This week and weekend was unbearably hot-which could only mean one thing-time to work outdoors again :( This weekend Keith spent most of his time digging the rain garden, and prepping for the gutter installation which should happen on Wednesday. While he worked outside Saturday morning, Ronnie and Craig worked on installing more of the wood floors. Like the Hardie board siding, you can expect to see updates on the wood floors for several weeks to come. In other exciting news, we got the doors this week. Two of the bathroom doors were hung on Friday, and we hope to get the other bathroom one hung soon for the final inspection. The plumber also installed the toliets last week. So now we are just like those fancy people I read about all the time!
This week I thought I would include some pictures of the kids swimming. Julia has blossomed into quite the swimmer this summer, which has been a fun evolution to watch. She is consistently improving upon her swimming skills, and she enjoys "beating" grandpa in weekly races across the pool. Andrew is also loving the pool this summer, as well as his new summer haircut. Keith cut it last week for him and Andrew is quite proud of the new look. He keeps telling everyone that he looks like "Uncle Peter" and "Uncle John" and Daddy, of course :)
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Tuesday Special Edition Blog-Kitchen Cabinets
Pictures speak louder than words, so my words will be few in this blog.
Simply put, I love my new kitchen cabinets!
Simply put, I love my new kitchen cabinets!
Monday, July 18, 2011
Lights, floors, action!
This past week/weekend was a flurry of activity. First, our electrician hung the majority of our light fixtures. We still have the ones in the dining room, great room and kitchen center to go up, but you can see how it is really starting to look like a house! Many of the light fixtures are schoolhouse lights. These lights were very popular in the 1920's and remain a "fixture" for many period style homes. I love the simplicity of the milk glass globe that makes everything just feel comfortable to me.
Flooring was also on the list of priorities this weekend. Namely, the Marmoleum flooring for our kitchen, bathrooms, laundry room and the garage hallway and main foyer. It turned out wonderfully, and I look forward to walking on it for many years to come! Ronnie and Craig also installed most of the hardwood in the master bedroom. Two rooms down, and only...a lot to go :)
Keith got the bathroom vanities in and the sink tops. Next week the plumber should be in to hook up all toliets and install the faucets. He will also be finishing the lower level plumbing work and installing the hose bib, and then we can have the well tested.
Lastly, but not leastly (not a word, but fun to say :), in less than 24 hours, our kitchen cabinets are being installed. I will let you know next week if I sleep at all tonight with the excitement and anticipation!
Flooring was also on the list of priorities this weekend. Namely, the Marmoleum flooring for our kitchen, bathrooms, laundry room and the garage hallway and main foyer. It turned out wonderfully, and I look forward to walking on it for many years to come! Ronnie and Craig also installed most of the hardwood in the master bedroom. Two rooms down, and only...a lot to go :)
Keith got the bathroom vanities in and the sink tops. Next week the plumber should be in to hook up all toliets and install the faucets. He will also be finishing the lower level plumbing work and installing the hose bib, and then we can have the well tested.
Lastly, but not leastly (not a word, but fun to say :), in less than 24 hours, our kitchen cabinets are being installed. I will let you know next week if I sleep at all tonight with the excitement and anticipation!
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Window trim, wood floor and a sneak peek at the kitchen...
Well, now that I am off for the summer, I have officially been put to work by my husband :) Between cleaning and painting trim, I think I have my work cut out for me until August! Although I don't love being covered with drywall dust, I am happy that I can contribute to the construction project.
This weekend, Keith, Ronnie and Craig trimmed out most of the windows in the house. I think that they did a great job with the trim and the sills. In addition to the windows, Keith built the stairs leading from the garage into the house, and installed the weather strip on the door. Today, they started on the wood floors. The did the whole office, which consisted of six boxes of flooring. Only 70 boxes left to go until all the hardwood is installed in the house. Ouch! That makes my back, neck and knees sore just thinking about it.
I stopped by earlier this week to check-in with our Amish cabinetmaker. We are on target to have the cabinets installed next week (possibly sooner, on Friday, if the Marmoleum gets laid on Thursday as planned). Here are a couple preview pics of our cabinets. The first picture is the upper door fronts. This small door is for above the microwave. A couple of the doors will have glass in the upper two pieces. The second picture is the sink cabinet. Obviously without the doors, but with our Kohler Dickinson sink. The third picture is the back panel that will go on the raised counter, as well as a couple more of my cabs-and someone else's, too. No white cabinets for me this time).
This weekend, Keith, Ronnie and Craig trimmed out most of the windows in the house. I think that they did a great job with the trim and the sills. In addition to the windows, Keith built the stairs leading from the garage into the house, and installed the weather strip on the door. Today, they started on the wood floors. The did the whole office, which consisted of six boxes of flooring. Only 70 boxes left to go until all the hardwood is installed in the house. Ouch! That makes my back, neck and knees sore just thinking about it.
I stopped by earlier this week to check-in with our Amish cabinetmaker. We are on target to have the cabinets installed next week (possibly sooner, on Friday, if the Marmoleum gets laid on Thursday as planned). Here are a couple preview pics of our cabinets. The first picture is the upper door fronts. This small door is for above the microwave. A couple of the doors will have glass in the upper two pieces. The second picture is the sink cabinet. Obviously without the doors, but with our Kohler Dickinson sink. The third picture is the back panel that will go on the raised counter, as well as a couple more of my cabs-and someone else's, too. No white cabinets for me this time).
Monday, July 4, 2011
10 months down...
While many of you have asked about our "official move-in date", as the general contractors for our house we can sufficicently say, "not tomorrow, but we hope and expect before August 24 when Julia starts school". In reality, things are progressing nicely, and but we still have the following before we can apply for our occupancy permit:
Indoor:
Flooring in the bathrooms and kitchen (this is being installed later this week, or early next week).
Kitchen cabinets (being installed by our cabinet maker later next week (7/15) or on 7/18).
Countertops and sink (will be installed a couple weeks after the cabinets are in, by the end of July)
Bathroom vanities (being delivered on 7/18-installed later that week).
Bathroom fixtures (Plumber will install after flooring is in)
Doors on the bathrooms (most likely after the wood floor is installed. This may start in two weeks).
Well test: this can happen after we have all the faucets and we can run the water for a while. Probably looking at the third-forth week of July.
Light fixtures: Electrician should be putting these up this week/next
Window trim: Keith started it this weekend, and will be working on it next weekend as well.
Outdoor:
Rain garden
stairs/rail for screened in porch
Sounds like a lot, and it is quite a bit. It will certainly be a very busy July, but hopefully we will be starting August with a much smaller "to-do" list. Regardless, it is still quite amazing to see how far we have come in 10 months building it ourselves, and still working full-time.
Now for the update of what progress happened this weekend. Keith was able to get the geothermal turned on so we have A/C in the house now. A real treat, since June and July have been hot and humid so far, with many more similar days to come. Ronnie, Keith and Craig also finished painting the interior, and cleaned the drywall dust off the floor. Since we are running the A/C, Keith and Ronnie hung the final door leading from the garage into the house this weekend. They also got all the final subfloor in for the Marmoleum install AND we have a handrail going down the stairs to the basement. This was the one item that I let Keith pick out with no extra feedback approval from me :)
We had a great holiday weekend, too. It was spent swimming in Lorraine and Bob's pool, relaxing (well, me and the kiddos relaxed), and seeing the fireworks in town.
Indoor:
Flooring in the bathrooms and kitchen (this is being installed later this week, or early next week).
Kitchen cabinets (being installed by our cabinet maker later next week (7/15) or on 7/18).
Countertops and sink (will be installed a couple weeks after the cabinets are in, by the end of July)
Bathroom vanities (being delivered on 7/18-installed later that week).
Bathroom fixtures (Plumber will install after flooring is in)
Doors on the bathrooms (most likely after the wood floor is installed. This may start in two weeks).
Well test: this can happen after we have all the faucets and we can run the water for a while. Probably looking at the third-forth week of July.
Light fixtures: Electrician should be putting these up this week/next
Window trim: Keith started it this weekend, and will be working on it next weekend as well.
Outdoor:
Rain garden
stairs/rail for screened in porch
Sounds like a lot, and it is quite a bit. It will certainly be a very busy July, but hopefully we will be starting August with a much smaller "to-do" list. Regardless, it is still quite amazing to see how far we have come in 10 months building it ourselves, and still working full-time.
Now for the update of what progress happened this weekend. Keith was able to get the geothermal turned on so we have A/C in the house now. A real treat, since June and July have been hot and humid so far, with many more similar days to come. Ronnie, Keith and Craig also finished painting the interior, and cleaned the drywall dust off the floor. Since we are running the A/C, Keith and Ronnie hung the final door leading from the garage into the house this weekend. They also got all the final subfloor in for the Marmoleum install AND we have a handrail going down the stairs to the basement. This was the one item that I let Keith pick out with no extra feedback approval from me :)
We had a great holiday weekend, too. It was spent swimming in Lorraine and Bob's pool, relaxing (well, me and the kiddos relaxed), and seeing the fireworks in town.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Geothermal and Paint-what could be better?
It was a very exciting weekend at Green Glass Road. To start off, Buddy (our HVAC man) placed the ground source heat pump, attached the duct work, and installed the condensate pump. Meanwhile, Keith installed the control circuit for the ground loop pump, the thermostat, the filtered intake registers, and began installation of the PVC pipe to connect the pump center to the ground loop and heat pump. This week David (our electrician) will come to do some work and Keith will finish up with the PVC pipe. What this all means is that we are very close to having air/heat in the house. Very exciting since June has been a pretty warm (and humid) month and I am sure there is even more to come in July and August!
Keith, Ronnie and Craig also did a lot of painting this weekend. Starting with the ceilings and closets and then moving on to the colors yesterday. While I am very excited about the geothermal, I have to admit I was almost equally exctied to see the colors on the walls yesterday. While my mom jokingly chides my color palate for being "too boring", I am happy that the subtle colors blend well together. Neither me, or my husband are huge risk takers (or painters) so something I can live with for 20 years or so is right up my alley! The colors we used in the house were from Valspar. The names of each should appear in the slideshow if you click on the picture. Not surprisingly, the purple walls belong to Julia :)
Speaking of my girly, girl, she had a great weekend catching frogs and playing with them. Over the weekend she must have touched at least eight frogs at her Grandma and Grandpa's house and then one more at our house yesterday. Apparently, she must think that if she holds enough frogs she will turn into a princess too!
Keith, Ronnie and Craig also did a lot of painting this weekend. Starting with the ceilings and closets and then moving on to the colors yesterday. While I am very excited about the geothermal, I have to admit I was almost equally exctied to see the colors on the walls yesterday. While my mom jokingly chides my color palate for being "too boring", I am happy that the subtle colors blend well together. Neither me, or my husband are huge risk takers (or painters) so something I can live with for 20 years or so is right up my alley! The colors we used in the house were from Valspar. The names of each should appear in the slideshow if you click on the picture. Not surprisingly, the purple walls belong to Julia :)
Speaking of my girly, girl, she had a great weekend catching frogs and playing with them. Over the weekend she must have touched at least eight frogs at her Grandma and Grandpa's house and then one more at our house yesterday. Apparently, she must think that if she holds enough frogs she will turn into a princess too!
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Happy Father's Day!
Happy Father's Day to a wonderful father and husband! He certainly has done his job to earn his keep this year, hasn't he?! He had several Father's Day celebrations this year including, "Donuts for Dads" at Julia and Andrew's school, and a family party complete with apple pie made with the kiddos.
This weekend was mostly dedicated to digging the trench, laying the pipe, and covering up the pipe for the geothermal heating/cooling in our house. Because we are using wood and Marmoleum (linoleum), and neither can be installed if the humidity in the house is out of whack, this is our top priority right now. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks after a visit from our HVAC guy and electrician, it will be up and running. Despite the heat, the install went fairly well this weekend. However, the backhoe operator (not my husband) hit our siding near the end of the digging on Friday. So Keith and Craig needed to repair three boards this weekend. Lucky for us, we had exactly that many boards left over in the basement! The backhoe operator and the company were very sorry and helpful, so I knew it would be fine in the end. That being said, wasn't it just last week that I was publicly celebrating the end of the siding project for Keith? Hmmm, maybe I need to watch what I say on this blog :)
Ronnie and Craig also worked on touching up the primer in the house where the drywallers had made some touch-ups this week. If all goes well, color will start going on the walls next weekend!
Number One Daddy Father's Day 5x7 folded card
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This weekend was mostly dedicated to digging the trench, laying the pipe, and covering up the pipe for the geothermal heating/cooling in our house. Because we are using wood and Marmoleum (linoleum), and neither can be installed if the humidity in the house is out of whack, this is our top priority right now. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks after a visit from our HVAC guy and electrician, it will be up and running. Despite the heat, the install went fairly well this weekend. However, the backhoe operator (not my husband) hit our siding near the end of the digging on Friday. So Keith and Craig needed to repair three boards this weekend. Lucky for us, we had exactly that many boards left over in the basement! The backhoe operator and the company were very sorry and helpful, so I knew it would be fine in the end. That being said, wasn't it just last week that I was publicly celebrating the end of the siding project for Keith? Hmmm, maybe I need to watch what I say on this blog :)
Ronnie and Craig also worked on touching up the primer in the house where the drywallers had made some touch-ups this week. If all goes well, color will start going on the walls next weekend!
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