Build thread: house of freedom

We had an issue with our stove too. The counter was cut so tight to the opening, it would not slide in. We mentioned it to the builder and the next day it was in. I think they really gave it ol heave ho too. I hope it doesn’t have to come out…

Yea, from the pictures posted above they really had to shove that stove in there. I would be pulling it to check. They all have to come out at some point.
 
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You wouldn't be the first. The most recent house to complete on our street was built by born and raised Californians, self described as political refugees. He was telling me the other day the place they sold for over $500k was 1600sf, in a neighborhood too rough to let the kids play outside, in a town where he was a police officer having to pull his gun on people average 3-4x a shift.

The last few years have seen a lot of growth from out of state. Oklahoma City climbed from the USs 31st to 22nd largest city between 2010 and 2020. Prices have reflected that if course....this place we've built could have been done for $400k in 2015. I actually bought a brand new 2500 sf house on an acre in 2013 for $243k. I recently saw that one for sale again for $389k.

I have a few more years before I can get out, my job is not transferable. Had I not bought in ‘94 I probably would not be here. I am glad our neighborhood has stayed safe and relatively crime free, lots of long time residents. I hope the market holds out for a couple more years.
Nice job on the hand railing a lot of things to think about when you are doing stairs. You saved a lot of money by doing it yourself. My brother had a shop that did lots of hand railing pricing was crazy on that.
 
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We had an issue with our stove too. The counter was cut so tight to the opening, it would not slide in. We mentioned it to the builder and the next day it was in. I think they really gave it ol heave ho too. I hope it doesn’t have to come out…

Yeah. GC is taking the position that since the markings on the panel have actually been rubbed off by the knobs that it had to have been going on longer than just being slid in, and is confident that the plumbers would know better. I'm skeptical because I could hear it being shoved into place from the garage and though I didn't take a close look at it before installation because it sat in the box for six weeks, I feel like the plumbers would have looked it over beforehand. GC is contacting the appliance vendor.

The scratches actually turned out to be errant drywall mud, but that panel will have to be replaced and the valves straightened or replaced, and I don't care who pays for it as long as it isn't me.
 
One of these days I'm gonna learn my lesson and quit buying houses with vaulted/cathedral ceilings.

The low voltage guy came and terminated all my CAT6 drops but he didn't install the smoke and CO detectors because I provided them, he inferred I would install them. This one is my favorite.

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I have a deep distrust for ladders.
 
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One of these days I'm gonna learn my lesson and quit buying houses with vaulted/cathedral ceilings.

The low voltage guy came and terminated all my CAT6 drops but he didn't install the smoke and CO detectors because I provided them, he inferred I would install them. This one is my favorite.

View attachment 394914

I have a deep distrust for ladders.

You should get the same guy that hung your outdoor ceiling fan to come back with his 14" ladder. Just don't tell OSHA...
 
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We started a remodel about 4 months before Covid. Funny stories there too. Like when they redid the ceiling after installing can lights and removing and island box light. Then a guy came out with a laser and measured where to drill the holes for the three over the island lights. And got the third one off the line by 3-4 inches. With a laser showing him the line.
 
You should get the same guy that hung your outdoor ceiling fan to come back with his 14" ladder. Just don't tell OSHA...

yeah...the installation instructions for vaulted ceilings actually say to mount it on that surface, 3 feet out (horizontally) from the high point, so it meets the requirements. It might be technically more effective centered between the walls but I'm gonna have to change the battery some day so I'd rather it just be where it is so I can reach it with a ladder against the wall.
 
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yeah...the installation instructions for vaulted ceilings actually say to mount it on that surface, 3 feet out (horizontally) from the high point, so it meets the requirements. It might be technically more effective centered between the walls but I'm gonna have to change the battery some day so I'd rather it just be where it is so I can reach it with a ladder against the wall.

I'm not the slightest bit familiar with modern codes but, I was under the impression that smoke detectors are often times hard wired nowadays rather battery powered?
 
I'm not the slightest bit familiar with modern codes but, I was under the impression that smoke detectors are often times hard wired nowadays rather battery powered?

They are hardwired with battery backup. The batteries will eventually wear out and need to be replaced. They built a chirp noise in to remind you when. Normally, they will start chirping at 2am. :mad:
 
They are hardwired with battery backup. The batteries will eventually wear out and need to be replaced. They built a chirp noise in to remind you when. Normally, they will start chirping at 2am. :mad:

Been there done that, and vaulted ceiling is the one that will chirp at 2 am. I know, need to change before that happens, but didn’t.
 
I'm not the slightest bit familiar with modern codes but, I was under the impression that smoke detectors are often times hard wired nowadays rather battery powered?

They are hardwired with battery backup. The batteries will eventually wear out and need to be replaced. They built a chirp noise in to remind you when. Normally, they will start chirping at 2am. :mad:

This.

I still have a scar from operating my Little Giant type folding/extending ladder to get to a smoke detector on a vaulted ceiling over a set of stairs at 3am. Pulled the pegs to collapse it while I was holding the wrong end, it grabbed the meaty part of my palm near the thumb and pulled it in between the telescoping sections. The noise was more startling than the pain but it bled like a stuck pig.

I use a simplisafe security system which is 100% wireless but, yes I believe current code pretty much everywhere requires hardwires on new construction and grandfathers battery only detectors on existing structures that weren't wired for it.
 
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They are hardwired with battery backup. The batteries will eventually wear out and need to be replaced. They built a chirp noise in to remind you when. Normally, they will start chirping at 2am. :mad:

That make sense.
The battery backup part, not the 2am part - that's just ridiculous (but true).
 
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Looks great! I like the plaid carpet too. The choice to run a different carpet on the stairs is not something you see often, unless they are wooden floored with a runner.

That was the result of a compromise. Wife hates carpet and wanted wood stairs, I don't want 7 and 4 year olds slipping and falling down them. The compromise was that she got to pick whatever carpet she wanted to go for a runner sort of look. I like it.
 
It felt like it would never happen but we did close yesterday, with a punch list of things remaining to be done.

We had a minor freakout moment yesterday seeing the floors for the first time after the cleaning crew had been through. Apparently GC didn't want any responsibility for the floor finish so they didn't even mop, or do anything to remove any of the paint splatter or overspray that had taken place during the later drywall repairs. We ended up on our hands and knees scrubbing with dish soap on a brush to clean it up because we couldn't find anything else that would remove the paint without also removing the sealer. The floor also had just a generally dull look to it which it didn't have when we'd done the finish originally, and we were thinking we were gonna end up just tolerating them for a couple years and redoing them.

But we applied the wax, once the paint drips were cleaned up, went back to the rent house to sleep, and were more than pleased to return this morning finding it totally brought them back to our expectation.

PXL_20230128_174929816.jpg


Movers arrive tomorrow at 8am, but we went ahead and moved some loose items today. Naturally, I focused on stuff in the garage, she focused on decor and small furnishings. 🤣

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It felt like it would never happen but we did close yesterday, with a punch list of things remaining to be done.

We had a minor freakout moment yesterday seeing the floors for the first time after the cleaning crew had been through. Apparently GC didn't want any responsibility for the floor finish so they didn't even mop, or do anything to remove any of the paint splatter or overspray that had taken place during the later drywall repairs. We ended up on our hands and knees scrubbing with dish soap on a brush to clean it up because we couldn't find anything else that would remove the paint without also removing the sealer. The floor also had just a generally dull look to it which it didn't have when we'd done the finish originally, and we were thinking we were gonna end up just tolerating them for a couple years and redoing them.

But we applied the wax, once the paint drips were cleaned up, went back to the rent house to sleep, and were more than pleased to return this morning finding it totally brought them back to our expectation.

View attachment 395754

Movers arrive tomorrow at 8am, but we went ahead and moved some loose items today. Naturally, I focused on stuff in the garage, she focused on decor and small furnishings. 🤣

View attachment 395763

Congrats, exciting to move into your new custom home.
 
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I've been dreading packing up my office (I work from home).

I write control software for commercial and industrial HVAC and refrigeration equipment and this is the test setup I've been using for the year and a half I've been in this rental and too lazy to do something more permanent. The plywood worked for me in 2020 but the number of devices I've had to add to the network has grown beyond its capacity.

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