Monday, May 21, 2012

Day 73 - Pour me another...

18 days until closing.  We're now the the stage where it looks like not much is going on, which tends to make me nervous.   We did a decent amount of furniture shopping this weekend, and all of the installations /deliveries are set to start the day after closing.   And we only have 6 days overlap from closing on new house to vacating old house -- all that combines to make me really screwed if closing slips at all.  BUT there have been no indications that will happen.   Just my nervousness.

Since my last update they appliances are installed.   I am not 100% sure they did the microwave exterior vent correct.  I plan to test this one night this week and see if it is really venting.    Friday night the vent was drywalled over (DRYWALL CREW MISTAKE...) , and by Saturday afternoon the microwave was installed.   I think it is expecting too much for the appliance subcontractor to have known there was a vent. 

On the plus side though the concrete looks to be going in this week.  I don't want to jinx it, but the driveway width looks a little generous by my eye.   I will elaborate once they pour and can't undo it.   Second thing was that I'm surprised at the walkway height from the front steps in relation to the current grade.   I guess I expected there to be 2 steps off the landing, but they are setting up for 1.   Just means they will have to bring in a bunch more dirt to backfill that front yard.   I prefer a decent grade away from the house when possible (drainage paranoia) so this works well for me.   

By my tracking we still need:
  • Concrete drive / sidewalks
  • Granite Install
  • Carpet Install
  • Gutters Install
  • Deck Install
  • Some final plumbing stuff remains
  • Hookup appliances (possibly already done...)
  • Tons of touch up work. Drywall, paint, etc

Lastly,  I have been doing a lot of research on in ground sprinklers and the insane prices contractors charge for installation.  I will do a separate post on this tonight, but I'm pretty sure I can install independent in ground systems that feed off my hose bibs (with an electronic timer and all) for less than $400 and maybe 10 hours of labor (x2 for the standard DIY under-estimation, so 20 hours).   Much better than the $4k  to $6k that a professional will charge.   Will theirs be better, absolutely...   $5500 better though?

3 comments:

  1. Here is to hoping for a larger driveway!

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  2. The way our house was situated, I thought for sure we would have two steps going up to the porch. One day we were there and hauling ourselves up three feet onto the porch and the next day, the dirt was all filled in and we had a sidewalk and one step onto the porch. It was amazing how much different it seemed.

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