I obviously didn’t have enough time to try to load photos and post back here. I ended up having to extend my time at the project because a) owners are not available and b) there are a lot of detailed issues coming up.
It’s really difficult to reconfigure areas where you don’t have standard stud framing to hid plumbing pipes, drain lines and wires. So we have to think through every run of new pipe and wiring to hide it the best we can. And, I cannot get the owners to decide on the kitchen layout, refrigerator or microwave and so we don’t really know where to run wires for those items. I did nail down the bathroom layout so we can start with the plumbing and wiring for that area.
Deck is not done yet. It is taking forever because I am insisting that every piece get measured and cut and THEN has to get one coat heavy primer and two coats of high end semi gloss paint before it gets installed. This slows the process down a lot, waiting for 3 coats of paint on every piece of wood. I really want to make sure that the expensive lumber is sealed as best as possible against the humid, wet environment.
Materials are very expensive!!! This will be a project where materials end up being 65% of project cost instead of labor. Example - we had to get Six 2x10 24ft long Borat treated boards and total cost (before delivery cost) was $720!!! However, standard Borat treated lumber is about the same price as San Diego pressure treated lumber. But things like copper plumbing solder is $40 there versus $28 in San Diego. That all adds up. Luckily I put a big caveat on my original estimate - I did not know higher material costs would be in Hawaii.
We needed 6 pieces of 24 ft long lumber for the ‘sandwich boards’ for roof structure. It took me 2 days to source it from Honsador lumber and another 2 days to get it delivered. They were too long to try to haul an hour in the truck.
So, the guys moved over and finished Electric Panel installation, outdoor shower install, rewiring, installing tankless water heater, opening up walls and opening up a window/wall to move the exterior door to another location.
I think we have spent $23,000 so far but that includes a lot of stuff sitting in storage waiting for installation. We ran into a lot of issues after we looked at the walls between studio and laundry room and we have to do a lot of concrete cutting, so I warned the owners that I believe it is going to cost about $5,000 more to do the studio apartment. I gave them a couple of days to decide if we should move forward, but they decided to go ahead.
I did take the guys out for a couple of outings because they do not venture very far unless I force them to. We went to dinner and drinks at the Turtle Bay Resort (which has been remodeled completely and is really nice), took them on a catamaran sail in Waikiki (which is not something I would normally do but it was about the only experience that wasn’t sold out for the entire month), then dinner and live music at the Elk’s Lodge (hosted by a friend of mine who is a member). Also took them to Waimea Valley because they wanted to swim at a waterfall and I wanted to force them to learn a little about the history and culture, and gave them a list of other waterfalls they could hike to. And I showed them a lot of nearby beaches they could go for swimming after work every evening. It appears to me that the only place they go is Walmart to get food and stuff because they are familiar with that store !
I personally spent a LOT of time driving back/forth 2 hours round trip to Home Depot, taking people to airport, picking people up from airport, etc. A bridge washed out on the Windward Side and there was massive traffic the whole week along North Shore and trying to get across the center of the island. As an example, it took an hour to inch from Wailua to the eastern end of the North Shore (where owners live). I was staying with friends in Kaneohe and had to drive 45 min each way to the project. There aren’t any hotels in the project area and I couldn’t find anything to rent closer.
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