Surprise Inspection! Uh oh.

 I got a call yesterday (much to Max's displeasure, as he was watching Bluey at the time and did not appreciate his show being interrupted when Mommy took her phone back) from the movers saying that he had been out to the house and "inspected" things and found a few items that need addressing.  I already knew about the underbelly needing to be taped up (they're supposed to do that for us, which I told him) but he also mentioned the water pipes needing insulation, the HVAC duct work needing to be up off the ground, the pipes needing to be supported 4 ft on center (some are, some aren't), the fireplace vent pipe needing heat resistant tape and not duct tape, and some spots where the dirt needs to be filled in near the house and the skirting needing sealant where it meets the concrete.  So of course I spent last night sorting out all the tasks by contractor and sending everyone their work orders.  Next week, we have:

Gutters being installed on Monday
Plumber coming out on Wednesday
Chimney guy coming back out around Friday?
Skirting - TBD
HVAC - TBD

We are planning to go out there ourselves tomorrow to work on filling in some holes and finishing up the door.  I've also got the measurements for the foam board so we could start working on those if we have time.

Please pray!

I've been struggling with back pain due to weak core muscles and pinched nerves for the past 3 weeks. With our home improvement projects coming up so that we can move in a month, I'm working hard to strengthen my core muscles enough before we start so that I can actually be able to work without pain. Please keep me in your prayers!

Deck stairs are finished!

 

Front porch

Front stairs

Coming around the corner to the front of the house

Max and I drove out to the house to see the deck stairs and water the grass seed.  Dad and Ben did a great job on them!  I also picked up some scrap pieces of wood, put two skirting panels back in place, and checked on the leak that was found under the sink.  I wasn't able to fix it though because Max was tired and fussy.  We're coming up with a plan to get back out there and work on more projects. 

Timeline for Inspection

 Just talked to the movers about the timeline for inspection and occupancy.  They have us down for inspection this week; he will let me know what day soon.  Upon passing they'll put the sticker on it and the state will then have 2 weeks to do their own inspection.  Once they pass us, then we can turn on power and get cert. of occupancy & can move in.  So first week of March, at the latest.  And we're free to do whatever we want on the inside, that won't affect inspection.

 Since we have some work to do inside, the sooner we get it done the better.  But we want to get the work done before moving in...that's why mid-late March was my guess on the move in date.

Progress on the door and front porch stairs

 Today, hubby, Max & I went out to the house to work on stripping the front door some more.  We finally got the majority of the old green color off, and now there's just some small detail work to do.  We got out there around noon and left at 5 because it was getting cold and Max was worn out.  He fell asleep on the way home.  My dad and brother got there about an hour later and started working on the front porch stairs.  Dad's back tire found our culvert and we had to ask a neighbor to help us pull him out.  But I finally got to meet the lady who has 2 little boys around Max's age.  :)  We cleaned up the trash in the yard and were going to unload the pallets for the walkway but ran out of time.  Next time!  Once the stairs are in place, we'll use them as our guide.

Water line

We also discovered that the water line from the meter to the house had been disconnected, so that's going to have to be fixed before inspection.  Other than that, we should be ready.

Gutters are scheduled to be installed on Monday, the 26th.  Then we'll see when we can have the flooring company come out and measure for the new vinyl sheet floor.

Trying to see what all happens after we pass inspection.  We'll get the power hooked up, then the internet.  We should also get a certificate of occupancy too?  Looking to move in mid-late March when all is said and done.  So around our anniversary.

Chimney is done!

Max and I drove out to the house this afternoon to meet the chimney guy. He got everything done and everything went well.  Now our chimney is ready for use!  He vented the pipe out the side and it looks great!  The new chimney looks amazing, too!

Vent grille

Chimney

 They've also been hard at work regrading and putting rocks on the front slope.  They have the rolls of grass that are for the back slope, too.  I'm not sure how much longer til they finish, but was told it'd be this week.  

Rolls of grass

Back slope

 I hauled our foam boards out there as well and unloaded them after the chimney guy left.  Once they were in the house, I drove down the road to check in with our HVAC neighbor.  He's going to get the last two electrical outlets put in place.  Hopefully on Saturday we can get back out there and finish the door paint stripping, and fingers crossed my dad can finish the deck stairs and start re-framing the front door.  I noticed that one of our sawhorses had a broken leg so we'll need to fix/replace that first.

Inspection by the end of the month!

 Today, I've gotten updates on when the final projects will be finished.

Re-grading, culvert, and rocks & grass on the slopes: this Wednesday or Thursday.

Chimney & flue:  Parts should all be in on Wednesday and work should be done Thursday.

Underbelly patching:  Once the first two are done, then we can have the movers patch the underbelly properly and actually pass inspection.  They'll do the patching and inspection all in one go.

Hubby & I are planning to go back out to the house this weekend to finish stripping the front door.  If we have time I'd like to work on the foam boards we got for the marriage line.  We're going to turn them into faux wood beams!  Hopefully my dad will be able to work on our deck stairs, too.  

Then we'll need to work on the drywall:  mudding, taping, and texturing the seams where the batten strips were.  We decided that would be better than skimming the whole wall.  Also patching the places that need it (kitchen where the tile pulled off the outer layer).  

Then paint.  And countertops. 

Then floors - we're ripping it all out and replacing it with vinyl sheet flooring!

I need to pick up the pallets for the walkway.

New trailer!

 

After much searching on FB Marketplace and finding no good options, I turned to craigslist and came across this absolute gem!  I managed to snag it before other people who were interested, and I'm so grateful!  I used it to go pick up the foam boards I bought from another guy, which are going to be made into faux wood beams for the marriage line!  Everything worked out great!  Now we have our own utility trailer for hauling things, like when I go in search of pallets for our walkway and outdoor stairs for going down the slope, and for moving things to the new house!  I had to do a bunch of running around to get the right towing equipment but it was worth it!  

On Saturday, we finally had some nice weather so hubby and I dropped off Max with my sister and went out to the lot to strip the paint off our vintage front door!  There were like 5 layers of different colored paint on it! Tan, pink, blue, green, and cream! We finally got down to the wood around the edges but ran out of time to finish, so we are (or I am) going to have to go back out there.

We also discovered that the underbelly tape we used to patch the holes came down, so we're going to have to fix that.  A few more things need to be done - regrading, putting in the swale and rocks and culvert - all being started this week.  We are also putting gutters on, and once Dad is feeling better he'll work on the deck stairs, railing, etc.  And then the chimney parts are due Feb 13-15th.  Hopefully we can get inspected by the end of the month.