IT WAS THE GREAT YANKEE CATCHER, Yogi Berra, who said of baseball, “It ain’t over ’til it’s over.” The same is true of building a house. Even as you finish the interior painting, install the cabinets, and complete all the plumbing and electrical work, there’s still plenty to do before a new house is ready to welcome its first inhabitants. Although most of these final tasks are small compared to the major construction stages that have already been done, there are a surprising number that belong on what some contractors refer to as punchlist. Such tasks range from installing the toilet-paper holder and mounting a fire extinguisher to nailing up house numbers and putting in the medicine cabinet. Taken together, these little assignments can demand just as much of your time—and possibly more—than some of the bigger jobs you did earlier. The step-by-step format in this chapter will help you divide these details into manageable chunks of work.
STEP 1 Install the Hardware and Fixtures
Most finish hardware will be seen and used for the life of the house, so take your time installing items such as door locks, drawer pulls, and towel bars. Once they’re
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installed neatly and accurately, they’ll look attractive and work well for a long time. Keep in mind that safety items, such as grab bars, also need to be installed securely so that they’ll be safe to use.
