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Our kitchen countertops were just installed. The countertop guy still needs to come back to permanently attach the waterfall edges, though. I've informed him that the bubble gum and masking tape that are currently holding them together just aren't going to cut it. Coming from our tiny, one butt kitchen in the condo, I think we may have gone a little overboard adding counter space in the new kitchen. I can't even imagine how amazing it will feel to be able to spread out and cook a real meal in here. We may even have space to use more than one pot at a time!
Once the siding was complete, the roofers returned to finish installing the shingles. We chose Onyx Black asphalt shingles, simply because I liked the contrast against the other exterior materials. If money were no object, we would have gone with a standing seam metal roof, but since that was not in the budget I think this was a good compromise.
Ugh, this was seriously one of the most frustrating weeks of our remodel project so far! The previous week felt super productive with a lot of big projects crossed off the list, but the forward momentum came to a grinding halt with the drywallers this week. Our contractor had estimated that it would take the crew about 2 weeks to hang and texture the drywall, but they just wrapped up week 4 and still aren't quite done. None of the other subcontractors (painter, tile, hardwoods, etc) can get in to do their work until the drywall is finished so everything else is currently on hold. They claim the reason it is taking so long is because we chose to do a smooth, grade 4 finish that requires more steps – although they knew this going into the job!!! I will stop talking about it before I get too fired up....
Let's talk about a fun topic instead – lighting! All of the fixtures I ordered have come in and are waiting to be installed (once the drywallers finish, of course!). I spent many, many hours researching lighting and choosing fixtures to complement the clean, contemporary style of our decor. There are so many gorgeous fixtures out there, but they get insanely expensive fast! I did my best to balance cost, form and function when I was shopping. Here's what I ultimately picked:
Sources: Master Bedroom, Master Bath, Mudroom, Kitchen, Dining Area
Sources: Pantry, Loft, Closets, Guest Bath, Exterior, Office
I did all of my lighting shopping online, which was convenient but difficult to get a good sense of the scale and quality. My favorite source is called Euro Style Lighting. They are not paying me to mention them, although I wouldn't be sad if they wanted to send a few free fixtures my way!
All of our cabinets were installed this week and we are so, so happy with the way they turned out! We went for a European look and did different finishes on the upper and lower cabinets in the kitchen for an interesting contrast. We really wanted a clean and contemporary design in the kitchen since it's focal point of the house.
The lower cabinets are textured melamine from Fina and the color is called Spring Blossom. I had them run the grain on the doors horizontally instead of vertically (we chose the exact same finish for the floating cabinets in both bathrooms). The upper kitchen cabinets are also from Fina. They are made of white ultra gloss MDF. The top row has frosted glass doors with aluminum trim.
The kitchen island has a spot for our built-in microwave drawer.
One of the lower cabinets has a pull out with a spot for our trash and recycling containers.
We wanted to incorporate as much functional storage as possible. Originally I was leaning towards a lazy susan for the corner cabinet, but then I discovered this cool gadget called the LeMans II for storing pots and pans.
The cabinets in our mudroom were also installed. These are painted maple MDF from Fina and the color is called Silver Moss. In here, we designed an L-shaped bench with cabinets above. The nook above the bench will have hooks for coats.
Week 20 has come and gone. If you've been following along from the beginning, you may remember that this entire remodeling project was scheduled to take 20 weeks and we were expecting to move in over Labor Day weekend. Well, that is clearly not the case. The new target is October 1st, but there is still a lot to be done! The construction site was a beehive of activity this week.
It poured this week....in more ways than one. The new driveway, sidewalk and patios were poured, despite the rainy weather. The crew tented the area with tarps to keep the rain off the wet concrete until it cured. We had them do a broom finish to add some texture, then score a square pattern to help alleviate cracking. I designed the pervious driveway with rectangular cutouts to allow for groundwater recharge, which is a practice common in sustainable construction. I got a lot of resistance from our contractor when it came time to build the driveway, but I'm glad that I stood my ground. The rectangular spaces will be filled with either grass or river rock, we haven't decided yet.
Coincidentally, the maroon panels on the exterior started going up the same day as the first Aggie football game of the season. We couldn't have timed that better! Gig'em! Jason was skeptical of the red color when I picked it out, but we're both really happy with how it's coming together. I think the exterior needed that bright pop of color to offset the gray and taupe siding.
Inside, the burrito guys were busy taping and mudding drywall all week. The texture should go on this coming week, then paint will hopefully follow.
Numerous boxes containing our kitchen, bathroom, mudroom and office cabinetry were delivered. This is only half of them. The cabinet installation crew will begin this coming week and I'm so excited to see these spaces start to come together!
It's still far from livable, but it's looking more and more like a house every week. Fingers crossed for an October 1st move in!
Work on the front porch continues....one. plank. at. a. time. It has to be the most painfully slow thing I've ever witnessed. The crew averages approximately 2 rows of boards per day.
The lap siding is almost finished, we just lack one wall of the garage. Red panels will go on the part that's currently wrapped in Tyvek.
The landscaping crew from the town came out this week to plant two Honey Locusts to replace the Cottonwood trees they removed earlier this summer. They have plans to do more landscaping to this bed next spring. At some point in the near future we are going to need to replace the fence because it's literally falling over. The projects are never-ending!
The insulation guys finished mid-week and then the drywall crew got to work. They made themselves right at home and even brought their own microwave as if they are planning to stay for awhile.
The concrete subfloors were poured over the radiant heat tubing on Tuesday before the drywallers began. The concrete has to cure for a month before we can seal them and lay the hardwoods on top. Clearly the drywall crew is not too concerned with cleaning up after themselves. They are too busy with more important things, like microwaving their frozen burrito snacks.
This photo just shows what a disaster the interior is right now. I can not imagine living in a house during an extensive remodel like this one.
I'm fairly certain our bear friends would take one look inside and run for the forest! Maybe they would microwave a few burritos first.
We spent the last week in Texas visiting family, so I'm a couple weeks behind updating the blog. While we were away, Jason and I both had nightmares about the house and were anxious to get home to see what had transpired while we were out of town. This is what we found:
The siding on the front of the garage is complete, but there are still three sides of the house to go. The formwork is in place and ready for the driveway and walkways to be poured.
The cedar siding is still going up around the front entry. We had expected this to be complete when we arrived home, but the contractor still has quite a bit of work to do. The good news is that the stucco is complete and looks amazing! The lighting is terrible in this photo, so I'll have to snap a better one soon.
Here's another view of the stucco on the side of the house where it meets the lap siding.
The electrical rough-in is complete. We had to get a new electrical panel in the garage to accommodate the added load of the new addition. These bundles of wires are the "homeruns" leading from the panel to the rest of the house.
The interior currently looks like a scene out of a horror movie. The insulation guys put up creepy plastic sheeting up everywhere.
They are beginning to spray the foam insulation on the ceiling. This was supposed to be complete by the time we arrived home so that drywall could start going up on Monday, but they are only about 50% done.
In the meantime, the plumber has been busy laying the tubing for the radiant heat in the floors. The concrete subfloor will be poured on top of that, then the hardwood flooring will finish it off.
The framing is in place for our fireplace. We decided not to do a hearth or mantle right now, although we may add one in the future if we get the crazy urge to take on yet another project.
Although it was still on our minds the entire trip, it was really nice to get away from the house for a week! We needed a break!