Tuesday, November 19, 2013

November Update


Wow, time has really slipped away from us, it's been over two months since our last post.  Yes, a lot has happened with the house since then however, lots has also happened that have not been house-related.

We have hundreds of photos from the last couple of months, but rather than give lots of details, I'll hit just the highlights and get caught up to today.


Doors arrived and installed.


Grading around the house and prep for front sidewalk.


New gravel road. Yay, no more driving through the mud!



 The parking area to the side of the home.  Just a note, that white box on the side of the house between the windows will house the tankless water heater (photo later).


More doors and bathroom tiling installed.



 Fireplace!  Love the smooth stone hearth and mantle.


New sidewalk to front door!  Yay, no more stepping in the mud!


Yes! The front door has arrived!  Same wood as the cabinets, knotty alder.


Cabinets in and installed.


Rinnai gas water heater arrived...not installed. Remember that white box on the side of the house?



Light housings and lights installed.  Back porch has copper colored housings whereas the rest of the home has white.



Toilets installed, still no water run to home...yet.



A lot of the electrical is finally getting installed, including the fans.  Note that painting has also started by this time.



Alas! Things are truly taking shape. Appliances arrived, walls and trim painted, cabinets and front door stained, and lights getting installed. The island lights Jenn picked out really add character to the different shades of browns in the room.




Plumbing fixtures are getting installed.


Septic tank just arrived.  I snapped this as I was leaving for work one morning, the truck had just backed into place.  Kind of hard to see with the shadows, but it's a 1,000 gal tank.  Septic field getting started in foreground.



Just after the septic truck had arrived and I was leaving, I pulled off the drive to let the guy delivering the AC unit pass.  Ah, AC, just in time for the Fall!



Front porch lights installed.  There's a matching light just to the left out of the photo.  All outside outlets covers installed. 



Meanwhile, back inside the house the appliances are getting installed.  Looks like Christmas with all the open boxes, card board, and instructions laying everywhere. 



Another light chosen by Jenn, the dining light has a twelve...that's 12, individual lights.  We both liked it when we were picking out lights and knew it would match the look of the other fixtures, as well as the shape of the coffered ceiling above it.


Let there be LIGHT!!!  Electricity has finally been turned on.


C'mon in!



Living room at night. The hallway to the right of the fireplace is really bright, in fact, when all the living room lights are on, your eyes tend to squint.  Mop bucket is not a feature nor does it come with the house.


Dining room.




Kitchen, with counter tops, sink, faucet, appliances, and lights...lots of lights!



Master bath, now with cabinets, faucets, sinks, tub, lights, tiling, and counter tops!  Granite also arrived and installed.  The granite work is absolutely amazing, the cuts are perfect and seamless.  The mirror is not mounted, but just resting there for now.



The powder room vanity.  That's my "auction sink" I picked up from a local plumbing store that had closed.  I owe my uncle a big thanks for that as he's the one who turned me on to the auction house, not to mention other auctions.  My uncle was pretty proud of my little find and so was I.  

There was apparently a little mis-communication w/our cabinet guy in that he must not have received the specs I sent over regarding the sink.  It had all the dimensions and angles for the sink, instead the cabinet was a standard 36" vanity that didn't fit the sink at all.  Our builder and granite guy put their heads together and came up with the solution...and all was right with the world.



And finally, the backsplash has been completed in all bathrooms and kitchen as of Monday the 18th.




The propane tank arrived late last week and as of the weekend, the gas lines have all been connected and the plumbing lines from the well to the house have also been connected and turned on.  All utilities are now good to go.  


It's now the 3rd week of November, a couple of deadlines have come and gone.  Thanksgiving is next week and we're really hoping to have everything done and in by then, but there's still a number of items to be completed.

We'll see!

Monday, September 2, 2013

End Of August Update

Nope, the home has not been completed and we have not moved in.  A bit ambitious, I suppose.  It's that phase where it feels like things are progressing feverishly then the next moment if feels like nothing is happening.  That's occurred a couple of times this month, and as of this writing, we are in the drywall stage.  ETA for move-in is roughly within 45 days.

On with the show.

After a visit to the stone yard, we verified that we were getting the stone we thought we were.  Apparently the photo in the catalog was a little lighter than the actual stone.  Nevertheless, we were satisfied and the stone was delivered late that day.

August 3rd, the stone goes up.


August 5th, the stone goes on the back of the house.  Note the mid-morning shade.  Love those trees!


By the 8th, the whole back of the house is complete with the exception of the posts.

Oh wait...yep there's another shot of the back porch but now with the stone.

 View from bedroom door.

View from west wall of master bedroom.  Backdoor on right, living on left.

The fireplace will have the same stone as the exterior walls.

Kitchen plumbing and window, lots of wall for cabinet storage.

Three of many recessed lights and air duct...oh and the roof!


August 10th, front porch is almost done.


View of eastern wall.

An electrical outlet under one of the front corner eaves for Christmas lights.  It's the little things.


August 12th, the floor has been stained.

August 13th, front walls complete.

August 14th, stone work is complete.








August 15th, first sealant on the floor is complete.  Now you see it...

Now you don't!  Our builder puts down the protective floor covering.

August 21, drywall is here!

Jenn's ready to get started...let's go!!

August 24th, glass blocks for shower finally installed.  Again, it's the little things.

August 27th, insulation complete...in one day!  The white is blown-in-blanket (BIBs).

The grey...is not.  It's a form of EcoBatt insulation in the inside walls for sound reduction.  Both the BIBs and EcoBatt are both green alternatives to standard insulation with remarkable R values.





August 29th, drywall is up, rounded corners installed, and 75% tape and floated.  The west wall in the master bedroom.

Coffered ceiling in master bedroom.

View from fireplace back towards the kitchen, breakfast nook, and back door.


Kitchen...

And living, dining to the right.


Parting shot.  View of home and road leading down to the gate.



We've since picked out the tile for the bathrooms and kitchen, which should be going in fairly soon.  This past Saturday, we also picked out the lighting where the ladies at Legend Lighting were extremely helpful and patient with us.

Stay tuned!


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