Finally

It has finally happened, I have moved into the new house.  I have not posted recently because the last few weeks were so intense with setbacks and challenges that I just did not have the wits to write about it till now.  You'd think that the very end would be just tending to little details but not so.  Just getting the electrical power connected was a major headache not to mention dealing with the inspectors for the final certificate of occupancy. 
Moving from 1600sf to 900sf is also an interesting endeavor.  I am having to part ways with a lot of things I had become attached to, stuff I do not need but attached all the same.
Today Jerry came over and did some final grading so now I am free to do more landscaping and try to get some grass planted. 

So here I am.  Living the dream in Pisgah Forest.

One Step Forward Two Back

Obviously an old photo but the outside has not changed much since then

Damn!  I had my final inspection for Certificate of Occupancy yesterday and was sure I was going to get by with one or two minor things.  Since Mercury is in retrograde, Mars is in Aries and Uranus up to something I have now a list of seven more tasks to complete in addition to my already long punch list.  Completion is now two weeks further away than before.  Some of the items are small like insulate the exposed pipes under the house but I also have to beef up the bridge structure by adding two more columns, close in the exposed floor joists under the house and close in the basement since my now fired electrician did not put in the proper type of outdoor panel.  It's frustrating to be almost finish and then have some bureaucrat come in and tell you what you have to do be in compliance to some code.

Future site of wood stove

On the positive side, I got the cable handrails that I had been dreaming of since inception of the project and all (well, almost all) of the tile work is done.  Electrical and plumbing are complete so now I can turn on lights, run fans, cook on my gas stove and even pee in an indoor toilet.  What a luxury!  Spending the night there (illegally of course as code does not allow it until Cert. of Occupancy is issued) is becoming more and more comfortable.  I even have a washer, dryer and refrigerator now.
The be in by Christmas fantasy turned into New Years which turned into early spring in time for me March birthday which turned into mid April.  Now a quick trip to SF next week puts me at May 15th at the earliest.  It's not that I need to be in by a certain date, I am just missing getting my hands in the garden.

So close yet so far

It's difficult to put things into perspective right now.  It's like that "so close yet so far" saying.  It looks like I am almost finished but there are so many things that need to get done before more things can get done.  As you can see from the photos below, the cabinets and concrete countertops are in.  Some of the ceramic tile is in but the plumber can't set the toilet and the bath cabinet can't be installed until the tile is grouted. The tile can't be grouted until I finish the tile.  I want to finish the tile but need to rent the tile saw again.  There is no use in doing that until I am ready to also cut the pieces of tile for the kitchen backsplash but I can't do that until the new electrician installs the additional electrical outlets that were left out by the old electrician that I just fired.
Yes, I had to fire my old electrician, the one with the bad attitude and lack of knowledge of electrical code.  After getting fed up with his bad attitude and suspecting that his work was not up to par, I had another electrician come in to look at the job.  He immediately found a list of ten things that were not done to code.  For instance, no smoke detector on the first floor, no receptacle on the island or in the laundry room etc.  There is also no recepticle to plug in the washing machine in the laundry room.  When I asked him why he told me that it is because I said I was using a "stacked" washer and dryer and not a "stackable" washer and dryer.  He said most people make that mistake but I guess he did not think it was important to make that distinction earlier.  I was also informed that any changes made from the original bid would be extra.  So for example, when I asked him to delete the recessed can lights and just put in a track light that is an extra.  I get no credit for deleting the three can lights, I only get charged extra for the track lights.  No credits are forthcoming on the original bid and all changes will billed as extra.  That is how he makes his money he stated, on changes that the customer makes, regardless of whether it is more work or less work for him.
So back to the house, I have lots to do, varnishing doors, painting windows, installing moldings, stair handrails, tile work, and lots and lots of trim painting.  I am also trying to get the plumber to hook up the well and septic tank and to get the heating guy to hook up the heat pump.
I hope to be ready for my certificate of occupancy by end of April.

Warm weather

 Finally, it got warm enough to get some exterior painting done.  I've been waiting all winter to get the rest of the house painted and that week finally arrived.  Candido sent a couple of guys out this week to work on finalizing exterior painting.  The hardest decision made all week was what color to paint the brackets over the windows seen in this photo.  I voted for brown but I acquiesced to Leah's recommendation to go with the light green trim color.  I thought the brown looked more masculine but she thought they'd stand out too much.

  

Also on the agenda this week was tapping a few what we hope are Maple trees.  Since posting this and another photo on Facebook I have received a flurry of comments concerning whether this was actually a Maple and how to identify them in winter.  No sap is flowing yet but I am thinking that the weather is not quite right.  It has to be freezing at night and warmer during the day to get the sap flowing.  I am pretty sure they are Maples but I guess I won't know until Spring.  Did you know it takes eight gallons of sap to produce one quart of maple syrup?  That's a lot of sap and a lot of boiling.

I also took some time off to go to New Orleans with Leah this week.  I got to eat a lot of good food, see my son and his girlfriend.  We stopped in Ocean Springs MS to see the art of Walter Anderson and his brothers pottery shop, Shearwater pottery.  The highlight of the trip was going to the Fair grounds racetrack to bet on the ponies.  I won a few races but since I only bet $2 per race did not win much.  We did walk out with more than when we walked in though.
Now it's back to the house where interior trim is being put in.  We recently got all interior doors installed as well as stair treads.   Baseboards and door trim is almost finished, so now I have a lot of detailed painting to do.

Playing with Rocks

Jerry Henderson and Dalton came out today with their big Cat and moved some rocks around.  I hadn't planned on doing any landscaping until after I finished the house but he was out there anyway finishing up installing the sewage system.  This is the second sewage system I put in.  The first was placed way out in the pasture about two years ago when I was planning on building a house out there.  I moved the house site out near the edge of the mountain to take advantage of the view (of the pasture) and to get my back into the north mountain side.  Anyway, when I found out how much it was going to cost to run that much drain pipe out to the pasture and how complicated it was to cross the stream with a sewage line, I just bit the bullet and put in a new system.  Now I have an extra sewage system if I need it.

We had a few large rocks left over from the foundation excavation so placed them strategically next to the two entries as large stepping stones.  Jerry dug them in a bit and they look like they have been there for a thousand years.  I did make him move one twice as I changed my mind as to where I wanted it.  At $150 per hour he said he'd move it as many times as I'd like.

Later I had him knock down a couple of old half dead and diseased apple trees, install a culvert in the creek, dig up some rocks that I keep hitting with my tractor when I cut grass and fix the driveway up a bit.  Jerry also told us a number of funny stories at no extra charge.  We are still talking about raising us some hogs and maybe some sheep now.  He also promises to come run his coon dogs on my property in the spring.

 Leah is pouring us some tea in the new kitchen that Joe and I installed last week.  Joe Burkette made the pine cabinets and I got the cherry ones from Lowes.  He is now making the concrete counters for them. 

Thanks to Leah for her help picking out and picking up tile today for the bathroom and for helping me site the rocks.  These are two things we don't want to have to do twice. 

Next up is installing tile and interior doors due in tomorrow.

Details details

Now that the house is closed in the enormous amount of snow that we got did not affect us much.  We are working inside now with the temporary gas heater blowing away.

Concrete wood stove pad

I tried my hand at pouring concrete with Leah's help.  I mixed while she spread and worked it level.  This little slab of concrete is to hold the wood stove and split wood and will replicate the concrete counters in the kitchen.  It would not set since it was too cold so I left it overnight before troweling it out.  Of course it set over night so I had to apply a broom finish instead of a troweled finish.  It looks good though.

Other things that have happened recently is that all the windows are trimmed out, and I have started laying out the bamboo floors.  This weekend is the big floor nailing weekend so hopefully I'll have completed floors by Monday.  I love the stranded bamboo as it is suppose to be harder than oak, so less dings and scratches over the years.

The stranded bamboo floors

Painting is all done except for the bathroom which will come after the ceramic tile.  That also has to be selected.  Leah was a huge help in selecting colors and in applying the suede paint.


 All in all things are moving along since I have no subcontractors to blame for delays.  Now I only have myself to blame when things are not happening as fast as I would like or when things are done wrong.

Tada!  The painting is done

The Interior (and exterior)

You know, everywhere you look around here, there are rocks.  They are just laying there on the side of the road, in peoples yards and especially up in the mountains, so you'd think that rocks would be a pretty cheap commodity around here.  But, let me tell you, rocks are expensive!  After all that snow, my driveway turned into another muddy mess.  Subcontractors showing up in their vans were just slipping and sliding and getting stuck so I figured that it was time to get some more rocks for the driveway. 

I called my buddy Jerry Henderson to haul some more in.  Now, Jerry is my good buddy so he gives me a good deal.  He gets a $5 per ton discount from the quarry which is just a stones throw down the road (he-he).  So he only charges me what the quarry would charge me if I picked them up myself.  His $5 per ton is his cut.  So, you'd think that them rocks were pretty cheap but a truck load like this is a lot of tons of rocks.  And four truck loads is even more tons of rocks.  Them tons of rocks, they add up.  Jerry and I are talking about raising us some hogs together too.  Sue-eeeeee

So now, once again, anyone can visit even if you have a Toyota Prius and not fear for getting stuck.

Leah is helping me paint.  Thank-you Leah!  Painting is not a hard job but is pretty boring after a few hours of staring at a white wall.  She keeps me company as well as kicking ass as a hard worker.  Cosmo and Pearl also stand by to guard the property, keeping all those pesky squirrels and rabbits away.  I am also very grateful for Leah's cultivated sense of color and texture as I am one of those guys that can't tell green from beige. Ask Leah if you don't believe me.  She is helping me pick out great bold earthy colors for the entire house.  I am of the school that if I like a color and it's good enough for one room then it ought to be good enough for the whole house.  Leah is helping me see the error of my ways.

Here you can see us both covered in paint.

So, I guess I am not going to make my move in date of Christmas.  Even though it looks like I don't have much more to do, there is lots to do.  Painting, cabinets, doors, trim, countertops, flooring, electrical and plumbing trim out, and many other things that I cannot even forsee.  Maybe we'll have a late March housewarming/birthday party.

Next time, I'll tell you all about sewage, or is it sewerage?