Here's how ours went; I assume it's standard? After framing and roofing, the water/air barrier was put up, then the windows were installed and waterproofed/flashed. Exterior cladding (in our case, brick) was supposed to be done simultaneously with the insulation (we had a delay due to brick unavailability), and then, of course, sheetrock. Next came tape and mud, trim (doors, windows, baseboards, etc), then paint. We have had a cracked window since before the brick was even started, and I was hoping they'd replace it before they bricked the house. Well, we're less than 2 weeks to closing, and it's still broken. We did mention it to the foreman when we first noticed it -- pre brick -- no response. Now the inspector gets to document it this coming week.

Generally, the flowers will appear before the new growth emerges. But sometimes you will see the unopened buds of both flowers and new growth on the plant at the same time. You will get to be able to tell the difference between them with some time and experience :-) They look somewhat similar but are distinct. I spent a good portion of yesterday afternoon removing the spent blossoms on the rhodies closest to my entry. I really dislike seeing the old faded flowers....at least on those plants most visible. Others in the garden are far too big to be that meticulous :-) And when removing the spent flowers, you have to be careful that you do not also remove or damage the new growth that appears around the flower trusses. Stems that do not produce flowers generally will extend the new growth a few days to a week or so earlier than those that do produce flowers. I see no signs of flower buds on the plant in the photo. And it is getting a bit late for any flowering on most rhodies.....it is definitely the end of the season up here!!

Because you will be acting as your own General Contractor, you will need to know all the relevant "things" about each and every project. It will be like learning a whole new career so that you can live with a torn apart house for a month or more (always add 30% more "time" to your estimates and 30% more $$$ over estimate for unexpected events). You can remove the counters and backsplash first. You can then have someone come in and stain/paint the cabinets and doors (doors will be taken off-site and finished properly in a workshop and allowed to cure properly for the full "time" (can be weeks and weeks without doors/etc). The boxes will be dealt with "on-site". It is SUPER EASY for the cabinet professionals to do all the sanding/stripping/prepping/finishing when the counters are removed. While the boxes are exposed, you will go to the stone yard to pick your stone(s). You will then sign/date the stone and take pictures (remember: you have become the GC and are responsible for all steps that a GC would take). You will have the fabricators come into the house (boxes are still exposed) and have them take measurements (make sure you are on site and make sure that they use a LASER to do the measurements). You will then follow up with the fabricator and VIEW the slab(s) with the LAYOUT TEMPLATE in place. You will APPROVE all the 'cut' placements (ie. where the veins will sit when installed). And then sign/photograph the slab prior to being cut. You can have the floors demolished and the subfloor left exposed sometime BEFORE the cabinets are finished...thus reducing the possible damage to the freshly finished cabs because of the jack hammer removing tile, etc. You will allow the cabinetry guys to finish. Once they are finished, you can then allow the counter tops to be installed. You will then INSPECT the installed product and before anything else is done, you will sign-off on the project (you need to inspect seams which means you have to be EDUCATED in seams and know what you are looking for, industry standards, etc). Once this is done, you can then look forward to adding a backsplash either now or at a later date. Backsplashes can come as last or second to last...depending on how your decision making has been going. I like to see the floors finished LAST. The subfloor prep for the floors can be done BEFORE the cabinets are finished or AFTER. It all depends on the preferences of the cabinet refinishers. Some are picky about dust on their newly finished cabinets, others are not. Once the subfloors have been prepped, you can bring in the tile setter. At this point, the tile setter should be the only professional on the job site. S/he can also be the person to deal with the backsplash...and s/he can decide on timing. Some will do it while waiting for thinset to dry, others will do it first, and others last. Whew. Fun isn't it? If you are new at this, I suggest you sit down with ALL of your trades and ask their opinions of how THEY prefer to see things done. Again, this is where YOU have to understand the business of General Contractor. Of course, a well trained Interior Designer can act as Project Manager as well as design inspiration. Everything listed above becomes the headache of the Designer, and not you. Ask yourself if you have the time to deal with about a MONTH (could be as much as 2 months if your trades are busy or things are "out of stock" etc, etc, etc.) of running around and "inspecting" things and making "on the fly" decisions and be able to run to the space to deal with issues that WILL arise. Not to mention the fun of waiting for trades who have been delayed on another project and can't get to your site for another 3-6 weeks. You will need a back-up plan for that.

Unfortunately the link down at the bottom doesn't take me to the top. On one computer there isn't even a way to choose newest or oldest first. All the same problems remain unless I use the Gardenweb backdoor or my one computer that randomly shuts down in the middle of a post. Please, let's not tell them about the backdoor or I'll never be able to use this site from various computers. I've written numerous times about the phone issues so many of us have and they don't nothing to correct any of it. Thank you Jackie for contacting them and fixing it for some platforms. You deserve a medal! Seriously!There is really something wrong with the people making these changes. Why would anyone want to comment at the top?