epilogue

welcome home

 

 it's the last ride.

 i arrived two weeks ago when final cleaning was being completed.  the wood floor was exposed (to me) for the first time and was quite spectacular.  any concerns about too much wood in the space were quickly alleviated.  furniture had been unpacked and moved into approximate locations, virtually no damage and only a few missing parts.  within a day or two, the house was ready for mishel's arrival and subsequently, her folks. 

 windows and screens are cleaned, the barbeque assembled, shelves completed, and final finishes are at 95%.  there are still many items that need attention, but full occupancy is in effect.  it is now time to focus on punch list items and ongoing maintenance and operational models for full-time and transient use.

(about that operational model, it is a bit scary to make the shift from project advancement to resident stasis.  only a few hours during the last two or three days of this trip was i able to just chill out free of tasks and check lists.  i look forward to more of that sort of quality time.)

 the hydraseed has taken off and green grass sprouted up all around.  i try not to think about the next water bill, as the system's irrigation is spraying four times a day.  when it kicks in there are lots of noises in the water system, and the toilets are hissing and farting.  we believe this is due to the whole house's high water PSI of 82.  plumbing contractor will be back to install a regulator.  this will allow us to get a final on plumbing inspection (below 80 PSI), and (hopefully) eliminate the noises.

 garage door motor was installed two days before our return, so it was fun to park the rental in the garage and actually use the house as intended via the garage and mud room instead of through the front door.  though, the front entry is an attractive hue at night with the exterior lighting.

i consider myself more than lucky to have had the opportunity to build something from nothing not once, but twice.  i feel like i've gotten away with something i should not have been able to do.  having my family visit last week reminded me of why i went through everything documented here.  there is a peace on kauai that makes the rest of the world fade away.

 and, it was a fun art project, too.

penultimate

most of may was spent "moving in" to the house!  the cleaning crew set up bedroom three for me to sleep and bathe, and cleaned up the kitchen so i could cook.  my seventeen days and nights were confined to these two spaces.  it was fun but difficult at times.  the air bed failed after three days, sawdust in everything, blah blah..

   

   
  every day followed a slow roll that started around 7:30am, then picked up speed to a busy peak around 10-11am with many trades working in parallel.  the general contractor was on vacation for most of may, so i found myself filling his shoes best i could.

 

 

mishel shipped tons of stuff from amazon that needed to be unpacked and put away, but because of unfinished painting, certain areas were still off-limits.  by the time i left, i was able to access most areas as painting was mostly done with the exception of mud room base boards, guest beds, backing on the re-done shelving and some exterior areas.

 the electrician and i had a few days of intense work on the dimmers, getting them to work at all, then work in a certain way.  apparently, we are "state of the art" so there were some gotchas, but we worked through them.  i'm replacing the kitchen pendants & hall sconces as they are not LED-compatible, though we thought they were.  the garage fixtures went up, as did the MBR sconces and all ceiling fans. 

tile is complete, with exception of the front entry.  i had to order more slate to cover the additional areas of the porte cochere column bases, exterior shower and exterior vertical strip under the entry-hall fleetwoods.  i'm happy with all tile work and am surprised how well the master bath came out, as that space was the most difficult for me to visualize.

from master shower

Steve working on front entry

copper three ways

 the remaining driveway was poured after i left, only a few days ago.  i intend not to drive on it when i arrive thursday, though it should be cured fully while i'm there this month.  concrete crew also poured the walkway from the garage to the rear entry, and the footings and CMU for the crawl-space entry area.

landscaping was a big push during may.  so big it threw me over budget.  the upside is it looks fantastic, even without any grass or mature trees.  boulders against the lanai at each bedroom act as steps to the yard.  grass will be sprayed via hydraseed this week.  this will minimize the red-dirt dust being kicked up and into the house.

roof lines