As we’ve noted in prior posts, progress has definitely slowed as we’ve settled into more normal routines. Our house projects now feel more akin to the “weekend warrior” projects Amy and I have made our hobby for almost 20 years. As we’ve focused on many of the most frustrating things that were still undone, our home has steadily become more livable, and we’ve been able to really enjoy the features and amenities. (I think we ran the wood burning fireplace at least once a week from early November through mid March).

At the time we moved in I ran the numbers against our giant project planning spreadsheet and estimated the progress bar was at 75% complete. I also figured somewhere around 90% would be where the city and the bank had both signed off and ceased their respective forms of oversight. As of today we are at 88%. My best estimate is that we will be at 92% once we close out the final city inspection and the final appraisal from the bank. Note these are arbitrary percentages based on individual spreadsheet task lines that vary wildly in terms of time and effort.

I had a minor freak out in November when the bank contacted me noting we hadn’t submitted a loan draw in 4 months and asking when we expected to be done. I told them “April” and they just shrugged, so that was a major relief. At one year in on the loan (end of July 2019, coincidentally the same time we were moving into the house) we had them put the loan into repayment. That means we are paying down principle each month rather than just interest only payments. Still, we are paying a higher interest rate than we should and we’re paying on the full loan amount even though we haven’t borrowed the last of it yet. That means its costing us more every month that the house isn’t “done” than it would if we could close and refinance, so there is some low-level pressure to keep moving to completion.

I had a second heart palpitation in December when the new building inspector emailed me saying we hadn’t had an inspection in 6 months and our permit was now expired. He came out to the house and took a look around. Closed out the garage permit which was still open and gave me a 90 day extension. As long as we have some kind of inspection triggered before 90 days then we’re good to keep going. Whew!

If we wanted to get the final inspection done we need only two things: 1) handrails for the stairs and 2) safety film installed on one stupid window by the balcony because the city says its a hazardous location even though its clearly not. Not that I’m bitter. In January we finished the stair treads and risers, which frees us up to do the main showpiece railing on the lower section of stairs. (The upper flight of stairs to the second floor and basement stairs are both simple brackets and handrails, not newel posts and balusters and so forth.) But instead we decided to finish the master bathroom next. That would trigger another plumbing inspection and buy us 6 months on the permit. If we had instead waited on that and closed this building permit we’d technically need to open a new one to finish the master bath later. Plus I need to coordinate with an out-of-town friend who has offered to help with the handrail.

As I started writing this post in early February, but its now the end of March, we have since finished the master bathroom. My 90 day extension was good until March 16 and I called that very morning to schedule the plumbing inspector, who came by 2 days later. Turns out it was a good thing we got it in last week because by Friday the governor had locked the whole state down due to coronavirus spread… Anyway, that inspection should buy us plenty of time to finish the last few city-required items.

As for the bank, they will want the same things the city wants, along with one other major completion: trimwork. There are miles of trim to be done. 32 windows and 29 doors to trim around, along with baseboards and shoe molding in every single room. Many will be straightforward, but some of them are going to be a pain in the rear due to issues with how the drywall meets the doorframe unevenly. Some of the trim will be white and some stained wood, but either way its 3+ coats of some kind of product and then meticulous cutting and fitting in place. I daresay its months of weekends to do the trim, and the bank won’t close without it. I can’t say I blame them – good luck selling a house with no trim.

Beyond the city and the bank there are a few things still unfinished:

• Soffit and fascia for the back porch and east wing areas
• Two pieces of siding on the West side because we ran out last Fall
• Exterior columns and trim for the balcony
• A half dozen interior closet doors
• The pocket door for the master bedroom
• Paint on the walls for the office and the laundry room
• About a dozen HVAC vent covers
• Gutters and downspouts
• Final grading, seeding, etc
• Landscape lighting for the front walk
• Insulate and drywall the basement exterior walls
• Insulate and drywall the breezeway

Finishing those would bring us to the 100% line in our spreadsheet, which would be quite an accomplishment. But beyond even those items, there’s also a variety of other things that were in the original plan and are still on our “eventually” list:

• Build the front porch cover
• Screen in the back porch
• Insulate the garage attic (we weren’t able to get this done at the same time as the house)
• Over and under cabinet lighting in the kitchen
• Crown molding on the cabinets
• Kitchen backsplash
• Range Hood
• Hook up the central vac system (all the pipes were run at rough-in)
• Fireplace mantle and surround
• Built-in bookshelves in living room and loft
• Window seats on the stair landing and in K’s bedroom
• HRV for fresh air exchange to outside

Plenty enough to keep us busy puttering on projects until the kids are off to College!