Wires

OK, let me try to get back on the wagon.  I know I still need to post beautiful "reveal" photos, but the reality is we are still doing work and have boxes everywhere!

In a couple of places, I eliminated or moved walls, which presents a problem since in an Eichler, the wiring is run up and on the ceiling.  With a normal attic, you would simply pull the wires up to the crawlspace or attic, drill a new hole, and drop them down.

But, with these houses, especially if you have a foam roof, it's much more involved:
- cut through waterproof layer
- cut through inches of foam
- cut through original tar and gravel
- find wires underneath protective metal brackets, and if needed cut brackets

I used a circular saw and tons of razor blades to cut through to the metal, then a Dremel to carefully cut the metal to the point where I could bend it.

If you're thinking of stripping your roof down to the tongue and groove wood, you can see how much work this is, and explains why the estimates I got for a total roof redo were almost double the cost of adding foam and recoating.

Being the nerd that I am, I had to run Cat5E and RG6 to every room (in some cases multiple runs per room).  I ran these over the roof and had them foamed in when the roof was done:

Back it up

Clearly I've falled off the wagon on the blog.
Things got really busy with the final push towards move-in, so every minute counted.
Despite that, there's still work underway, so I haven't been motivated to post final pictures, because, well, we're not done yet.

I decided if I don't start posting little bits, I'll probably never finish this blog, so here's a first step back.
Let me recap the timeline:
Jan 2, 2011: bought the house
Jan 3, 2011: began demolition of the interior.
May 9, 2011: moved in

What happened in between?  A high level checklist, which I will detail later:

• demolition.  Ripped everything out to the studs.
• beam repair/replacement
• pulled up old tile flooring and wet sanded to the slab
• repaired radiant heat leaks and installed new boiler
• installed structural improvements
• roughed in bathrooms and kitchen plumbing
• replaced 90% of all electrical wiring, installed new circuits, upgraded to 200A service
• ran new gas line overhead to kitchen
• relocated water heater and laundry to the garage, installed new Eternal tankless water heater
• installed porcelain tile in every square foot of living space
• installed insulation (R13) and sheetrock 
• installed new Milgard aluminum double pane doors and windows
• installed new kitchen cabinets and counters
• installed new interior trim
• installed bathroom fixtures
• installed new Rheem 16SEER rooftop package HVAC and new ductwork
• had roof refoamed and recoated
• had bathroom shower and tub surround tiled
• wall prep and painting
• repaired sprinkler system

And we're not done yet.  But it's heck of a lot better than it was on January 2nd.

Once the interior is done, we'll move on to the exterior.

More posts, pictures, etc coming soon.  Promise.

Lessons Learned

At some point, I will return to this post and add some pearls of wisdom.
For now, let's start with #1.

1) Not all the pros are competent.
I had a GC build and rough in the shower for me.  His other work was solid, but when I posted pictures up on the John Bridge tile forum, they said it was a redo, for several reasons.  I couldn't believe that a 20 year pro could possibly not know what he was doing, but he clearly didn't.  We came to an agreement about the issue, and I hired a different person to redo the shower walls and pans.  Since we're now a week away from movein, I also had him tile the walls.

Consider this a sneak peek of the gorgeous Heath Ceramics tile.

Yes, we're alive

I've been furiously working on the house as well as spending way too much time at work, so I haven't had time to post blog updates.  Look for a detailed catchup post soon!

More, more, more

Everyone keeps asking to see more pictures and updates.  The thing is, the progress is pretty slow, so there isn't a whole lot to show!  But the pace will be picking up very soon.
Here are a few updates.

Master bathroom roughin.  Tiny shower expanded to full length, drain relocated, shower pan built:

All bedrooms now tiled in the same almond linen porcelain tile as the MBR.  You can also see new electrical, and the ugly white vinyl sliders deleted (new windows will go here instead):

Not much going on in the living room/kitchen main area, but it's prepped and ready for next steps:

Next up:  kitchen install, bath tiling, more electrical, sheetrock, trim, paint.  And that's just the inside.

Labor

It's important to have good help, even if you are DIYing:

Lucas absolutely loves his new work gloves.  When I told him he could pull all the old nails, he was ecstatic.  Yes Mom, I will make sure he doesn't hurt himself.

And here's a sneak peek at what the kitchen will look like.  No, this is not a period correct Eichler renovation, but rather, a modern interpretation of one.  Or at least as modern as our budget will allow.

Windows

I'm still planning out my window replacements and need to decide soon.

I've gotten estimates on Milgard aluminum replacements for around $12k (windows only) and labor estimates of $13k and $16k.
I'm having a hard time swallowing that cost for what is essentially a block fit of the windows.
Remove stops, pull old window.  Clean, caulk, set window.  Replace stops, caulk, prime and paint.

Someone commented that he/she had Blombergs installed.  Can you let me know what that ran?
I have a feeling that $25k is about the right ballpark for the entire project, at least in Milgard.
Blombergs run about 2x the price of the Milgard, at least from Palo Alto Glass.  I didn't even ask them about their labor costs, assuming they wouldn't come up to Walnut Creek, but maybe they do.