Day 146 - Year End Wrap-Up

Every house looks better with windows :-)

As 2013 wraps up, we have about half of the windows installed.  Exterior doors have been ordered & then the housewrap.  While it hasn't been quick process, we are definitely starting to see some major progress.

Every house looks better with my beautiful wife in front of it :-)

Brian has about a week worth of work left to finish the HVAC rough-in.  The duct work is looking good.  No major hang ups.

HVAC ductwork above the laundry room

Similarly Nick has about a week worth of work left to finish the rough-in plumbing.  We decided use a Manabloc system for our plumbing.  It looks something like this:

Viega Manabloc

Instead of the plumbing looking like a tree (with a main trunk throughout the house & branches to each fixture), the Manabloc is a "homerun" system were every fixture has an individual line running from the Manabloc.  The benefits are 3 fold.  1)  Less standing water in the line to clean out before hot water reaches the fixture.  2)  Fewer connections that could leak.  The only connections are at the Manabloc & the fixture.  You also have the ability to shut off each fixture individually directly at the Manabloc.  3)  Better water pressure.  Since each fixture has its own water supply, no more scalding hot shower when someone flushes the toilet!  When they get installed, they remind me a bit of a spider.

In other news, we are finalizing the cap for the chimney chase.  We've been working with Alex Brick & Stone.  Currently we are leaning towards a grey stone cap (which is a bit ironic considering we currently live on GreyStone Golf Course) and a copper cap.  It will look very similar to this.

Well that's all for now.  Have a safe & happy New Year!