Final inspection is tomorrow! Our attic fans are both permanently installed, and the attic is relatively comfortable except from late afternoon until nightfall.
The whole-house fan is wired, tested and operational. Our new fan is a 2-speed unit, whereas our old one had three speeds. We rarely used the medium speed on our old fan, so I guess this isn’t a great loss. The new fan seems quieter on the high speed but a bit noisier on low speed, compared to the old fan. (A net “win” I think, since only the high speed was ever much of an annoyance.)
I got the kids’ closet lights installed and managed to slice up my hands pretty well. (These are surface-mount fluorescent fixtures, lots of sharp metal edges.) I’m glad that I had the foresight to put 2×4’s in the closet headers where the fixtures get screwed to the wall. No drywall anchors–they’re screwed straight into cripple studs, so the fixtures are rock solid!
The required smoke alarms are installed. I have two more that I’m going to install, but they’re not required for inspection so they go to the bottom of the list.
I’ve got to go to work today, but I’m off tomorrow for the inspection. I still have a few things to do tonight and/or tomorrow morning:
- Clean up the light- and switch wiring for the attic lights.
- Wire and install ceiling light in entry.
- Run power to the smoke alarm network. Install two “extra” smoke alarms, time permitting.
Four days ’til our final inspection. Our last two tradesmen (for phase 1A) were out today–masonry and HVAC.
Kevin McKeever is our mason. He came out yesterday to salvage as many of the old bricks from our original chimney as possible. This morning he and his assistant built the chimney up about seven feet, installed the counter-flashing and chimney cover/spark arrestor. They mixed the old bricks in with new ones, and it blends very nicely.
José Miranda (of Alpha Services) is our HVAC contractor. He came out today to install the A/C condensor–I was surprised at how much work was involved in this process! The copper pipes between the attic and the condensor were filled with nitrogen, soldered, evacuated, then filled with refrigerant. The unit is powered by a 40 amp circuit and code requires a power cutout box, so: mount the cutout box to the wall, wire the circuit up to one side of the box and the unit to the other side. The control circuit was wired to the condensor (outside) and the FAU (in the attic). Finally, José tested everything. (IIRC, testing alone took most of an hour.) For the first time since this house was built 60 years ago, it now has central heating and air conditioning. The weather is too mild for either heating or cooling right now–it’s about 72°F, so I guess we’ll have to wait for a heat wave to really test the A/C.
Meanwhile I’ve been busy myself. I got the dishwasher bolted into its cabinet last night. It was a lot tougher than I thought it was going to be, because I couldn’t get the darn thing plumb and level. I finally realized that either the power or water line wasn’t in its proper place, so when I tried to lower the back of the unit it was getting stuck on the water or electrical line. We pulled the unit all the way out of the cabinet, taped both the water and power lines in place on the back of the unit, and slid it back into the cabinet. After that the adjustments were easy, although the cabinet opening is just a little too short (maybe 1/8″) for us to get the dishwasher perfectly plumb. But it’s pretty darn close.
I also got one of the attic fans finished. The other one is mounted in the gable, although it’s currently wired with a temporary appliance cord. The important thing is that they both work. They’re keeping the attic much more tolerable and extending the time I’m able to work up there. I should have no trouble finishing the other tasks in the attic this weekend.
Final inspection punch list:
- Install smoke alarms. The wiring is done, except for power feed. Other than that, all I need to do is put up the ceiling mounts and attach the smoke alarms.
- Install fluorescent lights in the kids’ closets. Wiring is done, just need to put the fixtures on the walls and hook them up.
- Finish installing second attic fan.
- Finish wiring and test the whole-house fan.
- Clean up the light- and switch wiring for the attic lights.
- Wire and install ceiling light in entry.
We have about one week left before our “final” inspection. (Final in quotes because I haven’t heard of many people who pass their first “final” inspection.) Our punch list is still fairly long, but many of those items aren’t required for inspection, e.g. baseboards, window trim, etc. Here’s what needs to be done during the next seven days.
- Install smoke alarms. The wiring is done, except for power feed. Other than that, all I need to do is put up the ceiling mounts and attach the smoke alarms.
- Install fluorescent lights in the kids’ closets. Wiring is done, just need to put the fixtures on the walls and hook them up.
- Bolt the dishwasher into its cabinet.
- Install the last few (5?) switch- and outlet covers in the utility room and garage.
- Install last two exterior outlets and weather-proof covers, on the front porch and outside the new bathroom. (Wiring already done.)
- Install final two exterior lights, outside the back door. (Wiring already done.)
- Finish installing both attic fans. (Each about half done already.)
- Finish wiring and test the whole-house fan.
- Clean up the light- and switch wiring for the attic lights.
- Wire and install ceiling light in entry.
- (sub) Patch ceiling in bathroom hallway. Don and J will take care of this in the morning.
- (sub) Don and J are also going to pour the concrete pad for the A/C condensor tomorrow.
- (sub) José will install the A/C condensor on Friday or Monday.
- (sub) Kevin (the mason) will be out Thursday or Friday this week to extend the chimney to the required height.
I’ll be home tomorrow since Don and J will be working, so I’m going to try to finish the attic work in the morning before it gets too hot. (Plus, once the attic fans are both running that will help control the temperature in the attic.)
One of our neighbors had told us that the Sacramento County Building Department would not allow fold-down attic stairs to be installed in the garage. I just got off the phone with the inspection supervisor, and he told me that they are allowed, but they must have a 1-hour fire rating. I’ll have to check our stair kit’s fire rating when I get home tonight.
