Belated Update (cont'd)

Seem to be a limit on picture space. So here's more

Belated Update

We are officially out of the house in Elk Grove. We rented the house to Amy and the girls, and moved all the stuff out. We left a lot for Amy, hope she can use it.

The hardwood flooring (bamboo) arrived, and so did the floor tiles. We had to pick them up at Direct Buy, that took four trips to Lacey and Polsbou. Good thing there is a brewery near each location.

Ed finished installing all of the cabinets, and Sean has started installing the hardwood. He will be also doing the carpeting in the bedrooms and office.

Gary and I (mostly Gary) laid the bathroom tile. Neither of us could figure out how to install the slate we picked out for the entry, and fireplace hearths. So Sean agreed to do it. The pictures above include Sean (Hollihan) he's Irish, and his partner Joesph. Two more people to invite to the party.

The wood stove is finally installed. We ordered the stove in October, with a promised delivery in November. It finally arrived in January, with a promised installation in a week. This week it was finally installed, so I could request county inspection. Next week we might have our first fire. The heat pump is great, but right now the wood is free.

In preparation for the installation of the millwork, I have been finishing the windows. Each window requires cleaning and sanding to get all of the construction crap and raised grain off. Then five coats to finish: 1 conditioner and sealer, 2 coats of stain, and finally 2 coats of spar urethane. Never buying wood windows again. Beautiful, but....

Cabinets Installed

Some good news. Matt and Jeff figured out the connection problems between the heat pump and the air handler. Just a problem with the wiring diagram, and we now are heating with the heat pump.

The cabinets arrived on Tuesday morning. 112 separate cartons, unloaded and opened. Cardboard is everywhere. Ed Kallas is doing the installation. He figures it will take about a week and a half.

Joe and Tony worked on the final excavation work, including compacting the fill under the porch and patio. They also finished the gutter drains, keeping that unwanted water away from the house. I here there is a drought in CA.

Heading south for the week. Time to pack up the house.

We Have Heat (sort of)

Joe, with Tony and me, installed a curtain drain between the house and the golf course. This drain starts at 4 1/2 feet deep (just below the hard pan) and goes down hill around the corner of the house. Then ties in with the apron drain we put in last spring. The drain has perforated pipe in the bottom, fabric on the up hill side and 6 mil solid plastic on the downhill side, then filled with gravel. So we now have 3 drain systems: the gutter drains, an apron drain at the footings and a curtain drain at the hard pan level. Water, water everywhere. With a automatic sump pump in the crawl space, we should have no more water problems.

Matt and Jeff installed the heat pump this weekend. But there was a problem in connecting it to the air handler. So we are heating the house using only the heat strips in the air handler. Just in time because the cabinets are coming in on Tuesday.

Basement Problems

The electricians continued wiring and installing fixtures this week. Next week we will have to have them install the disconnect for the heat pump and connect the septic tank. The heat pump will be installed next weekend, and Joe will be starting the final excavation on Wednesday.

Joe will also be installing an additional drain field between the house and the golf course. The storms over the last few weeks identified a weak point in the house. John, from Paul's Electric, discovered water in the basement, about 2". And when I checked in the crawl space, I found about 6' alongside the basement wall. All the water draining off the course soaks into the ground to the hard pan then runs down hill across our property. Last spring when we dug the basement, we went well below the hard pan level, so all the water is accumulating around the basement. Even though we installed an apron drain around the footings, water is still coming into the crawl space, and with 6 feet of water pressure, is seeping into the basement. As you can see in the picture, the apron drain is working quite good. With Joe installing a rock drain field along the back of the house and out around the north side, most of the water will be diverted away. I also put a submersible pump in the crawl space to prevent any build up there.

Going south today. The bathroom vanity came into Sacramento, and I want to bring it up. Along with as many cases of wine I can load into the pickup.

Happy New Year

I went to Sacramento for the holidays, couldn't get much done here as it was anyway. There was 10 inches of snow on the ground when I left. Another 2 feet fell, while I was gone, and another 8 inches last night. But this morning it warmed into the 40's and everything is starting to melt.

Before I left, the electricians had installed most of the lights, switches, fire alarms, etc. but PUD hadn't switched power from the temporary pole to the permanent meter. That still isn't done yet today, but they should be out tomorrow. I've laid all the backer board for the floor tile, and I've found a new product (new to me) called Wendi Board for the showers and bath tub area. Supposed to be completely waterproof when installed correctly.

The fireplace finally arrived at Direct Buy while I was down south. Everything came except the blower for better heat circulation. I talked to the distributor, and the fireplace can be installed and used before the blower is installed, so I will be picking it up tomorrow and the installer will put it in Thursday. We still won't have the cap for the chimney, so no heat from that until later.

The electricians will be coming out Wednesday, so maybe then we can have power in the house and use the strip heaters in the air handler to heat the house. More expensive, but we can have the cabinets delivered.

When I got back from Sacto, the snow was so deep on the property that I had Joe Fazio come up and plow. And all that snow has to melt before he can work on the final grading. Slow Slow Slow

The Week After Thanksgiving

I took last week off and went to Sacramento for Thanksgiving. So this week I needed to get a lot done. On the way back from Sacto, I picked up the lighting fixtures. The load filled the back of my pickup.

Monday the garage doors were delivered and installed. Tuesday, I finished painting the inside of the house and took some garbage to the dump. That was my 8th trip to the dump. Wednesday, the gutters were installed. Thursday, Paul's Electric dug a trench from the service area of the house to the garage. This is so we can install the power line and water line to the garage. I had two casualties from the digging. The gutter drain line was cracked. Which turned out ok. I needed to move one of the gutter drain connections anyway, and the broke pipe was right next to the drain. The excavator also broke a conduit that is going to bring in the TV cable. A call to HCTC and the conduit was spliced. The trench had to be at least 2' deep, code for the electrical and below the frost line for the water.

Waiting now for the insulation people to arrive, and that should be done today.

Next week Paul's Electric will be back out to lay the cable to the garage and installing the electrical fixtures. Paul from PS Plumbing will hook up the water lines, and I will have to get the PUD people out to install the water meter.

Right now we need to get some heat in the house. Then we can have the cabinets delivered and installed. But before we can have the heat pump installed I have to have Joe Fazio come back and do some grading. The fireplace still hasn't shipped from Idaho. As soon as it gets here I have an installer lined up. The race is on to see which heats the house first.