No excuses here - I have been extremely slack on posting to the Miller Barter House blog.  As the previous entry mentioned we received our CO on Friday 9.19.2008.  We still have a bit of cleaning to do inside and outside of the house once the trim crew finishes, the painters finish, the landscaping is finished, the cabinets are finished… you get the point.

Here are some random pictures taken from my iPhone this evening.  Yes - that’s turf in the front planter and on the rear pato.  More professional photographs to come… I promise.   After we move in…..

First things first….  I’m sorry for not posting anything for a long time.  I have been running like crazy trying to finish out the modern barter house.  In the past couple of weeks our lease ended (thanks to in-laws for letting us crash), we traveled back home (Cleveland) for my sister’s wedding and we’ve dodged a few hurricanes.

As for the house, the appliances have arrived, the floor has been sealed, the stucco has been painted, the ipe sealed and the irrigation system is complete.  We hope to finish the rest out this week by installing the landscape and sod, perhaps painting the interior and tieing up all loose ends.

Wish us luck this week and send some HD signal our way to watch our Ohio State Buckeyes take on those Trojans of USC.  OH-IO.

A simple post to show what needs to be fixed at the Barter House.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like our contractor’s siding sub can get it right. We (Architect and I) were scheduled to meet them at the house the other day, but they were no shows. Actually - we heard they showed up over an hour late and time is money for everyone. Once they arrived it looks like they just popped a few more nails in MY ipe and called it a day. Prior meetings and detail drawings just don’t seem to do any good. We are refusing to pay for this poor work.

More ipe: The handrail which was clamped and glued together is starting to split. I contacted Stockford TrimWorks about it and Bob already has a plan of attack. Too bad he wasn’t willing to do the siding!

The garage door was installed with 2 major dents in the panel just below the window panel. The crew installed it & left it. Our supervisor was supposed to contact the installer, but I haven’t heard back yet… The windows, which are located in the top panel, sit too high up on the door. When the door is closed the top of the windows disappear behind the trim. The windows panel should be sitting lower on the door.

The concrete driveway which is about a week old couldn’t stand up to the bobcat traffic of the final grade. Tire marks still show its path. The final grade crew also buried 2 mature hardwoods along the driveway. We have tried to save these trees since day 1 and everyone knows you can’t change the grade around a tree’s canopy. I’ve asked to have the crew shovel out the trees. A deep root treatment will likely be needed after all is said and done. Unfortunately, the crew also ran into the front one and left a pretty large gauge in it. The funny thing is that I noticed them starting to do this & asked them not too. The sole spokesman said, “oh, just a little bit”. Ok. I think they misunderstood.

Although we may spending Saturday night in a tent - I can guarantee you we aren’t happy campers!

The neighborhood requires a minimum amount of plantings, 2 street trees and an irrigation system…. I’m sparing the details for your sake!

We hope to begin the landscape install as soon as possible.  C.O. takes priority.

9    Phyllostachys Nigra    Black Bamboo (own)  5′ ht
1    Cryptomeria “Black Dragon”    same                    4′ x 1′
1    Acer Palm, “Boscoop Glory”    Jap. Maple (own)            4′ x 4′
7    Buxus “Wintergreen”        Boxwood                2′ x 1.5′
4    Camellia “Kanijiro”            same                    2′ x 2′
1    Ulmus Parvaflora            Chinese Elm                2.5″ cal
11    Llex Crenata “Compacta”        Compacta Holly            3′ x 3′
1     Lagerstroemia “Catawba”        Crape Myrtle                2.5″ cal
1    Acer Palm. “Crimson Queen”    Jap. Maple (own)            4′ x 4′
1    Acer Palmatum “Fireglow”        Jap. Maple (own)            6′ ht
3    Gardenia “Frostproof”        Gardenia                2′ x 2′
1    Cryptomeria “Globosa Nana”    same                    2′ x 2′
7    Gardenia “Radicans”        Dwarf Gardenia            15″ sp.
5    Llex Crenata “Helleri”        Helleri Holly                15″ sp.
3    Ligustrum Japonica            Jap. Privet                4′ x 4′
10    Loropetalum “Ruby”        Loropetalum                2′ x 2′
10    Raphiolepis Umbellata “Minor”    Minor Hawthorn            2′ x 2′
10    Llex “Needlepoint”            Needlepoint Holly            4′ x 2′
12    Prunus “Otto Luyken”        Otto Luyken Laurel            2′ x 2′
12    Pennisetum Alopecuroides    Fountain Grass            2′ x 2′
30    Juniperus Procumbens “Nana”    Garden Juniper            15″ sp.
2    Acer Rubrum            Red Maple                3″ cal
1    Acer Palmatum “Seiryu”        Jap. Maple                6′ ht
3    Pittosporum Tobira “Variegata”    Pittosporum                2′ x 2′
5    Miscanthus “Gracillimus”        Maiden Grass            3′ x 3′
6    Viburnum Tinus            Laurustinus                2′ x 2′
1    Cham. “Glauca Pendula”        Weeping Ak. Cedar            6′ ht
1    Prunus Yedonensis “Yoshino”    Yoshino Cherry            2.5″ cal

Stefan van Staveren of Xylem Inc. was on site last week for a hardworking - get it done - one day cabinet install at the Barter House. I guess Carolina grads are actually good at something!

As you can see in the photograph of him - he was still having muscle memory lapses stemming back to the day we moved all of the Brazilian Walnut flooring to the job site.

If you’re in North Carolina and looking for a cabinet maker or millwork specialist - check out Xylem… you couldn’t find a more knowledgeable, dedicated and personable group of guys.

Go Duke!