Morningside Renovation

Our Journey Through The Renovation Process Of Our Future "Forever Home" In Morningside (Atlanta,GA)

Tag Archives: basement


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We Have a Problem

We have a problem, after being framed I knew that it would look a little smaller but I decided to measure the room sizes anyway.  Somehow we lost 2′ 6″ from the depth/length of our basement/flex room.  Our downstairs bedroom is smaller and the stub for the plumbing is in the bedroom, not the bathroom.  Just one huge mess.  I sent our GC an email letting him know that it wasn’t acceptable and that we would like to meet with him ASAP.  Also noticed that the carport is smaller than what was noted on the plans.  GC wrote back that “we lost some space from the plans”.  No Shit!!  A lot of space and we’re having to bring it to your attention, I would think that you would have brought this up to us as soon as you discovered there might be an issue.  Were you not going to tell us?  Amazing!!!  His reasoning is that the elevations in the plans are wrong.  Ok, doesn’t make sense to me but I’m willing to listen, plus doesn’t it say on the plans to field verify all measurements and to notify the architect if the existing field conditions are different from what’s on the plan?  We’re meeting him on Saturday and I am beyond pissed.  This portion of the construction is new and we’re not constrained on any side for our footprint – we shouldn’t be that far off, a few inches I understand but 30″, no way!!

Update, just spoke with our architect, he said that our GC never called him with any questions or concerns.  He said that is quite normal for our GC and that he keeps telling him that if something doesn’t make sense to call.


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Foundation is Poured

They poured the foundation today and it looks great!!  Max had the best time watching all of the big cement trucks as he made me stay to watch all 4 of them.  Thankfully he didn’t make me sit to watch it dry.  Next up, FRAMING!!!


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A Schedule

A lot of rain is schedule for this week however our GC told us that they’re planning to slab plumb today (Google), inspect Tuesday, slab prep Wednesday, inspect Thursday and pour the slab on Friday.  Yes!!! A schedule!!!


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Way Way Off

Being a fairly optimistic person I’m going to view the following as a positive step. They came back and re-graded today being that they were a little off in the needed depth of the foundation – 34 inches off!!!  How in the world does this happen?  Whoever is doing the measuring should be fired or find a new job.  At least it was caught. 

Received a funny call from our GC today, he wanted to know if we could let the plumber into the house, seems as if he can’t get his key to work (Julie at best is 104 lbs and has no problem, while he’s easily double her size). During the conversation he said that he’s only been inside when we were with him – that’s only twice and for whatever reason this seems concerning to me.


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Step Forward (baby steps count don’t they?)

Yeah, our GC said the plans were approved today by the city and are to be picked up tomorrow. Only a 10 day delay, we can handle that.

We’ve had a lot of rain lately and unfortunately some is accumulating on the hardwood floors in one of the bedrooms.  Seems that it’s coming in from the area covering what they demo’d.  Definitely concerning to see but when I told the GC he said that he would have someone fix the tarp and not to worry because it won’t hurt the floors, also that it’s common in these types of remodeling jobs. 

He also said that they’ll check the depth of the grading tomorrow (thank you), I’m curious to hear back about this because I truly don’t think that it’s deep enough for an 8′ finished ceiling which is noted throughout the plans and has been discussed numerous times.  He still can’t tell me when they’ll pour the foundation or lay the plumbing, my hope is soon.

Remember, originally we were suppose to be in the house in May, then July – now that isn’t looking too promising.  Are there really no schedules or timelines in residential construction?  This is starting to become pretty frustrating.


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Happy Valentine’s Day

The grading was completed on the expansion portion of the house yesterday so I went by to view what will soon be covered in concrete.  Not quite sure… but I think we have a problem, still have some diggin to do.  The plans call for an 8′ finished ceiling in the basement, however I’m 6′ and I’m able to reach the top of the floor on the main level of the existing house.  I know this can’t be correct as we’ll need to account for the joist, foundation, sub-floor, etc… Also the carport is smaller than what we discussed.  I sent an email to our GC just to alert him to what I’ve discovered. 

On another note, while Julie has enjoyed deciding on finishes, colors, etc… I’m starting to scare myself.  I’m now a subscriber to Better Homes & Garden‘s website and bought a copy of the latest Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles and Renovation Style.  Thankfully we were left with a lot of wood that needs to be split – think that I need to go and split some in the near future for a reality check.

Pics of the grading process, you can see that Max had a blast and felt very much at home:


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Here We Go

Our GC just informed us that he’s meeting with the silt fence guy as well as the foundation sub tomorrow to discuss everything – wish that they had done so while we were waiting on the permit but nonetheless we’re excited to get this going!!  Big question is what do we do next?  So  much to do and decide in 5 months but thankfully our GC feels confident that all can be accomplished – thankful for his laid-back attitude.


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We Have a Leak

Will this rain please stop!!!  I went by the house yesterday and it seems that as a result of all of this rain we have sprung a few leaks in the basement.  Nothing major but definitely something we’ll need to get taken care of since our immediate plans are to use this area for storage.  Our GC said that it won’t be a problem and that he’ll take care of it when we get to that point.

He also suggested that it would probably be best for Julie to call the Planning & Zoning Department to push for the permits, seems as if an angry wife tends to get more attention – my money is on us getting that permit shortly after she reaches someone.