One of the most critical tasks of a GC is to keep the materials coming onto the jobsite. That's always a bit of a chore, but all the moreso on an island. You can't just make a quick run to the supply house for another bundle of insulation or box of nails. Add to that all of those things that I usually leave to the owner to acquire, and the job of selecting, buying and transporting materials can take a lot of time. A real lot of time.
To that end, Carol and I went on a three day buying trip to Richmond last week to visit two architectural salvage places. In particular we were looking for old doors as almost all of the doors in the house had been changed out to hollow core luans. We also figured we'd look for door hardware, a bathroom sink, window sash, lighting fixtures, countertop, cabinetry, etc while we were there. It turns out this can take an enormous amount of time, if for no other reason than the time you can spend looking at interesting things you don't need, like paintings, fireplace surrounds, clawfoot bathtubs, furniture, circular stairs...well, you get the picture. We actually did a pretty good job of staying focused; we found all of the doors we wanted and a "ming green" pedestal sink (I'll post a picture as soon as I get it out of the trailer.)
And we spent hours and hours in Home Depot, Lowes and a Habitat recycle store. We filled the truck and trailer and even then didn't find everything we were looking for, though we did get a great deal in Currituck on a 4' piece of granite for a section of countertop. We spent so much money that Bank of America called to see if we were alright. And we are.
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Hi Tom and Carol,
ReplyDeleteI do love your blog, it is personal as well as professional with the house. It is a cold and snowy winter here and exceptional beautiful.
Lou Ann
I too am enjoying hearing about the renovation. I am very interested in home renovation and I love Ocracoke, so what's not to like about your blog?
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to seeing more photos.
Thanks for following our progress here - it's been a good job so far and keeping a blog has proven to be a good discipline. It's easy to get so close to the job that you lose the big picture - this is an opportunity to step back once in a while.
ReplyDeleteLou Ann, remind me, what is exceptionally beautiful about cold and snow??
This is very interesting, Tom, I especially enjoy your comparisons between Ocracoke construction and restoration standards and what we're used to up here in New England. We share the same ocean but so many things are different.
ReplyDeleteFor your community down there, I'd like to offer my own referrence for your reputation, up here, as a responsible, meticulous historical craftsman, in fact, getting more historical every year, eh? You and your brother and your company have always been known for exceeding the rather exacting standards for research and construction on the restorations in many of our towns up here in the Quiet Corner of Connecticut. Our loss is the island's gain.
I look forward to seeing the project in person.
Leslie, Thanks so much for the kind endorsement. Do come and visit - great little airstrip right on the beach.
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