DAY 320: Shingle Time!

 We're getting shingles even as I type!  Yippie! 

 We've had a couple of projects that others have worked on for us this week.  Cement, that was a big one, and the shingles.  I love those projects (like when we installed the windows) because they are relatively quick compared to everything else we're doing and they have such a huge visual impact.  It makes me feel like we are making progress.

These are the steps on the side of the house.  This is the family entrance from the garage.  I love that we will have such a cute side of the house. 

Here is a shot of the driveway that was poured on Saturday along with the walkway to our front porch.  We still need to figure out the pathway leading to the back.  That's why the stairs pictured above don't have a sidewalk.  

We had our Four-Way inspection yesterday.  2 1/2 hours.  It was lllllloooooonnnnnnngggggg.  Every wall, every truss, every hold down, every wire, every pipe, every duct, every everything.  The last time we tried, we weren't ready (See 19 July 2012).  If we had more than 25 items to correct it would mean that we weren't ready again and we would be assessed a fee for an additional inspection.  So......18 items!!!! It feels do-able to me and I pretty much understand at least half of the things that need to be remedied.  I was happy for Brent because the electrical had only MINOR, very minor, corrections.  He did a great job with the electrical and could answer ALL of the inspectors questions.

Luckily the framers were there for the inspection and were great about doing fixes on the spot so they wouldn't go on the corrections list.  One of the more obvious mistakes was a window in the garage.  It was in the wrong place which meant that our straps couldn't be secured.  Window in the wrong place also meant that the sheer wall which was engineered a specific way wouldn't work.  I was convinced by another framer that the window would be too hard to move (I had noticed the mistake when the garage was framed) and that it would be fine where it is.  So, the framer that was there yesterday just rolled his eyes with my story and said "It's NOT a big deal to move it and correct it".  He was great to work with.  

I think the biggest issue was with the trusses.  Pretty sure that they were manufactured too long.  Too long for he house on both ends.  The bearing points completely miss the walls.  It's not a framing mistake.   So, the truss company will need their engineer to do a fix for us.  Ugh, more time. 

Brent and I had different reactions to the four way inspections.  I felt relieved that there were only 18 (now down to 16) and he said last night that he felt like he just had a root canal.  It still all feels like progress to me!  Now to hang some more doors tomorrow, hopefully!