This week, the cabinet installers completed the last of the work they agreed to do when we settled our dispute last October. They expanded the storage for extra dining chairs in December, but a shipping delay pushed out the installation of missing kitchen panels until this week. Because adding these panels was never in dispute, I was hoping to get them before moving in. Whereas the too-small chair storage closet was hidden behind cabinet doors, the missing kitchen panels were a visible reminder of the work remaining to be done.

When I set my mind to moving in by mid-December, having been told by my builder that the new home could be occupied by then, the missing panels were just one in a list of things that weren’t going to be completed before the holidays. Apart from the kitchen panels, there were concrete tiles to be mounted over the fireplace, a broken window to be replaced (under warranty), a backyard grill countertop to be completed, exterior paint to be touched up, doorstops to be installed, and electrical wiring to be tweaked. I had waited three years to move into a new home–and probably could have waited a few more weeks–but the holidays and the resulting break from a hectic work schedule made the last two weeks of December an ideal time for me to move into my new home and fix up my old place, which I plan to rent out.

One last bump in the road

Then I found out that a missing signature on the city’s final inspection checklist threatened to postpone my move-in date till after the holidays. Evidently, the city outsources its structural engineering inspections to private firms. On my project, the structural engineer had asked to be invited on site to observe how structural work was being undertaken. For whatever reason, that never happened so he couldn’t sign off on the inspection. Over a distressing week, my builder couldn’t say whether photos taken during construction would satisfy the structural engineer’s requirements or, most horrifying of all, finished and painted drywall would have to be cut open for him to sign off. The engineer’s pre-holiday work rush kept him from even looking at the photos.

Perversely, the same person who had caused me some frustration early in the project came back so close to the end to cause even more frustration. Earlier, the structural engineer revised the design of the posts that would hold up the fence around the property, which he had signed off on, resulting in a small cost overrun. Thankfully, he agreed to work overtime, reviewed the photos (which fulfilled his requirements), and signed off on the inspection. I think my architect called in a favor after I expressed concern and displeasure at the prospect of missing the window to move in during the holidays.

A work in progress

Though I moved in a week before Christmas, it took me most of the holiday break to sort through everything that came out of closets and drawers at my old place, decide what I could live without, pack and move everything else, and find new closets and drawers to store them in. So it really wasn’t till after New Year’s that I started to find time to relax and enjoy the new home. For sure, there is much more to be done, among them installing window coverings (to replace temporary stick-on blinds), getting more furniture, adding landscaping including exterior lighting, and, eventually, finishing the roof deck. So perhaps my move-in date simply marked a phase change in this long adventure, from looking from afar to experiencing from within. I plan to keep documenting that experience in this blog, looking back at decisions made months and years ago and how they turned out, perhaps with the clarity that hindsight brings. Meanwhile, here are some photos of my new home.