Fingers Crossed

Monday, February 8

The first thing today is to call the local Code Enforcement office and bump our final inspection another week to Wednesday Feb 17, so we have time to figure out how to center the vanity and then finish up all the final details. We have a long weekend coming up to really drive the project to the end.

Next, we call the plumbers to come back and center the vanity. it turns out that the rough plumbing is correct, but when they installed the vanity, they angled the P-trap a little (about an inch, actually). So, they agree to come back and "take a look at it."

Our electrician stopped by to pick up his final payment. So, I point out to him that the wall sconces are not quite level. The good news is that there is a little play in the mounting hardware, and he is able to move one of the sconces up a little and the other down a little, so they are now level. Sweet!

Tuesday, February 9
Not too much happening today because we are planning to do the rest of the work over the long weekend.

The plumbers show up, and they are able to center the vanity in about an hour. Hopefully, there's no charge for this visit since it didn't take very long and was part of the whole "install the fixtures" part of their original quote. Either way, the vanity is centered perfectly. That could have been a lot worse.

Wednesday, February 10
Whoa that's a lot of snow! There's a blizzard warning today, and that makes for a slow start. It just feels like a "snow day"--the day off kind of snow day.

Well, apparently it's not a day off for the inspectors. At 8:30 a.m. the door bell rings, and here are the plumbing and electric inspectors. I guess somebody over at the code enforcement office didn't pass on my request to delay inspections. Anyway, they're here; so let's get to the 'spectin'. Woot! Pass and pass.

An hour later the building inspector shows up. We don't have the base boards or radiator trim in yet, so we're a little nervous... Pass!

An hour later the fire inspector is here--the one who lobbied pretty hard for us to wire the whole house with wired-in smoke detectors. He is satisfied with the new wired-in heat detector in the garage. He makes sure that the rest of the house has battery-powered smoke detectors; and thank god they all have working batteries in them! Pass!!!

Woot! We completely passed our final inspections (with a little luck)! 'Nailed it!

Must.. Finish... Bathrooom

Monday, February 1
Now that we can use the shower, our sense of urgency has started to wane. The week of Feb 1 to Feb 5 sees us both focusing on our day jobs.

Tuesday, February 2
We pull out one of the vanity drawers and take it with us to Michael's (that arts-n-crafty place that's like kryptonite to dudes) to hunt for a nice frame for the vanity mirror. Although we were willing to spend a few hundred dollars for a nice custom frame, nothing custom really matched the wood stain on the vanity. So, we grab a stock frame for $29.

Wednesday February 3
We can no longer postpone the trim that goes around the two doors in the bathroom--the closet and the entry doors. For a variety of reasons (including that we have neither a table saw nor a great deal of confidence in getting all the casing details 100% correct), we sacrifice some of our pride and call in the carpenter to finish the casing.

A little more sanding in the closet, and we are ready to prime the drywall. I think we are finally done mudding and sanding!

We schedule final inspection for Wednesday February 10. Now we really have our feet to the fire!

Thursday, February 4
That $29 dollar frame gets a piece of mirror stuck in it at the local glass shop for another $30. It turned out well and saved us some coin.

Friday, February 5
Just our day jobs...

Saturday, February 6
We have a lot to do this weekend. First off, we forgot to put silicone sealer in the shower's supply through-holes. So, we have to pull the shower off the wall, and seal it all up.

First, we need to cut the access panel in the wall behind the shower (in the closet). We dry-walled that a while ago, so I hope we remember where to cut the hole... Referring back to a photo of that wall taken before we dry-walled helps us find the right spot. Bingo, no drama.

Now we can turn off the supply to the shower and take it off the wall. I hope the supply gaskets seal up correctly, because putting that shower up was a real chore the first time, or should I say the seventh or eighth time. Fortunately, no drama ensues, and that task is done.

...And here we go again--sanded caulk. The last time we used this stuff was a pain! And we ran out of the stuff! Now that we have more, it is round two with this awful stuff. Done, and the tub alcove is done done done done done done!!! Now we have to wait 48 hours before we can use the shower again...

We whip out the wood putty and finish off the window trim. After a short break to let the putty dry, we prime all the trim, and we call it a day while the primer dries.

Sunday, February 7
Though it doesn't sound like construction, somebody has to launder all the towels we bought for the "spa-like bathroom." Sue is kind enough to volunteer for that task. Then, she heads upstairs and pulls the bathroom doors down, so we can paint them.

Jake's job is to cut the trim for the baseboards; that looks pretty straightforward, there are only about 9 pieces to measure and cut. Hold on, though, that radiator trim needs some work--another detail that has fallen into the "we can do that later" category.

I'm sure people that do construction on a daily basis would have some quick solutions, but it takes us a couple of hours to come with a design that works for us. Most radiator covers (or companies that make custom ones) that you find online are concerned with the big bulky type of radiator (and are butt-ugly and expensive). Ours is small and is recessed into the wall; we really only need a panel and a means of sticking it on the wall. Also, we are in a hurry, so we don't want to wait for shipping or some sales guy to come out.

So, we come up with a design that we can make ourselves. We make another Home Depot run and pick up about $30 worth of lumber.

Next, we cut all the baseboards and paint them and the two bath doors.

It has been a long day, but we still want to get the mirror hung. We select the height where we want it, measure the center-point between the sconces, and grab the level to make sure it will be perfectly level and centered; voila.

Hey! That's not right! The vanity is about an inch to the left of where it is supposed to be. Isn't it great how only when you put the last piece of the project in place that you discover problems! That off-center vanity sticks out like a sore thumb.

We grab the plans and measure, the sconces are right, the electrical sockets are right, the vanity is off an inch. How could this be? Are we going to have to cut open the wall and fix the rough plumbing?!? Put a fork in me; I'm done for the day...