Day 185 – Problem Solving for Stove Hood Ducting

Another reminder that Adair Homes is not a custom home builder, the last week of new home building has been filled with problem solving by the home owner. Last weekend the installer for the over the stove hood came out and realized the ceiling duct was too far forward. It seemed like it would be an easy fix by moving the ducting back about 2.5 inches.

Well…nothing is easy in home building. Our site superintendent came out Monday to look at it and after looking at the plans said that the ducting could not be moved. It looks like there is a floor joist in the way.

My first thought was to get a different hood which has a larger chase. I’ve looked around and can’t find a hood that would work. The way Adair Homes normally accommodates this is by building a larger chase above cabinets. With the hood we picked out there are no cabinets so it would look weird to have a box built above the cabinets.

The option suggested by our site superintendent is to have a custom chase made. I met with a couple of metal fabricators to see what their thoughts were. Both said that something could be made, but one of them thought it might look a little awkward as it wouldn’t match exactly.  We’ve been working on coming up with a solution to this, but are not set on anything. The best option at this point is to get a custom piece made to cover up the ducting at the top.

Getting the ducting covered is only one issue with the hood. The other issue is that the installer wouldn’t come back until there is a solution (the ducting being moved). We had ordered this through the home depot and the installer is contracted with them. We decided to cancel that and have the HVAC company come back and install it. I had previously discussed this with some of crew that was there a couple of weeks ago and they said they could do it, and to call the office if we decided on proceeding.

The HVAC technician was able to come out on Friday to get the hood installed. We’ll leave the chase off for now until we can get something made to cover the top portion of the ducting.

We were supposed to have final inspection last week, but with the complication with the ducting we were not able to get it done. It’s the final thing we needed, so we are glad that the HVAC company was able to do it.

The painters came last weekend and were able to finish the touch up work. Also, the items that needed to be taken care of from our pre-walk through meeting was completed last week.

The fourth draw from the bank was supposed to go out this week as well, but Adair Homes submitted the incorrect amount. Early in the process they gave us a form to waive approval of payments. Luckily, we did not do this and all payments need approval before they are sent to Adair Homes. I look at it each draw to make sure that it is correct, and was able to catch the error. Accounting was able to correct the mistake and the draw was resubmitted to the bank for the correct amount.

We’re getting so close to move-in, but it still seems so far off. We’re hoping to get final inspection next week and the certificate occupancy soon after. The movers are scheduled for two weeks! Thank you all for following along as we build a new home!