Remodel Update Week 8
The remodel is continuing along really well. This week all the framing was completed. There were some ceiling parts left from last week. We did the electrical walk through on Monday of this week and the electrician got right to it. The pre-wiring for more security system stuff was done. The ducts for the furnace also got put in. Another temporary wall was put up in the kitchen so that the door could be taken out and the wall cut out above the espresso bar. The window in the upstairs bathroom was removed. The deck was also put back together which helps the yard feel more normal.
The week ahead is mostly about wires and pipes. Electrical inspection will happen this week and hopefully the low voltage work will get completed as well. I’m dragging new Ethernet and coax to a bunch of spots. The outside will also be restored further with our fencing put back in place and possibly the beginning of the siding work.
Somewhat rare that we all get in the same photo. Also Tammy with brand new hair color.
Tyler got a new background to his landing page website. tylerthing.com Gave me an excuse to use the text-shadow CSS attribute.
Did some big time exploring with MediaWiki and Semantic MediaWiki tonight. Cool stuff!
Crazy impressed with Linode so far. Hope to have my sites moved this weekend. Wish it was easier to move a VPS.
Electrician named Sparky
The last two build-outs that I’ve worked through at the office have had the same electrician and everyone always calls him Sparky. It is his nickname. I’ve always thought it was a fun nickname, or concerning since sparks aren’t what you want with electricity.
Today at our remodel I overheard the framers talking about Sparky being done in this area or still working over there. Is Sparky just a nickname for all electricians on job sites?
Tyler Playing with Shoes
Tammy put up a blog post about how much Tyler loves to play with shoes. This was one of the pictures that I thought was just great.
Remodel Update Week 7
The update last week felt really significant with the new floors in and all. This week felt like an even bigger advance! All of the walls in the basement are now framed in and the windows are in the mudroom and the family room. We can now see just how the light will be in the family room and get a sense for how the flow will be in the main level with the mudroom there. We also got most of our side lawn back this week. Tammy and I are both feeling really good about the layout.
The week the project also broke into the rest of the house. A temporary barrier is in place in the office to keep dust out and the exterior wall has already been taken out to make room for the new pocket doors.
This week we do the electrical walk-through as well as mapping out all the low voltage work. We are right around the half-way point now.
The pictures of all the framing are probably hard to make out without an idea of what direction things are.
U2 at TCF Stadium
Tip for tonight’s U2 show: Bring a Ziploc bag to put your phone in, just in case.
Pre-U2 blackberry mojito at Cafe Maude before catching #4 bus.
My coordinates for tonight’s U2 show: Section 215 Row 17
This could be straight out of War of the Worlds!
App I most want full screen support for in Lion that doesn’t have it now? OmniFocus I’m sure it will come soon.
App I least need full screen mode in but has it? Twitterific 😀
- It’s Wednesday. Where’s Mac OS X Lion?
- Downloading Lion…
- Starting Lion install…
- MacBook Air is now running Lion. Upgrade was fine.
Tomorrow is officially Mac OS X Lion day! Looks like the Internet will be busy sending bits around.
Trying to buy a doorbell online. Surprising that very few websites let you listen to the chime. 🙁
Next year will mark our return to the Winnipeg Folk Festival! 353 days to go.
Soggy Outside
Inside: 76 °F with air conditioning.
Outside: 91 °F and 75% humidity with a dew point of 81 °F.
Remodel Update Week 6
Week six was a big one! The difference between last week and now is really fun. Last week we had a dirt floor in the basement, now there is cement. Last week you had to take a ladder down the last half of the steps, now there are now steps. Last week they framed the mudroom, now it is enclosed (sort of).
- The old exterior wall was knocked out in the new mudroom which gave us the first sense for what that intersection will be like. We think it will be great.
- The egress windows are framed in and the windows will be installed this week! We will be able to see what the light will be like in the family room.
- Holes have been knocked in the cinder block on the basement wall and rebar put in that goes down the entire length. This week they will pour cement in those channels for additional wall strength.
- We got our air conditioning working again with the new furnace and condenser on Friday! Just in time for a miserably hot spell!
I’ve been amazed at all the structural engineering that has gone into lowering the floor. The extra 7" will be worth it though. This week windows get put in and most of the framing happens.
Perceived Project Progress
Our remodeling project is scheduled for 12 weeks. I’m very familiar with project execution, that is a big part of what I do for a living. Watching the progress of our remodel I’ve been thinking about real versus perceived project progress. The chart below reflects the relationship.
When we build software there is a decent amount of time getting groundwork put in. You have to get the build process working right, get your integration tests working, get version control working the way you want it. You probably need to use some framework code. It is a lot of stuff that doesn’t really feel like progress to a non-technical person.
Then you start framing out the software. Big swaths go in place, but mostly just stubs. Everything looks like it is coming together really fast, but it is largely a façade. Things are just in place to make sure it all comes together right.
At the end, it feels like the thing is so close to done but it just keeps dragging on. The edge cases have to be handled, error handling needs improvement. You need to log things. Not to mention that final design of the visual elements. This is where people get frustrated.
I fully expect the same thing to happen with this remodel. It seemed like a long time to get the structural stuff rolling. This week it seemed like a lot started to happen, and with the framing right around the corner it will feel like we are almost there. Then, things will take a very long time to get the light switches all wired up right and all the final punch list items completed.
While I ride the Perceived Progress line I’m going to try to keep a good grounding on the Actual Progress line. It is the only one that matters after all.
Car Seat Toy
I brought Tyler’s car seat into the house so it could be put back in the van. He then decided to spend a half-hour getting in and out of it. Great fun!
Car Seat Does Fit in Mini
Tyler got to ride in my Mini Cooper for the first time today. His infant seat definitely would not fit, and the car seat wouldn’t fit rear facing (and how would we get him in if it did?). Now he is facing forward and while it isn’t spacious, it can be done.
Minnehaha River?
After Fridays big rains I was curious to see what Minnehaha Creek was running like when I came home. In short? Like a river!
For a fun comparison look back to this picture of the creek in February from nearly the same spot.