Closing the Shell

This week, nearly all the tar paper is up on the exterior, making it nearly ready for stucco. Our builder's production manager, Sean, is calling for the rough inspection next Tuesday, and projecting insulation then wallboard the following week.

Front Yard	Back Yard

At our meeting this week, we went over some electrical items and fixture placements. We identified a couple spots where boxes were missing. We adjusted the placement of some of the can fixtures in the great room for better balance.

And then there was the master bedroom. Suddenly, some can lights had appeared. It turned out this was a surprise decision from Laura. She and Lynn had been exchanging messages and reached the agreement that having can lighting in the master was desirable. Neither had told Bernie. Ah, the wonders of "reply" in email without checking distribution, eh?

We also addressed a problem with the switch box in the master bath. There's a strong wall right at the door to the bath. As framed, that had John and Sean scratching their heads on how to fit all the switches in for the bath. We bandied ideas about long enough to get an action picture:

Four switches in a row wouldn't fit between the strong wall and the door frame. The strong wall couldn't be moved - it's a structural element. John suggested hinging the door in a way that Laura & I both recognized would quickly annoy us. Then inspiration hit! Instead of arranging the 4 switches in a horizontal row, how about a 2x2 arrangement, with the switches throwing horizontally? That arrangement matched the bathrooms in the house where Bernie grew up - and had a cozy feeling for him. With some quick measuring, Sean and John realized that arrangement would work!

While we were back there, Laura and Bernie surprised Lynn with a quick agreement on the wall color for the Master Bedroom. Wondering what that will be, now, aren't you?