Well quite a bit has happened lately so I'm behind on the posts. Luckily we've had quite a good stretch of good weather and a lot has been accomplished. The exterior elevation is basically complete. It really looks like a house now!!! Tech shield roof underlayment is in and metal hurricane strapping installed. Firewall inspection completed. Even siding has gone up on 2 out of 3 sections. Most of the front portions will be in stucco or a metal. The pop outs of the master bedroom and the bathroom look great and balance out the elevation. The windows seem even larger now in the bedrooms - fishbowl living. LOL.
They've also finished off the plumbing and rough-ins. Most of this looks good. The water valve system fit nicely in the 2nd bedroom closet without the need of robbing the space with a thicker wall. The picture below is before install was finished. Shower placement of the handheld might need to be adjusted, but overall satisfied. We're awfully particular, so it's good that this is looking alright. Gas lines were also installed. Amazing the maze of pipes this creates. We even have a gas bib ready for that outside gas grill in the future. (Which we might be able to purchase in 2040.)
The fixed windows arrived and most have been installed. They have not installed the transom windows as of yet, but the skinny windows of the bathroom, closet and sidelights are in. Since they don't have a view, they all are placed high in order to capture light.
Functioning windows: This has been a debacle (to the builder more than to us) They are still on order - custom after all - due to the discontinuation of the previously selected models. The three windows are crucial to the look of the exterior, and interior, of this house and the builder had a hard time arguing otherwise. Just had to look at the drawings to see it. There were adjustments made to meet egress codes, but we shall have our windows. Sometime. Hopefully.
Exterior doors - Debacle #2. We selected metal exterior doors, as they are durable, cost effective and certainly worked with the design of the home. To our frustration, however, they have a raised "crown" molding edge around the glass. Not very contemporary or clean, even when painted out. So we had to go back to square one and chose a fiberglass composite door style - with very clean edges - that will work well. This did not come without a nice little dent in the wallet. Installation is planned for midweek. We did adjust the size of the back balcony door to eliminate the need for a custom size but it only changes it by 2 inches. See, we're flexible.
The HVAC system has been installed. We have gone with a Carrier system. Good placement over the bathroom. Well-supported area and easier access from the attic entry and not too far from the "emergency exit" designed into the back balcony. Basically a space has been set aside that could be removed easily in case we ever have to replace the system. The ductwork is pretty straightforward. We had to give up some master closet space AND 2nd bedroom space to allow for ductwork to the main floor, but placement isn't the worst. One intake in the master bedroom ceiling tray is less than ideal, but with the slope of the roofline, we can't find an alternative. We've also discussed the placement of the outside units with the site guy and it's looking better than we thought.
The tankless water heater made it in too. So we now have most of the mechanicals in. As you can see in the blurry pic below, we also have the tech-shield roofing in place. It's composite wood on the other side with metalic paper on the inside surface.
We're quite anxious to get that roof on. The rain chances have returned which is frustrating. The tech shield is not waterproof and can delaminate when wet. Hopefully they can at least get tar paper on this thing soon. A meeting has been set up with electrician and roofer to finalize details, but the delay is driving us crazy. Keeping our fingers crossed for dryness - at least a few more days.
I'm being understated in our anxiousness about the rain possibilities. (Also, we may have had our first intense discussion with the site manager - whatever, this is a business deal and our home)
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