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.