Cabinets, lighting, tile, and stone installation (Week 17)

Finishing touches continue to be installed bringing all those choices together so we can finally see how everything looks. Patrick and George from Lowe's Cabinet and Lighting Gallery in Cleveland arrived with the cabinets and vanities on Monday and worked all week to install them. Back when we met with Kim at Just So Decorating she was a little concerned with our preference of going with Brazilian Cherry Floors with Cherry cabinets with a dark Cabernet stain. Now that we can finally see it all together we are very pleased with how they look. Billy, our electrician also returned this week to finish wiring the electrical switches and outlets, install the grounding system, and install the interior lights. The electrical inspector is supposed to be back this coming Monday which will allow for connection of temporary power. This will allow us to get rid of all those extension cords and turn on the lights. Last week Katie and I decided on man made Ledgestone in a Bucktown color for the fireplace surround. Katie wanted a color that was a tan/gray mixture and I wanted something the was primarily gray. We went with the Bucktown which is a tan/gray mixture however now that it is up it is definitely predominantly gray. Luckily we both think it looks really nice. Tyler, the "tile guy", finished up the tile work this week by grouting the tile he had already started last week and completing the master bath tub surround and tile shower. We are really pleased and excited about the master bath. Everything looks fabulous. Gutters were also installed. We didn't get any earth moved this week and the forecast for next week isn't favorable. Something is going to have to change or the inside of the house will be done and we won't have a septic system, driveway, lawn, or deck. Next week Tim is planning to start installing wood through the rest of the main floor of the house and hopefully the electrical inspection goes well.

Soffits and floors (week 16)

The finishing touches are starting to come together. The Brazilian Cherry wood floors arrived Wednesday. Tile came in at the end of last week and was installed this week. Next Monday our cherry kitchen and bathroom cabinets are being delivered along with the interior lighting fixtures. Tim and Travis worked late several nights this week to make sure the hard wood floors were installed in the kitchen, breakfast nook, and keeping room. Likewise Tyler, the "tile guy", installed the tile in the upstairs bathrooms, laundry room, and powder room. He prepped the master bathroom for tile which will start Monday morning. Tim also worked on putting up the crown molding on the main floor and the 7 1/4 in. baseboards. I finished building the tall doorway headers and finished the sheetrock I installed several weeks ago in my media distribution room/closet.

We had several nice days of weather this week which allowed a crew to install the soffits on the exterior. That really helped put a finished look on the exterior. There is a chance we will get some warmer and somewhat dry weather this coming week. Tim is hoping the excavators can bring in a high lift dozer to start the final grading. The construction site has really turned in to a mess so it will be good to get it cleaned up and leveled.

Next week should be really exciting with the cabinets and lighting. We should also see the tile installed in the master bath. At this point it is hard not to be excited that the project to so close to being complete. We keep getting asked when we will have a party and or cookout. I have a feeling we are going to have to hard several house warming parties with everyone who has been interested in the new house.

Coffered Ceilings (week 14.5)

My latest project with the house has been to build coffered or beamed ceilings. Many of the Frank Betz house plans include this architectural detail, however ours did not. So...when we decided not to build the vaulted ceiling in the den this made the perfect place to add this detail. It has taken me three days to build the beams and I still need to add crown molding between each of of the squares. Tim has been busy this week working of installing the interior doors and other trim.

The house of 9 colors (Week 14)

Paint and primer were delivered Monday afternoon and the paint work is 95% complete. The painter ran out of paint for the foyer and garage, but everything else is done! We had rain and snow all week, again, so no exterior work was completed this week. Valley Building Supply received two boxes of flooring to help us decide. We chose the Brazilian Cherry. Tim is wanting to start trim work this coming week. The forecast is for rain and snow Tuesday through Thursday, again.

Brick work is complete (week 13)

It's hard to believe that brick started going up on week 7.1 and here it is week 13 and it is done! The crew worked very hard but the weather just kept getting in the way. We have seen more snow this year than I can remember in a long time. They still need to build the front steps and the mailbox which will both be brick but the house itself is done. You might notice the fireplace box on the back isn't covered yet, however it will be covered with hardiboard and painted to match the front in a dark gray.

Sheetrock also finished this week which means they will start to prime the walls and ceiling next week! The end is in sight and we are getting excited!

Sheetrock (week 12.2)

Week 11 was filled with the installation of sheetrock and the start of sheetrock finishing. Rain returned this week and put a halt to the brick work which only lacks one to two days to finish. Week 12 started with more rain/snow mix which meant that brick work was still on hold. Today was cold and snowy but that didn't stop the installation of hardiboard on the front second story of the house. We provided Tim with a list of paint colors from Kim at Just So. The Hardiboard will be painted a dark gray color and the front door will be stained Chestnut color. The sheetrock finishing is close to being finished. The cold temperatures and all the moisture we have experienced has slowed efforts but they should be done later this week.
Katie and I are still finalizing our choice on floors. Jason at Valley Building Supply offered to order two boxes of different grades of Brazilian Cherry to help us decide which to buy. We are also finalizing the style of interior door.
As soon as it dries up Tim would like to finish grading the front and garage side of the house. This will need to be completed to allow concrete trucks access to pour the front porch and garage floor. Tim is also looking to start work on building the rear deck. Unfortunately we only have one day of dry warm temperatures in the forecast before we see another drop accompanied by snow flurries. Hopefully it will be dry enough to finish sheetrock finishing and allow them to start priming the walls for paint.

The interior starts to take shape (week 10)

The interior really started taking shape this week with wall insulation going in and the start of drywall. Installation of the front door and fireplace brings the start of the finishing touches.

The plumbers completed rough-in plumbing this week. I really like how the PEX plumbing is installed. The tubing is flared until it fits over the desired fitting and then left to shrink to a tight fit. The plumbers added a return line to the hot water piping so a circulation pump can be installed. This would ensure hot water is immediately available at the faucet furthest from the hot water heater. The water supply pipes were tied in to the city water main and pressure tested as well. All that's left of the plumbing is to install the hot water heater and connect all the faucets once the vanities are installed.

Insulation work started this week and is nearly complete with wall insulation. We asked about using the new spray-on foam insulation, however the cost was nearly double. We ended up going with the traditional "pink" bat insulation, however we decided up upgrade to R-15 insulation in the walls. The cost to upgrade was minor and the cost of energy will only continue to increase. We also had them insulate the interior wall between the den and master suite to keep noise down, of course having the TV mounted on the shared wall won't help. The interior wall separating the basement workshop and the rest of the basement was also insulated (top picture).

Our front door came in this week, which we were VERY excited about. It is hard to tell in the picture but the glass in the door has an arch at the top that matches perfectly with the arched window above the door and in the office. The door is large at 8ft tall and has 14" sidelights. We ordered a 3/4 glass door, however the door came in with 1/2 glass. I think the 3/4 would look better but we aren't going to send it back since we are so far along. The door is fiberglass and made to be stained to look like wood. We are going to use Minwax Chestnut gel-stain.

Drywall was delivered on Friday and a crew showed up bright and early today (Saturday) to start installation. They completed the master bathroom vaulted ceiling, office vaulted ceiling, and keeping room vaulted ceiling today. The installation of insulation and drywall is really allowing us to see what the final size and feel of each of the rooms.

The brick crew finally got several days of good work with temperatures rising above freezing. The evening temperatures have still been below freezing, however that just meant the crew got a later start than what they would have preferred. The last few days they worked right up to dusk to get as much done as possible. By the end of the day today they were able to complete most of the garage side of the house. That means one side is completely done, the back just lacks a little around the keeping room, and the other side just lacks around the garage door. This evening the crew said they need 3 more good days to finish up. Before leaving today they prepared for Monday by stacking brick along the front of the house.

I finished up on all of the Audio/Video wiring today. I wired every room with at least one Cat 6 network cable. I also ran network cable to both thermostats in case we upgrade to network capable thermostats one day. I also ran some more speaker wire to pre-wire the garage for speakers. When ever I work in the garage I really like to listen to music so I might as well wire for it.

Lastly, our fireplace came in this week and was installed in the keeping room. The fireplace is a 40" Lennox Superior direct-vent fireplace. The direct-vent has the drawback of being sealed with glass on the front but the benefit of no combustion by-products entering the home and since it is sealed the heat in the home doesn't go up the chimney. They still generate a reasonable amount of heat and have the look of a gas fireplace.

Next week we expect to see the completion of brick work, all of the drywall should be hung, and they may start blowing the ceiling insulation. Katie and I have started looking at furniture and taking bets on when we will move in. The end is in sight...!