The Remodelogue

The first ones did not have a heater as specified on the plans, so they had to get correct ones and have them installed. Do it right or do it twice. Seems like they are doing that a lot these days. Because of the heater element, they put each fan on its own circuit in the sub panel.

They went in today. Now we can have our first inspection.

The architect sends over the lighting schedule and they have already put in the rough for a different kind of light. The plans state that the lighting is supposed to be approved by the architect, so now we have lighting in that is not what the architect and his lighting consultant came up with.
This whole time, the architect thought they were just putting in the tracks, and he was rushing to get this schedule done on time.
He had chosen Iris down lights and wall washers. Meanwhile, the foreman put in Liton casings. The whole time this was going on and I was micromanaging the placement of these things, I didn’t understand the incompatibility issue. I thought whatever the architect picked out, would fit in these boxes, so I never brought it up.
The architect called the contractor and contractor said that if they needed to be replaced, they would be. Fortunately, Jeff went thru the Liton catalog and found a suitable replacement. The lights installed are good lights, and use the same MR-16lamps, and he found a trim that is comparable to what he spec’d.
While this is not a disaster like the windows, it is still annoying that they are not following the plans. We have very detailed plans. They just need to be followed.

The sub panel gets attached to the main panel. It is done in kind of a temporary way, but that is okay since the main panel will be moved in phase two. It is in the back of the office add-on which will be demolished in phase two.

The Sub-panel in the laundry room.

The new conduit is the one that goes up through the roof.

From there it goes along the top of the office roof and into the attic.

After a few more days of electical work, it became painfully obvious that I had to get involved in it at the most basic level. In other words, I had to do it myself.
The office lights had been installed incorrectly. They were close, but it was noticable enough that they had to be moved.

Do it right or do it twice.

So I went around with them and pinpointed the exact spot where each light and receptical should go.
In the living room:

The Master Closet:

The lines are faint, but where they intersect indicates light placement.

Ditto.

The result.

Hall Bath:

The lighting plan the architect drew up is very precise. I didn’t have a full grip on it until recently, but every light has a specific location, and they all line up. But because everything is placed in relation to something else, no precise measurements are given on the plan. For instance, if a light is centered on a wall, placement is noted with a CL symbol meaning is should be centered on something, or EQ meaning every EQ A is the same as every other EQ A. Same for EQ B, etc.
Click here to see the fixture placement plan.
So it is up to the installer to figure out what all of these measurements actually come out to in feet and inches. But you need to know some math; you need a calculator and a tape measure to figure out exactly where things go.
The electrician, a really nice guy, didn’t grasp these concepts. He just figured for instance that if there were two lights in a row, they should each be a third of the way down the wall. Which does make sense. Except that is not necessarily what the plans called for.
For instance, in the master bedroom, the tray ceiling is going to have a pattern on it making the top part look like a big tic-tac-toe board. The four lights need to be placed in the exact center of the corner squares of this board. The A/C vent needs to be centered in the side square on the east side of the room.
Our electrician scaled up the drawings

The electrical is finally starting.