The lights are on…well, almost

The light fixtures have been installed and the electrical trim out is about 90%…

    

   

A few words on inspections…

All I have to say is what the !@#$???  So, electrical rough in was completed on Friday afternoon and the electricians called for the inspection.  The inspectors came first thing Monday morning and failed the house for something very minor.  The electricians didn’t put enough stud guards in the framing near the electrical panels to avoid a nail or a screw from going through the high voltage wiring. 

As far as we are concerned that is fair enough.  The last thing we want after spending the national budget of Guam on this remodel is for a nail to go through a 30 amp wire and burn the place down.  The electricians came right out, remedied the issue and called back in for a reinspection.  This is where things begin to drive me insane.

I get a call 3pm on Tuesday from the electrician to let the inspector into the house.  No problem.  I run over there and the inspector is sitting in his truck.  I get out, unlock the house, wave to the inspector and get back in my car – and sit.  15 minutes goes by and the guy just sits there in his truck.  Then he starts it up and drives away without ever going into the house to check to see if four little pieces of metal have been tacked into the studs!

Insensed about this I call the electrician and he checks the system online and the inspector reports that the home was inaccessible.  Inaccessible!!!  Not only was the door unlocked, I was fricking sitting right fricking there not 30 feet from where he was!!!  So, we have to call in for a reinspection again.  This time the electrician puts my cell phone number on the inspection ticket for them to call me directly as we aren’t expecting any subs at the house on Wednesday.

Wednesday comes and goes with no calls from anyone.  I have no business over at the house that day, so I go to a few appointments and figure we’re just getting pushed off until the next day for getting this thing inspected.

Thursday morning I go to the house to meet the HVAC guy who is going to run a new wire from the heat pump up to where the new thermostat will go and run the gas line to the kitchen for the cooktop.  As I unlock the door what do I find?  A love note from code enforcement failing the inspection on Wednesday due to what you may ask?  That’s right – the home was inaccessible!  As my grandfather would have been oft to remark this is the phone age not the stone age!  Not only did they know my electricians number, but my electrician gave them my number!  The laziness and incompetence is astounding.

Yet again, a reinspection is called in.  Yet again, my cell phone number is listed as the contact.  Friday morning around 8:30am my cell phone rings.  Its the electrician letting me know that the inspector in en route.  Don’t you just love how they follow directions?

I get to the house about 5 minutes after speaking with the electrician.  I unlock the house, open all the doors – front and back – and toyed with the idea of either putting up a blinking neon arrow to all entryways to the house or leaving trails of cheese so they could find their way in.  The inspector shows up 10 minutes later, manages to actually exit his vehicle, gained access through the wide open front door and – finally – passed the house!

Five days, four visits, three stud guards, two failures and one approval. 

Three times the charm I guess:

Wired!

Electrical, structured wiring and whole home audio is in!

More power!  We moved the electrical panel in the house because where it was would have interfered with the kitchen cabinets and moving it just over a wall into the mudroom would have interfered with the new mudroom and the plumbing in those walls.  Therefore, we needed to find a new home for the service panel in the entry way to the master bedroom.  As a result they had to run this mama jamma wire across the house to bring the power in from the outside and to the new service panel.

The new low voltage panel for the structured wiring:

Recessed can lighting in the kitchen:

Recessed lighting and speakers in the living room:

Miscellaneous wiring and whole home audio connections:

Power outtage!

With the insulation out and the framing in progress it is time for some more demo…

 

This time we’re tearing out all the electrical in the house and completely rewiring it.  With the new interior walls it made much more sense to gut the house of wires and start over again to ensure the proper placement of switches and outlets, not to mention ensure the house is completely up to code.

Lights, camera…

…a new post!

The new exterior lights are now on the front and back of the house…the doors and shutters are on order and soon we will have completely changed the exterior of the house for our plans…next step: new framing.