A long day, visible progress

I started today by getting to the permit office at 7:20 a.m. The inspectors are available by phone 6:30 to 7:30 am and in person 7:30 to 8:00. It is really helpful to just be able to drop in and see who you need to. I brought in the calculations done by the plumber to make sure the gas line was properly sized. After looking at them, the inspector signed them and we could proceed with closing the walls. The process of seeing the inspector was pretty well organized. At 7:30, a guy came out with a clipboard and took everyone's name and who they wanted to see.

I went back to the house and we were cheerfully moving along, when I hear "The inspector is here" at 10:00. Uh oh, it cannot be good news when the inspector stops by uninivited. They are really busy, so even though they can drop in on any job with a permit out front, they haven't yet dropped in on me. It was the inspector I had spoken with this morning, and he came back to tell me that the calculations in fact meant the gas line was not properly sized and that the first 7 feet needed to be upgraded from 3/4" to 1" pipe. This may not sound like a big deal, but as the inspector explained, if the pipe is too small for the amount of gas your appliances use, all the gas can be sucked out of the pipe by the appliances. This can allow air into the pipe and the mixture of air and gas in the pipe can cause an explosion. Yikes! You don't have to tell me twice!

I was actually quite impressed that he took the time to come back for my safety. He could have easily blown it off and never got caught. He went out of his way during a very busy day to make sure I was safe and got proper work done. It really makes me have a new level of appreciation for the inspectors. One unfortnate thing is that we found out we need to have an insulation inspection even though only 12 feet of exterior wall has been opened. The city code says anytime you open an exterior wall you have to insulate it. We were going to insulate the whole house anyway, but we just weren't planning on getting it inspected. Oh well.

The appliances were delivered today, only two weeks after they were supposed to arrive. The all look good, although I haven't opened them yet. I noticed an odd notice on our gas water heater that it cannot be sold in our area after 12/31/07. I wonder why?


After the appliance delivery, I went to the paint store to buy all the paint for the house. I've finally decided on the colors, and for the most part I love them. I'm a little unsure about the master bedroom, but once it is painted correctly by the professionals I'll be able to change the color easily. When I got back to the house, I was asking the contractor where to store 15 gallons of paint. He said I almost broke the law - you can transport up to 15 gallons without a commercial license. Wow, who knew? They guy at the paint store didn't say anything. I wonder how often people break that law without knowing it?

While I was at the paint store, the sales rep from the plumbing supply place called and said there were some problems with the order I placed back in February! After dropping the paint off at the house, I headed over to meet with her. Two of the pieces I ordered that were supposed to be delivered in a few weeks were then delayed 6 weeks. The 6 week period ended Monday and they still weren't in. One of them is not being made in the finish I want - it was a misprint in the catalog. So I have to have it plated - whe knew you could even do that? The other pieces that are missing are really critical and still delayed. It's the bath sink handles an the handles for the shower and bathtub. The shower and tub handles should be here in mid-May and the sink in early June. Assuming the schedule is accurate, we should just be able to manage that. As long as we have the shower, we can manage. Hopefully we can use something else in the meantime if the parts aren't in yet (the general contractor thinks he can rig something up). It's a good thing I think ahead or I'd be in trouble.

I took another of my twice-weekly trips to Ikea and picked up the molding. I now have everything I need for the kitchen.

This has been a good week because we are finally having visible progress. Things are beginning to look better instead of worse!

This is a shot of the windows being prepared for installation. The black paper is a sticky, self-sealing waterproof membrane (called bituminous membrane).