Posts filed under 'Site Meeting'
At this juncture, it feels as though we are both so mouthwateringly close and so achingly far from completion. At any rate, we covered 17 topics in two hours, with Dubravka, Joseph, and Kristof, and it was very helpful to have all of them present. The mood was upbeat, despite a few issues. The newly drywalled walls were scribbled on to illustrate various points (although I used a pen instead of a pencil, which earned mock anger from Joseph, since it creates bleed through. I didn’t know!) And Luke’s faux pas was to squeeze through a freshly plastered opening…resulting in white plaster blotches on his bum.
The major hold up is the plumbing inspection, which is being held up by the expediter, Sonia Dixon. Dana, K-construction’s really lovely aide-de-camp, personally drove documents back and forth for Sonia, and yet Sonia is not releasing the completed documents for some unknown reason. Kristof is planning to go to her office today to wrest the paperwork from her and take it to the DOB so that the plumbing inspection can be scheduled. It could take 3 days or 2 weeks to schedule the inspection once the paperwork is filed.
Interjection here: If there is one thing we have learned in this process, it is to deeply mistrust “Expediters” of paperwork, since we’ve now been burned by two of them. Theirs is a woefully misnamed profession–or perhaps most ironically named, since our experience of their functionality has been diametrically opposite of their stated purpose to actually “expedite”! “Withholders” or “Procrastinators” would surely be more accurate monikers.
March 15th, 2007
Things to discuss at tomorrow’s site meeting:
1) Date of plumbing inspection–this impacts ability to keep moving forward on the job
2) size for built-in bath cabinet (note to self: need to order more mosaic tile for interior)
3) doors throughout: types + finishes
4) glass throughout: specifying translucent or transparent (we have lots of interior windows and glass doors to maximize light)
5) Specs for lighted bathroom mirror
6) Window install ETA
7) Baseboard trim for floors
Some things we still need to get:
1) 24″ gas range
2) kitchen backsplash
3) combination washer/dryer
4) paint colors for various rooms
5) miscellaneous bathroom hardware, including: hooks, shower curtain rod, tub filler
March 13th, 2007
Large list of concerns that was addressed by Joseph via phone today, since the site meeting was not possible last night:
1) Interior of Closet: Plywood Only, Drywall over Plywood?
2) Interior of Closet: Shelving configuration
3) Under Cabinet Lighting: Locations
4) Interior Window in Bedroom/Livingroom Wall Configuration
5) Doorway for Laundry Closet: exposed brick? how to attach a door?
6) Build Pedestal Drawer for Refrigerator
7) Build Pedestal for Washing Machine
Style/Finish of Custom Shelves in Kitchen
9) Which Windows are Translucent or Transparent
10) Posts in bedroom need to be sheetrocked, except for one window of glass, in the largest opening on the left hand side.
11) Acknowledgment of tiling prep
still to be addressed:
12) When is the plumbing inspection going to be?
13) Status of windows
When we went to the site last night, more drywalling had commenced, with patching. Arrived: kitchen light fixture. Also, the radiant floor mat and the bath exhaust fan had made it. In fact, the fan was installed.
We need to obtain kitchen backsplash tiles (we’re leaning towards Ming Green marble, although I want to take a cabinet veneer sample with me to make sure); and do more research on veneer layup, which requires calling Ted Badea Furniture Co.
March 7th, 2007
Very long site meeting yesterday. Since it was at 2pm, I wasn’t able to attend, but Luke, Dubravka (drawing on plans above), and Joseph were present. Much discussion about the closet core; the visible beams–we are going to fireproof and refinish; material to be used for ceiling soundproofing: homasote, a recycled paper product (important on both counts–functionality and sustainability); after two months of requests–the veneer sample, which was totally unacceptable; ETA for window install; discussion about whether the wall-through a/c for the window can be inset since the wall is much thicker than is standard (the answer being yes); and a query about the completion of the job….drumroll…..can we move in by the end of March 2007? The answer was…clash of cymbals…Yes! (probably). Click on thumbnail below to see meeting in progress.
January 23rd, 2007
Dubravka sent us a revised plan this morning, and we are going to go with it–discarding our weekend futzing of the plan. She pointed out some limitations, including the fact that the bathroom is required to be handicap-compliant, and the awkwardness of access, etc. We were initially feeling such despair over the arrangement that we had to draw up some plans to feel like we were actively tackling the problem, but as the solution below shows a tidy compartmentalizing of spaces…we feel a tad foolish for all the brouhaha amongst ourselves this weekend.
(Click on thumbnail to see larger image)
January 22nd, 2007
We had a site meeting tonight to go over a list of concerns. We were annoyed at forgetting to bring the camera, because some of the framing has started, and the hall closet is completely excavated of its sheetrock sheathing, and now resembles the kind of space that a modern day cask of Amontillado might be encrypted in.
Despite all the stresses of renovating, being able to see the underlying structure of the building is very exciting. Our downstairs neighbors on the other side of the building invited us in for an impromtu visit, so we could see how their space had been renovated (before they had moved in to it). Their apartment is the mirror image of ours, and they had removed the central load-bearing wall. But under the sheetrock ceiling must be a serious steel header–and they did have some steel posts to hold things up. Very kind of them to let us take a look!
We also brought a bottle of Barolo to the neighbors next door, when we returned the key to their garden gate. (They patiently allowed K-construction to put scaffolding up in their back yard, and lived with it for about a month).
The jobsite is filling up with boxes of materials. The kitchen floor planks arrived in what seemed to be a tiny wooden crate, and I was so impatient to open the box and look at them, but after removing one slat, we discovered that they had difficult foil packing material and it would ALL have to be unwrapped in order to see anything, and better not to unwrap them all etc., so I supressed my inner 4-year old and let it be. Pictures tomorrow!
January 16th, 2007
Today the scaffolding must be removed from the yard of our neighbors next door. We brought it up at the site meeting on Monday; and we emailed, and we called, and we left several messages for K Construction today…so hopefully, it will be done today. UPDATE: Luke just stopped by the site, and the scaffolding is down. Good job, K-Construction.
The shippers of the kitchen flooring called me this morning and said that the planks will be delivered next Monday, between 9 and 2, instead of today.
Laundry closet thrill: our miniscule hall closet has been lightly demo’ed on the inside, by removing the sheetrock to expose the brick. This widens the 24″ closet by about 6″. We are planning to put a ventless combo washer/dryer unit in the closet, and now, perhaps, we can get a larger one than we were originally planning. Luke thinks there will be room above the unit to store bikes. He wants the floor to be reinforced, and some big hooks secured in the wall (for the bikes). Of course, I am a proponent of the folding bike, above, to simplify matters even more….
January 12th, 2007
The on-going problem of the load-bearing wall is resolved, at least in terms of decision-making: We are not going to dismantle it, and we are going to work with it. It means some big compromises, but we prefer to compromise rather than drag out the construction process. My estimate is it would have taken a minimum of 3 months to plan and get all the necessary permits and approvals before even starting to restructure the wall with steel beams–this is based on the fact that it took us 6 months to get permissions to start in the first place!
The compromises: 1) The closet core will now suck. Instead of being an accessible open space, it is going to be awkwardly bisected by the existing upright posts. The ends of it will have to open in the living room for maximum accessibility.
2) The skeletal frame of the existing load-bearing posts between the dining room and kitchen are going to be left unsheathed in sheetrock or plaster, and just exist… to be incorporated as some sort of “architectural design element.” We will be cladding them in nicer wood or something, and definitely painting them (as well as permeating them with fire-resistant-making chemicals), but they will be a continual reminder of our folly in embarking upon the renovation. They have to remain unsheathed, or otherwise compromise the issue of light in the kitchen. Oh well, perhaps we can endeavor to make them look good rather than a huge mistake. Anyone have ideas?
January 8th, 2007
I had to work late tonight, but Luke was present at the site meeting to resolve the closet core problem. The news was not good. The problem was definitely understated–the closet core wall IS load bearing. This means that we cannot blithely remove beams without incurring an undisclosed to us (and therefore, astronomical) sum to super-structure it.
Needless to say, we are going to have to work with that wall, because we don’t have astronomical sums to throw about. We were under the impression that the engineer was going to have plans in hand for us tonight, but that was not the case. He said he would get them to us by next Friday. Then K- Construction will have to price out the work for us, which will take another week. So basically, it will take a minimum of two weeks just to get the price, which we suspect will be an impossibility for us to handle. In which case we say “No” and back to the drawing board, and more delays. In the meantime, it is delaying the project a minimum of a month for this one issue. There has to be a better way to go about this.
From the closet aspect it’s not going to be too much of a problem, we might have to return the ikea sliding doors and rethink how to structure the interior fittings. It’ll be more like lockers instead of open spaces. Not ideal, but workable.
The larger problem is the part of the wall that will divide the future kitchen from the dining room. We cannot have a wall there, nor do we wish to spiral into debtor’s prison to obtain the seamless result vis a vis super-structuring it. I think we are going to have a couple of beams there. It’s not pretty, but it seems like the most expedient solution at this point. The biggest issue, of all aside from the obvious, is the enormous delays and the incremental expenses for extending the sublet and storage.
Some other things that were worked on this week are the windows–the mortaring looks fantastic. Also, it was determined that we must level the floors (which is actually fine with me, I really wanted to take this opportunity to do it!). One of our concerns was ripping out the original subflooring and the dust and debris it would cause. Fortunately, K-Construction came up with a solution of shims of various widths to help make a structure for the plywood subfloor to be laid on top, and thus be level.
December 22nd, 2006
We had a site meeting this morning, and touched upon everything that was on our laundry list of concerns, with our foreman, Joseph of K Construction. We also talked about leveling the floors, but since we’ve lost so much time with the closet core support problem, we don’t really have time to do it, (nor the budget, for that matter) as we are really hoping to have the bulk of the work done by March 1, 2007. The existing floors, while not level are not horrifically out of sync, but we can’t start on anything until the closet core is resolved, except for mortaring the window openings and a/c cutouts. One window is being finished up today, that leaves one other window, and then 2 a/c cutouts.
Dubravka, our architect, tells us there will be a final plan for the closet core problem this Thursday, when we have another site meeting. And then perhaps, the bottleneck will break, and the reno will move full speed ahead. The materials that I’ve been ordering, on the other hand, are arriving ahead of time in good condition, which is a small bonus.
December 19th, 2006
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