Build Notes (New Construction, Older Homes, Renovations, Interesting Finishing and Details)
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A few little things that drive me crazy on these final punch days.
One, the painters were here yesterday afternoon and still completely missed the spots around a duplex light switch. In their defense, the electrician had to add a switch at the last minute for the client, but still, it needs to get done.
Two, I’m going through the house cleaning little specks of drywall mud off the hardwood floors from some last-minute repairs. The cleaners came through this morning and did a good job overall, but definitely didn’t get everything 100%. I don’t really have to be doing it myself, but I’m kind of bored and my project manager is here knocking out some other punch items, so I’m just going through things.
And then, of course, there’s this light hanging down directly in front of the elevator door. I opened the elevator and almost destroyed the damn thing. Nobody told me the client was apparently OK with it hanging this low and actually wanted it this way, which makes absolutely no sense to me. So we’re zip-tying it up out of the way until they move in before somebody destroys a very expensive light fixture.
Edit: and the spout is still not on the pool water feature as promised yesterday, imagine that…
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A few curves
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Gorgeous lines!
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@Giles thanks! Appreciate the comment. I know you have a keen eye.
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Great detailing. The person who does all of our exterior detailing and quite a bit of the interior actually hand sketches all of these types of details to scale. He’ll take something like this, not copy it exactly, but pull the general idea from it and work it into a newer plan. It’s funny because every time he does something I’ll think it looks familiar, then months later I’ll be traveling somewhere and realize, that mf’er, that’s where he got it from.
Other than some of the really extreme modern stuff, I don’t know how much in residential architecture is truly new. Most of it has some connection to things people were already doing 70, 100, 150 years ago, sometimes way before that. Even Arts and Crafts and mid century modern were still borrowing from older ideas. Really it’s just taking those things, changing them around a little and making them work for what you’re building now.
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@northsouthdenimguy
Impressive examples of real craftsmanship. Nowadays, it is becoming less common. -
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@northsouthdenimguy
Unfortunately, the client for the marble tub did not pay his last bill in full, therefore only
of
As a small, equalising justice, he is currently behind bars in Austria -
During the economic downturn from 2008 to 2011, I was doing a lot of renovations because new construction was virtually dead here in the States. The last year I was doing renovations, I got stuck a few times with people refusing to pay their final bill, usually the last 5% to 10% of the job, until they had squeezed every possible extra out of you for free.
Fortunately, shortly after the last time it happened, I was able to get back into building custom homes again.
Some people just aren’t good people. They’ll take advantage of you as long as you let them, and somehow convince themselves they’re justified in doing it.
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@northsouthdenimguy im in commercial/industrial mechanical construction but have noticed that after 2008 virtually every job, no matter how big or small, has a "right to lien" clause
