3 Weeks Out

Everything is still going gang-busters at the house.  Visited with the PMs (that's right, 2 PMs) on Friday and was able to walk through the house.  Luckily it was dry so I was also able to walk around the exterior to take a closer look at the brick and vinyl siding.

First on the PMs.  Our original PM had a health issue and had to take a week or so off.  He's back now and hopefully feeling much better.  All of us worked out the details of how to mount a TV above the fireplace that will be covered in stone.  The solution is to mount a 2x8 to the fireplace framing and then stone around it.  This gives a nice, solid place to hang the TV bracket.  I brought the new TV mount and a template of the TV to the meeting so we could accurately locate the 2x8.  In the end it will all be hidden so no worries on missing stone.  This work is over and above what their job typically would entail so I thank them for this work.  Otherwise I'd be trying to mount a 100lb TV into a stone wall without knowing where the studs are located.

Concrete guys came out and placed the driveway and sidewalks.  They placed the concrete on a crushed rock base but I'm a little concerned about the thickness being only around 4" thick.  When we spec out residential driveways for roadway work (City, County, State) we use 6" thick minimum.

3.5" thick driveway is pretty thin

The inside of the house is looking good.  Only a few minor comments from me regarding a few drywall repairs and a few electric boxes not properly set for depth.  The PM noticed that the flooring was not extended into our kitchen work desk so they will need to come back and fix a small area.  There is still some drywall to hang and finish in the bonus room but that isn't going to hold up anything else.

Outlet sticking out of wall

Switch box set too far into wall - likely due to a twisted stud.

The tile setters were busy in the master bath and by the time we left had the bathroom entirely complete - save for a few missing tiles.  Since it was still wet I didn't go in but it looked to be very well done.  I'm a bit concerned about the tile setters using grout on the inside corners as walls can settle differently causing cracks in this location.  I had always thought caulk was better here.

Vinyl flooring was installed in the kid's bathroom and the laundry room.  My wife loves the color so I'm happy, too.

Now the exterior.  My wife is not thrilled with the color of the siding.  It matches what we picked but when you see it in larger scale and with natural light it doesn't look right to her.  Looks perfectly fine to my eye but in any case she's going to learn to love it.  In 10-15 years it will all get replaced anyway and we'll likely install the hardi-plank siding.

The brick that I thought looked good looks even better after the acid wash.  The color really pops now.  I took my time walking around the exterior and found a bunch of small things that need to be fixed before closing.  Not all wee holes were filled with anti-rodent/insect material.  Sloppy mortar work covered some of the bricks.  Trim work did not cover gaps in the brick and mortar was stopped well short of the trim.  Again, nothing horrible but things that will need to get fixed before closing.

Sloppy mortar work on face of brick

More of that sloppy mortar work

Missing weep hole fillers

Sloppy mortar work and gaps between brick and trim

Trim work on the house for the most part was installed correctly but there are some areas that need to be fixed.  We noticed a few spots where the trim wasn't flush and where it was cut short.  Again, fixable but hopefully fixed sooner rather than later.

Hope they wash the trim before they paint it

Grading around the house is about the same as it was last week.  Every time I visit I cringe at the thought of all the rocks and debris that we will be digging through when we go to plant trees or do other landscaping.  I don't think the rock-hound will get all of the rocks so we'll probably spend a few days at the build site getting out as much as we can before the final grading.  There is also a large amount of pea gravel in an area that we know will be landscaped.  We're asking to have this removed but not very hopeful we'll get the answer we want.  Again, if they don't do it we'll take care of it over a weekend.  We were told that sod will likely not be installed before we move in.  Good.  Now we can plan on having our concrete patio installed without tearing up our new lawn.

Tons of rock in the yard from the construction entrance

That pea gravel is about 12" deep

As the title says, we're about 3 weeks out from our closing.  It really is coming along quickly and we're getting excited.  We're busy shopping for things we'll need when we move in.  This weekend was perhaps the most needed purchase - a new bed from Ashley Furniture.  We've had our current bed for about 12 years and we didn't even like it 12 years ago.  Going into the store was relaxing as we were the only people there and took our time looking around.  We settled on a Sterns and Foster with a remote controlled base that can raise and lower the head and feet.  Much needed and we're looking forward to getting a restful nights sleep.

This week we're looking forward to Ryan starting on the trim, doors and cabinets.  Still a lot to do but it's going quickly.