Can We Build It? Yes, We Can!

Day #233

2008-06-21T23:38:00.000-07:00

not much more is visibly different from yesterday's pictures. but there's dashiell checking out the cabinets. the cleaning people are supposed to come and clean.
we went ahead and stopped at target to get cleaning supplies as well (mop and broom were the biggies we didn't have). there's really just more dust everywhere than anything else.

Day #232

2008-06-21T23:35:00.000-07:00

so the appliances are installed now...
doorbell?

a ceiling fan in our room...which wasn't supposed to be. it should be in the family room. what happened?! is it bad? will it look good with our bedroom furniture?! no idea...

random update

2008-06-20T19:56:00.001-07:00

i stopped by this morning around 8:30am to make sure workers weren't stranded outisde, and noone was at the house instead. wasn't sure what to make of that. derek needed to go to the valley to pick up the appliances that were previously stolen. they were now in. if we waited for them to deliver it, it wouldn't be till monday; and we need it asap. so mom called her friend from work (who has the truck we borrowed when we went to ikea) and derek went to get them himself. he was gone probably 4-5 hours or so for everything; i stayed at home with the boys. when he got back to the house around 2, there was still noone there. =(
i called EZ just to see if he'd answer, and he did. i asked him what was going on because i didn't see anyone there and mentioned that derek had the appliances to install. he said he'd check on it, and also said that things would all get done tomorrow. he also said that he was headed down to the city to file some paperwork or something.
he called me back about 10 mintues later saying that the 'granite guys' were there finishing up (although i didn't know what part they were finishing up on) and that everything would get done tomorrow.
literally seconds before we were heading down to the pool with dashiell and matthew, derek got a call that the electrician was outside the house with no way in. mixed reaction there. good that he was there, but it was like 3:30 already. so he headed out to the house with brennan while i took the other 2 to the pool.
apparently they installed what derek had brought, which was good.
but now derek feels even more of a need to be at the house with all the extra added stuff there.
hold down the fort, honey! i had suggested that we even bring over dinner and eat there and have the boys run around and play. but he said nevermind, now that there are people there working...
tomorrow i think he wants to try to rearrange the storage unit. i don't really get why, but he wants to. either tomorrow or sunday i'm going to try to pack most everything and leave us some bags of clothing to last 3 days or so. just in case. at the very worst, we'll be moved out of here and just into the moving truck. so we'll sleep at a motel or something till ready.
but we are out of here on the 25th. no ifs, ands, or buts.

Day # (too many)...okay. I think it's #228 and #229

2008-06-19T16:41:00.000-07:00

Day #229, Tuesday June 17th:
Apparently the shower doors are in. This one is the common bath downstairs.Our shower upstairs:
Boys' shower upstairs:
The panel of the convection oven:
The hardware in the kitchen was finally put in...and actually the ones we picked out.
mom's shower:
the a/c units out back:
Day #228, Monday June 16th:

Day #227

2008-06-15T19:03:00.001-07:00

look at that hood!

we have carpet

Day #226

2008-06-13T21:15:00.000-07:00

Day #223

2008-06-10T21:18:00.001-07:00

Day #222 (Monday)

2008-06-10T21:14:00.002-07:00

Day #221 (Sunday)

2008-06-10T21:14:00.001-07:00

The contractors had 2 guys stay over the house lats night. We're now going to leave a car in the driveway/garage from now on.

Day #220 (Saturday)

2008-06-10T21:11:00.000-07:00

after matthew's game, derek had a call from the foreman. the house was broken into last night. we lost a bunch of stuff and now it doesn't appear that the insurance will cover any of it.
i hate mean, evil people like this.

Day #219

2008-06-06T10:24:00.001-07:00

the new numbers on the house...now it looks really small! (it looked kind of big and bulky when we were putting it together -- dashiell also ripped off the 7 and 9 right after matthew and i stuck it on...)

umm, the tile in the 'reclaimed closet' (as derek likes to call it) has different colored tile on the ground!

door handles with locks on the shared bathrooms...

Day #218

2008-06-04T22:38:00.000-07:00

that's not the backsplash that they told derek they would be putting in...
this faucet set belongs in mom's bathroom...
these sower heads aren't the ones we picked out...

this is NOT the one i picked out for the boys' bathroom. it is HIDEOUS, in my opinion
derek didn't take a picture that showed THIS before. what the heck?! there are TWO different patterns going on here! did they run out of tiles and decide to improvise? derek says it's symmetric, though. whee. i don't think that helps much.
ummm, they had to cut a big hole into my closet wall to get to the plumbing for the jacuzzi tub. again...what the !?

Day #217

2008-06-03T19:50:00.001-07:00

Day #215

2008-06-02T19:31:00.001-07:00

so we stopped by the house yesterday morning before heading out to nathan's birthday party. it was sunday, which we knew to be a day that they're not supposed to work. but lo and behold, there was a van in the driveway and guys were there. derek went in to peek.

the balcony floor was being tiled. i guess on saturday, when i saw guys on the balcony, that's what they were doing. i couldn't tell from down outside.

about 20 minutes into our drive up to valencia, i get a call from the next door neighbor, jodene smith. she was calling to let us know that there were guys working there, and they wanted some peace and quiet. she also mentioned that they worked past the allowed time the night before, but let it slide. she offered to walk the phone over to the workers (who ignored her request to stop) but i hesitated on that, because i didn't know what i could say to them. since i was driving, and this was a serious issue, i had to give derek the phone. it was too much for me to deal with while driving. he ended up getting her phone number, and said he would try to contact the foreman and contractor.
we really didn't know what to do. ethan (the foreman) was out of town (which derek knew already) and the contractor didn't answer his phone either. we tried calling her back, but there was no answer, so we left messages.
much later, i got a voicemail back from her (time stamp 11am) that said they finally left.
but derek and i couldn't figure out how she got my phone number. maybe on the postcard that got sent out to all the neighbors regarding the construction? we have no idea...

mom noticed the crack in the cement:
--------------------
DAY #216, Monday June 2nd, 2008:

derek and i stopped by there around noon, because he was supposed to meet with ethan, but there was noone there. uh-oh! did they get scared off?! where are they??

Day #214

2008-05-31T19:33:00.000-07:00

i stopped by school to pick up a few things, so i popped over to see what was going on.
to my surprise, there were guys installing the hardwood floors! =D
i couldn't go upstairs because they were preparing the floors. so all i got to see was what's in the picture.
i asked him when he thought he'd finish, and he said TOMORROW. i silently thought to myself, "i thought they couldn't work on sundays?" i won't argue though.
he said it'd be done by MONDAY. i sure hope so! (but i'm not holding my breath)

Day #213

2008-05-30T22:20:00.001-07:00

Day #212

2008-05-29T19:45:00.000-07:00

the shelves going up in the pantry (by the garage door)cabinets in the laundry area:
look, cabinet doors!
light fixture in the bathrooms:

another view of the kitchen:
gates are up, too:
(edit-- NOT new. same old gates, but repainted with a new design on it to match the wrought iron railing)

and of course, there wasn't anyone installing hardwood floors and the light fixture in the downstairs bathroom were supposed to be in mom's bathroom (which still didn't have a vanity).
derek called ethan later, and floors and electricians on monday now. ugh.

Day #211

2008-05-28T20:02:00.001-07:00

there are lots of people here, i think!ooh, a control for the sprinkler system. i've never had one of those before...if you look closely the days of the week are in a column, even even/odd days, etc
stuff to be put up
the cabinet guy working on one of the pantry closets. finally.
the counter that is no longer a counter...it's now a ledge.
i'm not sure how i like it. but i guess i have to live with it!? good thing we didn't shop for any bar stools yet.
our appliances stored in mom's room
a better pic of our marble counter sink
light fixtures going up on the outside of the house

Day #210

2008-05-27T20:02:00.000-07:00

our bathroomthe boys' bathroom

what's to come:
-hardwood floors on thursday
-cabinets were supposed to have been worked on last saturday, but noone showed up then or now...
-will get carpet samples next wed and to pick out garage door then as well
-carpet should be installed next week friday
-appliances are coming in tomorrow, so hopefully the cabinet guy will be in so they can be installed

(that's all i can remember...)
i told derek to point out to ethan that the front door lock mounting (whatever it's called) wasn't flush against the wood...i want that fixed. otherwise it looks like i tried to install it myself (translation: crappily done)
also the top part of the railing was not attached to the wall straight...it leans over and isn't parallel to the vertical lines of the wall edges. does that make sense??

Day #208

2008-05-25T21:21:00.000-07:00

the moulding up in our room:a better view of the stairs:
the front door has locks on it!

the new door knobs:
our closet doors:

Day #207

2008-05-25T21:16:00.000-07:00

part of the countertop is in! the sink, too.
the marble top in the bathroom downstairs:
the 'fixed' the closet that was - then wasn't. it now has a door on it, too:
the rest of the granite:
ready for the doors in our closet:

the marble is on our tub now, too:

the rest of the marble:

Day #205

2008-05-21T08:57:00.000-07:00

Day #204

2008-05-20T09:57:00.003-07:00

8:30am
the crown molding is going up in the living room

2:00pm

2008-05-20T09:57:00.001-07:00

Day #201

2008-05-17T22:20:00.000-07:00

after dinner we headed over to the house to check out the cement that had been poured.
it had hardened too much, i think. so i did my best to write out the boys' names. it was kind of sloppy. =/

Day #200

2008-05-17T22:17:00.000-07:00

Day #199

2008-05-15T21:38:00.000-07:00

i stopped by around 2:45pm really quick before getting dashiell and then rushing off to get matthew.
look! the ugly green fence surrounding the house is GONE!the recessed lighting is starting to get put in:
they were fixing the cabinet mistakes*
marking off what gets concreted in the back:
later in the evening, derek, dashiell and i head back over to the house to see what's going on.
here's the back now:
the grill derek ordered now waits in mom's room:
getting ready to put the rails on the stairway:
our jacuzzi tub is in. just waiting for the granite to go around it.
a view of the kitchen, through to the living room (see the lights?!)

* all those details added below.
---------------------
on tuesday, derek met ethan over at the house and the cabinet guy and the granite guy were also there at the same time talking to ethan.
derek happened to take the measuring tape and noticed that the cabinet that's to hold the ovens were measured out for a 27" oven, not the 30" oven like we had specified and ordered. thank goodness he noticed! ethan had made a major oversight. so after much figuring out, they are moving the fridge over 1.5" inches closer to the sliding glass door (it was 3" away) to make room for it.
apparently they are going to pour concrete friday for the outside (patio and walkway) and are working on the landscaping. next tuesday, the granite counters should be ready to go as well as the rest of teh cabinets (i think). derek mentioned the carpets needing to be picked, but i'm not sure when.
today, i also noticed that some of the light switches and outlets were in already. some, not all.

Day #194

2008-05-11T21:45:00.000-07:00

so this is all atuff they did yesterday:
(picture of the backyard taken from our bedroom upstairs):

(the front yard again, but taken from the patio):
we couldn't really quite place where all that dirt originated from!

Day #193

2008-05-11T21:42:00.001-07:00

Day #192

2008-05-08T19:16:00.001-07:00

at 5:00pm
doors for matthew's room:doors for dashiell and brennan's room:
the living room:

mom's peachy room (she loves it):
the guest room:
the family room upstairs:

matthew's room:

dashiell and brennan's room:
the living room:

playing in the cabinets:

...and brennan's knocked out:

Day #192

2008-05-08T10:00:00.001-07:00

8:30am

Day #191

2008-05-07T22:36:00.000-07:00

i stopped by after dropping off dashiell (about 8:45am)

after picking up matthew from school we stopped by together (about 3pm)

this is our room...um. a bit too blue/bright?!

the boys' bathroom
dashiell and brennan's room

matthew's room: "I LOVE IT! IT'S PERFECT!"
the office (it's really not that orange; see the next pic)

Day #187

2008-05-05T00:23:00.001-07:00

interesting how the trim looks on the rounded edges of the walls
the trim was done all around the doors
but they only completed the trim around the living room floor and part of the kitchen (none upstairs, other than the doors)

Day #186

2008-05-02T09:57:00.000-07:00

Day #183

2008-04-29T18:32:00.001-07:00

we went to verify wall colors and choose cabinet colors an granite counter top with ethan, the foreman.

Day #173

2008-04-21T07:30:00.001-07:00

Day #171

2008-04-17T11:47:00.000-07:00

not sure what they were doing...drove by this morning after dropping off dashiell. didn't get out because brennan was awake.

Day #166

2008-04-13T07:51:00.000-07:00

mostly tiled living room

tiled guest bath downstairs
boys' tiled bath upstairs
dashiell in matthew's room
our partially tiled master bath shower
starting to tile the master bath tub

Day #164

2008-04-10T18:07:00.001-07:00

Day #162

2008-04-10T18:06:00.000-07:00

Day #161

2008-04-10T18:04:00.000-07:00

Day #158

2008-04-05T10:06:00.000-07:00

look ma, dirt!some tile sitting in the downstairs closet...
the balcony floor had been tarred...

Day #155

2008-04-01T20:58:00.000-07:00

Day #151

2008-03-30T07:38:00.001-07:00

Day #148

2008-03-26T21:08:00.000-07:00

Day #144

2008-03-21T18:35:00.000-07:00

guess some of the bathroom stuff has come in...

Day #143

2008-03-20T20:49:00.001-07:00

Day #139

2008-03-16T03:14:00.000-07:00

grandpa steve is here and wanted to see the house today.
i had driven by at 9am and saw several men on the roof.
these were taken about 5:30pm. apparently, they had finished it!and a bunch of drywall material had been delivered to the house. they will be starting that on monday.

Uh-oh

2008-03-14T08:18:00.000-07:00

Derek wrote me after Justin wrote him about the 18 gauge vs. 14 gauge thing. Apparently 18 gauge is smaller!? I hope I just misunderstood...I have no idea...but I hope Derek calls to check on what that was all about!

We returned for more pictures...

2008-03-13T22:19:00.001-07:00

mom and i went out to macy's, cinnabon, big lots, kohl's, and walmart (whew! it took us a while =) after she returned home from work...and we stopped by the house as well. she hadn't seen it in a while. looks like most of the insulation got put in.
it seems to me that they didn't get to finish because they ran out...? we didn't see any extra packages of the insulation lying around (like i saw this afternoon). a few ceilings/walls were still missing.

Day #136

2008-03-13T15:47:00.000-07:00

so i went to the house this morning to meet ez and give him the 4 payments that are due after the rough inspections. today, they are starting to put the insulation in the walls and the ceilings. on monday, they are supposed to start drywalling. he said it will take about 3-4 days, and then there will be another inspection after they are done.

this is mom's room downstairs. he pointed out the soffits...not sure why they were added...but will have to ask derek. he said something about making it look 'different' and 'unique'?
and then in the other bedroom, the corners were a bit different, too.

he also wanted us to know that except for the pipes needed for the toilets (which are 1/2" diameter) they used 3/4" diameter pipes...and that the wires throughout the house are 18 gauge instead of 14 gauge...all of which he called an "upgrade" and a step above the standard? i have no idea...but that's what he said...

Day #134

2008-03-11T16:44:00.001-07:00

Day #131

2008-03-09T15:13:00.000-07:00

Day #124

2008-03-02T20:45:00.000-08:00

the wire mesh and black paper is up all over the house nowmore trenches in the front yard

in the kitchen, looking across to the living room
the back of the house (i don't usually get back there!)
the north side of the house -- apparently it has more trenches, too
the closet in the family room, that's all 'fixed'
master bath, with wood defining the vanity space
boys' bathroom, with the cut-out in the wall for the shampoo, etc visible

Day #123

2008-02-29T19:04:00.000-08:00

Day #122 and another check

2008-02-28T15:10:00.001-08:00

so derek asked me to meet with EZ today to give him the next check for $10k and to ask him some questions. apparently next week (or the next, depending) they will be awaiting 4 rough inspections, on: electrical, plumbing, hvac, and framing. after that will come the need for 4 more checks too. then after those are done, they can start to install the roof.
EZ said that in the meantime, they are able to put the (black) paper over the plywood on the outside walls, and then the wire mesh afterwards (which were still waiting to be done when i was there) to prepare for the stucco. they can't put the stucco on just yet, but they were given the ok to prepare for it.

Day #121

2008-02-27T16:44:00.000-08:00

Day #117

2008-02-24T14:20:00.000-08:00

some trenches in the front yard. new sewage lines?
the ficus tree blocking the sliding glass door is finally gone
another closet downstairs, now that the heater won't be in it.
a view out mom's bedroom
our corner shower in our bathroom
the mostly fixed closet in the family room

Day #111

2008-02-19T19:28:00.000-08:00

Day #110

2008-02-17T18:14:00.000-08:00

derek and i stopped by before our sunday morning grocery run to see what had been done yesterday. guess they finally put in the sliding glass door by mom's room. but derek's still got to take that ficus tree down that's in the way.
the back of the house
pipes in our bathroom
a circuit breaker in the hallway upstairs

Day #109

2008-02-15T20:42:00.000-08:00

Day #108

2008-02-14T15:17:00.000-08:00

[photos courtesy of matthew]
a guy working on the awning? i didn't remember if we had one...
from the downstairs bedroom through the closet, to the stairs
window in the kitchen area
saw some pipes in the master bath

Day #107

2008-02-13T22:09:00.001-08:00

Ok. So no pics yet. I do have them, I just have been busy grading papers tonight.
Derek is supposed to meet EZ on Monday. Apparently he's been gone due to him getting married and being on a honeymoon. So I guess he kind of has a good excuse. But I don't think this was all just out of the blue. He could have and should have planned it out so that things wouldn't stall while he was gone. I told Derek he should try to get some $ knocked off, timeline moved up, or get upgrades on things. Or all of the above!
Something, though.
They were installing the windows when I peeked this afternoon. So I'll try to post those later or tomorrow morning, if I have time.

Day #106, Part II

2008-02-13T07:33:00.000-08:00

in the master bathroom...guess that's where the big tub goesthey finally 'fixed' the closet in the family room. but derek says it's not quite right still.

more debris in the front yard
guess this is what they tore up...the north side of the house
a BIG massive duct up above. i didn't notice it before.
bathrooms downstairs. don't remember if anything there has really changed.
some pipes in the backyard

Day #106

2008-02-12T16:14:00.001-08:00

---edit--
derek and matthew stopped by in the early evening (en route to fresh n easy for some pizza dough) and they took some pictures...but i forgot to put the memory card in. duh!
they noticed that there were 2 new sets of sliding glass doors in this pile of windows below:
plus the 'new' pictures' above for what he noticed that i couldn't when i stopped by earlier in the afternoon.
---------
so the windows are there, apparently. but noone was touching them...some guys doing something upstairs. the ductwork still looked the same, though.
something new where the washer/dryer are supposed to be

Day #103

2008-02-09T14:39:00.000-08:00

mom and i stopped by this morning to see what had been done.
look what's happened to our bedroom! =O
two corners of the room now have those ducts in them, and they built stuff around it like there's going to be a wall around it. i don't like it...

i guess they've been working on some electrical stuff, too.

but what the heck is that hole in the wall of the office???

Day #101

2008-02-07T15:15:00.000-08:00

matthew took these pictures today because i had to carry the baby.look! the old water heater was actually gone...
a pile of wires in the closet space
one of the guys putting up the recessed lights upstairs
another guy...
yet another guy (he was in our master bath)...
up above...heater?
matthew took a picture of some random wires on the floor. i'm not sure what it was.
then matthew wanted to take a picture of me and dashiell =)

Day #99

2008-02-06T07:05:00.000-08:00

Well, yesterday I stopped by after my drs appointment, and noticed nothing different. I even walked through the house to see if I could tell that they finished the duct work (or at least fixed it). But alas, no.
Derek hasn't been able to get a hold of them either the last several days...that's not good. Not sure what's happening. We're really sad about the lack of developments. =(

Day #95

2008-02-01T17:02:00.001-08:00

okay. so they didn't do anything new today. noone was there. i wonder why.
but here's what they finished up yesterday, i guess.
now i have a question. take a look at the duct in the firsts picture below. it's maybe 8+ inches in diameter. they cut a hole in the floor to fit it through from the first floor. exactly how thick are the walls going to be in relation to the wood that i can see right now? because i can't imagine that duct stuff collapsing enough to fit a wall over it...or am i just dumb?? there are these ducts in one of the master closets, in the closet in the hallway (right outside the family room) and in the little towel closet in the boys' bathroom (which the duct takes up practically half of the whole thing). again, i'm confused.

Day #94

2008-01-31T14:24:00.000-08:00

My friend Christina stopped by the house with me around noon, after we had lunch. It almost didn't seem like they were working on anything, but there were two guys there. Up in the rafters. (I didn't take their picture.) This is what they were putting in.

Day #93

2008-01-30T19:06:00.000-08:00

Day #92

2008-01-29T18:06:00.000-08:00

this was at 1pm today. so hopefully it'll look much different tomorrow.

Sunday, Jan 27

2008-01-29T10:17:00.001-08:00

derek wanted to stop by sunday morning to see what had been done saturday, so we popped over to look before heading out to the grocery store...

Day #89

2008-01-26T18:09:00.000-08:00

Finally! There were people working on the house this afternoon when Mom and I stopped by after going to Babies R Us. I had stopped by earlier in the morning (after Dashiell and I went to Walmart) around 9:00 and there was noone there.

Day #87

2008-01-24T20:47:00.000-08:00

I stopped by afterschool and I saw the giant crane on the street.

We tried coming back 2 hours later with Dashiell (who would've LOVED to see the crane), but they were gone already. =(

Day #83

2008-01-22T20:23:00.001-08:00

Derek and I stopped by on Sunday, and this was the only thing that I hadn't noticed before...

Day #80

2008-01-17T18:29:00.001-08:00

I don't think anyone was there today ...still waiting for the roof truss??
But I did manage to take a picture of the front yard sans debris. The bathtub and garage door are still there. I keep telling Derek to check with them to make sure that they are going to replace it, but he hasn't yet...

Day #79

2008-01-16T18:33:00.000-08:00

Drove by the house afterschool...saw a big truck in the front, and it looked like they were hauling away the debris that had been collecting in the front yard. There was no good way for me to get a picture, so I just left.
Guess we're still waiting on the roof. Derek said they were supposed to have worked on the electrical and plumbing...but I didn't go check for that or anything. So I suppose it could've been done.
I just didn't see any cars or activity the last few days when I stopped by.
Maybe tomorrow.

Day #75

2008-01-12T19:41:00.000-08:00

dashiell was asleep in the car after the ucla bb game today.

Day #74

2008-01-12T08:18:00.000-08:00

So I stopped by the house yesterday before noon (I had to leave school to get my cell phone from home--that's a whole other story) and the older model honda accord was in the driveway this time. I could see two guys by the car in the driveway, so I thought I'd get out and ask what they were working on. Yesterday, I actually stopped by as well, and saw that same car and the gate was a little bit ajar, but I couldn't tell anything was going on, so I just left. After telling Derek about it later, he call 7 Construction and Dafneh mentioned something about waiting for the roof-truss people. So we guesses that they were waiting for the roof.
This time, I figured I'd try and ask. He said that he was the electrician and he had been working for the last 2 days (which I believed, from what I had seen--or rather, not seen). So I guess that explains it.
Derek's only question was why he wouldn't wait for the roof to be done first. I have no idea. He was in the garage when I saw him, though. Maybe later today (Saturday) we'll stop by and check out and see what kinds of electrical stuff has been put in.

Day #72

2008-01-10T15:43:00.001-08:00

Derek met me at the house yesterday afternoon so he could go look at the closets upstairs in the family room. I didn't notice any major changes, so I just took a few.This is the view of the rubbish in the front yard from the family room upstairs.
This is the view from one of the boys' rooms. Across the way is the titanium-clad public library.

Day #70

2008-01-08T16:36:00.001-08:00

not sure if they worked on the house today...i was there about 2pm and noone was there at all. very quiet; and it didn't look like they had just left to go eat or get something...

Day #70: Stairs

2008-01-07T18:21:00.000-08:00

a little after 2pm, a guy was cutting out the stairs:a little after 5pm, the stair were there. well, mostly.

Day #68

2008-01-05T17:22:00.000-08:00

Stopped by yesterday, but didn't seem to have noticed any change, so I didn't take any pictures. It was supposed to rain yesterday, but it didn't start until way later in the evening. Today, after stopping off in the Towne Center, we stopped by just to check really quickly. They were were there! There was actually a pick-up truck with 2 guys in it who told me that they were on their way to the store to get a drill, and then would be back. Cool!
This is my guess: They didn't work yesterday because they thought the rain would hit, but it didn't until later, so a day was wasted. Therefore they had to show up today in case it didn't rain. Who knows?! But they were there!
It looked like they were going to start working on the stairs. Woo-hoo!
We'll probably stop by tomorrow sometime (if it's not raining) to survey what they did today.

Day #66

2008-01-03T17:47:00.000-08:00

we got to the house a bit late (almost 5pm) so it was getting dark already.the stairs weren't built yet, but there was a 'ladder' that i used to climb up. so now we've got some shots of the upstairs.
here's the master bedroom:
view from the master bedroom through the walk-in closets to the bathroom beyond.
one of the kids' rooms
stairs are just left (out of the picture). closet in the hall. family room beyond.
view through the 2 kids' rooms
from the family room, looking out . office on the right and garage below it.
view from the corner of the family room (NE corner)
kids' rooms again

office, with the door to the balcony
in the office, looking down the long hallway with the kids' rooms on the left and the master up ahead.
in the family room again, facing south (the kids' rooms are beyond)

Day #65

2008-01-02T18:59:00.000-08:00

63 days and counting...

2007-12-31T12:56:00.001-08:00

This is what has been accomplished while we've been gone on vacation. Tomorrow will be a new year. Hopefully a strong start towards the finishing of this long project.

Standing in the garage, looking into the house. On Derek's left is the pantry.
In the kitchen, facing the garage. Washer/Dryer area on right, (coat) closet on left.
Still standing in the kitchen, looking towards what will be the dining area. Big open window space and sliding glass door to the right.
On the outside patio, looking through the space the will have the sliding glass window. Up above will be our bedroom on the left. Mom's room is on the left (bottom floor).
Standing in Mom's room; Derek is in the hallway. The bathroom is to his right.
Standing in the 2nd (guest) bedroom, facing the front of the house. Derek is standing where the stairs are supposed to be.
Standing where Derek was previously, looking upstairs.
Turned around to look at the front of the house. Big window facing the street and the front door to its right.
Turning to look towards the kitchen/dining area. You can barely see the front door on the left.
Turning again, facing the back of the house.

more framing...but now rain...

2007-12-18T16:14:00.001-08:00

Noone's working on the house today because it's been raining. i didn't have the camera yesterday, so here we go:Looks like more wood got delivered.
You can see the use of some of those big pieces up above the garage.

I'm standing in between the 2 cross braces in the garage. One's behind me; the other in front.
The garage is on my left, and I'm facing the kitchen. I asked Derek, and he said that's the pantry in the corner there.
Standing in the same spot, but now facing the other end. The big space is for the sliding glass door.Now facing the living room. Space for the bay window, and you can see where the front door will be.
A view from the back bedroom (mom's)--you can see more of those big pieces of lumber.
Facing the front of the house, with the garage jut beyond. That's the space for the washer/dryer.

last friday, 12-14-07

2007-12-16T23:13:00.000-08:00

more materials?

2007-12-12T21:45:00.000-08:00

so i stopped by afterschool, before getting dashiell. it was a little before 2:30. looks as if more materials were delivered, but there was noone there working. seems odd to me because it's a seemingly nice day, still pretty early in the afternoon, and noone was there? late lunch break?! i don't know.
i only noticed a few pieces of wood here and there that had looked to be cut into smaller pieces; but nothing appeared to be going "up".

Materials, finally.

2007-12-11T19:44:00.000-08:00

we pour at last

2007-12-03T16:19:00.000-08:00

I left school around 1:40 to head over to Matthew's school to go help out, because it's Monday. However, I look at my phone, and I've missed two calls from and 818 area code -- which can one be the contractor. So I called back (realizing later that I only mussed the call by 5 minutes) and it was EZ. He was calling to tell me he was at the house and they were pouring the foundation and was wondering if I was nearby and wanted to stop by. I had just the corner onto Bloomfield, heading away from the house, but it was only right there. So I turned around. As I pulled up, the big cement mixer truck was behind me and pulled up in front of the driveway.
He told me about that this was the last pour; they had started at 7 am this morning, and would be done in an hour or so probably. He also told me that the materials were to be delivered in the morning and they would start building the frame tomorrow! So more visible changes should be occuring soon.
He told me that I also have to meet him to give him the next 3 checks that are on the proposal. It's also a good chunk of money. Yikes.

not much

2007-11-29T17:44:00.000-08:00

that's the old bathtub with a hole in it.
i suppose se'll have to pay some something to get the bathrooms fixed now, considering it's totally gone.

no pouring of the foundation, i guess. did we pass inspection? i have no idea...derek left his phone at school.

more delays

2007-11-27T19:27:00.001-08:00

So, no pouring going on. Derek said he talked to them on the phone, and when the city came out, they have another MAJOR correction to be made. Apparently one that costs like $5000. Adding in a "third pad"? Whatever that is. The city is supposed to come back out on Thursday to re-inspect. Why does the city of Cerritos make one correction and then send them back to work on it, only to come back and identify another?! Why can't they list them all at once? The contractors have been waiting until today to do anything because they thought they would be ready to go. If they could've said all the things that were wrong up front, we wouldn't be doing this now...
Also, the quote for getting the two downstairs bathrooms fixed is $24,900. Yikers. That's a lot more than we expected. Don't know what we're going to do at this point about that.

2007-11-23T19:11:00.001-08:00

update before the turkey break

2007-11-21T16:01:00.000-08:00

update on an email from dafneh, from the contractor:
had an inspection today and needed to correct one mistake
mistake has already been corrected
due to the holidays, the next inspection won't be until next tuesday
and they will pour the foundation after the inspection

interesting...
just as i was typing the above, a knock came on the door.
it was EZ (sp?) the main guy we work with from 7 Construction
he brought over a holiday gift pack with wine and cheese for us
wow
cool
will have to add in a picture of it later

he gave an update too about what happened at last week's inspection:
a deputy inspector came and said everything was fine -- with the epoxy connecting the the old with the new (not sure if i got that part right), but then later the inspector from the city of cerritos came and wanted one root out of one the holes, so they took care of that.
now we just have to wait for them to come back out to inspect.

2007-11-19T18:19:00.000-08:00

2007-11-18T19:10:00.001-08:00

bye bye garage

2007-11-16T15:09:00.000-08:00

guess they didn't pour today...
but instead i noticed a much LARGER pile of trash, which was the framing around the garage.
maybe the inspectors told them it had to go??
i have no idea...

plastic tarp and rebars?

2007-11-15T16:01:00.000-08:00