Flooring going in

We have stranded bamboo flooring from TeraGren. It's even stronger than the bamboo we have in the office.

Drywall up

Most of the drywall is up. Once that goes up, it starts looking done. The electrical is roughed out, too.

Framing is done

The framing is done. Not a lot this time. Just taking down some small walls under the steel beam, moving the basement door and reframing that, closing the old door into the kitchen, making a new opening, and the closets.


They also put blocking up in the kitchen. That way, when it's time to mount the cabinets, there is always solid wood behind it. No need to try and find a stud. Makes installation easier, and narrow cabinets will always have two sets of screws, even if there is only one stud behind the cabinet.

Steel beam in

Since we are taking out some walls, we need a steel beam to carry the weight. They guys brought the beam in today and tied everything into it. The upstairs floor is much straighter now, and no real squeaks in the floor like it used to have.

2nd Phase begins

Now we're starting on the kitchen project. Converting the downstairs bedroom to a kitchen, and opening up the area that will be the dining room. Dennis Buckshaw and his crew are back again.

Before:


We had a birthday party at the house just before demolition, so I told half a dozen boys to do whatever they wanted to the walls... :)

Solar panels are installed!

We still have a few more panels to go up, but we're generating power now! When it's all set up, we'll be have 8100 watts of panels on the roof. It's really cool watching the meter run backwards!

Kids are in their new bedrooms

We started moving stuff into the new rooms now. The kids are in their new bedrooms. The new bathroom is being used, and the bulk of the living room furniture is in the new livingroom. Still have plenty more to rearrange, but at least we can finally start using the new space in the house.

Carpeting is done

Carpets are done in the house. We went with Mohawk brand, SmartStrand. They are corn-based threads, which are better for the environment, naturally stain-resistant, and naturally very soft. All the floors upstairs are the same grey color. That way, it won't clash with any paint we use in the future. Downstairs is a pale tan color.

Septic system is in

We have a huge septic/cesspool system now. A very large septic tank, and two large cesspools, which take up most of the front yard. Oh well, it has to be done, as per the Health department.... At least they are commercial-grade tanks, so we can drive over them when they are finished.

More inspector delays....

We need inspections for the septic system, so the excavator doesn't want to start digging the hole until Monday....

Most of the inside plumbing is done, at least. Just the final connection to the new waste pipe (can't do it yet, since the new pipe doesn't go anywhere.... :) )