Bathroom fixtures

Met with architect/interior designer today to work out bathroom design and bathroom fixtures, as rough plumbing will go in soon. In theory, it's as simple as choosing a brand and installing their rough valves and choosing trims later. In practice, you might decide on a different finish later and the exact trim you wanted doesn't come in that finish and so you pick a different thing that doesn't fit right in that rough-in location.

Other details such as wanting a shower spout at above 6' (so no one has to duck) affect the tile design -- it's going all the way to the ceiling now, so never mind that cute cap molding you found.

So it's best to plan out the whole bathroom now. It's nervy, but I'm going with a trendy oil-rubbed-bronze column-spout faucet in one bathroom. Rad.

Concrete poured

Concrete for the extensions poured!


The corrected plans have been submitted to the city (and lost and resubmitted, grr), but a new issue has come up. The 6'5" mistake on the plans included sufficient setback for a bay window on that side. The actual 4'-ish setback doesn't. Actually, anything closer than 5' must be a fire-rated wall, but the bay window will be in an existing section of wall that fits into the older 3' code. The 17" protrusion of the bay window goes into that 3' allowance, but by just 5". Or so -- the house isn't set quite square to the property line, which could mean a few extra inches.

Our worthy architect is trying to find a way to set the bay window in juuust enough. Worst case, we have to buy another window, either a 30-degree bay or a bow, that won't stick out more than 12". But with a $2500 window, that's a pretty bad worst case.

Setback setback

A setback setback! Seems our house measurers mistakenly pur our house at 6'5" from the southern property line (and fence), but a measuring tape and a glance says it's clearly less, about 4'. Within allowed setbacks, but the city's concrete inspector checking placement of the forms insisted on a property survey (!) to verify. Work ground to a halt.

Surveyors came today, and set two points on a 2-foot offset to the property line opposite each building corner so the inspector can measure it himself. Our ethical architect paid for this herself, as it was a minor mistake on the plans, which will be corrected and submitted tomorrow. The inspector said a site survey is SOP; but neither our architect or contractor have ever been asked for one (and it wouldn't have come up save for a minor typo on the plans).

Exterior demolition complete

Just returned from a trip back East, much happened in the meantime. Most original fir flooring had to be removed, and most of the downstairs subfloor will have to be replaced. Footings for new concrete are in place, concrete pour expected next week. Exterior demolition appears complete, there are entire walls missing on the exterior now.


The sort of thing you find in an older house when you tear walls down: almost none of the downstairs windows were framed with headers.


Concrete forms are in!