I haven't posted in forever. But we finally had some professional quality photos taken of the house. I must say the end product turned out pretty darn good. That's Bentley in one of the photos.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
The finished product.
Monday, September 8, 2008
The House
After going way off the radar for several months here are some pics of the house as it is right now. It is pretty much done except for a few items. We still don't have stair railings. They are going in the week though.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
So far so good
The tile materials that we had have been installed. I'm going to hold out on postings pictures until all of the tile work and flooring has been installed. Or at least until 95% of it is done. So far it looks great and everything is moving along as expected.
The wood floor guys started this morning. They pretty much finished installing the floors on the second floor without a hitch. It turns out though that we can't use the bullnose that the stair maker provided. Since the floors are engineered (Saso Floors from iFloor) they come with their own pre-finished trim pieces. The new bullnose doesn't meet the floors flush, it lays on top kind of like a door threshhold. Its not entirely what we wanted but still looks good. I guess if you start nailing down and anchoring the floating floors you kind of defeat the purpose. Which brings me to the next issue. The first floor has some issues that are easily fixed and just kind of come with the territory of an old house. The old floor deck left a lot to be desired by way of being level. It was actually very wavy and undulating especially over the old highly trafficked areas. So to fix it we sheeted the whole first floor with 1/2" plywwod. It made the problem a lot better but still there are some undulating pockets in areas. So the floor guys are going to have to use self levelling concrete to even out the floor. The other issue comes in the kitchen. When I had my trim guy install the cabinets I had him use pieces of the new floor as shims because I figured the cabinets would sit atop the new wood floors. I guess I was wrong because of the whole floating floor thing the floors have to butt up against the kickplates of the cabinets. Its not the end of the world since we have quarter round trim. It just creates more work for the trim carpenter. C'est la vie.
The wood floor guys started this morning. They pretty much finished installing the floors on the second floor without a hitch. It turns out though that we can't use the bullnose that the stair maker provided. Since the floors are engineered (Saso Floors from iFloor) they come with their own pre-finished trim pieces. The new bullnose doesn't meet the floors flush, it lays on top kind of like a door threshhold. Its not entirely what we wanted but still looks good. I guess if you start nailing down and anchoring the floating floors you kind of defeat the purpose. Which brings me to the next issue. The first floor has some issues that are easily fixed and just kind of come with the territory of an old house. The old floor deck left a lot to be desired by way of being level. It was actually very wavy and undulating especially over the old highly trafficked areas. So to fix it we sheeted the whole first floor with 1/2" plywwod. It made the problem a lot better but still there are some undulating pockets in areas. So the floor guys are going to have to use self levelling concrete to even out the floor. The other issue comes in the kitchen. When I had my trim guy install the cabinets I had him use pieces of the new floor as shims because I figured the cabinets would sit atop the new wood floors. I guess I was wrong because of the whole floating floor thing the floors have to butt up against the kickplates of the cabinets. Its not the end of the world since we have quarter round trim. It just creates more work for the trim carpenter. C'est la vie.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Quick Update
- The new stairs have been installed. The stair guy just needs to finish some small details.
- My friend Ross (a veritable metal wizard) will be fabricating the railings and island countertop.
- The back deck has been torn off. As well as all of the old gutters and soffits.
- The kitchen cabinets are being delivered tomorrow May 1. Luis will be installing them tomorrow or Friday!
- The tile is almost all delivered.....damn ants. Tile guy is starting his prep work tomorrow.
- The millwork will hopefully be all delivered early next week with the Luis the trim carpenter starting immediately.
- The rest of the wood floors will be delivered next week and installed next Wed. May 7.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Expecting the Unexpected
Slowly but surely we're making progress. The painters have started priming all of the walls and ceilings of the house. They should hopefully be done with that today.
The the wood floor materials will be arriving on Monday so that the installers will be able to begin on Wednesday. The installers claim that they will have the job finished in a couple of days. So if everything goes as planned we will be able to have the stairs installed around the 1st of May.
I met with my tile guy this morning to go over the areas being tiled. He should be able to start next week as well. The only hangup there is that some of our materials aren't able to be picked up. Why? Because the container in which they arrived on a slow boat from China is being held up in U.S. Customs due to an ant infestation. An ant infestation!!!! So there is no telling when we will be able to get that marble. And until then we won't be able to tile the master bathroom or the shower of the first floor bathroom. We do have the materials to tile the guest bathroom and the floor of the front and back entries. So we will be able to get that done at least.
I spoke with our cabinet supplier. The cabinets are sitting in a warehouse at Pulaski & Diversey and can be delivered with 24 hours notice. The other trim materials for the house are all in stock as well. The only item I'm waiting on hearing back about are the interior doors. We switched from a painted to going to a stained door. Hopefully that won't hold us up.
We also ordered all of our materials for the exterior of the addition. We are going with a traditional look. So the siding is going to be 7 1/4" Certainteed fibercement with a 6" reveal. The trim is going to be miratec trimboard and will match the windows. F.E. Wheaton is supplying the materials and also pre-finishing them. The siding is going to be an Eiffel Tower Beige while the trim is going to be almost almond colored. I always thought the Eiffel Tower was bronze colored. Nope. It is actually Eiffel Tower Brown which is a sort of milk chocolate color. Mmmmmm. Chocolate.
The the wood floor materials will be arriving on Monday so that the installers will be able to begin on Wednesday. The installers claim that they will have the job finished in a couple of days. So if everything goes as planned we will be able to have the stairs installed around the 1st of May.
I met with my tile guy this morning to go over the areas being tiled. He should be able to start next week as well. The only hangup there is that some of our materials aren't able to be picked up. Why? Because the container in which they arrived on a slow boat from China is being held up in U.S. Customs due to an ant infestation. An ant infestation!!!! So there is no telling when we will be able to get that marble. And until then we won't be able to tile the master bathroom or the shower of the first floor bathroom. We do have the materials to tile the guest bathroom and the floor of the front and back entries. So we will be able to get that done at least.
I spoke with our cabinet supplier. The cabinets are sitting in a warehouse at Pulaski & Diversey and can be delivered with 24 hours notice. The other trim materials for the house are all in stock as well. The only item I'm waiting on hearing back about are the interior doors. We switched from a painted to going to a stained door. Hopefully that won't hold us up.
We also ordered all of our materials for the exterior of the addition. We are going with a traditional look. So the siding is going to be 7 1/4" Certainteed fibercement with a 6" reveal. The trim is going to be miratec trimboard and will match the windows. F.E. Wheaton is supplying the materials and also pre-finishing them. The siding is going to be an Eiffel Tower Beige while the trim is going to be almost almond colored. I always thought the Eiffel Tower was bronze colored. Nope. It is actually Eiffel Tower Brown which is a sort of milk chocolate color. Mmmmmm. Chocolate.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
The Countdown
We are coming into the home stretch. Now that the drywall has been hung the place the house is going to start looking like home. Here's what's left to do.
- Exterior Siding and Gutters (Materials ordered 4/25/08. Shipping 5/9/08)
- Priming the Walls
- Laying tile (Materials are all in except some that are quarantined)
- Installing hardwood floors (Materials shipping 4/28/08)
- Installing new stairs
- Trim Carpentry (Materials ordered 4/25/08)
- Plumbing Trim
- Electric Trim
- Home Audio
- Miscellaneous
We are racing against the clock to get everything done in 30 days. We have to be out of the temporary apartment on May 20. It is definitely possible to have it all done. Its just a matter of keeping on task and making sure everyone shows up to do their job when they're supposed to.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Drywall
The drywall has been hung and we are on our way to getting the bungalow in living condition. This is the longest leg of the build process....getting from drywall to finished. Hopefully things will fall into place and we will be living in the house in 30 days. It is definitely possible hopefully doable.
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| Drywall |
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