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Posted to Dennis-Dream-Home by Gabriela in Readington Twp, NJ
on 1/3/2009 9:16:13 AM
Happy new year to all!
As the holidays were fast approaching we buckled down to get several very important "utility" things out of the way. In 1 day the electric trench, water trench and all the lines were laid. Then inspections happened the next day and we were able to backfill everything. Our yard looked like Frankenstein for several days and there are permanent trenches across our driveway, but all very well worth it. On Dec 30th our power was turned on by JCPL!!! We quickly proceeded to call the electrician, the propane tank testing company and the HVAC guy, and as of Dec 1st, I am so happy to report we actually have heat!! We also had all the drywall installed and spackled starting on Dec 16 and ending on Dec 24th (some minor touch ups had to happen but nothing too alarming). The painters started priming on Dec 31st and are out there today (Jan 3rd) to finish. I cannot believe how great it looks. The stucco application continues to be a thorn in our side. We made the mistake of going with a "new" company -- actually it appears they are an LLC that recently got out on their own. The problem being they actually already have full time jobs working for other companies and took this job just to sub it out to another crew that show up on their whim. Not only that, but their workmanship leaves quite a bit to be desired. They seem to work very sloppily and we've brought that to their attention at which point they've had to remediate and are just taking even longer. They also nailed a 2x4 brace through our new roof causing a leak of mass proportions which they proceeded to blame on our poor roofers. It's been a circus out there. I just pray they finish soon and without further damage to our new house. My hubby is ready to fire them, but we are so far in the hole, its almost not worth it. I am pleased to report the trim and expansion joint band we selected are just beautiful. I think it's gonna look great with the final color coats, if those ever get put on before we move in.
I ordered our tile (Arpa in Palace Blue) for our kitchen, mudroom and powder room. It should be arriving on Jan 8th. Additionally, our toilets (Toto Ultramax) and tankless water heater are on their way scheduled to arrive next week as well. The base molding, door casings, and all interior doors are on order, coming next week, but our brother in law also just purchased a home that needs alot of work so the hubby and his bro are over there doing a lot of much needed demo-- so needless to say our trim install will be on hold until after they get settled a bit in the new house.
I have had little luck settling on paint colors throughout the house, so I am off to Benjamin Moore to buy a zillion little sample bottles today and start testing palettes. Otherwise kitchen cabinets are coming on Feb 13th and lots needs to happen this month before any cabinet installs can actually happen. Between starting back at work and coordinating all the deliveries these coming weeks, not to mention color selections galore, I should have many sleepless nights ahead!
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| Window Trim |
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| Front of House |
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Posted to Dennis-Dream-Home by Gabriela in Readington Twp, NJ
on 12/6/2008
We PASSED insulation inspection last Thursday! Yesterday both the electrical trench as well as the well trench were dug and installed. We are awaiting inspections today, hopefully with good outcome. The Stucco and stone scratch coat continued to dry despite very cold weather. It seems to change colors every day. Long Promised pictures follow:
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| Recoiled Kitchen Window |
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| Luan Master Shower |
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| Master Tub Holds water |
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| Main Tub Holds water |
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| Reinforced Rafters for main HC Trunk |
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| Stucco Wrap |
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| More Stucco_Stone Wrap |
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| Biggest hanger EVER |
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| Blue Stone for Front Porch |
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| Propane tank Buried |
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| Propane Connection to House |
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| Propane Trench |
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| Brown Coat Starts |
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| Scratch Coat Continues |
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| Garage Insulation |
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| Electric Trench Sanded |
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| Wire and Caution Tape |
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| Well and Electric Trench cross Driveway |
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| Frankenstein Front Yard |
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| Scratch Coats drying |
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| Heavy Machinery Parade |
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| Utility Connections to House |
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| Propane Tank Peeking through |
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Posted to Dennis-Dream-Home by Gabriela in Readington Twp, NJ
on 11/27/2008 8:39:11 AM
In the passed several weeks we've been going through rough-in inspections and are so please to report we finally passed the very last (most important one)--FRAMING!
The progress consisted of:
* Passed Inspection: Plumbing Rough In (11/14/2008)
* Passed Inspection: Fire Rough In (11/13/2008)
* Passed Inspection: Electrical Rough In (11/17/2008)
* Passed Inspection: Electrical Service (11/7/2008)
* Passed Inspection: Framing (11/20/2008)
* Installed 1000 gallon Propane tank in ground (11/20/2008)
* Passed Inspection: propane tank installation and pressure test (11/21/2008)
* Began Insulation (11/24/2008
We certainly had some bumps in the road with our electrical inspections as previously shared. Additionally, we encountered an issue with the framer missing notes in our architectural plans indicating the TGIs were to be tripled up every 4 feet (especially under tiled flooring). He met with our architect to discuss possible alternatives to the tripling requirement, but no dice. The architect was unwilling to budge on his requirements, therefore it turns out the framer had to install 18 more TGIs both under the first floor (kitchen area) and second floor laundry/ bath areas) to address the issue. He successfully installed these despite having electrical wires of all types in his way. He carefully removed wires, installed the TGIs and replaced the wires accordingly, allowing us to pass inspection with flying colors last Thursday!
We also cracked the propane tank mafia code and found a company in Pennsylvania willing to sell us our own tank and deliver, install, and pressure test it!!! Propane price shopping here I come!
I ordered our kitchen cabinets as well. I will try and scan some renditions of the layout. I also ordered the chandeliers for our home all from the same collection: Minka Lavery Camden throughout, and Minka Lavery Europa in brushed Nickel for our bathrooms. I found Lighting By Gregory.com to be most willing to give bulk pricing, no tax, and free shipping to NJ-- Yippee for victory!
The stucco was delayed this past 2 weeks because if the unseasonably FREEZING weather, but they worked well into the night yesterday and are planning to come back tomorrow to finish the scratch coat and let that set for 2 days. The next week promises milder weather and upcoming color selections to be made. I am opting for a taupe stucco color with a darker taupe/ light brown broader for our windows and doors. The color palette from Parex is just beautiful with many complimentary colors to work with our stone selection (Heritage Bucktown by Eldorado/ Stonecraft).
We need to find a gutter guy ASAP because the installation needs to happen as soon as the stucco is complete, otherwise bad weather will begin to stain our new exterior. We are also trying to track down 260 Ft of Cable, Phone and Electrical wire in preparation for a utility trench we plan to have dug between the pole in the road and our new home. We will be direct burying the wire ourselves and going for trench inspection before JCPL will turn on the power for a small ($508) fee of course. That cracks me up-- if you want to have power from their pole and pay for it, you must dig your own trench, install your own wire in the trench, leaving enough on both ends to go up the pole and into the house, and pay them to turn it on, so you can continue paying them forever. that is another racket if I might say so!
Picking tile will be the bane of my existence for the next several weeks, as will selecting a color palette for the whole house (room to room). I want to be ready once the walls go in. As for garage doors, I've been going back and forth between wanting 3 panel doors (larger windows on the top panel) and actually affording 4 panel doors with smaller windows. Can you believe 3 panel doors come out to $1400 more. I can't justify the cost even though they are prettier. Pictures to follow later today. Thanks for sticking with me and reading on as we progress. It's so inspiring to know we've had more than 1200 visits to this journal since we started this awesome journey!
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Posted to Dennis-Dream-Home by Gabriela in Readington Twp, NJ
on 11/2/2008 4:42:09 PM
It's been a long time since I actually had a chance to sit down and document what we've been up to. Hopefully no one thinks we've been relaxing because that's about as far from the truth as it could be. The electrician wrapped up his work and told us he's ready for rough in and service inspection. Well I had the nerve to believe him and we ended up with another one of those dreaded ORANGE stickers. We did not pass because he apparently neglected to tape the ends of all the wires going out of the house, and well what that means is the wires internal components are now wet and he has to replace all external wiring from the switch back to the outside and either place them in a box or tape the ends. Additionally, he seems to have forgotten to install out double oven connection and our master bathtub need some sort of connector between the water supply and the motor. Even though we have a double insulated motor, they need to see this has been installed in case we ever have to replace the motor. Additionally the boxes (both external and basement boxes) need plastic bushing to protect the entry point of all wiring. The electrician was here yesterday and we went through everything with him. He'll be doing his remediations on Monday and we'll try to pass again on Wednesday.
The burglar Alarm, central vacuum and phone, data and cable wiring was all done this past Friday as well, however they seem to have drilled through to the outside of our house in the back by our kitchen window. This means they drilled right through our new siding that was installed on Wednesday and also the coil wrapping for our kitchen sink casement window. What a NIGHTMARE. So I left them a message yesterday after the hubby noticed while cleaning the house and walking around with our electrician. He was and is LIVID. I went online and stopped payment on the check I had given them on Friday to give them some incentive to come back, look at the damage and discuss the amount they will have to pay our sider to fix it. It will of course need to come off their bill. Very annoying to have to deal with this kind of stuff. Isn’t that why you hire "professionals"? Will keep you posted on how we make out with them.
Our siding crew started this past Monday and made some good headway on the first day, however we had a major snowstorm in October in NJ on Tuesday so they could not come back till Wednesday when they finished the siding and the soffits. It looked great till our wiring guy got his grubby little hands on it. They went though 4 boxes of soffit, 4 boxes of coil and 16 sq of siding (Dutch lap in Wicker) for the side and rear of our house. The front and side will be done in stucco and stone. Can't wait cause that starts this week.
Yesterday, my hubby and his bro decided to decorate the front porch with AZEK in prep for the stone/ stucco guy to come through and tyvek everything and start his magic this week. It took a while to select the right materials and crown molding pattern we were looking for, and then lay it out in plain wood to experiment. They did not finish the project entirely, but it looks great so far. I can actually imagine the railing above the entryway and the columns coming down.
The stone/ stucco guy came by on Friday night to discuss some things and see the site once again ready for him to start (having soffits in) is critical. He asked us to have the excavator dig out the front and side a bit more so he can go down a block or 2 with the stone he border we selected. I will need to call him today and hopefully have him come dig Monday or Tuesday.
I also final ordered our entire kitchen yesterday from home depot. They are Kraftmaid cabinets in Antique Biscotti with Taupe Glaze (Perimeter) and Cognac for the island. I initially had them do the design, and then I took the design to Lowes and asked them what they could do to beat the price. They offered 10% off, 500 gift card and a free 39in sink base. Then I took that back to Home Depot and told them what I was getting. They of course wanted the business and not only did the 10%, free base and 500 but took another 1000 off. They got the project! I love the kitchen and can't wait to see it in. Too bad that won't be till at least January or February.
On other fronts, it is very interesting how propane companies in NJ work. They will not sell you a propane tank for you to own and shop propane rates. They will install their own tank on your property and basically lease it to you for a "markup" in the per gallon charge for propane. Additionally, once you have a tank installed by one company, that is the ONLY company that will ever fill the tank. Free market competition is essentially squashed. We are working to find a way to buy our own tank so we can have the ability to price shop propane as we see fit.
Our big plans for this coming week are to : 1. Pass Electrical rough and Service inspections. 2. Wrap up plumbing and schedule rough inspection. 3. Finish front porch AZEK install and roof. 4. Have front and side of house Tyvek'd (special stucco backing) 5. Resolve hole situation with alarm company and have siding guy come out and fix it. 6. Schedule date to purchase and pick up our propane tank. 7. Schedule service trench dig. 8. Have framer fill out framing checklist and schedule framing inspection barring any other complications with electrical or plumbing.
Pictures to follow later today.
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| Tub Deck Widened |
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| Siding Starts |
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| Siding Continues |
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| Corners On |
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| Soffit Upclose |
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| Kitchen Window BEFORE |
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| Deck Ledger |
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| Siding left in the rain |
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| Siding Complete in Rear |
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| Siding Almost Done |
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| Holes drilled thru Siding & Coil |
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| Upclose Siding Hole |
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| Upclose Top Hole |
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| Front Porch Started |
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| AZEK up close |
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| Nice Profile! |
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| Inside Corners |
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| Soffits and coil |
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Posted to Dennis-Dream-Home by Gabriela in Readington Twp, NJ
on 10/10/2008
Today we had 3 separate trades working all at once in our new home! Not sure we'll ever see that again. The framers were installing our basement stairs finally, the HVAC guy wrapped up his work almost entirely except for finish & outside air units, and the electrician continues with wires snaked through to every nook and cranny of the place. It is really changing appearance quickly. We learned a couple of cool tricks about drawing on our plywood floors to indicate where we want ceiling lights to be located. It gives a very good visual before the high hats go into the ceiling. I also discovered some spots where the HVAC vents were completely off center to the location of lights or too close to them entirely. Fortunately, Dave, our HVAC guru, is amazingly patient with my never ending requests to "move slightly this" way or "center here", etc. We also selected our outside lighting fixtures for the garage & the front and rear doors. I picked pewter grey color fixtures with frosted glass that will tie in nicely with our grey roof and out taupe stucco/ siding combo.
The bidding wars of course continue. It's amazing how the local phone and cable company want you to subscribe to their service, but wiring your house, well that's a fee. Connecting your house to their pole, another fee. Even better, you actually have the nerve to want wire from the pole to your house, well 250ft of it at a "small" fee coming right up! Incredible... So I have several alarm system, central vacuum and surround sound installation companies that have submitted bids so far. They are of course all over the map, and it looks like we're going to have to split the work across several companies to come out ahead. That doesn't bother me, it's just the coordination and scheduling complexity. They also do TV, phone, and data networking wiring as well and we're planning to have that done in the next week or so. JCPL will be coming out to the field next Wednesday to meet with our electrician and my hubby to discuss the location of the main box, meter, and the configuration of our trench from the pole in the street. Apparently we can direct bury the wire, however the trench needs to be lined with sand (not quite sure why, but I will learn some additional useless information here as well).
We had some snafus on our houseplan that caused the mason to place our center support beam notches in the wrong spot, so our framer had to cut a new notch and install the beam in the correct location. This or course causes some follow up work. The correct location for the notch is NOT filled solid with concrete so we are going to have to mix some additional concrete and figure out how to get it poured down that tight space. Not looking forward to this, but accepting an "honorary" engineering degree will be most appropriate after the fact.
Our master bath tub came finally, and it is oval. We ended up with a slightly smaller model (7042) instead of (7242) and the framers made the platform for it today. It is easier to angle corners for an oval tub and it will fit into the space beautifully. Our plumber likes to come do work every other day or shows up about once a week of late. I worry we will not be complete with all the plumbing work he still has to do before our inspections need to happen. I am trying to be patient but loosing it quickly. I'm giving him one more week and then it's going to be hardball. I had initially wanted to do Moen showers and Danze faucets but noticed the brushed nickel finishes are very different across manufacturers. It's not a bright idea to mix manufacturers in the same bathroom certainly, so I switched gears and stayed with Danze for our shower as well. It's a rainhead and a multifunction handshower w slide bar. The other really nice thing about Danze is they supply the valves with their trim so you are not buying separate products (translates to more money for Moen and others that pull that trick).
Electricity has been a lesson in itself. Who knew a 5 way switch actually only has 4 locations, or that fans with lights have endless ways of being wired. Having a switch right by master bed that shuts off lights is an awesome convenience, is as having the outside floodlights switched from the master bedroom. Eyeballs and high hats come in 6 and 4 in sizes and even though the electrician will tell you there's little difference, that's not true. The 6 inch are much more light than the 4, and depending on your purpose for the space (accent or task) you will select different ones. The foyer must have one receptacle by code, but putting it against a narrow wall you will walk by all the time makes it completely useless. We changed ours to go in the stair nook. Will you have wall or corner mounted TVs? That determines what height your receptacle should be at. Closets don't usually get outlets, but you probably want to put one in the master at least. and on and on.... We are second guessing ourselves constantly at this point.
My next 2 week's goals are to select a wiring, alarm and central vac company as well as our stucco, stone, siding and soffit, fascia guys. They should be able to start as soon as our electrician has made all his outside holes with wire hanging out. Picture of progress and fixtures follow.
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| FloodLight Wire, Garage Side |
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| Woodburning Fireplace Vent |
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| Gas Fireplace & HVAC Vent |
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| Basemnet Stairs Above |
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| Basement Stairs Below |
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| Doubling Up Hangers |
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| Kitchen Lighting Locations |
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| Master Tub Deck |
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| Master Tub |
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| Exterior Sconces |
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Posted to Dennis-Dream-Home by Gabriela in Readington Twp, NJ
on 9/25/2008
Our basement and garage floors were poured last Thursday ( Sept 18). It took approx 34 yards of concrete for both, which meant 3 + trucks--This also did our front porch area! Challenges abound however-- our main staircase was delivered without protective covering (not sure why). This was installed on Friday and looks great-- my poor hubby had to wrap it in plastic sheathing and then make treads out of plywood to place over it so we can still have a nice staircase when all the construction is complete. On other fronts, I was so proud of my master bath ordering prowess, too bad it's too big for our space. I initially went with the lasco 7242 tub, but since it's a rectangle, framing closer to it is out of the question. Fortunately our framer alerted me to the issue immediately and I was able to cancel the initial order and now have the 7042 (oval) on it way. It will take til Oct 2ist to arrive, but I feel loads better about still having a big tub that will fit the space. All our plumbing faucets, fixtures and valves have arrived and are beautiful. I ordered everything online at BuyPlumbing.net and am very happy with their quality and timely shipping. (Jessica Roll there is SPECTACULAR to work with and was even willing to give us additional discounts because we are ordering our whole house from them).
Our plumber and HVAC guys both started promptly at 7AM monday morning. They seem to have negotiated how not to interfere with each others piping, tubing and ductwork quite well. We have since been surrounded by PVC and round insulated ductwork throughout the home. Finding appropriate spots in our floors to have air supplies and returns placed was a bit challenging, but fortunately Dave is quite accomodating and listened closely to my concerns about furniture placement in relation to everything else.
Our basement staircase is being made and I booked our fireplace installer to come out and start installations tomorrow. The front door has also been installed but does not appear to be very flush or square? I have the lumber yard rep coming out to look at it and advise what can be done to remediate the situation. He will also be measuring for interior doors and trim-- exciting part coming up! Our tray ceiling in our master bedroom as was also framed this past week and look absolutely grand! We passed our second bank inspection for progress and received our 2nd draw of monies-- so far we seem to be staying ahead of paying subs and managing budgets pretty tightly Hoping to keep up that pace throughout the project, but it is an accounting reconciliation challenge that's occupying a good deal of my spare time.
Next week's goals include finalizing electrical fixtures so I can place those orders. We also must continue the bidding wars on stone/ stucco, house wiring (including alarm, cat5, central vac, surround sound & telephone/ TV), insulation and sheetrock. I probably really need to finalize the kitchen layout and order the cabinets soon (since those will take about 12-15 weeks to come in).
Pictures to follow later today hopefully.
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| Garage Slab |
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| Basement Slab |
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| Top Front Step |
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| Powder Room Plumbing |
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| Front door Delivered |
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| HVAC Invasion |
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| Front Door and backordered Window in |
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| Door Installed out of Square! |
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| Main Staircase in |
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| Gas Fireplace_Living Room |
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