Work in Progress

The week was spent moving MORE stuff and making calls for utility reassignment/connections. As usual, on Monday, I dropped Kerry off at the airport and went to work. My mom remained at the apartment making curry snack packs for Kerry and me to eat at our leisure. My mom also did some light packing but we didn't do any hauling on Monday as we had a very important Green Bay Packers game to watch on Monday Night Football. So, we met Kevin at Pazzo's Pizza and watched the first half before heading home to watch the scintillating conclusion of the game wherein Brett Favre launched an 83 yard touchdown pass on the first play of sudden-death overtime for a dramatic 19-13 Packers victory over the Denver Broncos.

My mom left on Tuesday morning and I spent the next two evenings bringing stuff to the house, watering the yard and putting things together. Tuesday evening, my friend, Christian, was in town on his way from Washington state to Virginia Beach where he transferred by the Navy. He wanted to stop by the house but after the long drive, he just continued out to his hotel room in Chicago. We did meet for lunch at Hooter's but he had to get an early start the next morning to make it out to Virginia so he never had a chance to come out to see the house. Hopefully, next time he's in town he'll have more of an opportunity to visit and maybe bring his little girl, Alyssa, to meet baby Kaiser.

Wednesday was also Halloween. In Plainfield, they have trick or treating from 4pm through 7pm but there was no way I'd be able to get back from work (and from loading the Rav at the apartment) in time, so Tuesday night I left a bowlful of Hershey bars and Smarties out by the front door. By the time I got there around 7:20pm the bowl was empty. A few parents were still escorting their kids around in the dark but no one came by (I had an extra bag of Tootsie Rolls just in case). I put together the front porch bench Kerry and I bought a couple of months ago as well as the dumbbell rack I bought for Kerry's birthday in June (oh, so romantic).

This weekend, we have the cable guy coming out, the garage door guy and an electrician for an estimate on fixtures, fans programmable and thermostats. We then have a restaurant opening party in Bolingbrook to attend. My uncle is opening an Irish Style Guinness Pub ("The Auld Dubliner") and invited Kerry, me and a few of our friends to attend. They actually have a website showing the construction/preparation process kind of like I did with this blog (though not with the fascinating commentary you find here).

Weekend Staging

Saturday, I got an early start (I had to run out to the house first thing because I forgot my cell phone there). After Kerry had a check up with her doctor, we then resumed the process of bringing our stuff to the house.

We started by clearing out my off-site storage unit so I would be able to close it out before the end of the month. Three Rav/Saturn loads later, mission accomplished.

We then began bringing stuff out of the apartment storage and the apartment itself. We did a few trips before it started getting late and I had trouble keeping my eyes open. At that point, we decided to call it a night since we had a Halloween party we wanted to go to. I took a quick nap but when it was time to go to the party, Kerry didn't feel up to it as the two days of busyness took its toll on her. So, we just waited for my mom to come down from Milwaukee with the dinette set.

When my mom got down here it was pretty late but she wanted to see the house. It also allowed us to drop off the dinette set thus freeing up loading space so we could start out bright and early Sunday. So, after another breakfast at Panera, we began another caravan back and forth between the house and the apartment.

We also had to wait for the appliance delivery guys who were scheduled to arrive between 9am and 1pm. So, after we emptied the vehicles, Kerry and my mom went to the store and to Kerry's storage locker to get some boxes and clothing while I put the dinette set together and waited for the truck.

The appliances arrived around 10:30 and the guys got everything unloaded and connected. The Lowe's sales guy reminded me to buy a gas-line connector kit for the dryer but didn't remind me to by a water connection kit for the refrigerator. Fortunately, the delivery guy had an extra kit in his truck and just gave it to us instead of making us go buy one and install it myself (good luck with that).

Kevin then came out to see the house (by which time Kerry had left to make another run to her storage unit) and Kevin, my mom and I went to Culver's for lunch. The rest of the afternoon mostly involved re-staging the stuff into areas where it won't get in the way of the movers when they come next weekend.

We then went back to the apartment with my mom staying up watching TV in the living room while Kerry and I fell asleep in the bedroom after watching Buffy.

Closed

Today was the big day. We got up early and had our usual breakfast at Panera Bread. I then dropped Kerry off at Edward's Hospital for a baby ultrasound. I wanted to be there for that but I had to go to the house and meet with the builder to make sure all the final walk-through items had been addressed. Funny thing is 15 minutes after I dropped Kerry off, she called to say that she would be done in a couple of minutes and wanted me to come get her so she could be at the final inspection too. So, I turned around, hauled back to the hospital and picked her up.

The inspection was very uneventful. Everything that was on the list had been done and looked good. We signed off on the order sheet and decided to head to Ikea to kill a couple of hours before the closing. We bought a few knick-knacks and had lunch at Ikea. They do make a good Swedish meatball.

We buzzed over to the close and signed, signed, signed. The money was there but the closing agent had some e-mail problems getting the entire package downloaded. So, it took about an hour and a half to get done but that's better than having to wait for the mortgage company to send the money.

After the close we got out to the car and a ladybug flew in with us and landed on Kerry's side window. As ladybugs are good luck I didn't want to hurt her so I gently lowered the window as she crawled up so she could fly out. She seemed to get lost and stopped so Kerry carefully tried to help her on her way. Naturally, the ladybug fell down to the window ledge and wandered around aimlessly. Kerry continued to try to help her but the ladybug got stuck in the window slot. As Kerry tried to lift the ladybug out of the slot, I told Kerry to that the ladybug was symbolic of the good fortunes we would certainly have in our new house. "Oops, I just killed her," replied Kerry.

My dark side came out and even though I felt terrible that Kerry killed the poor ladybug, I couldn't stop laughing. Eventually, I got out to see if I could get the ladybug's body out of the window and saw that, "Lo, the ladybug lived!" I used a business card to pop her out of the slot and tossed her in the air and watched her fly away. Definitely, a good sign!

After I caught my breath it was back to the apartment to switch clothes and cars and start hauling stuff to the house. I had pre-packed the vehicles so we were ready to roll. We dropped of the first load and then ordered the washer/dryer and refridgerator for delivery on Sunday.

By that time, we were wiped out and knew we had a big day ahead of us so we went home, watched Buffy and went to sleep.

Final Walkthrough

Today was our "final" walkthrough. Everything is supposed to be in with just some minor detailing and touch ups necessary. When we got there, the garage door was open (the warranty manager we were meeting was already inside). We looked around the garage and saw that the inside walls were just rough taped and the door trim on the outside of the entry to the utility room was also rough as well. But since we didn't opt to have the garage "finished", that's something we'll have to do ourselves.

Inside, met the Rich, the warranty manager. Apparently, he is a former carpentry foreman who got "kicked upstairs". But that means he knows what he's looking at construction-wise.

There were the inevitable drywall dings that needed touching up. I brought my own roll of blue tape to mark things that needed doing but Rich also had his own roll. Kerry quickly noticed that the refridgerator water line had not been installed. She was concerned that it would be a major problem to run the line now but Rich said it's a simple fix.

Other problems that required fixing was the light fixture in the stairway was cracked and crooked, the light fixture in the laundry room was also cracked and the door to the garage was delaminated at the top. Outside, the GFI outlet on the front porch is terribly crooked, some shingles on the gable need to be tapped down and the mailbox wood trim needs to have the warped parts replaced.

Looking at the fireplace mantle, Kerry decided she hated it. It's a rough hewn beam and really doesn't match the look of the rest of the house but it will be fairly simple to slap a finished facade over the top. As much as she doesn't like the mantle, it will not prevent her from moving into the house.

We have two pretty little trees, shrubs and grass. Sodded in the front and seeded in the back. Hopefully, the grass will take before there is a frost. This weekend is supposed to be a balmy 72 degrees which will help.

I will meet with Rich again next Friday just before the closing to confirm that the builder has taken care of all the noted problems. Of course, we will have a month or two to locate any additional problems. A year regarding leakage issues. And after we get moved int, they'll send out the drywall/painting crews for a courtesy touch up of any new dings from the move.

"Jury Duty"

I was scheduled for jury duty today but didn't actually get selected. So, I took the opportunity to run out to the house and see if I could catch some workers there.

There was activity both inside and out. Landscapers were getting ready to put down the topsoil for the sodding and seeding. Street numbers had also been installed above the garage door.

Inside, I was approached by a guy named "Rick" who questioned my presence. Once, I introduced myself as one of the buyers, he shook my hand and told me he'd be around if I had any questions.

Inside, cleaning crews were getting any remains of the drywall spray off the windows, towel bars and mirrors. They also had big, industrial vacuum cleaners at the ready to clean up the bits that inevitably are created when carpeting is laid.

We also finally got our fireplace mantle hung. Looks nice but I can't remember if they're supposed to stain it or if we do. I also got a good look at the cabinetry hardware Kerry saw on Saturday had been been installed. I always liked the look of brushed nickel on dark wood. Still don't know why the last panel hasn't been put on the back of the kitchen island but I couldn't find Rick to ask about it. I'm going to have to try to remember to ask the foreman, John, on Friday when we do our final walk-through.

Most exciting is that WE HAVE TOILETS!!!

We want... a shrubbery! Ni! Ni! Ni! Ni!

Went out to the house again after getting buffalo wings for lunch with Amy and Alycia, two of Kerry's bridesmaids. They came along to look but we couldn't get in because the house was actually securely locked up. Some landscaping had been done with several shrubberies and two trees having been planted. The tree out front has turned a vibrant red (so I was told).

Inside, through the windows, we could see the carpeting had been laid and the kitchen appliances had been installed. The kitchen sink hasn't gone in yet. Kerry noted that the cabinet hardware was in so it mostly looks like detailing inside at this point that needs to be done.

Outside, we noticed weatherstripping problems with the patio door and the custom mailbox's wood veneer is all warped so that will definitely be noted on the punch list at the walk-through on the 19th. We also really need to check on the color of our front door. Kerry also remembers our choice back in April being darker. Our paperwork shows "Musket Brown". The color they have there now is not an eyesore by any stretch it's just not what we remember choosing.

Where's a Caveman When You Need One?

The mortgage company called to let us know what will be needed for the closing. The wanted to verify our paychecks again, needed current bank statements and also needed to verify that our original downpayment check was cashed by the builder.

They also needed us to get our home owner's insurance in place. I called AIG who has our car insurance and renter's insurance. We had previously been with Geico for our cars but AIG was able to beat the gekko quite handily. So, we're going with them for the house, too. I got a quote on-line and thought the premium amount looked OK with a $2,500 deductible. Then I called the company to talk to an agent, reviewed my information and actually got the premium reduced a couple hundred dollars on a $1,000 deductible.

So, that's taken care of. Two more weeks!

The Big Break In!

Went out to the house again tonight. My usual Tuesday night run. I'm in the middle of a trial downtown that started today. It will finish tomorrow but I just wanted a nice mental break.

Didn't think I could get in tonight (like the previous evening) but to my surprise the basement window was open. I had to drop 5 feet into the window well but it was easy enough to skootch down and hop in through the window. I locked the window behind me even though it technically shouldn't matter to Kerry and me. The house doesn't actually belong to us until closing and anything that happens to the house or any of its contents before then are the responsibility of the builder. But I don't want things to get slowed up by having stuff stolen so I locked the window even though it might mean I won't have future access.

Inside, I saw that the dishwasher, double-oven, built-in microwave and kitchen sink had been delivered. They were sitting in the kitchen. The cabinetry appears to be completely installed (with the exception of paneling on the kitchen island) even if there still appear to be temporary support braces holding them up.

Elsewhere, bi-fold doors were being painted and they appear to have recently completed the finish drywall spraying. Upstairs, the towel bars were installed but most of them were all sprayed up. I don't know if they stay like that but I think that once we get settled in, the towel bars will be replaced. Right now they're chrome like the other bathroom fixtures but since we're planning to replace the light fixtures, we'll probably want similar towel bars. And that's something that I have experience in doing myself!

Outside, the siding and soffits are done. Looks good even if it was very dark when I was there. Looking forward to seeing what gets done between now and Saturday.

Back-to-Back

Since Kerry wasn't with me yesterday when I went into the house, we went out there today with hopes that she'd at least be able to peek in the windows. To our pleasant surprise when we got there, we saw that there were millworkers about putting in the countertops and trim. I guess we might see workers out there on the weekends now that the builders will be pushing to meet our new closing date.

The next thing we noticed was that we had an asphalt driveway. The siding people had also put in the teardrop/fishscale ornamental siding in the upper eves. I didn't think I really liked that "traditional Victorian" decoration when I saw it on the model but I was willing to go with it because it went with the elevation we wanted. But actually kind of like it now. Maybe because it's ours.

Inside, the millwork guys had a buzzsaw working and we tried to keep out of everybody's way. Whereas yesterday, the cabinetry was all in boxes in the dinette area, today it was all installed and the countertops were being fitted. Looks as good as when we picked it out. The baseboards were partially installed and the millwork guys were working on that. Kerry was thrilled with how the butler's pantry looks as well as the tile that is partially down.

Upstairs, they were installing the wood cap on the half-wall around the stairs and the loft. Actually, it really seems like a lot has happened since yesterday. Another fairly big thing that was done since yesterday is that all of the interior doors have been hung. When we chose the doors, we decided against the upgrade because even though they were a bit denser and provided better sound insulation, we just didn't like the look of the finish. The standard doors had a wood-grain texture whereas the upgrades had a flat finish.

Upstairs, the vanities were installed and the vanity tops were in. No toilets or plumbing fixtures yet though. I'm sure that will be forthcoming soon.

Bee-Like

Since we can no longer get into the house on the weekends due to the construction locks, I will have to try to swing by the site during the day while the workers are there. Today, I had a court call in the western suburbs so I took the opportunity to stop by the house to snap some pictures.

When I got there the siding guys were busy crawling around the sides of the house and on the porch and garage roofs. The light fixtures are also connected inside and out. Some of the vinyl tile flooring is installed in the foyer area and the master bath but it had a protective covering on it so little of the tile could actually be seen. I still can't tell the difference between that tile and ceramic.

The kitchen cabinets were delivered and in the process of being installed. The fluorescent kitchen light that will be replaced with the pot-rack light is connected. Throughout the house, most of the fixtures were switched on. I have no idea how we're going to change the bulbs in the foyer fixture. Big ladder, I guess. By the way, the photograph of the foyer light below looks like it's bronze or goldish but rest assured it is actually brushed nickel. Just a trick of light due to my inability to properly wield a camera.

The fireplace stone is in as is the eyeball spotlight which will soon be accenting our Brasov Castle Bran picture (or maybe the newly framed Monet). Although the Monet is very big, the area above the fireplace is also pretty expansive. Either way.

Upstairs, the Hollywood bulb strips are in -- only to be quickly replaced as soon as we get a chance. I didn't realize that the Master Bath and Bath 2 both had 8 bulb strips. Seems a bit overpowering but we'll get the replacement fixtures installed probably at the same time the kitchen light is changed out and the garage door opener is installed.