Roughing it

We have moved in.  We are here.  It is not pretty, but we are working on it!  We have a working half bath, and a working tub/shower.  T

Half bath sink

Half bath

Casey working to level the range.  What a mess! Temporary fridge in place so we can live here. another cabinet is to be installed above the fridge. Panels need to go on the bar - plywood is not the final detail :)

We are basically camping.  This place is still a construction zone.  Our counter tops won't be installed until the 11th, so until then, we are cooking on either the grill or a camp stove and washing dishes in the tub.  It's all good though, because we are moved in!  This is all part of this adventure.  

Closer

Today we worked on a variety of tasks to include hanging the last of the light fixtures (inside). I also put the last of the device covers in place. 

My office track light is hung, trims will go on after we move in.

The master bedroom is looking pretty great!

I love the trim style Casey chose (pocket door to master closet/bath shown)

The birch hand scraped floor in the boys rooms is pretty also! 

Casey worked on the half bath today to get ready for the toilet and sink to go in very soon. Our kitchen has not yet arrived (waiting on one cabinet) so we are spending the time to get the bathroom trim boards on before the fixtures get installed. The rest of the trim will go up after we move in.

Our Marmoleum will be installed in the kids bathroom tomorrow and then the toilet will go in. 

Hardwood, carpet and lights...Oh MY!

Over the last week we have installed the hand scraped birch flooring in the hallway and boys bedrooms.  We also had the wool carpet installed in the master bedroom.  Casey did a great job installing the hardwood, I actually look forward to cleaning it and photographing it!

Casey just getting started with the wood floor.

The dining room LED's are very bright!  

All the 2nd floor rooms have light fixtures, receptacles and switches installed.  Even the washer and dryer receptacles are ready for use!  In the bathroom we used an occupancy switch for efficiency (not shown)

Our kitchen is being delivered tomorrow and Casey plans to prepare for the installation on Friday.  On Saturday we will install our sink, toilet and shower trim.  

The current plan is to move in on Sunday! We won't have a working kitchen for a few days, but the idea of living there is so exciting I'm willing to sacrifice some creature comforts. We know how to camp!

Getting closer

Drywall work feels never ending and is generally regarded as being pretty awful. The good news is that we are nearing the end of drywall hell.  Casey and I put the drywall up on the second floor walls. We hired someone to do the first floor walls, ceiling and the stairwell. I put the tape up and Casey did all of the mud work.  I'm responsible for most of the sanding and he is doing all of the painting.  The second floor walls and ceiling are 100% primed and painted.  We need to put the trim on the windows and baseboard.  We also have hardwood for the kids bedrooms and hallways that needs to be installed.  The master carpet and bathroom Marmolium will be installed by a sub-contractor. We have all the materials available, they just need be installed. 

We still need to second coat the first floor, paint, trim, etc.  I actually look forward to the sanding, it is just that much closer to having paint on the walls! 

It's been a few weeks since I've be able to do much at the house.  The last month has been quite hectic, including sleep away camp for my oldest, a CT vacation for the boys and I, and most recently the sudden illness and passing of my lovely Grandmother Doris Raitenen. I was lucky enough to be one of the loving family members at her side during this time. She'd understand my need to get back to work at this time, so this weekend I am going for it!

I've got light fixtures to install in the closets, bedrooms, upstairs bathroom.  The boxes are taking up a ton of space and I look forward to using the empty boxes for packing. The second floor is also ready for devices and plate covers.  As soon as we get the bathroom flooring down we can install the sink, toilet and shower controls. I also think my office and the theater will be ready for sanding this weekend. WE ARE SO CLOSE! 

We are still awaiting the arrival of our kitchen.  Casey has been so busy building a custom kitchen for another customer that he is not able to build our cabinets.  This was a very sad realization for us with him being such a skilled woodworker, but a person can only do so much.  Working a full time job, building a custom kitchen for a customer and finishing the drywall in your own house all at over the summer is way more than many people can handle. Adding another custom kitchen build to the mix was just not realistic.  We picked cherry cabinets with an amaretto stain and plan to have soapstone counter tops. The cabinet door styles are totally different from what I posted "Heart" last year.  The cabinets are about 2-3 weeks out at this point. I really am most excited about using is the kitchen.  The stove we are currently cooking with has two working burners. Cooking with that stove is going to be delightful, I am so thankful we bought that last year! 

I really hope our house is ready to move into by the end of August. It would be even more awesome if we could move in before the start of school.  We aren't moving to a new town, so no school transition. No real need to rush, but I am ready.  We are getting closer.

First Floor Drywall

Over the last week we've had a team come in and hang the drywall on the first floor.  It's finally done and we are just about ready to move forward with taping this weekend.  We also have an excavator coming this weekend and we are making repairs to the grading around our home as well as to some other needed work. 

The hanging of the drywall is a huge step and I feel so happy that we are inching along.  We've ordered our bathroom fixtures and soon it will be time for Casey to start building our kitchen cabinets. 

My office 

Front door - stairs to left, office to right

From the 1st floor bath looking south into mudroom

Tape and mud

Today I spent the morning taping all the drywall seams, joints, etc. on the second floor so that Casey could run through and put the first coat of joint compound up.  He is using a 90-minute quickset compound, apparently it dries fast and is less likely to crack in the process.  We'll have two more coats to put up along with sanding before these walls will be ready for paint.  It is slow work, but not as slow as hanging drywall!

1st coat!



Master Bedroom



Laundry closet on 2nd floor - taped and ready for mud!



Casey throwing some mud on the walls ;)

We did have a bit (okay, a major) of a plumbing issue, but it has been fixed.  It was really sad to see the huge pile of materials that were improperly installed.  All of the plumbing that was previously installed was removed and replaced over the last few weeks by a master plumber.  It is all up to code and we won't be having any issues with it now!

A portion of the discarded plumbing materials that were improperly installed

All the plumbing is now completely up to code - it previously had a HUGE list of violations

This week we will be ordering the sheetrock for the first floor.  I am really excited to get the first floor done so we can order our kitchen and get closer to moving in.  It is likely that we won't be ready for moving in until the end of June, but what a way to celebrate the summer! 

Springing along

Here are some photos to make up for the lack of them in my previous posts:

Our electrical panel is hung and nearly complete! 

The boiler has been in place for a while now....I've just neglected to photograph it

The kitchen is a bit easier to envision with the bar in place

Drywall is coming along...looking into the boys bathroom/laundry room

drywall! Still need to tape and mud

We will hang drywall on the remaining interior walls this week