IX. We Have Walls!

November 14, 2016

It's Monday today and inspections are scheduled for tomorrow - electrical and framing - but today the drywall began in the areas not covered under the permit. We had so many damaged walls and ceilings besides the kitchen remodel, they have plenty to do.

This may look bad but I was ecstatic! Finally - walls!!

Check out the ceiling. There were many drywall sheets that were sagging come to find out so our main man Danny screwed them all back into place where he could and replaced those he couldn't throughout the entire house - garage and all. This guy was so tall he rarely stepped on a ladder. :D You can see where he then ran tape and smoothed them over with some 'mud' as they call it in prep for the finish.

His team was quite impressive. Floridians, call Todd Wendell Drywall Contracting Services if you need meticulous drywall people who come when they say they will and work till it's done. Hugs! as Marge would say.

November 15, 2016

It's inspection day and we passed! :D Electrical and framing. Now we can get to insulation - and of course an insulation inspection. After that we are free to let go!

Exciting eh? Insulation... Great couple of kids on stilts put this up in no time.

Inspector came through and thankfully we passed. Seemed a waste of his time somehow...

Meanwhile the drywall continues - everywhere now. These are not specs on my camera. I took a few shots with the flash on and these were actually dust particles flying around from cutting and prepping the drywall. Not good for their lungs...

That was the worst day. Once it was all up, they got to work with seaming and prepping for the texture. Here's a look at their patch work.

Laundry room big leak area...

Laundry ceiling was falling down...

Garage leak area...

And the garage ceiling falling down. Danny thinks someone fell partway through the ceiling when in the attic.

 From the front door walking in...

No more popcorn in the master. That patched hole above the folding doors will soon be a pass through crawl space into the attic.

And that black wire in the ceiling is for our stove vent. Can't wait to get my little Japanese tea pot boiling away on the stove so I can have some tea and just chill...

November 19, 2016

It took them the week but it's all done and ready for paint! These pictures were taken through November 22 when the painter came through and primed all the walls and painted the ceilings white. I'll do the walls but I draw the line at ceilings. So, all done and ready for me... 

The guest bath. :D Remember the hideous pink?

Laundry room...

Garage - no more holes in the ceiling...

And the nasty leaky garage wall... no more!

OMG!

OMG!!

Master bedroom...

Next is paint - then floors! Did I say floors!!

November 27, 2016

Today is Sunday. Had a nice Thanksgiving with Paul at Rosebuds Restaurant in Osprey last week. Turkey dinner for me and roast duck for Paul. And a huge piece of carrot cake that took us 2 days to eat - and that's saying something!

Cabinets came day after. Garage suddenly seems so much smaller.

Started painting the walls a couple of days ago - Sea Salt by Sherwin WIlliams. No need to neatly trim as we will have baseboard and crown moldings going in.

Hmmm. This is gonna take a while.

But I did get this far... had to stop as floors are starting and they prefer not to have to work around me. :D You can see what they did in preparation - scratched off any stuck on texture. That's Kayla's bed. She spent the day with me while I painted.

November 29, 2016

Now we can't wait to get the new windows. Hopefully coming this week. Their cousins, the exterior doors are already in Sarasota waiting on the windows. Interior doors came yesterday.

And the floors have started! Running over there soon to check it out.  

Will post floors next but will make you wait until the weekend - when they are finished! 

In anticipation of being there for Christmas, I dressed up our little palm tree out front. Maybe the neighbors won't notice the third overflowing dumpster out front...

Someday we will have a patio behind that palm to watch the sunsets. And some new paint on the walls, and some new shrubs...

Santa baby, slip some pavers under the tree for me

Been an awful good girl

Santa baby, and hurry down the chimney tonight

Santa honey, I want a yard and really that's not a lot

Been an angel all year

Santa baby, and hurry down the chimney tonight 

Ho Ho Ho...

Merry Christmas!

VIII. Pool'scapade

November 17, 2016

The pool reconstruction began today. Or should I say sucking...

And this is what they do with the water. I asked. But we are told it goes into the street - per ordinance. Wonder what the neighbors thought.

Here is our guy digging out the green monster.

Guh...

 LOL! How disgusting. I'm just glad we didn't find any bodies in there.

November 18, 2016

Next is scraping it down.

November 18, 2016

Finally! Something pretty to look at!

Well, kind of.

 But the bullnose looks good.

November 19, 2016

Getting ready for pavers. We wanted something called cool-deck (textured cement) but the pool deck is really uneven and pitches in the wrong direction - towards the house! They would have had to add inches of cement to level it out which would not have been durable over time. So pavers it is.

And new drains. 

Pavers are ice gray.

November 21, 2016

Smiles!

November 22, 2016

The guys finished the pavers and did the inside lining today!

Here is a closeup.

November 23, 2016

Apparently it will take nearly 24 hours for the pool to fill up - by the hose. Checked on this too. That's they way they do it in Florida. But the water department gives you a break I've been told.

November 24, 2016 - Happy Thanksgiving!

Here is where we are so far! We are so happy! The pavers still need to be cleaned off yet - lots of sand to sweep in and away.

But what a far cry from here!

We still have some work to do yet. The carpenter is going to fix the base of the pillars. They are all a bit rotted at the bottom. And I need to get back tomorrow to run the rest of the water. The inside lining cures under water so we need to fill it up to the tile half-way mark.

The crew returns on Monday to treat the water and brush down the lining (which is really cement mixed up with sand and quartz). They are supposed to attend to it over the course of a week before it gets handed over to us.

And... while all of this has been going on our new found drywall crew has been working in the inside. Yay!

I'll post those pictures soon. Been busy running back and forth and planning and calls to keep everyone aligned. So far - perfection! What a great crew. Floors start tomorrow and the cabinets are being delivered tomorrow. Interior doors coming on Monday. Carpenter just waiting on the floor guys but will do the kitchen and guest bath first so the templates can be made for the countertops. 

Going to buy a ladder tomorrow - black Friday, really Nance? But yes, I'm going to do some painting over the weekend and need a ladder that I can mess up. We brought leftover paint with us from Palm City and all of our painting gear. 

We had a painter come through on Tuesday - she primed all the walls and primed and painted all of the ceilings - so we are ready for wall paint. In an effort to save some money... I'm up!

Life is good.

VII. We Are On Our Way!

November 3, 2016

So things are looking up. Yay! The plumbers spent just one day here and completed everything before nightfall. 

Everything includes re-piping the whole house (our first big unexpected expense - but not too-too bad) and moving two sinks to more centrally located positions, changing out the hot water heater, and moving a laundry sink into the garage.

Premier Plumbers of Sarasota - we love you!

How nice and neat are these guys. Kitchen plumbing (and electrical) with window bordered for now.

Not everyone can say they have pictures of the inside of their walls. Here is the guest bath tub with its new plumbing.

And guest bath sink, moved over from the right to center. Well, you kind of have to imagine that.

And we have running water in the master! :D  (And the toilet finally works which is even better...)

Found out from the plumbers that the master bath has high-end fixtures and a pretty expensive toilet. Truly is a throne! Along with everything in good shape, that's a yahoo for us!

The plumbing inspection is scheduled for Tuesday (first available date) and we will be booking the electrical inspection same day if possible. Inspections are booking 2 days out these days. Just waiting for some paperwork from the electrician before we can schedule.

Here is what our kitchen ceilings look like so far. Cooking spotlights.

Loving our electrician Alan too! 

How funny is it that every contractor who has come through to provide quotes has said the same thing: 'What a great attic!' That, after having such a leaky disgusting roof! Thank you Universe for watching out for us!

November 4, 2016

This week I interviewed the following very competent people:

• Drywall artiste
• Cabinets/trim installer
• Central vacuum supplier
• Insulation dude

Monday we meet our potential HVAC service provider. If all goes well, they will each be scheduled in the next few weeks - onto a calendar! There's a thought. Here is the inspection schedule - in order of required.

1. Rough-in plumbing

2. Rough-in electrical

3. Framing

4. Insulation

Then drywall goes up, floors go down, electrician and plumber come back to do finish work, and of course cabinets and countertops, then final inspection and - we move in! How sweet will that be!

November 6, 2016

It's Paul's birthday today. Happy Birthday love! 

We are heading out for brunch soon then back to the house. I'm making one of his favorite desserts for later - custard pie. Yum.

(OK so the custard pie was in the oven a bit too long - turned out to be more of a souffle than a custard - sunken middle... but eggs, cream, sugar, nutmeg - who's to complain.)

November 7, 2016

WORSE DAY EVER! 

Across the street from the Mucciardi home a remodel job has been going on since we got here in July. Someone backed into the Mucciardi mailbox tipping it sideways and loosening up the box. Of course, he just drove off. I found it by accident. 

Today, another of the (many) trucks nearly blocked us in (as they have been doing since July) as they park at the end of the driveway. So, in order to avoid hitting his truck, I hit the Mucciardi mailbox and dragged a big scrape along the side of our car. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.......

Then, I find out that the guy I have been waiting for to return from his vacation so he can sign the notarized form for our electrician - required paperwork before I am allowed to schedule the electrical inspection - has decided to not come home as planned this weekend - and now won't be back until next weekend. What! 

I don't think so! It's been over a week that we have been waiting for this form. My contact is his daughter, a college student. Seems no one is concerned but me that we can't get an inspection because the boss is on vacation and everything else grinds to a standstill!?

Where is he? He's bow hunting in the woods at some camp in Ohio and there's no cell signal... Never mind the barbarism of bow hunting... How long does that take for the poor animal to die?! Ugh.

I should have stayed in bed.

So it's after dinner and the phone call comes in. Send the form to the website email as they found someone to sign. Should have gotten the broomstick out last week instead of waiting till today. We could have done this last week already! In all fairness to them, seems they have never run across this situation... One can only hope! 

Tomorrow is the plumbing inspection which is expected to go well - thankfully.

Today the AC HVAC guy came by and we do have some good news - the AC system is a good one and is pretty new and all of the ducts were replaced fairly recently. No mold, just a bit dusty from the remodeling thus far. 

But he did have to replace the thermostat one of the dip-shits broke - sorry, did I just say that? I've got it bagged and tagged with a 'Do not use' sign. Fingers crossed it makes it to move-in.

Going to bed aggravated and annoyed - with Kayla dry-heaving... who knows what that's from. Ugh.

Tomorrow has got to be a better day!

November 8, 2016

So yesterday I was loathsome and today I'm grateful!

Plumbing inspection went fantastic!

Here is a picture of my temp office at the house while waiting for the inspector. I think he was impressed. :D  Nice guy, gave me some homeowner-contractor tips - then asked why I let our general contractor go. I shared the main highlights and he decided he would keep a close eye on any of his projects. Yes, nice guy.

In other news, we changed the lock-box code to access the house key. We have a whole new team now so it was perfect timing. (Thanks Lee for loaning us the lock-box.)

Soon we are letting our second in command go. Haven't heard from him in over a week... after, let's see... the 5th time we reviewed what still needs to be done? 

Maybe it's me. Perhaps it's Klingon I'm speaking...

Got a few more prices coming in - and the infamous electrical inspection to be. Will keep you posted!

GO VOTE!

And P.S. - Happy Birthday to Mom, also known as Gramma. She would have been 86 this year. Wow, does time ever fly.

And sweet little Kayla is back to her old self... Too much suspicious sniffing on our daily walks I guess. Have to watch that. But she is getting old poor dear. Almost 11 1/2 now, past the age for boxers...

November 9, 2016

Okay so, the aggrrrrrravationnn continues... First, I'm not a Trump fan... perhaps because he makes fun of people with disabilities (and I'm married to a disabled person) and he demoralizes women (which I am) while lavishly praising himself (what an ego!). I truly feel like I am in mourning. Lies, denial, and group-think have made him our president. Not feeling very proud at the moment... but then that's just me. I'll recover.

However, back to Osprey... The promise of the notarized form I sent to them to schedule my electrical inspection apparently was a ruse to keep me pacified until the boss gets back next Monday. The story now? They can't access it. 

• Did I mention that would equate to a two week inspection delay now? *#^%%!
• Anyone surprised that this is the company my former contractor set up?
• And did I mention that nothing can happen until this inspection is completed? 

I have dagger-eyes about now!

I heard all last week that he's in the woods without a cell phone. Then they 'may have found someone' to sign off. Then the boss has the flu and can't travel. Then I was told (again) that he'll be back next Monday but I could 'just go on line and the info is there'. Even though I had already informed everyone that I am not allowed an on-line account as I am an owner-contractor and paper is the process! 

SO...

I threatened to report them to the county permitting office if I did not have the form in my hand by the end of today! We are now 8 working days into this request.

I let the daughter/secretary know that I was indeed angry, that their business model was unacceptable (boss is away so everything grinds to a halt), and that if I incur any expenses related to their further delays then I was expensing them back to their company! With lot's of polite !!!!!!!!!!!

Within 15 minutes I get a call from my very nice electrician who wants to know why I upset the boss's daughter. What! So I repeated what I said and how I said it. Poor Alan has been in the middle of all this. But he knows I am not tolerant of lies seeing as I dumped our general contractor for lying, and this reporting to the permitting office is not an idle threat. 

So Alan immediately, and miraculously, was able to get through to the flu-ridden extended-his-vacation hunter with no-cell-coverage who was now upset that I was going to report his business as being obstructive.

"I feel like I've stepped through the looking glass", as the Dowager would say.

Within the hour, the form was completed and available and a half hour later I had it at the permitting office. Could have saved us all a lot of grief if they had just done this last week when I first asked! God help me...

Unfortunately... with Veteran's day this week inspections are backed up until Tuesday. I scheduled both the electrical and framing inspection for then - more than a week longer than it should be. 

But it's done and I am happy - finally!

In summary, we hired our new carpenter, insulation guy, and drywall guy (I've seen their work and it is excellent), and we have a central vacuum guy booked for Nov 18th. Everyone else is scheduled in for the next three weeks. Oh, and the second in command finally turned up and got through the last of his list. As you might imagine, I made sure I was there. 

So now just have to get around Thanksgiving. Paul booked us in at Rosebud's, a really great restaurant in Osprey not far from the house.

Next entry will be about the pool. They started!

Maybe we can get rid of the Spanish Moss growing through our screen. Another Luz one-of-a-kind!

Love you! Miss you! Hope to see you all again soon!

Come back to check out our pool unveiling! I'll let you know when.

It's all downhill from here!