The [not so] Big Dig - PART II

The big dig went off without too much of a hitch.  I cannot confirm or deny that we had the proper permitting to actually dig the hole that we did, but once a hole is dug, you can make it all work out with the city permit office.  Its a much different permit to acquire to dig a hole near the foundation than it is to "restructure the staircase and entryway" in an existing hole...[wink]

In the end, we made it work, and it came out better then expected.   Plenty of room to move large furniture and appliances in AND it doesn’t feel like a dungeon of an entrance.  

check out the pictures

Iron Man

 As any good commander knows, you need to cover your rear flank.  And you need a way for the movers to get that big plushy couch in too.

For those who have been following all the updates, the "action" in the neighborhood happens in the alley.  99% of it is just annoying shit like dumping trash and taking a piss.  Not physically threatening, but something you want to keep away from your own yard.

So I called my man Leko.  He does ironwork.  I asked him to get me a gate in the rear of the house. [aka the smallest parking spot in DC]  and we also needed some new steps for the front entrance [they were destroyed when we dug the hole for the new basement entrance.]

They did good work.  The fence is sturdy and offers just enough space to park the mini-cooper.  

Just enough.

And the new stairs helped get that big plushy couch in.

see them work here.

If you can't say something nice....

this is a story about Washington Gas.

I have refrained from mentioning them [or any of the utility companies] to date, since I was afraid of jinxing the process…I was also afraid of the .00001% chance that someone sees this and screws me over somehow.   That’s what their speed of service and customer relations practices can do to a man.

The Washington Gas story ended yesterday, Friday 9/4/10

It began on Wednesday 4/12/10

Allow me to explain.

We needed to do some work on creating a new entrance for the basement [for the rental apartment]  and the plan was to coincide that project with moving the current gas line. [the old gas meter was inside the basement on the wall…the new location needed to be on the exterior of the house]  my contractor suggested a solution that would have “streamlined” the process and lessened the paperwork etc.  but it was expensive.   Thousands more.  So I decided to call the friendly folks at Washington Gas to see how they could help.  I should have taken some advil before I picked up the phone.

It actually started out well.  We made an appointment for them to come by to take a look.  They gave me a quote.  [it was much cheaper…but far from free]   and we made a date to do the work of moving the gas meter from the inside to the outside of the basement.

On a side note: this job would not get us gas service, merely set us up to then request gas service.  That’s part II of the saga.

So they come and dig up the front yard.  Move the meter.  Run a new line to the house.  No sweat.  Except for the fact that they run the new line into the wrong spot [i.e  where the future steps to the basement apartment will go] 

Then they gave me the bad news.

We couldn’t receive gas service until we got a new line from the street.  The old steel line from the main meter hasn’t been used since 1996 and was corroded.  Strong possibility of a gas leak.  Not good. He thought he could even come back LATER THAT DAY to do that job. Ha

2 months later [and several dozen phone calls]

.....a new crew shows up at the house to dig a new hole.  They proceed to tell me how much the last crew fucked up the last time.  They fix the feed line and the location of the line into the house.   30minutes.  All done.  We’re NOW on our way to getting gas service [and hot water]

so we call for the gas meter.  They actually show up 4 days later.  Amazing.

1^st guy – comes by.  Talks my ear off for 45min.  he finally leaves, but yet I have no gas meter.  Why?  Need one last inspection sticker.  TG is annoyed. but not surprised.

2^nd guy – comes by.  Tells me that my plumber has done shoddy work [whatever] he finally leaves, but yet I have no gas meter. Why?  I need all my gas appliances hooked up and need an extra shutoff valve to the stove.  TG is angered. but not surprised.

3^rd guy – comes by.  Tells me that he can get me set up TODAY.  Sounds great.  Asks me what kind of stuff I need natural gas for.  I tell him: a stove, a tankless water heater, and a gas fireplace.  He says that the meter he was going to give me wont fit on the equipment that’s outside the house.  The same equipment that the gas company installed once I told them what I had in the house.  TG is incensed.

but not surprised.

WTF?

He leaves without giving me a meter.  Says a guy may come out later to fix the problem.  Yeah. right.

4^th guy – wakes me up the other day while im out west on vacation.  Its early.  Real early.  I was confused with his offer to turn my gas on without asking me for an inspection sticker, appliance load, BTUs, or any one of several other things I don’t know shit about. 

He tells me he’s going to turn on the gas and of that was ok.

So I said “cool”

And now we have gas.  And hot water.

Yay.

And I went back to sleep.

pics here

Pepco is here! Hooray electricity!

UPDATE---MOVING IN....

hey all...its been a hectic week as we prepare to MOVE IN this Monday [8/30/10]

the house is mostly done...touch ups still to come....the kitchen still needs some lovin....but Mr. Pepco is scheduled to come on 8/30 to give us juice, so we're coming in right behind him

stay tuned....

New/Old doorknobs...

this one was all Jenny....
after spending 10 weekends in a row stripping old doors of toxic lead paint, they were finally primed, painted and hung by the crew.  all we were missing was the hardware: knobs, locks, and strikeplates.  since the doors were old school [and were already cut for the old-style locks], we decided to go old school on the hardware too.  the original doors, had original handles, but most of it was too far gone to salvage.  and there wasnt enough of it that matched.

so then came Jenny to the rescue.

through the power of Ebay and her usual persistence, we obtained 5 sets of 100yr old door hardware [and some other odds and ends that people threw into the packages too.  anyone need a crystal door handle?]

the result: REALLY COOL doorknobs that give the new place some more of that old-time flava.

check em out

We didnt forget about the basement....

the basement is key...its going to be an income-generating rental unit.

so the idea is to make it [almost] as nice as the upstairs....
as spacious and open as possible  [check]
a nice kitchen [almost check]
a large bedroom [check] and
wood flooring [check]

we've devoted more resources recently to getting the upper levels ready, so the basement is moving along at a slightly slower pace, but not too far behind.  yesterday, they finished up the wood flooring...it looks great [even if its only a synthetic-factory-blend of wood like products]

looks pretty good to me!