The electrical and mechanical inspections are complete. The plumbing inspection is waiting for the tub and shower to arrive. The manufacturer delayed shipment another week without letting us know until the day we were expecting it on the site. This one element has put us about two weeks behind schedule.
Production fell victim to holiday stresses with contractors tapering off their schedules in anticipation of the holiday weekend. For my part; I had been told by the electrical inspector that the light fan combination unit did not appear to meet code for use in a bath or shower. The next day I removed the original fixture and discovered the markings the inspector had been looking for clearly marked on the inside of the fan housing. Then, completely unencumbered by the thought process, I proceeded to dismantle the light/fan and attendant ductwork, and re-frame the opening for the new fixture I had purchased. A couple of hours latter, it finally dawned on me that I needn't have done anything. I dutifully re-installed all of the original ductwork and the light/fan combination... After I took some time to get some lunch. Are the Holidays here yet????
We did get the soffit and fascia completed on the front and back, and started to install the soffit on the west gable. We began installing the 4" of foam insulation on the west gable as we discovered a construction detail for the soffit and fascia was inter-related to the installation of the foam sheathing. Here they have installed the "Spiderlath" to hold the foam in place against the wind. Spiderlath is a fiberglass alternative to metal lath for the cement stucco that we will be installing in the spring. We need at least 72 hours without freezing conditions for the stucco to cure properly.
The roofing started yesterday. This is the end result of about four hours of work in the field. A good deal of time is spent in the shop fabricating the panels and trim. Though this shows the north side of the house, the panels are fabricated to accept the solar panels we have selected.
We installed blocking for all of the cabinets, towel bars, and toilet paper holders. With studs on 24" centers, you cannot rely on having a stud nearby to fasten cabinetry to, so wood blocking must be installed to provide anchor points for cabinets. We also framed in the access ports to the hydronic heating controls.
All of the light fixtures have been ordered, and most of them have arrived with only a couple on backorder. The remaining fixtures should be here in plenty of time for installation. We are storing them in the spare bedroom at the apartment, so it appears we won't be having any company for the next couple of months.
Though next week will be short, we expect to have the roofing complete, the plumbing inspection completed, hopefully we can get the final inspection, and then order the insulation. At this point it would be victory to get the insulation scheduled much less started. The HVAC contractor is building the heating controls in his shop, and expects to have the geothermal contractors finalize the installation and fill the lines.
This will require a choreography with the geothermal installers, the HVAC installers, the temperature control installers, the plumber, and the electrician. The electrician will need to install the electrical disconnects to provide power to the units. We can't start the well to provide water to fill the geothermal unit until we are confident that we can provide enough heat to prevent it from freezing, so all of the controls, the power to the unit, and piping must be complete and operational. The hot water heater still needs to be installed and the plumbing completed to provide water to the HVAC unit.
If you look closely around the front entry you will see a string of Christmas lights framing the front door. Judy is particularly pleased with this first solar powered contribution to the home.
Hope everyone has a Happy Holiday!
