Sometimes after a trying day it’s just humbling to go stand in the pasture and watch the goats nibble on the ground cover.
It’s been a bit since I posted last. As expected the house building is slowing down from a visible perspective. We’re in the rough-in stage now. We’ve got all the plumbing and HVAC rough-in work done, now for the electrical. This is the most difficult as it’s all about where outlets go, switches go, which switch controls what lights, how many switches control the same lights, lights in the bathroom, so on and so on. Lots of small details that need attention.
An example. We had floodlights on the exterior of the house that were motion activated. After getting the house built and all the intrusions that have been made to the SIP panels, I decided to NOT put in anymore lights on the exterior of the house that would require cutting into the insulation and putting in a lighting can. Instead, we deleted all the exterior cans and floods from the plan and put in two outlets for low voltage lighting to replace the floods. We originally had sconces for hallway lighting, we removed all of those and went with Brio LED cans instead. There have been so many lighting changes, especially after visiting the lighting store, that we finally scrapped the original plan and started over. It’s been an experience trying to get all the lighting right. Once it’s done, you really can’t change it. Locating the outlets for the built-in appliances is a challenge as you have to coordinate with the cabinet maker to make sure everything lines up. It’s crazy.
Last post I believe I talked about the mess Pella made with the windows. Well, we have a resolution but it’s going to set us back at least two months on the build. Thank you, Pella, for screwing up everything. I will NEVER use Pella again for windows. They have TERRIBLE manufacturing and customer service. Not like I’m every going to build another house….. Here’s the plan, Pella is sending a crew out to inventory the windows, fix what they can and replace what they can’t fix. Problem is the crew won’t start until the 29th of July. So, house wrap, stucco and all the exterior stuff that needs to be done is delayed a couple of months until the windows and doors are installed. And that means the framers will have to reframe the windows and make a mess of the SIP. We’re so pissed off about this. I’m trying to be level-headed about this, but it’s hard. We’ll see what the end resolution is for us.
Otherwise, things are moving along. The electrician is about 2-3 days away from finishing the rough-in work for the electrical. Monday all the soffit framing will be finished and the doors installed. We’re trying to move and not be too affected by the Pella screwups.
On a different note, Wendy is interviewing for jobs. Her current job is a mess, and the owner has to micromanage people. Typical startup owner whose business has grown, and he isn’t capable of letting go or trusting people to run their departments. His business will never grow beyond where it’s at now. He’s a genius at organic formulas and creating supplements, but terrible at running the business. He’ll spend a dollar to save a dime, then change his mind again. And his staff thrives on chaos and generates chaos just for the sake of excitement. We’re hoping that she hears something positive end of this week or next.
It’s been a crazy week. Wendy’s brother called us on Sunday with low blood oxygen level (60) which is fatal if left unattended. We took him to the hospital, and they’ve been treating him. He has congestive heart failure happening because of his weight. 436lbs and he’s 5’10”. His cardiologist has been really straight forward with the impact of his weight on his health. In the past, he’s been really depressed which has contributed to his issues. He’s finally coming out and starting to be more socially connected. We’re hoping this doctor’s tough message to him that if he doesn’t course correct, he’s a dead man, will make an impact. I think it’s making an impact, but time will tell. Hopefully, they let him out on Friday after cleansing all the CO2 and excess blood from his lungs and water in his legs. It isn’t good. He’s on oxygen now, so we’ll see how things play out today and tomorrow. Scary, scary stuff.
Well, that’s enough craziness for today. I’ll close out now and blog more later once things settle down and move forward on the house.
Take care and have a good weekend.
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