Blood, Sweat, and Tears

This has been one of the rockiest rides I have ever been on. I know one guy at Lowes so well, I am probably going to have to invite him to Thanksgiving. Some days we are so excited that we are running though the house packing like the crazy women we are. The next day we are numb, wondering if we will ever move into that house or if that pooping dog down the hill will just make it his.

Okay, one thing at a time.

Last Thursday we did not pass our framing inspection. The notes on the inspection were written in a language I have never studied, so we were at a loss as to how to improve the situation. The man in charge of the people not showing up to work said he would call the inspector and get the information. Then the corrections would be made on Saturday when they showed up to finish what they needed to finish on the inside for the drywall guys. I called at three in the afternoon, and he had not yet gotten up with the guy but he would. We were not to worry. (When you hear that….worry.) I went out on Saturday about noon to see the progress and witness the correction for the framing inspector. Guess what! ? They were not there. I called the guy’s wife, since she seems to be the one in charge. She said the guys were finishing someone’s porch today and were not working our house today. I asked about the framing inspection corrections, and she said she knew nothing about it, and her husband left for the weekend and would not be home until Monday night. MONDAY NIGHT! We needed the inspection on Monday so that the drywall guy could have the drywall delivered on Tuesday and start on Wednesday. I was furious. I really did not know what to do.

The insulation was in, but the drywall could not go up until the corrections had been made. The ceiling was sprayed with a foam insulation, and the walls were done with the typical batting type insulation. It was done in ONE DAY! It is pretty interesting.

I will try to explain what we had to do for the framing. I went to Lowes, with the failed inspection notice, and tried to get them to figure out what the guy meant. Together we figured out the rafter clips. There were not in the front, possibly allowing the roof to fly off.  No one, not even the strangers I stopped in Lowes could figure out what the other thing on the notice was. So, I got twenty rafter clips and began drilling them in. I was suppose to nail them, but since the insulation was already in, I could not get a hammer in there. As I am doing this, I notice that the back of the house has rafter clips, but the front has these flat braces….then it dawns on me. The front and the back need both braces and clips. I feel like a genius and dance around for a few minutes before I head back to Lowers for more hardware. I return and put up the braces in the back. Filthy, but proud, I head home.

The small ones are the rafter clips; the long ones are the braces.

I would like to tell you how sore my arms are today. I feel as if I was hit by a truck. I feel accomplished, however, so that makes up for it. We have a framing and insulation inspection today. Keep your fingers crossed.

If all goes as planned, (I know, it never does….but it needs to now) we should have real walls by Thursday evening.