01 May 2024 Update: Schedule update - the final month?

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I got your inchstones! :) My wife decided I was going to tile a outside table at the weekend place, so there are boxes of Mexican glazed and unglazed clay tile all around me. Project for next couple of weekends (I am going to rebuild the table in the process since it's pretty ghetto now)... it never ends....
 
setsailsoon said:
One last thing to mention for this update. All projects have unique things that go wrong. Whether it's covid, energy spikes, forest fires, government action - it just happens to every project. This is where using basic project management tools like a real schedule with logic and resource loading plus a budget trending tool are needed. The other thing required is some "out of the box thinking". For example, our house requires 8' doors with either 5 or 6 panels. Nobody in town could source them for at least 6 months. I went national and found out why. They can be manufactured by several in 30 days but delivery to Florida was 5-8 weeks due to fuel and labor shortages that still persist. So nobody wanted to mess with it. I could have given up and changed the design requirement or extended the schedule. But I started thinking why would it take so long to deliver? Long story short I rented a U-haul and hired a school teacher looking to make some extra $ during the summer to pick them up from the factory outside of Houston and deliver to my site. Took 2 days, cost less and I helped a HS math teacher that really needed the money. I got it done for the same shipping cost in 2 days! Real builders and project managers earn their markup by thinking instead of excuse-making. Many people think they do nothing for their markup. And that's just not true. I'm quite certain I will find things like this on the pool build.

Chris
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Now this is a logistical genius idea. Been running into the same issues on doors. The big three in the area are all 12-16 weeks "minimum" I was told (Anderson, Pella, PGT industries etc) I hadn't thought on it just being a shipping issue. I would happily hitch up my trailer and drive to Houston or wherever to get the doors. Not quite as fancy as you but have been trying to source 4 panel sliders for 16 foot openings for months now, that also have to meet hurricane code, I'm sure similar to your situation in FL. Now im going to have to call places and ask if I picked up would it make a difference.
 
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The 3 month Anderson estimate timeframe was 6 months for us. We ordered beginning of Oct and recieved in April.
 
Oct 2022 Update -delayed a little but very fortunate

Folks,

As everybody knows TS Ian became a record-breaking storm in just a couple days. We were impacted but only in delay due to contractor and supplier shut downs. A lot of their labor pool comes from central Florida so electric contractor shut down last Wed and mobilized again today. They have about 3 more days so we're delayed about a week. Bathroom tile work is about the same. So instead of final inspections this week we're scheduling for next week. We're really ready to finish this job but find it hard to complain when we see the devastation less than 100 miles away. Truth is the pace was pretty hard to sustain and this gives us both time for the countless details. On the bright side we finally did get the last 100 roof tiles we've been waiting months for and they were installed last Saturday.

We also got a "ruling" on the sod. We're required to plant sod to prevent erosion around the property so we maintain swales and other drainage structures. We were hoping to avoid this in the area behind the house that we will dig up for the pool in a few weeks. The only solution we could find was to plant Bahia sod that is a little less than half the cost ($120/pallet installed). I found time to install and test the softener-worked great! TH in 140 ppm TH out none detected. Installed the catalytic carbon for H2S removal today and will start it up tomorrow. My analytic test for this is Robin's nose - stay tuned, this could be trouble!

Chris

We finally have a complete roof.
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View from the back patio - we have a yard!
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Amazing work! Incredible pace, glad you’re seeing the light at the end of the tunnel (beware of train whistles … 😮).

Question - for hurricane prep, will your windows have some kind of exterior shutters installed or something you attach to the outside frame or is that just old-school thinking on my part and your windows are constructed from some futuristic “transparent titanium” alloy ?

(I wouldn’t put futuristic alloys past you …)
 
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JoyfulNoise said:
Amazing work! Incredible pace, glad you’re seeing the light at the end of the tunnel (beware of train whistles … 😮).

Question - for hurricane prep, will your windows have some kind of exterior shutters installed or something you attach to the outside frame or is that just old-school thinking on my part and your windows are constructed from some futuristic “transparent titanium” alloy ?

(I wouldn’t put futuristic alloys past you …)
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i'd be surprised if all the glass in his house wasn't impact rated/laminated.
 
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I would be 99% sure those are impact glass. Probably rated for 2 large missile impacts, also probably has some fancy water intrusion rating. I know my new windows are rated to 177 miles per hour. This is life in Florida now.

Also good to see the swales and the house much higher than the street.
 
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Matt and others,

Yes all exterior windows and doors are Storm rated to meet the Miami-Dade requirements that were updated even further last year. We did have the alternative to put in shutters rated for the wind and impact. We have spent hurricanes indoors with shutters and really did not like it. No visibility to see what's going on outside without going out. And a greatly limits your ability to get out of the house in a hurry if you are trapped. So we bit the bullet and paid up for the hurricane rated windows. It was not cheap! I want to say about $60,000 including installation. Much of this is due to the fact that we have very large windows because of the 12-ft minimum ceiling. Also doors are all 8 ft high. Inspections were also very rigorous . We had to use three and a half inch tapcons staggered mostly at 8 in intervals and the Bucks had to be inspected for compliance before we were allowed to install the windows and doors. It used to be that building codes throughout the South were much inferior to those up north . At least for Florida that is no longer the case. The structural Integrity is similar to a pill box and all openings have severe structural requirements . Later on I will also talk about Energy Efficiency requirements and the new blower door test that I will be subjected to. Supply chain issues for Windows and Doors was one of the most difficult things we had to work around. No single manufacturer had availability of everything in less than a year. So we ended up with three different manufacturers. CGI, PGT, and Windoor. Exterior doors that have glass in them require a three-point locking mechanism. So when you throw the deadbolt it also connects to another bolting system that locks the door into the Jam at the top and bottom. Also the garage doors are required to be rated for 180 mph wind at my location. This varies a lot around even the county and mostly depends on how close we are to the ocean.

Chris
 
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setsailsoon said:
Matt and others,

Yes all exterior windows and doors are Storm rated to meet the Miami-Dade requirements that were updated even further last year. We did have the alternative to put in shutters rated for the wind and impact. We have spent hurricanes indoors with shutters and really did not like it. No visibility to see what's going on outside without going out. And a greatly limits your ability to get out of the house in a hurry if you are trapped. So we bit the bullet and paid up for the hurricane rated windows. It was not cheap! I want to say about $60,000 including installation. Much of this is due to the fact that we have very large windows because of the 12-ft minimum ceiling. Also doors are all 8 ft high. Inspections were also very rigorous . We had to use three and a half inch tapcons staggered mostly at 8 in intervals and the Bucks had to be inspected for compliance before we were allowed to install the windows and doors. It used to be that building codes throughout the South were much inferior to those up north . At least for Florida that is no longer the case. The structural Integrity is similar to a pill box and all openings have severe structural requirements . Later on I will also talk about Energy Efficiency requirements and the new blower door test that I will be subjected to. Supply chain issues for Windows and Doors was one of the most difficult things we had to work around. No single manufacturer had availability of everything in less than a year. So we ended up with three different manufacturers. CGI, PGT, and Windoor. Exterior doors that have glass in them require a three-point locking mechanism. So when you throw the deadbolt it also connects to another bolting system that locks the door into the Jam at the top and bottom. Also the garage doors are required to be rated for 180 mph wind at my location. This varies a lot around even the county and mostly depends on how close we are to the ocean.

Chris
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IM surprised it was "only" 60k for them all. Im looking at 30-40k just for hurricane rated doors including install. (7 total) on the back of my house, which are a standard 7 foot hight. Two are new 12 foot wide openings but the rest are just swapping standard 6 foot doors for new. Anderson's seem to hold the popularity here and its what most dealers stock/install, PGT coming in second. Just availability of it all. IM being told April 23 if im lucky. I think PGT is a better product especially as far as storm protection is concerned, but the rest of the windows on the house are andersen and even though original the OCD wants them to match. Even though im not in as severe of hurricane prone area as FLA, all those extra bells and whistles I think are worth it even if not in a hurricane area at all. The sound reduction and increased weather tight seal of multi point locks is a benefit no matter what. Also helps keep that cold blizzard air out if you're in the north.
 
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Oct 2022 Update

Folks,
We're now all most caught up with our Ian delays Electrical and plumbing delays were a little over a week. Today we passed the dreaded Blower Door Test, tomorrow we have a Tree Protection inspection and should be on track for our final Certificate of Occupancy inspection...finally!! It is not a guarantee we'll pass but at least at that point we should know what is required to finish and schedule movers. Stay tuned...

So now I'm starting to get working on the outstanding conditions for my PB permit. Part of this is to get the load list finalized and a few other pretty minor issues. I'm planning to use one of the DIY automation systems and have a general question to those that are doing this. I'd like to avoid having to buy one of the expensive OEM power centers and just use a generic sub panel. The OEM panels seem to all have a separate channel for LV wiring. Is this a code requirement and if so how are complying with this?

Thanks in advance.

Chris
 
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JoyfulNoise said:
I want to see video of the “Blower Door Test”!! Sounds like fun.
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I didn't get time to video my test but it was really fascinating. There's a great video of the full description of test equipment and the full test using equipment identical to that used in my test right here. There are several parameters to measure and the key one for a sprayed in foam roof that's difficult to pass is to prove I get a minimum of 3 air changes per hour at standard test conditions. I scored 3.47. Which is pretty good since we want to be as close as possible to 3 but no less for energy efficiency. He also did a number of extra tests for free to check my window and door installations. They are all super tight. As it turns out I had 2 exterior doors missing some of the weather stripping seal and he was quite certain when I fix this I will be just above a 3. Another thing he pointed out was almost all foam insulation system leak a little or will in a few years. Best solution to address this is a dehumidifier or slip stream from the main A/C's on humidity control... that will be a near term project since I don't want mold issues. My wife has a LOT of allergies.

Yesterday I passed the final additional test to be ready for CO. That was my "Tree Protection Inspection". It basically assures I've gotten rid of all the exotic invasive trees on the lot and have the required number of native trees and palms. Passed that too and now final inspection is slated for Monday. If that goes well we are moving in on Thursday!!! After that I put bids on the street for pool job packages and then I can build the schedule for the pool. I have few conditions to satisfy for the permit then we'll be off to the races again! I was hoping for a month break but my wife wants the pool in by Christmas! I'm thinking about organizing an OB union...

Chris
 
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Update... had our final house inspection and passed. One more site inspection tomorrow called a site inspection that's supposed to check for erosion protection. Fingers crossed. If we pass this then we will apply for our CO!
 
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setsailsoon said:
Update... had our final house inspection and passed. One more site inspection tomorrow called a site inspection that's supposed to check for erosion protection. Fingers crossed. If we pass this then we will apply for our CO!
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Happy So Excited GIF by TikTok
 
One more update for October:

We had our final site inspection last week and technically we failed. I expected this because we didn't have the driveway installed due to horrific problems with paver delivery. Went from 6 week (3 times normal) to 14 weeks in a 2 week period. Luckily I was ordering way early and still had a hope for delivery in time for CO but Hurricane Ian delayed another 2 weeks. Here's the good news. Martin County is aware and sensitive to supply chain issues and make accommodations where possible (no safety risk). Only risk for my late pavers is living with a LOT of sand and dirt at the doors. So they gave me a TCO (temporary certificate of occupancy). I have 60 days to complete the driveway. Pavers started arriving yesterday and the rest come today. Installation starts Monday. While we wait I'm tweaking some underground piping that takes rainwater from the gutters and flower beds to the storm main road runoff ditches. Also adding some backup conduits across the driveway for future lighting. Bottom line is we've moved in (house is a mess with boxes everywhere but we're clawing our way through them!).

I can't say enough positive about the Martin County FL building department. They've served as a last level of defense for my quality program and have been very reasonable to work with. For any OB project I strongly recommend you introduce yourself to your local building authority and ask for advice on how to make the project a smooth operation and to get the most out of their services. This started off our relationship very positive and has helped me immensely. They did find some things I missed and the they were important... I got a better build due to their attention to detail and the inspectors also offered me things to look for as the job progressed to avoid delays from inspection fails. In all but one case they actually let me proceed with a "conditional approval" that required some remediation before my next inspection. This really helped me a lot!

I hope this information is helpful.

Chris
 
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setsailsoon said:
I can't say enough positive about the Martin County FL building department. They've served as a last level of defense for my quality program and have been very reasonable to work with. For any OB project I strongly recommend you introduce yourself to your local building authority and ask for advice on how to make the project a smooth operation and to get the most out of their services. This started off our relationship very positive and has helped me immensely. They did find some things I missed and the they were important... I got a better build due to their attention to detail and the inspectors also offered me things to look for as the job progressed to avoid delays from inspection fails. In all but one case they actually let me proceed with a "conditional approval" that required some remediation before my next inspection. This really helped me a lot!
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Do you feel you received “extra scrutiny” because you were an O/B or do you feel that they would do the same regardless of building one home or 3 dozen homes?

Given the errors that so many homebuyers “discover” in their “custom” homes built by big track developers, I often wonder how much grift goes on. Seems like the builders can get away with lots of un-dotted i’s and un-crossed t’s and yet the little guy gets all the extra eyeballs 👀 on their project …
 
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