day 154

Another quick update...wish I had time for something more lately!

Things were super busy at the house on Saturday.  The finish carpenter was on site to finish up the trim, install the mantel, hang a replacement door, finish the master bath vanity, install the porch columns and hang our bathroom mirrors.  He was all over the place!

 
The new mantel does not have an inset back like the old one did, so we were unable to mount the outlet on the mantel itself.  I was a little bummed, but I've always planned to have a large mirror or artwork sitting in the middle, so the outlet should be hidden.  I feel like our original mantel had a chunkier top, but I haven't bothered to find the photo to compare it.  If anything, we can always add trim to beef it up later.  More than likely, I'll forget I even thought to do that.

Also, while wondering the aisles of Target on Saturday, I think I might have found curtains for the two windows that flank the fireplace (and overlook our backyard/porch).  I want something that will allow light through, isn't horribly expensive and is at least 8' (our ceilings are 10').  Enter these:

[Nate Berkus Heathered Herringbone Window Panels from Target]

In other news - the master vanity is finally done!  I can't wait to see it all cleaned up and with the hardware installed.  The electrician hung the scones next to the mirrors today, but they're currently facing upwards and we'd asked for them to be installed downwards.  It's slowly coming together.

And, you can't really tell from the photos, but the columns look fantastic.  The carpenters did a really nice job.  I think the only things left to complete on the exterior of the house itself are staining the front door and painting the trim.

The electricians were also on site Saturday wrapping up the network connections and installing the rest of our bathroom and kitchen fixtures.  Hubby and I were discussing our favorite contractors the other night and the electricians were easily number one. We're trying to figure out a nice way to let them know how much we appreciate their help.  Any suggestions?  I've only come up with a couple of my very favorite screwdrivers.  But surely they have their own favorites.

Anyway, I'm dying to see the kitchen with the protective paper pulled off the floor!  And eventually with a tile backsplash and crown molding.  It's crazy that the "once we move in" project list has already begun.

But back to what has to get done immediately.

The painter came back on Saturday to do touch-ups, as well.  I'm much happier with everything now that the ceiling lines have been refined, walls have been touched up and the trim is much more crisp.

And the plumbers were also there.  They made quite a bit of progress running pipe in the basement, but were unable to get started on installing fixtures.  Unfortunately, there was a miscommunication with someone at the builder's office and all of the wrong fixtures were ordered.  They straightened everything out today (I hope - the Designer never called me back to verify) and we should now have new fixtures and the correct pedestal sink tomorrow or Wednesday.  Another delay.  

While we were all there together, though, they made a point to bring the tub up from the basement so we could let them know how we wanted it placed.  I'm in love!

And, more than ever, I'm glad we decided to go with the wainscoting around the tub instead of tile.  The tile looks great in the shower, but I really like the mix of materials.

Today, a crew worked on patching the drywall and getting ready for the rest of the touch-up paint.  It sounds like they also started cleaning out the basement.  I'm just glad that progress continues, since we're in such a time crunch to get out of the condo and into the house.  I'm on such pins and needles this week.  Ugh.

In exciting news, my father-in-law is making awesome progress on our dining table.  I can't wait to see the finished product, in person!

Note - I think the table legs are sitting upside down in this photo, but you get the idea.  It's large.  And gorgeous.  And amazing.

Hopefully more good news tomorrow... like painting and carpet and new plumbing fixtures.  One can hope!

day 152

1. It's quarter end and I work in accounting.  Enough said.

2. The condo sold.  We found out Monday night when our landlord called to say there was an inspection scheduled for Wednesday.  The sales contract says tenants have to be out 15 days prior to closing, which means we're supposed to be out on April 15.  10 days from now. (insert mini panic attack)

3. Our Construction Manager's last day with the company is this coming Monday -- April 8.  We found that out on Tuesday. (insert second mini panic attack)

4. On Wednesday, we had a painter come out to paint the master bedroom, powder room, living room/foyer and E's room.  I'd intended to do it myself, but we're running out of time. With the condo selling, I won't have a gap between the house being done and being able to move, so we just hired it out.  I was unimpressed with the work.  (insert third mini panic attack)  He's coming back tomorrow morning to finish touch-ups and clean up his lines.  Crossing my fingers he's able to meet my expectations.

5. We found out Thursday that the hood vent we received (which was actually an upgraded newer model) does not currently have an extender being made for it.  And, without the extender, it's not tall enough for our ceilings.  After lots of back and forth with the appliance company, they found us a new hood (which is the older model) out of California, along with an extender.  Hopefully it arrives next Thursday (April 11) as expected.  The installer is slated to be there first thing Friday morning to get it in.

[36" Stainless Chimney Hood by Best]

6. Our new Construction Manager continues to assure us we'll be in by April 15 (the completion date per our contract and now the day we have to be out of the condo we're renting).  He's tentatively scheduled our occupancy inspection with the Village for next Thursday.  Like 6 days from now.  Day 158.  I'm not totally convinced it's going to happen.

7. W'e're hoping to be able to do our final walk-through and punch list on Friday (day 159) and then be able to move over the weekend.  It gets us out of the condo on time, but it also means we'd be living in the house while they're doing the finishing touches.  Not ideal, but it's going to have to work.

8.  Speaking of the painter coming, I had to pick out more paint colors.  Because of the craziness at work, it involved my Hubby grabbing paint samples from Sherwin Williams and me spreading them out over the kitchen table at 10 pm, trying to pick paint with tired eyes via poor overhead lighting.  While I didn't like the paint job, I like the colors.  One small victory!  Our house palette now looks like this:

Master Bedroom - On the Rocks

Main Bath - Nantucket Dune

E's Bedroom - Versatile Gray

Master Bathroom - Perfect Greige

Kitchen/Dining Area - Gray Clouds

Living Room/Foyer - Gray Clouds

Powder Room - Copen Blue

9. Our master shower is finally tiled!  I love the tile work.  But I'm not sure how I feel about the granite seat and ledge.   I thought it was all going to be tile.  At first I was insistent that the granite come out but the Designer talked me out of it.  He assures me I'll be happier with how the granite holds up in the long run.  I still don't like the look, but practicality wins out again.  I really hope the granite grows on me once everything else starts to be added to the bathroom.

The missing tiles have since been installed but I haven't taken a photo for some reason.

10.  The fireplace tile has also been installed.  I like the wall tile, but I'm a bit undecided on the floor tile.  Does anyone else notice the front right tile?  I know it's natural stone and the colors will vary, but it's the only tile that light.  And I think it looks odd.  The tile guy's solution was to pull a few of the darker tiles out and replace them with a couple leftover tiles that were lighter.  But, because the tiles were wet when I went out to see if I liked it, it still looked the same.  The replacement (and larger) mantel has also arrived and been primed.  I believe it will be installed by the trim carpenter tomorrow.

11. The electricians came out and installed a few more of our lights.  They'll be out again tomorrow to wrap up.

12. Our appliances were delivered last Saturday (day 146) and were installed on Monday (I think?).  The pictures below were taken on Easter, pre-installation (and mid egg hunt!).

13.  We celebrated Easter with an egg hunt at the house.  E was glad the Easter Bunny found him!  And we were thrilled to start making family memories in our new home.

 

14.  Tomorrow is going to be a crazy day!  The painter, electrician, trim carpenter and plumber will all be there.  I think the biggest items left to complete are: paint touch-ups, finish trimwork, install mantel, finish hanging lights, hang mirrors, install carpet and transition pieces, plumbing, complete front porch columns, rough grading, put in temporary driveway/sidewalk and then CLEANING.  It's a tight timeline!  Hopefully more updates tomorrow once everyone has gotten in there and worked their tails off.  I stocked up on Gatorade, water and am baking cookies to drop off in the morning.  I'm hoping a little bribery will go a long way!

day 80

I'm in a little bit of disbelief that we're on day 80.  11.5 weeks.  2.5 months.  In some ways, it seems like forever.  Afterall, we've really been working on this project for 8 months or so.  In other ways, another 80 days does not seem like enough time to get everything done.  But, I'm totally ready to be done.  Ready to move in.  Ready to decorate.  Ready to throw a housewarming party.  Ready to be out of this drafty condo.  The only part I'm not ready for is the packing up and moving again.  Any volunteers for that task?

It's cold in Wisconsin this week.  Not "Los Angeles cold" (see clip below - it's worth a laugh, especially if you hail from a state that actually gets snow or ice), but truly cold.  I think my car said -6 yesterday morning and we were up to 16 this morning.  Anyway, the cold means two things.  1) We're lining the walls of E's current room with blankets (see above).  I have never seen/lived in/experienced such a drafty place.  Especially one that's only 23 years old.  The wind and cold air is gushing through the electrical outlets and seeping in where the floor and walls meet.  It's crazy.  2) There hasn't been any progress on the exterior of the house.



I absolutely do not blame the siding guy for not coming out this week.  My fingers turned red when I ran out to the house for a short five minutes today at lunch.  While I was not surprised to see no work going on outside, I was completely surprised to see that the insulation was done inside.  Well, stage one is done.  The walls are insulated and plastic is hung.  I assume they'll be ready to do the ceiling insulation once the drywall is up.

[kitchen corner]

[dining area ceiling]

[master bedroom corner]

[living room]

[bedroom 2]

Nothing too pretty to look at, but we are beyond excited to see progress again.  I tried to peek through the plastic on the window to see when the inspection had been done and it looked like it had just been signed off on this morning.  The crew must have been on stand-by to come complete the insulation as soon as the inspection was signed off on.  I believe, at this point, they need to start warming up the inside and will then begin drywall.  The furnace is installed and hooked up to a thermostat already so I think everything just has to be fired up.  I'm not looking forward to paying two heating bills in this weather.

In other news, it was crazy windy on Saturday (day 76) and we lost some shingles.  It hasn't been hot enough for everything to properly adhere to the tar paper, so the 40 to 60 mph winds were able to do a bit of damage to the roof.  Not exactly what you want to see when you walk up, but the Construction Manager is aware and assures us everything will be fixed.

And, we received news late last week that the tile we'd selected for our fireplace is no longer available. I'm a huge second-guesser of decisions and was actually quite confident in my fireplace tile decision.  So, the thought of having to select something else wasn't very appealing.  Luckily, the Designer seems to understand by taste pretty well at this point and I was immediately on board with his recommendation.

[tumbled Torreon by Daltile]

Next up?  Ordering cabinets.  Finding a kitchen sink faucet.  Picking a paint color for the master bath and main bath.  Picking a paint color for the kitchen.  Maybe picking up a different post light (still not in love with the one we bought).  Picking out a lamp post.  And???  Anything I'm missing?

day 60

Note: I had this drafted on Thursday but got too busy with work to finish adding photos and post.  Forgive me?  I'll have a weekend update done soon (hopefully).

Happy New Year!  I don't have a whole lot to report, other than it's finally turned frigid in Cheese Country.  Our basement floor was poured last week (day 53), but it has been too cold to finish pouring the concrete for our porches and garage.  They were hoping to get it done yesterday, but it was still too cold.  I think it's supposed to 'warm up' on Sunday and Monday, so I'm crossing my fingers it gets done then.

The carpenter was back on Sunday (day 56) to construct the basement stairs and our fireplace has also been installed.  Otherwise, we're in waiting mode.

It's my understanding that once the remaining concrete is poured, we need another inspection.  But, until the inspection happens, they can't continue work inside.  I'm trying to stay away from the lot, because driving by and not seeing any progress is a bit of a bummer.  I don't want anyone to rush the work and have it done improperly, but I'm anxious to move in!  We did go out as a family on New Year's Day so that I could see the stairs/basement and so that E could ride his Plasma Car around.  I will admit, the perk to a partially finished house is watching the joy in E's face as he runs around and gets to play with balls, cars and Nerf guns without the worry of breaking anything.  I suppose that will last for awhile, though, since we're not planning to finish the basement right away.  Speaking of the basement - want to see pictures?

[looking east - standing under flex room]

[looking west - standing under bedroom]

[looking south - standing under bedroom]

[looking east - standing under master bath]

[looking northeast - standing under master closet]

In other news - we heard from our Landlord that one of the Condo showings has more than likely turned into a sale.  The couple wants to buy it but needs to sell their house first.  At best, he warned us they'd like to be in mid-March.  At best, our house will be completed at the end of March.  Eeek.  I'm trying not to freak out.  Instead, I'll keep thinking about the pretty granite we get to pick out on Saturday.  Can't wait!

And, since I'm a little behind on photos, here are some of the latest shots from the outside:

[stone moved, siding delivered, plastic hung]

[keeping the ground warm in preparation for pouring the back porch]

[house is officially under lock and key!]

[just hanging out, waiting to be hung]