Day 281

Some things have happened at the property this week.  Let me fill you in:

I noticed last weekend that we had a rather significant framing issue upstairs.  Not a structural one, thankfully.  In fact, the house is built like a tank, with more lumber and hurricane ties than you can imagine.  No, the issue was regarding measurements.  I realized the issue when I walked into the master bath and the vanity wing wall was partially obscuring one of the windows.  Per my plans, this should not have been the case.

I started investigating.  Come to find out that the guest room had been framed over a foot too deep(!), thus throwing off every wall upstairs east to west.  Mostly notably, the master bedroom was 10 square feet too small as a result.  No bueno.

I did my best not to have a “come apart” (as they call it here in the south) and started documenting everything for the builder.  I was particularly wound up over this because my plans are not only to scale but also dimensioned.  I can forgive an inch here or there and realize there may have to be an occasional adjustment, but variations of more than a foot simply will not do.

Good news: I noticed this while still in the framing stage and not as we were trying to move in furniture.

Bad news: I was the one that caught this.

Good news: It can be fixed and our builder is on it.

Bad news: Nearly every wall in the main part of the upstairs has to be moved.

Good news: We will not be charged for this.

Bad news: It will delay us about a week.

I had two 2-3 hour site meetings with the builder this week to go through everything and mark what needs to be corrected.

I should have brought snacks.

OK, now onto the next critical item: the kitchen cabinet color.

It is well-documented that I am my own worst client.  While I can be incredibly decisive with selections and decisions for my clients’ spaces, the same cannot be said for my personal spaces.

I have painted this poor door sample with 5 different colors and then my own custom blends of these colors to get the color just right.  Let me just say that neutrals are complicated because they can take on various undertones depending on what time of day it is and what kind of light is hitting them.  My struggle was that I liked some better in natural daylight and the others better at night with incandescent light.  In the daylight some were taking on a fleshy undertone (which I am absolutely allergic to) and at night the others took on a green cast.

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My cabinet guy will be delighted when I tell him he has to paint match a 50/50 blend of 2 colors, one of which is at 75%.  Here is the winning combination:

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This is the same color on the whole door.  See how different it looks in light and shadow?!

While the cabinet color took an inordinate amount of time, it took me about 45 seconds to make the call on the roof material.

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Back to regularly scheduled programming and progress photos:

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They put on the underlayment for the roof and some of the flashing.

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They started on the dining room chimney.

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They have done some more digging around the garage, though there is still a bit to do.

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Josh and my dad laid out where the 4 rail fence will go along our shared property line.

They have their work cut out for them as they put in this fence next weekend.

I will be providing supervision and snacks.

 

Day 8

No major developments in the last few days. No builder contract signed (though in the works), zero utilities on the property, and nothing submitted to the county yet, but rest assured that I have nearly every last selection made for the finishes and fixtures in the house down to the grout colors. I also have all cabinetry and tile detailed to 1/16″ of an inch.

This is what I do for a living after all. I live in the world of interior design plans and detailing, tile, countertops, lighting, custom cabinetry, paint colors, trim profiles, and selection schedules and budgets. This has come in handy as we try to get a precise bid for construction. We will not need any of these items, however, for the better part of a year, but now I can sleep at night knowing which faucet is going in the hall bath.

Now that I have all of those things selected, detailed, and budgeted, I have moved on to deciding where all of our current artwork and mirrors will be going in the new house. At least 12-15 months ahead of schedule on that one.

This is what I do when waiting on other parties for things out of my control: I make lists, spreadsheets, diagrams, and design boards. Please send help. And wine.