WEEK 5 - WIRED FOR SOUND AND MORE!

Monday, December 06, 2010

The start of a new week!  Isaak is tweaking some of the light fixtures and planning on doing more electrical.  He is also working on the exterior lighting, ie. motion sensored flood lights for the side yard and back yard areas.

Pure AVS came in today to get their preliminary wiring completed while the walls and ceiling are still open.



Wow the amount of wires is surprising for our entertainment center in the living room.



I left early for a vendor meeting.  By the time I got home it was dark and everyone had gone for the day.  I could tell Isaak was not the last person out of the house today.  He always runs around the room with his big shop vac and leaves the site extremely clean. 

The prep team for the home theater forgot to sweep up after cutting and drilling holes for the wiring.  Even though it is a construction site, I still expect it to be clean at the end of the day.  I also have to remember that my expectations cannot be met unless I share them with everyone, which I did not do.  Tomorrow I will set up those expectations so I am not disappointed again.

Speaker wires hanging from the ceiling.

 

Wires to outside volume controls for music on the porch and in the garden.



Wires for kitchen TV/Monitor.

Isaak installed the trims and switches for the low voltage accent lighting I specified for the living room and dining area.  So when Wayne got home tonight we were able to move and angle the lights to see how the light will hit the walls.  Of course the lights were perfect where Isaak installed them!

 

Tuesday, December 07, 2010

Today is more electrical.  It is hard to tell how much work gets done at this stage because it is all wiring.  I didn’t even notice that yesterday Isaak had wired for all the under-cabinet lighting.  The amount of wires are starting to multiply; along with all the wires for the TV’s and speakers through out the house. 

I did receive a call this morning saying the AV tech had to leave unexpectedly yesterday and that they were sorry for not cleaning up thoroughly.  They said they would be back today to finish up.  I was relieved to know that it was not their standard way of working.  However, I did take the opportunity to set up expectations; which I should have done beforehand.  I have to remember that no one can read my thoughts.

Everyone must remember to ask questions and speak your mind when remodeling.  There is no stupid question!  Remodels are not an every day occurrence for most people.  Do not be disappointed if something is incorrect and  you have not expressed your concerns and wishes.  Good communication is vital from the homeowners, contractors and designers.  Isaak and I speak every morning and every afternoon before he heads home.  But some homeowners do not always have that luxury.  We as designers and project managers then become the job site liaisons.



Therefore a communication log is a great idea.  This is a notebook that is left on the job site for all to view each time they visit the job site.  Many times in the evening after the contractor is gone you may think of a question or comment.  Write it down in the book, because in the hustle and bustle of the morning rush, you may forget your question.  The contractor can then read your question and answer via phone or log book pending the response.  This log is also good for the client, designer and contractor to keep track of items that have been delivered and when the designer has dropped by the job site.  Communication is a great tool when everyone uses it!

Wednesday, December 08, 2010

Isaak is fine tuning his remodeling skills further by attending a seminar today.  Therefore, no work has been done at our job site today.  But we did notice last night, that Isaak wired up one of the new lights outside our side door!  This is a great help since we now use this door when we grill at night!

 

Thursday, December 09, 2010

Wayne & I left early this morning for Florida for a visit with Wayne’s parents.  His mom’s birthday is this weekend!  The big 80!  

We left before Isaak got to the house, so you know we were out early!  Isaak is usually outside the house by 6:30AM.

Today he will continue to run electrical lines from outlets and switches to the main electrical box in the basement, which is on the other side of the house.  He is also running dedicated lines for each of the appliances.  These are individual electrical lines running from one major appliance to a breaker switch in the electrical box.  Only one line because that is what the building code requires.  No longer will we pop a breaker and loose electric when the microwave and toaster are operating at the same time.  I will not miss those trips to the basement breaker box!

Yellow wires for dedicated lines and circuits now appearing!

Another full day for Isaak and his helper!  Yes the new helper is still around!  After seeing such big changes with demolition and framing, this is usually the time when some clients come home and say…”What has he done all day?”  You may not see much of their work visually, but I know there is a lot of time and effort in running wires from one side of the house to the other. 

 

Friday, December 10, 2010

Brrr!  Florida is colder than expected!  But the forecast looks good for the weekend.  Today we started off by speaking with the AV guys about running one more cable.  Another…as long as we are doing this…moment!  I have to stop that, because it keeps adding to the price.  I normally suggest to clients to have an additional 7-10% built into their budgets for these as long as we are doing this moments.

Isaak already checked in with me this morning to lay out the expectations for the day.  I must have jinxed him by talking about his helper yesterday, because his helper called in sick this morning. 

I let Isaak know that the AV guy will be back today at some point.  Today will be another day of running wires.  This may seem a little longer than normal, but he is doing more than just the kitchen wiring; the powder room, living room, dining room, porch and exterior lighting.  He is tentatively planning a rough electrical inspection by the end of next week. 

Even from Florida…PROGRESS PREVAILS!