Some Updates...

....and the list goes on. Im back and have quite a few little updates that Ill split into different posts.

Following passing all inspections, we had to fast track our electrical work. I had to complete all Multimedia wiring in the walls and then move on to getting all electrical completed throughout the house. This is currently underway.

As far as other work, we had some doors in the basement and garage replaced - for code and for purpose. Almost every door downstairs was original and were not up to code for todays standards. They were paper thin and just in bad shape, so it made sense to replace them. Oh, some of them (most of them rather) did not close properly. 

Doors replaced:

Mancave Bathroom - replaced because it didnt close. Wasnt worth reworking the door, so we ordered a new one. Nothing fancy, just a new door with new frame.

Basement Entry Door - replaced because it was mounted in a way that it was letting water in during heavy rain. The door sat below the ground level and did not open and close freely - it was rated as an interior door rather than exterior, so it was replaced with the proper door and we built up the door with curb to prevent water entry. 

Garage Door to basement - replaced because it was not a fire rated door. We had two areas to choose to replace with a fire rated door and chose the garage. The door upstairs leading to the house was still in good condition and that could have been the fire door to separate living space, but it was good enough to keep and to keep the house upstair consistent since we were keeping all original doors upstairs. The new garage door now closes properly (should close by itself per code)...it didnt before.

Crawl Space Door - replaced this because its in my mancave and it was not a fire rated door either. While we were at it, we decided to enlarge the door to allow larger items to fit in the garage. This is also the door that will lead to storage space under the house, so I felt like it should be built better or security and safety. 

Here are some pics of progress of the door items. Not sure if I have final pics, but they arent too exciting anyways...just doors.

Garage Door Curb Built up

Tore out old door, reframe

NEw door waiting for installation

Mancave Bathroom door removed

Crawl Space Door Replaced

Curb built on Basement Exterior Door

Exterior Basement Door Installed

...lots of old and new progress since last update.

Hello again...and no I havent been slacking off, but have been busy getting everything ready for inspections and other things. We have finally passed all "Rough" inspections and now can start putting our house back together. We had a few things to address after our first inspections and busy days have kept me from updating.

As usual, I'll explain whats been going on and it will be followed by pictures.

Topics
- Rough Inspections
- New Garage door and motor
- New Water Service from the street
- Refurbish/restore existing deck
- Stucco

INSPECTIONS
We passed Electrical, Building, Mechanical and Plumbing Inspections. Basically, one of the most challenging steps in remodels is making sure we have everything up to par with "code" and making sure the inspectors accept the work being done and to ensure its done right. This clearly is for our safety and to protect ourselves from things to ensure they are done correctly.
To summarize what all this means.

Electrical - Replaced ALL electrical in the house and added a new electrical panel - checked and passed

Building - New windows, new framing for changes we did to the structure and stucco prep work - checked and passed

Mechanical - New Furnace and all new ducting - checked and passed

Pluming - New Water lines (Copper for feed, PVC for waste), New Gas Lines, New Laundry Gas Line, New Water service (increased diameter of main feed to the house and replaced line to copper from Galvanized Steel) - checked and passed

GARAGE DOOR and MOTOR
As part of the remodel, it was decided to install a new garage door (current one was dented and installed wrong). We bought a new door that was insulated and at the same time would fix all the broken things that were unsafe with the old garage. At this time, I decided to replace the motor too...opted for the Belt Driven Motor (nearly silent when opening the garage now).

REFURBISH/RESTORE DECK
As you know, we decided to tear up our yard and start from scratch. Some of this involved removing many parts of our deck (mainly the fencing of the deck). Old fencing of the deck was covered in ivy plants and was lattice (kind of ugly and old school for a fencing).
Since we had no fencing, I felt for safety we might as well complete the deck so it is safe and usable. We werent sure what we were going to do, but I think with such a large deck that was actually constructed decent, we might as well use it and make the best of it. I decided to do some research on a design and went to work. On this project, I decided to reach out to Uncle Ed once again to help me construct my vision....and we did.

STUCCO
During our reconfiguration of the interior, we removed and replaced windows. While doing this, we found a few areas that fixed some problematic wood that was either rot or just in bad shape for one reason or another. Since a lot of stucco was removed, it was time to patch everything. All cracks and construction affected areas are now being repaired and restored back to how it was. Exterior is slowing coming together.

Here are some pics of the last few days/weeks of work that has been happening.

Old Garage Door - Backside. No insulation and ugly. 

Old garage door - works fine, but is chain driven and its a bit loud.

R&S Overhead here to deliver and install my new garage and motor.

Old garage door hanger - yes, its literally clinging on for dear life. Disaster waiting to happen.

Old garage door mounted to the door - this not the way to carry a heavy garage door - its mounted to a panel, not a reinforced area of the door.

Existing deck fencing and wood delivery - over 100+ pcs of wood delivered - all which will be used (it better or my calculation of wood was off and a waste of money). Im confident we'll use it all. 

Another view of our deck as it has sat since we cleared the yard.

My new Miter/Chop Saw and Stand

New Garage Door Motor installed - belt driven.

Belt driven motor...nice, silent, SOLID! 

New Garage Door hanger - PROPER!

Uncle Ed doing some prep work.

Sensor properly mounted for door. My last door, the owner decided they didnt need the sensors, so they mounted it on top of the opening and it was non functional...I didnt get that??$%#$%#@

New fencing for the deck. Working OT on the first night - yes, I was helping.

New garage door installed. We'll replace the concrete on the floor in the garage to fix the gaps some day soon and will repave the driveway - heavy cost items, so that will wait a bit (they are usable for now).

Uncle Ed getting some work done. 

New 1" Copper Pipe (L) rating. Overkill for our size house, but better done now than later if we expand the house.

Red Tape and Trench still open - this was waiting for inspection, so it had to stay this until signed off by inspector.

Stucco patching around the windows started.

More stucco patching.

...and more (man cave/basement area).

Deck fencing completed - custom built gate to match the rest. 

Deck ready for party times (thought the rest of the yard isnt, at least we can hang out on there without worrying about falling off. Mainly I got this done sooner than later for my dogs to enjoy the outside.

Another shot of the completed fencing on the deck. Uncle Ed enjoying his completed project.

Deck cleaned up - wood is stacked ready for the remainder. We still need to complete the stairs - more tricky due to the angles.

More wood - learned how to stack wood from my brother inlaw. Between each layer is a shim/spacer whatever you want to call it. Allows wood to dry if it gets damp from dew and prevents it from warping.

RonDZ and Uncle Ed having a brewski.

Keypad for Garage - standard these days, but much needed for us since I ride around town and dont like carrying keys. Also good in case youre locked out. Then again, my garage can be controlled from an iPhone...so not sure what the point of this is. I got it for free...so why not?

Thats all for now folks....like I mentioned above, its time to start putting the house back together. This is when it starts getting exciting. ALMOST home stretch!!!!!