As the superintendent likes to remind me, the sequence of construction for this house is not normal. Most houses install wiring, hang wall board, then set the doors, then lay flooring, then install trim: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. For this house the concrete flooring went in first, followed by the wiring, the doors, then the trim, and finally the wall board: 4, 1, 3, 5, 2.
The cause of this deviation is the aluminum reveal we architects chose for the trim where floor and doors meet walls. Traditional houses use wood boards to cover these joints, but for modern houses the preferred detail is without face trim. The look is terrific--clean and spare--but it makes for a fussy install.
Like wood trim, the aluminum is carefully mitred to mate it to its neighbor at corners and intersections. Unlike wood, the metal cannot be readily shaved, bowed, or otherwise adjusted to ease it into place. Its rigidity is proving very frustrating for the builder.
The interior doors are veneered in a lovely alder and are certified to be sustainably harvested by the Forest Stewardship Council. In order to assure that 100% of the wood in the house is FSC, Model Remodel took two extraordinary measures. Unable to find FSC wood shims, they are using ABS plastic wedge shims instead. And the pocket door frame kit came without FSC wood, so they removed it and installed FSC wood in its place.