Yesterday the painter finished the back patio ceiling, but as far as I know, no one was working at the job site today.

Just me. I started cleaning the basement -- dusting, wiping, vacuuming. I finished about 500 sq feet of the basement and still have about 1700 sq feet to go. Then I want to do the 2nd floor, and I want to be done before the carpet is installed. I won't touch the first floor because the hardwood floor installers still have to apply another coat of finish, and I suspect they'll be creating more dust.

Here's a picture of the whirlpool tub in the master bathroom. The plumbers finished installing it yesterday and they filled it with water to check for leaks. Unfortunately, I haven't figured out how to let the water out. They installed the Mountain Plumbing waste overflow kit, but I don't think it's working properly... ?

CB Showers installed the large mirror above the double sink vanity in bath #2 this morning.

German, the painter, started working on the back patio. He masked off the patio ceiling and started painting it white.

The city inspector came out and gave us a green, "everything is okay" tag for the main electrical panel. He said the electrician should have put a round glass or metal cover where the meter is supposed to go (instead of the paper that's on there right now). With the temporary power to the house, there are live 220V wires right behind the paper cover. Brad happened to stop by (he doesn't leave until later this afternoon), and I told him about that so he called the electrician.

This morning, I called Sebastian from SolarCity and told him that he could install the inverter now. I also installed some speaker brackets in the lower courtyard.

Here's a picture of the driveway and walkway that were completed yesterday afternoon.

Brad's on vacation starting tomorrow, so today he gave us the run down for the next few days. Carlos, from Alpine Construction, should patch the asphalt by Monday, and Brad wants us to make sure all the barricades are removed by then. He told us the only sub-contractors he has scheduled are the painters. No one should be inside the house except for Dana. And Brad gave me the okay to call SolarCity to finish installing the inverter for the solar panels.

This morning the other Brian (aka Junior), from Bonanza Heating and Air Conditioning, installed one of the two AC units.

One of the painters, German, was there, masking off the garage door so that he could prime it.

Dave Bengel's crew also showed up to finish labeling and testing the structured wiring can.

I went to Home Depot and purchased some more hinge door stops. The previous ones I had bought, don't fit our hinges -- they're diameter is too small.

Back at the job site, I installed some miscellaneous window and door hardware, motion detectors, and some of the door stops.

With the new concrete sidewalk in place, the landscapers were able to finish the driveway and walkway.

The plumbers from SCM Plumbing installed the whirlpool tub in the master bathroom and the faucet and toilet in the powder room. They also adjusted the alignment on some of the other faucets.

We went to Cornelia's and returned the other whirlpool tub spout (the one that was too short) and the hand shower (because we don't have enough room for it), and we picked up a replacement pull rod for one of the faucets in the master bathroom (it was missing from the package).

Later in the afternoon, I returned to the job site and installed the pull rod and some window hardware. I also installed one of the motion detectors.

The contractors from Alpine Construction were there early this morning, waiting for the cement truck to show up. It finally arrived around 11 AM and they poured the cement for the sidewalk.

Daniel Mendoza's landscapers graded the back yard and cleaned up some more debris including an old brick walkway.

The electricians from CB Electric Co. installed all the remaining fixtures that we had on hand. These included the dining room chandelier, breakfast nook light, master bathroom vanity lights, and back patio fan.

They were also there to pull the electric cable through a conduit between the city's underground service and the main panel. But before they could do that, Brad had to call an inspector to do a mandrel test. Basically they pull an object through the conduit to make sure there are no obstructions. Here's a picture of the mandrel for checking our 3" conduit.

After the inspector gave his okay, the electricians pulled the very large and VERY heavy cable through the conduit. Actually, I also helped, as did Brad, one of the landscapers, and the city inspector. It took six of us (and some liquid soap borrowed from a neighbor) to get the set of three cables pulled through the conduit. Here's a picture of Ekrem standing by the main panel with the three cables sticking out on the lower left.

Back at home, I ordered three pendant lights for the kitchen island from LightingUniverse.com. We chose a model from Besa Lighting called Mimi in the Garnet color.

There was a lot of activity at the job site today. We met with Brad early this morning to mark the spots for the tub spout and valves in the master bathroom.

Mendoza Landscaping was grading the front and back yards and clearing debris.

Alpine Construction removed the old concrete, drilled holes to insert dowels at the joints, and put down a layer of base rock.

Dana finished installing the cabinet doors and drawer fronts in the kitchen.

And Leo drilled the holes for the tub spout.

This evening we found some nice looking mirrors on Costco.com, so we ordered three of them for the master bathroom vanity.

Today the landscapers finished up the pavers by the side door to the garage. Here's how the driveway looks.

Dana was at the job site again. He installed cabinet doors and toe kicks. Here's a picture of the master bathroom.

And a picture of bath #2.


In my meeting with Brad today, he gave me an outline of what's happening over the next couple of weeks:

• Leo from Marblus will be coming tomorrow to drill the holes in the master tub deck.
• The plumbers will be back on Monday or Tuesday to install the remaining fixtures.
• Standards of Excellence will be installing the appliances onTuesday, 5/29.
• Floors to Go will be installing the carpets on Wednesday, 5/30.

Tomorrow we're supposed to meet with Brad before Leo show up, to mark the spots of the master tub spout and valves.