Common House minutes: 2003-11-15

Minutes:

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Nov. 15 CH [[Meeting]] Minutes


Present were [[Rod]], Laura, [[Jenny]] & Rostam, and (briefly) Ted. Rostam mostly chased Laura's kittens.
Minutes: [[Jenny]]
We went over the CH fireplace options. The carpenters framed the mantel at a height of 48" on Friday, having not heard about Wednesday's decision to change it to a 42" mantel. We discussed it and decided that, given that a 42" mantel will still give room for a 9" tile surround (Note: Katie's drawings assume a 12" surround), we should opt for the 42" stock cabinets and the 42" mantel. [[Jenny]] will ask JD at Sunday's steering meeting to have Phoenix re-frame the sitting room mantel to a height of 42". By allowing us to use stock cabinets instead of custom cabinets, this should save us ~$500.

We agreed on the fireplace as spec'd in [[Elph]]'s email, above, with a couple of exceptions. First, unless [[Rod]] and [[Jenny]] were given misinformation by Mr. Fireplace, the DF-6-Prism arched doors in brushed nickel are $600, not $350. (The plain CDM-6 arched door, without the additional trim and lower panel, is $350, and only comes in black or pewter -- no brushed nickel.) Further, the DF-6-Prism requires the addition of "interchangeable panels," which cost $50 (included in the $600). We all liked the Mission (SPMN) door. (Going with the pewter accent instead of the brushed nickel would save $100.) Most of us preferred the brushed nickel, but the pewter would be OK too.

(If cost is a really, really big deal, though, we could save $250 by opting for the CDM-6 in pewter.)

So, our revised fireplace recommendation is (for a total of $2474, though Kirk will supposedly be able to get it for less):

- Heat N Glow 6000 TRI series ($1669)

with the following options:

- DF-6-Prism arched doors in brushed nickel ($550)
- Mission (SPMN) panels in brushed nickel($50)
- Wall thermostat ($25)
- Fan blower kit ($180)
- Top venting to satisfy Kirk's requirements

Note: We confirmed that the TRI comes with the brick inside. We also confirmed that Mr. Fireplace can usually expedite a fireplace order, but given that Thanksgiving falls in a week and a half, the salesman (Wayne Cerignan) could not promise us he could get it in less than two weeks if we order it this Monday. Kirk can always ask, however.

We went over the CH kitchen information from Wednesday's meeting at Doors and Drawers. All of us liked the idea of using maple for the "serving" counters, rather than Corian or granite. This should save some money; however, we don't know how much. Chuck was concerned that the maple wouldn't last as long as the Corian; we feel that as long as the maple is coated with several layers of polyurethane it should hold up just fine, given anticipated usage. [[Jenny]] asked if there was still a plan to use a maple bullnose on the laminate counters; [[Rod]] wasn't sure but thought not. Again, given that this is not a true commercial kitchen, a maple edge should hold up OK. Interest in pursuing this as it is significantly more attractive than a laminate edge.

We talked some about how we could cut the CH budget. Unfortunately, all potential savings (in tables, chairs, hot tub, etc.) are essentially eaten up by the additional kitchen appliances which weren't budgeted for in the original CH budget. Crikey.
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'''added by [[Rod]]'''
Another, more optimistic way of looking at this is that, according to our rough look at the contingency budget, we have saved enough money on tables, chairs, etc. to cover the costs of the appliances. Yes, that's right, we saved $8000. I want to go over the contingency budget again, though. Maybe next Saturday we can take a closer look?

In the meantime, [[Elph]], Melissa says she turned over all her receipts for the dishes, silverware and cookware she bought to you, so she doesn't know exactly how much she spent. Can you dig that up anywhere?
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[[Meeting]] adjourned.

[[Jenny]]