It feels strange to say we’re taking it easy now, given all that’s still going on, but compared to a few weeks ago, its definitely true. Through most of May we were in a mad dash to get done everything that happens behind the walls – all the wiring, plumbing, ductwork, firestopping, insulation, and even bits of blocking for mounting your towel bars. Some of the last things to go in were the mail slot, the tub and shower drains and speaker wires for a surround sound hookup in the loft.

We also had to insulate the ceiling in the East Wing, which finally used up the extra polyiso panels we’d had cluttering up the guest room for half a year. Fun fact: when you cut it on a table saw it turns into a material nearly indistinguishable from artificial snow.

In those weeks leading up to Memorial Day I was putting in 10 hour days, 4 days a week on the job site, plus often going to Menards in the evening after dinner. Amy has a bit less vacation stored up than me, so she had fewer days there but just as long. It all paid off though, as we got to watch one thing after another get checked off the to-do list. All those final wrap-up items let us clear a ton of tools and materials out. And we made it in time for the drywall crew to start up on schedule.

They actually ended up starting 2 days late as the rain kept them from delivering the goods, but they’ve been going gangbusters ever since. Look for an exciting post showing the house transformation soon.

In order to stay out of their way we have moved back outside. We had to finish framing and sheathing the screen porch so that we could FINALLY get the metal roofs installed over the east wing and porch areas. Not only was the dripping in the east wing getting old, but it would also not be kind to the incoming drywall. The roofing company wouldn’t order the roofing without being able to measure precisely the final construction, so that put the heat on again.

One other outside project is also required before move in, and that’s the balcony. For some reason the city is uncomfortable with having a door that opens out of the second floor to a straight 10′ drop onto a concrete slab. My fallback was to bolt a stock deck railing straight over the door frame and call it a Juliet balcony, but it would be far better to just have the proper thing done. We finished the framing of it today, and the railing is on order.

In the process we used up most of the remaining lumber and sheet goods decorating our front lawn and used this opportunity to dumpster anything leftover. We then finished off a few other minor projects that have overstayed their welcome on the to-do list. One of the oldest was to get back on the main roof to put in the ridge vent and ridge cap shingles. We roofed the house last Fall but since it was all sealed in there was no rush to get up and cut out those ridge shingles and the weather wasn’t on our side until recently.

We’re mostly done outside and will now move to doing insulation and drywall on the basement ceiling. (Ceiling drywall in basements is also required by code for fire protection since 2015.) I moved 32 rolls of insulation down there earlier this week and Amy spent part of today prepping for install.

In doing all these things we’ve cut the number of days on the job site as there is only so much to do when you can’t be in the main house. We have allowed ourselves to sleep in slightly on weekends again (8:30 feels decadent now) and we even indulged in a pancake breakfast with our friends one Saturday! Overall my jobsite hours are down from ~40 per week right before drywall to ~25 per week now. Better to conserve those precious vacation days than spend them now.

Sadly, these more relaxed days will be short lived. The drywall smoothing and sanding wrapped up this weekend and I expect they’ll start spraying primer soon. Once the walls are finished and primed the house is turned back over to us, and then its a race to the finish line. July will bring 2600 sqft of flooring, 250+ outlets, switches, and fixtures, cabinets, stair railings, 20 interior doors, and many other finish projects before we can move in. In the meantime we’ll enjoy another weekend or two where we aren’t burning the candle at both ends.