December 24, 2014

Dining Room

Keeping our eye on the cooks

Living Room South

Living Room North

Week 37 Sunday

December 21 2014

The move went smoothly other than a little battle of the trucks.  Even though we had saved quite a few parking spaces, everyone thought they needed more room.  The new furniture was supposed to arrived yesterday but because of an accident on the 5 it arrived late at the delivery location and they rescheduled to delivery today also.  Now I have 3 trucks all wanting to deliver at the exact time.

First the fireplace installers arrived with not one but two moving truck size vans.  They had 3 small boxes seemed like an overkill.  Then the truck from storage arrived so I had to get the fireplace trucks out of there.  Then the LA movers showed up and complained that they did not have enough space to get their truck in, even though there was a lot of room.  I was upstairs so R got it worked out.  Then the LA truck started complaining that the boxes were in their way and that they were going to leave, yada, yada, yada.  Anyway as you can see from the pictures below it all got delivered albeit with a little bit of drama but most of it is here.  We still have a few boxes left in storage that need to get here on Monday but we are getting close.

We spent Saturday afternoon and all day Sunday putting things away and are still not finished.  We should have it done by Monday.  The painters will be back to finish up and touch up anything that happened in the move.

I have a lot of art to get up on the walls on Monday and a Christmas tree before M and her friend get here for the Holidays.

Have a great holiday everyone and thanks for reading.  My next post should be with pictures of the finished project.

Week 37 Friday

December 19 2014

Another crazy day around here.  Everyone on the job trying to get their parts finished.  The clean up crew is here washing windows, gathering trash (where does it all come from), removing the protective coating from my lacquer cabinets, (wow they look great), finish trimming the lighting fixtures and doing last minute carpentry work.

The electrician didn't make it but will be here tomorrow along with the fireplace company to install my cannon balls.  We have lived here 14 years and have never used the fireplace because it was too much trouble, no gas starter and carrying wood.  I'm looking forward to flipping a switch and having a fire.  Not to mention better for the environment.  I'm still missing a few things that are on order like a sliding glass door for the master bathroom and my heat registers better arrive today, those openings in the ceiling are not looking great.  

The crew will be back  tomorrow to finish a few more things and the final cleaning.  Moving trucks are coming tomorrow morning, hope it doesn't rain because it was pouring all day yesterday.  The end is in sight.

James and crew delivering the new dining room table 9'6" x 44", heavy, and a bitch to get up the four flights of stairs.  It took 3 of them but it arrived in one piece. Glad we will have a place for the family to sit for Christmas dinner.  There is  a lot to be thankful for this year.


Stay tuned and watch the transformation.  If you want a hint of it's future look at my Pinterest posts.  http://www.pinterest.com/jdzinesf/hyde-street-penthouse/

Week 37 Tuesday

December 16 2014

Luckily the concrete sub was able to push back a day because they were nowhere ready to have him on the job.  The doors that conceal my office, in the entry, took two full days to get installed properly.  They work beautifully now though.

Every room is clean and ready to go.  They are going to polish the floors, fill any small gaps and then add an additional sealer to the floor.

They took down the scaffolding today, wow I forgot what a great view I had from those windows.

Living Room

Dining Room/Kitchen

Now you see it

Now you don't

Everything is falling into place.  Plumbing - why could I only get 6" of water in my tub after filling for 24 min.  Solution - plumber installed the wrong faucet.  This one has a flow control.  Thursday he should finish up and I will have a complete bathroom.

Electrician - lighting fixtures, they figured out the problem.  Two very small set screws in the mud ring need to be screwed all the way in or they get in the way of the trim and make it very tight to install. Electrician will be back on Thursday to finish up installing a few things.

Carpenters still have a number of things on their check list to complete but we are getting close.

Friday the new furniture will be arriving and Saturday our furniture that has been in storage for eight months.  Hmmm how much of that will we really need other than the furniture.

Stay tuned and watch the transformation.  If you want a hint of it's future look at my Pinterest posts.  http://www.pinterest.com/jdzinesf/hyde-street-penthouse/

Week 37 Monday

December 15 2014

Another crazy day with a lot of workers on the job.  Nothing is easy, the large doors going in the entrance to conceal my office are not going in easily.  They have spent most of the day on them and they are still not finished.  The crew will be back early tomorrow morning to finish up.

The problem....concrete sub is coming early tomorrow morning and there are still a lot of tools etc. on the job.  They swear it will all be gone and we will be ready for them when they get there on Tuesday morning.  I called the sub and tried to push the floor finishing back one day.  He is trying to make the change but don't know yet if that is going to happen.  

Magic Doors for Den in Place

The den doors are in place and look great but they are very heavy and don't move easily.  You can get them open from the outside but that would not work from the inside so now I have to find some hardware to make them work.

Doors to conceal my office getting installed

Still trying to get these worked out and again very heavy and hard to maneuver as they are tight to the ceiling and floor.  3 guys working on them most of the day. 

Element lenses going in

The electrician show up to install the cook top and the trim for the element lighting fixtures.  Of course they are short 11 of them but they should be in on Friday.  Once we start working on them however another problem...I am starting to hate these things.  The lens is screwed into the trim piece.  When the electrician puts them in they are not flush to the ceiling like expected.  At first the look like the above picture which pisses me off to no end.  He goes up again and finally manages to get them to slide all the way with a lot of pressure.  They finally look good.  The problem...you will never be able to get them out if the light burns out.  I am definitely going to have the rep come by and have a little discussion with him about these fixtures.

Advice if you decide you want these type of fixtures use the 3" not the 4".

Guest Bathroom

Master bathroom

Shower door and partitions were installed today.   Really upset that I did not use the starlight glass as these cast a green tint.  But it is done and I'll know better next time.

Tomorrow is another day.  Not much time, movers are bringing furniture on Saturday.

Stay tuned and watch the transformation.  If you want a hint of it's future look at my Pinterest posts.  http://www.pinterest.com/jdzinesf/hyde-street-penthouse/

Week 36 Saturday

December 13 2014

Opened my door promptly at 8 am and there were 9 men ready to get their move on.  Six carpenters, 2 marble workers and the plumber.  The contractor arrived shortly after.  The pressure is on, I have scheduled the concrete sub to polish the floors and add one more coat of sealer on Tuesday.  They need to be done and out of here with their tools, electrical supplies, plumbing, etc by Monday night.  There is a lot of work left to do and they get right to it.

Laying out the doors for the paneled entry wall/hidden office

Working on the magic door hardware for the Den doors

Working on the pocket for the bi-fold doors for entry/office

Routing and putting hinges on the bi-fold doors for entry

Magic doors are in place

Marble subs finishing up the island

Finished bar top

The large doors are not for the faint of heart.  It takes 4 men to lift one.  Glad I bought the top of the line HAWA hardware for them.  They are sitting in the living room ready to be installed on Monday.

The punch list is getting shorter.  There are a few things that haven't come in yet that won't be installed until later in the week.  Pop-up drain for Master bath sink (misplaced somehow), lenses for the lighting fixture trim, several doors for the kitchen cabinets that are on order, trim for the recess on the cabinets and a few missing handles that are on order.

The plumber finally has my shower and tub computer valve working.  The pipes had not been connected properly.  Changing plumbers in the middle of the job left a few mysteries.  Kitchen sink and dishwasher still not totally installed because the marble installers were working there but should be completed on Monday.  The electrician needs to install the cook top and finish a few odds and ends on Monday.  The painters will be back to finish up and start  repainting the stairway down to the lobby and the elevator.  Shower doors installed on Monday.  It's starting to look like home.

Scheduled movers to deliver things from our storage unit.  Can't wait to get all of my art installed.  I love the white but need my color for flavor....

Stay tuned and watch the transformation.  If you want a hint of it's future look at my Pinterest posts.  http://www.pinterest.com/jdzinesf/hyde-street-penthouse/

Week 36 Thursday

December 11 2014

Well the storm hit last night and it is still coming through.  I was up working on a couple of future projects when the power goes out.  It's 7 am and I can't believe my luck.  I've been waiting 5 weeks for these counter tops to get made and 6 months for these doors.  Wow I hope they get this power back on soon.

My guys are there right on time and ready to go power or not.  They spend most of the day installing the five regular doors using flash lights.  A major clean up is also happening in all of the rooms.  I need to get everything out of here asap so that I can have the concrete sub come in and polish the floors. 

Stone sub is here with the Calacatta Oro and they work until about 2 pm doing what they can without power.  They can't drill the holes for the sink so no water again today.  They get the counter by the bar installed but not the island.  Hopefully someone will be by tomorrow to get this finished off.

R is out all day at an appointment and I am at home with no power, heat, internet and nary a book in sight because they are all in storage.  I have a kindle but of course it needs charging.  My phone is running out of juice because I forgot to charge it last night.  I spend a lot of time reading the paper, looking at my ipad which has a few things that have already been down loaded.  I am sitting on a bench with no cushion that is in the window because there is light there and trying to stay out of everyone's way.  The clock is ticking and still no power.  I am freezing.  Suddenly just as everyone is leaving the power comes back on.

I'm thinking finally internet I can work on my projects, but no internet.  I try the TV, no luck there either. I open the media closet and approach the rack.  No lights, something is not right.  What do I turn on to get this going.  I can't even figure out what button to press because there are no obvious buttons.  Call my AV guys and one of them stops by on their way home to look at it.  Of course, I am a complete techno nerd, not.  He pushes one button, the the power conditioner and everything comes back on again.  Problem solved but not by me.  Thank you Brian.

AV Rack

Tomorrow is another day and I hope a better one.

Stay tuned and watch the transformation.  If you want a hint of it's future look at my Pinterest posts.  http://www.pinterest.com/jdzinesf/hyde-street-penthouse/

Week 36 Wednesday

December 10 2014

Things are looking good today.  The stone counter tops are arriving for the kitchen and the master bathroom.  This is a two day job and I have two different stones going in the kitchen.  They arrive with the black basalt which is going on the island and the dish washing area.  The Calacatta Oro is coming tomorrow.

They also have the white quartzite for the master bathroom.

Island counter

Won't fit in the elevator so being carried up four flights of stairs

Master bath counter in place

All of my construction guys are here working and waiting for the doors which are supposed to arrive at noon.  I found this out after numerous calls to the trucking company.  I get a call shortly before noon asking me if we have a fork lift on site as the doors are on a palette that weights 1700 lbs.  Well that's not happening, plan B.  Call them again and remind them that we are on a very steep hill with a cable car and that the trucker needs to park on Chestnut Street, which is flat.  I confirm that they have a tailgate drop on the truck so we can get the load to the street. 

The trucker does not arrive until after 2pm.  It takes the crew over two hours to get the doors off of the truck, palette and up to my unit.  The five 7' doors fit in the elevator but the other 6 doors are too tall and have to be carried up the stairs.  They are so heavy that it takes 3 guys to haul up each door.

It is time for the workers to quit for the day but the doors are all wrapped up so I don't get to see what they look like.  

Doors being carried up stairs

And they keep coming

The stone installers are here until 7pm and will be back tomorrow.

R and I are exhausted and we have no cook top and no water except in the sink in the guest bath.  We're off to grab a quick bite somewhere.

When we come home we turn on the news and see that SF is about to get hit by a major storm tonight and tomorrow.  All of the schools in the area are closing and many businesses.  In all the years I have lived here I have never seen this happen.  They expect the storm to drop 8" of rain on the Bay Area.  We really need it but does it have to be this much all at once?

Stay tuned and watch the transformation.  If you want a hint of it's future look at my Pinterest posts.  http://www.pinterest.com/jdzinesf/hyde-street-penthouse/

Week 35 Thursday

December 4th 2014

Much quieter today, just Wang and myself working on details that need to be finished up.

It took 1/2 of the day to get these 7 sets of sheers up.  Wang is a trooper never complains and never makes a mistake.  He is so great to work with.  Tried to get my usual installer but he couldn't make it.  All of the drapery hardware had to be cut and installed very time consuming.

Still dragging a few things to complete all of the cabinets and need to order some hardware for my appliance garage.  That cabinet cannot go in until my counter tops are installed.  I have the material running into the cabinet so you can just slide whatever you are using out of the cabinet easily.

The doors, the doors, the doors, where are my doors?  Spoke to my rep and even though they were supposed to be here today or tomorrow it is not looking that great.  They have not even been picked up by the trucking company yet.  They were made in Mexico and had to be imported into San Diego, it might have been easier to get them from Italy.  At least I have a tracking number now and will be able to follow their journey.  My contractors crew works on Saturday so if they get here, maybe something can happen.

I talked to the concrete sub and he will come out and finish my project as soon as I give him the green light. But can't do that until the doors are here.

I have a new bed, living room and dining room furniture coming the middle of next week.  I need to be done.

Stay tuned and watch the transformation.  If you want a hint of it's future look at my Pinterest posts.  http://www.pinterest.com/jdzinesf/hyde-street-penthouse/

Week 35 Wednesday

Dec 3 2014

Living Room is now the work room

Artemide chandelier for the dining room

How many workers does it take to install a glass chandelier

Starting to come together

Wow can't wait to use this but the plumber is not done yet.

Master Bath closer but still a work in progress

AV being programmed but will not be completed for a couple of days

Sorry between the move and Comcast I have been out of communication.  We definitely had to move in at least a week or two early.  But, we are surviving and glad to be in the new digs no matter the condition.  We do have one bedroom that is pretty livable.  The first night was a nightmare, the electrician left a light on with no switch outside the bedroom and since we do not have doors yet it was shining in our eyes all night.  Tried to turn off the circuit breaker but the box was mislabeled because of a change they had to make that day.  All I succeeded in doing was turn off the heat by mistake.

It has been quite eventful the last three days.  We have been living with at least 15 workers.  Hard to put anything away as they were working in all the rooms.  They hooked up a temporary kitchen sink and the cook top.  We ate out a couple of nights because we were too tired to do anything let alone cook.  Last night we decided to have eggs and it was an adventure trying to figure out how to turn on our new induction cook top.   I can tell you we already love it.  Nothing heats up except the pan and really easy to clean up.  Can't wait to do some serious cooking on it.  

Comcast another story.  What a bunch of idiots.  Spent hours on the phone with them over three days.  Talked to at least 15 different people from who knows how many countries.  They kept telling me it was working.  I kept telling them that the line from my unit to the cable box was hanging lose not attached to their box.  I also mentioned that the box had a lock on it so that we could not access it. Three days later we called for a inside install and Comcast sent someone promptly and I could actually talk to him.  He took one look at the box and said he couldn't open it.  He said Comcast uses a different type of lock.  He just told us to cut it off.  Of course I had been threatening to do that myself every time I talked to one of these 15 people.  Bingo, electrician cut lock, hooked up the wire and we had a signal.  But we had to continue to call them, more hold time to get the modem running.  And then we had no phone, more calling this morning and more people.  But now we have it all.  What a hassle.

Shower door contractor tomorrow and hopefully my doors before the week is up.  Counter tops next week then we can install the dishwasher.  We are getting close.

Stay tuned and watch the transformation.  If you want a hint of it's future look at my Pinterest posts.  http://www.pinterest.com/jdzinesf/hyde-street-penthouse/