Day Forty-Three: Windows on the World and Quizzical Messages
As I've done many mornings before, I left a call for George today and waited for him to call me back. When he called me back in the early afternoon, I was ready with my list of questions.
I began with what I said was the biggest issue (I lied): the fact that the toilet paper holder didn't match the other fixtures in the bathroom. At first, George didn't seem to believe me that this was a Victorian fixture, rather than a Michael Graves (as the list he had indicated). But he said he'd take care of it, and I told him the item was still sitting in our garage.
The next question was where to hang the second towel rack. George's answer was to hang it where we had originally intended: on the open wall near the bathroom door. This will still be above the electric heater, so he's suggesting we hang the towel rack six inches higher than usual and put it in only after the final inspection.
Next, we learned that "paint-ready" walls means we do the priming. This is going to be tough, because I'm essentially out of town from April 15th through April 24th, using up the next two weekends by traveling. I'll be visiting Boston, Baltimore, and (best of all) Trenton. Three states in ten days. Four if we count New York. So when will we prime. George says that he expects some places in the house to be ready for painting in the next two days, which is great except that I have a lot of grants left to read for my New Jersey trip. I suggested to George that I'd pull out my old primer and get ready to get started this week, but he urged me to buy new primer, a five-gallon bucket. I asked him why all his advice was always more expensive. His answer was "Experience."
I asked if Dan had told him about the flooring and tile. Apparently, Dan has reporting that everything is "readily available," so that's all we need to know.
Next was the issue of the color of the siding. George said that he'd be sure to get samples to us. We'll choose the color from those.
The kneewall (what George once called the k-wall) was next. George had forgotten about it and said that he'd call Dave on the two-way and talk to him about that.
Related to the siding was the rotted wood under the eaves. I wanted to know if they could replace the rotted areas for us. George said that they would have to anyway, so that they'd have something solid to nail into. What he didn't mention is that this would be an additional price.
I ended with the two bigger things, as a nice surprise. First was the issue of two instead of one light-bar over the sink. I explained that Mickey (the lighting guy) explained that two fixtures would provide better lighting for the area. Mickey was quite adamant about it. George said, sure, no problem. Then I reminded him that the wall was already in place. He said he'd talk to Chris the electrician and see what he said.
Finally, the boiler. I explained the entire boiler situation to George, noting that a likely cause of the boiler problem appeared to be the renovation itself. I asked him if he thought his insurance would cover this damage, and he said, "We don't have any insurance." I said, "Well, what about the line in the contract about insurance?" He was joking, but I explained that the joke didn't work, since he also didn't have the permits the contract said he would obtain.
Once I made it home, I found a message from Dave the boiler guy, which I will transcribe verbatim:
This is what, in the business, we call bad news. For some reason 60,000 BTUs (25% of the heating power of the unit) are not making it through the boiler. They, instead, fall to the floor at the foot of the boiler. If there had been a dead pigeon or a brick blocking the chimney, that would have explained the problem. In the absence of that explanation, we are left with the answer that the boiler is too clogged with carbon to be cleaned. Our solutions, I suppose, are to waste one quarter of our heating power for every winter from now on or to replace the boiler--neither of which is that palatable right now. I'll have to talk to George about this tomorrow, after talking to Dave or Darren, the boiler guys. Why am I holding the contractor responsible? Because this clogging takes a week to occur, and I haven't been fooling with the boiler recently.
George also told me that he'd be off next week, because it's a week off from school. He thought we'd be gone for the week as well, and he was right. We'll be home on Wednesday, but that's about it.
Message from Dave and the Mark for the Kneewall
By the time I made it home, Dave had left a message for me. He wondered if a 42-inch kneewall was adequate (sure) and if the marker on the floor was a reasonable place to put the kneewall (probably sure). I'm going to stay home a little late tomorrow, so I can talk to the guys a bit and clarify some of this.
Closeup of Message from Dave
Here's a closeup of the message from Dave. We do most of our communicating on wallboard or plaster tablets.
Repaired Second-Floor-Hallway Ceiling with Boxes for Smoke /CO Detector and the Fan/Light
The guys are even starting to repair the huge gouge they made in the ceiling outside the second-floor bathroom. They filled the channel in the ceiling with plaster, and this should take a while to dry. This is just part of the great quantity of taping and plastering Dave and John have been doing.
Dust Barrier in Second-Floor Bathroom Door
I assume a great deal of sanding is what led the guys to put up a dust barrier here today.
Two New Windows in the Kitchen
The greatest part of today was seeing the two new windows in the kitchen. They lighten up the room amazingly much, especially considering that the biggest window, at the far end of the kitchen, isn't in place yet. Nancy discovered, also, that these windows open quite easily. All she needed was a single one of her thin fingers.
Looking Out the Newest New Window through the Lilac to Daylight
This window is the window that has been closed for about two decades, so it is more exquisite to look out this window through the thin branches of the budding lilac.
The Bed of Insulation Sitting below a Kitchen Window
I found this image beautiful as well. The two new windows sit within the rock wall of the house, so they have deep window wells. The guys made sure this area was adequately insulated from cold. Here's a nice warm next of fiberglass insulation.
Message from Dave to Posterity
Sometimes, John complains about Dave. More than once, I've found messages like this that John has written on those parts of the house that will be obscured by the time the project is done. This one is written on the framing to one of the new kitchen windows.
The Two Blue Windows on the Alley
What a wonderful sight this is: two windows as seen from the alley. I'm sorry these windows can't be as tall as the space allowed for them in the wall. Underneath them now are expanses of plywood. By the time this project is over, these will be covered with decorative aluminum. We'll see how it looks.
The Girded Water Pipe
This is one piece of Chris the electrician's work from Friday that I didn't discover until yesterday. He aligned a grounding wire with this bent pipe and held the wire on with multiple little plastic girdles. It is a beautifully neat job.
Closeup on the Grounding Wire
Here's a closeup of this little job.
The Reclaimed Wood Reset in a Corner of the Basement
Finally, here's the new pile of wood Tim and I put together yesterday. I've been slowly disposing of those pieces that are just too short to be of any use to us, and I'll be asking John tomorrow to take away the tiny pile I put together for him yesterday.
honi soit qui mal y pense
I began with what I said was the biggest issue (I lied): the fact that the toilet paper holder didn't match the other fixtures in the bathroom. At first, George didn't seem to believe me that this was a Victorian fixture, rather than a Michael Graves (as the list he had indicated). But he said he'd take care of it, and I told him the item was still sitting in our garage.
The next question was where to hang the second towel rack. George's answer was to hang it where we had originally intended: on the open wall near the bathroom door. This will still be above the electric heater, so he's suggesting we hang the towel rack six inches higher than usual and put it in only after the final inspection.
Next, we learned that "paint-ready" walls means we do the priming. This is going to be tough, because I'm essentially out of town from April 15th through April 24th, using up the next two weekends by traveling. I'll be visiting Boston, Baltimore, and (best of all) Trenton. Three states in ten days. Four if we count New York. So when will we prime. George says that he expects some places in the house to be ready for painting in the next two days, which is great except that I have a lot of grants left to read for my New Jersey trip. I suggested to George that I'd pull out my old primer and get ready to get started this week, but he urged me to buy new primer, a five-gallon bucket. I asked him why all his advice was always more expensive. His answer was "Experience."
I asked if Dan had told him about the flooring and tile. Apparently, Dan has reporting that everything is "readily available," so that's all we need to know.
Next was the issue of the color of the siding. George said that he'd be sure to get samples to us. We'll choose the color from those.
The kneewall (what George once called the k-wall) was next. George had forgotten about it and said that he'd call Dave on the two-way and talk to him about that.
Related to the siding was the rotted wood under the eaves. I wanted to know if they could replace the rotted areas for us. George said that they would have to anyway, so that they'd have something solid to nail into. What he didn't mention is that this would be an additional price.
I ended with the two bigger things, as a nice surprise. First was the issue of two instead of one light-bar over the sink. I explained that Mickey (the lighting guy) explained that two fixtures would provide better lighting for the area. Mickey was quite adamant about it. George said, sure, no problem. Then I reminded him that the wall was already in place. He said he'd talk to Chris the electrician and see what he said.
Finally, the boiler. I explained the entire boiler situation to George, noting that a likely cause of the boiler problem appeared to be the renovation itself. I asked him if he thought his insurance would cover this damage, and he said, "We don't have any insurance." I said, "Well, what about the line in the contract about insurance?" He was joking, but I explained that the joke didn't work, since he also didn't have the permits the contract said he would obtain.
Once I made it home, I found a message from Dave the boiler guy, which I will transcribe verbatim:
Ck'd chimminy
looks ok at roof
No Restrictions
Raided [rated] input to 180,000
Btu
Max 240,000
Call to advise
DAVE
This is what, in the business, we call bad news. For some reason 60,000 BTUs (25% of the heating power of the unit) are not making it through the boiler. They, instead, fall to the floor at the foot of the boiler. If there had been a dead pigeon or a brick blocking the chimney, that would have explained the problem. In the absence of that explanation, we are left with the answer that the boiler is too clogged with carbon to be cleaned. Our solutions, I suppose, are to waste one quarter of our heating power for every winter from now on or to replace the boiler--neither of which is that palatable right now. I'll have to talk to George about this tomorrow, after talking to Dave or Darren, the boiler guys. Why am I holding the contractor responsible? Because this clogging takes a week to occur, and I haven't been fooling with the boiler recently.
George also told me that he'd be off next week, because it's a week off from school. He thought we'd be gone for the week as well, and he was right. We'll be home on Wednesday, but that's about it.
Message from Dave and the Mark for the Kneewall
By the time I made it home, Dave had left a message for me. He wondered if a 42-inch kneewall was adequate (sure) and if the marker on the floor was a reasonable place to put the kneewall (probably sure). I'm going to stay home a little late tomorrow, so I can talk to the guys a bit and clarify some of this.
Closeup of Message from Dave
Here's a closeup of the message from Dave. We do most of our communicating on wallboard or plaster tablets.
Repaired Second-Floor-Hallway Ceiling with Boxes for Smoke /CO Detector and the Fan/Light
The guys are even starting to repair the huge gouge they made in the ceiling outside the second-floor bathroom. They filled the channel in the ceiling with plaster, and this should take a while to dry. This is just part of the great quantity of taping and plastering Dave and John have been doing.
Dust Barrier in Second-Floor Bathroom Door
I assume a great deal of sanding is what led the guys to put up a dust barrier here today.
Two New Windows in the Kitchen
The greatest part of today was seeing the two new windows in the kitchen. They lighten up the room amazingly much, especially considering that the biggest window, at the far end of the kitchen, isn't in place yet. Nancy discovered, also, that these windows open quite easily. All she needed was a single one of her thin fingers.
Looking Out the Newest New Window through the Lilac to Daylight
This window is the window that has been closed for about two decades, so it is more exquisite to look out this window through the thin branches of the budding lilac.
The Bed of Insulation Sitting below a Kitchen Window
I found this image beautiful as well. The two new windows sit within the rock wall of the house, so they have deep window wells. The guys made sure this area was adequately insulated from cold. Here's a nice warm next of fiberglass insulation.
Message from Dave to Posterity
Sometimes, John complains about Dave. More than once, I've found messages like this that John has written on those parts of the house that will be obscured by the time the project is done. This one is written on the framing to one of the new kitchen windows.
The Two Blue Windows on the Alley
What a wonderful sight this is: two windows as seen from the alley. I'm sorry these windows can't be as tall as the space allowed for them in the wall. Underneath them now are expanses of plywood. By the time this project is over, these will be covered with decorative aluminum. We'll see how it looks.
The Girded Water Pipe
This is one piece of Chris the electrician's work from Friday that I didn't discover until yesterday. He aligned a grounding wire with this bent pipe and held the wire on with multiple little plastic girdles. It is a beautifully neat job.
Closeup on the Grounding Wire
Here's a closeup of this little job.
The Reclaimed Wood Reset in a Corner of the Basement
Finally, here's the new pile of wood Tim and I put together yesterday. I've been slowly disposing of those pieces that are just too short to be of any use to us, and I'll be asking John tomorrow to take away the tiny pile I put together for him yesterday.
honi soit qui mal y pense
posted by Geofhuth at 8:59 PM
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