A Worthy House: Finished At Last!

Yesterday, March 29, was the final day of construction. On a clear, sunny day at Lake Esau, the last few details were checked off the punch list, sawdust and scrap lumber was bagged and carried outside, tools were sorted and packed into Kyle's and Dave's vehicles, and the county building inspector made his long-awaited visit.

One task was coat hooks. To maximize living space in the design, I minimized coat closets at the entrances. Over the years I've noted that these little rooms typically end up stuffed with four seasons of outerwear. When guests arrive, their coats are jammed in with the owner's wardrobe. I decided that out-of-season coats, etc., can simply go to the basement, and everything else can hang on hooks. Upstairs, the guest bedroom "closet" is really just a nook in the passage to the bathroom. Hooks here will allow guests to hang up their clothing for the duration of their visits.

A grommet will gather up computer cords
at the back of the desk in the office.

Coat hooks in the guest bedroom "closet" will allow visitors
to hang up their clothes.

Coat hooks are also a convenience in the mud room...

...and in the front entry. Mounted on pieces of oak, these will
be sealed with polyurethane when the painters return.

A "picture frame" now protects the edges of the tiled hearth.

I wondered why the hardware on the back
doors seemed loose. Kyle and Dave investigate.

With these final tasks disposed of, Dave and Kyle started packing their vehicles with leftover boards, tools, and all the flotsam and jetsam of construction. Dave also cleaned up in the basement, which became the primary workshop after the flooring was completed.

Dave and Kyle cleared out the garage first.

Everything, including the electrical rack (our initial power
connection), was stuffed into Kyle's truck and Dave's pickup.

Dave swept up the basement.
It was a very dusty chore.

In the midst of the packing, the building inspector arrived. For Kyle in particular this was a high-anxiety moment — a bit like final exams in college. Building inspectors are a quirky lot. Remember that this gentleman had demanded a safety bar across the windows over the tub to prevent someone from falling out. We had no idea what the inspector would demand on this visit. He meandered around the house, inside and out, looking at almost everything, saying very little, and even pausing now and then to stare out a window.

The building inspector wandered from room to room,
with Kyle and myself trailing along behind.

He made notes re: the OK's given by the
electrical, mechanical, and plumbing inspectors.

Dave quickly cuts 2x4s for the basement stairwell wall.

Happily, the inspection went well. The inspector insisted on some 2x4 blocking in the stairwell center wall at the basement level, probably as a fire safety precaution. Dave used some scrap 2x4s and deck screws to put this to rights. In addition, as we already knew, we have to cover the exposed foam insulation for the basement, install the well for the basement's egress window, and haul in topsoil to correct the grade at the main and south entrance doors. All this must be completed by the end of June. With those caveats, the inspector issued a temporary certificate of occupancy, good for three months. Kyle and Dave were understandably pleased with the "A" on their exam!

After the inspector departed, the men returned to their packing. They leave behind a house which I can now legally occupy, and into which — after a good cleaning — I can finally move.

Kyle tosses a box of tools into his truck. It will take him
several days to sort out all this stuff.

Save for a good cleaning, the office is ready...

...as is the master bedroom and bath...

...and the kitchen.

At the end, around 2:00, Kyle and Dave posed for one last construction photo, and then headed down Kauffman Blvd. to start their drive back to Grand Haven. They leave behind them a remarkable piece of work — a worthy house — which I hope to enjoy for many years to come. My appreciation for their diligence and skill is considerable, and I count it a great blessing to have had such a good relationship with my contractors throughout the course of this project.