Leaning, leaning...

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LET IT BLEED

I am bleeding. Financially, that is. And under normal circumstances, I would feel the pain, or I would do whatever I can to stanch the outflow. But I am kind of numb at the moment. I do see the numbers… but they have become a hazy abstraction. Under normal circumstances, I would think to myself, "gosh, I could eat for 6 months on $2000," not unlike those fast food commercials in which the mechanic says "A new alternator is gonna cost about 250 milkshakes." Numbers that are 3, 4, even 5 digits long have kind of lost their real meaning. Oh, so what's another $2000 to revive my lapsed building permit in the grand scheme of things? What is another $4000 to raise the subfloor? It's nothing compared to the $15,000 check I wrote for the solar panels, etc.

Will I ever rediscover the true value of a dollar?

BIG INTEREST

Although the adjustable rate for my construction loan was quite appealing at the outset a couple of years ago (3.75%), it has adjusted to an absolutely toxic rate (8.0%), which is well above the current going rate for a 30-year fixed (6.3%). Thank you, Greenspan and Bernanke! Fortunately I am nowhere even close to tapping out the full loan amount, nor do I intend to reach that amount. Instead I have been taking advantage of some of the teasers sent out by my credit card companies. Chase offered a 4.9% cash advance that is fixed for the life of the loan. Discover offered 0% APR until February 2007. Suffice it to say, I have been loading up on cheap money in the short-term, which I will pay off after I receive the Certificate of Occupancy and refi into a fixed conventional mortgage. And considering the monumental downturn in the housing market and the attendant downturn in the loan industry, I feel confident that I will have no problems finding lenders willing to dole out cheap money as-needed.

So what's left? Well, the kitchen is paid for. The bathrooms are paid for. I only owe another $10K on the plumbing, HVAC and electricity. It's tempting to think that I have taken all of the big hits… but I feel that it's the little things that will pile up quickly. Recessed lighting trims. Doorstops. Tile. New building permit (the old one expired). Paint. Trees. Countertops. Window treatments. Oy vey!

OTHER TYPES OF INTEREST

As the house begins to take the form of something approaching completion, I have noticed the emergence of the Looky-loo, who find it totally within their right to enter the house without my permission or knowledge. In some instances, they show their appreciation and generosity by depositing their unwanted sh*t in my dumpster or nailing business cards to the studs. Needless to say, I wish I had the means to set up some wireless cameras or some other kind of surveillance equipment to keep an eye on things. Or better yet, stockade fences with barbed wire surrounded by a moat!

As a participant in the recent Long Island Solar House Tour, more looky-loo's stopped by to pick my brain for my very limited knowledge about photovoltaics, green building, etc. Oddly enough, the conversation invariably turned to the house. The typical reactions were "I can't believe you are building this kind of house!" Or "Did you design this yourself? Who is your architect?" Or "(So-and-so) told me I needed to check out this house." Or "Why did you do this with concrete walls?"

The feedback on the house has been overwhelmingly positive for the most part and eye-opening for me. I got the overall impression that people were not necessarily averse to modern design; rather, they just never considered it as an option. Or they didn't think "real people" i.e., non-architects, built them. The common theme expressed by most visitors was their appreciation for the honest use of materials- wood, concrete, glass, metal, etc., and the fact that it was not too austere or cold.

BALCONIES OF HORROR

When the sliding doors were measured and fabricated, I assumed everything would be hunky dory. Wrong! For whatever reason, the doors ended up being a tad too tall, which necessitated cutting into the door header and positioning the door unit on a 3/4" spacer, which was wholly insufficient for providing a proper run-off slope on the balcony. When I confronted my glass contractor, he shrugged and said that he could possibly cut into the header some more, but the surrounding areas would need to be re-sided and stained. Ugh! After some consideration, I presented this dilemma to my roofing contractor, since he, beyond everyone else, knew about water run-off and infiltration issues. He was stymied at first, but then came up with a plausible solution that called for lowering the balcony subfloor (in between the studs), applying ice shield material, pitching concrete board with cedar shakes, and setting tiles as the finished surface. This should prevent water from entering the house through the sliding door or through the airspace under the balcony. Regarding the finished balcony flooring material, I told him that I would like to use large, dark grey unglazed tiles, not unlike slate, or some approximation thereof. I told him to use his "best judgment."

When it comes to aesthetics, never trust someone else's judgment. I repeat, never trust someone else's judgment! Suffice it to say, my reaction was one of utter horror when I saw the finished product:

Because he was unable to find large (18") grey tiles in quantity, he took the liberty of using these stone-colored faux-travertine ceramic tiles. Yes, Virginia… a touch of the ol' Southwest right here on the eastern end of Long Island! Of course it was too late to turn back since the tilework was well underway by the time I discovered the atrocities. At the same time, I was just relieved that the balconies were finally getting finished, one way or another, so I bit my tongue and hoped that, at some later date, I could use a solid deck coating material (like Sani-tred) to cover this up.

However, after seeing the balconies in their finished state, I must admit that the faux travertine has grown on me somewhat. If nothing else, it's very low-key (and not visible from the street) and is a close match in color to the siding. Plus, when trimmed out with strips of cedar, it looked downright, um, appropriate!

MAGICALLY STEELICIOUS!

I have to admit that I was skeptical about the steel stair design, which, if you recall, was supposed to be something like this:

For one thing, I thought it would have been prohibitively complex/expensive to fabricate. Secondly, I was skeptical about the structural integrity of three-foot cantilevers, i.e., shaking, wobbling, etc. Thirdly, I didn't think they could meet code due to open risers, tread/riser dimensions, etc. And after many hours of going over designs, sending e-mails, arguing, throwing tantrums and haggling, the stairs finally came together beautifully:

By concealing the main weight-bearing steel member within the wall, the staircase will appear to float in mid-air; none of the treads will touch the wall or curtain wall. Still, the structure is surprisingly solid and doesn't even transmit the least bit of vibration, even when jumping up and down on the treads. Additionally, the T-shape of each tread provides a riser opening that is less than 4", thereby meeting the IRC for stairs. So it's open, but not too open.

So the question now is what to do with the stair finishes:

#1. What should be done with the "steel skeleton?"

A) Clear finish/enamel.

B) Black paint

C) Dark gray paint

D) Silver paint

E) Another color (please specify)

#2. What should be done with the stair treads?

A) Stained to match second floor flooring (probably dark walnut)

B) Stained to match first floor flooring (grey Ardex concrete)

C) Clear finish

D) Paint (please specify color)

IN THE MOOD… FOR BLOOD!!

As described in a past entry, "That Online E-tailer" lost over half of my bathroom fixture order in transit. Of course, with my luck, it was the half containing the obscure/special-order Duravit fixtures. The good news is that half of the lost fixtures were in inventory and shipped to me. However, I still haven't received some pieces, namely the Starck 2 toilet and the "In the Mood" vanity. In July, I was told that the "In the Mood" replacement vanity would take 16 weeks to deliver because it was a special order item made in Germany. Although I wasn't happy about the timeframe, I figured that 16 weeks would not have caused me any delays, even though it seemed like a ridiculously long time to fabricate and ship a product. Oh well… good things come to those who wait, right?

Fast forward four months; I checked on the status of the "In the Mood" vanity. After some back-and-forth, I was told that it would take another 8 weeks! That's a full six months to make a vanity! And that's almost a full year since I made my initial order! Does Duravit think they are the only company that makes vanities? Is their business so strong that they can be so blasé about customer service/order fulfillment? Don't get me wrong, I love the design of Duravit fixtures. But the customer service really, really BLOWS; I can't see myself ever ordering anything from them ever again. And I would STRONGLY discourage anyone within earshot of this blog from ordering from them either. There appears to be a major disconnect between the Duravit manufacturing hub in Germany and Duravit's U.S. outpost in Atlanta, which serves as little more than a post office for them. I realize that it wasn't Duravit's fault that half of my order was lost, but they should have some means, even if it comes at a paid premium, whereby products can be expedited or airshipped directly from Germany. All I know is that it is too late for me to change gears and go with something else, especially since the dimensions, fixtures and rough plumbing for that bathroom have all been set. And honestly, I really, really had my heart set on this one freakin' piece above and beyond anything else I had ordered.

I know, I know… I need to get a life...

STUC IT TO ME

Although I was a bit of a bear on stucco, it is amazing how much of a difference it has on the look of the Superior Walls. Although it appears white, it is supposed to be a Benjamin Moore color called "Halo," which is supposed to be a sandy, greyish color. The stucco itself is a synthetic product called STO, which may or may not hold up better than concrete over time. All I know is that it has a very consistent composition and finish and it looks pretty good.