inner city duplex post 48-58
I am going to move ahead a little into the finishing work, this discussion is getting very long and possibly tedious. I have skipped ahead a few weeks to get to hardwood.
Post 48 - hardwood
It seemed like the entire city was in a rush to get some last minute work done before basically everything shuts down for the weekend. We have hardwood install ready after the break, so they delivered today. In theory the material can acclimatize to its new home, I think this is pretty much nonsense because the boxes are individually wrapped. Undoubtedly the wood is arriving from a super dry warehouse somewhere in SE Calgary, not exactly a climate controlled environment.
We have some interesting details planned for the install. I have used this shop before, and found their sales, service and install to be very good. I've given them a challenging install and we are going to see what they can do next week.
Covering the treads and risers in hardwood is a significant use of our finishing budget. The work is labour intensive and consumes a lot of material. The outcome is worth the expense in my view. My installer is working by himself, unfortunately he's a one man team. I like the end result however. Here is a shot of the first few treads going in.
Post 49 - garage progress
At this point the garage is ready for shingles and siding. We've got the garage doors and openers installed now, and the electrical meter bases installed on the sides of the garage are inspected and approved. Inside the garage we need to fire rate the middle party wall, which consists basically of insulating the stud spaces and hanging type x drywall on either side. With this work planned for tomorrow we can recall the inspector and wrap up the project. This is just in time as we need to landscape the rear of the yard, and we don't want to landscape until the garage is completely finished.
Post 50 - landscaping progress
The moment has definitely arrived to finish the exterior on this project. Landscaping is one of the final tasks. Our crew is back with loam and gravel so the front yard is prepped for sod and the sideyard are finished with crushed stone.
With the garage only lacking siding, soffit, fascia and trough, the rear yard is not quite ready for landscaping. We will push on and get the garage completely done in the next week or so. The remainder of the week will be a continuation of interior finishing with hardwood and railings on the schedule.
Post 51 - carpet
Experienced trades are pretty quick at what they do. This is shown by the productivity of the carpet crew. Three guys were able to finish off almost two houses in one day. With carpet complete we can move along with greater confidence to finalizing the rest of the interior.
Post 52 - Spindle railing
We've got an even split between glass and spindle railing on the project. The spindle job is nicely progressing. Because of the stiffer spindle structure compared to the glass we can skip a middle post. It makes for a nice look.
Post 53 - vertical motion doors
The kitchen design features some really nice Blum hardware. After some delays and part number confusion we've got the material installed. Looks good.
Post 54 - barn doors
Barn doors are always a nice show piece in a new house. They often save space too when entering a smaller room such as a walk in closet. The semi detached project has benefitted from a couple barn doors and finally we were able to hang them (needed carpet and finishers to come back).
Post 55 - appliances
Appliance delivery is another nice progress milestone in the project. It also means a large load of recyclables to the depot. We need the plumber to finish installing all of these appliances, because I don't like to make water connections myself. For example, he must run the fridge water line and connect it to the fridge, add the dishwasher drain line and supply, and do the gas connection to the oven. All of this work is definitely in the realm of needing to know how to do it, which disqualifies this builder, particularly for the gas job. I get to put in the microwave and trim kit (didn't fit, needs kitchen guy back), and the range hood (can't finish until the mechanical final), so basically I can't do anything except recycle (and pay bills, my two main roles in this project).
Post 56 - glass shower
the glass crew is back with the custom shower install. These are always an impressive installation and finishes the bathroom off nicely.
Post 57 - dealing with the mess
The garage continues to act as a dumpster and we've now likely got a bin worth of junk accumulated. And growing. It is amazing how much waste is produced by the construction site, after the recyclables are removed. Carpet remains a major villain for lacking reuse options. We may have to find a recyclable or returnable carpet supplier next time. Packaging waste other than cardboard is also a tough waste stream to manage.
Post 58 - railing stain
the painters are back to stain the oak railings in the second house. We've had the shop prepare a stain match to the cabinets. The concept here is to make a nice contrast with the lighter floor.