The building inspector came back for a re-inspection on Tuesday. We passed.

He basically took my word for everything that wasn’t easily visible, like the framing repairs. He had noted several plumbing issues, which I told him had been corrected. He suggested that we add some metal tie straps to the side framing of the garage doors, to help prevent the garage from blowing away in a strong wind (assuming we had left the garage doors open, which we won’t). We needed four angle brackets specially designed for that purpose at a cost of $20 each. That’s a lot for metal brackets, but not so much in the context of a cost of the whole house.

I bought the brackets and spent an hour and a half drilling holes in the concrete pad of the garage, installing concrete anchors and bolts, and hammering 25 nails into each bracket.

The inspector said we can start drywalling. The drywall contractor said he can start pretty much when I call. Several things have to be done first. I have to complete the insulation, which I think I can do in a couple of days, or one if I’m really diligent. On second thought, make that two days. The heating and air-conditioning contractor is going to install a duct we’ll use to blow warm air from the wood-burning stove back into our bedroom. That should happen this week. The chimney man will install all the wood stove fittings from the ceiling through the cap on the chimney. That should happen early next week. I want to install a walkway in the attic that will give us access to the whole-house fan and the warm-air blower when the attic insulation is done. That should happen by the end of the weekend.

And then drywall. And then paint. And then electricity. And then the heating/air conditioning contractor can complete the HVAC system. That will allow us to condition the air in the house, which will allow our wood flooring to get used to the conditions that it will experience when we move in. And then wood floors in the living room, hall, and bedrooms, and maybe kitchen. And tile in the bathrooms, and maybe the kitchen. There are several things that may have lead times of several weeks, so we need to pick them out now and possibly order them within a week or so. That includes wood flooring, bathroom vanities, and possibly some light fixtures.

And, of course, I have to finish up the basement in our current house, hopefully before the end of May.

We need to get busy.