Carpet and Office Furniture Installed

The carpet was installed just before Christmas, and the office furniture was installed on December 30! It really feels like home now. I'm finishing up the closet shelves that I'll need in order to move my stuff in. I'm also setting up my new computer in the office and bringing stuff over here little by little. I moved most of my books and DVDs in the last couple of days. I've got my receiver hooked up and the DVD player mounted where I want it. The infrared remote repeater is installed and working, too.

I had an unpleasant confrontation with my trim carpenter last week. He and his helper were here to finish up one piece of crown above the stove and the fridge. I also had 2-3 cleanup items for them to correct, and I asked if he had any ideas on how to handle a tricky problem with the crown on top of my cabinets. (The cabinet guys have no clever ideas for it.) They finished the work, and he said he would come back to do the cabinet crown if I wanted him to. Then we talked about the final balance...

He had already taken back a $500 discount he extended for not having to install my cabinets. He took it back after he installed attic stairs and some cove moulding in my back garage, claiming that he hadn't counted on doing work back there. I thought it strange because I know we talked about it on the original walk-through, and I couldn't imagine it being $500 worth of extra work. I was already miffed about that.

I also remember him saying his price included closet shelves and fixtures like towel holders, etc. I'm doing the closets and the fixtures myself. His attitude really turned when I asked how much he would take off for not having to do that stuff. He said that he wasn't really charging me for that work. It was just included in his price... Huh? When I pressed him on it, he said that closets just don't take long to do so they wouldn't amount to much money. He rambled on about how my job was taking so long and he couldn't make any money on all these return trips. How I was holding up thousands of his money by taking so long. Are you kidding? Sure, there were long periods between phases of his work, but I paid him for the work as he did it.

I was the one who had to wait on him for the most part. He'd drop off his helper who did maybe 6 hrs of work that day, and then I'd be waiting days for them to come back and do some more. Meanwhile, he'd be out of town on a hunting trip where his phone didn't work. And in the end I've had to come behind them and fix their work: re-doing doorstops that weren't attached properly, caulking oversized gaps in window casing, and other details.

He did relent and take $150 off for the closets and fixtures. At least it's something. And it's a lesson learned for me to always have an agreement in writing. But you live and learn. This guy was married to a cousin of mine when I hired him (they later divorced) and my cousin recommended him highly.

Filling Nail Holes

This week, I've started filling the nail holes in the baseboard trim. I'm starting in the bedrooms so they're ready for the carpet. I still have to get the dresser home and paint it for the master closet before the trim can be installed in there.

I don't know if I mentioned this before, but I've also setup my DSL modem and network router in the past seeral days. I can now surf through my own connection rather than bum off an unsecured neighbor's! I've started finalizing the layout of all the components in my structured wiring panel and putting some of those cables in place.

This week, I also finished installing the in-ceiling speakers. The last ones I did were the master bedroom and the office. I'm in the process of hanging the left, right, and center speakers around the TV.

Lots of Final Details - Range Hood, Floor Trim, Sofa

Many of the small (and not so small) things are coming together now. Last week on Tuesday, the cabinet guys came out to put the fridge cabinet and work desk in place. That allowed me to move the refrigerator in place. So no more fridge in the TV room! They also started putting the trim moulding at the top and bottom of the cabinets. Thursday and Friday, the trim carpenters were there to install the base moulding throughout the house. They were also working on the three pocket doors, and they discovered I had the wrong size doors. They were too wide for the openings. So new ones have been ordered. Door knobs and door stoppers are also in place.



I have a lot of base moulding left over. About 15 strips. I can't return them because they're already painted. I'm not happy about that because whichever vendor did the estimating should have had a number closer to reality than that. But the material wasn't TOO expensive, so I guess it could be worse.



I also finished the backsplash on one kitchen wall this week. It's grouted and sealed. That allowed me to install the range hood. As far I as know, I'm now ready for the final inspection! I tried calling for it today but ran into government thinking... They were booked for today, and I couldn't have them come out Monday due to other commitments. They don't schedule out past one work day so I need to call back Monday in order to schedule it for Tuesday...



Tuesday will also be the day for the installer to put up all my window shades. I'll finally be able to take the cardboard and black plastic sheeting off all the windows!



My office furniture should be coming from Dallas on Monday or Tuesday. I'm in the final stages of picking a stain color for that.


Oh, and I almost forgot: my sofa and love seat were delivered last Tuesday! I hosted my first movie night with some friends on Sunday night. We watched Star Wars (episode IV). It was really cool having people over to my own place.



Here are some of the latest pictures. The only thing outdated here is the wall behind the stove. I don't have a pic of the range hood yet.

Tiling All But Done!

I'm so releived to say that all I have left to do is lay a few more tiles in my pantry and then I'm done with ceramic tile for (hopefully) a very long time! I have all the tiles cut for the pantry, but I need to order one more carton because I need one more full tile to finish the job. That's okay, because I want to have a few spare tiles in case one cracks or whatever down the road.

I ordered the laminate wood that will go in my office. Eleven cartons of Brazillian Cherry from Kronotex. It matches the darker parts of my front door. I also picked up a can of stain for the office doors. My dad can start working on those during the day while I'm working.

For the front of the kitchen island, I picked up the maple plywood and 1-bys that will be used. We will have to route and cut the pieces to fit. Then I'll take them across the river to the cabinet guys to stain and varnish so it will match the cabinets.

Last night, we cut the frame of the dishwasher so that we can slide it into the hole. We didn't test the fit yet. The idea is that cutting the frame at these points will allow it to flex in the right way to get into the hole. We've got metal brackets and bolts ready to put in place after it's in that will restore the integrity to the frame.

Inchworming It: Trim, Gutters, and Driveway

I've been lax in keeping up the blog lately. People ask me how the house is going, and I've started to reply with "Each day I move an inch closer on my 100 mile journey!" I've been working at the house, and so have others. But it's always disappointing how little seems to be done in a day compared to what needs to be done. I know I'll get there, and any progress is good progress. I suppose I'm just ready to move in and ready for this long project to be over.

My trim carpenter is mostly finished with everything for now. He still has a few things to complete and then he'll be finished until I lay the tile and wood flooring. He's got all the crown moudling in except for one wall in the kitchen that we're holding on until the range hood is installed. All the interior doors are in except for the 3 pocket doors. He had some trouble with those and has to come back when he's got time. And there's the smaller crown for the back garage that still needs to go up. Attic stairs in the front garage are installed, but not in the back garage. Here are some pictures taken since the crown and doors are in.









My electrician came for a good long day to complete alot of things in that department. Many light trims, receptacles, outdoor lights, ceiling fans, and my patio support columns are now in. The HVAC contractor is now free to call for his final inspection since the attic stairs in the house are in place and a disconnect is now installed on the outside of the house for the A/C unit. (I need to follow up and find out if he did that yet.) There are still some receptacles, switches and one fan left to complete before the final electrical inspection.


Knowing that my driveway is not too far off, I started looking for the iron gate I'll need. This is another item on my purchase list that floored me with the price: over $1,000 for a 9-foot gate?!? I know I want something that won't get caught in the hurricane wind like a sail, so a wooden gate is out. I want something that will last, something to provide real security, and something that looks good. This is really the only thing that fits. Prices ranged from $1300 to $1800. I've chosen a guy in the middle of that range. It's someone who's been doing iron work in this area for generations.


I've selected my gutter contractor and scheduled his work to begin. This is a local guy who has been around for years. My mom has used him and she was happy with him. I had also experimented with a local company that installs "leaf guard" gutters that have a metal visor-type of flap on top to direct leaves and debris off the roof but still allow water into the gutter. I thought about putting them on the rear garage where there are some surrounding trees, but it's too expensive. The gutters are supposed to start on Wed. or Thurs. of this week.


Which leads me to the recent swirling vortex of decisionmaking about my driveway: I had always assumed I was getting a poured concrete driveway and that I would get my slab contractor to do it for me. I had a price from him, and since I recetly got my driveway permit from the parish, I had actually called him and scheduled a start date.


After this, my mom suggested I take a shot in the dark and call a couple of paver companies to compare the cost of poured concrete with laid paver bricks. This type of driveway is beautiful, but I always thought it was reserved for the ultra-wealthy. I dug out my brochures from the home and garden shows I attended and also got a list of installer companies from brick maker Pavestone. The first company I called (http://www.lapavers.com/) gave me a price that was 20% higher than poured concrete. I was impressed with them, and their customer references raved about them. Another company quoted a price at %140 higher then concrete! Later, I learned that the going rate is closer to this higher quote. I drove by a few of the jobs done by the lower-priced guy and they looked great.


So I've decided to go with the brick pavers for my driveway! I've got some financial help from my family to help make up the difference in cost, which is a blessing. Now I've got to call my concrete guy and cancel on him after I've already scheduled him to start. That's awkward, but hey I'm making a huge investment in a house I'll be in for a long time. I've got to go with what I think is best.

Trim Carpenter Started, Appliances Delivered

The trim guy started on Tuesday of this week. He has installed most of the interior doors at this point. I was a bit disappointed when he showed up on Wednesday only to tell me that he was going to finish another job instead and that he was coming back to continue my house on Friday (Wed. & Thurs. was New Year's Eve & New Year's Day). I hope that he sticks with my house once he gets back.

His helper told me that you should never leave doors laid flat across horses because it can cause them to warp. In my case, we had painted three pocket doors and left them on the horses for what must have been close to a week, and at least one of them is slightly bowed. I'm not certain it's because of where I left them, but in any case they stood them up in a window to see if they would heat up in the sun and get some of the bow out.

He also told me that they've never found doors waiting for them that had no casing nailed to it on either side. Some of mine had no casing at all. My door guys had told me "some of the casing came off and we nailed it to the sides." The trim guys say that the doors always come with casing nailed to the side, but that it's supposed to then be installed on one side to keep the opening square before delivery. At least, I think that's how he deescribed it.

Also this week: my appliances were delivered. One of the reasons I really needed my garage doors this week was to have a place to secure them. I have no idea why this picture is displaying sideways, but enjoy it anyway! :)