Thru Day 156

Day 156 - Progress at the five (5) month mark. Exterior stucco should finish and interior drywall begin this coming week. Well; progress from my perspective but not everyone. Yesterday morning some guy walking his dog asked me, "do you know what's happened here? This place has been like this for four (yes he said four!) months." Knowing the dude must be a neighbor I just bit my lip...I then quipped "I hear its a pay-as-they-go situation;" He responds "really?" I replied, "no not really." The situation reminded me of the marketing principal "Perception is Reality." So I just excused myself making a mental note to finish the conversation with the dude when I was in a better mood.

Day 152 - Three green tags - if you haven't been following, all you need to know is this is a good sign. Immediately after receiving the electrical inspection we requested and passed the wood framing inspection the next day. This paved the way for the wall insulation and soon, drywall. The image below the tags is a screen capture of the City of Houston's website for requesting/scheduling inspections.

Day 145 - Meet Gil! I found his handyman "flyer" at the local "Southland Hardware" and he's been a HUGE help for almost any kind of job. Here he is attaching cement board to the surrounding face of the fireplaces.

Day 156 - The fireplace wall of our house design is a great illustration of "the complexity of making something look simple." I have at least a hundred pictures of this wall. Note the vertical line halfway between the two fireplaces; this line is a recess in the stucco that is actually the framing for the butt glass that spans between the doors and the stucco wall. That slot had to be virtually "true" so with the guy placing the metal lath we used a plumb bob (below) to assure the stucco corner beads were "perfectly" vertical.

Day 140 - Plumb bob aligning the vertical stucco corner bead with the butt glass window flashing. You have to look close to follow this.

Day 128 - The stucco team applying the first layer ("scratch coat") to the fireplace wall and suspended hearth. 

Day 153 - Choosing the specific exterior "white" color. The strategy was to choose a white that is a bit off color (off pure white, that is) and a shade that relates to the brick homes on each side of us which have tonalities of pink, yellow, and orange. A slightly off-white also helps provide camouflage against the grime, mold, mildew and algae that occurs in the Houston climate.

Day 155 - Selected color is tested and confirmed!

Day 144 - The range exhaust vent adventure finally comes to a close. First I realize the specified motor is undersized, the roof penetration should be 10" not 8", then the instructions for the 140 pound vent hood say "be sure to attach one of the four mounting bolts to a stud." ONE?  By the time this challenge was presenting itself I realize the framer simply does not have the competency (or patience) to figure this out. The issue also was generally confusing to the HVAC and appliance guys because even though the range is being placed against a wall, its really against a window so we're using an island hood instead of a wall style hood. I guess this is what general contractors get paid for and why modern homes are extra challenging. The resolution simply required me to project the mounting holes of the vent onto the ceiling and add 2xs and plywood for secure mounting. And yes, it will attach securely in FOUR places, not only one.... 

Day 132 - One of my "sketchboard organizers" for problem solving and tracking to-do lists. 

Day 128 - The backside of the wall at the top of the stairs is the bar / wine cellar. Here Themo Ply sheathing has been placed in advance of the closed cell foam that will be sprayed for insulation of the wine cellar closet.

Day 144 - The mixer is turning and the stucco (cement plaster) application process begins.