inner city duplex post 21-28

[Sean Kollee]

I am skipping a lot of key material related to house building, but I guess anyone can check out my website for the full package.  Here are some more summary posts lets try and throw a few more in here and go 21 - 28 and start off with some more weather complaining

Post 21 - how cold is too cold

We know the answer to our question of how cold is too cold for construction (right now). We are going on about two weeks of miserable conditions and this has impacted the project in many ways.

Right now we need to wrap the building and complete the soffit, fascia and trough. We also need to spray foam our cantilever and joist end areas. All this needs to be done before we insulate otherwise we risk moisture getting in the walls and trapped being the vapour barrier. Given how cold it has been moisture in the walls hasn't been a real concern. It has been the debilitating cold that is preventing work. The spray foam truck can't operate in these conditions and neither can our siding crew. We can't turn the furnace on because we are waiting for the gas meter and we can't turn the furnace on until we seal the building anyway. Sneaking in the shingles was about the only exterior task that worked in my favour. At least when the snow accumulated during the last five storms melts next week, it will run off the roof, rather than inside the house.

The Monday forecast is looking great. Let's hope this is the end of the cold as we need to make some progress.

post 22 - subdividing costs

One of the unexpected costs a builder may encounter when working on a semi detached project is the fee to subdivide.

This is a fee structure largely controlled by the City, so it can charge whatever it deems appropriate. Thus far we were billed $1174 from the City to do whatever it must to to draw a line down the middle of a lot. we also got hit with a surface improvement to repair the old curb cut from the driveway. That was about $3650. So we are paying about $5k to the City plus our surveyor costs.

For the $1174 if you get the right person on the phone you can pay by credit card. This is the easy way. For the surface improvement, you must get a bank draft, then walk it over to the third floor cashier. This can be a half day wasting experience.

I have never understood why the City has so many payment requirements that occur at intervals over the life of the project. It can require many trips to City Hall, finding parking, lineups, etc, and even worse when you have to get a bank draft. What is wrong with a cheque? If it bounces, it isn't like the City won't get paid eventually because they control the subdivision. I've tweeted the mayor before about red tape for inner city builders. This would be an easy fix (take credit card or even better - online pay).

post 23 - kitchen planning

Once the interior and exterior wall framing is finished I like to take final measurements and meet with the kitchen designer to work on specific layout details. In the case of my current project, I had some ideas on how I wanted the layout to work and positioned the walls in such a way as to make my fridge and pantry unit fit properly.

Once the software comes into play I get a much better idea of the final look of the cabinets. Once I commit to a cabinet layout I select the various fixtures, generally starting with the flooring, then cabinet door material, countertop, and finally tile.

This is the current draft of my kitchen, showing the window location and where the ceiling height changes to 10ft. Overall this is a very practical and european style kitchen. I am pretty sure the eventual buyers of this home will be pleased with the selections

post 24 - exterior envelope 

Given that we've been able to start insulating and drywalling the semi detached project, I have a renewed sense of urgency to get the exterior envelope sealed up. I'm working with a new crew that comes highly recommended by a builder I have met working in the same part of town.

It has been too cold to begin the soffit, fascia and house wrap effectively, but the guys were out today as it was sunny and had warmed up somewhat (to -11C). With the balmy forecast some the crews who havent been working much may play a little catch up and get a lot of work done by putting in some long days. Even the seasonal time change is working in our favour.

Lined up for the work week (seems like it is already well underway as of Saturday night);

• Exterior metal work - this is the soffit, fascia and trough. Once we get into spring and it starts to rain this will give us some control over runoff and we need this work done before the stucco component anyway. Side benefit is the pigeons can't get in the attic and make a huge mess
• Exterior envelope - the tyvek will be sealed around the building, acting as the air barrier. This will really help seal the interior from wind and moisture penetration, as we can't afford to get any moisture in our insulated stud spaces any longer
• Plumbing - there is a small amount of plumbing to do that can be finished up prior to any drywall covering our pipes
• Electrical - we have a small electrical failure to remedy before we cover it up
• Spray foam - this is booked for Monday morning and is essential to be done before we can do soffit or drywall in many areas
• Drywall boarding - this may be done on one side in the next few days, likely beginning on the second side
• Gas meter install - this is quickly becoming a priority, fortunately I have got it booked (just don't know where we are in the priority lineup - hopefully near the top. The crew that installs meters can do a lot in one day, but they don't give you a time)
• Hardwood consult - we have one of my suppliers coming out for a site visit. This is going to play a key role in finishing the stairs so a site visit is always helpful (plus they measure)

I will be on site with some pre-arranged meetings and to take some progress photos. At this time it makes sense to revisit my schedule so I can remain a step ahead of site progress. I need to make a contract with the finisher and order the interior woodwork, and possibly finalize my decision on the painting contractor.

post 25 - drywall and insulation

Given the delays are all weather not labour, my drywall crew decided to start anyway. For example, the ceilings can start before the spray foam in our joists and cantilever areas.

With a heater rigged up they are hanging drywall in t shirts upstairs while the lower levels are freezing. Here is a shot of the insulated wall, sound barrier in party wall and the drywall going up.

As expected, the warmer forecast for the week has brought out all the crews. This makes for a tricky site to manage, with parking and access to the power pole at a premium. We had:

1. electrician making last minute repair 2. insulators putting in batt insulation in second house 3. spray foam operator prepping and starting in basement 4. drywall crew boarding upstairs in first house 5. central vac install finishing (to stay ahead of insulation).

As the project manager, it is best to stay away and let the job progress. There will be plenty of time later to deal wit the aftermath of that much work going on. Making sure the cleanup gets done and cheques get written seems to be the primary work of the builder right now. 

The type of spray foam we are using in the joist ends and cantilever areas is called a 2 pound foam. This is a closed cell type of foam that is impermeable, so can insulate a space without a poly barrier.

The foam does such a good job of tightly sealing hard to reach areas and the underside of plywood where you want to avoid a cold floor. There does not seem to be much other choice than to use a spray foam if you are trying to achieve a comfortable interior. In the example below we are even sealing in the warm air duct in the bedroom above the front entry.

post 26 - why builders are so secretive 

The inner city market is highly competitive, and every builder is looking for some kind of edge over the competition. At the retail level, the buyers only see the polished end product, and they could not possibly know who put together any given design concept.

The builders tend to need to do interior design work quickly, but this leads to some really awful interior selections. Perhaps a better way is to go view the show home of the most spectacular home you can find and 'imitate' the finish package?

I am certainly not innocent when it comes to this. I like to tour some of my favourite builder show homes so I can see what they are up to. Because the trends tend to trickle down from the most expensive neighbourhoods, it is easy to ensure any property is very up to date or even ahead of the trends by visiting a few million dollar show homes.

I was visiting today at my friend 'Paul's' project. He is a very prolific builder and plans to finish 12 houses this year. I couldn't help but notice the virtual knockoff of my prior townhouse project interior design. He used the same cabinets, counters, and the hardwood and tile were just a shade off. What happened is he liked my show suite so much he took photos and copied every element as closely as possible.

This works both ways, I have adopted a few of his trades as well as offering him some options for design that he hadn't used before. On at least one instance he has basically reneged on a land deal that had reached the legal phase, so I had a huge grudge against him after that. My position was that he scammed me out of a handshake level land deal and wasted some legal work. Hopefully Paul has some more trades I can use to improve my costs or procedures. I met his house cleaner today doing the prepossession cleaning job, and took his phone number. So in the end it is ok if Paul rips off a few of my design ideas. Eventually I will return the favour...

post 27 - gas meter service connection

The common theme of this project has been to get the underground utility service work done early. This means when construction progresses to inside work, I can provide the environment for all the trades to work effectively. The surest way to alienate your crew is to have them arrive to a jobsite that isn't ready, and from insulation onward some heat is essential.

Natural gas connection takes months to apply for, dig underground into the lane, and install the meter (the final step). The meter will not be released until the plumbing inspection is passed. So the gas connection can't be made to the furnace until house passes all the inspections required at the pre board phase, this is a huge amount of work.

The gas service provider may offer a temporary heat setup that allows access to gas early. I don't bother with this because I can get my furnace running soon enough to avoid the fees of a winter heat hookup. Thus far we've had a terrible winter but my site hasn't really needed heat until this week (it isn't possible to heat a house that is not insulated). We started this project in November (basement work), so it has taken until March to be ready for gas - and everything has gone smoothly except for weather delays. This is where the less experienced builder will run into trouble. It I hadn't already done the preliminary work to get gas, we could be weeks or months away.

A few small hurdles remain to have the furnace operate. We need power to our electrical panel (we are relying on the pole near the lane for power). The furnace is hard wired to the panel. It can't be connected to an extension cord without some effort. We have a plan for this and hopefully tomorrow it will be done (or the next day). The furnace condensate line needs connected into the floor drain, and a temporary thermostat supplied. If this isn't done the condensate will spill all over the basement floor in a large puddle. I've got the mechanical contractor booked to do this tomorrow.

The taping crew will be pleased to see heat inside - this will ensure they prioritize my job over other projects. Often the trades will preview a few sites and select the project that looks most ready. By being the most reliable contractor in terms of delivering these services, you can get to the top of the list. While I claim to be the person in charge of the schedule, the trades often prioritize their own business needs over the builder - so the most attractive site gets the best service.

So now that I have shared a few more secrets about inner city project management, we can look ahead to some warm and happy trades finishing my inside work. This is the stage of the process where a large amount of funds is needed to keep moving ahead. I have to pay the major part of the bills for the plumbing, electrical, exterior work, insulation, drywall, and deposits on finishing material. Over the next month the cash burn rate will exceed $100k.

post 28 - Heat

What a relief to turn on the furnace. The basement is far too cold to be insulating right now. With the furnace running I should be able to warm it right up and get it thawed out and dry so we can insulate.

Using the pipe wrench and turning on the gas for the first time is one of the most satisfying milestones in a project.