62. Inspections, Drain, and Drywall Mud

This may not look like much to you, but here is the building final sign-off on my three permits!!  I had finished all the work a couple of weeks ago, but I kept stalling... I was a little nervous about a couple of things.  One concerned the fence - I'm not sure if I mentioned it, but once side of the fence that surrounds the back yard is actually on the architect's property next door.  He agreed to it when the work was being done - nice because it gave me an extra 2' of width on a tiny yard.  Anyway, something inside told me I should have done a permit amendment, or worse, that the City would require the architect to pull a separate permit for his portion - it could have gone a number of ways.  As it happens, when the inspector got there, we walked into the back yard and I said "here's the fence" and he said "ok".  Yup that was it.  No measuring, lot line examination, nothing.  A big PHEW on that one.

Aside from that issue, I wondered whether the siding should have been caulked and painted before inspection, and whether they would ask for new specs on the garage door since I changed out the steel door for fiberglass without an amendment.  Once again - "here's the door" and, "ok".  It's nice to get that milestone behind me - I remember when I applied for the permits in July and they said I had six months I thought "well, I'll be done in a month or so"  hahahahaha!!!  It's been almost five months but it's done!

Last week was primarily devoted to plumbing the sink, since I only had two days at Grandview.  The supply lines were in, with no leaks so far, but the drain needed assembling. Last time I did a sink drain I had to call for backup (good old John) because I didn't have a wrench big enough to do the job (this is not a pun).  I just couldn't get a slow drip to stop, so he brought over his Big Ass Wrench and tightened it up for me.  This time, somehow I managed to get the whole thing assembled myself without any problem.  I know - I can't believe it either!

Here's the underside all assembled.  The garbage disposal is the one salvaged from the previous sink, and I swear it worked before... but after wiring, no go.  Fussed around with it for a while, but then decide the thing was just old and gross enough to warrant another expenditure - so when I go back I will bring a brand new one to install in it's place.  Once that's in the job will be really done - I'll even be able to use the dishwasher!

Here's one of those pictures my friend Denise won't even read about.  She likes the pictures of curtains and furniture in place... these construction shots are just too much.  I understand this blog has all types of readers... but I'm proud of stuff like this!  I had to make a hole in the kitchen floor, under the cabinet, in just the right place.  Then I had to hook up 2" pvc pipe down over, around, over and down again... in order to miss all that wiring - the main electrical panel happens to be right underneath.  After I finished, I was been told I should have installed some sort of vent (I never claimed to be a professional) but in the same breath that person said forget it if everything's draining fine.  So down the road, if there are any draining problems, I'll have to cut into this and put a little vent in - not difficult at all.

This week I devoted my three days to finishing drywall.  There were two big areas, and about a hundred small patches from electrical work that had been done - outlets, fan boxes, and this exhaust fan in the bathroom.  After going over each area to make sure everything was secure for finishing, I did the first application, bedding the drywall tape over all the cracks.  The next morning I put on a skim coat, which began to fill everything in nicely.  It will need at least one more skim coat or maybe two before the job is complete.  By the way I was told by a professional drywaller that the goal is to not have to do any sanding at all, so that's what I'm going for.  If you're careful with your application, and use the right tools, and wait until it's dry to knock down any small ridges or bumps you have made, it's not impossible.   I'll let you know how that works.

Here's what that big gaping hole in the laundry room looks like after two coats.  You remember, the one where the "vent pipe to nowhere" fell out of the roof?

And here's the guest room wall, where I put the drywall up to cover the AC duct work.  Just to the right of the drywall is a small section of the wall that still has stucco the same as the rest of the walls.  There was one piece of the 8" base that I had not taken off yet, so before I taped I removed that .  Lo and behold, the back of it was covered with black powder... NO!  NOT MOLD!  Well no, it actually wasn't mold.  Whoever put this board up 100 years ago used some huge nails, and banged a hole (see pink arrow) right into the chimney.  There was a chunk of brick missing, and I guess the soot from countless fires had built up right behind the baseboard.  Can you imagine?  This freaked me out a little - doesn't that seem like a fire hazard?

So next step was to pursue something else I had been putting off - calling a chimney sweep to inspect and clean the fireplace before I used it the first time.  It's been going down into the 30's at night, so it was time to get going on that item anyway.  The guys showed up within a couple of hours, and while one proceeded to push a giant power snake/monster bottle brush up into the chimney, I asked the other one all my questions.  He said the hole up in the bedroom wasn't a problem - that I should just push some mortar in there to close it up.  I guess it's more likely to suck air out of the house that shoot flames into the bedroom.

He also noticed right away the soot that had built up on the front of the fireplace.  I guess when they made fireplaces a long time ago, the opening at the top was a slit towards the front, so as much heat as possible would squeeze into the living room.  He suggested I break out some of the bricks inside towards the center, to make the opening bigger - better air flow and less potential for smoke into the house.  He said I could do it myself because "I look like the handy type".  I had to laugh at that one.

Since there is no flue, he said he could install one for $495, or I could just shove pillows up in there when I wasn't using the thing.  Can you guess which option I picked?  He also installed a cap on the top of the chimney because there was nothing there to keep birds/bats/rain out, and $228 later he was gone.  Later that afternoon I took the hammer and pry bar to those bricks.  I can't even begin to describe the mess.  Especially since all the buildup that had just been scraped off by the giant brushy thing was resting on top of those very bricks.  I came out looking like Ollie after Stan's model T backfired right into his face.  I got it all cleaned up and then noticed one more brick hanging loose that I just HAD to remove.  Then I had to clean up all over again.  I will be living with a thin film of soot and black doggie footprints on the couch until I can really do a thorough job.

And guess what?  Today Rufus is providing the comic relief.  When mommy starts moving ladders around and stepping on dogs in the process, Roscoe just creates a road block but Rufus high-tails it to a secure location, in this case up the stairs where he can keep an eye on me from a safe distance.

This week work on the guest room will continue... the drywall will get done, and I might get a textured finish on the kitchen walls.