Stairs, con't

Settled on a stair company. I ended up going with a local metal worker 2 blocks from my house. The main staircase will be steel stringers with wooden steps, open treads.

It will kind of look like this, I think (see the staircase wedged into the right side pix):

The railing will carry through the entire house.

Other progress - they're laying the cement in the basement floor, and the roofing guy is doing his thing.

New wall

Before there were steps down off the street and a door leading into the basement level. Not anymore.

Beyond the gate was where the steps were. That black wall with the new window is new. The wall has been pushed out about 3 feet. concrete will cover where the gravel is now.

Here's a very dark interior view, looking out:

The black wall is the old wall, which, by now, has been knocked down. The gray cinderblock wall is the new wall.

They're continuing with the basement work - installing the main sump pump and backup pump, laying more gravel, and other foundation support work. In the meantime, I'm still trying to settle on a stair company, and the roofer is set to begin ASAP.

Stairs

for the main staircase I want an open design like the one pictured here:

So far I've called seven places to get an estimate. Two have gotten back to me. One, based in Queens, doesn't work in Jersey City(!) The other four???

I keep hearing how there's an especially sharp recession in the home building industry. You'd figure they'd be jumping for work. Maybe I'm too small. Or maybe they've cut their staff back so much they don't have enough people to handle what little work they have. Or maybe there's something good on TV they don't want to miss.

Doors

Crash course on entry doors. I needed to buy one this weekend. No screen, so steel is ruled out. Wood too. That leaves fiberglass, which seems to be well-regarded. Insulated, weather resistant, all that stuff. I got a simple design, no windows. I don't want anyone peering in.

Fun living over a bar

A thunderstorm rolled through on Friday night about 2 in the morning. This coincided with the bar downstairs closing. It poured for an hour. All I heard was a bunch of screaming girls. For an hour. Screaming about how they're getting wet. For an hour. Are people that dumb? Apparently, yes.

Jackhammer

Stopped by this AM. They're jackhammering away at the outside front area, where we're going to dig down a couple of feet and expand the front room. The concrete there is a couple of feet thick, so it looks like a hell of a tough job. But it will change a room that would be 6x10 to a room that is 9x10. Not much larger, but significant in terms of usability.

Holding

The basement, thanks to the French drains and sump pump, weathered the monsoons of May and came out dry. The plumbing lines are laid, gravel piled on top, and now we're waiting for the plumbing inspector to sign off so we can seal it up with concrete and resume work on the rest of the house.

The inspector was supposed to come Friday, but didn't, then Tuesday, but didn't, and now today, supposedly. That's the system.