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For those of you that have been following this blog, you know that I have wanted to open the clinic on a holiday. Here's the run down:

Jan 1 - New Year's Day

Feb 29 - Leap Day

April 1 - April Fool's Day - this was one of my favorites because it would have been so fitting!

April 15 - Tax Day - a day to remember

April 22 - Earth Day - today (You should have seen our cardboard recycling pile curbside! We dragged the cardboard home from the clinic!)

May 1 - so many holidays...May Day, National Workers Day - but we won't make this one and still stay sane!

May 6 - the first tuesday of the month and National Crepes Suzette Day

Crepes Suzette

For any of you that know me - food is my passion so if it has to be a "pretend" holiday (I've never seen any Hallmark cards commemorating the day!) it might as well be one about food! This weekend my mom told the story of me wanting to go out for crab dinner for my 3rd birthday and then there's the one when I was 5 and worried about flying on a plane by myself because I might not be able to read the menu!

Michael and I went to dinner and had a meeting going over all of the things we had to get done to open the doors. The list is still a little daunting but there are some natural deadlines that make it easier to organize.  You may ask how Michael and I had time to go out and eat! Well, thankfully we had the floors refinished this afternoon and so we can't walk on them until tomorrow. No more hard labor today - but you can bet we'll be in there tomorrow.

Thank you all for hanging in there. We will get our doors open soon. I can't wait for you to see the place in person. It's really looking more and more amazing everyday! 

It was a mad flurry of activity this weekend! We've gotten a lot more done and it feels like there's still so much to do! I feel a little guilty sitting here writing this. I put on normal clothes this morning to remind myself that I'm a real person instead of my grungy painting/working overalls. I know you guys are as excited as I am to see our progress, so it's all in the name of the common good right? Thanks for helping me out here!

Mom and Dad painting

So my parents flew in from Los Angeles for their second go around at clinic tasks. Of course we had them painting but that wasn't all! There were doors to be stained, cabinets to be hung and handles to be put on (my dad wants the breakroom named after him!), clean up and cardboard to be broken down, switch plates to be put on and kennels to be moved -that was a feat! My mom and I even laid down the baseboards in the kennel areas. I also ran over to Fabric Depot with my mom, mother in law, Barb and Katie, our veterinary nurse to pick out fabric for the reception counter and found the perfect one! I am so lucky to have a mom that sews and she took the fabric back with her today to make the curtain (oh yeah, she's making the exam blankets too!)

It wasn't only my parents that were there helping out! Michael's parents just moved into town to their new house in Vancouver, WA and in the midst of their unpacking and organizing their lives they put in hours to help at the clinic.  Barb and Jim are expert painters and they painted a couple of the rooms and primered like crazy at out painting party. This weekend they were helping breakdown cardboard for recycling, staining doors and Barb had the unrewarding task of painting the concrete that runs under the brick - it's a tough job and it's slow going and she did a great job!

Kristin with Dr. Jackie Nielsen at the FCCO fundraiser (aka furball)

Thank you all for checking in and for being so supportive. Gotta go change into the overalls and get my booty back to work!

It was a pretty exciting long weekend for us, with a lot happening. Our lab equipment was delivered and installed, our digital radiography system was installed along with the dental xray system, and the electricians hung the ceiling fans and light fixtures. Then on Saturday, we painted like mad, and then hung out drinking and eating pizza afterwards. Thanks VERY MUCH to everyone who came out to help us paint, we were really seriously relieved to have gotten so much done in one afternoon. And thanks to everyone who stopped by to hang out, have a few drinks, and check out the clinic - it was really nice to see everyone there!

Omar setting up our lab equipment	Electricians installed the ceiling fans
light fixtures from Schoolhouse Electric	Paint and maple doors

Digital radiography system installed, and working! This is our test shot of Katie's dog Frida who was kind enough to pose for us

Dad	Mom
Lia	Barb
Ben	Katie

Hopefully tomorrow we'll actually be flipping light switches in the space, turning on our lights! Kristin and I put bulbs in them all today, and the electricians have been finishing everything up quickly - things are moving fast!

Sheetrock, taping, and wall finishing are proceeding smoothly (heh heh, smoothly) and it's starting to look like a real place. The doors are going up too! We'll be painting a few key areas over the next few days so we can be ready for our digital radiography machine on Thursday, and our lab equipment which is also coming on Thursday.

We'll keep you posted - until next time, here's some pictures...

view down the hall from the front	comfort room doorway and window

treatment area with the wet tables in place

Humabuilt doors, ready to be hung. These doors have a thin veneer of maple, but 85% of the volume of the door comes from wheat stalks, so it's annually renewable

Wow it's been over two weeks since my last construction update - sorry about the delay. Let's get down to business...

Week 5 (3/17 - DONE)
The majority of the rough electrical was completed this week, and work continued on the pressure piping for Oxygen, Nitrogen, and Vacuum systems.

Week 6 (3/24 - DONE)
Okay, well - the original plan was to be done with drywall by the end of this week, but in fact by the end of the week it hadn't even started. So, we're now officially 1 week (or slightly more) behind. However, this week we *did* get everything else completed:

• Rough Electrical: Completed, and approved to cover up
• Rough Plumbing: Completed, and approved to cover up
• Network Cables: Completed, approved to cover
• Medical Gas System: Inspected and approved, still pending some extra paperwork and permitting. I had to work HARD to find someone at the city who wanted to look at this system. Nobody thought it was their turf, yet everyone figured someone wanted to look at it. Eventually I found "Special Hazards Inspector" Bob Happle who works for the Fire Marshall, and he was excellent. He came by, inspected the system, told me how to file the permit (which will land on his desk) and gave us the okay. So, despite my previous bitching about the city, there have been quite a few good people to work with there, and Bob is certainly one of the best so far!
• HVAC Venting and Gas Line: Completed, and approved to cover - this included a vent through the roof for the dryer, the water heater, the bathroom vent, and the medgas evacuation system.

So, with all those subtasks completed and all the approvals lined up neatly... we're ready to SHEETROCK!

We also had the "Wash 'n Roll" truck come by to groom DeeDee - it's a cool RV turned into a mobile grooming service. They did an excellent job, and they were very good with DeeDee!

BEFORE	AFTER

Week 7 (3/31 - THIS WEEK): Derek, the contractor doing the framing and sheetrock, had a hard time finding guys to do sheetrock this week - everyone was working on other projects. So Monday and Tuesday went a little slower than expected, although he got some leftover framing tasks completed, which was good. But Wednesday he found a crew of 4 guys who came in and sheetrocked ALL of the main walls and ceilings in 1 day! Wednesday night it looked like there had been an explosion in there, what a freaking mess - my tidy and orderly job site had been ruined, but at least the sheetrock was up!

So the rest of the week the drywall guys are taping and mudding, and derek is hanging doors and window frames. It's starting to look really different in there. I'll hold off on sending sheetrock pics until they get the joints taped and sanded, it looks pretty ugly in there at the moment.

Week 8 (4/7): The plan next week will be for us to paint a few critical areas in the evenings like the bathroom, breakroom and the lab area, so we can hang the cabinets and countertops, and the plumber can get in and do his finish work (hooking up sinks and wet tables). Hopefully we can also get the electricians started on some of the finish work up on the ceiling (pendant lights and fans). Then, next weekend, we'll be painting like mad.

Week 9 (4/14): Now the electricians can really come in and finish up. We'll also be bringing in a lot of equipment, and getting the floors cleaned and re-finished with a couple final coats of sealer. Then, towards the end of the week, we'll start setting up equipment, bringing in furniture, touching up paint, and putting down carpet tiles.

So, technically if all goes as planned, we could still *possible* open on Earth Day (4/22), but it seems unlikely that we'll be able to get all of that together by then. So, the next holiday to shoot for would be May Day (5/1) which is either "Loyalty Day", "International Workers' Day", or some pagany druid thing, or a day where you put flowers in baskets, or something - I don't get it, it's sort of a strange multi-purpose-holiday with a lot of functions all trying to stack up on that one day, but they may need to make room for one more... MTVC Grand Opening Day!

DeeDee feels much lighter on her paws since her haircut

Belmont Sunset, after that crazy day of hail, snow, sun, and rain - btw, "Belmont Sunset" would be a good name for a drink, something with carrot juice in it maybe, and tequila... not sure yet. I'll work on it.

Today was really insane - so much going on in one day! Let's see - over the course of this ONE day here we had:

2 network installation guys
2 HVAC guys
5 painters (still there as I write this)
4 plumbers (still there as well, pressure testing our O2 and N2 delivery systems)
1 landlord
1 sales rep
1 delivery guy (dropping off a couple 200lb doors)
1 interior designer (Cheryl!)
2 guys working for the building owner (putting plywood on the ceiling in back)
1 roofer (patching up the holes the HVAC guys were drilling)
1 Doctor (that's Kristin)
1 Official Clinic Poodle
1 tired computer geek posing as a general contractor

And there's drama emerging too, so in addition to guiding a lot of work, unloading a truck, and going on a lumber run, I spent a lot of time mediating in person, and on the phone...

1. Painters vs. HVAC
The painters had to leave this morning because the HVAC guys were in the way. I didn't know the HVAC guys would still be here today, so, I screwed that up. We gave them all some extra cash for their time, and they came back in the afternoon.

2. Owner's HVAC vs. our HVAC
The owner's HVAC guys claim our HVAC guys screwed something up on the roof (bypassing the economizer, and not putting the thermostat cabling in hard pipe). The problem is - our HVAC guys didn't do anything on the roof except turn on the gas. We think maybe the other HVAC guys are sore because they didn't get the bid, and everyone's been very impressed by the obviously superior quality of the work our guys are doing... Eastside Heating and Air Conditioning - doing excellent work, quick and on time, for a good price.

3. Our HVAC vs. Owner's HVAC - the empire strikes back!
In retaliation, our HVAC guys happened to point out to the building owner's contractor that the common area HVAC duct is broken at one of the joints. Ha, take that!

4. Plumbers vs. General Contractor
The general contractor moved some pressure pipes around in the back, and dismantled some of the brackets, in the process of putting up the plywood on the ceiling. I didn't know this until the plumbers came in and saw it, and they were pretty pissed - that stuff is oxygen-purged for use with medical gas, and they'd taped it off to prevent contamination. None of the tape was moved, however, so all is well, and everything's back in place just fine.

5. HVAC vs. Roofer
The HVAC guys drilled a nice hole for the water heater vent, with the proper clearance (1" minimum) around it through the wood decking (since that vent gets HOT) but when the roofer patched it up he moved it, so it was touching the wood. Not good. Oh and he also goobered a couple giant slabs of tar down into our space. So, they were sorta pissed. By the time they noticed it he was gone. They managed to maneuver the vent around a little, enough so we've got more than an inch of clearance all around, but it's not quite as perfect as it was when they first did it. They did go up to the roof afterwards though, and commented that the guy did an excellent job with the roofing.

6. DeeDee vs. the Scissor Lift
The little baby scissor lift we have now (to steer into tighter spaces) overcompensates for being pathetically tiny and lame by beeping CONSTANTLY at a Kiss-concert volume level, and DeeDee hates it. I hate it too, so I can't blame her. I miss the good ole SkyJack^® 19' Platform Scissor Lift (*sniff*).

7. HVAC Guy Nick's Hand vs. Some Sheet Metal
While drilling some sheet metal, a piece got away from his grasp and sliced three of his fingers pretty badly, OUCH! He went to the hospital, and probably needed some stitches - haven't heard back yet.

So, lines have been drawn, alliances formed, and blood has spilled! This is starting to feel seriously epic.

Our fancy designer-color CAT5E network cables!	DeeDee stops by for a visit	Finishing the connections on the pressure piping system

Kristin and I spent a lot of time in the clinic over the past few days, finishing up some odd framing tasks, installing the support structure for the overhead surgery lights, putting in a little bit of drywall (so we can hang the cabinets this weekend) and installing low-voltage boxes and chases for network cables. Kristin's also been painting the old seismic reinforcing columns - they were a pretty nasty faded color, and she picked a great matte red that cleaned them up a lot, but they still maintain a little of their original weathered appearance.

I had an interesting inspection on Friday, and spent the weekend worrying about it.

<rant>

The inspector told us that we had to INSULATE at least 50% of the exterior wall. Now - that wall is masonry, and is adjacent to the neighboring building's concrete wall, so, first of all... insulation? get serious!

Also, we sandblasted it so we could leave it exposed. It looks awesome. Now we have to build a wall in front of it?

Aside from that, we've ALREADY BUILT FRAMING in front of it. How the hell are we supposed to get in there and frame out 50% of it NOW?!

You know, I appreciate the safety and order that all our building codes have produced. In this country, even after a major earthquake we have pretty limited damage. In other countries, there's a stiff breeze and thousands of people are crushed under pancaking concrete slabs with no reinforcing steel in them. So, I get it, codes are good... mmkay? But here's the problem - you have to TELL ME THIS WHEN I'M GETTING THE ORIGINAL PERMIT YOU JERKS!!!! You can't make me go through days and days of reviews, revisions, discussions, variances, checks, fees, and arguments, only to finally issue me a permit for my plans, and THEN JUST MAKE UP NEW CRAP DURING INSPECTIONS! No - not okay. Sorry. You can't have it both ways guys. You want to be tough in permitting? Fine - but when you're done, I get to build it AS PERMITTED. You want to be tough during inspections and make crap up? Fine - but then don't even bother with plan review and permitting - just let me start building, since the permits apparently don't mean anything anyway.

</rant>

Okay, there's actually way more to the story, but I don't want to publicly impugn anyone's reputation, so you'll have to ask me offline. Thanks for letting me vent. I feel much better :)

In the end, I spoke to the head of the inspection department who was actually a very nice guy, saw the point, and said he'd talk to the inpector. So, I *think* we're in the clear, but I'm going to be pretty nervous when this guy comes back for the final framing inspection. You can bet he's gonna be pissed and he'll pull his tape measure out for every little thing. But we're ready... BRING 'EM ON!

Enough of that - here's the construction schedule update!

Week 1 (DONE): All HVAC main supplies and returns hung and operational. Floor grinding finished, floors sealed and done. Storage room floor epoxied and complete. (btw, this is a picture I took while spending the night there, guarding our cabinets and surgical lights) 

Week 2 (DONE): All main electric conduit run, all ceiling fixtures located and junction boxes installed. Framing begun, and well underway - rough framing is already about 50% complete!

Week 3 (DONE)
My Boastful Claim: Rough plumbing complete. Rough framing complete. Storage space electrical installed.
What Actually Happened: We got pretty close. The framing was completed in week 3, and the storage space electrical was installed - rough plumbing got a slightly later start though.

Week 4 (DONE)
The Claim: HVAC registers installed, returns and supplies dropped into rooms with ceilings. HVAC venting installed (dryer vent, gas waterheater vent, medgas vent, bathroom exhaust vent). Pressure piping for oxygen and nitrogen installed. Medical waste gas system installed.
Reality: This is the end of last week - the rough plumbing was done, but the medgas is still in process - it will definitely be done by the end of this week - they just have a few hours of work left to do. The HVAC finish work was also not *quite* done, they're finishing up tomorrow (Tuesday) - so, maybe 2 days behind schedule. Not so bad!

Week 5 (THIS WEEK)
The Original Plan: Electrical work within stud walls, wires pulled
The Revised Projection: The electricians are coming back at the end of the week, so this won't be completed this week - however, they did get a head start on it last week when they had a couple spare days. So, this portion, along with all items from above, should be completed by the middle of next week - a 2 to 3 day overall delay.

Week 6 (NEXT WEEK)
Plan: Drywall. Plumbing fixtures.
Outlook: Good for drywall, but not for plumbing finish work. Since the electricians might be there for half the week, it leaves just a couple days to do the drywall, which *might* be finished by the end of the week.

Week 7 (revised): Finish drywall, paint. Electrical fixtures, lighting installed. Plumbing fixtures installed. Casework, cabinets, countertops installed.

Week 8 (revised): Complete painting. Floors cleaned and touched up, final coats of sealant applied. Paint, carpet, trim details.

Week 9: Bring in equipment, open the doors!

So, even though a few things have slipped, I'm still projecting my original super-aggressive 9-week schedule.

the plumbers and electricians made this beautiful sculpture in the wall, but we're thinking about covering it with sheetrock anyway (sorry guys!)

cable trays we installed overhead to carry the oxygen, nitrogen, and vacuum pipes, as well as the network cables, across open spaces like the office

I can't believe our last update was on the 1st of March!

Well, we've been really busy with the clinic and have lots of updates. Michael has been coordinating up a storm and putting hard hours of physical labor into the job - framing, putting in lights, hanging cable trays, and laying out where everything goes. 

Me and Mom at Clyde Commons enjoying Popcorn and Champagne for Happy Hour

This past weekend my parents came up from Los Angeles to spend the weekend with us and celebrate my birthday. We had a great visit and roped them into helping at the clinic - birthdays are great for that! My dad helped Michael with framing and when my mom and I arrived with painting supplies we all set to work on priming part of the big wall - prepping for casework installation. That wall is high! But my dad did enjoy riding the scissor lift up and down after Michael strategically placed it between the truss and ductwork, without hitting the plumbing stubs! Man, can he drive that lift!

Me standing by the primered wall in the treatment room

As far as schedule goes, things are looking great! Michael is coordinating all of the subs to their maximum potential and to their credit, the subs are working hard and getting things done on time or ahead of schedule!

Michael's prediction

Week 3: Rough plumbing complete. Rough framing complete. Storage space electrical installed.

Week 4: HVAC registers installed, returns and supplies dropped into rooms with ceilings. HVAC venting installed (dryer vent, gas waterheater vent, medgas vent, bathroom exhaust vent). Pressure piping for oxygen and nitrogen installed. Medical waste gas system installed.

Michael framing

So far, half way into Week 4, we have rough framing completed, storage space electrical installed, oxygen and nitrogen outlets installed, pressure piping for oxygen and nitrogen half way finished, medical waste gas system installed, the HVAC guys are in there today working on the vents and the electricians started installing the electrical work in the stud walls yesterday (that's a week 5 goal!). Extras include framing in the display shelf by the front door, framing the reception counter - Michael is hoping to finish that today, hanging cable trays - Michael finished that yesterday for the pressure piping to rest on - it looks really cool, primer started on the big wall - mom, dad and myself worked on that and I'm going back in tonight to continue, all silver straps on the ceiling painted to camouflage their existence - I finished this on sunday - what a huge job but it looks great, and can lights and bathroom vent installed - Michael's expertise once again.

We also had an electrical inspection of the back space (where radiology is located) yesterday, so the landlord can finish the ceiling - yay we passed. Next is the rough framing inspection and then the electrical inspection, once the electricians finish, and then the dry wall can go up! Once the dry wall is up we'll be calling the painting team back up from California for another session.

We've shifted gears from geological pace to subatomic... remember before how each week *maybe* one small thing would happen, maybe not even? Well check this out:

Week 1: All HVAC main supplies and returns hung and operational. Floor grinding finished, floors sealed and done. Storage room floor epoxied and complete. (btw, this is a picture I took while spending the night there, guarding our cabinets and surgical lights)

Week 2: All main electric conduit run, all ceiling fixtures located and junction boxes installed. Framing begun, and well underway - rough framing is already about 50% complete!

Future (planned)
Week 3: Rough plumbing complete. Rough framing complete. Storage space electrical installed.
Week 4: HVAC registers installed, returns and supplies dropped into rooms with ceilings. HVAC venting installed (dryer vent, gas waterheater vent, medgas vent, bathroom exhaust vent). Pressure piping for oxygen and nitrogen installed. Medical waste gas system installed.
Week 5: Electrical work within stud walls, wires pulled
Week 6: Drywall. Plumbing fixtures.
Week 7: Electrical fixtures, lighting installed. Casework, cabinets, countertops installed.
Week 8: Floors cleaned and touched up, final coats of sealant applied. Paint, carpet, trim details.
Week 9: Bring in equipment, open the doors!

Okay so it's a little optimistic for a construction schedule, and I know we'll run into a few delays. I've been overlapping subcontractors, which will be hard to maintain for the duration, and there's always inspections that could turn up issues we'll have to rework.

But for now, the construction is actually AHEAD of schedule, which I believe is actually a first in the history of civilization. I feel like we're violating a fundamental law of physics and getting away with it, so let us enjoy it and gloat for just a little bit okay?

Hello everyone! There have been lots of exciting construction going on in the clinic - Michael has been there everyday working with the subcontractors and making sure they adhere to a strict aesthetic code that he has applied to his design. This is particularly challenging with the exposure of all of those things that are normally hidden, like HVAC and electrical but they are doing a great job and are being quite flexible.

Michael driving the lift

Yesterday I rode my bike to the clinic to help Michael move the studs (lumber) into the clinic. They were dropped off yesterday morning and we single handedly moved a whole bundle of them in. The first bundle was small enough that we could open up the glass garage door and have them driven in by the fork lift. Sadly the second bundle was too long and wouldn't fit through the 10 foot door. After repeated team lifts we got everything in. We had everything delivered yesterday so the framer could start building walls today!! Can you believe it...walls!

New trees planted up front

They've also planted trees and bushes up in front of the building and put lights at the tree bases - it looks so nice.

Shiny floor and main HVAC

In other news - the floor was finished last week - it looks so clean and shiny! The swirls in the floor are going to make a great gripping surface for dogs that have fear of slippery floors or are unstable on their legs. I have a couple of choice senior dogs hired to do some floor checking - I'll let you know how it goes. Now I need to tell you a short story of dedication. In order for the floor to be finished we had to move the darn casework out of the clinic. Michael and the crew moved all of the boxes...AGAIN...into the space next door. Those giant boxes have been moved 4 times now! That was all fine but our casework is not insured if it is kept outside of our locked space - remember the whole back door fiasco? So...Michael grabbed a book, his laptop and a chair and headed to the clinic for overnight watch! Luckily the clinic is heated now so it wasn't too cold. I went down to have a late dinner and keep him company for awhile but he stayed the whole night. The next day - he and I played moving crew again and moved all of the boxes back into the space. We got creative with a couple of large heavy boxes that contain the counters and "skated" it into the space on 2 dollies! 

Needless to say we are getting quite the workout these days but it feels so good to have a hand in the creation of this beautiful space. It's fun and sometimes overwhelming and I can't wait to paint some WALLS!