Perfect Roofing Weather

Perfect weather - bright sunny skies, highs in the mid-sixties, and still no roof. Monday was superbowl hangover recovery, Tuesday was Mardi Gras partying, Wednesday was another hangover recovery day, Thursday was good fishing weather?, and Friday was come get your stuff and go find another job. The contractor's phone went out at some point during the week and he had to have a replacement sent. David talked to him on Wednesday, and the two guys showed up for a couple of hours, very hung-over. We couldn't get hold of the contractor on Thursday, but a couple of hours after David talked to him on Friday morning, the guys pulled into the driveway, packed up, and left without a word.

There should be a new crew starting tomorrow.

Stripes and Polka Dots

We never learned all of the names of the crews that have worked here - two of the framers/ICF guys were "fish tank guy" and "tattoo guy". Yesterday we had "stripes" and "polka dots". I hear all the debate about kids wearing their pants around their knees, and honestly, as long as there's no skin showing, it really doesn't bother me. It's a bit silly, really. But when you are on top of a roof, 30' in the air, it seems like having to pull up your pants every 2 minutes might be a bit on the dangerous side.

But the roof is finally going on - slower than we would have liked, and with fewer nails than there are supposed to be. I guess you get what you pay for, but with every step of this project costing $3K more than we thought it would, we have to start cutting somewhere. Here's a picture of one of the two solatubes that the roofers are installing - it puts out a lot of light. This one is at the top of the stairs, the other one will be in the half bath.



David has been working for weeks on the drain side plumbing. He still has the master bath/shower drain to do, plus the girls' shower unit, then he gets to start the supply side.






Here is the tub platform. The shower bench will be adjacent to the tub, but we are still trying to work out the details.









David has also finished the platform for the washer/dryer (those front loaders are a pain on your back when they are on the floor), and today he is installing the pocket door hardware.







Here is the pocket doorway into the laundry room. There is a transom above the door that will have an antique stained glass window in it, depending on how well the window survived Katrina.

Speaking of things going over budget, I heard that GE is increasing their prices by 6%-7% this month. So I went ahead and ordered our appliances this weekend. They'll be delivered sometime around the 28th of this month, so we will have to store them for a while. Still, with the fridge, wall oven, cooktop, dishwasher, and microwave, 6% adds up to a lot of money. SBA is supposed to be sending us $40K this week - the next big ticket items are the HVAC and the siding. Hopefully the HVAC will be sized this week - I need to call the consultant and find out where he is on it.