Caulk Complete - Paint on Hand

No blog yesterday; long story short, old friends from Toledo called out of the blue to say they were in the OBX, we decided to take the kids kayaking and meet them for dinner. No work on house, late return, no blog. As spontaneous as I've ever been.

As for today, first, big thanks to Andy - with his help, we finished the caulking!! OK, I'm sure finished is too strong a word, I'll probably go around and mark "re-do" areas tomorrow, and really finish with one last tube tomorrow night, but all the trim has caulk on it which is the main thing.

Other big news - trip to paint store - ordered 23 gallons of color - 6 in tomorrow, rest on Weds. Also picked up a bunch of supplies to get started - likely to spray doors tomorrow. Maybe prep some trim.

Also today, spent some quality time cleaning up so the point-up crew will have access.

Tomorrow, finish cleaning some more, mark some point-up items with tape, and try to paint the doors. Decided to spray them, which means... they're coming off... again... Need to start a lessons learned page... door re-installation time-frame will go on it. If you're bored tomorrow, in the area, and want to help, I have a sanding sponge or paint brush (or sprayer) with your name on it!

Caulk and Claim

Finally back in the swing of things. Finished caulking the stairs, some of the upstairs hallway, the laundry room until I decided it was too dark, and started (continued?) the master bedroom - which has a ceiling light and fan that I'm happy to say, work.

Also finished the bankruptcy claim against Orleans Homebuilders. What a relief that is finally off my "to-do" list. It will go in the FedEx box tomorrow. Hopefully it will be worthwhile, but we're not planning on anything...

Tomorrow, hope to get off work a little bit early and finish caulking. Fat chance, but here's to hope. I'll also call to set up the point-up for Monday. This weekend, we'll finish whatever caulking I don't finish tomorrow, sand the trim, paint the trim and doors, paint the downstairs bathroom ceiling, and probably spend some time Sunday calculating and buying wall paint colors. If progress exceeds expectations, can finish some of the plumbing (valves and tubs), some final cement board installation, and some clean-up. If we REALLY make good progress, can mess around with the built-ins, though we're having a pro come out to quote the work for us on Monday. I may admit defeat there in the interest of, well, probably 2 weeks of schedule savings... we'll see what the $$ impact is... I'm sure I have the patience, skill, and tools needed to do a good job, but probably not very efficiently.

Slow CD Day...

Got the claim FedEx label, printed; copy to Uncle Ted... but that's about it...

Long day at work - catching up there too... hopefully will mean can take half day on Friday... Have not booked the point-up yet. Probably will call them Friday... Will still paint trim this weekend assuming I get back to caulking tomorrow/Friday.

Paperwork Night

David left today - he heard from his boss, and is unlikely to return to Virginia for a while... happy for him on the job front, but will miss the help.

Spent the day doing paperwork. FINALLY finished the bankruptcy claim against Orleans Homebuilders... 45 pages of anger, frustration, and large dollars amounts... Actually, it reads pretty polished to me, but I'm seeking a second opinion (Thanks Uncle Ted) before sending.

Jen and the kids came by with a care package - a new laminating machine - I find receipts stuffed into my wallet don't hold up, so I scan and laminate them; it's a little overkill probably, but being organized helps with my sanity I think - and I need all the help I can get nowadays... Anyway, I can finally catch up on my receipt processing... tomorrow...

Downstairs Caulk Done

David's last day, passed me in hours (by 30 minutes). Finished all the caulking downstairs - spent some time with William while Jen took Abby to a well-visit at the Dr. Tomorrow, he's leaving... a week in Ohio, then either back here or off to a job in SC.

Tonight was a goodbye celebration - I needed the time off too. Jen and I took him to the Pub in Hampton - becoming our hangout. Also spent some time getting ink...

PS - whoa... 2,000 hits!

More Caulk

Big thanks to David for the help today - made pretty good progress; most of the downstairs is done. Moving upstairs tomorrow.

Tomorrow is likely David's last day, maybe for a long time - new job opportunity may be starting for him - tomorrow will be his 52 day, and he will crest 490 hours (he's at 483, I'm at 487 - so will pass me tomorrow, then leave...). Probably have some type of last night celebration/thanks... so probably no evening activity tomorrow...

Trim Progress

This is my caulk-gun. There are many like it, but this one is mine. My caulk-gun is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life. My caulk-gun, without me, is useless. Without my caulk-gun, I am a glorified handyman wannabe...

Except for the baseboards that tie into cabinets (not installed until painting done, cabinets installed), and one screwed up door, all the trim is in. That includes the crown and the fakie paneling that we had in the dining room. The paneling in the foyer will get installed, well, maybe some weekend next summer... David and I caulked this evening - slow going. We won't finish tomorrow; we'll see how progress goes.

Finish Trim Weekend

Back from CT. Long week of real work; stressful - looking forward to house progress... can Chinese drywall actually be a distraction? Work was my escape for quite some time... a few days away I guess does re-charge a person.

Weekend Mission: Finish all trip, nail putty, gap caulk, sand. Have some of the chair rail up in the dining; David and I will work together on remaining trim tomorrow, and both of us agree we should be finished tomorrow. Dumpster the rest and get my garage back, well, some of it anyway...

PLEA: if you've ever considered coming out to help, this would be a good weekend. No extra-curricular to work around; bring a caulk gun or putty knife, some knee pads, and some patience, and help us seal this trim. OK, I actually have 3 sets of knee pads, two caulk guns, and countless putty knives, but regardless... With a little help, I think we can finish it this weekend - no special skills required. If finished, we can get the friggin point-up scheduled and knocked out this week - ready to paint for real (color) next weekend... and let me get this built-in finished... These last few weeks may be the most difficult from a patience standpoint.

Another day, more moulding...

David made some more trim progress primarily on the downstairs stairs - more to go. Still scared of the crown moulding. Hehehe...

I installed the smoke alarms, framed some of the master shower so cement board can be installed, and did a little bit of trim installation too. Spent some time on Orleans Bankruptcy claim, also scanned about 20 receipts - about 10 to go. Broke my poor laminating machine...

Tomorrow, finish the upstairs stairs trim, then start on... crown!! Jen is taking Thursday and Friday off work to start caulking and putty (David and I are purposely avoiding that chore). I'll be hitting the road for work for a couple days starting tomorrow... back Friday - probably no blog updates until then.

Big weekend of caulking after that! Then point-up and paint.

Victory over Switches and Outlets!

I declare switches and outlets complete and working properly! Even my two screw-ups! I can't go so far to say that all the elecrical is done since I haven't put in wall lights (bathrooms, etc) - waiting until after we paint, but there are no more work boxes to worry about.

David started caulking - out of fear over crown moulding I think. Mostly custom trim work remains - we'll get to that tomorrow, along with some plumbing fixtures. Then more and more caulk and putty. Hopefully, point-up next week.

Need to get my bankruptcy claim wrapped up - received a notice from the trustee today - never asked for one... interesting.

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On the political front, Peter Roskam (R-IL) is on the House Ways and Means Committee where HR 4881 is referred - Grandma, Auntie Chrissey - he's your congressman - please write to him!!

One switch to go...

Awesome day of progress. Pantry door, good progress on trim, closing out electrical fast - Thanks to Dave and Andy today.

The mistake at the top of the stairs is fixed, the mistake in the kitchen is ready to be done, missing a couple parts - should be done replacing all electrical in about 10 minutes tomorrow. All other electrical is done; lights working, circuits the way that they should be.

Spent some quality time in the crawl space this afternoon - very wet; condendation on HVAC; probably need to install a fan to help dry it out...

Let there be light!

The front porch is lit! Our neighbors must be stunned. The foyer light (scary install), family room ceiling fan... working... I did find a couple of screw-ups; Joey, Rugs - remember when we wanted to disconnect the joined living room and 3rd floor circuits from each other by removing one wire from the box at the top of the stairs... well... if I knew then what I know now... there was a reason for that after all! Also the kitchen switches at the dining room door have a little quirk... I may need to address that one too.

Little bit of wall destruction on tap for tomorrow - but you know, that doesn't bother me in the slightest. No home improvement project will ever intimidate me again.

The stairs to the third floor are done done - meaning the risers, treads, finish nailed. Still some baseboard work - but it's awesome walking up to bed without feeling like you're on a shipyard scaffold! Thanks D.

Tomorrow, the electrical light at the end of the tunnel is in sight - maybe not tomorrow, but maybe so... Dave has some special moulding projects - foyer rail base, new pantry door (Andy, got that today after all BTW, thanks for the truck offer anyway), maybe get to chair rail and crown in downstairs formal rooms. Have some cement board to install, then finish some plumbing odds and ends (master bath tub fixture install, 11 shut-off valves to solder), then all that's left is caulking, some sanding before point-up - then paint!! Latest schedule had painting starting Aug 8 - still looks like we're a week or so ahead of that schedule... I'll try to update it again soon...

FYI - ACTUAL RETURNS UPDATED TODAY

Electrical and Trim Continue

We have a working light that is operated by a switch that is installed in a wall that is not made of Chinese Drywall. Hopefully more tomorrow.

Trim progresses. David has logged 400.1 hours since start - THANKS!

Mom flew home today after more than a week of help - THANKS!

More of the same planned for tomorrow - though in the afternoon - Abby is have her "friends" birthday party tomorrow morning... the last until next year...

PS - thanks to Angie and Lisa and anyone else who's writing their Congressman - every little bit helps!

Return of the Stairway to the Attic

Thanks to David, Mom, and Geoff for the help today. Most notable event - the stairs to the third floor is back... mostly. Turns out the drywall crew screwed the board to the temporary stringers, which was bad - returning tomorrow to see if they need to re-do it. After they inspect, we'll liquid nail the risers and treads, nail them, and have stairs again.

Tomorrow, David will work stairs and trim, I'll take off work and work electrical, Mom will run some errands, and caulk. Mom flies home tomorrow.

Progress and Help Request

I traveled for work today; got home and did paperwork for 3+ hours. I'm way behind. David installed more and more trim - getting close to done; Mom puttied the nail holes, and made a big "return" trip to Lowe's for me - money back in my pocket for a change.

I added the link the HR 4881 off to the side. It is very straightforward and an easy read. I'm strongly in favor of it - the reason being is that the IRS does not allow a casualty loss deduction for Chinese Drywall losses not covered by insurance - though I believe they should. This legislation will eliminate the need for the IRS to make any interpretation or rulings - the legislation will direct the deduction rules for them.

My read on this is that it is a deduction, not a credit as Rep. Wittman stated at the Town Hall. Nevertheless, still a step in the right direction. The bill is in the House Ways and Means Committee presently, and probably a long way from becoming law.

My favor to ask of you is to write to Congress. Particularly if you are NOT in Virginia, Florida, Louisiana, etc - where support is already going to be strong. So, family in Ohio, Minnesota, Illinois, California, etc - please go to your Representatives' website and write them (particularly if they're on the committee) - most have electronic methods to voice opinion. If you not sure what to write, I suggest the following, or something like it:

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To the Honorable Representative XXXX,

I am writing to voice my support of HR 4881 - Toxic Drywall Relief Act of 2010. I have family who is suffering from this terrible situation, and the IRS is not acting responsibly - this legislation will clarify the role of the IRS and will help hard-working Americans to help themselves. I hope you support this bill to become law, and any role you may be able to play to accelerate this legislation would be noted and appreciated by your constituents.
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Tomorrow, Jennifer gets back from her business trip, which will free me up to get back at this in the evenings. I have high hopes to have point-up next week and painting the weekend following this - lots to do between now and then though... not to mention a boatload of paperwork to finish...

Town Hall Meeting

Today, Angie and Paul left for Chicago after even more help - more electrical and HVAC. Mom installed some underlayment in the baths and laundry, David installed more trim, and Geoff came by and started the caulking process. I didn't do anything today except go to a town hall meeting... Thanks for the help today!!

The Town Hall meeting... Not terribly sure it was worth giving up the evening of work, but I did get to meet a few key helpers (Delegate Oder and Richard Serpe, esq.) and Representative (US Congress) Wittman made an announcement about a federal House bill, HR 4881, that sounded promising. I'll investigate and provide links later. As for the rest of the meeting - lots of anger and sadness - as expected; not sure the presentations gave much indication of progress.

Tomorrow is Abby's 4th birthday! So dinner at Geoff and Sarah's, but then back for swim lessons at 7pm for Abby, so I will probably get a few hours in - continue the electrical trim-out. David will keep pressing on the trim, Mom will finish the underlayment.

PS - Trim Replacement is about 10 hours aways from replacing Electrical Repair as the most labor intensive part of the remediation...

Trim Work Really Gets Started

Today, I played foreman mostly and finally fixed the plumbing screw-up that prevented the lights to be installed in the kitchen (installed the lights, repaired the second floor... floor). David trimmed out 80% of the doors; cut and nailed. Angie prepped (removed plaster splatter) the door-frames for David and began installing the A/C registers. Paul installed switches - basically all single poles in; only the 3- and 4-way switches to go. Mom played go-fer for a while (Lowes, Dad to airport, kids to pool) and also installed (soldered) 5 of the 16 shut-off valves in the house. Thanks to everyone for the help today.

Tomorrow, more trim installation - I mis-counted the door moulding pretty badly (counted doors, forgot doorways without doors, as well as the three exterior doors) so we need some more; then start on baseboards. Mom will start caulking and finish some of the underlayment installation. Angie/Paul will finish the electrical and A/C chores they're into - before flying home. I'll try to wrap up the plumbing for the time I'm home, but I have a Chinese Drywall Town-Hall meeting I'm planning to attend on Monday, plus Jen is on company travel through Thursday so I'm Mr. Mom this week as well. I'm also traveling for work on Weds, so this will be a strange week.

I've really encouraged by the amount of work that was accomplished this weekend. I think we're on track from a schedule standpoint; I will probably try to take a little more time off work now to get across the finish line too; still have 150 hours of vacation time to burn... since we're not vacationing... this seems like a noble cause...

Set-Up Day

I used to thank helpers daily on this blog - not sure when I got away from that, but it wasn't intentional. Big thanks to Mom, Dad, David, Angie, Paul, and Jason for the help today. Logged 50 hours - which is amazing since we were all at Abby's "family" birthday party (the big "4") today - another party on Tuesday (her actual birthday), next Saturday. Yesterday, 56 hours - the new high water mark.

Got several major items to start projects - 2x12 for the stairs, cement boards to finish the master bath walls, underlayment for upstairs bath floors, MDF for built-ins, hinges, doors, trim, rest of the stuff in storage. Today, installed doors, finished cleaning trim, started installing trim, ceiling fans in, speakers, lights, floor in master bath, a few other odds and ends.

Major projects starting - trim out house (assume 70% of all needed material in hand), fix stairs to 3rd floor, start built-in...

The Finishing Begins

Lots of odds and ends today - several ceiling fixtures installed, cleaned up recovered trim, outlets installed, speakers, some cleaning, and started working the lighting screw-up from yesterday.

Tomorrow, rented a U-Haul truck to pick up lots of material - the doors from storage, a bunch of 2x12x12' for new stairs, cement board to finish the bathroom walls (tile underlayment), MDF for the built-ins... then some big projects start tomorrow...

The Gang's All Here

Fam arrived. A/C activated on first and second floor. Gas leak fixed. Installed some ceiling fixtures; Dad and David cleaned up about half the baseboards.

Big surprise today - cut a hole in the kitchen ceiling for a new accent light, and right in the center of the hole, laying on the ceiling... PEX. Was pretty sure that I had it all out of the way... guess not. It's actually going to be a bit of a problem. Think I'm going to attack it from above - ie, pull up the floor on the second floor, re-plumb, then install the light. Moving or fixing the hole from below will be a pretty big mess...

Ceilings Done

David put two coats of ceiling white on the ceilings. Cleaned up the house.

Picked up the plumbing fixtures, and finally got the air compressor - need it for trim tomorrow (nailer)... so, by the way... decided to do the house the way the pros recommend - trim, then point-up, then paint. Called plumber to fix the gas leak - it's in the flex pipe, so I'm not touching it. Did not return call. Impossible to find good help. Cold showers again.

Tomorrow, air conditioner thermostats installed, ceiling grills installed, can turn on whole house - that'll be a relief. Mom, Dad, Angie, Paul arrive.

Making progress on claim. Due in one month.

Primer Done

I love the smell of latex primer burning on a halogen painter's lamp in the evening. There's nothing like it. That chemical smell... Smells like... victory over Chinese Drywall...

2 coats of primer on everything. 35+ gallons of paint in a day and a half. I repeat, paint sprayers are fast, but not really all that fun. David agrees.

Tomorrow, ceiling white. Expect to finish that tomorrow fairly easily - two coats even... Then remove all this da** masking and open some windows - get some air in here!

I had convinced myself to trim out the house first, then point-up, then final coat... but my decision pendulum is swinging the other way again. Point-up now, paint this weekend, then trim-out. Like all CD decisions, I'll sleep on this and get the decision right tomorrow. I feel driven to paint this weekend due to the help that will be here, but I may have to deal with sub-par point-up as a result - and will have to touch up paint and drywall most assuredly after trim. But will that be so bad if I have 6 or 7 painters going this weekend? 6 or 7 on trim won't be bad, but I can't see that being all that efficient whereas painting would be. Though, I could get some electrical done this weekend with 3 and have 3 on trim duty... Not really a bad problem to have...

I'll let you know tomorrow. Feel free to vote via comment field...

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PS - David hit 300 hours. Congrats (and thanks)!

Finally, paint on the walls

OK - painted. Got one coat of primer on everything second floor - 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, laundry room, a bunch of closets, and the second floor foyer (no stilts or 2x6 plank required). Took 15 gallons of paint. Yes, the house smells.

I have to say, paint spraying is fast, but it is not as fun as I thought it would be (OK, everything is relative remember). Here's a cool thing, it came with a card you're supposed to put in your pocket while you work - thought I'd share the highlights:

"Note to Physician... Injection in the skin is a serious traumatic injury. IT IS IMPORTANT TO TREAT THE INJURY SURGICALLY AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. Do not delay treatment to research toxicity... if the injected paint contains acrylic latex and titanium dioxide that damage the tissue's resistance to infection, bacterial growth will flourish... [blah blah]... immediate decompression of the closed vascular compartments... [blah blah]... release the underlying tissue distended by the injected paint... [blah blah]... amputation."

Lovely. Laminated, keep that in your pocket - folds wallet-size - while you paint... just in case... C'mon, I have it memorized after one reading, what's the big deal?? 3000 psi (yes, not 300 psi, 3000 psi) at the nozzle - just don't spray yourself...

Other big news of the day, David arrived (I'll train him up on the sprayer), and Angie and Paul called to let me know they are returning here on Thurs! Finally, somebody to drink this Bud Light! My parents are also arriving on Thursday, so this weekend will employ the entire Ryan Clan - Malo Mori Quam Foedari!

More Paint Prep and "To-Go" Plan

OK, now, we're really, really actually going to paint tomorrow... seriously. Had another good day of prep. Ran out of tape, again, just before running out of steam. Have one window, the downstairs bathroom floor, and then the 4 "real" doors in the house (3rd floor, front door, back door, garage pedestrian door). And then the things that got walled over...

I find as you work through a room, you notice things missing only after being in that room for a while. The fireplace switches are MIA, the sconces in the living room - walled in - and the light in the 2nd to 3rd floor stairwell - gone. I'll try to fix that tomorrow... and try not to destroy the new walls in the process...

So tomorrow, trip to Lowes/Smithfield Hardware for tape/floor protectant and 10 more gallons of primer, and 15 gallons of ceiling white (did some math today; rather have and not need than need and not have), dremel in the missing things, and mask them along with the last window and 4 doors. Then paint.

Also tomorrow, the return of David... (I've opened the labor gap to 80 hours plus tomorrow - 373+ to 293)

I've been asked multiple times in the last few days how much is left - usually as if having the walls up means we're almost done. These are the remaining steps - sort of in order:

- Prime the entire house (~9,000 sq-ft of combined wall and ceiling)
- Paint the ceiling
- Install trim and caulk (no small chore!)
- Rebuild stairs to 3rd floor (will be carpeted)
- Drywall Crew to return to "Point Up"
- Install electrical receptacles (hope it all was re-wired correctly!)
- Build new "built-in" in family room
- Paint all walls
- Rebuild stairs to 2nd floor (will be hard-wood)
- Install light fixtures and fans
- solder valves to stubouts
- install cabinets
- rebuild drains install plumbing fixtures, and connect plumbing
- install downstairs toilet
- install tile in kids bath, kid's toilet
- install laundry room tile
- tile master bath
- install master bath toilet
- re-finish hardwood
- wallpaper downstairs bath and living room
- install carpeting
- move-in

So, really, I do still estimate about 8 weeks of this, which still puts us at move-in in September, pretty close to the original schedule (which I did put some thought into).

Anyway, it is still a releif to have the walls in, and I think the nasty part of the heat and hard labor is over - mostly detail now... keep the good thoughts coming!

Did I say "ready" to paint, what I meant was...

6 rolls of painter's tape down... who knows how many to go...

Spent the morning vacuuming, really not as bad as I let on yesterday. Still wish I had the compressor to air wash the walls - in storage - it'll have to wait. Spent the afternoon (and evening) taping stuff. For having no wood trim, there still was an awful lot of prep to do. The windows and outlets (wires only) on the second floor are done. The kids and master tubs, most of the copper stubouts, most of the air vents, most of the ceiling fan fixtures are taped - probably another hour's worth of work in the morning... then downstairs... A little different than a typical prep job since I'm not used to spray-painting... not sure how much (or little) control I'll have as to where the paint goes - but definitely don't want any on the windows...

Well, still hoping to get to paint tomorrow, but prep always takes longer that one expects...

Ready to Paint

Bought drywall primer, paint sprayer - ready to go. Spent time at home with ShopVac (flashbacks galore) - it's still pretty dusty here. Likely will spend all day tomorrow vacuuming, replacing floor protection, covering windows, etc. Sprayer likely not on until Sunday.

Other key event today - Air conditioning working a little slow on the third floor - still 86 up here - been running a few hours. I poked my head in to check if the fan was running, and the machinery room smelled like gas. Couldn't find the leak, so turned off the gas at the meter, as well as the valve at the furnace... means I'm safe, but no hot shower in the morning... grr...

Staying at the house again - worked until 9:30, and about to start mapping again. I guess I'm back in the saddle.

PS - anybody around tomorrow to help me get the air compressor from storage? I couldn't handle it by myself today - need a hand... give me a call

PPS - here's one for ya... enter the garage to retrieve a frosty beverage, and the light comes on... which means when I opened the pedestrian door, I startled something large enough to break the infra-red safety beam when it scurried underneath the overhead door... mouse? lizard? or very, very large, 6- or 8-legged friend?? Regardless, that'll make you think twice about going for a beverage...

Knockdown

Knock-down applied to the ceiling - stopped by during the day to check it - looks great!

Came by tonight to do a little mapping, mail, bills, etc. and lo and behold, people sanding the walls! A pleasant surprise. I did see how they're reaching the top of the foyer, and I wish I hadn't... Holy Acrobat Batman! I'll explain some other time... but that is NOT how I will be painting up there. Now that I mention it, not sure how I will paint up there, but it won't be this way (involves one ladder, and 1 2x8, and that's all... unless stilts are involved too... shudder).