Big Picture: Where are we?
Inside, Drywall is 95% done, but some clean-up remains. First round of mud & tape done on 1st and 2nd floors.
Outside, No changes outside.
Goals from Week of Sep 27
- Get second quote for replacement trim for Mintwood. {done}
- Complete drywall {95%}
- Get insurance documents out to LM. {not done}
Accomplishments
- Drywall is what I’d call 95% complete, but the remaining 5% is non-trivial.
- Trash hauled out from drywall phase.
- Interviewed and tested an apprentice. Also booked time to hire a bookkeeper.
Corp Update
- Mom’s visit still on track for early November.
- I will be in California Oct 13-19, inclusive.
- I still owe Liberty Mutual a breakdown of labor vs materials on my subcontractors. I’ll spend time on that next week when I’m in California.
- Inspections underway for new subject property.
- I interviewed an apprentice this weekend. (Practical interview- had him on site for a day). Seemed to go well. I’m going to bring him on part time and see how it goes. This should help accelerate some of the work. I have one remaining candidate to interview- she has a lot of electrical background, so I’ll have to see what she’s looking to do.
- I also hired Intuit as my bookkeeper. They have folks on staff who are experts in QBO and Real Estate. Even if I don’t keep them, they’ll get me set up correctly which will help get me lined up and moving forward. Intake meeting is Monday.
- Tried to do a window install for Team Grey this week, but the window that came from HD was the wrong size. I’m working with the expediter to get replacements. There are 2 windows impacted. It’ll take about a day to install once the right ones come in, but we’re currently going back and forth over the sizes.
Mintwood St
- Demolition: Work is complete. See blog post
- Roofing. {no changes from 4 Oct. Roofing is complete}
- Carpenters { No change since 13 Sept }
- Windows: (no change since May 16)
- Insulation {No change from 4 Oct. }
- HVAC Spoke with the HVAC company. They’ll set the furnace after the drywall is done.
- Plumbers: {No change from Aug 30}
- Electrical: No change from 4 October. Next step will be to install finish electrical devices (switches, outlets, and lights) and install breakers in the panel. May be an item for my second apprentice to do, with final sign-off from my actual electrician.
- Masonry {No updates from Aug 30}
- Plaster: Drywall is mostly completed. “Bobby” is great, but he is not really a drywall man. His real role is to do deliveries and facilitate things. However, on the days he’s been on site, the work has been much better. When he’s not there… the rest of the crew has been a challenge to work with. For purposes of this write-up, I’ll split it into “first 2 floors” and “third floor”.
- First 2 Floors: The 2-man crew (not incl. Bobby) was somewhat sporadic when they’d show. I would expect them, and they wouldn’t appear. Eventually they got the rock completed on Tuesday, 5 October with some careful oversight by Bobby. On the first two floors, there are some areas of concern- primarily where drywall runs into existing plaster. I’m expecting that the mud/ tape crew is going to have to deal with that with true plaster.
- Third Floor: On Wednesday, a crew of 6 guys showed up to blast through the third floor. The quality is reflective of the idea of “just get it done”. There are entire studs that received zero screws. There are a number of locations where they clearly forced a panel into place, which resulted in a broken corner. They banged the living daylights out of the underside of the staircase, to the point that the existing plaster is loose all the way up the stairs. (This will need to be taken down and repaired with drywall). Worst of all- they did nothing to flatten the ceiling. I’d asked about this *numerous times* during the lead-up to the work. I never received a reply. I even made sure I was on site quite a bit, and told the crew that if something didn’t look right, let me know and I’d fix it before they tried to cover it. The crew just rocked straight over the rafters, with zero regard to how level/ flat the ceiling is. (Reminds me of an Earl Scheib paint job- paint the whole car for $99, but don’t wash the bugs off first.). The ceiling in the rear bedroom is out by 2-3/4″ and the ceiling in the front bedroom is out by about 2-1/4″. I hired a lift at Home Depot and lowered each panel from the ceiling. I’ve cut a level line around the perimeter, and have been installing steel studs sistered to the rafters, so that we have a flat and level ceiling. Then I use the lift to put the panel back in place. It’s not “perfect”, but it’s a damn sight better than it was before. As of Sunday, the front bedroom is 100% complete. The back BR has studs sistered on about 1/3 of the rafters. I expect we will finish sistering and re-applying sheetrock on Monday. See slideshow , below.
- I’m going to meet with the drywall business owner on Tuesday to walk him through and express my concerns. I am likely to halt all work while I’m in California for 6 days.
- Finish Carpentry
- I finally obtained a second bid for millwork. It was surprisingly about 25% less than Mars Lumber. Their quality seems to be good, so I’m going to go with them.
- I also identified a shop to make custom doors if needed. Likely the case for the front door, and possibly a few interior doors as well. I will commit to them this week.
- I’ve received 3 bids now for flooring. Two are pretty close, and one is pretty high. Will make a decision shortly. However, flooring won’t be installed until near the very end of the process.
- I’ve asked Chris (RetiredWoodworker) to put together a proposal for a fireplace mantle in the 3rd floor bedroom. This will be his first project with me.
- Design: Not too much progress ordering more finish materials this week. Need to get back on that so we have materials to install. Kitchen Cabinets are shipping this week. I’ve set a delivery date of 21 Oct, after I return from California.
Design board is available here, though we made some slight changes after this board was produced.
This gives a good idea of how bad the ceiling was. I’ve cut a level line across the wall. At the left, there is ~0″ gap. At the right, the gap widens to 2-3/4″ 
Even if your work is picture perfect, it doesn’t impress the client to find a six-pack (or more) in the dumpster before the day is even over. 
Banged up stairwell 
No screws attaching the ceiling panels at the ends- just rest them on the wall panels and keep going. 
Niche is missing the center row of screws. This will sag once the light is put in place. 
Column between closet and niche has only 2 screws at the top- nothing holding the rest in place. 
This wall is missing screws in 2 entire studs (one by the outlet, and the other between the center stud and the far right stud) 
Re-installing a panel. Note the steel studs sistered to the rafters to level the subsurface 
Front bedroom after all panels were removed, adjusted, and reinstalled. Now dead flat and property attached.
Next Steps
- Finish repairing drywall on third floor. Meet with Jim to lay out process, and acceptable work standards, for job completion.
- I’m going to interview tile setters, as we have a lot of work to get done. I need to outsource tile so we can keep on schedule. Order tile ASAP.
- Arrange storage for kitchen cabinets.
Pearl St.
- Still need to close out electrical inspection.
Next Steps
- Paint door to Zoe’s room.
- Build small landing for 3rd floor stairs.
- Finalize electrical inspection, close building permit.
New Subject Property
- I’ve placed a contingent offer on a property near to Mintwood St. This week we had a roofing inspection and sewer camera inspection. Still waiting for reports. We are also going to have the electrical reviewed as there appear to be some issues with different light fixtures.
Goals for Week of 11 Oct
- Order trim for Mintwood.
- Reset expectations with drywall team.
- Get insurance documents out to LM
- Make a decision about new subject property.
Entropy Properties LLC 