Potential build in DFW
- Thread starter Hdtheater
- Start date
Awesome to see things moving along!
Just make sure they give the slab a little time to cure and makr sure the sill plates are all pressure treated and each piece of the sill plate is properly secure to the slab. Our framers put some pieces of pine down with Fortifiber around it for some short pieces until I made them replace those pieces with pt. The pt sill plates and proper securing of them to the slab were two things our engineer said are commonly missed.
Just make sure they give the slab a little time to cure and makr sure the sill plates are all pressure treated and each piece of the sill plate is properly secure to the slab. Our framers put some pieces of pine down with Fortifiber around it for some short pieces until I made them replace those pieces with pt. The pt sill plates and proper securing of them to the slab were two things our engineer said are commonly missed.
This is weird. I am missing about 3 posts of progress since my last post. So this is a big change since the last one.
All framing is done and they finished the sheathing and cornice today.
Tomorrow will be the framing on the second floor and the decking for the roof. Maybe even see some felt.
-Eric
All framing is done and they finished the sheathing and cornice today.
Tomorrow will be the framing on the second floor and the decking for the roof. Maybe even see some felt.
-Eric
Lots of progress since last time.
We got a roof!
Hardy board and facia boards are up.
Stairs are in
Not a flattering shot, but here is the upstairs. I have just as much room behind me as in front.
And a view from my window upstairs
The current subcontractor still needs to finish the Hardy board on the dormer and then frame out the garage door in the front as well as the man door on the side.
I am having an issue with the general contractor right now. They want their next payment, but there are things in the schedule that are not completed that should have been by the schedule they initially submitted. The milestone was the roof, which they did, but they have not tightened the tension cables, nor finished pouring concrete for the back doors, etc... All of which was scheduled prior to the roof being completed. Not to mention the ruts left by the cement truck and the compacting of the soil by the work trucks. There are other issues as well, but they are typical things that happen.
So, I am awaiting documented resolution to all issues as well as an updated schedule with new dates since everything is running behind schedule.
-Eric
We got a roof!
Hardy board and facia boards are up.
Stairs are in
Not a flattering shot, but here is the upstairs. I have just as much room behind me as in front.
And a view from my window upstairs
The current subcontractor still needs to finish the Hardy board on the dormer and then frame out the garage door in the front as well as the man door on the side.
I am having an issue with the general contractor right now. They want their next payment, but there are things in the schedule that are not completed that should have been by the schedule they initially submitted. The milestone was the roof, which they did, but they have not tightened the tension cables, nor finished pouring concrete for the back doors, etc... All of which was scheduled prior to the roof being completed. Not to mention the ruts left by the cement truck and the compacting of the soil by the work trucks. There are other issues as well, but they are typical things that happen.
So, I am awaiting documented resolution to all issues as well as an updated schedule with new dates since everything is running behind schedule.
-Eric
Hold strong Eric--they'll whine but they need to finish everything they had on the schedule before they get paid. "I pay promptly upon satisfactory completion of the work" should be your mantra.
The place is really coming together nicely. Drop me a PM and I'll give you a tour of my project
The place is really coming together nicely. Drop me a PM and I'll give you a tour of my project
Nighttrain
Well-known member
When I lived in Houston they would normally do the tightening of the cables after the home was bricked and almost done. I guess in terms of it being done its not that big of a rush. It is neat how they do it with a hydraulic ram looking thing. It appears they are really getting it done quickly for you.
JDishong
Well-known member
Not sure if you've thought about it but make sure your GC signs a document stating that all sub-contractors have been paid in full PRIOR to his last payment. This assures that none of his subs come back to you to get unpaid balances and place a lien on your property - it can happen.
Good progress!
Good progress!
It is in the contract that they provide me an unconditional lien release at final payment. Does just the GC need to sign it or should each supplier and subcontractor sign it though?
Good to know! They have said some of the items could not be done yet. Don't know why they would have scheduled them before though. I guess I'll cut them a little slack on that one. The architect has been PMing the project. I think he should stick to architecting. He is good at that part, but someone else should PM the project.
JDishong
Well-known member
Quote "It is in the contract that they provide me an unconditional lien release at final payment. Does just the GC need to sign it or should each supplier and subcontractor sign it though?"
Only the GC in my case. I made GC provide me a list of all GCs working as well.
Only the GC in my case. I made GC provide me a list of all GCs working as well.
Tom McDermott
Active member
Texas has an unusual law regarding subcontractor liens (well, it did 10 years ago, things could have changed, so do check!).
If you withhold the final 10% of the payment to the general contractor for more than 30 days past completion, you would be automatically released from subcontractor liens. The theory being that the subs had those 30 days to give you notice of their not being paid, and the 10% was for their benefit if so.
-- Tom
If you withhold the final 10% of the payment to the general contractor for more than 30 days past completion, you would be automatically released from subcontractor liens. The theory being that the subs had those 30 days to give you notice of their not being paid, and the 10% was for their benefit if so.
-- Tom
Crawl Awah
Well-known member
From a real estate attorney--Get lien releases for each sub that did work related to the progress payment. Most contracts require a materiality threshold ($500 in work or material or something). The Texas Property Code has the statutorily required forms for a conditional release and an unconditional release of lien.
I appreciate it! I will be sure enforce that with the GC before final payment is made.
I think I might have turned a corner with the GC and the unresolved items in the schedule. The electrician has done the internal wiring, the plumber will be here tomorrow, the fixtures arrived today and the windows showed up as well.
The GC decided to hand dig all the trenches for water, sewer, and power. With hard Texas clay this is not an easy task. They brought out an auger used for digging fence posts to get deep enough and then scooped it with shovels. They could have used a ditch witch, but that would have caused more damage to the yard. The line painted in the pic below continues around the side of the house near the street where the transformer is located.
We had severe weather come in tonight, but they got all the holes dugout by the auger. They just need to do clean out now. May be next week with tonight's rain.
-Eric
I think I might have turned a corner with the GC and the unresolved items in the schedule. The electrician has done the internal wiring, the plumber will be here tomorrow, the fixtures arrived today and the windows showed up as well.
The GC decided to hand dig all the trenches for water, sewer, and power. With hard Texas clay this is not an easy task. They brought out an auger used for digging fence posts to get deep enough and then scooped it with shovels. They could have used a ditch witch, but that would have caused more damage to the yard. The line painted in the pic below continues around the side of the house near the street where the transformer is located.
We had severe weather come in tonight, but they got all the holes dugout by the auger. They just need to do clean out now. May be next week with tonight's rain.
-Eric
Was a busy weekend for me. A lot has happened since my last post.
The plumber came out and started running all the pec lines for the bathroom. I expected them to only run cold water to toilet and sink, but they ran lines to shower too. They even added all the hot water lines to sink and shower from hot water heater. I was planning on doing all that. No complaints about that. Unfortunately, the drain lines have popped somewhere under the slab. Either was hit when they dug the footings or when it froze. Still trying to figure out what is going to happen there.
They are still digging on the trench for power and have bored under driveway for sewage.
Crew is in today setting windows and the man door.
Gutters and paint are scheduled for tomorrow and brick starts Wednesday.
-Eric
The plumber came out and started running all the pec lines for the bathroom. I expected them to only run cold water to toilet and sink, but they ran lines to shower too. They even added all the hot water lines to sink and shower from hot water heater. I was planning on doing all that. No complaints about that. Unfortunately, the drain lines have popped somewhere under the slab. Either was hit when they dug the footings or when it froze. Still trying to figure out what is going to happen there.
They are still digging on the trench for power and have bored under driveway for sewage.
Crew is in today setting windows and the man door.
Gutters and paint are scheduled for tomorrow and brick starts Wednesday.
-Eric
Good to meet you as well Jim! Your place will be amazing when it's done.
They scoped the drain and found that it is leaking at the shower vent. There is no sign on cracks or breaks. It just leaks there. The concrete contractor and the plumber are arguing over who is going to pay for it. I pulled up my pictures and there was still water in the lines on 2/26. However, we had a freeze on 3/3 and the the concrete guy started on 3/4. Either the freeze broke a poor joint or it was put under stress and popped during the slab prep. Hopefully, the repair work will be confined to the bathroom and not in the general area of the slab.
It was a pretty busy day around here. I'll post some pics tomorrow of today's progress.
-Eric
Things are starting to slow down a bit right now. The framing contractor finished his work and now it is up to the plumber, electrician, painter and mason to finish up.
The plumber has completed everything, except for fixing the leak in the shower vent. It is down to plumber vs. concrete as to who caused it. They ran a camera down the pipe and could not find the leak. However, they isolated it to the joint for the shower vent. I checked my photos of the work and the lines were holding water on 2/26. On 3/3 we had a freeze and the slab crew started working on 3/4. My bet is that the water in the pipes froze and expanded enough to pop the joint free. If it was broken by the slab crew, I would have expected visible damage.
We can't brick until the framing and rough plumbing pass inspection and this won't happen until this is all finished. Only things not impacted is gutters, painting, and finishing off the trench for electrical. Code is 36", they are at 32".
The crew came out and tightened the cables for the post tensioning of the slab. I took a little video for those who are interested. I had never seen it done before.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/VpdUOtI0SzY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Brick arrived today. Truck decided to just drive through my yard since he only had a crane to offload. Would have been nice to have at least asked for permission. More ruts in the yard. Not cool!
Thanks,
-Eric
The plumber has completed everything, except for fixing the leak in the shower vent. It is down to plumber vs. concrete as to who caused it. They ran a camera down the pipe and could not find the leak. However, they isolated it to the joint for the shower vent. I checked my photos of the work and the lines were holding water on 2/26. On 3/3 we had a freeze and the slab crew started working on 3/4. My bet is that the water in the pipes froze and expanded enough to pop the joint free. If it was broken by the slab crew, I would have expected visible damage.
We can't brick until the framing and rough plumbing pass inspection and this won't happen until this is all finished. Only things not impacted is gutters, painting, and finishing off the trench for electrical. Code is 36", they are at 32".
The crew came out and tightened the cables for the post tensioning of the slab. I took a little video for those who are interested. I had never seen it done before.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/VpdUOtI0SzY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Brick arrived today. Truck decided to just drive through my yard since he only had a crane to offload. Would have been nice to have at least asked for permission. More ruts in the yard. Not cool!
Thanks,
-Eric
Progress has been slow this week. The plumber has refused to fix his issue with the drain and another plumber is slated to come out tomorrow to get things moving again.
In the mean time, the electrical trench passed inspection and the cable has been installed. The lumber company came out and picked up excess lumber and the builder said I could take what was left behind.
Just need to get the rest of the work moving again. Once the leak is fixed, we have about a week's worth of work and then the work I contracted for will be done.
-Eric
In the mean time, the electrical trench passed inspection and the cable has been installed. The lumber company came out and picked up excess lumber and the builder said I could take what was left behind.
Just need to get the rest of the work moving again. Once the leak is fixed, we have about a week's worth of work and then the work I contracted for will be done.
-Eric
Plumber finally made it out today. This is actually plumber #3. Plumber #2 backed out when he realized it was a post tension slab. He did not want to take the risk of hitting a cable.
Either way they jack hammered through succesfully and pulled out the p trap and corresponding pipe.
Here is the break. I can't believe this from hitting the pipe. This is all because of the freeze. Plumber should have drained his lines.
They were able to get the hole within the space covered by the shower pan.
Also, the garage door installer came out and installed door trim and fixed a couple items I pointed out.
Not related, but. Friday the electrician came back and filled in the trench for power.
Now we wait for inspector so we can start bricking.
-Eric
Either way they jack hammered through succesfully and pulled out the p trap and corresponding pipe.
Here is the break. I can't believe this from hitting the pipe. This is all because of the freeze. Plumber should have drained his lines.
They were able to get the hole within the space covered by the shower pan.
Also, the garage door installer came out and installed door trim and fixed a couple items I pointed out.
Not related, but. Friday the electrician came back and filled in the trench for power.
Now we wait for inspector so we can start bricking.
-Eric
Inspector showed on Friday and we failed for four little things.
- missing brick ties
- need seems taped on outside corners of sheathing
- plumbing lines needed to be capped and filled with water (again)
- one wire needed to be stapled to the stud, all the others were done. Just missed one.
Between the inspection and this evening, everything was fixed. The inspector should be back on Monday and we should be ready to start bricking.
-Eric
- missing brick ties
- need seems taped on outside corners of sheathing
- plumbing lines needed to be capped and filled with water (again)
- one wire needed to be stapled to the stud, all the others were done. Just missed one.
Between the inspection and this evening, everything was fixed. The inspector should be back on Monday and we should be ready to start bricking.
-Eric
We got our inspection cleared yesterday and were supposed to start bricking tomorrow. However, the "design committee" does not like the brick I chose and now have to try and find a closer match. What ***** is that I have to eat the cost. Apparently, you can't return brick.
I have to admit she is right, I made the mistake.(don't tell her I said that) I looked at three samples and picked the one that looked best. I should have said to go get me more samples. Don't know why I did what I did. Must have had a brain fart. Error is going to cost me roughly 5k.
What say you?
Our contractor is getting me some different samples for my wife to approve. Until this is resolved, I am stalled. Hopefully, we will have an order before Friday.
In the mean time, I am going to hang a couple sheets of drywall in the bathroom tomorrow. This way the plumber can set the fixtures and I don't have to tear it all out when I come back and finish the bathroom at a later date.
-Eric
I have to admit she is right, I made the mistake.(don't tell her I said that) I looked at three samples and picked the one that looked best. I should have said to go get me more samples. Don't know why I did what I did. Must have had a brain fart. Error is going to cost me roughly 5k.
What say you?
Our contractor is getting me some different samples for my wife to approve. Until this is resolved, I am stalled. Hopefully, we will have an order before Friday.
In the mean time, I am going to hang a couple sheets of drywall in the bathroom tomorrow. This way the plumber can set the fixtures and I don't have to tear it all out when I come back and finish the bathroom at a later date.
-Eric
Last edited:
BlackSheepSpeedShop
Well-known member
Can I see it when it's done?
Floors were pretty simple. It was all rolled on using an 18" roller. I gave it about 18 hours between coats.
I had wanted to do a stain, but this turned out really good. I think I'll do the stain in the attached garage when I get all my **** moved out to the shop.
-Eric
I had wanted to do a stain, but this turned out really good. I think I'll do the stain in the attached garage when I get all my **** moved out to the shop.
-Eric
