March 12-15, 2012
Framers arrived on-site and begin framing the first floor walls of the future living room before moving to the demolition of the roof where the sleeping porch will go. As usual, we’ve procrastinated in packing. We procrastinated when moving out of the previous house and now we scramble to get everything into storage. I don’t know what we were thinking.
Thursday, March 15
Double-Pole Electric arrived to transfer wires from the service mast to the temp service pole. In one of those situations I neither understand or tolerate, my polite request for the framers to construct the temp electric service pole went ignored while I was busy taking care of something on the other side of the worksite. When I returned, to check in with the electrician, I found him and two assistants waiting where I left them. No service pole; no framers working on one. I was livid.
I have zero tolerance for any b.s. among the subs. There have been times I’ve seen one trade sabotage another in a childish continuation of some longstanding feud. Some simply don’t like other tradespeople out of some trade vs. trade bias.
Even though the framers were sub’d by James Benson, he and I agreed I would oversee his subs in his absence. This let him work on other jobs until he arrived to do his part of the work. The framers were an independent company and both owners were working on the site. The problem was I was getting reticence from one of the principals. A cocky bully on occasion, he was a discipline problem throughout their portion of the project. Fortunately, his partner was someone who’s talent and professionalism made him a good counterpoint to keep things from getting out of control. The bully whined and complained and put together a half-assed pole, which the electrician politely rejected and patiently insisted on a proper one. With a proper pole assembled and erected to the electrician’s specs everyone got back to work.
Several times, later that day, the bully approached me in a conciliatory effort to ‘make nice’. While I felt like the ‘mouse that roared’ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053084/ I also got the impression people became toward me the way a younger me used to be around my supervisors. I could live with that.
Friday, March 16 – Sunday, March 18
At noon on Friday it was 58F (14.4C) in the room I was sleeping and 53F (11.6C) in the room adjacent. By 8:00 P.M. it was 62F and 55.5F respectively.
Spent the weekend packing-up and taking things to the storage unit. A trundle bed, tv, coffee maker, microwave, refrigerator, and electric heater would be my comforts for the next several months.
Marina ‘officially’ moved in with her mother in Wantagh, NY.
Monday, March 19
11:00 AM – Began demo of kitchen roof
5:00 PM – Roof over kitchen & living room is gone
6:30 PM – Finished cleaning the kitchen and living room of ceiling drywall and ceiling rockwool insulation.
Tuesday, March 20
11:46 A.M. – The first truck of the day heads to the landfill with drywall, insulation, and living room ceiling joists (the latter I had hoped to save).
The living room floor, where the dividing wall used to be, was jacked-up 1-3/4″.
3:00 P.M. – All the roof is off.
JaMa House 
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