NOTES, Extras, Friday Topics - 10/3/12

Today:

• We found the water line from the main house to the Guest house.  An east fix.
• We trenched from the street to the house for new electric service.  It will be inspected and backfilled tomorrow.
• We continued on with saw cutting.
• Spoke with Barry about gas service and worst case scenarios.  Will update on Friday.
• Removed all existing gutters and downspouts so that the painters can get in and paint the eaves before installing new gutters.
• Confirmed copper start date of 10/10/12.

Masonry Extras - There is some masonry that needs to be dealt with that we are doing on a T&M basis.

1. The parapet wall on the breakfast nook needed to be partially rebuilt.  It was structurally undermined when we uncovered it. The chimney wall in the master bedroom will be parged to repair the failing mortar joints.  Fully parging the section instead of treating each mortar joint will be significantly less expensive while granting a layer of moisture barrier. Estimate: $2,880.00
   
2. We would like to discuss the raising of the height of the parapet wall to equal the code height for a railing.  This height would be 36" off of the deck.  The mason could raise the brickwork to the required height which would be approximately at the height of the window sill adjacent. Estimate: $6,000.00
   
3. Repair of brick walls after sawcutting and beam installation. Estimate: T&M

Carpentry Extras:

1. New structural beam at entry to master bedroom.  Estimate: T&M
2. New structural beam at dining room wall. Estimate: T&M
3. Head off floor framing for range hood hole.  Estimate: T&M
4. Reframe sections due to new framing plan.  Estimate: T&M

Cabinetry Extras:

1. Wainscot.  Estimate: Coming soon
2. Extra cabinetry for pantry and TV Room.  Estimate: Coming soon
3. Extra Faux beams in TV Room.  Estimate: Coming soon
4. Pantry cabinets.  Estimate: Coming soon

Other Extras:

1. Extra insulation as required by the building department after walkthrough of both Guest House and Main House.  Estimate: Coming soon
2. Concrete coring.  For electrical and venting.  Core for squash court dehumidification. Shoring and concrete repairs due to sawcutting.  Estimate: Coming soon
3. Excavate to locate water pipe at right side of house.  Estimate: Coming soon
4. Extra beams as per engineer.
5. Debris removal in breakfast nook.  Old organic debris left from past builders to be removed as per request by building department.
6. Locate water line - excavate to unbcover.

Topics for Friday meeting:

1. Heat/Gas  
2. Parapet wall.  
3. Pool numbers.
4. Copper and Chimney work will start 10/10
5. Appliance decisions.  There are rebates to be had if ordering before November and prices go up after November 1st.

Milton notes 9/21/12

Met with Peter Millington and Kevin O'Farrel.

Discussed landscaping and hard scapes. Kevin proposed pavers over compacted stone dust with polysand infill. His take is that the slabs are more prone to issues than the stone dust and the stone dust is easier to repair and maintain.
We also discussed wall rebuilding and relocation and grounds updating.  There will be an estimate coming.

PS met with our mason today regarding the breakfast room parapet wall and its repair.  We will repair the crumbling walls on a T&M basis.  Estimated to be in the $2k - $3k range.  We will also submit an estimate for raising the parapet walls to a height that equals code height for a railing 36".  This will be a decorative structure added to the top of the existing wall.  We will supply sketches for this as well.

Spoke to the building department they said that if they receive a section drawing today from JB they will have the permit ready by Monday or Tuesday.  Jb submitted that drawing at noon today.

Masonry images

Chimney Renovations

Met with  Brendan McCarthy on Friday 6/1/12 regarding the chimney repair work.  I found him very informative.  He had some interesting techniques for repairing the chimneys.

• He suggested removing the limestone/ concrete coping around the transition areas of the chimneys and shoring up with steel or pressure treated material and then wrapping the areas in copper in the same look and profile as the limestone was originally.  This would solve the problem of the stone dissolving and shed the water correctly.

We went over all of the rest of the copper areas and came up with scenarios for them.  These would be done in a phased scenario in order to protect budget and spread it out over a logical time frame.

• The gutters could be treated to stop them from leaking with a coating of something.  This would make them effective for some time.  We can also add aluminum downspouts to so as to not incur the expense of copper that may in turn be stolen again.
• other copper flashings will also probably need to be replaced over time.  These will be assessed, mapped out and presented in a schedule with a plan of attack.

I expect an estimate from Brendan in the next few days.