Now what do we do...

Grout sealed... and 1 POD emptied... well, except for the washer/dryer that aren't coming back.

The second POD started, but NICOLE (tropical depression) is far more annoying than hurricane EARL - it won't stop raining!! Kept the furniture where is is... David will put a hurtin' on it tomorrow and with luck, he and I will finish it tomorrow... stay tuned - may not need help on Saturday after all (or we'll get the truck reservation moved).

Banisters will wait until Sunday - inspection Monday...

Almost there...

Worst day since yesterday...

Nothing moved in today - poured all day. Speakers in, drawers cleaned up, access panel cut - yes, did seal in the tub without plugging it in... oops.

Tomorrow, seal grout, maybe the shower door guys will show, fix the doors, start moving if the rain lets up. Will skip the banister until the large items are moved in, so inspection is off until Monday.

If you're available for helping to move on Saturday, please come by around 10am; will have a truck to take to pick up the stuff at Aunt Becky's.

It's quiet, too quiet...

Carpeting is done. The squeaks, footsteps, and echoes are all gone... It's nice... Two of the bedroom (Abby's Guest) colors may need to be adjusted, someday... looks really good in hall, master - happy with it overall.

Speakers arrived and are too big - went to Best Buy and bought ones that fit. One volume control in; downstairs bath trimmed out, shoe moulding installed in kitchen, built-in drawers got coat of paint, security system re-activated, found the mystery moulding for the newel posts - having trouble ordering it - but will overcome...

Expectation is that we will accomplish speakers, volume dial, drawers, and maybe access panel tomorrow - move in some large items before banister is in; doors, grout sealant, shower door, banister on Thursday, and inspection on Friday - begin moving in Friday, Saturday.

Counting down:

- Speakers (dining, master)
- Volume controls
- Painting/caulking the built-in drawers
- Doors to the built-ins (ordered)
- Access door to tub in master bath (plug in tub)
- Seal grout, master bath
- Banister
- Door knobs on exterior doors
- Improve door clearance (NEW)
- Install shower door in master (hired-out; Thursday)

We may have a house...

Carpet is in second floor hall, 3 small beds, downstairs roughed-in. Tomorrow, master, stairs, finish downstairs.

Nearly done. Holy crap. It is unbelievable to me to see what we've been able to accomplish. The carpeting finishes it off so much...

One little issue though - apparently, we upgraded over the builder stock carpet a lot because none of the doors open anymore - we'll have to shave off the bottom of all the second floor doors a bit.

Counting down:

- Speakers (dining, master)
- Volume controls
- Security system (2 keypads, 1 heat/smoke, 1 siren)
- Painting/caulking the built-in drawers
- Doors to the built-ins (ordered)
- Access door to tub in master bath (plug in tub)
- Seal grout, master bath
- Banister
- Shoe around kitchen cabinets
- Door knobs on exterior doors
- Mirror, towel ring, paper holder in downstairs bath
- Improve door clearance (NEW)
- Install shower door in master (hired-out; Thursday)
- Carpeting (hired-out, Monday)

Ready for Carpet

Tile in master bath grouted; downstairs toilet installed, everything cleaned. We are ready for carpet. What remains...

- Speakers (dining, master)
- Volume controls
- Security system (2 keypads, 1 heat/smoke, 1 siren)
- Painting/caulking the built-in drawers
- Doors to the built-ins
- Putty and touch up shoe
- Shoe molding in master bath
- Access door to tub in master bath (plug in tub)
- Seal grout, master bath
- Banister
- Curtain rods in living
- Shoe around kitchen cabinets
- Door knobs in exterior doors
- Mirror, towel ring, paper holder in downstairs bath
- Install shower fixtures in master

- Install shower door in master (hired-out; Thursday)
- Carpeting (hired-out, Monday)

So... aside from the banister, I don't consider any of these to be big chores for us; and aside from the banister and maybe speakers due to delivery schedule, I think we can get all of this done by end of day Tuesday...

Unbelievable that it is all wrapping up...

I'll hit 800 hours tomorrow; David will hit 1,000 on Tuesday (probably).

Only a few days left!!

Another productive day. Downstairs bathroom sink installed (Thanks Geoff), shoe molding painted and installed (Thanks David), drawers to the built-ins installed (Thanks Jason), stove installed, a final coat of poly on the closet hardwood, and, finally, all tile in the master bathroom has been set.

Tomorrow, grout master bath, paint bedroom wall (from stud surgery), touch-up paint throughout, install the downstairs toilet, and then clean, clean, clean. Jen is coming over to start unpacking the kitchen... Carpet on Monday (did I mention that before?).

No Bears game tomorrow since they're playing on Monday night... so should be a productive day tomorrow! If you come to help, there's plenty of cleaning to do!

I miss the dumpster...

We have a problem. There's no place for the empty beverage containers now that the dumpster is gone. That thing was pretty handy...

Stove connected, last cabinet installed, bullnose tile cut, closet poly'ed, stud for shower door installed, last quarter-round cut, speaker re-wired, driveway power-washed, quads installed, PODS arrived - a good day.

Tomorrow, more tile, painting and isntalling quarter-round... on track for carpeting...

Whoa! A view from the road.

The dumpster is g-o-n-e. The first 30-yd container arrived May 19... had hoped it would take only one, then knew it'd be at least two... then three, four... the answer was five 30-yd dumpsters. May 19 to Sept 23rd - 4 months, 5 days. The grass is really, really dead - move your foot through the... straw and everything comes up - no roots left, just topsoil... Nevertheless, I can stand on my porch, and see the street. Until tomorrow...

The PODS will return tomorrow. Hooray!

Also tomorrow, another drywall guy coming... I'm putting in an all-glass shower door for Jen; has wanted one for a long time... apparently though, with no frame, the hinges need two sistered studs, not one... who knew? Since the tile is in, we're cutting into the wall from the master bedroom side, adding a stud, then sealing it back up. Will need paint repair... Still, after all we've done, Jen still won't let me do the drywall patch... weird... Anyway, fully repaired this weekend - no worries...

This weekend because... drum-roll please... CARPETING ON MONDAY! It all arrived at the shop today, couldn't schedule for tomorrow, so will do both downstairs (family room only) and upstairs - hopefully in one day, maybe two.

On Tuesday, security company out to re-connect us... another milestone...

Going to be a busy few days. Also accomplished today, dishwasher in and re-connected, stove in but not yet reconnected. Family room cleaned-out and dust removed. Deck power-washed, driveway (paint overspray) started.

That's it... more tomorrow.

Shoe Molding and Admin

David finished another coat of paint on the risers, and cut all of the downstairs shoe molding (for the hardwood) - to be painted tomorrow, then installed, and maybe caulked.

I had travel for work, so short night, but picked up remaining tile - will install tomorrow (taking a few days off). Other milestones: dumpster will be picked up tomorrow; PODS will be delivered on Friday. ALL carpet is supposed to be in tomorrow - maybe downstairs installed Friday, and rest on Monday as originally hoped... stay tuned for updates...

Baseboards and stair risers

David installed baseboards and patched and painted the stair risers. Forgot to mention he grouted the shower yesterday...

Had long day at work - traveling tomorrow; then taking 4 days (6 inc. weekend) to help get things moving. Look for big milestones...

Shower Basin; More Closet

Dry set the shower basin, 'cept for 12 accent tiles. David installed and stained the last wall panel, stained the last built-in.

Tomorrow, will set the shower basin, install baseboards in closet, paint touch-ups. Also tomorrow, tile company will come out to measure for the shower door - another item I decided not to bother with myself...

A different type of milestone tomorrow for David - 100 days (calendar days). So David's at 937 hours, 100 days = 9.37 hrs/day ~ 65 hours per week. I'm at 760 hours, 127 days = 5.98 hrs/day ~ 42 hours per week (plus 40 hours at actual regular job, of course, I'm no slacker).

Also spoke to the county building inspector today - in their words, they are not the "furniture police" so I do plan to move in BEFORE inspection. They want inspection before we're living in the house - so we'll move the PODs into the house, then install banisters, inspection, and then move Jen and kids from Aunt Becky's into the house. Interesting that carpet is not needed for inspection... 'course, it is needed for move-in... so... whatever...

Tile and Cleaning

All tile that can be done with materials in hand, is done. More bullnose coming in tomorrow - only a couple hours of setting to go - then some more grouting - probably mid-week to all done.

David make good progress - last built-in is built. Staining and poly to go.

Spent some time cleaning - lots of dust downstairs.

Hadn't logged a receipt since 1 Aug... spent some time on the scanner today... need to update the actual returns someday... at 2,600+ hours overall.

More of the same

Big news today, Cable/Internet went out again - so David texted Angie for a Hokies score - she responded "49-27 them" - which we took to mean ECU, and upon hearing that, I jerked out of shock while cutting tile, immediately took a shard of razor sharp stone in the eye... needed to go to the Emergency room - still can't see out of my right eye...

OK just kidding about that last part - unless you consider the bathroom the "Emergency" room - I was able to get it out... and the Hokies won...

Good progress on tile and closet. Tomorrow will be more of the same... probably will break to watch the Bears...

Floor done, grout started...

Again, a no-progress day; David continues to rack up the hours; Al finished the floor (finally) which really opens the flood gates for this week. Can bring in dishwasher, oven, downstairs toilet, sink, banister... we'll also focus on last kitchen cabinet, dining room speakers - which weren't really waiting on floor...

My guess is that's all Mon-Friday type work - this weekend will be finish, once-and-for-all, the tile bathroom and closet. Carpet for downstairs family room also likely this week - though doesn't sound like Monday after all...

Counting down! Then planning for the party - Oct 30 - write it down!

Floor coated, closet progress

David made great progress on the closet built-in. Also set tile in the shower nooks. Only the border (need more bullnose), basin, and 2/3 of the tub backsplash to set. David grouting shower walls tomorrow, I'll try to get the tub backsplash set.

Al was by yesterday (I stayed with Jen and the kids, blogspot doesn't work on Jen's computer), coated the floor. Looks great. Was supposed to be by today, another no-show... promises to be by tomorrow for the last coat. Moving in and out of the house by extension ladder to the second floor... not cool. If by tomorrow, will be able to walk on it on Saturday, furniture on Sunday.

Have our first meeting with our attorney tomorrow. I guess the beginning of the next phase of this ordeal.

David is 1 hr 40 minutes from 900 hours... I'm at 735.

Shower walls done

More tiling by David - looks great.

I worked a long day (mandatory OT) - nothing accomplished at the house.

Al made an appearance and finished sanding. Stain tomorrow.

Received an email response from Senator Webb from a posting made who knows how long ago. Doesn't talk about air quality like the last one, but does imply that he led the charge for a casualty loss deduction by the IRS... which does not exist contrary to his letter... good for him... nothing more frustrating than Washington politicians.

Tile 80% Done

David tiled like a madman today - 80% of the shower walls are done. Jens closet is done.

Installed some of the final plumbing fixtures - that was painful. I managed only to finish the bath-tub back-splash on one of three walls...

Tomorrow, finish the shower walls, work the bath-tub back-splash some more, maybe get to some closet shelves.

Spoke to Al today (another no-show); promises to be here tomorrow to stain the floors... we'll see...

Slow Chinese Drywall Weekend...

Well, football season begins, Chinese Drywall work slows...

Sorry for not blogging yesterday, I was too distraught after the Hokies poor showing...

Al was a no-show yesterday and today, desipte several phone calls along the lines of "I'll be there in 2 hours"... Not too worried since his sander is here, the floors are sanded (which is the part I wasn't comfortable doing myself), and I haven't paid him a cent yet... I'll give him another couple days before firing him - as long as he finishes by Friday...

The master bath received most of the attention when football wasn't distracting us... sinks are installed and working, toilet is installed and working, about 1/3 of the shower tile is set, the bath-tub back-splash pattern has been started, which was the most challenging step. We chipped the mirror when we tried to install it... it may be swapped for two new ones... still deciding.

One major issue came up... apparently I forgot to plug in the jetted tub before sealing up the wall tile... sigh...

Picked up most of the wood needed to finish the closet shelves, looking on track... still counting down...

Hardwood Refinishing Begins

Floors are sanded - look great.

More work in the bathroom done; good Lowes' shopping day.

Original plan for this weekend was nearly total loss because of hardwood staining - David has awesome solution... involves extension ladder and window access... save $ on hotel and allows tiling to succeed this weekend.

To Go:

Downstairs throughout: shoe molding
Down Bath: toilet, sink, light fixture
Dining Room: speakers in ceiling
Kitchen: cabinet above fridge, island, appliances, shelves in pantry
Family room: carpet, built-in drawers and doors
Hallway: alarm panel, siren
Closet: shelf and coat rod
Stairs: Bannister
Upstairs throughout: carpet
Upstairs hall: railing post trim, heat detector
Upstairs beds: "Quads" (cable, phone, Internet) in all
Abby's: butterfly shelves, window treatments
Master: my closet wooden shelves, Jen's wire shelves, speakers
Master Bath: tile shower, plumb sinks, mirror, tub back-splash

Gonna make it!

18 days to go... Hardwood refinishing starting tomorrow

Master bath vanity and sinks in. Stairs puttied. Downstairs cleaned - ready for floor re-finishing starting tomorrow. Spoke to Al, we can be in the house tomorrow night, but starting Saturday afternoon, need to be out until Monday night/Tuesday morning. David undecided on plans.

After that, lots of jobs break loose - downstairs bathroom can be done - sink and toilet - stove, dishwasher back in the kitchen, shoe molding in, carpeting in the living room (only upstairs is back-ordered), banister installed... Will have dumpster picked up - maybe even tomorrow - then pods delivered... Still need to finish master bath tiling (shower and tub back-splash - hope to get back-splash done on Saturday before we're kicked out of house) and also need to finish my closet shelves, but need supplies for that. That's about it...

Tomorrow, will tackle built-in drawers, fixtures in master bath (faucet, drains, towel rods, etc), some painting touch-up... probably set a few key tiles that will help me get the back-splash in on Saturday (will be complex pattern).

Count down with me!!! 18 days to go! Remember, party on Oct 30 - save the date!!

Grout, caulk

David grouted the bathroom floor and tub - looks awesome. Caulked some of the gaps in the stairs - looks good, will finish tomorrow.

We installed lights in the master bath, the rest of the night is a paperwork night for me - haven't scanned receipts in days...

19 days to go...

Tomorrow, toilet and vanity in master bath, baseboards. Clean downstairs to prep for hardwood re-finishing. Probably schedule dumpster pick-up for Friday after clean-up.

20 days to go...

David: Two coats of poly on closet floor; washer/dryer delivered; shelves in the linen closet. More painting.

Me: Picked up grout, installed shelf standards in Abby's closet, cover plates on master bath fixtures. Master bath light delivered.

Tomorrow: grout master bath floor, cut shelves for pantry, install master bath lights, build drawers for built-ins; paint. Other odds and ends.

Still making good progress. No hardwood tomorrow, so we put off our field day (clean-up). Probably will do that Thursday...

Second Floor Flushes

Bad day - David and I are both hurting - backs. I need to file for worker's comp... who's the boss of this project? Oh...

We did manage to get some work done. Lots of picking up/cleaning today in prep for the floors. BTW, my floor guy, Al, had a family tragedy - lost a grandchild - keep him in your thoughts and prayers; pushes the floor work back to Friday; not a concern given the delays on carpeting.

Toilet installed finally; mirror too. Have a bathroom on the second floor! Installed the washing machine basin - required some mods. Ready for washer/dryer tomorrow. Installed some shelf standards in the pantry; only one shelf each - needed Jennifer's approval on the depth...

More of the same tomorrow and all week. One day at a time...

Bathroom Floor; Closet

Tile cut and laid in master bathroom floor... at the expense of my back... Help from Jen to finish the job... backsplash tomorrow if I can walk.. more likely to wait another week. Stuck at 699.2 hours.

David installed the first panel in the master closet, and stained the floor. Looks great. finally got around to the bathroom baseboards. Toilet tomorrow - woulda been tonight 'cept for my back. David cracked the 800 hour mark.

Tomorrow will spend some time cleaning up - get the downstairs floor ready for finishing on Wednesday, and get the last of the major disposal out of the house so we can finally have the dumpster picked up - shooting for mid to end of the week for that...

Master, Closets

Good day. Set tub tile, dry-set 80% of the bathroom floor. David observed a "design flaw" in the tile - with accent tiles arranged in the floor at every 4th corner... there is not a single tile in the floor that doesn't have a cut. I didn't realize this until I was into it... so it took a little longer than I thought... should have it set tomorrow anyway...

Thanks to David - worked my closet most of the day - laid the hardwood floor and painted the walls (not in that order). Then went to work in the kids' bath - still need shoe molding in before toilet - he's motivated to get the toilet in tomorrow.

Thanks to JP for coming over today - installed shelves and rods in Abby's, Will's, Guest, and half of Jen's closet. Also cut the drawer bases for the built-ins, and painted them. A big help today.

A couple of milestones coming up - David will crack 800 tomorrow, I'm a couple days away from 700. The project cracked 2,400 hours today. That's about 1 hour for every square foot - if anyone cares about metrics... doesn't seem like a lot when you put it that way...

Tomorrow, more tile, more hardwood, more kid's bathroom.

Earl Over-hyped (here), Labor Day Weekend...

No worries about Earl - all the trash stayed in the dumpster... which is the main thing... no power loss. 20 mph winds, 2 inches of rain.

Blinds up, accent tile in, bathroom wallpapered, new washer/dryer ordered.

Washer/dryer here Tuesday, Al here to finish the floors Wednesday. Tub tile dry-set, will thinset bathtub and backsplash tomorrow, start on floor.

David on closets tomorrow. Still some other odds and ends to do... need to install cabinet above fridge - keep ignoring that one...

We had some bad news today - the carpeting for the upstairs is on back-order, and will not be installed until 9/27... which will actually cost us a week. Jen plans to call and cry on the phone - see if we can buy back a week that way... my solution may be some vacation time from work so it will only cost us 3 days... I'll probably lose volunteer helpers though...

We also finalized the party date - 10/30. SAVE THE DATE! All helpers, moral supporters, and interested parties invited...

Starting to Countdown!

Back from company travel - 3 days in CT. David worked on the house while I was gone...

Built-ins shelves in, painting done. Drawers still left (waiting for JP), and doors - which are for me to get to... someday...

Stairs are in - no sign of a single squeak - beautiful.

Made appointment with "Al" to re-finish the hardwood floors - a reasonable price. He will start on Wednesday, 9/8.

Carpeting selected - Jen to make appointment for installation ~9/15 - probably will lead to move-in on 9/18 instead of 9/25... maybe...

Wallpaper in living room in - awesome - lights in (finally). Bathroom wallpaper tomorrow.

David painted the master bath - my top priority this holiday weekend is to finish that tile. Still missing my accent tiles.

David to work the closets (shelves and rods) tomorrow or Friday. My closet my project weekend of 9/11 - if all goes according to plan...

Of couse, then there's Earl... expected to touch here Thursday at about 2am... forecast only calling for 20 mph winds and lots of rain, but we're under a tropical storm warning with 60% chance of tropical storm level gusts (40-70 mph).. so... if we have no power this weekend... then all of this is up in the air... hopefully it's just a lot of hype...