Big Picture: Where are we?
Victors: Framing in progress, target to complete 9/15 (at risk)
Shop: Concrete work all complete. Framing starts in Sept (pending framing at Victor’s)
Corp Update
I continue to have a few showings for Pearl St. Folks here definitely don’t plan far in advance- most prospective tenants are looking to move in less than 30 days.
A couple of minor items working on the other properties. Had a few showings for the place on Pearl St. There are some appealing tenants from a landlord perspective, but it appears that most folks aren’t planning 6+ weeks out. Several of the possible tenants need a place by 9/1 or 9/15, which doesn’t work for the existing tenant. Stay tuned.
The Shop
Minor updates on the shop this week-
We finished the last of the CMU prep work. Ed came back and solid-grouted the additional blocks we added. I’ll give that grout some time to really solidify before I drill and position the bolts to hold the posts for the steel beams.
With the completion of the grout work, we’re 100% complete on concrete. My final cost on that was only about 8% higher than originally bid – entirely due to changes in scope. Because the soil was less-than-perfect, we put in more gravel than was planned. Also, we ended up that the shop floor was a bit higher than originally scoped, so again- more gravel. Lastly, when I had the job bid, I thought we were going to be doing the sidewalk as part of the plumbing work, which we did not do. All in, still very happy.
I’m still waiting on the formal bid from the electrician. I sent a reminder email at the end of the week, but he’s not particularly good at the paperwork side of the business. (Once again, a reminder why so many of these businesses feature a husband in the field and a wife behind the scenes, keeping the books straight).
Due to some delays at Victor’s, I’m getting a bit nervous about our ability to stay on track for the framing. I’m going to talk to some other folks this week just to see what my options are.
I 3D printed a plumbing part for the sewer line this week. I’d forgotten to install the cast iron grate on the line before we poured concrete, so I was left with only a threaded PVC fitting with a plug. I pulled the plug out and designed & printed a grate that threaded right in.
I also ordered the remaining hold-down bolts that I need for the anchor posts. I will need to coordinate with Ed about getting the remaining part of the walls grouted and getting those anchors in.
I met with my electrician to go over what we need for the work at the shop. He’s going to get back to me with a number. It will be interesting to see what we get, bc the shop is commercial so the work is somewhat more complex than the exact same requirements in residential.
Upcoming Tasks:
- Evaluate alternatives for framing crew
- Framing starts end of August/ Early Sept. (at risk)
- get proposal for electrical work
- order windows & doors
- order garage door
Victor’s House
The interior work continues at Victor’s, albeit at a slower pace than I’d like. The team was working on the ceiling of the second floor in the main building this week. That is a complex bit of work bc the engineers specified sisters to almost every joist (and in many cases more than one sister). We still have significant work to go on those joists before we’re ready to frame above. I had a chat with the guy who owns the framing business and expressed my concern. He’s aware, and will be applying some additional resources along with being on site more frequently.
The rain continues to be an issue. We put plastic across the addition, and a big blue tarp over the main house. Unfortunately, despite my repeated requests and clear instruction, they didn’t put the blue tarp on the way I wanted and we’ve had a fair amount of water getting into the building. Again, I’ve raised this concern with the guy who owns the framing business. My biggest concern is that the floors are often pooling with water, which can weaken the plywood. We will need to evaluate as we start to wrap up if anything is not going to be acceptable.
The other concern about progress at Victor’s is that this same crew is slated to frame the shop. I don’t want to be in a situation where Victor’s work pushes the shop so late that we can’t finish framing before the cold weather. It would not be good to have the shop unfinished this winter. Grrr… Hence, I’m meeting with some alternative companies this week to consider my options.
In the other trades, I received the first estimate for the plumbing work. It was about 40% higher than I expected, but it was also a company I know to be pricey. I’ll be interested to see where the other bids come in. I also got a bid from the guy who did the concrete at the shop. We’ll be pouring a new driveway, new patio and building a porch out front. Giovanni did nice work, and his bid came in at a number I can live with, so it’s nice to have that nailed down. (For transparency, I was very clear with him that we can revisit pricing in the spring when we’re closer to the work. He shouldn’t carry the risk of changes in material prices.)
I also talked to PGH2O this week, just to confirm that we don’t need to do anything crazy to hook up the water. The CSR (a woman named “Rea”) was very helpful and confirmed that since there’s been water there in the not-too-distant past, we should be able to have them come out and just turn it on. Because we will need water once we start working interior trades (plaster, tile setting, etc) I may go ahead and turn on the water sooner than later.
On a different topic, there’s a natural spectrum of how tidy most crews will be. Part of it is linked to the work they do – Excavators and demo crews are always in the muck. On the other hand, a good tile setter works in levels of precision that are ~1/64″ or better. (It’s amazing what the human eye can detect). It’s been my experience that if someone is tidy about their work, the *usually* are producing high quality results. (That being said, I had a plumber once who was very instagram-worthy, but he was so expensive there was no way to justify using him on larger jobs).
This is all to say that the current framing crew is probably about average for the trade, but that doesn’t excite me. I generally aim to work with folks who punch above their weight class. For example, my demo crew gets really dirty, but they tidy up *every night*. The current situation is not that, though, and there’s only one trade on site, so it’s clear where the issue lies. There were a lot of boxes of material scattered around, often the same item scattered in several places. I can’t even count how many drink bottles, potato chip bags, cigarette packs, etc. were scattered everywhere. Plus, with the water, all of the sawdust was just keeping everything extra-damp and the boxes are decaying where they sit. I’ve put both floors of the building through a full tidy, and we will chat this week about having the crew doing a bit more in this regard. Even if it’s not every day, it is a minimum to me that they take an hour on Friday and clean up before the weekend. It’s not just being pedantic- when you can’t find the right materials (the right screws, for example), there’s a temptation to just “make do” with what you have. That is not my way to build a building.
In terms of the work, the goal this week would be to finish the joist sistering and be ready to frame at least one wall on the 3rd floor of the main building. Then we could sheath the roof over the addition and then get the rest of the walls up for the 3rd floor.
Next activities:
- get bids for electrical, HVAC, and Plumbing
- get water, gas, and electrical turned on
- Develop landscaping plan, incl possible retaining wall out back.
- Submit change in plans to city to add front porch & deal with back yard/ driveway
- Framing is scheduled to wrap at the end of Aug, and siding by mid Sept. By my estimate, we are at risk by several weeks on this target. (At risk)
- The windows are scheduled to arrive this week, so we may lost a few days to putting them in.
- Hardscape planning. Ed will come out and look at the excavation, and Giovani will come out and look at the concrete work. Realistically, none of the actual work will happen until next summer, but I’m doing the plans this fall so we can get them through the city.
Entropy Properties LLC 