Well, I think we’re up against our first delay. Our contractor contacted ConEd first thing in the project because he needed electricity for his tools, but he waited a little to figure out the water situation. Turns out that was a mistake.

ConEd won’t put in gas and electric until water has been resolved because too many times the guys doing the water mess up the ConEd connections. We were hoping our existing water connection would be good, but it’s not – we need a new connection. On top of that the mechanical engineer certifying the sprinkler system wants more heads and now we’re over 30 sprinkler heads – so we need a larger than normal connection to the water main (3″ instead of 2″).

Thanks to our highly efficient city government it’s going to be a 2 month wait to get approval for the new water connection. Then probably a week or two to actually get the work done. Then probably another couple weeks for ConEd. Only after the water connection is made can the plumbing be inspected. Insulation can’t be put in until the plumbing is inspected. Sheetrock can’t be put up until the insulation is done. And generally things just go more slowly when the guys are working on a generator instead of a real electrical connection. There’s still work that can be done while we’re waiting on the water and on ConEd, but it’s going to delay things.

So word to the wise renovator is to deal with your water (and sewer) connections first – you’ll save time down the road…