Engineers

Today's dispute relates to whether the insurance company will pay for engineers. Apparently the insurance company is taking the position that until the City dictates that engineers be used, that they are not responsible for paying for them. Since floor joists, stairs and load bearing walls are coming out, this seems amazing to me. Perhaps I am foolishly underestimating our contractors. Or maybe I am just underestimating the ability of other parts of the house to just sort of hang on while the rest of the construction happens.

This is especially clear for me since our last trip to the house. On Saturday, Paul and I decided we would make the trip -- all 10 blocks. The walls were gone (except the kitchen, dining room and bathrooms). The den had no floor -- no hardwoods, no floor joists -- nothing but dirt. You haven't lived as a homeowner until you have stood in your house (the same house that requires sizable mortgage payments every month) on the dirt floor and been able to look all the way through.

I'm meeting with the architects tomorrow, so I'm hopeful that tomorrow will be bring forward progress (or maybe just hope for future forward progress). In an optimistic view of tomorrow, I am posting a very cool fireplace covered in rock veneer from norstone: