Gary’s post: Not much happening on the house yesterday and today. Yesterday things sat and I went and schedule to have an induction loop put in for the gate. That will let people out automatically without having to have a “clicker” or the entrance code. Simplifies things a bit.
Today Wendy and I went a looked at “stuff” for the house. It’s mind-numbing how many decisions we need to make for everything in the house. It reminded me of when my late wife and I tried to build a house early in our marriage. It was a complete disaster. We couldn’t agree on anything. She had a degree in interior design from Parsons School of Design – very prestigious design school on the East coast. I was an arrogant, pigheaded engineer who knew everything and wanted it all my way. Total disaster and largely my fault for being an idiot.
SO, this time I’m learning and trying hard to work with Wendy on this project. For me, the issue is the massive number of decisions we need to make. At this point in my life, I’m okay with just about everything Wendy picks out as her sense of style is similar to mind. One point of contention is that she is a big mid-century modern person and I’m not. I grew up with mid-century modern and it’s not my thing. I’m more into Shaker, modern and Chinese Chippendale – so there’s a disconnect there. Generally, I’m trying to stick to the construction, plumbing and mechanical stuff and let her pick floors, tile and colors. There are so many items that we need to decide on that I don’t really care what we get as long as it works and looks decent.
Today was a bit overwhelming but we did make progress. We found some lighting that we liked for outside. And we did make progress on cabinets, but we need to make sure they fit in budget. I think we’re going to have a professional friend of Wendy’s do the cabinet layout and design for us. Too many choices and options for my old brain – so let someone who does it for a living do ours.
Tomorrow we’re going to the ABQ Home show and wander around to get ideas and talk to people about fixtures, bathroom stuff, tile and landscaping. We need to get tile for the entrance picked out, flooring for the house, carpets for the bedrooms, hardware for the cabinets and the list goes on and on…
As for building the house. Next week a lot will be happening, and it’ll happen while I’m in Seattle (of course!) Monday, the foundation guys come and fix a few things and begin to lay out the insulation. Then the electrician comes and puts in the conduits for the electrical needed for in-floor and kitchen island. Then they put in crusher fines and pack things down. Week after is the slab pour. Then things sit for a few weeks while panels are delivered, and windows come. Then things begin to happen. May should be an interesting month. I need to talk to the electrician about how we power the house. And I’m a bit concerned about the heating and cooling. Our architect only has three mini-splits in the house. Two in the living areas and one in the garage. I know the house is super-efficient, but I would think we’d need them more in the bedrooms. That’s a conversation I need to have with our HVAC guys so we can wire for proper outlets.
Well, that’s pretty much it for today and yesterday. Life is a bit slower down here, which is a good thing. Tomorrow will be more house stuff, so I’m sure that will be interesting. It’s time to put out the puppies and get ready to wind down. More blogging tomorrow evening.
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