Guest House Construction: Part 13

Plumbing & Cornice...ing?

For the past couple weeks we've had two different crews doing work.  The plumbers have actually finished everything they need to do inside the house. Some builders don't do this step until the house is "dried in" (basically has a roof and windows and doors), but I'm glad we didn't wait to do the plumbing because they basically worked at the same time as the cornice guys.

The cornice guys basically do all of the eaves, trim, and windows.  I had no idea this was a separate step, and actually a separate skill as well.  The first thing the cornice crew did was construct a working ledge all the way around the house and build ladders and platforms to reach high areas.  It was brilliant.  I would have spent two weeks going up and down ladders, but these guys brought the eaves to their level with scrap wood.

This is what the eaves start to look like when they get them trimmed out.  I can see why this needs to be done before the roof goes on.

Windows were delivered.  I happened to be outside messing with Christmas lights when the guys dropped them off - a nice surprise.  

I'm no expert, but the plumbers seem to have done a great job.  Everything is clean and well organized in the walls.  Every line is properly attached wherever it crosses a beam or gap (if you turn on your water and hear anything, it's your pipes vibrating because they aren't attached properly in the walls and ceiling).  

The cornice guys actually installed a couple of windows.  The front windows have the fake panes in the glass to match the main house front windows. Continuity.  

They also got some of the siding up!  Almost the entire guest house is brick, but the dormer here is siding to match the main house.  It's kind of nice to finally see some finishing materials on.

This is the upstairs bathroom.  The plumbers set the tubs, which was surprising to me as well since the house is still open.

Even more surprising is that they set the hot water heater.  It makes sense I guess, since it vents through the roof and the roofers would need to know exactly where to cut.  Speaking of roofers, they are scheduled to start on Monday.  A huge load of roof decking was dropped (literally - the truck just dumped it in the yard) off today.  We opted to pay a little extra for foil-backed decking.  It's supposed to provide a radiant barrier to heat.  The weather doesn't look good, so we'll see if the roofers get started on time and if the cornice guys will come finish.  They have been MIA all week.