It’s nine months since we broke ground. By metaphor, Ranserve today gave birth to a finished house — except for the punch list.
The first thing Steven did was text Ron Dahlke to tell him we passed the final — and to say thank you.
Then Steven texted the news to Jacquela and Jadin. Then he emailed the news to Team Ranserve to say thank you.
Thank you.
The City of Austin inspector walked Emerald Hill today. He left behind homework — a series of corrections that must be done before the City can issue a certificate of occupancy.
This comes as no surprise to Ron and Steven; we anticipated a punch list.
Most of the fixes are straightforward; Ron will coordinate the different subcontractors.
The biggest required fix — replacing the glass in the tall window in Jadin’s bedroom. It must be tempered, not standard glass. Ron estimates this will take at least a week.
Today’s agenda at Emerald Hill stacked up meetings and tasks:
Above, Alex from ATS and Jonathan from Austin Air review the duct plans with Ron from Ranserve, in preparation for the blower door test.
We are now set on the approach path toward moving in.
Thank you to Scott, Steve, Beau and the entire electrical team at Capstone Electric.
The City of Austin inspected the electrical systems and installation today for the garage and house. We almost passed. Just four corrections to make.
Mostly, it appears we must install the baffles and LEDs to the ceiling ventilation/lighting units in the bathrooms. That’s easy. And the electricians need to install AFCI breakers — and ground the metal low-voltage system box.
Mark Rehberg from Ranserve called after the inspection. He assures that nothing here is major. Ron Dahlke messaged in from his continuing recovery from the attack of the nearly-killer virus to report that the electricians have already been alerted.
Above, Luis from Landers Flooring is back to remove and replace one stair tread. The balusters for this tread were drilled in the wrong place. Today, Luis removed the balusters and existing hickory tread, then fitted the replacement. At the end of the day, he clearcoated it with polyurethane.
Distracted by all the bright shiny distractions to discover after a week of work on the house while he was traveling, Steven forgot to photograph the exterior of the garage yesterday.
Here it is, with the siding corrected — and the attic ventilation installed under the eaves — which means Ron solved the question of how precisely the City of Austin wants us to ventilate the underside of the roof.
Now the painters get to prep the exterior box, prime it, paint it.
Ron Dahlke schedule the concrete pour for tomorrow, Thursday, 10 December.
The team from Gilsa Construction progresses with the garage addition.
Above, using a reciprocating saw to cut through the nails and bolts, the sole plate of the back wall of the garage has been sliced free from the foundation. Next, it is braced.
From the Oxford Dictionary: “A piece of journalism that presents a chronological account of an event or series of events.”
Steven visited Emerald Hill three times today while also working from his desk computer and by phone — at 10 am after dropping off Jadin at school, at 2 pm to meet with Ron and before meeting with Renee at ProSource to select tile for the kitchen backsplash and master shower floor, and again at 4 pm after leaving ProSource and before Jadin “walked home from school.” Here are photos from the evolving day.
In between the 10 am and 2 pm trips to Emerald Hill, Steven received the first quote for the two-bay garage door from Cowart Door Systems.
At 4 pm, Kathleen reported by email that Ranserve had received the wire transfer payment of Draw #5 from SouthStar Bank.
