Final Push

SClarkson-final-push

Curt and the subs are in the big push to get everything set for final inspections, and ultimately, our CO (Certificate of Occupancy).  We are into the second week of waiting to move in, so tensions are high and everyone is ready to be done!

For now, items like the landscape and punchlist items will have to wait, as code stuff like life safety and proper drainage of our site are more critical. 

The electrical final inspection was completed, with mechanical and plumbing slated for today.  Congrats to Rob at CEI Electric for stepping up to the plate and delivering.

Lighting

Rob and his crew (CEI Electric) have been putting in some long hours to get the final lighting wrapped up.  It’s very cool to finally see the house lit up at night! 

The fixtures in the bathrooms are our favorites - they are such small sconces, but they put out an amazing amount of nice diffuse light.

Exterior Lighting

Rob has the major exterior electrical wrapped up - the connection to the Xcel service is complete and all the exterior light fixtures and outlets are in!  We went for subtle exterior fixtures made of brushed aluminum.   

To keep the wires from the alley away from our house, we connected the main feed to the garage and via conduit underground, brought it into the basement.  As part of the installation, Rob also included conduit for a photovoltaic panel array on the roof - this allows us the option of solar if we have any “extra” money at the end of the project.

Tech Lighting

We received the final two Tech lighting fixtures the other day.  They are the same as the track fixtures, but in stainless instead of white.  These will hang from a single bar in the stairway for any artwork we might get in the future.

The fit and finish of these well-priced fixtures is great.  Now, if we could just get some great art at affordable prices...

Tech Lighting

Electrical and SIPs

Rob our electrician has been patiently drilling away into our SIPs panels - this is one of the numerous challenges that brings into question the efficiency of the SIPs process.  Even with the pre-cut chases, at every corner and from wall to ceiling, in many cases Rob has had to cut out access holes to get at and pull the wires.

We had more visitors at the site on Friday (from two great local architecture firms Studiotrope and Insitu), and they spoke of a SIPs process where electrical conduit and boxes are installed as part of the fabrication process vs. in the field.  I guess if you can coordinate everything down to the last 1/2”, it would be advantageous to do it this way.

If you are building with SIPs, make sure your installers place the panels at the intended interior/exterior orientation, and that each corner is drilled out for continuous chase access.  Also, make sure each chase is well marked.  We had a few panels that are square and symmetrical which were installed backwards - an easy mistake to make, but it has created confusion when trying to pull wires, because the chase marks are no longer visible.