03-29-2013 Day 19

Third coat of mud was applied today. Some areas did not get the third coat because it was in a tight corner and doing the second side of the corner would damage the first side.

While inspecting the work later after Ben left, I tried to open the basement window and found that all of the mudded corners around the window was preventing the opening of the window. I called Bill and advised him about the issue. He said it would be handled when they come back in.

While talking to Bill he let me know that my bathroom window would arrive soon via UPS.  As soon as it does arrive they can get workers in to install it.

03-28-2013 Day 18

Second coat of mud was put up today. While typing this it does not seem like much was done, but I can tell you that there was a lot of work done. You would just have to be here to see the difference the second coat made.

03-27-2013 Day 17

Ben worked all day putting the first coat of mud on all of the joints and screw holes.  Not much to say other than the area was kept as clean as possible during the day and there was a final cleanup before Ben left.

03-26-2013 Day 16

Bill came out and we agreed on a price for the shadow box. Bill and Ben knocked out the rest of taping of the joints and roughed in the shadow box. Bill also noticed a issue with the stairs / handrail not being at the right angle.  This was quickly resolved.

03-25-2013 Day 15

Final drywalling was done today, now it's time ready for the finishing work.

Looking at the walls I found there was some dead space that a shadow box could be created. I talked with Bill about the idea and he is going to get me a quote for the change.

03-22-2013 Day 14

Ben is ok! He had to get seven stitches but is clear to work today. Ben and Kit were able to get the stairs built out and all the finished side drywall is hung.

Bill and Kyle was came today also. They extended the ice maker connection to our fridge upstairs so it could be easily accessed. The air ducts were modified in a way that was not agreed upon. I was not happy about this and called Bill to discuss the issue. We are going to see how the airflow will be this weekend after the modifications that were made today.

03-21-2013 Day 13

Ben and Kit were going strong on drywall for several hours, until there was a accident and Ben had to go to the hospital.

In order to get a better idea of how we wanted our stairs to look after drywall was hung up, my wife and I used large paper rolls to block out how we wanted the stairs to look. We left this up to show Ben how exactly we decided we wanted them done.

03-20-2013 Day 12

Short day today due to Ben having a family emergency. Some drywall was hung although. They are still trying to figure out how to get our one air vent routed without the air vent protruding out of the rafter space.

03-19-2013 Day 11

All of the supplies showed up today! Ben and a new guy came in and got to work.  In no time the insulation was up and 25% of the basement had drywall.


One major hiccup came into sight.  We had a wall built to close off some unfinished areas, and since that side is considered "unfinished" there was no plans to put drywall on that side.  The problem is that the insulation is pushed back where it is actually out of the studs.  This is not functional and takes up additional space in this area. When I asked about hanging drywall with out mudding it, I was told it was not in the contract.  When I ask where specifically it stated that it would not be dry walled, I was told that it does not say it specifically, but a "un-finished" side means they do nothing to it.  My opinion is that if they put the wall up, it should be finished on both sides.  Not causing me more problems.

I asked for a quote to see what it will cost me for this "change." I stressed the importance of getting this ASAP, because it will be easier to hang the drywall on the "un-finished" side now before the "finished" side has drywall hung.  It has been 12 hours since that first request, and another 5 since the second request and I do not have a quote.

See the insulation sticking out into the "Unfinished" side?

See how close the insulation is to the Hot Water Heater?

03-18-2013 Day 10

The supply order did not make the deadline on Friday after the inspector passed the inspection.  No insulation or drywall was hung today. Sad to lose a day of production.

The electrician came back to re-position a can light for better affect and to move the light switch.

Other than that, a quiet day.

03-15-2013 Day 9

Took most of the day but the inspector finally arrived.  All went well and we were approved to continue with drywall.  Bill said that he would get the supplies on order and we would start on Monday.

03-14-2013 Day 8

Bill, Ben, and Kyle arrived and went through a few items to prepare for the inspection tomorrow.  They went ahead and left so I could go into the office.

Since this is a short day, I figured I would use this time to clear something up.  It may seem that I am putting Bill down for not showing up.  I can tell you that he calls me and gives me updates, and when he thinks he will be on site.  Bill has been open to new ideas and small changes.  He is a good guy that is running around like crazy keeping up with all his projects.

03-13-2013 Day 7

Framing is complete, now we have to get the framing inspected.

Electricians arrived and they seemed to not have all of the details. Their documentation was notebook paper, with hand written notes and drawings. After I worked with them, we got everything ironed out. The electricians got the job done as we discussed. I was upset that they left wood shavings (from drilling through the rafters and studs) all over the floor. Ben and I cleaned them up as we discussed the remaining portions of the project.

Also, we found out that Builders Unlimited actually uses sub contractors. Normally I would expect the use of sub contractors. However one of the big selling points that got us to sign with Builders Unlimited is that they use their own employees. Our opinion is that if your job is on the line it makes the employee work harder, and a sub contractor has the ability to hop from job to job with out quality concerns.

We are glad that Ben, who is a sub contractor, is a example where our opinion was proven wrong.

03-12-2013 Day 6

Bill was a no show today, but Ben was still there as always! Even though Bill did not arrive today, he did call to see what concerns I had. I explained the door situation to him, and we changed the door to a pocket style instead of the original hung style. I forgot to address the schedule concerns with him when we talked.

Framing is 95% complete.

03-11-2013 Day 5

No video for today :(

Framing went up as planned. Area is still being kept clean and Ben is still communicating very well.

Bill was supposed to come out today so we can go over a few things but, he got tied up and could not make it. He did promise though that he would be out Tuesday morning. I have some concerns about where a door is going to be after a wall was bumped out farther than expected. Also, I need to get a firm schedule of when any workers will be on site. Even though there is no absolute schedule right now, the workers do seem to be here at the same time every day, and leaving at the same time also.

03-08-3013 Day 4

Today no work was done. The workers respectfully did not come to the house today because I was out of town due to a funeral. I appreciate them understanding the situation.

03-07-2013 Day 3

Everything is still going great! No complaints or issues for today, because the guys are working really hard!

Ben is still keeping me involved with all of the decisions, and is open to any suggestions I may have.  About 65% of the framing is now done.

03-06-2013 Day 2

All is going well with the basement, although we discovered there was some miscommunication between the Bill and Ben (the worker) about two coats of Dry Lock being applied to the basement walls. But, that was the only issue involving communication.

Ben has kept me up to date and asked my input on many of the small details.

After the initial communication error, the rest of the communication has been great! They are keeping the work area nice and clean which is also a plus.

This is video from day two, sorry it is a little out of focus.

03-05-2013 - Let the work begin - For Real This Time!

Ben showed up on time, and started waterproofing the basement.  He was concerned with keeping the area clean and made sure to clean any drips on the floor.  He worked hard through the day, and kept me well informed.  Home Depot delivered the studs to be used and Ben made sure that they got put in the garage for weather protection.

Did not hear from Bill about pattern samples from Oberfields.

Time-lapse video of Day 1

03-04-2013 - Let the work begin, well Kinda

Bill showed up with Ben, who will be doing the majority of the work.  We reviewed everything again, while Bill and Ben looked at each item in detail building a shopping list.  They left to get a few supplies and informed me that the real work will start tomorrow.

As far as the bathroom window, I never did get a link to look at options.  I ended up finding a window at The Home Depot and reviewed it with Bill.  He said it will work and would use it.

I asked Bill to contact Oberfields to see if they can setup a small sample of each of the patio pavers in the style we like. There are 4 different patterns to choose from, and it is hard to tell with a small picture. 

He promised to get back with me on it.

03-01-2013 - Permits Approved

Received a call from Bill stating the permits were approved and they could start next week!!!

We do not have a window picked out yet. Bill promised to email me information to look at tonight however by the end of the night, I have not received an email :(

I am happy that after almost 2 months we are scheduling the start of the build.