Status - Construction Project 1

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924 West Oregon

Date last updated 12/20/2011

Footings and foundations                          Compplete

Framing, sheathing, house wrap                    Complete

Shingling                                         Completed

Windows and exterior doors                        Completed

Exterior cladding                                 Completed

Porches, walks, driveway                          Completed

Rough electrical, plumbing, heating               Completed

Insulation                                        Completed

Drywall                                           Completed

Interior finish                                   Started

Kitchen cabinets and countertops                  Started

Kitchen and bath                                  Started

Finish mechanical, electrical, plumbing           Started

Flooring                                          not started

Landscaping and cleanup                           not started

Report Made on January 21

At 924 we added finish jambs to the bypass and bifold door openings, and added some other trim. All but two interior swinging doors are in place. I found that the curb flow line monument in the center of the lot had snapped off cleanly when Hank hit it with his backhoe, the lower portion remaining firmly embedded in the hard ground. The top portion can be fitted back in place to recover the elevation if needed. Another win for my metal detector. The footing trench for the retaining wall looks good, when Bill Corley and crew return from Mexico we’ll lay out the wall and order material when we have a start date. I have a call in to Mike Brown, Hard time Construction, to do the curb and concrete flatwork, prior to the stucco color coat.

Report Made on January 15

Thanks to the efforts of Janet and her friend Mike the drywall priming was completed with our airless sprayer; used almost 20 gallons including some leftover paint (15 gallons purchased). 2 filters had to be replaced; Mike suggests leaving them disassembled during storage so trapped moisture will not cause corrosion. We purchased the interior prehung doors and some millwork, stored in the locked garage, and expect to start installation the coming flex Friday weekend. Sam Woodman has lined up a crew of high school kids for work at the warehouse site that same weekend; they can do cleanup and organization at the warehouse or further demolition of the remaining block walls if the appropriate people are free to supervise. I’ll call for utility marking for curb and gutter, sewer connection, and footing excavation for the rear retaining wall. As well as the Wagner airless sprayer we have been using, there is a second unit in the sea container; does anyone know its source and status? The Kingston oak vanity cabinets purchased at a closeout discount previously are in the warehouse. At long last I believe we have established communication with Matt, our architect at the Plan Store, who E-mailed me just before I lost E-mail and later Web access that the title 24 energy calculations for both 920 and 924 W. Oregon “have been “uploaded to Cal CERTS”. Earlier he had E-mailed those for 920 only. Ridgenet was down from mid day Friday till about noon today. Our HERS rater Craig Miller should be able to take it from here; the contact information I had been using, from the plans, was outdated. A dragon finally slain... Another issue is the furnace at the blitz build home which I gather has a blower problem. It is a bit less than 4 years into a 5 year warranty; the owner will contact Chuck Griffin who was the general contractor for a repair. This raises concern that if the furnaces that I have installed in following homes experience in-warranty failures that the manufacturer may void the warranty as I am not a certified installer; the first question asked when the homeowner called for warranty information was “who was the installer”. Presumably PVC Plumbing and Mechanical, who installed it, is. I previously spoke to Century Glass regarding retrofit vinyl windows for 907 W. Oregon which are a practical solution that I was told we can install ourselves without stucco or drywall patching; discussions are ongoing with the plan to do the work in spring after completing 924.

Report Made on January 11

Bill Fruend has finished the drywall; texture is fully dry and in good order. Desert Garage Door has completed their installation of the almond color insulated door. Unfortunately I spotted the first hint of minor vandalism; some scrawling on the east garage door jamb. My thought is to paint the jambs to match the door just before final, which will cover it up. For Saturday and the calendar we can clean up the floors and discard waste from taping and mudding (before Saturday is fine for this), and prime the drywall with PVA primer, hopefully using our airless sprayer. Timber should be available. The following flex Friday weekend we can start interior finish carpentry.

Report Mde on January 4

Checking the site this afternoon after tagging Morris Peak I found that the stucco base coat has been completed and the drywallers have finished the second coat of mud in the house. They said they will spray texture the interior and fire tape the garage and water heater closet tomorrow. If they do so and given the warm dry weather we should be able to spray the interior drywall with PVA primer Friday, at least the walls adjacent to openings, to allow starting finish carpentry Saturday. I will be out of town tomorrow, and plan to take off the finish material Friday morning and buy at least the doors, jambs, and casing with some help loading and unloading. I’ll check with Desert Garage Door for garage door installation.

Report Made on December 29

Our drywall fastening was signed off Tuesday. I received a bid from Newman’s drywall service yesterday which was substantially higher than the $2200 from Freund’s; I told Freund’s to go ahead, he will start “next week”. Bowling Brothers plastering will start the stucco base coat Monday. I’ll check with Desert Garage Door Monday to see when they can install the garage door. This Saturday we need to remove and dispose of the scrap drywall (feel free to take some), keeping a few pieces for patching, especially 5/8”, and clean up. Also another coat of exterior paint on the exterior trim and doors. I plan to try to locate the sewer connection, and lay out the retaining wall footing trench, to soon bring in Hank’s backhoe service. Once the sewer connection is made we can have the concrete flatwork, sidewalk,curb and gutter done before stucco color coat. No hurry, the base coat should cure for several weeks. We can start finish carpentry after the drywall texture has dried for several days.

Report Made on December 26

Kitchen cabinets, kitchen and bath, and finish plumbing, mechanical, and electrical have not been started. These all start after mud, tape, and spray, and are competed following finish carpentry (doors and trim) and painting. Earlier operations listed are OK. I have called for drywall inspection tomorrow Tuesday, prior to mud and tape, which probably will start after the first of the year.

Report Made On December 18

We completed the drywall hanging and much of the fastening. With 3-4 people Friday we should complete it. A careful check for protruding fasteners needs to be made. Still no bid from the remaining 2 drywall contractors for mud, tape, and spray. Desert Garage Door cannot install a garage door until the first of the year.

Report Made On Saturday, December 17

Thanks to Bill Corley and his great crew we hung almost all the drywall at 924 W. Oregon today. Only a couple of wall pieces remain; only because we goofed on a couple of panels and had to scrap them. I'll buy 2 more 8 foot sheets Monday along with a box of drywall screws; there is a lot of fastening to be done. We set up the new drywall hoist with no problem but did not need it. Janet’s friends quoted $1500 labor only to mud and tape, if we placed the corner bead. Getting this on straight is not trivial, and adding the cost for materials and bringing in a drywall contractor to texture makes this not a good deal vs. $2200 from Fuente's for the complete job. I have not received bids from Flynn's or Newman's drywall service for the complete job. It may be possible to complete the last bit of hanging and have Desert Garage Door install the garage door to secure the building before Christmas.

Report Made On Friday, December 9

Stucco lath and insulation went in as scheduled, and were signed off by the city this morning after a very brief inspection. Bowling brothers plastering did a nice job of lathing, fastening the bottom edge metal tightly so no sealing was necessary. They have not yet placed corner bead. Broken Drum had missed insulating the area around the water heater compartment door but we had material to quickly complete it. We received a partial delivery of 39 4 X 12 foot sheets of drywall from High desert Home Center, where I rented a drywall lift for today and Saturday. Starting mid morning we were like the Keystone Cops at first but got into the routine and completed the ceiling in the living room, dinette, and kitchen. Contrary to en earlier E-mail we did not hang the first sheet upside down; it had been placed on the lift upside down but was turned over. Yes, white side down. The lift I bought should arrive before next Saturday when hopefully Bill Corley’s crew can assist, as should the balance of the drywall. High Desert prices it below Home Depot, and are selling it like hot cakes not keeping much on hand. There were some goofs with the crew at 920, blue board hung in bathroom ceilings, a no-no, walls hung before ceiling in one bedroom, and board pieced around door openings with joints at corners, prone to cracking. We should be able to work together to avoid these at 924......

Report Made On Sunday, December 4

I went out early afternoon to remove the temporary OSB strips securing the flashing from wind damage, tape the nail holes, and put a temporary lock set on the water heater compartment door. John Walsh came by to help. Bowling Brothers plastering is set to start lathing at 7;30 tomorrow morning. The latest weather is calling for more wind beginning early AM- rats. Cross your fingers that it stays below 15 knots or so to allow completion in a day or two. Attached are pix taken early afternoon.

Report Made On Saturday, November 12

The rough electrical was nearly completed; only a few hours work next Saturday remain. A last bit of insulation was added to the water plumbing. Unfortunately the test pressure which had held steady through the day Friday at 70 PSI had dropped to 55 PSI overnight, too much for temperature, indicating a small new leak which will be very difficult to find now with the insulation in place. Not the pix of Roland the electrician.....