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Aug. 8th, 2014 06:19 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
vicarzI'm still recovering from my relaxing trip to KS. Nothing reminds you that you're a homebody or that you're not actually good at your job like being exhausted from traveling on the easiest possible case in the world, which you did a mediocre job at, and a super relaxing trip from which I can't seem to sleep enough to feel rested.
House (it's a house thing) (I'll house you) (This house is our house, is our house, is our house)
Note for anyone keeping up:
Jordan: the contractor / GC doing the work
Scott: friend, Jason (realtor) 's partner, project manager / consultant (and paid as such)
Before house, I cashed out 50k in mutual funds. That feels weird. Since it was from a check, the delay in processing is 5 business days / 1 week. I did something weird, I wrote a check (50k!) to my contractor and front-dated it, telling him and (hopefully) him understanding the money is deposited but not available until that day. It would have been 44k or so, but I've upped some items.
Things about house:
1. There is a backhoe is my back yard. No reason, but we may take advantage of it. Basically he was done with it, but the renting company doesn't have a place to put it so as long as it's not in his way, it gets left where it is.
2. Some radiators were installed (with all new piping) but in the wrong spots. In fact 2 radiators on the main floor are in logical, but not my chosen, spots. Jordan agreed on all points and is moving them all. Curiously I thought copper pipes would be used as radiator pipes, but they're narrow metal pipes of type unknown, painted black. Scott who notices everything didn't seem concerned, I didn't ask.
3. Spray foam (party): Jordan suggested doing a thin layer of spray foam insulation covered with standard insulation. Spray foam is much more expensive, and previously he didn't recommend it based on the low difference in r-factor (how much it insulates). However, it's an old house and who knows what drafts there are. Besides cost, the other potential disadvantage of spray foam is if you ever have to work on the place it's kind of a pain / in the way. For $900, I said go for it - to me all the advantages of creating a seal, but at only about 1" in depth, it doesn't extend into the framing area of the wall and could really make a difference in the efficiency of the house.
4. Lights and switches: love most of the lights but per Scott's suggestion, not having lights in the middle of the kitchen but running down the sides. Even though there will be undercounter lighting, having lights in the middle of the kitchen would cast shadows when you "worked" at the counters. Jordan agreed to split the lights out to the sides, (distance?) from the counters (but keeping in line with a) other lights one one side, b) the wall line. Jordan likes making things line up and look planned, without falling into the runway / bowling alley appearance.
5. No ceiling fan in kitchen: Jordan said he liked the idea and has it in his house, but notes you always forget to turn it off and with a gas stove you not only screw up the heating, but with even minor wind can have a gas smell inside. Scott agreed, so I eliminated the ceiling fan in the kitchen.
6. Exterior plugs! I wanted these but it turns out you need them to come up to code. I don't see why it's code (I think the theory is to prevent people from running extension cords from light sockets and through window screens) but I say "duh."
7. I do have running water! The pipes are done, but "plugged," (butt-plugged uh-huh-huh) and when the fellows use that portapotty they are washing their hands from the outside spigot. This means I can spend more visits with less effort trying to save my dying plants. PS I lost some of the plants I moved as the side doesn't get or retain a lot of water.
8. Meters: Moving the gas meter outside, has to be done by the gas company but the permit pulling is our job. For code inspection, there are copper grounds running from the meter to about 4' spikes sitting on top of ground; after inspection they get driven into the ground, far beneath the pipes and drains.
9. Underpinning: unknown increase pending based on the need to do underpinning in the front (rear too?) Permit application for that pending at the city. I'm told the price "won't be that bad."
10. Decided to do 2 drains in the front porch area and talked about sloping - everything is designed to keep water away from the basement. The area in front of the door / under the porch will be "1 step lower" due to the basement digout.
11. Back yard - is untouched but to be utterly destroyed to a) convert back bedroom side window to egress / door, b) repair crappy mortar etc around that area, c) dig out stairs / walkway, d) slope the yard away from the house.
12. Pavers: pending bid on how much it would cost to dig and remove dirt, lay gravel & sand etc., and install (parking) pavers in the back yard. While this is work I could redneck my way through, there is an effen backhoe in my back yard and they know what they're doing.
13. Tiles, I picked subway tiles for bathroom walls, the coffee-stain stuff for the kitchen area laid out in thirds, and found the neat honeycomb tile scratched too easy (and was too glossy) for any floor use - probably even edging. Still not sure what to do on some bathroom floors.
14. Kitchen - plan on cabinets still pending, also modified a little based on the radiator being put in the wrong place.
15. Basement - after pulling the cinder-block wall, there was some bowing despite the double-beam sistering, so he is adding more support beams that will block the stairwell (the wires that are in the way are temporary, to be moved later). If I want to restore the stairs, we'd have to remove the reinforcement he's adding - but also add in a support wall (which you would never see due to the stairs unless you wanted open view stairs). Better remember that - load bearing wall necessary if stairs replaced.
Potential move-in date: 4 weeks from Tuesday (depending on permits). Scott says they're working at a good fast pace. The basement is likely 2-3 weeks later than that. I think I'm planning to move-in say...Sat the 13? That means planning.
Jordan tossed me a Tecate beer from a 12-pack he brought to the site yesterday (he's also been known to say beer o'clock, particularly when it's stupid hot. He talked about a house he might buy with his sister as a flip. I told him I'd like to do this again when I recover financially - didn't say specifically but I wouldn't mind doing that as an investor rather than my live-there rent-there-later scheme.
House (it's a house thing) (I'll house you) (This house is our house, is our house, is our house)
Note for anyone keeping up:
Jordan: the contractor / GC doing the work
Scott: friend, Jason (realtor) 's partner, project manager / consultant (and paid as such)
Before house, I cashed out 50k in mutual funds. That feels weird. Since it was from a check, the delay in processing is 5 business days / 1 week. I did something weird, I wrote a check (50k!) to my contractor and front-dated it, telling him and (hopefully) him understanding the money is deposited but not available until that day. It would have been 44k or so, but I've upped some items.
Things about house:
1. There is a backhoe is my back yard. No reason, but we may take advantage of it. Basically he was done with it, but the renting company doesn't have a place to put it so as long as it's not in his way, it gets left where it is.
2. Some radiators were installed (with all new piping) but in the wrong spots. In fact 2 radiators on the main floor are in logical, but not my chosen, spots. Jordan agreed on all points and is moving them all. Curiously I thought copper pipes would be used as radiator pipes, but they're narrow metal pipes of type unknown, painted black. Scott who notices everything didn't seem concerned, I didn't ask.
3. Spray foam (party): Jordan suggested doing a thin layer of spray foam insulation covered with standard insulation. Spray foam is much more expensive, and previously he didn't recommend it based on the low difference in r-factor (how much it insulates). However, it's an old house and who knows what drafts there are. Besides cost, the other potential disadvantage of spray foam is if you ever have to work on the place it's kind of a pain / in the way. For $900, I said go for it - to me all the advantages of creating a seal, but at only about 1" in depth, it doesn't extend into the framing area of the wall and could really make a difference in the efficiency of the house.
4. Lights and switches: love most of the lights but per Scott's suggestion, not having lights in the middle of the kitchen but running down the sides. Even though there will be undercounter lighting, having lights in the middle of the kitchen would cast shadows when you "worked" at the counters. Jordan agreed to split the lights out to the sides, (distance?) from the counters (but keeping in line with a) other lights one one side, b) the wall line. Jordan likes making things line up and look planned, without falling into the runway / bowling alley appearance.
5. No ceiling fan in kitchen: Jordan said he liked the idea and has it in his house, but notes you always forget to turn it off and with a gas stove you not only screw up the heating, but with even minor wind can have a gas smell inside. Scott agreed, so I eliminated the ceiling fan in the kitchen.
6. Exterior plugs! I wanted these but it turns out you need them to come up to code. I don't see why it's code (I think the theory is to prevent people from running extension cords from light sockets and through window screens) but I say "duh."
7. I do have running water! The pipes are done, but "plugged," (butt-plugged uh-huh-huh) and when the fellows use that portapotty they are washing their hands from the outside spigot. This means I can spend more visits with less effort trying to save my dying plants. PS I lost some of the plants I moved as the side doesn't get or retain a lot of water.
8. Meters: Moving the gas meter outside, has to be done by the gas company but the permit pulling is our job. For code inspection, there are copper grounds running from the meter to about 4' spikes sitting on top of ground; after inspection they get driven into the ground, far beneath the pipes and drains.
9. Underpinning: unknown increase pending based on the need to do underpinning in the front (rear too?) Permit application for that pending at the city. I'm told the price "won't be that bad."
10. Decided to do 2 drains in the front porch area and talked about sloping - everything is designed to keep water away from the basement. The area in front of the door / under the porch will be "1 step lower" due to the basement digout.
11. Back yard - is untouched but to be utterly destroyed to a) convert back bedroom side window to egress / door, b) repair crappy mortar etc around that area, c) dig out stairs / walkway, d) slope the yard away from the house.
12. Pavers: pending bid on how much it would cost to dig and remove dirt, lay gravel & sand etc., and install (parking) pavers in the back yard. While this is work I could redneck my way through, there is an effen backhoe in my back yard and they know what they're doing.
13. Tiles, I picked subway tiles for bathroom walls, the coffee-stain stuff for the kitchen area laid out in thirds, and found the neat honeycomb tile scratched too easy (and was too glossy) for any floor use - probably even edging. Still not sure what to do on some bathroom floors.
14. Kitchen - plan on cabinets still pending, also modified a little based on the radiator being put in the wrong place.
15. Basement - after pulling the cinder-block wall, there was some bowing despite the double-beam sistering, so he is adding more support beams that will block the stairwell (the wires that are in the way are temporary, to be moved later). If I want to restore the stairs, we'd have to remove the reinforcement he's adding - but also add in a support wall (which you would never see due to the stairs unless you wanted open view stairs). Better remember that - load bearing wall necessary if stairs replaced.
Potential move-in date: 4 weeks from Tuesday (depending on permits). Scott says they're working at a good fast pace. The basement is likely 2-3 weeks later than that. I think I'm planning to move-in say...Sat the 13? That means planning.
Jordan tossed me a Tecate beer from a 12-pack he brought to the site yesterday (he's also been known to say beer o'clock, particularly when it's stupid hot. He talked about a house he might buy with his sister as a flip. I told him I'd like to do this again when I recover financially - didn't say specifically but I wouldn't mind doing that as an investor rather than my live-there rent-there-later scheme.
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Date: 2014-08-09 02:09 am (UTC)Have this. HATE this.
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Date: 2014-08-09 10:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-08-11 04:06 am (UTC)For fun I checked my chequebook and the largest cheque I've written in the last ten years was for $1,090.62. That was just this past spring when I had to pay back monies paid to me by my former employer after I'd left their employ (man that was irritating).
Does this mean I'm worth 1/50th of you? I guess you've written a few giant cheques recently...