This site is a tremendous resource and I am grateful to have happened upon it. Francis in Vail, AZ

Kirk's Forum Posts: 2
Journal Entries: 29
Interview Answers: 50
Average Forum Rating: 4.00
Send Private Message


Image from Kirk's blog

Exterior Paint

Posted to Superstition-Views by Kirk in Mesa, AZ on 3/6/2008

The house was painted this week and it was quite a chore to pick out the exterior paint colors.  The actual color on the house was much lighter than the color chips, so I went back and forth several times on the final choice.  I like the results,

Photos

Bay on Master Bedroom	Front Porch	garage side view
front of house

Exterior Stone Finished

Posted to Superstition-Views by Kirk in Mesa, AZ on 2/29/2008

The exterior stone is finished and looks great, again very happy with results.

Exterior Stone

Posted to Superstition-Views by Kirk in Mesa, AZ on 2/26/2008

The exterior stone was installed and agin I was very happy with the results.

Photos

Front column base	Stone installation started

Exterior Stucco Finished

Posted to Superstition-Views by Kirk in Mesa, AZ on 2/25/2008

The stucco is finished.  I think it looks great.   The facia trim turned out fantastic.  It looks very much like cantera stone.

Photos

View of facia	Back of garage

Interior Column shots

Posted to Superstition-Views by Kirk in Mesa, AZ on 2/23/2008

Installed 6 interior columns.  They are 7 feet tall on 20" basis.

Photos

Columns Installed

Posted to Superstition-Views by Kirk in Mesa, AZ on 2/20/2008

Well I picked up 8 columns to install, 6 interior columns and 2 exterior columns.  The columns come in haves and are heavy.  So I went and picked up a couple of day laborers.  Setting the outside columns were pretty tough to set, they were heavy and when vertical very difficult to move and adjust.

The interior columns were also tough to set but not so much rue to the size and weight as it was getting the halves to match up and then shim to perfectly vertical and match up to the bases.  I had adjusted the height of the bases earlier to make the installation easier and with minimal gaps.

Photos

Exterior Column Shot	Column half	Moving a column
Columns on trailer

Drywall & Stucco Pictures

Posted to Superstition-Views by Kirk in Mesa, AZ on 2/13/2008 10:20:15 PM

Drywall is ready for nail inspection and the stucco crew finished up the brown coat today.  They will do the deck interior walls tomorrow and then were ready for tape and texture.  I'm very, very pleased with the results of the framing detail and how well it turned out with the drywall overlaid.  I hope you enjoy the pictures.

Photos

View of living room & formal dining, looking toward family room and kitchen nook	foyer looking toward back door	Main hallway. In fact this is the only hallway in the entire house. There is a foyer at the end of each hallway also.
Closeup of dome in master bedroom	Master bedroom, looking into master bath	Foyer looking thru arch inter family room at fireplace
looking back from family room toward main hallway and main foyer	grolin ceiling above main foyer	looking across room at kitchen nook and family room fireplace
Closeup of kitchen nook	looking to RV section of garage	looking back from RV section of garage, door on left is 12' high by 18' wide
Front view of exterior	Front view of exterior	rear view
side view

Drywall done, Stucco started

Posted to Superstition-Views by Kirk in Mesa, AZ on 2/10/2008 10:23:29 PM

Drywall is 75% done.  They will finish up this week with the corner bead and tape and texture.  Stucco crew started also and did 1/2 the house in one day, they also should finish up this week.  The drywall is really making the house pop!!!!.  Its really bringing out the detail in.

Things have pretty smoothly to date.  I'm under budget and the house is on schedule for completion in April.  It could easily be finished earlier if I pushed the contractors but no need were right on track.

I ordered the doors this past week and they will look.  I also upgraded the trim on the doors and will be adding crown mold in certain areas.

We had stormy weather and lots of rain for a desert climate.  The deck leaked badly and caused minor water damage.  May or not need to be replaced.

Photos

interior view	fridge/freezer area & niche	breakfast nook
	bedroom ceiling	leak from deck and water damage
close up of water damage	Winter weather, snow on Superstitions

Granite Counter Top picked out

Posted to Superstition-Views by Kirk in Mesa, AZ on 2/10/2008 10:20:08 PM

Here are some pictures of the granite I chose.  Its a level 4 and I got it for a level 2 price.  I purchased 7 slabs and the only full shot picture I got was of the least impressive slab.  I like lots of variation and color. The 7 slabs will cover the kitchen, laundry, Master Bath and all the other baths in the house.

Photos

Granite close up	Slabs in the rack

Insulation installed

Posted to Superstition-Views by Kirk in Mesa, AZ on 1/27/2008 10:59:55 PM

Insulation was installed as I mentioned before. see pictures

I did some framing yesterday. I framed in a pony wall for bedroom 3 and also a hall linen closet.  I also relocated some electrical boxes that were in the wrong locations for cabinets and door trim.  Have several other minor issues to resolve before drywall.  The HVAC and plumbers need to come back and relocate some ductwork and plumbing for the kitchen hood area.

While out on the job site I went up on the view deck to inspect the first phase of the poly coat application.  I was surprised to find out nothing had been done.  It was suposed to be done 2 weeks ago.  I was very disappointed and notified the roofing contractor.  he was also shocked since his sub told him it was done.  I'm not happy and we a pretty good rain roll through today.  I went out and checked on the house today and it was leaking heavily from the deck area.  This soaked all the insulation in the surrounding area and now I will have to wait for it to dry out before we can start drywall.  The roofer is on the hot seat and will be under strick orders to get the deck done once it drys out.  Hopefully we get sunny windy weather for the next several days so it can be done before our next rain which is forcast for a week from today.

Photos

Insulation insided dome	Kitchen nook area	Master bedroom
Another view	theater room

Passed Inspection on 3rd try

Posted to Superstition-Views by Kirk in Mesa, AZ on 1/25/2008 10:08:54 PM

Failed Inspection on 1st try due to the insulation being up and covering the wires, plumbing etc.  So I pulled down all insulation covering the trades work.

Second inspection failed due to ten minor items but they still need fixed.  Electrician and framer had the most fixes and came out and had them fixed within a few day.  Plumbers fixes were so minor I did them myself in less than 10 minutes.

Third inspection went well, a few more items were found for the electrician to fix but they are minor and can be fixed before drywall.  So I got a pass and could finish insulation. Insulation crew was out within a few days and did a excellent job, very thougho and no gaps or loose bating anywhere.

I also meet with a couple of cabinet makers and finally decided on one.  The guy busted his butt to get the job was superb on his follow ups no pressure and the best deal.  I will spend 18,700 over budget but that is due to my consultant greatly underestimating this phase.  i could have got a decent cabinet package for just above my low, low budget of $14k but it would have looked cheap and unsuitable for this type of home and price range.  So my final cost ended up being $ 32,700 but I'm getting 1st class cabinets and lots of extras that make this cabinet package pop!  This will certainly be money well spent, you couldn't ask for anything more.  I will go into more details at time of install and finish.

While all this was going on my stucco crew was doing great work on the lathing.  i used to do this work 20= years ago and its more advanced now with precut foam and corner bead wire.  They are really good in the detail work and my fascia and window trim will look like cantera stone.  paid nothing extra for this work and it looks like 20,000 in cantera stone.  I'm very pleased.  see pictures

Photos

Lath detail on facia	Close up of facia	lath detail facia west side

BIG BIG Inspection DAY

Posted to Superstition-Views by Kirk in Mesa, AZ on 1/13/2008

Big inspection tomorrow.  Roof was loaded and lathe is done.  Inspection will look at rough plumbing, electrical, HVAC mechanical and roof dry-in.  The low voltage and central vacuum are roughed in also.  Hopefully not to many fixes will need to be done.  It would be great if it passed as is but the inspector usually will find something.

I spent a day cleaning up the outside of the house (lot) and all of the inside.  I picked up all the loose debris and swept out the entire house.  Every thing is ready for the insulators and then drywall.  If inspection goes well, I should be loading drywall by Wednesday.

I still have the front area of the lot to pick up.  the trades have done a really good job picking up after themselves, they got all the really big stuff but there is lots of little pieces here and there.

So far I'm under budget overall and just over halfway through my construction funding.  currently I'm at $ 387k.  Everyone and suppliers have been paid in full to date.  It seems like I have a lot of money to finish up the house but this is when the costs start to get expensive, as they say " its in the details"

Go cheap in the details and the house will look cheap, the trick is to find the best quality details for the least amount of money.  My entire effort on this house is to spend money on the bling items where the visually details are eye popping.  My cabinets and flooring will be1st class, the doors will be solid core but paint grade, Counter tops will be Granite but only the kitchen will come from the same slab cut.

10% of my remaining funds will go to simple (pavers and block fence). Not a big bling item but necessary.

Photos

Tile loaded on roof
House cleaned out		Garage area

Rain Delay

Posted to Superstition-Views by Kirk in Mesa, AZ on 1/7/2008 8:22:38 PM

Lots of rain today, heavy at times.  However I meet the low voltage guy at site and reviewed placement of cat5 (phone/data) and Rg6 (cable) outlets.  For some reason he forgot to mark them "locations" when we meet three weeks ago. 

I also meet the insulation rep and we decided to stick to the original plan and insulate the bottom of the roof.  I will need to seal up the attic venting by Wednesday before the roofer loads the tile.  Real fun, just what I wanted to do.  This is the second wasted material issue on the house.  My bad for not going over this issue with the roofer.  Who would think you would need to review insulation designs with the roofer and vise versa.  Another lesson learned.

Kirk's Forum Posts: 2 Journal Entries: 29 Interview Answers: 50 Average Forum Rating: 4.00 Send Private Message Image from Kirk's blog 1/8/2008

Unfaced in the walls, we are using unfaced batts in the roof also.  Decided to leave roof "as is" and now batts will go just above ceiling drywall.  No radiant barrier being used, attic will be vented afterall. This home is more or less a spec home, I will try to sell when completed, if market still slow I'm going to move into it and live in it for 2 years. Sorry not much help. Kirk

Justin's Forum Posts: 98 Journal Entries: 72 Interview Answers: 59 Average Forum Rating: 3.75 Send Private Message Justin's Selected Image 1/8/2008

Are you putting unfaced fiberglass in the walls there? Would you be using batts on the underside of the roof too? I am curious to see how that all goes. Is the inspector ok with having a non-vented attic? Did you use a radiant barrier or a radiant barrier lined roof sheeting? Sorry for all the questions but we are in the final design/bidding stages and I have several unknowns sill. Thanks for posting all this great information! Justin

Click here to reply...

Subcontractor Jumps the Gun

Posted to Superstition-Views by Kirk in Mesa, AZ on 1/6/2008

My insulation subcontractor started insulating the house before needed.  I still had an inspection to call in for several items and was just waiting for the roof tile to be loaded.  The insulation crew showed up on Friday and began installing insulation.  I was able to contact the foreman and have them stop.  They only got 4 walls done and strung retaining wire over 50% of the house.  I also have to change how they were going install it and where, or remove the attic vents.  The plan was to wire the insulation to the raffters just below the roof sheeting, this would insulate the entire attic space and improve overall cooling effeciency.  However with the roof vents cut in (36), this ruins any gain in effi