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.... :) )

Stair railing is done

They finished assembling the stair railing yesterday. It looks beautiful. I still have to stain and seal it, but I want to test out the colors on some scrap wood first.

We have heat!

They put the new furnace in yesterday. I still have to get used to how it works, but at least the entire house was warm last night. Heat is nice... :)


Before:


After:

Color on the walls

Color started going on the walls yesterday. The office and the library are the same color, so the painter did those first. It's a really nice color. It looks great seeing rooms get finished. :)


Hallway:




Daughter's bedroom



Son's bedroom


Living Room


Living Room


Library

Bamboo floor

The office has bamboo flooring from Teragren www.teragren.com/
It has no formaldehyde, and it is responsibly grown and harvested. It's also a very hard "wood".

All the walls are primed

The painter made quick work of painting. All the walls are primed, and the ceilings are done in the final coat. Now it's really starting to look finished. The walls are solid now. Yes, it's all a very boring white, but at least it's a solid white.

The paint is ZERO VOC paint from MythicPaint http://www.mythicpaint.com/
There is no smell to the paint, no poisonous chemicals off-gassing, much better for the environment, etc.

Spackle is done

They finally came yesterday to finish the spackling. We're still not sure why they didn't come for a few days.?.? Anyway, they are done. There's that delightful white dust all over the downstairs..... Luckily, upstairs we were able to tarp off the existing part of the house, but downstairs is too open, and too much stuff there to protect it. When we move everything to the new part of the house, we'll just have to clean it piece by piece.

Upstairs doors are in and windows framed

Yesterday, they put up the doors and trimmed out all the windows upstairs. It makes a huge difference. Things are starting to get cleaned up and finished. They did a really nice job on the windows. I'm very happy with how they turned out.

Spackle is going on

The first coat of spackle is up. It takes a while to dry, so there is one day when it just sits there.... They are coming back on Saturday to do the 2nd coat. That gives it Sunday to dry, then Monday they can finish. Next week should be really fun. That's when a lot of the finish work starts happening.... :)

Drywall going up

The drywall is done downstairs, and most of it is done upstairs. They should be done by today, or tomorrow at the latest. The drywall really starts to make the rooms look like rooms. Once the spackler comes in and does his thing to make the walls look like one solid wall, instead of pieces of drywall screwed to the wall, I think it will make another huge transition towards being "done".

Inspection completed, insulation installed

The inspector came and OKd everything. The same day, the insulators finished insulating the entire house. Warmth is nice.... :)
We insulated all of the interior walls and ceiling as well to sound-proof the rooms a bit. That way, nobody is bothering anybody else if they are making noise in one room, and the other room needs to be quiet.

Inspector called in sick....

We were scheduled to have the plumbing and HVAC inspection today.... he called in sick.... now we have to go until Monday until we can find out when we *might* get an inspection. It's getting cold and we need insulation, but we can't insulate until the inspection.....

The Town is always the biggest hurdle with every phase of this project.....

Front deck and railings are done

The front deck/porch/steps/stoop is done. The steps and deck are mahogany, and the posts and rails are vinyl. The posts are supported by lag-bolted steel rods, so they aren't going anywhere. It really finishes off the front of the house.

Gutters are on

Gutters went on today. The outside is just about done. They just have to finish the front porch.

Siding is up

The house is water tight now. The siding is up, so they can start working on the inside of the house. We went with Certainteed siding. The color is Buckskin, and we have the Cedar Impressions on the front, and the standard clapboard on the sides and back.

Stonework is done

They finished laying the stone for the front foyer. It looks awesome. I'm definitely glad we decided to add that feature. It makes a big difference in the look of the house.

The stone is made in forms using a type of concrete material. It looks like real stone, but it's lighter, easier to work with, and cheaper than real stone. Once it's up, you can't tell the difference.

It's not supposed to be this cold yet!

The weather is unusually cold right now. Unfortunately, half the house isn't insulated, so it doesn't make any sense to even try turning the heat on..... Hopefully the cold snap will end soon, and the insulation will go in in about a week or so....

Preliminary wiring for solar panels

The solar panel installer is over today running the preliminary wiring from the roof to the basement. If he runs it when the house has no insulation or drywall, he can run everything inside the wall, and it will look much cleaner and more professional. The latest ETA on the panels showing up is January some time.....

Passed framing and strapping inspection

No pictures for this post, but we passed the building inspection for the framing and strapping. That means we can start covering the walls up with siding and insulation.

Most of downstairs windows are in

All of the downstairs windows are in except for the bay window. Since they are installing a new window directly over the bay, they decided to do the 2nd floor window first. The bay window area is all framed, though, so it should be a relatively simple process to put it in (Heavy process, but simple.... :) )

We have use of the front door again!

Windows are going in

They put all the windows in the new addition part of the house. That part is relatively easy, since all of the rough openings were configured for those exact windows. The next part, retrofitting the old part of the house, will take a bit more effort.

Roof shingles are on

The roof shingles are on for everything except the "eyelids" over the bay windows. That should make the shell significantly waterproof for a while. It will keep the majority of rain from coming straight down into the shell, and only come in through the window openings.

Front door is in

They installed the front doors and transom window. The foyer is still closed off to the old part of the house, so we aren't using the doors yet, but at least we can see what they look like. I was worried about them looking too big, since they are double doors, but with how wide the house is, the scale is perfect.

No front door!

Front door is gone! Well, that's one way of keeping away solicitors.... :) The foyer bump-out was taken down, they started framing, and had to cut away part of the wall inside so we could use the stairs.

Roof is framed

They put the roof rafters up and there's plywood on the roof. They are almost done with the rough framing. Just the front foyer is left.

2nd floor framed

All the 2nd floor walls are framed now. It's a little hard getting good photos since it's on the 2nd floor now, and we haven't opened up the existing house to the new house. The only way to get to the new 2nd floor is by ladder.