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.
I had a blast hacking MediaWiki tonight with my awesome book club gang, John Riedl, Dan Frankowski Erik Jordan and Tom Erickson.
Rumor was that Mac OS X Lion would be released tomorrow. Haven’t heard much in the last day or two. Will upgrade at home right away.
Any of you out there use Linode? I’m about to sign up and would be happy to send the referral to a friend.
Square Surprisingly Useful
A couple of months ago I got a Square credit card reader and associated Square account for my iPhone and iPad. I did it because we were (and still are) planning a garage sale and I thought it would be helpful to accept credit cards. We still haven’t had that garage sale, but I got a lot of use out of Square this week.
The B-Squad needed new softball bats. I decided to take up the fundraising effort for the B-Squad 2011 Bat Fund. One of the biggest challenges is always just getting funds. Nobody carries a checkbook and cash isn’t always on hand. I took my Square to Dusty’s and within minutes had swiped six Visa cards. It was really easy and simple.
We completed our fundraising in a week in part because of how easy Square made it.
Concrete Trucks
Today was a big day for our project. This morning a bunch of guys showed up between 6:45 and 7:00am. Two big, blue concrete trucks showed up and parked right out front. One truck had the concrete mixing, and then it was pouring it into the pumping truck.
The concrete pumped through this hose and poured into the basement for the new floor.
Tyler was digging the big trucks. I would have stood there and watched too but I had to get to work!
Bubblers Against Bottled Water
This weekend we went to the Minnesota Arboretum. It was ridiculously hot and when we got done walking around we entered the visitor center and were looking for a drink.
I love this bubbler that has specific accommodations to fill water bottles, and even keeps track of how many disposable bottles were saved. Bravo! (See Stop Drinking Bottled Water)
Sat on the “blaring fireball” (aka sun) side of the bus. Poor choice.
Still managed to ssh from the bus and made a quick vi edit with Prompt on my iPhone.
Remodel Update Week 5
This last week was short with the 4th of July holiday, but there was still some nice progress. The mudroom is now framed in and you can really see what will be. The basement got the steel reinforcement plates put in and the dirt leveled and prepared for pouring the new concrete. The original plan had the concrete getting poured this week but they got backed up on another job so that will happen at the beginning of this week.
Looking ahead we should have a floor and most likely windows in place in the basement by the end of next week. We are also hoping that we can get the air conditioning hooked up again for the main floor. We’ve been without it since the digging started and since that is done the new condenser should be able to get back in. We have our fingers crossed. It has been pretty hot lately. Luckily we still have air conditioning upstairs in the bedrooms.
We are also preparing for the project to start invading the rest of the house more. Walls will soon be getting knocked down and we’ll have to accommodate some additional disruption on the main floor.
Filtering Google Plus Notification emails
It sure didn’t take long for Google Plus to start filling my mailbox with email notifications of all sorts of actions. Luckily, its super simple to filter Google Plus notifications. Just capture any email matching…
[@plus.google.com](http://plus.google.com)
and send it to a folder.
If you use Sieve like I do, the rule to match is…
header :contains "From" [
"@plus.google.com"
]
Much better.
Today the reinforcing steel arrived to insure that the basement walls never slide in over time. Modern foundations have rebar connecting the footings and walls. Older houses just had the walls built on the footings and the basement floor kept them from pushing in. Since we are lowering the floor these steel plates will make sure everything stays put.
Just had a surprisingly pleasant support call with Adobe getting activation counts reset. Was very simple. Bravo!
Vandals trash closed state parks ← This is pathetic.
Where the Sidewalk Ends
Last night Mazie and I finished reading Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein. I really enjoyed reading each and every poem to Mazie, and she thought they were funny, goofy and good.
I distinctly remember reading Where the Sidewalk Ends when I was a kid. They were likely the first poems I read. I even remembered some of them. Mostly I remembered having the book and the cover of it.
We were reading the 30th Anniversary edition so I was at the youngest 9 when I read it. It was a real treat to read it to my daughter and hope that she has the same recollection when she reads it 30 years from now.