sweet! we've got the drywall up, and started mudding some of the joints and screws. Things are moving nicely. we were surprised to learn that Burlingame doesn't require inspections of the drywall but i took pictures anyway in case. plus i took pix of the mud & tape work so that we have that as well.
learned quite a bit here. before, G and I did a quick drywall work up in SF, where we converted the 2-room front rooms on Magnolia Street into 2 bedrooms. at the time i didn't know to wet the tape and lay it on, and we also did a couple layers of joint compound.
this time around, i watched and helped out with a little work. Jed and Shaun are doing a very nice job with a single pass of joint compound.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Friday, March 21, 2008
Insulation inspection - now for drywall!
Alright! Things are moving in a very positive direction with the remodel. We passed insulation inspection. This time, we had a different inspector, but I pointed out all the items that our "regular" inspector had specified we fix. i definitely didn't want something to be missed and then come back to haunt me... this included some 2x4 studs directly underneath several of the new dining room's ceiling joists; a 2x6 king stud in the rear bathroom corner; and the HVAC needing the flux.
We installed R-30 for ceilings and areas touching the attic space; R-19 for the flooring - installed in the floor joists under the house, and R-13 for exterior walls and some interior walls (eg bathrooms). Walls and ceilings were stapled, and the floor insulation used wire.
Well, we still need to fix a few little things with HVAC; namely putting insulation around the boots (ducts facing into the rooms) and we also need to add some sleepers (slippers?) for the furnace itself. the inspector grabbed the unit and shook it! and then told me it shouldn't move around in the event of an earthquake.
We will start putting up the drywall on Monday. If all goes well, we'll get to the floors the following week, just in time for Kenichi to come in and install the cabinets. We can't get the kitchen counter installed until after the floor cabinets are in, so that is now our critical path.
Then I guess we'll get to the paint, bathroom, and finishing details like electrical outlets & lights and the molding and window trim. We're now planning to move in by the end of the April and it looks really good that we'll have 90 or 95% of the work done by then!
We installed R-30 for ceilings and areas touching the attic space; R-19 for the flooring - installed in the floor joists under the house, and R-13 for exterior walls and some interior walls (eg bathrooms). Walls and ceilings were stapled, and the floor insulation used wire.
Well, we still need to fix a few little things with HVAC; namely putting insulation around the boots (ducts facing into the rooms) and we also need to add some sleepers (slippers?) for the furnace itself. the inspector grabbed the unit and shook it! and then told me it shouldn't move around in the event of an earthquake.
We will start putting up the drywall on Monday. If all goes well, we'll get to the floors the following week, just in time for Kenichi to come in and install the cabinets. We can't get the kitchen counter installed until after the floor cabinets are in, so that is now our critical path.
Then I guess we'll get to the paint, bathroom, and finishing details like electrical outlets & lights and the molding and window trim. We're now planning to move in by the end of the April and it looks really good that we'll have 90 or 95% of the work done by then!
Monday, March 17, 2008
final rough inspection
Woo hoo! Today we had our rough inspections for everything in the house. As you can guess from my opening statement, we are basically good to go for insulation, and that will hopefully go well so we can start drywall.
We had: rough electrical, plumbing, exterior lathe, shearwalls, framing and HVAC. We had only a few small things to take care of on framing, HVAC and the exterior lath. Since the inspector felt he could see this work with insulation in, he let us go ahead on insulation installation. Big sigh of relief from me & the contractors!
We were happy that we had properly fixed the shearwall hold-down (HDQ6) in the back corner in time for Friday. We had the pull test performed on Friday for the hold-downs (3 total, 1 per shearwall), so the 7/8" bolts are properly glued to the concrete, which means the shearwalls are good and the inspector didn't have any big comments on framing so the carpenter was smart to add some extra hangers for the 2x's, instead of using just A35 clips.
Now we're on to insulation and no one is too worried about that inspection. Should go OK but we'll see. We're hoping to have the inspection on Thursday but I'm not sure that we can really get all the work done in 2 days; everything seems to take at least 25% if not 50% longer than anyone estimates.
We had: rough electrical, plumbing, exterior lathe, shearwalls, framing and HVAC. We had only a few small things to take care of on framing, HVAC and the exterior lath. Since the inspector felt he could see this work with insulation in, he let us go ahead on insulation installation. Big sigh of relief from me & the contractors!
We were happy that we had properly fixed the shearwall hold-down (HDQ6) in the back corner in time for Friday. We had the pull test performed on Friday for the hold-downs (3 total, 1 per shearwall), so the 7/8" bolts are properly glued to the concrete, which means the shearwalls are good and the inspector didn't have any big comments on framing so the carpenter was smart to add some extra hangers for the 2x's, instead of using just A35 clips.
Now we're on to insulation and no one is too worried about that inspection. Should go OK but we'll see. We're hoping to have the inspection on Thursday but I'm not sure that we can really get all the work done in 2 days; everything seems to take at least 25% if not 50% longer than anyone estimates.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
conversation with the inspector
OK, i think we'll get back on track now. talked with the inspector and i think we're both on the same page. maybe he felt we were trying to rush everything through and i hope he understands that as the owner i plan to stick around a while!
I got clarification on the problems with electrical - just need to clean up the old stuff that isn't in use, just like the plumbing. And we need to move dirt away from the concrete wall and shearwalls. I'm going to visit the engineer to get clarification on how we can properly do the 1 subfloor shearwall since the concrete wall and the floor joist aren't well-lined up. This means we need to do a little extra work, somehow, to make the shearwall connect solidly to the concrete and the floor joists.
apparently we ARE supposed to have an interior shearwall that goes above the subfloor. right now we only had 3 shearwalls below the floor. now we gotta take the middle one all the way up to the attic, so that is more plywood, 2x4s and nails.
we also will need to re-do part of the shearwall on the other side of the basement. the fix that the carpenters came up with won't cut it so i'll talk to the structural engineer to figure out what we need to do.
we also need to get some sort of pull-test done, which i learned is simply to pull on the bolts that are newly glued into the concrete foundation to ensure they are set properly. i mean, this makes sense, but why wasn't this raised up by the engineers, either my structural guy or the city engineers?
We're also double-checking all the shearwalls and I'm taking pictures to review with the engineer. Hopefully this extra work will ensure the next 2 rough inspections go smoothly. We still have to schedule
1. the rough subfloor inspection, including framing, electrical and plumbing
2. rough inspection for framing, electrical, plumbing, and mechanical, PLUS exterior lathe to ensure the house is watertight from outside
3. insulation
4. gas test before final inspection
5. final inspection
I made sure to ask the inspector about all the inspections he wants to see, since i don't want to get caught off-guard again. I was surprised to learn there is no drywall inspections needed, but that is also good - we can just plow through the work instead of losing a day or two to inspections.
I got clarification on the problems with electrical - just need to clean up the old stuff that isn't in use, just like the plumbing. And we need to move dirt away from the concrete wall and shearwalls. I'm going to visit the engineer to get clarification on how we can properly do the 1 subfloor shearwall since the concrete wall and the floor joist aren't well-lined up. This means we need to do a little extra work, somehow, to make the shearwall connect solidly to the concrete and the floor joists.
apparently we ARE supposed to have an interior shearwall that goes above the subfloor. right now we only had 3 shearwalls below the floor. now we gotta take the middle one all the way up to the attic, so that is more plywood, 2x4s and nails.
we also will need to re-do part of the shearwall on the other side of the basement. the fix that the carpenters came up with won't cut it so i'll talk to the structural engineer to figure out what we need to do.
we also need to get some sort of pull-test done, which i learned is simply to pull on the bolts that are newly glued into the concrete foundation to ensure they are set properly. i mean, this makes sense, but why wasn't this raised up by the engineers, either my structural guy or the city engineers?
We're also double-checking all the shearwalls and I'm taking pictures to review with the engineer. Hopefully this extra work will ensure the next 2 rough inspections go smoothly. We still have to schedule
1. the rough subfloor inspection, including framing, electrical and plumbing
2. rough inspection for framing, electrical, plumbing, and mechanical, PLUS exterior lathe to ensure the house is watertight from outside
3. insulation
4. gas test before final inspection
5. final inspection
I made sure to ask the inspector about all the inspections he wants to see, since i don't want to get caught off-guard again. I was surprised to learn there is no drywall inspections needed, but that is also good - we can just plow through the work instead of losing a day or two to inspections.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Argh - failed rough inspection #2
Sheesh. 2nd rough inspection that failed. As luck had it, this was also the 2nd inspection that I planned to be present for, but had gambled and ran off to get something we thought we needed, and of course the inspector shows up when I wasn't around.
Well we got dinged on the subfloor work again. Apparently the electrical isn't correctly roughed-in, and all mechanical has to out, and we need to get the shearwall fixed properly. Plus a couple other things.
I think my next step is to talk to the city, figure out what the inspector's deal is, and see if I can explain the situation so we can all get back on track. I'm not sure why he's so upset with us, since we're trying to do things correctly. This is definitely a communication issue.
Well I could go on about this inspection but we're all quite frustrated. Hopefully I'll have better news in a few days. But this time I'm definitely going to make sure we take all the time we need to get the work done correctly instead of trying to get things done quickly.
Well we got dinged on the subfloor work again. Apparently the electrical isn't correctly roughed-in, and all mechanical has to out, and we need to get the shearwall fixed properly. Plus a couple other things.
I think my next step is to talk to the city, figure out what the inspector's deal is, and see if I can explain the situation so we can all get back on track. I'm not sure why he's so upset with us, since we're trying to do things correctly. This is definitely a communication issue.
Well I could go on about this inspection but we're all quite frustrated. Hopefully I'll have better news in a few days. But this time I'm definitely going to make sure we take all the time we need to get the work done correctly instead of trying to get things done quickly.
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