The outside of the barn was covered with a black plastic to help with the drying of the siding. Not very attractive. And things were moving so slowly, there never seemed to be a reason to add something on any particular day. But now, with 3 moths passed many things have to be reported.
1) On the contractor front, I pushed very hard and got most of the subs done by the end of February, so we could start using the space for storage. But there were still may details to finish.2) Since last reporting, the electrical sub reported that he also had not been paid by the general and is threatening a lien. Of course we paid the general for it, including a 50% markup.
3) The insulation contractor did a great job, almost on time and was paid by me with no problems.
4) The drywall contractor, originally one of the general's subs, finished the barn on time but was slow to finish the office. It turns out they were having financial problems. They went out of business after finishing our job and left two subs without being paid. They are both threatening liens on the house. Again, we paid the sub-contractor in full, on time. But he didn't pay his subs. So according to the law, they can come after us. (buyer beware!)
5) The drywall contractor primed the walls of the barn so well that I didn't think painting was necessary. So I just put up some trim and put epoxy paint on the floor, installed lights and electrical fixtures inside and called it done on the inside.
6) On the outside, I had a gutter subcontractor install gutters. The drainage plan and grading was done by a different sub, both of which I paid directly and it stuck. Unfortunately it was $6k more than the $4K the general had budgeted, granted I did more grading than had been originally planned. So now the carport is in use and the driveway is back to normal.
The whole drainage deal was a burn because it doesn't really do that much and yet is very expensive. This is another example of King County government out of control. I ranted on this topic before. But basically, they county extorts money out of you in the name of fish preservation which does absolutely nothing to help the fish, and by the way, they take a cut for themselves through exorbitant fees ($1000 for 2 hours of a guys time to pencil draw a plan that costs $10K to build and does nothing to help).
In the case of the barn, equivalent drainage could have been done for about $500. I would have rather given the money to a charity than to bureaucrats and gravel contractors.7) Toni painted her office. I finished the plumbing in the bathroom myself, installing all fixtures and cabinets. I installed all the lighting and electrical inside and out. It was good enough for her to move in and start using it. This allowed us to turn her former office inside the house into an exercise/storage area. It is so nice now.
So there isn't that much to do now, but details persist.1) We are currently having a painting contractor paint the barn. It will be the typical barn red with brown trim to match the gutters. it should be done by the end of next week.
2) Then I need to install 4 outside lights on the barn. Two motion detector floods on the corners and two goose neck historical design fixtures over the front garage door.3) Sometime over the summer, I will build some sliding barn doors to go over the garage doors to complete the look of the barn. I'll have to paint these myself.
4) There are several projects relating to the wood shop inside the barn. I don't know if I will continue with these on this blog, start another or not document it.
5) The office sprinkler system has a "back flow valve" to prevent sprinkler water from mixing with tap water. This is yet another example of unnecessary, bureaucratically driven expenses. There is no need for one. Yet before we can get our plumbing final, it has to be inspected. And there is practically no one who will do it. The only people we could get couldn't do it for 4 weeks. Once that is signed off, we can get the plumbing permit final inspection, and then the building permit final inspection.
6) The outside of the office needs to be stained to match the house. We are thinking of having the painting contractor who is doing the barn do this along with re-staining the whole house. The semi-transparent stain we use on the house looks great, but only lasts five years, which is how long we have been in the house.
I think that will be it for this project. And I'll be glad when it is over. So far, the buildings are fulfilling there purposes well. Toni's office is working out well. And I am ecstatic to have such a nice workshop.
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