Wednesday, December 3, 2008

And the work moves inside

Windows were delivered on Monday. Installed on Tuesday.  We no longer have gaping holes where the windows should be. Here's the south side of the house with windows installed:


You'll notice that the snow is back in this picture. We had about eight inches over the weekend, and another three or four inches today. But today, it didn't snow inside! I shoveled about 90 gallons of snow out of the second floor last night. But now no more shoveling.

The roofers came out today to finish the flashing. It took them about half the day, but we're all roofed now. The plumber and hvac guys also showed up and got right to work. I was worried that they'd have trouble finding good routes for drain lines and duct work. But it looks like we'll need very few modifications. I'll have to fatten up some walls in bathrooms and possibly drop a ceiling in a closet, but that's about it.

The plumber is just about finished roughing in the fixtures. He set up the laundry room supply and drain, while the hvac guy installed a pan that will give us more clearance for connecting the dryer vent:

They installed the cast iron tubs in the main bathroom upstairs and the guest bathroom on the first floor. The plumber said he hadn't actually installed a cast iron tub in ten years. And this house has three of them. That's one of the reasons we aren't going with a builder--we get full control over everything that gets installed. I'd much rather have a good, heavy cast iron tub than a cheap plastic one. The framing around the tub was perfect--not more than about a 1/2 inch of clearance at the front and back of the tub:


The hvac guys made good progress too. Openings for ducts and returns (each room--except for closets--gets its own return).  I wanted to avoid putting any duct work or plumbing supplies in unconditioned spaces (exterior walls and attic).  We got pretty close. We'll have the supplies for two closets run through the attic because there simply isn't anyplace else good to run them. I'll also have the supply for the guest bath toilet running through the exterior wall between the bathroom and the garage. 

Here is the family room showing our new windows, fireplace, and a whole pile of hvac materials:


The rough plumbing and hvac should take about a week--although the plumber may be done as soon as Friday. I plan to start installing central vacuum lines this weekend, so I'll be ready for the electrician to start next Wednesday.