Final Note

We closed on November 20th, slept at the home for the first night on November 24th, and the moving truck moved the heavy goods on November 29th. Since then we've been very busy getting settled.

We are very satisfied with our new home from Pringle at Lakes of Mount Dora. While we've had a few minor issues over the last six weeks, there has been nothing major.

This will be last post on this section of the blog.

Cap

Just a "wake up" to go

As of this afternoon the paint touch up had been done and the white (wrong color) quick port jacks for phone / ethernet had been replaced with the correct almond ones.

The remaining open punch list item is for replacement of a damaged cabinet door. Cliff, our builder, says it is to be installed first thing tomorrow.

The final cleaning was scheduled for either late this afternoon or first think Tuesday morning. We're supposed to close at 10:30 AM Tuesday.

It's been and interesting and fun five months for me, and Judi says it has at least be interesting. Overall, we're very happy with the construction phase.

Finishing Touches

Today the last towel bar was installed. This was an accommodation by Pringle. They had missed installing a towel ring and we decided we would rather have a towel bar instead.

The drywall subcontractor was in finishing up a few items. Tomorrow the painter is supposed to finish touch up work.

Orientation

We're essentially done with the construction stage. Today we had our official walk-through / orientation. We spent three hours at the house with a Pringle Warranty Coordinator and our Builder.

The program consisted of review of the customer responsibilities (e.g. normal homeowner maintenance, caulking, filter replacement), discussion of the Pringle warranties, and a detailed review of the home for open items.

There was some good news on the warranties. For LoMD homes, there is an additional one year major systems / structural warranty, beyond the the initial full one year warranty. Also, for LoMD owner occupied (vs. empty for-sale, rented, or away for the season) homes, the landscaping warranty is extended from two weeks to two months post closing.

Our builder was busy getting issues fixed during the morning, so they would not be on the written punch list. There were still some caulking / patching / paint touch-up and alignment opportunities. Judi turned out to be very good at finding small tile corner chips and grout defects, most of which were fixed on the spot with a tile / grout repair kit. Our builder and some of his co-workers did alignment of a few of the bi-fold doors. The landscaper replaced a dying plant. Awesome Home Theatre toned out and labeled the wires in the structured wiring box.

We ended up with two open punch list items (wrong color quickport connectors for the structured wiring and one replacement cabinet door), two "homeowner accommodation" (provide a towel bar ilo a missing towel ring, provide splash blocks for the downspouts for the gutters between the lanai and cage), and one "note in the file" item about the concrete flatwork color / finish.

This is, in my opinion, a great finish. I had 60+ items on my punch list developed over the weekend. Now we are down to a handful, with only the concrete color / finish item projected to be open at actual closing. The last house I built (in Michigan - not w/ Pringle) had over 200 items open at closing.

Now we've got five days to wait until closing, and then all the post-construction fun begins.

Punch List

We're all just working on the punch list at this time.

Over the weekend Judi and I did a detailed inspection of the house. We put color coded, removable labels on walls, cabinets, etc. to indicate areas that needed caulking, patching, paint touch up, or adjustment. We also generated a punch list of specific issues (e.g. loose thermostat) that need to be addressed. I emailed the list to our Builder Sunday evening.

Today I met with the Builder and he had several of the trades working to handle the open punch list items. There is only one that is a major item, and it is a cosmetic issue, not a functional issue. He expects to have most items handled by our Orientation and official walk through on Wednesday.

The house is substantially complete and we now just need to close out the punch list items and get the actual closing done.

Almost Done

The Punch List items are gradually being cleared. Today the last kitchen counter section was installed. The trash compactor was adjusted. The chip in the Master Bathroom counter was fixed. Many other items have been addressed.

Tuesday, I had set out some empty dog food cans around the yard so I could check to see that the correct amount of irrigation was being done daily. The cans were dry, indicating that the irrigation was not running. When I went to turn on the valves, I found that the system had been turned completely off. I suspect that some trade, working outside had turned them off so they wouldn't spray on their work, and forgot to turn them on at the end of the day. In any case, I ran the system for 20 minutes to be sure my yard and plants will get water.

The "final" building inspection is scheduled for tomorrow, Friday, and then Pringle will apply for a Certificate of Occupancy.

Our official meeting to build the final punch list is next Wednesday.

Punch List Progress

The trades have been in doing punch list items.

The Powder Room vanity cabinet doors were changed out and are now correct. Many of the kitchen cabinet items were addressed. The trash compactor was leveled.

The painters were doing the painting around the windows along with various touch up items. Our builder said he met with the lanai / front porch flooring company this afternoon and they would be doing touch up on their items this week.

The Pringle internal Quality Assurance review is scheduled for tomorrow. That's when they have three or four Pringle people walk through and critique the fit and finish of the home in preparation for the customer walkthrough a week later.

We're now down to less than two weeks to closing.

Pre-Walkthrough

I met with our Builder Monday afternoon for the Pre-Walkthrough. He said that he knew I would find some punch list items at the official "orientation" next week, but his goal was to have the number of punch list items to be very low.

We walked the house and discussed several items, from caulking yet to be done, adjustments with cabinets, missing light bulbs, to drywall and paint touchup. Cliff made half a dozen calls to the trades while we were doing the review to get them out in the next day or so to finish up.

RCS Construction was hanging the pegboard in the garage. They are supposed to do the powerwash on Tuesday.

Ro-Mac had been out and installed the screens on the windows and weatherstripping on the front doors. Cliff found some problems with the weather strip and will have them correct it.

We discussed the exterior concrete flatwork on the drive and walks. I'm not happy with the appearance of the surface. The shape and grade are ok, but it just looks very bad in terms of finish. Cliff thinks it will bleach out, but I'm not sure. We'll see how it looks after powerwashing is done.

Pre-Pre-Walkthrough

I spent several hours Saturday afternoon reviewing the home status, after it was mostly cleaned.

Most of the problems are normal ones of paint touch-up. However there are some more difficult issues to be resolved.

The plastic covers have been removed from the countertops. This has exposed a major chip in the Master Bath countertop. This may have to be removed and replaced.

Some of the baseboard nails were not driven to, or below the wood surface. It will be interesting to see if carpenters will still use the old fashioned hand nail set and hammer to fix this, or if they pull off the baseboard and install new so they can use the airgun.

One of the kitchen cabinet pull out shelves was installed in a way that prevents it from rolling out.

The master bath shower does not drain.

I don't consider any of these to be major items. It will just take some time to get them fixed. However, it does take time to walk around each room and really look at it for issues that need to be fixed. This is especially important for cosmetic issues, as once the closing is done, the presumption is that newly discovered cosmetic issues occurred after the closing and are thus a homeowner responsibility.

Inspections

The "final roof" and final mechanical inspections were today. Minor issues were addressed. Cleaning continues.

Unfortunately, we found that someone had washed out a container with white residue (paint, grout?) and dumped it on the mulch and stone facing beside the garage. When we showed it to our builder he was definitely not pleased.

We set a pre-walkthrough meeting for Monday afternoon.

Refrigerator, Compactor

The refrigerator has been delivered and put in place. After all the work on the space for it, both the wall niche and the cabinet enclosure, it fits well.

The compactor was delivered and put in the recess for it, although it is not yet really installed.

The countertop to the left of the refrigerator has been removed. They should be making a new one or adjusting the one removed, based on the latest cabinet installation.

Cleaning of the home has started, with the Study, 1/2 Bath, and Guest Suite cleaned.

The access stairs to the garage attic storage were installed, and they have started the installation of the pegboard on the garage wall.

Now it is time for the "punch list", or minor finish work. We're seven working days from our walkthrough, and twelve working days from closing, or about two and a half calendar weeks.

Today, Pringle emailed my closing letter which shows how much money they expect me to bring to the closing meeting. It is what I expected, so no surprise. I've also started making arrangement for utilities to be put in my name.

There are new pictures which can be accessed from the link on my LakesofMountDora.org home page.

Carpeting & Cabinets

The carpet for the two guest bedrooms was installed, apparently yesterday afternoon.

The kitchen island was relocated to the correct, final location and the pipes moved to agree with the correct location. Nice base trim was installed around it. The replacement / corrected kitchen cabinets arrived and were being installed.

Some trim work was done in the Laundry Room and near the Great Room doorwalls.

We're now two weeks from our walkthrough, or orientation. It looks doable, provided the cleaners and caulkers do their work soon, so all the touch up can be done.

Exterior Doors Painted

Today the garage doors and trim around them were painted. The painter had also masked the front door and was preparing to paint it, if it didn't rain.

The water was shut off at the meter and a sign posted - "do not turn on - open water valves". While I didn't look, I assume the kitchen island is not yet replumbed at the correct location.

Two small pieces of tile were installed in the Master Bathroom, but other requested tile work about a foot away was not done.

No other new work was obvious.

Structured Wiring Box Door

It's Saturday - little progress today. I noticed that the structured wiring box door was installed.

23 Days and counting down!

More Sod

The remainder of the sod was laid today. The landscaping from Pringle is complete except for some paving stones and the initial adjustments to the sprinkler system. Some extra sod was laid where my planting beds butt up against the vacant lot next door. This was to keep my mulch from escaping. Nice.

We had a bit of problem with the sprinkler system. One of the two main valves still did not have the electrical wires connected on Friday mid-afternoon. I asked my builder to get it fixed so there would be irrigation for the newly installed plants and lawn. He called me around 4:00 PM and advised that the irrigation company was there and fixing it.

The garage "attic storage" steps are in a box in the garage, to be installed next week.

The missing latches for the nook slider were installed.

A painter was caulking, but stopped at 3:30 PM. He said he would return on Monday.

The remaining kitchen cabinets are due on Tuesday. My builder plans to have carpet installed by the end of the week. Then it is on to the development of the punch list.

24 Days and counting down.

HVAC Startup & Palm Trees

The HVAC system was started today. There was an initial leak in the refrigerant line which had to be soldered and refilled. The HVAC contractor didn't seem to have a lot of experience dealing with the Lennox brand of zoning equipment, but they got it started and demonstrated both cooling and heating on all four zones.

The plumber was back to install the faucet, drain, and garbage disposal for the kitchen island.

The main power feed for the home was apparently repaired yesterday afternoon, so the landscapers planted the two remaining palm trees, the landscape Bird of Paradise plant, and spread some more mulch. They are still missing about 3/4 pallet of sod.

The irrigation system works manually, but clearly has a maximum capability of 50% in automatic mode, since one of the two valves doesn't even have the wires connected. Some of the sprinkler heads need adjustment of A) height, B) location, and / or C) throw. I suspect this is part of the normal startup of an irrigation system. I'll have to watch over the next few days to be sure that the new landscaping does get water. Since we are now into the "cooler" season, the plants will be less likely to burn until the irrigation system is fully adjusted.

Our Builder and I discussed a solution for the problem of the utility room door interference with our utility room refrigerator. If we finish the rear wall flat (e.g. no baseboard behind the refrigerator area) and add / move the electrical outlet so we can plug in just beside the refrigerator instead of behind it, we'll gain and inch and a half, and we only need one inch, so we should clear. This will avoid having to move or downsize the door from the utility room to the garage.

Trees, Sod, & Oops!

Our remaining trees were delivered today, and all but two of the palms were installed.

There was a "oops!" digging the hole for one of the palms. They hit the main power feed to the house. It's a good thing they were using shovels with fiberglass handles, as the workman was not injured. The shovel blade has a new configuration now. Here is a picture. The electrical feed is on the left, below the sprinkler pipes.

It's amazing how shallow the power wires are buried. They appear to be off center from the markings, and were buried with no caution tape above them.

The sod was delivered and installed. It appears to have been grown on good, dark, topsoil (or muck).

Our pine bark nugget mulch was also installed.

The landscaping is almost done, except for planting the two palm trees in the front yard and one landscape bird of paradise plant which should be delivered tomorrow. Then we're into the sprinkler head adjustment.

There was work done on the kitchen island countertop today. There is a clearance issue with the sink faucet holes which needs to be resolved.

Tomorrow the HVAC is supposed to be programmed / put into operation.

Landscape Plants

There was a burst of activity starting at 11:15 today.

An Awesome Home Theatre installer showed up with a few items for the low voltage trim and explained that they are waiting on parts to complete the job.

Three cabinet installers arrived to quickly set the replacement center kitchen island, as they had been told the countertop was arriving at noon. I was glad I was there as we were able to agree on exact positioning of the island. They did not even have time to permanently attach it to the floor before the countertop installers showed.

The countertop was installed on the island.

A plumber came and installed the dishwasher and insulated the water heater pipes.

The landscaping crew arrived with the majority of our trees, shrubs, and plants. They positioned them on the yard and then asked us to check that everything was ok before they were planted. The landscaper arrived and answered questions about growth rates. He did a great job helping us reposition a few of our selections. I think the benefit we have gotten from Central Florida Nursery is great compared to the small cost for upgrading some of the choices. It was a rough start in August, but worked out well.

The ValleyCrest groundskeeper who manages the irrigation system arrived and did an initial evaluation of the irrigation system. He assured me that he would check to be sure it was programmed in the "new landscape" mode to water daily for the next few weeks.

By the end of the day all the landscape trees, shrubs, and plants were set, with the exception of a few of the palms and two plant types, which are due to arrive tomorrow.

Next up, mulch and sod.

Count Down

There are either 16 or 15 working days left to finish the house before our "orientation" or walk through. Fifteen days is if Veterans Day is a holiday for the construction crews. In Michigan, the first day of hunting season would be a holiday, but I don't think they do as much Bambi shooting here in Florida.

No work was done at the house today. The landscape crew did not show up, even though scheduled.

I have 64 work events (e.g. install carpet, install screens) on my list of tasks that need to be done before closing. This project is going to need some multi-tasking to get finished by Pringle's scheduled closing date.

Pringle did post new pictures today. Try this url:

http://myhome.pringle.com/thumbs.asp?Date=10/22/07&CName=Thomas&LotNo=LM0189&f=

Water Shutoff Valve Cover

One other visible sign of progress - the cover was installed over the valve to shut off the house water. The temporary water spigot was cut off and capped.

In LoMD, the main water line is run about 12" underground to the side of the house. A plastic shutoff valve is installed and a section of 4" drainpipe is placed upright over this valve. To help keep this clear and accessible, a sprinkler valve box with cover is placed over this 4" drainpipe.

I was surprised that the temporary water spigot, placed in the main line just after the water meter, was just cut off about 1" below ground level and capped, rather than being completely removed. We'll have to remember where it is so we don't try to plant a shrub there later and break the line.

Closing Date

We got a call at 7:45 AM today giving us a choice of Homeowner Orientation (also known as walkthrough) and Closing dates. We selected the earliest possible, with the orientation on November 14 and the closing on November 19, a month from today.

A reminder - if you send an email or message to me from one of my Building the House pages, and want an answer from me, you MUST put your return email in the TEXT of the message. Otherwise, I don't know where to send a reply. I've gotten several messages in the last week which don't have a reply email address.

Not much was happening at the site today. Awesome Home Theatre, the low voltage trim subcontractor, did show up with the plans and looked to see what they needed to properly complete the job. The supervisor who showed up said the crew that only did a partial job earlier in the week "no longer worked for the company". I was surprised to learn that speaker drops were just unterminated wires under a cover plate in the wall. I'd expected that they would have binding posts or jacks at each end.

There are newer pictures on the Pringle site at: http://myhome.pringle.com/fullpic.asp?ID=344357&CName=Thomas&LotNo=LM0189&f=

.

Irrigation System

The irrigation system was installed today, one day earlier than I expected. It's all rigid plastic pipe about 8" below grade, with tees and flexible feeds about 2' long to each sprinkler head. That should make it much easier to raise / lower and slightly reposition the heads over time.

It is essentially a dual system with two feeder pipes running totally around the perimeter of the lot and in parallel in sections of the rear and front yards. One feed is for the planting beds for shrubs, trees, and flowers. The other is for the sodded areas.

Since I didn't have my camera with me, I was sketching the location of the lines. It was a race, as they were burying pipe about as fast as I could sketch the location. I was able to see where they ran the lines under the sidewalk in two places, but they were ahead of me on a third.

Now we're ready for the actual landscape installation.

LV Trim & Flatwork Painting

The LV trim was partially done today. Cable outlets were installed, along with telephone. The Ethernet outlets were missed, either just covered with a blank, or a smaller telephone jack installed instead of the Ethernet outlet. None of the terminations at the panel were done. Our builder called the subcontractor and said she was having problems with her installers.

The rest of the front porch and lanai painting was done. They will still have touch up to do, but there was some progress.

Out builder said that the replacement kitchen cabinets are being expedited, and should arrive by the end of the month.

Gas and More Plumbing

When I visited today, I found the gas meter had been installed and the buried gas lines marked so we won't put trees over them when the landscaping is installed.

The plumber was on site, redoing the plumbing for our whole house water filter. Mount Dora requires backflow preventers on both sides of the filter, and none had been installed.

Some cleanup work had been done inside the house.

We're in somewhat of a holding pattern, as final inspections are being scheduled and we are waiting for the replacement cabinets to arrive and be installed.

Irrigation is supposed to be installed on Friday.

Final Grade

On Monday the dirt was moved around to establish a final grade. Most of the debris was raked out, although some remains.

Monday afternoon we had a meeting on site to again discuss our landscaping plan. In addition to Pringle's landscaping contractor and my builder, the Pringle Construction Manager, the Pringle Director of Construction, a City of Mount Dora Planner, and the University of Florida's Yards & Neighborhoods Multi-County Coordinator attended. This was apparently because we had developed a more detailed plan for landscaping from the "standard" menu of plants than other customers had done, and the Florida Friendly Landscaping expert had been asked to review the plan.

We got suggestions on some changes / additions / deletions on the plants we had selected from the standard menu. Some would grow too large, others were not appropriate (right place / right plant), and others would not do well on out lot, which is essentially full sun. As an example, we were strongly discouraged from using Pampas Grass to screen the A/C unit as it would grow too large, has sharp edged leaves, and might attract snakes. We also found that we could substitute some other recommended plants that were not on the standard plant menu, at no increased cost to us.

It was agreed that we could upgrade, at our cost, from the standard pine straw in the rear to earth tone pine nugget mulch. We also agreed on the rear "buffer" landscaping.

Overall, it was an acceptable meeting for me, an "OK, but not great" meeting for my wife, and I hope satisfactory for the other players.

Our landscaping is now scheduled to be installed on Monday, October 22.

Misc. Work

The shut off valves for the gas line for the gas clothes dryer and the stub out line to the future generator were installed. The gas line was connected to the water heater. Now the gas meter needs to be installed.

The shelving in the Master Bedroom Closet has been corrected.

An almost-final grade has been done on the lot in the rear, sides, and part of the front. More dirt is needed and more raking to get the stones / junk out of the dirt to get to a final grade.

The painters were working on the inside doing the caulking of the baseboards. Actually, when I went in at about 2:30 PM, the three painters were lying down resting in the Great Room. A few minutes later they were back working.

The critical path for completion is now Florida Designer Cabinets correcting the cabinet errors. If, big IF, they get their act together, we may be able to close by Thanksgiving, otherwise we're potentially into December. I called the cabinet manufacturer, Wellborn, yesterday and have some potential solutions, but don't know if FDC will go that route.

Cabinet Issues - Again!

Five of the replacement cabinets arrived. Two are correct, two may be ok, and one is again wrong.

The Powder Room vanity is now the correct width, but has full height doors instead of drawer and doors. The two island base cabinets that are reduced depth to 12" with full height doors arrived as 30" high wall cabinets. The cabinet installer says he can use these and build up a kick plate area so they will look fine. However the Powder Room vanity will need more work.

Our Builder met with the cabinet company today and discussed all the changes they need to do to fix the kitchen. They will fix it, but the replacement cabinets have not been ordered. They will order on Monday, 10/15 with delivery expected on Tuesday, 11/06. Then the cabinets will have to be installed. One of the countertops may have to be replaced, if it can't be refitted. I'm now thinking 11/14 for the kitchen to be done. I suspect that puts us at Thanksgiving week for closing, unless everything else is completely done and the City is prepared to issue a C.O. in one day.

No real work was done at the site today.

Blinds and Stuff

The wrong shelving in the Master Closet was pulled out today.

The drywall "mudding" crew was in doing touchup. The electricians finished except for the kitchen island.

The "green" yard treatment (poison?) was applied today. They spilled some of it on the concrete drive and front walk. We'll see if it will wash off when Pringle power washes before closing.

We met with a fourth blind company, liked their information and pricing, and ordered all our blinds. They were impressed with the straightness of our window openings, as there was very little variance in width from top to bottom. They also suggested that we have the baseboard trimmed back at the edges of the doorwall, so verticals could hang evenly and not be pushed to the side by the 1/2" baseboard.

We also met with a concrete treatment company to get an estimate to have the garage floor coated with a decorative epoxy before we start using the garage.

The replacement kitchen and vanity cabinets have not arrived.

Builder Meeting

There was no work at the site today.

Judi and I met with Cliff, our Builder, and went through some issues which he will have corrected.

The shelving in the Master Bedroom Closet will be corrected to the right height and arrangement. We had planned this out carefully so that clothes on hangers would not drag on the floor or shelf below. However, it was installed with about an inch less clearance which would have had some items dragging. Also, there was about 6' less shelving for short items (shirts, blouses, jackets) than planned, and about 6' more for long items, which we really don't use here in Florida.

We talked about some medium issues, which will be fixed, such as the towel bar in the Power Room set about a foot too high and the water heater remote control installed in the garage when the print clearly shows it in the hall near the kitchen / utility room.

The issues in the kitchen cabinets were reviewed. My plans agreed with those the builder had, but not with what was installed. Cliff will have the Cabinet company put in the right cabinets. Of the 27 total kitchen cabinets (wall, base, and island) 17 were the wrong size. Not a good percentage. Of the seven bathroom cabinets, one was wrong.

I'd recommend that anyone having a new home built get the cabinet plans clearly specified at Design, including width, number of drawers / doors, hinge left or hinge right, mullion strip or no mullion strip, along with any options such as lazy susans, pull out shelves, fillers, and crown molding. Then be sure to keep a copy of what you specified and ordered to use as a check list when you view the installed kitchen. I would also have a note that the owner is to be notified of any changes in cabinet size.

I don't think this was a Pringle error. Rather, I think the cabinet supplier just didn't bother to look carefully at the specifications / drawings when they ordered the cabinets and assumed that they could just put in whatever they thought would fit.

The low voltage electrical trim, completion of the household electrical trim, gas connections, and HVAC connections are due this week.

I also have meetings for a quote on window / door blinds and garage / driveway finishing scheduled for tomorrow. I talked to the cabinet company I have selected for some post-closing cabinets today and we'll get those ordered early next week. The dock construction company called me and will call back at the end of the week with more dock information. I also got my lawnmower out and ready to go, now that the year long sabbatical from lawn care is almost over.

Critical Path to Completion

Good progress was made last week. The critical path, or the items that are now controlling the closing date seem to be:

- replacement kitchen cabinets for those that are wrong. If they have to be ordered, there is a three week lead time.
- irrigation system installation and inspection,
- landscaping, which is pending a meeting with the City of Mount Dora,
- a lot of city final inspections for plumbing, electricity, sewer, gas, landscaping, etc.
- final Certificate of Occupancy

We'll see what happens this week. While the Critical Path says that we could be done by the end of the month, if everything goes just right, I'm now beginning to think that even the week of November 5th is optimistic, and that the week of November 12th is more likely.

During the last few days we've been concentrating on a lot of soon after close items we want done, such as the garage floor treatment, blinds, screening of the front porch, etc.

The next few weeks will be busy.

Lanai & Porch Flatwork

Today a crew cleaned the lanai and front porch concrete and applied the "knock down" texture. I expect it will be painted next week.

I spent an hour or so doing a detailed review of the kitchen cabinets versus the plans. There are lots of differences. It appears that the plans either didn't get to Florida Designer Cabinets, or they thought it was just a suggestion. I guess it's time to meet with Cliff on Monday.

I also walked through all the other rooms and updated my punch list. There are lots of minor issues that I expect would be corrected in the drywall / paint / electrical final reviews, even if I didn't note them. This is normal. I also found a few medium level issues including one window that seems to have a broken lift mechanism. This early punch list will, I believe, make it easier for us at the "final" walkthrough. Otherwise I think it would be overwhelming to check everything to be sure it is right.

Lots of Activity

Friday was a very busy day at the house.

The plumbing trim was done, except for the kitchen island and the powder room vanity sinks which are delayed until the correct cabinets are installed.

The electrical trim continued, and most of the electrical work is done. Again, the electrical to the kitchen island could not be done until the cabinets are installed. We're still waiting on the electrical box / GFI / wiring for our special hot tub circuit. All the light fixtures were installed. The smoke detectors were installed. A whole house surge suppressor was put in the main meter box.

The main control for the water heater was installed in the garage, even though I told the installer that it was not to go there, but in the hall as specifically shown on the print. Now they'll have to come back and move it and also repair the wall. I suppose the "do overs" generate income for the hourly trades.

The mirrors in the master bathroom and the guest bathroom were installed. The powder room mirror is, of course, waiting for the correct cabinet to arrive.

All the shelving for the closets and pantry were installed. They are all ok except for the Master Closet, where the installer again thought the print specifications were only suggestions. This will be a do over, including patching holes in the wall and paint touchup.

Between 4 and 6:30 PM it poured at LoMD. It was like a swimming pool in the area in front of the front porch that is enclosed by the front walk. I don't see how any plantings will survive in this area unless gutters are installed to route the water elsewhere. There was one minor leak in the garage around the furnace chimney. My rain gauge at Royal Harbor showed 3.53" of rain yesterday. The lake levels are coming up.

Plumbing and Electrical Trim

At mid-day today, both the plumbing and electrical trim were in process. The plumber had the whole house water filter installed, the external water heater hung and plumbed, the toilets set, and was working on connecting the various sinks.

The electrical trim crew had "dealt" outlets, switches, and cover plates around all the rooms near the electrical boxes and were busy installing them. The Dining Room, Nook, and Foyer hanging light fixtures were installed. There was a problem with the light strip over the Guest Bath vanity as it was about 6" too long. This will be changed. I think the fixture was actually right, but the framing shortened up that wall. The wall between the utility room and the dining room was about five inches shorter than I had expected, but the nook and kitchen dimensions had grown a bit.

The house is full of Love Bugs. Since the screens are not on the windows and the HVAC is not yet operational, the crews are opening windows to provide some air circulation. The cleaning crew will have a big job.

I'll spend time in the house over the weekend checking on the installations and updating my punch list.

HVAC, Door Hardware, Countertops

We're back from vacation. While we were gone the counter tops were installed, along with all the room door handles / locks. Also the HVAC compressor, coil, furnace, and thermostats were all installed. No electrical connections were made and I was told today that the electricians, not the HVAC people will do all that hook up. Then HVAC comes back to program / tune the system.

We got a surprise on the countertops in the bathrooms. They were not the same color as the kitchen, as we had expected, but were a more neutral color. This is, I believe, our mistake, as I went back and checked the individual decor change order and the kitchen and bathroom countertop colors are different. We got what was on the change order that we signed. It's not a bad color and we'll live with it, rather than spend about $2500 to change it.

All the electrical fixtures are in boxes in the Master Closet.

Cage

Pringle sent us new pictures while we were on vacation. From the pictures, it appears that the cage behind the Lanai was installed on October 2.

Dirt

We're out of town, but have heard, from our Homeowners Insurance Agent, that they were bringing in dirt and doing the final grade yesterday. No other news.

No News

We're away on vacation, so don't have any construction updates to post. Yesterday morning, before we left, I saw our builder. He said he is trying to work around the cabinet issues so we will not have any delay in the end date.

Cabinets - Some Miscommunication

I got the opportunity to compare the installed cabinets against my Notice To Proceed submission. Most cabinets were fine, with some minor dimensional variances, but the kitchen island was not. We had planned a 48" x 33" island, with the cabinet fronts on the long, or 48" faces. To accomplish that I'd specified one row of cabinets that was reduced depth to 12" and had full height doors and no drawers. We planned to use this for glassware and it was right across from the dishwasher / sink for easy access. The cabinets on the other side of the island were both to be reduced depth to 21". One was to be 18" wide to use as a small sink base, while the other was to be 24" with three pot drawers. There was a 6" filler.

I found that four 18" deep by 21" wide cabinets had been installed, with drawers. This also meant that the plumbing was in the wrong position for the sink. I talked briefly to the cabinet installer who called my builder. After review of my NTP plans he agreed that the cabinets were wrong and would be changed out. There was no issue with fixing it. We caught it before the measurements for the counter tops were made. Pringle will have to sort out where the miscommunication occurred, and it might even be with me, but we'll get the cabinet configuration for the island that we wanted.

The bathroom cabinets were installed in the Master Bath and the Guest Bath. The Powder Room cabinet came in 3" too short, so will also have to be reordered.

We'll have to see what the impact is on closing date. The cabinets have a three week lead time, so should be in on October 15th or 16th. If the other trades will work around the missing cabinets, then we could end up with no slippage.

The window labels were all removed and the windows were given a first cleaning. They'll have to be cleaned again before closing, but do look much better.

They started locking the house up on Friday evening, so we'll not have as easy access to check on progress. However, it's good timing, as we are going away to visit Judi's Dad and "vacation" for the next week or so. I have had some comments that I'm retired and thus on vacation all the time now, but it will mean a change of pace / scenery. My builder said that he would email to me with progress next week.

Work Continues

The tile crew finished up the tile installation today, except that there is no shower drain in the master shower. They tiled over it, so it will have to be cut out. Not a big problem.

The cabinet installation team was busily at work installing the cabinets. There are a few issues that I'll have to discuss with my builder on Friday. Most look fine.


The door from the laundry room to the garage is not where we expected it to be. This causes a problem as we had planned to put our "extra" refrigerator in the laundry room and it will stick out 3" in front of the door. This is likely my fault, as I did not get the exact dimensions for the door location spelled out on the print. From the location shown, if you scale the dimensions, it is wrong, but without exact dimensions, the framers field locate things.

We met with our builder about this and agreed to downsize the door from 3' 0' to 2' 8" to gain the 4" needed. This avoids a major redo of a load bearing wall.

The Pringle photographer was out to take new pictures, so there should be some on the picture site tomorrow.

Cabinets Arrive

Our cabinets arrived today. This afternoon the installer was removing them from the shipping boxes and staging them near the installation point. He said that he and his partner would be installing them tomorrow, and perhaps into Friday. They look nice on the floor.

The tile crew had one person working finishing the floor tile. They still have to finish the master shower tile.

It rained all day today, so no other work was done, and it was very quiet in the subdivision, with very few of the outside trades working. We need the rain.

Driveway Poured

Today the exterior concrete flatwork was done. The driveway, sidewalk by the street, sidewalk to the front door, floor for the cage, and the various pads (e.g. A/C Compressor, exit from the cage) were poured in the morning. By mid-day they were finished working them and had covered them all with large sheets of plastic to protect against the afternoon rains.

The tile crew was continuing their work. In areas where the floor tile had been grouted, they had installed covering brown "butcher" paper to protect the floor. They were working on the tile for the tubs and shower.

The next steps on the critical path are cabinet install, then countertops, then HVAC (furnace / AC coil & compressor) install and startup.

Today I also obtained Homeowners Insurance coverage effective just before my projected close date.

Garage Doors

Today the garage doors were installed.

The tile crew continued work on tile installation.

J&N Stone finished installing the decorative stone accents on the house front.

As of mid-day, no concrete had been poured for the driveway, sidewalks, etc.

More Tile Work

On Saturday, by 12:30 PM, the tile crew had laid out lots of tile in the Great Room, Nook, Kitchen, and Hall. They also had put in the base for the "no step" walk-in shower in the Master Bath, with a continuous slope to the drain. The crew supervisor was very proud to show us his work. He told us that the tile work should be done by the end of the day on Tuesday. Great progress.

Tile - But No Concrete

Friday a tile crew started work. They scraped the slab to clean up the residue left from the drywall, put down "red guard" around all the saw cuts in the slab, and stacked all the boxes of tile on the rear lanai. By Friday evening they had placed, but not cemented, two long rows of tile from the front Study all the way though the Great Room and through the Nook. Since we are having tile laid on the diagonal, this is the longest contiguous run of tile.

The outside concrete flatwork for the driveway, walks, and cage was not poured. A crew came by and adjusted the forming for one pad that was off a bit, and the supervisor said they would probably pour late Monday morning.

Our Builder discussed plans for next week with us and agreed that my projection for closing of between November 5 and November 10 was looking like a good estimate. Of course, there were no commitments to a firm date, as there is a lot of hurricane season left between now and then.

Landscape Meeting

We had our Landscaping Meeting this afternoon. Judi and I had drawn up a plan showing what trees, shrubs, and color items we wanted and our preferences for where they would be placed. We're probably unlike many LoMD residents as we want more than 35% of the area devoted to planting beds, not less.

The landscaper reviewed our plan, made several recommendations and suggestions, and we agreed on some changes. We also agreed on some upgrades that we will have to pay the landscaper directly to have done.

This was, overall, a good meeting as we had gotten the base plan ahead of time and taken the time to research the various tree and shrub options. I strongly recommend going into the meeting prepared, otherwise the number of choices to be made could be overwhelming.

There was no other action at the house today.

More Paint - But No Inspection

The painters were busy today applying the second coat of paint to the interior. All the doors were standing lined up in the Great Room, with a coat of paint on them.

The forms for the pad outside the door at the rear of the cage were set, as well as the forms for the generator pad. My builder came by and we talked about getting some rebar put in around the pad outside the cage, since there is a big slope to the ground outside it.

Because of a scheduling issue, the form inspection was pushed to Thursday, so the driveway should be poured on Friday.

The painters had a step ladder on top of the Master Bath tub. My builder and I discussed this, again, both from a protecting the tub surface issue and from a safety issue.

The landscaping contractor called this morning and asked to reschedule our landscaping meeting to tomorrow, which was not an issue for us.

Inteior Painting & Driveway Forms

Tuesday was a busy day. The interior ceiling and wall paint was applied. The crew was working until about 7 PM to complete the job.

Also, the forms for the driveway, front sidewalk, rear cage, and A/C pad were installed. They will return on Wednesday to finish forming two more pads, one for a generator and one for a second door from the cage. The irrigation crew put a plastic irrigation pipe under the driveway for me so I can later install the wire for my Invisible Dog Fence, without having to cut the driveway slab, or bore under it.

The form inspection is due tomorrow and then the pour will likely be Thursday, weather cooperating.

Inspection Report

My inspector found only one minor item with the metal corner bead at the Nook doorwall. When I talked with my builder, he advised that the crew was already on the way to fix it, so painting could start on Tuesday.

Paint Arrives

Sometime between Friday mid-day and Saturday evening, the interior paint was delivered and left in the garage. No other activity was observed.

Inspection Day

There was no activity on Friday. My outside inspector was scheduled to do the pre-paint inspection, after the drywall was hung, taped, mudded, and texture was applied. I'll get the results on Monday.

Texture & Doors

Today there was good progress. As of mid-day, the walls and ceilings had been textured. There was also some "free" texturing of the painted stucco on the lanai, some exterior windowsills, and a closet door. Another clean-up or do over.

There were two workers installing the interior doors and the door / baseboard trim. The bi-fold guest linen closet door that we were worried about opens with plenty of space to put things in / get things out of the closet. It is a few inches wider than the linen closet at our rental home, and that makes a tremendous difference. The doors are all 8' high, and the closet ceilings are 11' 4", so there is a tremendous amount of space. I supposed we can stack light things, like a case of TP, on the top shelf, in case deliveries are interrupted for a month or so during hurricane season. ;)

There are a few fit / finish issues, but I suspect it is too early in the process to worry about.

I did my weekly drive around Lakes of Mount Dora checking on construction today. I found several homes that had been completed and closed that were started in mid to late April. That effectively means that Pringle is bringing in homes in about four and 1/2 months from the time the slab is poured.

There is a complete new set of pictures available from the www.LakesofMountDora.org home page link.

Wednesday - A Day of Rest

Apparently the crews are making up for working on the Labor Day Weekend. As of 1 PM, there was no work being done on our home. I had expected the drywall texturing company to be at work. There still are no window sills.

Tomorrow I'll take some time going through / around the home and update my punch list. It appears that most of the items I had last week were resolved.

I've asked Cliff to find a way to protect the Master Bath tub, which seems to be accumulating lots of debris in it. He said he will have a piece of plywood cut to go over it.

No other news about the house.

Exterior Painting

On Tuesday, the exterior painting was done. They use both a hot stucco primer and a Loxon waterproofing paint. The house looks nice, at least to us, with the colors we chose. I'll try to get some pictures on Thursday.

Also, all the interior doors and the trim were delivered by Ro-Mac and stacked in the garage. No interior work was done, although our builder, Cliff, said he expected the window sills to be installed on Tuesday.

Electrical Fixes & Finished Drywall

On Monday, Labor Day, the electricians and the drywall crew worked. The electricians put in the smoke detector that had been missed in the Study and adjusted some ceiling light fixtures in the Kitchen that had been moved out of alignment by one of the trades.

The drywall crew finished all the mudding and cleaned up their mess inside the house. There is a giant pile of scrap drywall pieces in the front yard, just beside the dumpster. This is because the dumpsters were full. I told Judi that we should just consider that the drywall gypsum is being used to amend the soil for better growth later.

More Taping & Mudding

On Saturday of Labor Day Weekend, the drywall crew was at work doing the rest of the taping, and some of the second coat of mudding.

Drywall All Hung

Apologies - I've been delinquent in posting and will try to catch up.

On Friday, the crew completed hanging the drywall, including the interior ceiling board, the lanai ceiling board, the interior wall board, and the Dens board which is used as the backer for the tile in the wet areas of the bathrooms. Then they started on the taping and mudding.

Drywall Progress

As of this afternoon, the drywall was hung and the crew was starting on the taping and mudding. The rooms look a lot different with the drywall separating the rooms.

I met with my builder and he brought the electrical supervisor in to discuss a missing smoke detector and the need to align one of the ceiling lights in the kitchen.

He will also get an attic access that was just covered over with drywall cut open.

We discussed plans for the next few weeks. It looks as though we are still on schedule for an early November completion, and for sure by Thanksgiving, unless we get bad hurricanes through the area.

Here are some pictures showing the stucco preparation and completion:

Here are some of the insulation work in progress, before cleanup:

Construction Back in Gear

We've had a dry spell recently, but construction is back in gear. My builder went on vacation, and his co-workers saved his work for him, so little got done. He was back on Thursday morning and called me about 9:00 AM to advise that he had my inspectors report and punch list and was on his way to the site to get construction back on schedule.

He must have really kicked butt, as when I checked Thursday evening, I found that most of the inspection problems had been fixed and drywall installation was well underway.

Drywall Stocked

They are getting ready to do the drywall.  There is drywall stocked in the various rooms, and there is drywall joint compound stored in the garage. 

No status updates yet on the items my inspector found on Thursday.

Hopefully, I'll have pictures tomorrow.

Outside Inspector - 18 Items Incomplete

I'm still in Michigan, so don't know what actual progress was made on the home.  However, TBCI, my private inspection service had done their pre-drywall inspection on Thursday and found 18 items incomplete. One of those is ok, as I had agreed with the speaker wire installer that his recommended location was better than the one I had chosen.

However, I'm somewhat chagrined to learn that I had missed 16 of the 17 other items he had found.  That's why I am not a builder. 

To help readers learn, here is the text of the items my inspector found still open before drywall should begin:

1. The eave drip is bent on the front of the garage and should be repaired.
2. A flush sill is installed in the window in the master bedroom which look out to the lanai. All of the sills
shown on the drawing are projected sills. This looks major to me.
3. Tubing for the pest defense system was not installed in all of the interior walls of the house. This is the
first time I have seen this [type of] installation in a Pringle home or any other.
4. Truss B9 was not constructed according to the engineered drawings present on the job site. The truss
manufacturer should provide a drawing and engineering for the truss installed.
5. Dead wood [wood for the ceiling drywall to be attached to] at the ceiling in the study at the wall common to the entry does not extend to the corner.

6. Dead wood at the ceiling in the master bedroom closet above the door is out of place and corrections are needed.
7. The 2x4s which support the distribution box for the air conditioning ducts in the bedroom hall project
below the ceiling line and should be cut flush with the bottom cord of the truss.
8. The ledge or shelf at the master bath tub is not framed at 30 inches aff (above finished floor) and only projects 4 1/2 inches
above the tub.
9. The attic access in the master bedroom is not framed in. The electrical contractor removed one of the
framing members to properly locate the light fixture.
10. The knee wall was not installed at the guest bath tub.
11. Extend the framing at the build out on the valve wall at the guest bath tub to the edge of the tub and
install backing for the drywall/wet wall transition on the opposite wall.
12. There is a gap in the draft blocking in the ceiling of the guest bath which should be sealed.
13. A nail plate is missing on a furring strip below the master bedroom window looking out to the lanai at
the corner to the right.
14. The wall mount speaker drop in the great room wall common to the kitchen is not located according to
the location on the drawings. I had previously agreed that this was a better location.
15. There is marking on the floor in the den to relocate a receptacle on the wall common to the lanai. This
has not been done.
16. Wind has blown out a piece of insulation in the wall common to the garage under the electrical panel
which should be re installed.
17. Nail plates are missing at the water supply lines in the master bath shower.
18. Bowed studs were observed in the laundry room, kitchen, nook, master bedroom hall to the bath, and
the master bath shower. These studs are marked with an X. There are 7 studs total.

Because my builder, Cliff, is on vacation, another builder, Steve Edmunsen, is working on the issues.

I've checked my project management plan and don't think this is a significant delay, if we can get all the issues fixed next week.  I'm still looking at early November for a move in date.

Insulation & Stucco

Pringle was nice enough to send new pictures to me while I'm up in Northern Michigan.  From the pictures I see the following progress has been made this week:

The Pest Defense tubes have been installed in the walls.

The Radiant Barrier has been installed.  The exterior insulation has been installed on the Garage to Home wall, the wood panel by the Great Room Doorwall, in the wood framed panels above the arched Front Door and Dining Room windows, above the Garage, and in various nooks and crannies where the blown insulation won't reach.  Also, the extra sound deadening insulation has been installed at the Master Bath and Powder Room.

The tubs have been protected with covers.

The stucco crew has started work.

Some of the pre-drywall walk through items have been corrected.  However, from the pictures, I can see that at least two have not been corrected yet.  I sent an email to Cliff.

Radiant Barrier

Judi says that the Insulation Installers were there Monday and again today installing the radiant barrier. No word on other progress.

As a side note, in Michigan, I'm making good progress putting down a laminate wood floor in the Great Room in the cottage. However, I don't think I want to make flooring installation a second career, as it is tough on my knees.

Stucco Pre-Work

I'm still in Michigan, so pictures will be delayed. However, I was told yesterday that the metal guides for the stucco edges and banding have been installed. Since the rough-in inspections have been passed, I'm hoping we can get on a parallel path, and do both inside and outside work at the same time.

Inspections & Guest Tub

I'm in Michigan for awhile. My Builder emailed to me today and advised that the tub for the guest bath had arrived and been installed. The rough-in inspections for gas, plumbing, electrical, and HVAC were passed.

On Monday he expects to do the interior insulation and to have the Energy Star inspection and smoke test of HVAC on Tuesday. My private inspector also emailed and is scheduled for inspection next week. Then it is on to drywall.

Sorry - no pictures this week.

No Tub Yet

I'm in Michigan, but it was reported to me that the guest bath tub still has not been installed.

My Builder emailed to me yesterday with an update on a couple of walkthrough items. Otherwise, no updates today.

Pre-Landscaping Meeting

The pre-landscaping meeting was informative, but definitely not fun. My blood pressure went up a lot, and I had to really work to not kill the messenger.

The landscaping contractor met us at the site and showed us yet a third "new" standard plan for a "large" lot. I really wish Pringle had mailed us this plan in advance so we would have been able to research the trees, shrubs, etc. Communication on landscaping has been poor.

The landscape plan is very proscriptive. The contractor said this is a City of Mount Dora requirement. I'm not very happy at being told that I MUST have a particular kind of canopy tree exactly 13' from the street at exactly a specific position in my yard. I'm even more unhappy that I am apparently not allowed to have the turf all be the Zoysia grass that Pringle committed to in the contract and that I am not allowed to landscape the back 20' of the property that I own and paid for. We did not reach any agreement on landscaping. I have a meeting with the City of Mount Dora Planning Department scheduled, and if that does not go well, will have to see what Pringle will propose to honor our contract. I feel that I'm being gypped out of 14% of the lot I paid to own, and about 50% of the view we thought we would get, due to the reported City of Mount Dora requirements.

The requirements for a "large lot" (ours is nominally 78' wide) are:

- 4 canopy trees
- 29 large hedge plants
- 29 small hedge plants
- 5 - 8 large accent plants
- 12 small accent plants
-32 color items
-147 groundcover plants

Accent plants are required at the driveway corners, which we wanted to be grass.

Mulch is red cypress or pine bark in front and pine straw in back, unless we want to pay to have the back upgraded to cypress or pine bark.

None of this is per our contract. Some is better, but some is much worse. Stay tuned.

On a different note, there will not be as much information posted on this blog for the next two weeks, as I'll be out of town.

Pre-Drywall Walk-Through

We had our pre-drywall walk-through today. Our Builder, Cliff, came in even though he had hurt his back, as he knew that I was going out of town tomorrow.

Because we had been checking the house construction frequently, the walk-through was a low key event. I had one cable connection that was needed to be moved, asked to have a fan box moved, and asked to have an outlet moved. Some of the tempered windows had been put in the wrong location. This is not a big deal, as the window frames are correct, just the glass panels need to be relocated to the correct location to meet code.

I asked about a couple of electrical items in the kitchen that need to be checked for code compliance. Cliff will check to be sure that the tailored foam was installed in the block above the windows. We discussed a few studs that seemed to be bowed, and he will have them fixed.

We also reviewed some other open items on my punch list, which he agreed were open. Overall, no big issues.

The guest bath tub was "on the truck" but had not arrived when we were there. It is supposed to be installed tomorrow.

Weekend & Monday

Nothing was done at the house over the weekend or on Monday. We're still waiting for the correct guest bath tub to arrive so plumbing rough-in can be completed and we can get the rest of the inspections done and move forward.

Judi and I spent some time in the house and prepared for our pre-drywall inspection on Tuesday.

Minor Electrical Progress

The sub-panel for circuit breakers got installed to the left of the main panel. This is because I have "too many circuits" per the electrical contractor. In terms of "extra" circuits, I have a 50 amp circuit for a hot tub (2 positions), a dedicated circuit for a second refrigerator / freezer in the utility room, and a dedicated 20 amp circuit in the garage for my power tools. It appears that they are running eight circuits to the sub-panel, all 15 amp lines.

A carpenter was out working on "do over" work on one of the trusses today. He said that there was a problem that the Builder had noted on the "bearing surface" at one of the rear walls.

Also, either yesterday or today the recessed opening for the kitchen refrigerator was adjusted.

Because there was no other work going on I was able to do a detailed inspection of progress to date. We've scheduled our pre-drywall walk through for Tuesday. I've found some minor issues that should be readily correctable next week. In fact, I'll bring my hammer and pliers and we may be able to do some of them as we do the walk through. The most significant issue is a window that was supposed to be tempered glass, but is not. I suspect that they can just change the panels and not the frame to fix this. Most of my issues are just minor alignment items such as recessed lights that are a few inches off being lined up in a row, or outlets that need to be moved a bit.

My builder, Cliff, called me this afternoon and also emailed to me. As soon as the replacement guest bath tub is installed, he will get the rough plumbing and framing inspection. Then he will get the interior insulation done and inspected. The thermal and hvac smoke test are scheduled for 8/21. Then, on to drywall.

Foam Insulation in Block

Several things happened today at the construction site.

The tailored foam was injected into the concrete blocks today. I need to check on a few locations to be sure the cells were filled, as this is, in my opinion, a very expensive option from Pringle.

The framers came back to "pad out" the area near the large door wall where the doors all stack to the side. It seems they only made it 4" deep at first, when it is supposed to be 4 1/2". It was also a bit narrow.

The plumbing crew finished connecting the master bath shower valves. They also partially filled the bath tub and left the water in it, supposedly to check to be sure the drain did not leak.

The toilet and island sink floor drains all got large rubber stoppers installed, supposedly to be sure that no construction debris got down them. I suspect this should have been done two weeks ago, but the inspection is coming up soon, so at least it is done.

The gas line for the furnace was moved to match up with the framing location for the furnace.

Also, someone from the truss company was inside inspecting the trusses.

In summary, there were three or four "do overs", one step forward on plumbing , and one step forward on foam insulation.

Tub & Electricity

There was lots of activity today. Our Builder called about 10:30 this morning to advise of a problem with the guest bath tub. The model delivered was a drop in version, rather than one with a tile flange. We agreed that it would not work and that the correct model needed to be ordered. He said it would take about two weeks, and would cause a construction delay, as he could not get his plumbing inspection or all rough-in inspection until it was installed.

This afternoon he called to tell me that they were having expedited shipment of the replacement and that it is expected to be delivered next Tuesday. Good news!

The Master Bath tub was delivered and installed. The shower valve for the Master Shower was mounted, but not fully plumbed.

HVAC ductwork minor problems were fixed, and inspection is scheduled.

Our main electrical service was pulled and the meter was installed.

The Builder and I agreed to do the pre-drywall inspection next Tuesday.

Low Voltage Wiring

Today the low voltage subcontractor, Awesome Home Theatre, installed the lines for cable, telephone, internet, and speakers. They also install the Media Junction Box and run two cable and one Cat 5 line to the outside for cable / internet and telephone.

The electrical subcontractor business owner stopped by to look at the lanai wiring. No other activity seen.

More Electrical Work

This morning the electricians were back at work. When we stopped by the site, the crew supervisor asked if I could hang around for a bit until our Builder could join us. The electricians had questions about the hot tub disconnect, which has been a contentious issue for awhile, and told me that since I had so many 240V circuits, and already had a 200 Amp service box, that they would have to add a sub-panel for added breakers.

I gave my ok on the sub-panel and our Builder said he would get clarification on the hot tub disconnect, which I want mounted on the rear of the house outside the screened lanai / cage, but the electricians believe needs to be in the cage.

We talked about moving two fan boxes to center them on the main room window, rather than the physical center of the room, along with moving an outlet in the Dining Room and adding an outside outlet I had missed in design planning.

By the end of the day the electrical rough-in was done, except for the subpanel box, some lanai outlets, and the hot tub disconnect. I emailed to the electrical inspector at the City of Mount Dora and received a prompt reply that my interpretation of the code was correct. The box needs to be at least 5' from the hot tub, visible from the hot tub, and can be outside the cage.

The electricians also ran the wire for the garage door controls, the door bell, and the water heater remote controls.

Good progress again today.

Weekend Check

There was no construction activity over the weekend. We took the opportunity to look at what was done during the last week. The HVAC work looks fine, with the exception of one duct that has pulled out partially from the distribution box. It may well be that the electricians leaned on it and pulled it out. It will be easy to have fixed.

So far, with about 75% of the electrical rough-in done, there are no real issues. I've found two fan boxes that I want moved a few inches to line up with the center of the two mulled together windows. I suspect they are really centered in the room, but will just look better if they are centered on the windows.

We have also found a few things that we either didn't specify well on the print, or just forgot to add. We forgot one exterior electrical outlet that we will need if we put in some low voltage lights. I'll have to speak with our Builder about adding it. We also didn't specify that one outlet in the dining room was to be at countertop height, so I'll have to ask to have that moved up. Both should be relatively easy changes at this point.

I expect the electricians will finish up on Monday and then the low voltage electrical, pest defense system, and interior insulation will be put in place. Then will probably have a few days of down time as the thermal efficiency inspection won't be until 8/14. (I'm told they only come to LoMD on Tuesdays).

HV Electrical

There was lots of activity today. The electrical crew was there with five or six electricians running wires, installing ceiling light boxes, etc. My Builder, the Electrical Crew Supervisor, and I discussed and, hopefully, resolved the issues regarding the disconnect box for the hot tub on the rear of the house near the lanai.

There was a small problem in the front study, as the boxes for the recessed lights could not be located where I had specified them due to trusses in the way. We agreed on a new location.

The roofers were out early and finished the shingles, including the various vents and furnace chimney. Now I'll hope for a good, steady rain before the dry wall goes in, so I can see if there are any leaks.

Some crew had installed Tyvek covering over any of the wood areas outside (e.g. at the front porch areas around the curved windows.

During my weekly Builder discussion, I found that there is a delay on our two bathtubs. They should have been in two weeks ago. The Builder has elevated the issue to his supervisor. The plumbers will finish their rough-in when the tubs arrive and are installed.

A temporary, wrong color window will be installed in the garage to allow for inspection, and then will be changed when the correct one arrives.

I'll try to get pictures this weekend and post some.

Still More HVAC Work

On Thursday, the HVAC installer continued installing duct work. There is a lot of connection and sealing done, working 13' above floor level in the spaces between the trusses. He expected to be done by the end of the day. He also had cut all the holes in the roof for the four bathroom exhaust vents, the furnace chimney, and the dryer vent.

Because it was raining steadily, the roofers decided to leave. Hopefully on Friday they will return and put the vents in at all the new holes in the roof.

We had to postpone our meeting with the landscape contractor as Judi had a terrible migraine, and I, as a husband, am not qualified to make decisions on plant color and placement. ;)

The framers came and furred out the wall in the utility room by 1/2", as there was not enough room in the 3 1/2" wall to run the dryer duct work. The framers, Builder, and I had all missed that item, as it was specified as being a 6" wall on the prints.

No electricians yet.

More HVAC Work

Most of the work done on Wednesday was in the area above the ceiling. The HVAC contractor put in lots of ductwork. They are using the sealed, insulated flexible duct which is suspended from the trusses above the future ceiling line. They also have installed the input and return register boxes and the plenums above the site in the garage for the furnace / air handler. The four zone boxes for my zoning system were also installed. It looks as though there is about 1 1/2 days of work still to do on the ductwork, plus the smoke test for proper seal.

I received a question via the contact form, but there was no email for reply, so I'll answer it here.

The question was "how did Pringle respond to a proposal to hang the furnace from the ceiling?" I didn't ask them, as I don't want it up there. I want the furnace at a level where I can easily change the filters, and service it if there are problems. I've never been a fan of air handlers and a/c components that are installed in areas that are not easily accessible such as above the ceiling, hanging from the ceiling, or in crawl spaces.

The framer installed a small amount of 1/2" rigid foil faced insulation at the knee wall in the garage and above the guest bath. This is supposedly a vapor barrier. I don't understand why this was only installed at the guest bathroom area, and not above the 1/2 bath or master bath. Another question for my Builder when I talk to him on Friday.

Windows Installed

On Tuesday, the rest (almost) of the windows were installed, along with the large sliders for the Great Room and Nook. The framer built the wooden frames to go around the curved windows over the front door and the dining room window. He also closed in the small area above the "stacking location" for the large Great Room Slider. It stacks completely to one side, so all three panels can be open.

The crew is missing one window for the garage. Since this is not a standard item, that is probably how it got missed. This will be less of a problem, as it is on a masonry wall that doesn't get insulated or drywall, so it should not hold up construction. They told me the missing window had been ordered and should be here in two weeks.

The framers finished the platform for the HVAC in the garage. Still no electricians. The roofers have about 5% of their work to finish, but were not there today. The plumber has a bit more work to do on the gas line and the master shower, but was not there today. There is NO WAY that we will be ready for pre-drywall inspection on Friday. It may not even make Friday next week.

Judi and I spent some more time looking at the yard for landscape planning. Pringle got the speed limit sign out front moved. It would have been in the middle of our driveway, but is now on the property line between our house and Bob Chapman's.

I also picked up lots of nails and trash outside. If I don't do it, I suspect they will just final grade over it, and I will be finding nails in the lawn for years.

Windows

Today the framers redid the "buck" around the nook slider opening. No action seen on HVAC.

The windows and the sliders were all delivered this morning. By mid-afternoon, a two person crew was installing the windows.

I checked with Cliff, our Builder, about the front door, as we did not expect to have 3/4 glass (but do like it). He said that was what we got with the design we selected. It's great, as we were only expecting 1/2 size glass.

Judi and I spent time at a garden center learning about trees, various varieties of palms, and shrubs, so we will be ready to meet with the landscaping company on Thursday.

No other activity at the site.

Ductwork Going In

We've been away for a few days, so this has not been updated.

On Friday morning, I stopped by and talked with the HVAC installer. He told me that in other communities they would have been able to run some extension ductwork to avoid having to locate the HVAC where I don't want it. However, Mount Dora will not allow that type of work-around. I've measured the distance remaining and will have enough space for the cars, so will live with the change.

It appears that the only work done on Friday was mounting of many of the vents and returns in the ceilings of the various rooms, along with mounting of the cases for the bathroom fans. There was also a big delivery of ducts and HVAC plenums to the garage.

Since no electrical wiring, pest defense, or window work was done last week, I think we are drifting behind schedule. I really don't see how things will be ready for a pre-drywall inspection by Friday, 8/03.

Builder Meeting

My Builder and I met at the site this morning. He told me that the HVAC people were adamant that they could not install the ducts per the design with the furnace / plenum at the rear of the golf cart garage because there was not enough head room due to the slope of the roof to the side. This was very upsetting to me, as we had specifically discussed placement during out design sessions. However, after the Builder's explanation, I understand the issue and will have to live with it. If I had known at the design session, I would likely have extended the garage by two feet.

We discussed the niche for the refrigerator and settled on a way to make the entry from the hall to the kitchen a few inches wider. The cabinet people had been in and marked the location for the stove vent.

The concrete was poured around the relocated master shower valve plumbing. HVAC plenums and ductwork was delivered. The width of the opening for the nook slider was finally fixed.

Most of the shingles are applied, with just the small overhangs over the garage and front porch to do. Window installation is scheduled for tomorrow.

The Builder said that he expects all the rough-ins to be completed next week and our pre-drywall inspection to be done by next Friday. If that happens, then I think we are on track for a 4 1/2 month completion of the home.

Shingles & a Front Door

There was good progress today. The roofing crew got about 35% of the roof shingled this afternoon. This morning the front door was delivered and by late this afternoon it had been installed. The installer said he did not like doing installation of the eight foot high exterior doors, as they were difficult for him to handle and level due to their weight.

Also, the electric meter box was installed on the outside side wall of the Study. No power was connected, but now the electricians have a main box for their main power cable. I'm somewhat amazed that the main power pedestal is on the left side of the house, and the cable, telephone, water, and gas are on the other side. The cable and telephone installers use the same ground as the main power, so they will have to tunnel under the driveway to get to it. Logically, it would seem that all the utility points should be on the same side of each house, to reduce trenching and installation costs, but I guess it doesn't work that way in real life.

The roofers left trash from the shingle packages all over the site, as well as the containers from their lunch and water / soft drink containers. I spent some time picking them up and taking them to the dumpster, so the trash would not blow into the lakes or onto the neighbor's yard. Apparently the concept of clean-up has not been considered by most construction crews.

Plumbing - Errors Corrected

Today the plumbing crew broke out the slab at the lines for the Master Shower and moved them to the correct location. They also chipped out concrete and moved the ice maker connection back a few inches to the correct spot in the stud wall behind the refrigerator location.

Other plumbing rough-in was done, including installation of one plumbing stack vent. We've even got outside hose bibbs (sillcock,spigot,faucet -- depending on what area of the country you grew up in).

Also, it appears that the roof sheathing / truss inspection was completed. No other work was done. I'm waiting for the electricians to get to work.

One problem surfaced. It appears that the dumpster emptying truck was not very considerate of my neighbor's property, as they drove across his grass and broke a section of his sidewalk next to our property line. I'm seriously thinking of putting up my own silt fence to better delineate the line.

On the overall subdivision front, there was good progress today. The front gates are being installed and they are really nice looking, simulated wrought iron gates. Also landscaping was put in on the bridge abutments today.

Gas & Plumbing Rough-In

Today the plumbing crew worked on the rough-ins. They installed the gas connection point beside the house, ran the gas lines to the furnace location and the gas dryer location, and ran the gas line for the future standby gas generator. They also did most of the plumbing rough-in. They still have to install the master bath shower valve plumbing, after the lines are moved to the right location, as well as the refrigerator ice maker line and the washer hot and cold water lines.

The framers corrected the issue with the Great Room slider stacking location and cleaned up the wood pile from the back of the lanai.

The dumpsters were all emptied again. That's it for today.

Weekend Off

No work was done this weekend. However, strangely, the three dumpsters that were empty on Friday afternoon are now full. I suspect trash from other locations was dumped there.

I did some work adding blocking materials between studs where we intend to put up some cabinets post closing. Also, Judi spent an hour picking up trash in the yard. Our two wirehair dachshunds spent a few hours getting familiar with the smells and bugs around the house and yard. Woody really liked the woodpile out back, as there were lots of opportunities to chase bugs.

Finishing Framing - Almost

Today the framing crew is almost completely finished - I'd say 95% done.

There were a few issues that I saw today and discussed with our Builder, Cliff, and with the framing supervisor. I'm being very careful to not give the subcontractors, direction, but to just ask them a question or two, and then to contact my Pringle Builder. I want Pringle to be the entity giving direction to any subcontractors, just as I will hold Pringle responsible for the overall home quality.

There was one issue with stud space for an electronic box that fits between the studs. This was easily corrected. There was a bigger issue with the frame / box for the HVAC system in the garage. We had specifically worked with our Designer to have the HVAC installed in the rear area of the golf cart garage, with the area to the rear of the double car garage clear space. However I found the HVAC frame being installed partially intruding into the double car garage area. The subcontractor told me that they were just following the instructions from the HVAC contractor. After talking with Cliff, he told them to do it per the drawing and it was changed. I'm glad I caught this before the HVAC system was installed, as it would have been very difficult to change later.

The pocket door frames for the correct 8' high pocket doors are standing in the garage, so I expect they will be installed next week.

This evening, after the contractors were gone, Judi and I walked the house. The only new issue is that the framing for the "stacking space" for the Great Room door wall is on the wrong side of the room. It's near the Master Bedroom, and the print shows it on the Nook side. I'll have to talk to Cliff about that on Monday.

In addition to a picture of the rear of the home with the roofing paper installed, I've included a picture of the maintenance boat while work was being done in one of the lakes and an interesting picture of two of our new residents checking out the area near the future mailbox site.