Ready for another try at passing final electrical

The electrician was here today for about 5 hours finishing all the work we think needs to be done to pass final electrical inspection. We had one final electrical inspection already, and got a list of corrections. In theory, you fix these corrections and an inspector comes out again, checks the corrections and signs you off. In reality, each inspector that comes out gives you a whole new list of corrections. It is very annoying and inefficient. We're not trying to get away with anything, and we will fix anything we need to, but give me one list! It is really hard for the electrician as well. Our panel had to be inspected 4 times due to this - each inspector found new things wrong. The guy that was here before signed off on our rough electrical and did our first try at final. He said he would be willing to come back so we don't end up in this time warp again.

I patched three holes in the ceiling left from when the electrician had to move closet lights. It was not easy! I had to cut a piece of drywall to fit an irregularly shaped hole (the other two holes I used the piece he cut for the new location of the light) and then attach it to the ceiling with blue tape and shored it up to level by wedging screws in. I then mixed thick drywall mud and filled the gap. I am hoping that by tonight the drywall mud is set enough to hold the patch and I can do a second pass. C commented that I am becoming quite the contracor!

I spent the rest of the day doing my usual routine of doing a little bit on a lot of different things. I got done sanding the last coat I did on the windows, and am ready to blow the dust away with the air compressor and do the next coat. I also spent about an hour researching exterior paint and stucco color coating. Like everything house related, it is super-complex, very costly and has important ramifications.

We have stucco now, and it is trashed and nasty looking. We also replaced the windows, so where they are patched the stucco doesn't match. After spending a bunch of time doing research and talking to a painter, I've decided we need to do a stucco color coat instead of paint. It will last much longer (lifetime vs 3-10 years), it never fades, it is better at handling moisture, and it will blend in the old stucco and the patches around the windows. The stucco person has to sandblast off the top layer of existing stucco (after masking the windows and doors), and then they apply a thin layer of new stucco with color blended right into it.

This is one of the things where, even though I've made progress nothing shows. So many of the projects for the house are of this nature. They require a lot of research, planning and interviewing contractors to get them done. Most of the remodeling is not hands on work.