Cedar Siding Finished

The cedar siding was completed today and the flashing on top of the cedar was almost completed. The Hardi siding is going up, its about 20% done. Inside, the furnace and hot water heater are in and we have water and a sewer connection. All sink faucets are in and working. The plumber has about two more days of work and he'll be done. The electrician has been installing outlets and switches. I finished the cabinet toe-kicks yesterday and made a lot of progress on the drawer pulls today. Noah and Les stopped by with out current neighbors the Sudworths today. It was a nice break for me from the work. Its been a lot, but I am enjoying it. I feel priviledged and blessed to be able to do it.

Kitchen Cabs Part 3, Countertops, and Cedar Siding

Saturday Morning, Noah and I stopped by the "new house" to check on things. We had said goodbye to Grandpa Bob on Thursday morning after 16 days straight of hard work. He is the man and a very talented one at that. We were able to mostly finish up the cabinets as can be seen and we set the footings, beams, and joists for the back deck. The wood floors were stained on Wednesday and it took to Saturday for them to dry. We went with an ebony stain - it looks darker in pictures than it actually is.

Noah loves his new tool - the level.

Here is the range hood surrounded by some custom milled side panels - done by the professional (Grandpa Bob)

Noah enjoys his new race track.

The granite countertops were installed this past Saturday. Its called Kashmir White and we couldn't be happier with the selection.

This is the guest bath in the basement.

This is Noah's and Baby #2's bathroom.

The master bath vanity.

'The powder room's funky little vanity.

The cedar siding started to go up on Friday and should be done some time this week. It wraps around the side of the house to the back and is looking pretty sharp.

Kitchen Cabinetry - Part 2

Dad and Jeff have been hard at work this week and making incredible progress. The kitchen is really coming together! All of the cabinet boxes and side panels are in and they should be finished with the doors and drawers after tomorrow.

Looking from the backyard sliding doors towards the front entryway - you can even see straight out the garage door into the street.

Looking from the dining area...

Looking from the front entryway towards the backyard...

Kids' bathroom - cabinet box and shorty-tub :-)

Laundry room cabinet boxes - washer & dryer & utility sink will go in the openings below...

The garage and driveway was also poured - we can park in our own space now!

Sidewalk from the garage side around the the front door - there will be a gate at the start of the sidewalk below...

Kitchen Cabinetry

I'm filling in today since Jeff has been working pretty much non-stop since we got back from Florida last weekend. My dad came back down on Tuesday and they've been installing the kitchen cabinetry and doing a fantastic job! Noah and I went to visit a couple times this week to watch the men at work.

Looking from our living room area into the kitchen:

Looking towards the entryway from the sliding doors that go out to the backyard:

Looking from the dining room area:

Marveling at how nimble Grandpa still is:

Primer Time - Happy Easter

While we were away on vacation for a week in Florida, the drywall was finished and the painter completed priming the whole interior of the house. The ceilings and closets have been fully primed and painted as of this afternoon. The hardwood floors were delivered last week and will be installed on Monday. Bob (Lesley's dad) is here through tomorrow for Easter, will drive back in the afternoon and be back here on Tuesday to lead us in building and setting the cabinetry for the whole house. We hope to have it done in a week. It will involve a lot of long hours but I am really looking forward to putting some sweat equity into this house. Again, the new progress is always so impressive and enjoyable to see. Every new visit is a treat. We continually feel blessed and privileged to be building our own home.

Above and below are shots of the playroom - Noah's future domain. Its so bright.

Above and below are hallway shots that really show the detail of the drywall work. It turned out so well, which is important in such a clean lined, modern house.

Walking Tour

DRY WALL!!!!

Things are going real fast. The city water workers were by Monday and Tuesday to connect us to the water and sewer system. The street, driveway, and garage floor had a nice 4 foot wide and 5 foot deep trench dug into them. Fortunately the rain did not slow them down and they finished things up this morning.

The dry wall was delivered on Monday. Due to the slow economy, we had two crews of four guys at the house yesterday and today. They were able to hang the drywall and install all the corner beads on the entire house in what seemed like no time. They plan to start taping tomorrow and could be done some time early next week. Hardwood flooring and Priming will start next week too, then Bob and I will begin to install the cabinetry when we get back from Florida.