The definition of done and the mystery of our move in date

Since we began the build, despite delays (shoring permits and windows being the most painful), the builder has maintained completion in July is feasible. Every week I ask him 'Are we still thinking we can move in in July?' and he sucks his teeth and says 'Yes', or 'No reason why not.' More recently he's taken to saying 'That's what we're shooting for', then listing the remaining jobs to get done, and then saying 'But yes, we should get there'.

I have come to understand that this means that the house will be done in July. If by 'done' you mean it's weatherproof,  has finished floors, is painted, and has passed code.

But.

We won't have a fridge till August, nor an an oven till September - despite ordering them in August 2021. Supply chain and all that. We looked into ordering an alternative but the leadtime on pretty much any high end appliance is 18-24 months. We may keep an eye out for floor models. Or we may just live with a crappy white fridge for a month or two.

Supply chain is also the reason we won't have a dining table till November. We really should have ordered that sooner but we put it off a few months so that I could call the RH outlet every week to ask if they have the exact model we want. They didn't. Ever.

We also won't have a front door till late August. That's not a supply chain issue, that's just how long the custom door we ordered will take. If we'd known that, we might have ordered it in April, but it took our door guy several months to give up on his lengthy supply chain and admit he couldn't make what we needed in time, or even, maybe, ever. So we ordered an expensive custom door with a long leadtime and will live with the 'temporary' door till it comes.

It's a little hard to see but that completely blank, flat, white, builders grade door that's ajar? That's the stand-in. Hey, it opens, it closes, and it sort of locks if you wedge a piece of wood under it. So that'll have to do.

These items won't stop the house being declared 'done', and the City approving our final inspection for power. Then it's over to SoCal Edison who can take 30 to 45 days to then flip the switch that sends power our way. Or longer if they have a backlog. So that's anyone's guess.

After that we go back to the city for a Certificate of Occupancy. Which could take a few days. Or way longer if it turns out we have a garage door that's 1/2" too low when it's open, or an operable window that's 3'-15/16" away from the gas main. In which case we'll have more work to be done.

So while I remain confident that the house will be done in July, I have no idea when we'll be able to move in, cook a meal, and eat it around a nice dining table. Hopefully this side of Christmas, at least.