Fall 2003 (home addition built)

As the workers arrive 8/20/03.
A view of the side of the main house: end of day 8/21/03.
A view of the side of the main house: end of day 8/21/03.
The roof came off after the inside was gutted. end of day 8/26/03
end of day 8/27/03
end of day 8/27/03
end of day 8/28/03
end of day 8/28/03
end of day 9/04/03
The builders screwed up!
The 2 front windows are supposed to be 7 feet apart so a bed can fit between them.
THe say they will correct it next week.
end of day 9/04/03
end of day 9/10/03
They fixed the front windows
end of day 9/10/03
Some of the inside walls can be seen
end of day 9/11/03
The roof frame is up now
end of day 9/17/03
Starting to look good!
They broke through into the house this day
middle of day 9/18/03
The windows are up!
middle of day 9/18/03
The windows are up!
end of day 9/30/03
End view of deck, bay-window and glass doors.
end of day 9/30/03
View from hillside
The outcrop in back is master bath.
end of day 9/30/03
Inside bath view to bay window and door.
end of day 9/30/03
Inside bedroom. left is closet, behind it utility room, to the right is bath.
middle of the day 10/06/03.
end of the day 10/15/03.
end of the day 10/15/03.
end of the day 10/24/03.
end of the day 11/13/03.
end of the day 11/13/03.
end of the day 11/13/03.
end of the day 11/13/03.
end of the day 12/04/03.
entrence view to the bath night of 12/22/03.
wiew down the bathroom from door night of 12/22/03.
entrence view to the walk-in closet night of 12/22/03.
bedroom night of 12/22/03.
bedroom night of 12/22/03.
bedroom fireplace and bookcases night of 12/22/03.
bedroom night of 12/22/03.

No, the addition is not finished. Lord this is taking a long time. The bath is not completed. Wireing is not finished. The air conditioning is not finished. Work in the garage is not complete. We have a long ist of problems that we are trying to get fixed. Going through the addition process is a long and expensive process. I hope it is finished by mid January now, but it may not be.
In the mean time, the bathroom tile is in. The carpeting is in and the fireplace is functional now. At night we allow the cats to explore the addition.
calliope sits near the fireplace night of 12/22/03.
hamlet discovers where the air conditioner return will be between the bedroom and closet night of 12/22/03.
leo and hamlet debate exploration of the bedroom night of 12/22/03.
a rare moment when orion relaxes by the fireplace and carpet remnents night of 12/22/03.
calliope decides that the remnents may be a HUGE scratching post night of 12/22/03.
leo decides to continue into the room night of 12/22/03.
Electra relaxes in the bedroom night of 12/22/03.
the fireplace night of 12/22/03.
We finally moved into the addition just before Thanksgiving (late November) 2004. Is it complete? Yes and no. We have all but given up on demanding they finish some things (areas of bad paint, wood trim with huge holes from knots). They have sent a final bill and added in some work that was included in the price we paid. I sent them a fax on this issue a month ago and they have not responded. In turn I have not paid the final payment till they correct the amounts. We still have a few other issues that will have to be addressed, on the top of the list is an odor that seem to permeate the addition from time to time (it did it almost daily in the summer). It has a slight smell of propane, and the builder insists there is no smell (even though the plumber and several others have smelled it). I am now considering hiring someone to locate the cause of the odor and take the builder to court to cover what costs we incur locating and correcting the problem.

In this end this addition was a nightmare. It took close to 1.5 years to "complete" and the contractor kept asking ME to contact the subcontractors to arrange repairs. Items we ordered and paid for were replaced with lower end items as well. If you ever find yourself in the Helena area of Montana and need to hire a builder, contact me and I will tell you who NOT to use.
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