Inspection Day Complete

Well our goal of four inspections in one day was realized today. There were two things that I knew had to be done this morning to prepare for the various inspectors and I had them both complete by 8:30. The fan project that I undertook last night required a few parts that I picked up on the way home last night (at the big orange box store), and the one and only structural post in the house needed to be installed. I had the fan in by 8:00 as our framer arrived to set the post and base bracket in the basement footing. A little rebar and we were set on that front.

My dad graciously came out for the day to help me since I was going to be there all day. We were told by the inspector we met with before we started re-construction that we would need vents in the attic spaces which I knew would be a challenge. Laura and I bought four vents a while ago (on clearance even!) that met our needs so that was our project while the inspectors came and went.

I was a bit nervous as I always am when meeting with inspectors as they wield a lot of power and can bring a project to a standstill very quickly. The plumbing and electrical reviews went very quickly, with no corrections required. A testament to the plumber and electrician we hired. The framing/structural/mechanical inspection was completed by one guy who will be requiring some costly changes to our project in terms of money, but not in schedule. So we've got that going for us...which is nice.

The biggest items that we have to deal with involve insulating all of the duct work in the basement, and replacing three upstairs windows that are brand new. I attempted to argue that the windows were replacements for exactly what came out of the walls, but this did not matter. They were wrong before and they are wrong still. If I had left the crappy windows in place and replaced them after we were completely signed off he said there would be no problem. So we open the checkbook once more. There were a few smaller items that were on the inspectors list as well that my dad and I took care of for the most part.

Upon hearing the news of our additional window scope, Laura was ready to start arguing with the city to get them to buy off on what has been installed. I told her a story that I was told long ago by the first project superintendent that I worked for. He said that arguing with a building inspector is like wrestling with a pig. Pretty soon you begin to realize that the pig is enjoying it. I have resigned to complying with their requests, stay tuned for Laura's stance.

In general it was a good day "off" from work. The attic vents were completed with only one trip to the big blue box store and one knock to the head that sent me to my knees (I put the hardhat on after that). We fixed a few inspection items including a new attic access hole that I was hoping to not have to do. Our insulation sub confirmed that they will be out next Wednesday to start insulation, and the drywall sub came by to look at the holes in the walls and ceilings that will need to be patched by then. Laura came by after work to meet with a hardwood floor guy that was recommended by our realtor. He has not been so good about returning phone calls and apparently is also not so good about keeping his appointments. He was a no show. So we went to the big blue box store for plywood, concrete and some other miscellaneous items for the next round of tasks.

As I was unloading Laura headed back to the other house to get dinner rolling which was good. I was pretty much worn out from a 12 hour day at the Bungalow. In the cold. In the filthy attic. On my knees. Yeah. Some pancakes and two White Russians hit the spot. Mmmm, mmmm. Dinner of champions.

The next big milestone is still on target, which is to complete the insulation, and have that inspected next Friday. That would allow us to start drywall the following Monday which is huge. That of course hinges on having some heat which is still questionable in that time frame. Wish us luck!