Remember when I said Neatness counts?….

The final days of the project are approaching and excitement builds as the crew finishes painting and adding in trim. You are busy with move in preparations and amidst the flurry are not paying close attention to everything in the final stage. The weekly meeting is crucial at this point in time.

.

Go over the neatness counts part really carefully. If your project team has been following the daily clean up you will be able to avoid many end of project “BLUE TAPE” issues. It is to everyone’s advantage to be Neat! This is the fine tooth comb stage.

* All miters are expected to match up

* All screws are to be totally buried in drywall mud before painting: go back and check now before final paint is applied.

* Check the tape joints for any bubbling. Fix it now.

* Check every window for neat caulking before final finish.

* Check all exterior doors for leaks during the daylight hours. A leak is anywhere you feel a draft or can see a shaft of light. Definitely get this fixed before your move in date. This is an incredibly common problem. I have had it occur recently on two of my high end projects. It is not uncommon. Not only do you not have a weather seal but mice and ground squirrels can easily enter your home through the smallest crack.

* Walls should be vacuumed prior to painting. This avoids little bumps of dirt being painted over and becoming part of the new home.

* Cabinetry and all woodwork should be caulked tight and neatly against drywall

* watch for evenness in trim or sections damaged or missing.

Note that there is a chunk missing from the edge of the trim and that the trim has not changed been sanded smooth. Details are what distinguishes a great job over just getting it done in order to move on to the next job.

This illustrates several of the above mentioned issues.

*Cabinet not caulked against wall

*door hinges not adjusted leaving gap between box and door

* installer has damaged the box: note split and jagged edge plus ding in drywall