After 5 years of 3 designers and 2 contractors, we are nearing the beginning of enjoying the effort.
It’s been an interesting few years I would not like to repeat! There has not been any designer or contractor who has met the deadlines. The deadlines are set by end dates of expensive construction insurance. I’ve paid it 4 times!
Lifting to Top Floor
We have been working on wall texturing and painting. Most of the cabinetry is installed, still need the bathroom cabinets designed and placed in bathrooms. All of our appliances are now installed. We have installed most of the fixtures and lighting.
Kitchen
Now the baseboards and last of the interior odds and ends need to be completed.
The big hold up now is the landscaping. The permit requires us to have a water cistern to collect rainwater and use it to water the required native landscape plants. It’s kind of an oxymoron to have an irrigation system for native plans, but that’s what’s required. This did not go in order. The cistern tank requires an electrical pump to pump water to the irrigation valves. Without it installed, I cannot complete the irrigation lines or put in the plantings.
Water Cistern
The company putting in the gravel cover to keep out the weeds (no mowing lawns for me!) before we are ready to finish. I was able to get a trenching machine to dig the irrigation lines since the soil (there isn’t any, only dead coral and recycled concrete) moved if not, it would never be dug! So I did my best to locate most of the irrigation lines as per the approved plans. I then installed most of the lines and irrigation heads.
The other curve ball is that the City required a change in the gravel swale to control water on our property. The one approved is a small “V” ditch with fabric and gravel. The new design, and required extra expense, calls for a swale 24 inches deep and 6 feet wide. There is no way our house will require all of that area to keep our water (including the cistern) from flowing into the street. I’m sure the City took into account that the other adjacent properties are built and they cannot go back and compel them to make the changes. I get to protect the City, and neighborhood without my say in the matter. You’re welcome!
Gravel Delivery
Gravel Channel
Gravel Spreading
The next sad step is that the gravel cover guys bulldozed my work! They were nice enough to not dig them up, but bury them. I have some photos of where things are. I forgot that the general contractor has a landscape company to complete the work. I’ll need to be there so I can find the buried irrigation work. I just can’t do any more digging! They will need to dig the plant holes, I won’t do it.
I’ve been babying the plants from a long road trip, being in black pots, heat and the iguana invasion. It’s getting time to plant them but the irrigation system must be working first.
We can’t get our approvals until all this is completed! The landscaping is always last!
