Moisture control

Just two new photos today, for a short and sweet post. The first shows the initial installation of roof gutters; the second is a shot of the two large pallets of ash hardwood flooring that they have delivered. This wood needs to sit in the home for a week or so in order to cure and thus not warp after it is installed. The point of both gutters and wood-curing being "moisture control" -- of course!

Cement and other hard surfaces

The rainy weather has finally broken (with several 90-degree days in a row--not what we really wanted!), which means they have finally been able to drive the gravel and cement trucks onto the property without having them sink to the axles in mud. Thus, this week they poured the front porch (see Bob surveying this) and the back patio. I was also actually able to walk in the back yard to take a progress photo of the back of the house, which you haven't seen in a while.

Progress has also been made--in fact, is almost done--on the staining of the doors and trim. I like the artsy way they stood the doors up together in rows in our bedroom for drying.

Other photos included today are a picture of a little maple Bob transplanted onto our prairie from my Mom's yard in West Virginia and photos of two other "hard surfaces"--the "Blue Butterfly" granite we chose for our kitchen countertops and the tile going in on the laundry room floor.

Stinkin' up the house

When I walked in the house today to see what was newly done, one of the workers warned me that the smell of the fresh stain was pretty strong in the basement. And, yep, it was...almost enough to knock you out or at least make you lightheaded for a good long time.

Today's photos include a shot of the stair treads, all stained and ready for next week's installation; also some window trim standing up next to a newly installed basement door (you'll note, if you are paying close attention to this blog, that the upstairs doors are oak, to be stained, and the downstairs doors are white painted wood.

The exterior shot shows the stonework on the side of the house, which has been in place for about a week, but it has been too muddy for me to get over there to snap the photo (we had 15 minutes of dry weather this week, I think). There is also a photo of a sample try at the pattern for the deck railing. The guy who made them said they were stinky. Well, the word he used was actually "crappy," but he intends to round the edges of the small pieces and trim them 1/8 inch smaller than the verticals and sand them perfectly square on the ends. The meticulous work all the workers put in has been and continues to be amazing.

The glass-partitioned door is the door to my office--it's got plastic wrap on it; the glass isn't really wavy. This door is one of Bob's choices. I think he's been allowed to make three choices so far: (1) that door; (2) the fireplace stone; and (3) the ash wood flooring. All his choices are, like the workmen's work, certainly NOT stinky!

A wedding in the house

Today we start with a nice "art shot" of our doorknobs. Gorgeous! Note the reddish highlights that appear in the light along the edges of the oil-rubbed bronze! To tell the whole story, I took this photo because Elaine was commenting on the lovely art shot of Lori's blue shoes in her hall before the wedding. I thought this pair deserved such a lasting tribute as well!

We also have a shot of the trim standing ready for sanding in the basement, and another artsy shot of packages of tile standing ready in the garage.

Doors--one set of these striking doors are the doors to our master suite and the other pair are closet doors. Both lovely. Today they should get the first coat of stain, and two coats later the doorknobs and doors will be joined in matrimony for all eternity. Yuck, that metaphor didn't work out at all, sorry!

Stone and doors

Doors--they put temporary locks on the front door and garage door, and left us a key so we could get in. Sure enough, the key didn't work, but no worries--the back door and window were wide open.

The oak trim and inside doors were in the garage, and as more of the house gets completed, they like to keep it locked...thus the locks, as incomplete as they are!

Anyway, here's a shot of an upstairs door, as well as some shots of the front stonework and the cement board siding on the deck. Looking good!

We've been looking at countertops, outdoor lighting, faucets, and tile until we think we need to quit our jobs and do this house-building stuff full time. In fact, Bob left town this morning, giving me authority to make all the decisions--his eyes were glazing over if I just said "tile." Whoo, hoo! Guess I'll get that expensive stuff!

The start of the finishing

All the drywall is up; the utilities are all in place, so now the finishing starts! I had a complaint that these postings are too far between and there aren't enough pictures, so here are a bunch of pictures to show you what's being done. The one photo with a person in it shows him putting up the "grail coat" exterior finish on the front of the house. He put up a mesh fabric first, then put on two or three coats of the green stuff on top of that. It looks nice and will look great with the stone that goes on the bottom.

The shots of the blank walls inside show the greenish paint they put in the great room last week. It also looks nice. Depending on the lighting, the color looks, green, blue, or grey, so a very nice and lively look to the room should be achieved. Can you tell from that wording that I had a decorator help pick the colors?

There is also a photo of the outside of the main entryway, where they are putting up the pillars. It looks like a mess now, but take a look at the shot of the front door! Isn't it lovely! I love it, and framed by the pillars, it is going to look as incredible from the outside as it does from inside.

The final shot is of the planters they are putting in front of the garage windows that will also have some little faux pillars going up from them, playing off of and balancing the main front door pillars. It should all be gorgeous when the finishing is finished!