Monthly Archives: September 2010

Please excuse yet another gap in updates.  I spent my first night in the house this past Friday.  I am now living amongst the many open items still straggling around here.  Its nice to not have any inspections hanging over my head though.

The molding is coming along and the stairs are ready for their final coat or two of poly.  I have started working on the filler panels and trim that was waiting in the garage for the kitchen.  The biggest of which is the island back panel taking up space against my island until my Dad and I can cut it to size.

I have a bed and dresser in my bedroom and finally some blinds in there:

The bathroom mirrors are up:

 As you can see there is still some door trim that hasn’t gone up because I need to trim it to account for the difference in floor height from the hallway to the bathroom, aka hardwood to tile.

My parents gave me an antique writing desk that I put at the top of the stairs outside my bedroom door.

TV and floating shelf.  That last straggling wire you can see on the right is the power cord for the TV.  My electrician George said he would come back after the inspection and relocate the receptacle below the floor in the basement so that I can run the power cord down the conduit on the right.  The floating shelf seems to be holding up well and I was able to hide all of the wires as I intended.  Unfortunately this is one of the few shots of downstairs I dont feel embarassed to post as there is stuff strewn everywhere as I try and get everything done and settled in.

And I’ll leave you with the kitchen in its current state from the living room…

I am going to keep chipping away at things and hopefully have another update in the near future.

ALL inspections are complete…and with just 3 days to spare before the permit expires.  HVAC and Electric passed on Tuesday and today I got my building final.  I even talked the building inspector into not needing a U&O.  What a relief.

There are still a number of things left to do so I’ll call on my time in commercial project management to generate a punch list of remaining items:

• Clean/Stain/Paint stairs and hand rail
• Paint interior doors
• fix trim on upstairs bathroom door
• Touch-up paint around shower and tub where grout got on the finished walls
• Trim/Filler panels in the kitchen
• Baseboards (prob 40% done)
• Seal grout on foyer and bathroom floors
• Finish trimming out the kitchen door and stained glass window

I’m sure theres plenty more I can’t think of.  Stay tuned.  Hope to move stuff this weekend and get my bed setup…

Oh and the Ft. McHenry sign from Second Chance…

Inspection update: plumbing inspection passed on Friday.  HVAC and electric are scheduled for Tuesday.  Hopefully call in for my building final for Wednesday.

This weekend we finished painting the bedrooms.  My Dad bricked up the side of the chimney in the basement where the chimney guys put the new liner in.  Today we hung the last two doors…

Master bedroom door:

Back bedroom door:

Powder room and basement doors:

Completely unrelated to the completion of the house…

That rustoleum direct to plastic paint is pretty amazing stuff.  Turned my ugly green adirondak chairs into nice new black ones.  Maybe if I ever get the actual house done I can spend some time on the patio.

At this point in the process I’d love to have extremely exciting updates with drastic changes, but alot of what is happening now is finishes and trim work. 
I do have some updates on the schedule of things and inspection related news though…

The guys at Ace of Diamonds (yeah sounds more like a casino/strip club hybrid) Chimney Sweeps took care of the chimney liner today.  They were recommended by my friend at Clean Air and they were prompt and efficient.  They even saved my plumber some work by tying in the hot water heater vent while they were down there. 

Thursday 9/9 – Friday 9/10: Plumber finishes the trim out of a few odds and ends and calls in his inspection.
Monday 9/13: Electrical inspection and plumbing inspection
Tuesday 9/14: HVAC inspection
Wednesday 9/15 – Thursday 9/16: Building final inspection
Saturday 9/18: my permit expires….

Thats alot of stuff that has to happen before next weekend, but barring any major hiccups (haven’t we had enough already?) I could be spending my first night in the house on the eve of the permit expiration. 

 Paint is done everywhere but the bedroom walls.  Biggest chores left are to finish the base boards (I did a bunch Tuesday night), stain/paint the stairs, and do window sills.  I think Saturday my Dad and I will hang the last 2 doors and knock out some paint.

To draw attention away from the stressful, tight, and unforgiving schedule of things that must happen, I will share some more pictures.

Current state of the living room…

It really is amazing how white the main walls look when I take pictures.  The green is much more noticeable in person.  As you can see I had a moral victory in that I was able to take up the brown floor paper that had been on there since they finished refinishing the floors.

In the back ground you can also notice that the stairs are now unprotected in preparation of the staining of the treads and painting of the risers.

I single handedly hung the microwave while my Dad painted the bedroom ceilings.  It was a struggle but after 3 days it hasnt fallen down and it still works.  Haha.  Oh and doesnt it also look amazing?

Back patio lantern:

Bathroom recessed light trims…my electrician was upset they gave him the wrong ones…he asked for white.  He came downstairs and asked me if there was a chance I’d  be OK with brushed nickel…he didn’t have to twist my arm as all of the shower trim and faucets are brushed nickel.  Problem solved in 2 seconds for once.

While I cut baseboards my Dad started edging the master bedroom.  I really like how the color looks so far.  The backbedroom will be a greenish grey version of this color.

Thats all for now.  I hope to have some more updates this weekend.

100 posts.  100 things I could tell a fellow renovator not to screw up like I did. 

The title is for you Dad.  Bruce would understand this is certainly a dream.

If anyone out there cares to see me move in before Christmas, say a prayer.  If anyone is actually reading this for advice for their own renovation, listen well.

Expect the unexpected.  Yes it will cost 50% more then you estimate (atleast).  HGTV is a load of crap.  No one is going to save you with a yard sale find and a can of Rustoleum (no offense Rustoleum, I still love you).  Additionally, a xeroxed Jackson Pollock painting your kid did with the leftover sauce from his spagettio dinner inserted into a clearance rack Walmart photo frame won’t get the house done.

Mike Holmes would be sweating bullets.  Then again, his show has funding.

My savior plumber Ricky, who must care more then any other contractor on the east coast (Mike Holmes, your in the Maple Leaf Territory) alerted me to the fact that there was a serious problem with how my furnace and water heater were venting.   A problem that if left untreated could mean carbon monoxide in the house. 

As it turns out, I need a liner put in my chimney.  A liner to keep the carbon monoxide from my water heater and furnace from going into the house and killing me slowly.  A note to anyone out there in the process of buying an older home: “Make your home inspector check!”  Honestly, its a miracle I decided to keep the heat off all winter long and brave the elements, because my water heater vent was clogged terribly. 

I know anyone who has been reading religiously is probably thoroughly confused at this point so let me try and spell it out in black and white.

1. Ricky my new plumber had to get a new permit.  All of his work is done but venting the hot water heater.  $$$$$$
2. As it turns out, my shady mechanical contractor who bailed on me left me with the privilege of also trying to figure out how to get an HVAC final.   A friend from my time in commercial construction is trying to get Shady McShiesterson’s permit renewed so that all I have to do is call in the inspection…the inspection in which Baltimore City will verify if I was technically capable to drop Home Depot supply and return registers into their designated spots.
3. My pal at Clean Air (great people) also is supposed to put me in touch with their chimney guys to see about getting a new liner.

With any luck my 9/18 expiration date of my current building permit will comedown to the wire.  Once the M.E.P. inspections pass (mechanical, electrical, plumbing) I get my final building inspection.  Once I get my final building inspection, apparently I also need a Use and Occupany permit.  To me that is ridiculous considering the fact that it was “technically” liveable before.

That’s where we stand right now.  Frustrated, broke, and tired.  Because this is the 100th post I feel obligated to some how share some good news in the form of photographs so as to make things seem better.

The stove is installed and working.  My God does it look beautiful.  Perhaps some day soon the microwave will rest above it and it will actually be used to cook a meal.

The upstairs toilet is in.

The shower controls are in and working.  The plumber still needs a trim piece around the rain showerhead, so I didn’t take any pictures, but hopefully soon enough.

 Slowly but surely more pieces of baseboard are getting cut:

 The baseboards are 7 1/2″ tall.  Makes for loads of fun.  As my Dad said last night, “We’ll be cutting base until Christmas.”  I sure hope that’s not the case.

 Whats the best case at this point?  I get a chimney guy to fix the liner by Tues/Wed of next week.  Plumber gets his final. HVAC gets their final.  George my electrician gets his final.  I call for building final and some how apply for U&O all before my permit expires September 18th.

I’m gona let those dreams fester and say Go Hokies!  If nothing else can go right, a win over Boise State may help push me past the finish line.  I’ve got Enter Sandman downloaded and qued up on the Ipod, ready to blast through all 4 zones of speakers in the house.

Keep your fingers crossed.