Windows and doors ordered today

I got the order in and the waiting time should be 2-3 weeks. I am not at all confident in the delivery estimate, but we'll see. This store did pretty well before.

Bathroom drawer done, window order ready

The handyman came back today and finished the bathroom drawer. I still need to put a coat of polyurethane on it, and buy another drawer handle (I purchased enough for the bath without thinking about this drawer and used one for it.)

The window and door order is ready to place tomorrow.

Almost ordered, new drawer

I went back to the door and window store and was almost able to place my order, but wanted to double check a few things first. They are not returnable. The handyman was here putting in a drawer in the bathroom. The spot for the drawer is in a corner between the bathtub and toilet and was framed in to hold toilet brushes, etc out of sight. The handyman was here three more hours than he thought he would be here, and the drawer is still not done. Complements of my prior contractor, the framing was more triangular than square. We lost about half the depth of the drawer thanks to his sloppiness.

Maybe some progress

I went to the window store today to work on ordering the new window and doors I need. This store is notorious for making customers feel like it is a privilege to get the attention of a salesperson, but believe it or not it is better than the options. I got smart after going a few times during this remodel, and went just after they opened at 7 a.m. and had the place mostly to myself. The salesperson seemed somewhat knowledgeable, which is better than I can usually expect. He was pretty lazy though - when I was asking questions, he would not get up to show me what he was talking about. There were various examples of things in the showroom, and it was like we were playing the hot and cold game - "No, you're cold, colder, oh my god you're freezing....getting warmer, warmer, oh my god you're boiling, I can't believe you can't see it." It would have been way easier for him to get up, go to a specific door and show me the feature rather than say "It's like that door over there" and point in the general direction of the showroom which contained several hundred doors. Once I found the door he was talking about, then I often had to locate the specific feature which was often a fine detail. What a waste of time! Get up out of your chair pal!

Once I had gotten the estimate written up for the windows, I asked about steel screen doors (for example, something like this). While I know a lot of people don't like these because they look, I happen to like them (when they are done tastefully and not rusty or beat up, of course). They are extremely practical in that they are as secure as a regular door, but let in air and light and keep out bugs. The guy insulted my taste with a comment that implied with bad taste got those door. Even after I explained to him why I liked these doors, he insisted on insulting my taste, and hinted that he was insulted that I would think such a classy place would carry "those" doors. Nice. Get a clue! He's lucky there isn't a better option anywhere near here.

We did talk to our potential new general contractor and he was helpful in sorting out the window situation. We've decided to get the new windows in a slighly larger size and to see what happens at inspection time. At least I feel resolved about that.

Quagmire

I've been working on the window issue, and I am really stuck in a vast quagmire. The existing windows are double-hung (i.e. two sashes on top of one another that move up and down). I can't use this type of window because to get the minimum height required, the window has to be 5 feet tall. Since our ceilings are 8 feet, and the window has to be 3 feet off the floor, that leaves no room for a header. The 3-feet-off-the-floor rule is to keep people from falling out. If it is less than 3 feet, you need safety rails which have their own set of complex codes. In neighboring cities, the window only needs to be 18 inches off the floor.

Another type of window is an awning or casement. Both of these open with a hand crank and the awning is hinged on top and the casement is hinged on the side. The entire sash opens outward. I can't use these because the windows in question overlook the driveway and since our driveway already isn't big enought to meet current codes we cannot infringe on it in any way.

The final type of window is a glider, which the sashes are side by side and slide open sideways. If we use this type of window, we have to go to a bigger size, which means getting plans drawn by a structural engineer, going through plan submittal (3 months), and possible having to add shear strength to the walls. Shear strength is so the the house doesn't sway side to side and would be obtained by removing either all the stucco or all the interior plaster and putting plywood on all the walls. Then all the windows have to be finished with a bullnose since they are now not thick enough to span the wall. This will be really expensive.

So, we're really running into walls here, and not sure how to solve it. The city is difficult in these areas - they won't put anything in writing, and whenever you ask a question, you get the most conservative answer. In other words, they would make me do shear calculations and shear work. I really don't know how to figure this out. One bright spot is that that we were going to turn one window into a door on our next permit, and the inspector said we could do it under this permit and that would meet egress for one room.

Two steps forward and a crushing blow

Today started really hopefully but I was very nervous. For the first time since the project started, we had the potential to close our first permit this week. We had our final mechanical inspection scheduled today, which could have been the last inspection.

The good news is that we passed final mechanical with no problem. I went to the permit office at 7:30 to make sure the same inspector is coming out. One of the difficulties in this city is that often another inspector comes out the second time around and gives you a brand new list of corrections. It's like hitting a moving target. I had to have my electrical panel inspected 4 times because of this.

The inspector said we needed to have a final building inspection as well, and he did it while he was here. He found two really minor things - bathroom caulking and tree trimming - and one MAJOR thing. In every bedroom, one window needs to meet "egress," which is a combination of measurements that make sure people can get out or firefighters can get in if there is an emergency. I knew about this, but the city was somewhat vague when I first went in and didn't give me anything in writing (the inspector did) and as a result, I dropped the ball. I don't know where or how I messed up because I really thought I had it covered. In addition, this should have been caught by the prior contractor we were working with who measure for replacement windows, and it should have been caught by the guy who sold me the windows.

It is a huge bummer. It will be very expensive to fix and take a lot of time. It is also a big step back because those windows have all been patched inside and out, and I've spent hours finishing the woodwork. One saving grace is that we almost bought shades two weeks ago - I'm glad we didn't!

So, we are off to solve the next heartbreak.

A visit

I was in the kitchen today, and I heard voices on my front porch. I went out and two guys were standing there - one was in a dress shirt and tie and the other looked like a contractor (work clothes and tape measure). Without opening the door, I said "Can I help you?" and they said "We're just reading your sign." (There is a construction sign on the front door). OK, first of all, do they really think it's appropriate to walk onto someone's property like this? I don't. But I think they took liberties as many people do because the place doesn't look good. You'd be surprised - we had to start asking all contractors to keep the front door closed because a neighbor was just walking in when we weren't home. She even invited other people in. We've had people putting their face up to the screen door and peering in, and people looking in our cars. Nice.

Anyway, it turns out the guys were an investor and a contractor thinking the house would be a good one to buy. I told them it was, FOR US!

No more trash

Today I filled my trash cans and took them out to the street. For the first time in over a year, we have NO trash waiting to go out. What a great feeling! We have used dumpsters during the project, but they are quite expensive and you get a limited amount of time to fill them and call for pickup. All of the stuff we are throwing away now is normal trash, so it seems like a waste to pay for a dumpster when we have lots of extra room each week in the trash. So little by little, we've been shrinking the pile. It won't last long though - I will be generating boxes as I unpack the clothes and put them in the closet.

Plumber here today

After waiting 11 days, the plumber finally sent guys to fix the work that didn't pass inspection. It took all of 20 minutes, so I can see why it was so hard to fit it in (sarcasm here). He is such a jerk, he just does it to exert his power. I scheduled what could be my last inspection for Monday, so I hope it goes well.

I finished installing the closet system in what will be my closet (C and I are sharing until his closet is done) and started putting clothes in. What a pleasure it is to finally have my clothes organized and accessible. When we first moved in, we were only supposed to be living in boxes for a few weeks. My clothes have been crammed into a bookshelf since last May, so it is so nice to finally be getting organized.