start grading everything in the morning.

Also tomorrow, the electrical inspector is coming. If all goes well, I'll get approved. And then I'm going to apply for the temporary meter permit. This will free the utility company to come hookup the power to the house before my final inspection. That will be good for at least two reasons: I can get the alarm system working to protect the appliances and other valuables I'm accumulating, and I can run the A/C to get the wood flooring I buy acclimated to the environment inside the house before I install it.

This will let me remove the temporary electrical pole just in time to get it out of the way of the driveway.