Thursday, January 20, 2011

Marathon!


Marathon.

I knew from building 2 prior houses that the venture was more akin to a marathon than a sprint. This winter has made that particularly true, being unusually cold and with above average precipitation, mostly in the form of snow. As mentioned in my last post, I thought we would have a short window to get the roof on, and we did.

We got the last shingles on as the snow started up again, but we are dried in now, all windows and doors installed. The drywall crew has just about finished up and the siding is nearly done. Once the siding is finished we'll work exclusively on the inside, much to the relief of the crew. It has been brutal at times. When it's cold it is miserable to work outside. When it is relatively warmer the mud is a real hassle.

Yesterday the state electrical inspector passed our installation, so we should get power to the house soon. We have been running on extension cords and that will also be a big relief.

The biggest jobs left, besides finishing up the drywall, are the floors, kitchen, and the HVAC system. I've had 4 HVAC contractors look at the job, and so far only one even knew what HRV stood for. Went ahead and got the UltimateAir HRV for reasons previously stated. I drove over to Athens, OH and picked it up. I was lucky because I thought it would fit in the trunk of my car. It wouldn't. I ended up with it in my passenger seat, where it barely fit.

We did get to know each other quite well, though.