The "Blog" - Part 3
January 1, 2004 to June 30, 2004

Prior Journals

Wednesday, June 30, 2004

• Herb's crew was onsite at 5:00 AM, putting up railings along the bridge, rear stairs, upper lanai, plus orange debris fence where railings should be.

• Temporary bridge railings were in place for about an hour. Jose showed up with most of the final product for the bridge (save for the radius curve parts) and they're simply outstanding!

• Plumbers got most of the toilets, shower trim and lavatory valves installed. We're missing the Stillness unit for the #3 bath. Jado's in the master are way cool.

• Counter top work continues with the Kitchenette and the back portions of the bar.

• Door hardware (save for keyed units) were installed. Now maybe there won't be tons of slamming when the wind blows.

• Waited for our CFO inspection, but the inspector must have gotten tied up.

• Sometime, during the past few days, our foam roof was completed.

Tuesday, June 29, 2004

• Laurel and I met (again) with Longo glass to talk about lanai railings, shower enclosures, vanity cabinets and mirrors.  We did most of this back in March, but it seems to have fallen through the cracks.

• Kitchen counter tops were installed today. Rather than trying to get the truck out of the bottom of the drive, today we used the front door and bridge.

• Dennis, and crew did a little more work on shelving.

• Our door hardware arrived today.

• Butcher block top has been in town since Saturday, but we can't seem to get it delivered. Calls are in to Central Freight Co.

• Called the City of Phoenix DSD to request our 30-day waiver for landscaping.
  

Monday, June 28, 2004

• The counter tops in the master bath and two lower level bath countertops were installed today. Tomorrow and Wednesday they'll be doing the bar, kitchen and kitchenette. Pictures.

• Tomorrow begins a ton of effort to get the place ready for a "Certificate for Occupancy" (CFO) inspection.

• Laurel spent most of Sunday with the shop vac sucking up construction dust--tons of work in 100°+ temperatures, but it's a fantastic improvement.

• Herb's crew needs to make a slight adjustment in the dumbwaiter location in the shaft to accommodate the door latch mechanisms.
  

Saturday, June 26, 2004

• The tile folks finished all the lower level tile today. The diamond pattern that Laurel added to the #2 bath looks way cool. For the floor of the #3 bath shower, Garret cut the tile into 4" squares--ditto on the cool. Garret's off to visit family for a week, so no tile action this coming week. All that's left is the bridge and the Juliet balcony.

• Speaking of the bridge, it got flashed on Friday.

• I met with Jose,  the railing man, on Friday and we've selected a design--very simple and, of course, contemporary. These railings will be used on the bridge, Juliet balcony, around the drive retaining walls and between the southern-most column set on the lower lanai (don't want any drunks falling down the hill). We're waiting for a bid (still) for the glass railings on the upper lanai.

• Solar light tubes were installed in the pantry and master closet today. Pantry efficiency is a bit diminished because the roof opening sits between a parapet and 5-ton heat pump, and the diffuser in the pantry had to be placed above a shelf.

• Welding on the front stair rail posts continued on Friday. Nathan has found appropriate railing brackets and glass mounting hardware.

• The cabinet crew worked all day Thursday and Friday repairing end-panel skins, fixing the door  under the sink and other general touch-ups.

• As previously reported, to get the wood flooring installed, we need to have the A/C operating so that the wood can 'acclimate.' During a prior conversation with the folks at City of Phoenix Development Services, I was told that we could get an electrical inspection and therefore receive a clearance for APS to install a meter. The inspection was called in for Friday, but when the inspector arrived, he said "no can do";  the folks downtown don't know what they're talking about. Not good news. To resolve this problem, we're looking at getting the place ready ASAP for the final inspection--hopefully by Wednesday. We need a working bath, a kitchen sink, smoke detectors, all electrical buttoned up, a few other things and, hopefully, that's about it.

• The electrical fairy came during the night and wired up the dumbwaiter.
  

Wednesday, June 23, 2004

• The butcher block island top is on the truck.

• Our bar stools arrived yesterday. They're way cool.

• The electricians worked yesterday and today to get ready for our electrical inspection. They plan on being wrapped up tomorrow. Prior to inspection, we need some city-mandated signage on the disconnect panels; verbiage is being finalized.

• On Tuesday night, Laurel and I picked up cabinet assemblies for the master and #2 bedrooms. The finishing carpenters installed them today, along with shelf tops for the bedroom media center. They'll finish the closets and the pantry shelving on Thursday.

• Laurel and I selected carpet for the #2 bedroom and confirmed our choice for the master bath.

• Tiling continues on the lower level. We were about 2 square feet short on the river rock tile in the columns of the master bath, but everything else is grouted. It looks amazing--pictures to follow. The main stairway and foyer were completed on Tuesday. Greenhouse and pantry are done, too. The only thing left on the second level is the bridge deck and Juliet balcony.

• We met with the glass guys again. They re-measured the master shower enclosure and upper lanai railings (we did this back in February, too) and measured the #3 bath enclosure. Additionally, we specified medicine cabinets and they measured for mirrors.

• Somehow, the tensioning spring for the drive chain on the dumbwaiter disappeared.
  

Saturday, June 19, 2004

• The painters on were on the job at the crack of dawn to do the exterior work and we love the color. Including some interior touch-up, the wrapped things up shortly after noon. Pictures

• HVAC guys were back to do a little work on the evap coolers and ducts. They had a little problem on the lanai. Seems we've had a pigeon build a nest in the cooler duct work and they had to get the bird out before they could install the register. At last check, they were planning to remove other registers and use sticks to chase the guy out.

• Window shade switches and controls were delivered yesterday so we can get them installed prior to the electrical inspection.
  

Aloha Friday, June 18, 2004

• A little change in the interior picture. The mechanical guys wanted their plenum back--to move air to the air handler, I guess. Ergo, Plenum Cam has become Kitchen Kam.

• The foyer and master bath white tile are being grouted today. The greenhouse, pantry and upper laundry closet have been tiled. We're getting close. Pictures

• The mechanical people are onsite, installing the evaporative coolers, heat pumps, air handlers and duct grating. A crane was needed to put the evaporative coolers and one heat pump on the roof, but the slope of the street and the drive made it impossible to completely level the crane. The heat pump is mounted towards the rear of the house over the kitchen, but because of the leveling issue, the crane could only reach to the front of the house over, so they dropped it there and hand-carried the unit to the install location. Pictures. Pictures

• The counter tops were scheduled to be installed today, but the fabricators didn't have the templates for the under-mount sinks--there's 7 of them. Four of the sinks hadn't been ordered, so FedEx is schlepping them out, but I doubt we'll see granite before next week.

• I think we've finally picked out carpet. It's called Sea Breeze--light green.

• Exterior paint tomorrow.
  

Wednesday, June 16, 2004

• Big excitement! The bridge is in. It includes what has to be our last glue lam. Decking is done and it's about ready for waterproofing and stucco. Pictures

• The roof deck and upper lanai tile is grouted. Tile in the office shower is set and the guys have Red Guarded the greenhouse floor. Pictures

• Herb's guys rebuilt the sink base for the roof deck.  This is one that supports the stainless steel bar top.

• The framers started the frame out for the upper dumbwaiter enclosure.

• Most of the uprights for the north stair railings were competed today.

• The cabinet folks came and cut a missing outlet in the end of the island and reversed one pair of island cabinets for us to give us a set of narrow shelves by the cook top.
  

Tuesday, June 15, 2004

• We ran into a little problem that seems to have started when the stem walls were formed. The north end of the outside dining room wall was about 1-5/8" closer to the patio than the south end. This alignment problem was revealed through the grid pattern of the floor tile. Several fixes were discussed including some rather draconian efforts involving the removal of stucco, drywall, and moving doors. In the end, we decided to trim down one row of tiles to form a parallel line with the wall. Looks just fine.

• Smokie, et al spent the day installing switches and plugs. So far we've found a couple of outlets, one can light in my office and and a wire in the garage that got buried in drywall. Also, the stucco dudes a kick light on the south stairs and one on the stairs going to the roof deck.

• Roof deck tile is grouted and tile is being installed on the south stairs. Tile to finish the master bath should arrive tomorrow.

• Exterior painting is scheduled for Friday.

• Bridge trusses were delivered today and the installation will start tomorrow.

• I've found mounting hardware for the stair railings. Cool aluminum stuff!

• Zoë the dog has initiated the roof deck tile.
  

Monday, June 14, 2004

• Tiling on the lanais continues and it's really nice. On Friday, Laurel and I met with the tiling contractor to select grout colors. In the master bath we went with matching whites and greens. For the other three tiles, we're using an gray.

• On our way to Munds Park (near Flagstaff) for the weekend, we stopped an artist's shop in Sedona and picked up a wall sconce for the powder room--a brushed steel lady named Elizabeth.

• The dumbwaiter was installed on Thursday. It still needs a little framing, doors and control wiring, but it looks good.

• The greenhouse is scheduled for installation today.
  

Wednesday, June 9, 2004

• The plumbers installed the jet tub today. They had to move the drain (chipping concrete) and notch the studs (chipping wood) to get it to fit, but it looks good. They also aligned the fill spout to match the center of the tub and adjusted the depth of the valve to accommodate tile depth.

• The garage door folks are returning next week to install the insulation in the door.

• Tiling continues on the roof deck and upper lanai.

• Touch-up work continues on the steel on the north stairway.

• I'm working on finalizing PBX (phone system) selection.

• Yesterday, the stoccoers finally removed the scaffolding--much nicer view of the front of the house.

• Zoë the dog thinks the job site's a little hot.

• New pictures of the cabinets, tile and jet tub.
  

Monday, June 7, 2004

• Floor and shower surround tile in the master bath is done. Tile is yet to be done on the shower floor and the columns that hold the shower heads. The "Red Guard" sealer has been applied to the roof, lanai, and south stairs.

• The jet tub was delivered today.

• Plan is to get the electrical work finished up, install the mechanical systems (HVAC) and then call for an electrical inspection so we can get the A/C units running to condition the wood flooring.

• Worked out a design for the glass railings with Nathan on Friday.

• I did a little pre-wiring for low voltage lights in the cabinets behind the bar. When it's 110 outside, the 2nd level gets a little toasty.

• Dumb waiter is scheduled to be installed on Wednesday.
  

Wednesday, June 2, 2004

• Tiling has begun in the master shower. We have a little problem with tile vs. the width of the columns that support the shower heads. We're working on solutions. Backer board is being installed on the roof deck and has been installed in all other tiled areas.

• Templates were cut today for the granite countertops.  We did a little "design on the fly" in the bar area.

• The wood flooring contractor would like the wood to be "acclimated." Problem is, to do that, we need the HVAC system running and for that we need electrical power, which is not scheduled to be turned until after we receive our certificate of occupancy.

• Still trying to get bids on the railings:(.
  

Monday, May 31, 2004

• Cabinet  installation began on Thursday and was almost completed on Friday. They look great. There's a little problem with the door on the corner cabinet at the sink overlapping the cabinets adjoining it, but that shouldn't be much to fix. Also, an outlet opening on the end of the island is missing. Drawer pulls still need to be mounted.

• Tile prep continues. The master shower is all set ready for tile and the backer board for the entry way has been put down.

• We installed the fold-down ironing board in the master closet, today. One more thing out of the garage. Laurel loves it.

• If you look on the corner of the garage in the live picture, you'll see a little pinkish patch. We did a little test painting with a quart of what we thought we wanted for the exterior. Good thing, because I think it might be a little too pink.

• Bridge column is still waiting for grout.

• As previously noted, the house is all wired for an alarm system, but I thought what we really need is a guard dog, so today we went out and got one--4+ pounds of killer, of 6-week old mini schnauzer. Burglars beware!
  

Thursday, May 27, 2004

• The tile prep is moving right along. The office show forming is pretty much set, and they're working on the backing board for the master shower. The stair treads have been grouted, but Garret doesn't like the upper-most run, so he's pulling it out and redoing it. Prep should be completed tomorrow.

• I met with Dan, the sunscreen man, this morning to get final measurements and select fabric.

• The stucco crew is putting the final touches on the exterior. Looking at the web cam picture this morning, I was struck by how much it looks like the artist's rendering.

• Plumbers had to move the valves in the master shower out about 1/2" to accommodate tile and backing board.
  

Wednesday, May 26, 2004

• It is simply amazing! At one point today, we had seven different trades onsite--overhead door installer, plumbers, finishing carpenter, stuccoers, framers, tile installers and the cabinet folks. I had to park two blocks away.

• Cabinets were delivered yesterday. They were delivered to the media room and they filled the place up. The cool part is that they look FANTASTIC! The installers were back this morning, but they couldn't get them moved because the framers were working on the stair landings. Said they'd be back this afternoon to do the placements and then install on Thursday morning. Before they can complete the installation in the bar, the drywall dudes need to come back and add the same base gap that's in the great room to the base of the wall in the bar area (an 'oops').

• Garage door was installed this morning.

• The glass block window in the master shower was completed yesterday. I hate to keep reusing superlatives, but it also looks fantastic. Also, it should be noted that the window has passed a significant test: the distortion of the block pattern is such that passerby's on the street cannot make out the "gooza" of a shower occupant. This was a major concern of Laurel's.

• Stair guys added a little Bondo to the stair steel and it's looking better. Not finished, but improved.

• Stucco crew is wrapping up the finishing coat, taking down scaffolding, cleaning up the sizable mess left from the stucco process and wrapping and stuccoing the door frames. Sure will be nice to have that scaffolding gone.

• Laurel and I met with Dennis, the finishing carpenter to review shelf and rod layouts for the closets and pantry. He's got to be an OK dude--he races dirt stocks.

• Garrett, the tile guy's trying to get the prep completed, but with plumbers in the shower and framers on the stairs, it's been hard. The valves in the master shower were installed to be flush with the drywall, rather than the tile. They think they can get extensions for them, but if not, they'll need to be moved.

• Dead bolts are going on the doors today. The joint will be locked tonight.

• I fear that once we get moved in, we'll never get anything done. Laurel and I did sunset cocktails on the roof deck last night and, as always, it was SO relaxing. Birds chirping, bats heading out for the first moths of the night, a very distant hum of the city, sunlight fading into city lights and even a spectacular meteor. It's hard to leave.
  

Tuesday, May 25, 2004

• Things are so busy the tile guy decided to come back tomorrow. He said he'd be able to complete all of the preparatory mudding tomorrow.

• I put in a test segment of the soffit lighting last night and it looks pretty good. I'm using 3v Christmas lights, tie wrapped to a wooden carrier 1.8" on center. The soffits can be seen in the dining room and great room on the top left of the plenum cam.

• The block guys were back at 6:30 this morning and they're moving right along. Looks just like in the artist's rendering.

• The finishing carpenters hung the front door. That thing weighs a ton. It still needs to have the windows cut into it. We're meeting with them tomorrow to discuss pantry and closet shelving.

• Stucco guys are back at it today. The finished coat looks great. Sure will be nice to get that scaffolding out of there.
  

Monday, May 24, 2004

• The painters worked like crazy on Saturday and it looks great. Of course, there will be lots of touchup to do, but color on the walls really makes it look like a house.

• Today, we're at an unprecedented level of construction activity!!! Dry wallers are fixing up some of the mudding, stuccoers are applying the final stucco coat, painters are painting and the block guys have installed the first course of the of the master shower window--with the 12" radius. We get any more subs onsite, we'll need valet parking. The line at the porta-john runs half way around the block. New pictures at windows , stucco and paint (What? Boring).

• Camera is running on local--albeit temporary--power. Thank you Hjalmer for all the help!!!

• Met with Garret, the tile sub, today. He'll start mudding for the stairs and master shower tomorrow.

• I spent a good chunk of Sunday looking for a PBX (telephone) system. Because of the two floors and the fact that the stairs are on  opposite corners of the house, I think some type of intercom is a necessity. Add to the home office line, etc. and it makes for a pretty hefty system. Getting close, but no winner yet. There's a lot of junk out there.
  

Saturday, May 22, 2004

• Suitable glass blocks have been located. The bath window should be done next week.

• The painters completed the caulking and much of the masking on Friday and were on site bright and early this morning to start spraying. The colors, Lily Pod, a putty with hint of gray and Moonlight, a light gray, look fantastic.

• Bought two barbecue doors for use in the roof deck sink cabinet.
  

Aloha Friday, May 21, 2004

• Well, the glass block guys showed up, but they brought supplies to install the window with 45° angles joining the two straight walls rather than following the existing curve of the exterior. Contractor is off looking for suppliers of blocks that'll handle the radius of the curve.

• Trusses for the bridge are on order.

• The first layer of the drywall / door trim repair has been completed.

• The solid core doors we used have a nice feel to them--heavy. Those 3080s weigh a ton.

• Combing my hair this morning, I noted I have a lot less hair than when we began this little Hale Nani soirée.
  

Wednesday, May 19, 2004

• All the doors, save for the garage overhead, have been hung. Still a little drywall and jamb repair to be completed.

• The glass block in the window of the master bath shower will be installed on Thursday.

• I'm ordering the butcher block top for the island (97" x 38"). Fabrication and shipping will take about 4-6 weeks.

• I met with a representative from Bernie's Brass today, to see what we could do about getting a bid for stair railings. Getting this completed is starting to become an area of concern.

• Painting is scheduled for Friday!
  

Saturday, May 15, 2004

• Turns out the master bedroom door had more than just a the "plumb" problem. It wasn't obvious before drywall installation, but the door is about 2" out of alignment, north to south. Time for the taker-outers come.

• Most of the doors are hung, trimmed and mudded. New pix.

• The bridge landing block work is in. New Pix.

• Dry wall guys put a coat of mud on all the walls to give it a "Santa Fe" finish--90% smooth. I preferred smooth walls, but that wasn't in the budget. The drywallers also did a ton of sanding. You can't believe all the dust!!

• Ordered a jet tub today. It's the 72" long model--the one Laurel wanted. We'll need to remove a little green board  in the tub surround and the acrylic tub deck will need to be cut down just a bit, but it's exactly the tub we wanted. Holds two people very comfortably.

• One edge of the Laundry room door door seemed to have missed it's trim.

• Called the sun screen installer to get that project moving, but haven't heard back.

• Still waiting to hear on door hardware options.
  

Wednesday, May 13, 2004

• The master bedroom door framing has been re-plumbed.

• Footings for the bridge column and bridge landings have been poured.

• The drywall guys have been mudding and taping the areas where the door jambs meet the walls.
  

Tuesday, May 11, 2004

• Most of the doors are installed, but we're missing the ones for the roof deck, dumb waiter, main entry (custom) and the powder room. Also, we have a little "plumb" problem with the jamb going into the master bedroom.

• Waiting for the block guy to come and finish the bridge landing and the block window in the master shower.

• Waiting for the door guy to get back to us with door hardware options.

• Waiting for the drywall dudes to finish the mudding.

• Waiting for the stair guy to get back to us on railing options.

• Cabinet hardware (pulls) have arrived--52 for the kitchen and 10 for the bar. All of the rest of the cabinetry is semi-full overlay and has finger pulls.

• With excess drywall mud and stucco laying around, the place is really a mess.

• I anxiously awaiting the completion of the painting so that Laurel can stop fretting over color selections.
  

Aloha Friday, May 7, 2004

• Stucco scratch coat is complete and it looks marvelous--even the roof parapets.

• Doors were delivered on Thursday and they're in the process of being hung. Just no substitute for a well-hung door. Still trying to get the hardware selection nailed down.

• The "Visitor From The East" who was suppose to supervise greenhouse installation has decide he can't do the job. Not sure what Plan B is, but we'll figure something out.

• I've been out of town for a whole day and the cam hasn't gone down once.
  

Tuesday, May 4, 2004

• Stuccoing continues. East and south walls are being addressed today.

• Still waiting for the block guy to come an build the center support for the bridge.
  

Monday, May 3, 2004

• Stuccoing started today. Most of the action was happening on the north and west sides of the house (out of camera range). Sure is nice to see some activity again.

• Waiting for the block guy to come an build the center support for the bridge.

• We're suppose to be painting next week.  Also, the doors and cabinets should be ready.
  

Aloha Friday, April 30, 2004

• After a flurry of drywall, mudding and taping activity, we've seem to have hit the doldrums, again. Mudding is about 90% complete.

• We're trying to get door hardware selected, but we've had a problem finding exactly what we want from our designated vendor. Affordable stainless steel is tough.

• We're in the process of scheduling a visit from the manufactures rep. to supervise the installation of greenhouse.  The structure was build by Underglass Mfg. in High Falls, NY.

• As a result of budgetary issues, we've decide to forgo the synthetic stucco and use the standard masonry product.

• Nathan, the stair guy,  provided a bid for glass railings on the stairs, but we're still waiting for a meeting to discuss details.

• Aloha no Bob Edwards (you have to be an NPR junkie to get this). More...
  

Monday, April 26, 2004

• The drywall crew worked a very long day on Saturday and completed the initial mudding and taping.

• The rest--I hope it's the rest--of the green house was delivered on Thursday. Lots of boxes of parts.

• Laurel and I spent Sunday night cruising a vintage poster website, looking for artwork for the east bedroom wall. This is a really cool site.

• Nathan, the stair guy,  provided a bid for glass railings on the stairs.
  

Aloha Friday, April 23, 2004

• The hanging of drywall is complete. As you can see from the latest couple of pictures, this is a debris-laden process. The "scrappers" came today, though, and really cleaned the joint up.

• Metal bead is being installed on the drywall corners.

• Herb's crew dry walled the interior of the dumbwaiter shaft and added framing to support the tracks that guide and support the dumbwaiter cab. The machine will be installed following mud and tape efforts.

• I think Yellow freight found the  last piece of the green house.
  

Tuesday, April 20, 2004

• The hanging of drywall continues. As of Tuesday PM, it looks like they've got about another day before they start the mud and tape process. More pix.

• The bridge landing block work was grouted and the location for ledger bolts on the landing were marked. These bolts will hold the bridge trusses to the landing. Also, most of the extra course on the drive wall was grouted, but looks like they ran out of material.

• Smokey added control wiring for the dumbwaiter.

• Our bar stools are ready ship (from Albuquerque).
  

Monday, April 19, 2004

• The drywall crew arrived at 7:00 AM and by the time I arrived at 9:00, they had about half of the lower level done! I met with the supervisor and we speced out the spacing at the base of the drywall to accommodate the wood flooring overrun/interface.

• Insulation crew is wrapping up their work. They were slowed a bit by a failure of the shredding machine.

• We've got a couple of small framing issues to resolve. The ceiling over the base of the lower stairs (where we added a glum lam a couple of weeks ago) needs to be dropped the match the rest of the ceiling height and there's a little framing that needs to be done to hide one of the new steel supports for the stairs.

• The insulation crew worked until 6:00 PM on Saturday (until they ran out of material).  They've got just a small area in the master bath, the dumb waiter shaft and the powder room (sound insulation) to finish.

• On Sunday, Laurel and I secured all the control wiring and pulled speaker pre-wiring out from behind insulation batting (yuk).

• Drywall was delivered on Saturday. They left it at the top of the hill--they didn't bring the equipment to get it down the drive. They tried with a forklift, but it got stuck and had to be pulled out with a truck & chain.
  

Thursday, April 15, 2004

• Per schedule (now there's an unusual phrase), the insulation guys showed up a packed all the overhead areas with fiberglass batting. R18 between interior floors, R30 in the garage ceiling and R38 in all upper level ceilings. On Friday or Saturday, they'll do the walls with a sprayed cellulous product. With 2x8 exterior framing, we should end up with an R30 insulating factor in the walls.

• Plumbers covered all open items except they only put one evaporative cooler water connection on the roof. We've got two units up there; one for the lanai and one for the green house.

• I updated a boatload of photos, including a few that go back to the footings.
  

Wednesday, April 14, 2004

• It's not easy getting green, but we finally made it. The really good news is that other than a dumbwaiter inspection, this is our last interaction with the fine folks at Development Services until the final inspection and issuance of COO. Pictures

• Insulation should start tomorrow.

• I'm meeting with the landscape designer tomorrow to review what's he's proposing.

• Smokie's scheduled to wire the call buttons for the dumbwaiter tomorrow.

• Randy's doing a little final clean up and tie down on the structured wiring.

• Chip, the block guy, seems to have gone AWOL.
  

Tuesday, April 13, 2004

• Mike finally acquired an elevator permit for the dumbwaiter. Nice to know that Delaney and Brett will get to ride in a properly permitted lift.

• Re-inspection is scheduled for Wednesday. Let us all keep our fingers crossed.
  

Monday, April 12, 2004

• Mike's made two trips to the city to pull a permit for the dumbwaiter, but the guy who originally reviewed our plans has been away on holiday :(

• Herb tore up the exterior roof deck stairs so the water sealer guy can come back and install a self-flanging drain. It a kind that's not suppose to leak--good plan. The original one installed by the plumbers had no support for the drain body and was a guaranteed problem. Herb also added some bracing to the new steel stair support columns.

• In preparation for dry walling (how's that for optimism), I moved the interior camera to return air plenum in the dining room. The cable comes through duct work on the roof and in this location, it should be safe from just about everything.

• Since we don't have an elevator permit and the stairs need one more metal support pad on the second level, we can't reschedule the inspection until Wednesday which means we can't start insulating until at least Thursday. The beat goes on.
  

Aloha Friday, April  9, 2004

• Turns out that we do need an elevator permit for the dumbwaiter. It's suppose to issued on Monday.

• Most of the plumbing and electrical corrections have been made. The electricians still need to tie all the ground wires together.

• Bridge work and doors will not be required for the pre-drywall inspection.

• The additional fire stopping and tie down bolts have been installed.

• Herb's crew finished the changes to the kitchenette soffit.

• The main stair case was the focus of a considerable amount of engineering scrutiny.  After a lengthy review and onsite design process, it was decided to add steel support columns, recessed in the wall, from the lower level floor, to support both landings. Also, steel plates will be added to the 2nd floor and roof deck landings to distribute the stair stringer load.  Finally, the stringers on the lower level will be bolted to the concrete floor.

• The green house has been shipped.

• Laurel and I went and looked at more granite and then, with a small rain shower between us and the setting sun, we did sunset cocktails on the roof deck. We keep wondering if we'll ever tire of the view.
  

Wednesday, April 7, 2004

• Finishing touches on the steel stairs continues.

• The pre-drywall inspection found a few issues--I believe 13 was the count. A few of the items were simply strange. One example is that the inspector wanted all exterior doors in place or to have the structure weather tight. Why? Also, they wanted the bridge in place. Go figure. Other items dealt with pressure testing the drain plumbing (a temporary test plug had leaked), a few electrical trim-outs, smoke detector locations, additional fire stopping in the dead space between floors (can't be greater than 1000 sq. ft.), garage wall tie down bolts (again), one line electrical drawings (they were available on site), truss calculations and the bozos want an elevator permit for the dumbwaiter.

• Went to pick out granite slabs on Tuesday, but the vendor was doing inventory and their stock on hand was pretty light. Trying a different vendor on Friday.
  

Sunday, April 4, 2004

• The gas pipe was installed on Friday, but they missed the connection to the outdoor grill.

• The wall steel (upper section) has been green tagged.

• Laurel yelled at me for putting a volume control box smack dab in the middle of the dining room wall, so in the name of family harmony, I guess I'll move that guy.

• Had a little on-site get-together with the ol' Ann Arbor gang on Saturday night. Great fun!
  

Thursday, April 1, 2004

• We've decided to completely change the decor plan for the house and we'll now be going with a Southern Colonial theme. Pictures of the new column design for the bridge, Juliet balcony, carriage portico and lanais (now called verandas) can be found at here.

• Things got a little wet today. While pressure testing the sewer PVC, a cap blew off and we dumped a bit of water in the office and garage. Also, leaks were found in the #2 bath drain (a fitting very close to the surface of the slab got hit by a nail) and roof deck stair drain. Better to find them now than after we drywall.

• We have to move an outlet on the roof deck because the placement of the sink backsplash (stainless steel) would overlay it.

• We just received a geologic report on the property and it seems sitting directly over a fairly large crude oil field.

• Ordered a tambour door to cover a pass-thru between the pantry and the kitchen. This will be located to the south of the refrigerator, but to make it work, we're going to have to move an outlet and a stud. A little work, but it'll make the pantry-kitchen interface a whole lot more efficient.

• We found an aluminum trim product that should provide a nice finish for the drywall at the floor level.

• Happy April 1st.
  

Wednesday, March 31, 2004

• Met with the electrician to walk the site and review the wiring. Decided to install low voltage lights above the stair landings, do a little final fixture placement and move a switch or two. In this area, we're in pretty good shape.

• The plumbers are working on the floor drains, moving the roof deck plumbing, and installing the main water line from the house entrance to the equipment room.

• Finalized plans for door swings (i.e. left, right, in, out).

• The block work on the bridge landing got red tagged because plans were not available.

• Drywall trim was installed around the kitchen door.

• The stair tower window trim was installed on Monday.
  

Sunday, March 29, 2004

• Purchased the faucets for the the kitchenette, roof deck and green house on Saturday. To get a little budget relief, these guys came from Costco.

• We wrapped the wire audit today. Have to add speaker wire to the #2 bath and we had to repair some control wiring that the plumbers tore up while installing the roof deck stair drain.

• Speaking of plumbers, it looks like they punched a hole in the sealed roof deck. Ooops!

• Laurel's been having a hard time finding a base for the vessel sink in the powder room, so we decided to build one. To get a better feeling for how the design would look, I build a mock-up.

• The glass on the stair tower windows was installed today (Sunday!). It's put in in 3 sections per 19 foot window. It still needs sealing and trim.

• The driveway retaining wall has been raised a course.
  

Thursday, March 25, 2004

• Nathan's crew finished up the basic stair structure today and it looks way cool. There's still quite a bit of cosmetic and touch-up work to do. To celebrate the "Stairway to the Stars", Laurel and I had a little impromptu Thursday night happy hour on the roof deck.

• Cable TV connection from the street to the service entrance was completed. Installers had to trench across the street to get to a working cable feed.

• No plumbers today.
  

Wednesday, March 24, 2004

• Nathan's crew is continuing to rebuild the stairs. Today, the upper landing and the stair span from the 2nd floor to that landing were installed. This part of the project is finally taking on the look that we've wanted. Way cool!

• Chip and his block layers are installing the front entryway retaining wall and preparing to add one more course to the drive retaining wall--will that sucker ever be done?

• Still waiting for the plumbing fairies to come in the dead of night and wrap up the plumbing rough-in.
  

Sunday, March 21, 2004

• Yes, it's taken a bit of time, but I think we've finally wrapped up the low voltage wiring. As the sun was setting, we installed a run of cable in the ceiling of the upper lanai to support future low voltage lighting (Nightscaping Starliters, just like we had in our Scottsdale house). Prior to that, we'd spent the day installing the cable entry paths to the equipment room, adding one missing video run to the dining room and an audio run to the office and auditing the installation labeling and documentation.
  

Aloha Friday, March 19, 2004

• Only real action today was the installation of the butt glass window in the kitchen. Looks fantastic!

• Finalized the spec for the jet tub (60" x 42" x 20" in American Standard Silver).

• Laurel and Randy went to Expo, dumped a boatload of Kala on the master bath plumbing fixture order and then headed over to Flo's for a couple of adult beverages and a short session of "think we'll ever move in...".
  

Thursday, March 18, 2004

• Nathan's crew is continuing to rebuild the stairs. The 1st of 4 runs has been installed and the lower intermediate landing now has it's sweep step added.

• The stucco crew got all of the metal trim pieces installed, but missed the ones in the shade boxes over the windows.

• The bridge footing has been poured. Block work is suppose to be done tomorrow. This block work will include the mailbox kiosk.

• The plumbers showed up on Tuesday, plumbed copper water pipes to the kitchen and the master shower, but ignored Mikes directions. Rumor has it they'll be at the house on Friday to start the re-dos.
  

Monday, March 15, 2004

• Nathan's crew started rebuilding the stair landings. They now have room to accommodate the drywall and they've been repositioned to match with the new stair dimensions.

• The stucco crew is finishing the installation of corner pieces.

• Wrapped up speaker wiring and cleanups in the office.

• Steel for the bridge landing has been green tagged. The footings should be poured tomorrow.
  

Sunday, March 14, 2004

• On Friday, Herb's guys extended the 2nd floor stairwell opening so that it now aligns with the opening at the roof deck level. This will allows both stair runs to be identical. Another Glue-lam!

• We ordered 6 bar stools at the Scottsdale Art Fair on Sunday. Four go to the bar and two go with the raised kitchen island area. Have a look. Have a look.

• Did more speaker wiring and trimming on Sunday. This is really my life's work.

• Waiting for the stucco prep to be completed. I think that scaffolding is becoming a permanent part of the structure.

• Waiting for the plumber.

• Waiting for the electrician.

• Waiting for the steel in the bridge landing to be re-inspected.

• Waiting for door bids.
  

Tuesday, March 9, 2004

• Excavating for the bridge landing was done today. Tomorrow they should pour footings and start work on the center support for the bridge.

• Tough day in "on-the-fly design" land. After some rather serious discussions, Nathan, Mike, Herb and Randy managed to agree on a workable stair structure design. We're adding one step to the landings, shortening the tread depth to about 10" (the run) and increasing the rise from 7" to 7-5/8". This stair stuff is tricky. Also, Herb will be adding a glue-lam--yes, another one-- to the second floor stair opening that will make the second floor opening match the roof deck opening. This will allow us to use the same stair design for the 1st to 2nd floor run and the 2nd to roof deck run. That's what I wanted all along.

• Rather than move 3 of the 4 sliding doors, we've decided to use aluminum trim molding to interface with the drywall. This will be a whole lot less work.

• Stucco guys added foam and lath to the ceiling under the garage over-hang. Work on the lath and corner bead continues. Seems like this stuff has been going on forever.

• Central high-level audio wiring is complete. All that's left is a little local speak wiring and we should be pau. Only caveat to that statement is that I might run two more RG-6 coax cables to the roof (back-up) and a security camera run to the south stair base.

• Interesting things going on at Justin's pool today. Film at 11.
  

Sunday, March 7, 2004

• Pulled the ground for the satellite dishes today. This is #6 bare copper from the roof deck to the electrical entrance area in the southeast corner of the garage.

• Fixed the speaker feed to the roof and added lighting control wire to the roof. These activities, along with the ground pull meant that Laurel got to make not 1, not 2, but 3 trips to the roof.

• Stucco workers continued their preparation activity today. I guess they were making up for the rain days.

• Still no word on the stairs. BIG issue.

• Laurel spent a ton of time sweeping and cleaning. Doesn't seem like we should have to clean up after the trades, but the place was a real dump--trash all over the place.

• The plumber has the parts he needs to complete the rough-in. He should be on site on Monday or Tuesday.
  

Thursday, March 4, 2004

• In the last log entry, I said we had "running water." Today, we really had running water! Glendon, our landscape contractor was cleaning up the trench work next to the sidewalk when his tractor hit an unmarked water tap. It took about a half hour for the City to get onsite  to cap the thing off and during the wait, Mike, Glendon and couple of his helpers did their best to divert the gushing column of water away from the lot. In Phoenix, this would have been nice work on one of those 90 degree days. Unfortunately, it was 50° and raining.  Another unfortunate thing is that I didn't get any pictures of the real action. Here are the pictures I have.

• Rained caused a delay in wrapping up the stucco prep.

• The pipe for an under-counter sweeper "slurper"  has been installed.

• Still no action on the stair issue.:(

• Plumber is waiting on parts from his supplier.
  

Tuesday, March 2, 2004

• We have running water! Only at the hose bib, but the line to the water meter has been installed. Pix to follow. This work is scheduled for inspection on Wednesday.

• Did some clean up and trimming on the structured wiring. In the process, I discovered that speaker cable home runs that I thought had been pulled with 2-pair were actually run with 1-pair cable. With a little re-routing, the recovery shouldn't be too painful.

• Laurel's laying out closet organizers.
  

Monday, March 1, 2004

• We've run into some rather big concerns with the stairs. As currently installed, there's no room for drywall behind the landings or beside the north wall stringer; there are spacing problems with one of the risers and it looks like the stringer from the second level to the second landing will end up in the middle of the living room. :(

• Met with the landscaper today to discuss vegetation plans. It'll be nice to get something growing on the hill.  We're planning for a low-maintenance, xeriscaped (low water requirement) environment.

• Added another two loops to the Advanced Lighting Control system. This is turning into my life's work.

• The connection from the water meter to the entrance should be installed on Tuesday.

• Met with the stucco contractor to discuss finishing details for the exterior.

• What did I do for a life before this house???
  

Aloha Friday, February 27, 2004

• Stucco guys continue to add foam and lathe. They still need to define the pop-out details to the top of the stair tower and the over the entry.

• The frame for the butt glass window in the kitchen has been removed for repair.

• Nathan and crew are working on installing the second stair landing. They've been fighting welding equipment problems.

• Burt the trash guy made a much-needed visit and hauled away that enormous pile of construction rubble that was visible in the lower left corner of the live picture.
  

Wednesday, February 25, 2004

• Hale Nani is looking more like Hale Ke`o (White House).

• Mike discovered a little problem with the sliding doors. Other than the big one in the great room, they were installed so they don't provide a stopping point for the drywall. The same is true for the plate glass windows. Repairs are on the schedule.

• Laurel found a problem with the staircase. The top-most tread at the 2nd floor is short and doesn't provide for finishing drywall behind it. Nathan, the stair guy, will make the necessary changes following the completion of the run from the 2nd floor to the roof deck.

• Most plumbing and electrical fixtures have been ordered.

• Finished the rough structured wiring over the weekend--well over a mile of cable. Started the wiring of the central control loops for the lights. This will allow us to control selected lighting circuits from a computer.

• I've updated a bunch of the sections on the photos and added a couple of new sections. See Roof Trusses, Front Ret. Wall, HVAC, Stucco, Stairs, Electrical wiring, Structured Wiring

• Changed our mind on the Jet tub again! This time it's back to the 5 foot model.

• We finally have cabinets on order. Natural solid maple doors. They're quite beautiful.
  

Aloha Friday, February 20, 2004

• I've been a little neglectful of my blog duties of late. Trying to get caught up from a couple of weeks in Hawaii has not been easy.

• The frames for the plate-glass windows were installed on Thursday. That includes the butted affair in the kitchen and the three 19-footers in the tower.

• We've found a jet tub that'll fit in the space we have. It's a 66"x42" model and should work just fine. We were trying to get a 72" model in there, but it would have taken a whole bunch of wall and plumbing moving to get it installed.

• Wood for the floors has been put on order.

• Nathan finished the second of four runs for the main stairs.

• I think we've finally gotten the cabinet designs the way we want them. Production will take 4-6 weeks.

• The goal for this weekend is to complete the structured wiring--hopefully without another trip to the emergency room. On that front, Laurel's foot is healing. She off the crutches, has to wear an "air splint" to reduce lateral movement, can't do aerobics for 2-4 weeks and she tells me she's not allowed to operate a vacuum for 4 years.
  

Monday, February 16, 2004

• Now that the place is mostly covered with white Styrofoam, it looks even bigger.

• Laurel and I were wrapping up the structured wiring on Sunday and we ended up in the emergency room. She jumped to grab a cable, came down on a little debris on the floor, and severely twisted an ankle.

• Plumbing fixture selection has been finalized.

• Wood for the great room, dining room and kitchen has been ordered.

• Utilities should be installed this week.
  

Wednesday, February 11, 2004

• The 16 foot door in the great room was installed. It looks fantastic.

• Central vacuum system tubing and the wiring for the security system have been installed.

• Installation of scaffolding for the stucco crew continues.

• Rough electrical wiring is all wrapped up.

• The first half of the lower staircase is in place. Three more sections and we can get to the roof deck.

• It was great to be able to take 12 days off from this project, but now it's time to get back to work and Laurel and I are ready to have at it.
  

Saturday, February 7, 2004

• Cat's away, mice are playing? I have no idea what's going on at the house.

• Randy and Laurel are finalizing picks for plumbing fixtures, doors and cabinets.
  

Thursday, February 5, 2004

• According to Mike, stair construction is in progress.

• Stucco crew is setting up scaffolding for stucco lath installation.

• Randy's drawing a design for the front door.
  

Monday, February 2, 2004

• The dumbwaiter arrived on Wednesday. It's a good sized crate. Mike used his pickup to shuttle the device from the delivery truck to the garage.

• The electricians are pretty much wrapped up with the rough-in work. A pair of 200-amp panels are loaded up.

• Structured wiring (audio/data/etc.) is about 70% complete.

• The roof vents and the first layer of the foam roof was added on Wednesday.

• We should start installing the lath for stuccoing this week.

• Things have been going so well, Laurel and I decided to dash over to the condo for a couple of weeks. I'm sure things will proceed much more quickly, now that I'm not getting in the way of the construction crews.
  

Tuesday, January 26, 2004

• The electricians installed the service entrance and breaker panels today--400 amps worth. The rough-in for a future hot tub has been installed. Most of the can lights and junction boxes have been installed.

• Randy, along with helpers Laurel and Doug, continues to install the structured wiring. Huge job.

• Met C & S cabinet folks on-site and measured all the cabinet spaces. Looks like we may have to adjust the dimensions on the island in the kitchen to make for easy access.
  

Monday, January 26, 2004

• The electricians are back at it, today. Whit the exception of the roof deck, they've got most of the rough-in done.

• I'm meeting a cabinet vendor on-site today to do measurements and discuss option.
  

Sunday, January 25, 2004

• Laurel and I spent yesterday and today installing structured wiring. This provides support for data, Cable and Satellite TV, phones, central audio and a few other home automation things. What a job! In total, we're pulling a little over a mile of RG6 coax and Cat5e cable. To add to the fun, it's raining and cold. Since the roof's not on yet, the whole joint's dripping.

• Installed cable from the wind/sun sensors for the shade system to the control panels in the equipment room.
  

Thursday, January 22, 2004

• Smokey, the electrician, is working on the second floor wiring. There's a boat load of wire in this joint.

• HVAC guys installed the flashing for the range vent.

• Herb's crew came and framed the box beam that will interface to the summit of the greenhouse. They also changed the picture window framing from the 7070 size that was on the plans to 7068--it's the biggest size we could get.

• Looks like we've got some water (it's been raining) standing on the east end of the lanai. I assume the tile guys will fix this.

• We got a hot deal on the light fixture for the foyer. The manufacture still makes the fixture we want, but they've changed the finish on the current production and it's really ugly. Bought the demo model off the floor and got a hot deal. With the change in the dollar/euro exchange rate, fixture prices have gone way up. Most of our light fixtures are Italian.

• Revised tile and plumbing fixture rates have been sent to Mike.

• I went to me the wood floor guy today, but he was a no-show.

• Solar tube guys were suppose to install flashing, but they were no-shows.

• Roofing guys are up next.
  

Monday, January 19, 2004

• The roof deck, greenhouse, entryway and Juliet balcony got waterproofed on Saturday and they finished the lanai and stairs on Sunday.

• Spent most of Saturday picking out light fixtures. Yup! Way over budget again.

• Met with Smokey, the electrician this morning and they're working away getting the place wired.

• Met with Herb and Mike to go over a few framing, plumbing and other miscellaneous details.
  
  

Thursday, January 15, 2004

• The flashing seams and cracks/voids on the deck surfaces that will be sealed have been prepared using a reinforcing tape and a solvent-based mastic. The coating will be applied on Friday. It needs to cure for 3 days, so no Friday night cocktails on the upper lanai. [Pictures]

• Laurel's working on trying to manage the flooring selections.

• I provided the contractor with a door schedule.
  

Sunday, January 11, 2004

• This plumbing fixture thing is turning into quite a challenge. We either have to use fixtures sold by the plumbers favorite distributor or go buy them ourselves. With the first proposal coming in at 3x budget, we had to do something. I think we may have it down to a list that' maybe only 2 x allowance.

• Flashing has been installed on the decks to support waterproofing.

• Solar tube flashings should be installed tomorrow.
  

Sunday, January 11, 2004

• Spent a good 4 hours installing 70+ feet of schedule 40 PVC to support a drip irrigation system for potted plants located at each of the columns on the upper lanai. After the 100+ trips up and down the ladder and working over my head for most of the time, something tells me my upper body's going to be a little sore tomorrow. Good thing I don't do this kind of stuff for a living.

• Laurel spent most of today looking at alternatives for our  plumbing supply budget dilemma. Suffice it to say that the bull has been taken by the horns and prisoners will not be taken.

• It has occurred to me that this little web log is a bit cathartic.

• The 7066 picture window in the great room didn't get installed because the the framing size didn't get adjust. Plan shows a 7070, but we could get one that big.
  

Saturday, January 10, 2004

• The window installation started yesterday and is continuing today (working on a Saturday). The mill finish looks great and I think it'll really work with the dark exterior.

• Herb's framing crew had to add an extra layer of plywood to the lanai, greenhouse and roof deck. The original layer has been rained on about 3 times and it was checking and splitting badly. Hopefully they'll get the waterproofing down before this layer gets corrupted. We went for a period of over 8 months without rain, but once we got the deck down, it rained 3 times. Bummer Karma.

• Meeting the sun shade guy onsite on Monday to discuss switch placement and control wiring.

• At the home show, I think we found a hot tub we might want to put down on the southwest or northwest corner of the property. It's small, nice looking and basically portable. We also talked to the guy who will be installing solar light tubes in the MBR closet, pantry and powder room. There's been a little on-going discussion about pre-roof vs. post-roof installation. I think we got a couple of question answered. Big news was that we got out of the place with Laurel buying a Microfiber mop or me buying a glass cutter (we've both already been sucked into those pitches).
  

Friday, January 9, 2004

• Framers are adding a little overhang to the south parapet just above the stairs.

• We've gotten another wood flooring bid. This one's a little closer to what we need. We'll see if it works out.

• Copper plumbing continues.

• We're going to another "Home" show today. I think we've been to about a thousand of these things.
  

Monday, January 5, 2004

• I met with another wood flooring vendor today, trying to get this floor thing "nailed down."

• We got the bid on the plumbing fixtures tonight. Quite a chunk over budget.

• The plumbers have started installing the copper and are wrapping up the ABS pipe installation.

• Tried to get the irrigation pipes installed in the upper lanai columns on Sunday, but my saw tripped the breaker on our neighbor outdoor outlet. Off to rent a generator.
  

Saturday, January 3, 2004

• We met with Mike on Friday to discuss the status of the project.

• Still trying to get the deck tile put on hold for the lanai and roof deck. This shouldn't be that hard.

• Laurel's painting Plexiglas panel art work for the new house.
  

Prior Journals