Building a stick frame house in the woods in 90 days

[Obed]

Checking this thread out again, I noticed the issue on the exposed ends of the deck. I'm sure the builder will make it look OK with added trim boards, but for anyone else doing a composite deck, consider "picture framing" it. This is what my contractor did with my Azek deck and it really worked well. It has a slight overhang on all sides. The attached photo shows steps on the deck. We used a contrasting color to give a "visual cue" for safety.

View attachment 317004

We picture framed our deck. It added a lot of time to the installation but does hide the exposed ends of the composite decking.


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Obed

 

[pclausen]

Yeah, I'll talk to the builder about the possibility of picture framing the outside edge. I think he can get in there with a circular saw and cut out enough of the ends to drop in some square edge Trex.

Day 109

Outdoor unit has finally been delivered. Its pretty substantial for a 3 ton unit.

Turns out its the 17 SEER unit

In fact they went with the 2-stage Platinum heat pump. I *think* that will work with the 2nd gen Next thermostat I got, even with humidifier control as well.

Supply duct work

Return duct work

Electricians got the recessed can trim rings installed

And all switches and receptacles. They better mask them all off before the painters come back!

The box in the wall for this pair of switches is off quite a bit. Will be interesting to see how they will get the trim plane on

And Verizon were here putting in the phone line. They used one of those "plows" that buries the line in a single step. Surface damage was minimal.

The tile finally showed up, so they will work over the weekend to get the tile done so the painters can come back and do their thing. Mom did decide to go with a single color in the living room and hallway. It should match the stone work nicely.

 

[FairfaxStu]

The box in the wall for this pair of switches is off quite a bit. Will be interesting to see how they will get the trim plane on

I am honestly surprised that the electricians put the switches in that box as is. They should have used a flat screwdriver or sheet saw to get rid of the bind it is in and let let the painters fix the mess afterwards.
-Stu

 

[J F]

I've seen worse, come out fine at trim out, Stu. I've also seen better come out worse, though. :laughing:

Sometimes a small amount of work with a handheld sheetrock saw/blade to enable the box to sit "naturally" allows for the switches and trim to align squarely.

 

[FairfaxStu]

I've seen worse, come out fine at trim out, Stu. I've also seen better come out worse, though. :laughing:

Sometimes a small amount of work with a handheld sheetrock saw/blade to enable the box to sit "naturally" allows for the switches and trim to align squarely.

I think it comes back to our theory about Everclear and crystal meth. I could have cut out a better hole with a square point shovel or a clam knife. The part that scares me is that the electricians actually used it as is instead of cleaning it up first. I wonder what other shortcuts that may have taken. Loose electrical connections are no joke at all.
-Stu

 

[J F]

Loose electrical connections are no joke at all.
-Stu

90 seconds of clean up around the box may "free" it all up. It looks like the "rockers" may have "captured" the box...cut a bit of the rock away and the switches and box may have all the movement they need to be aligned. I'm just workin' off the pic.

Or not.

 

[FairfaxStu]

Jay, my point is that the electricians should have done this when they installed the switches today or yesterday. This was well after the finish guys and painters were in there. If they don't bother to use their utility knives or saws for this, what else may they have skimped on or overlooked.
-Stu

 

[dave1949]

90 seconds of clean up around the box may "free" it all up. It looks like the "rockers" may have "captured" the box...cut a bit of the rock away and the switches and box may have all the movement they need to be aligned. I'm just workin' off the pic.

Or not.

Follow that with the DIY Homeowner's special over-sized switch plate and we are good to go. :laughing: Nah, I think if they clean up the box opening a bit, get everything straight, patch in a bit of spackle and paint, it will look fine.

I think the electricians aren't going to take responsibility for the poor work of others. As long as they don't mess with the mud, they cannot be blamed for the end result. I don't think that makes them bad electricians either. They are supposed, within reason, to get a clean, square box to work with after all.

 

[J F]

Oh I'm with you, I missed where the cover plates were installed (is there a pic?). A lot of this stuff gets left for the "last" guy to touch it. In a perfect world, everyone would do their job correctly, but too many times it doesn't happen...the construction field included (and seemingly more often than our mental "average" ).

Anyone who's gc'd residential construction (as any other construction, I'm sure) can bend your ear forever and a day about it.

 

[FairfaxStu]

My understanding is that the switches and perhaps outlets were installed either today or yesterday and no covers are on yet. But let's not dwell on the negative, you guys are probably right and the electricians did everything properly under the covers.

On the bright side, the HVAC install looks really good to me. However, it looks like I still don't see the humidifier. Word to the wise, be very careful how they hook this into the water supply. I have 100% copper pipe in my house. When I am sleeping and the furnace turns on/off, I get a minor "water hammer" because of the humidifier. Turns out they tapped directly into a water supply line rather than tee-ing it off. Does anybody out there know how the proper way to plumb this to avoid the hammer effect?
-Stu