August 31, 2009: Plumbing Fixtures

Monday was a busy day at the house. Preethi had been by during lunch and said there were 6 trucks there, which is believable as plumbing work, concrete prep, painting, and the culvert pipe installation were done.

The pedestal sink on the main floor bathroom. We thought the space was a little tight so we used a pedestal sink instead of a normal vanity.

Toilet on the main floor bathroom. (I'm not posting every picture of every toilet). There was water in the toilet, but water had not been hooked up to the house yet. I figure the water was there to a) check for leaks, and b) cut down on septic gas flowing back into the house (not that there should be that much yet...)

The laundry room wash basin (some assembly required).


Faucet for the sink in the Jack and Jill bathroom. One of the things that annoys me about the current house are the faucets do not extend out far enough. This means I tend to bump my hands against the back of the sink when I'm washing my hands.

The throne in the throne room.

Hot water heater was installed today.

The faucet on the kitchen sink.

The master bath jacuzzi tub which we'll use like 3 or 4 times a year (though who knows as we get older and need a good soak?). But it's kinda de rigeur for new construction.

Rebar was added in preparation for pouring concrete in the sidewalk.

Rebar was also added for the apron and the garage stoop.

The garage got its first coat of paint.

Another view of painting in the garage. I didn't know that the painters were going to paint the wood "pure white" while the walls were dover white (the yellowish white).

The culvert pipe. Surface treatment for the driveway is scheduled for later this week.

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August 28, 2009: Forms for concrete

We dropped by the house Friday after work. Some forms for were completed and the hot water heater was delivered.

Forms for the sidewalk. It flares out at both the driveway and the steps.

Forms for the apron and the garage stoop.

The backfill beside the garage stoop. We'll likely need to put in a retaining wall in the not so-distant future.

The hot water heater was delivered. It will go underneath the basement steps.

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August 27, 2009: Granite and front steps

On Thursday, we went to the house twice. Once during lunch to meet with the granite guys and then again in the evening to inspect the results and go on a walk. Work was also proceeding on the sidewalk and the front steps had gone in on Wednesday.

The granite in the kitchen in the evening after installation (all in). Preethi's playing "find the seam".

Your turn to find the seam. I promise it's there. What is easier to see is where the installers intentionally tore out a little drywall. Basically, the granite is perfectly straight, but drywall is not and if you'll be putting in a backsplash you can cover over the hole later.

Earlier in the installation process with the granite around the sink and dishwasher going in.

Same piece as in the preceding pic, but just after being dropped in (not yet glued and the sink has not yet been attached).

The granite around the sink post installation.

A closer view of the island. The island has a 1/4" bevel edge while the rest of the granite has a pencil edge. (granite edge types)

Another view of the installed granite in the kitchen.

We also put granite on top of fireplace. Oddly, the granite and the crown was cheaper than a traditional mantle piece.

The brickers were back installing the front steps the day before and while they were there I asked them how hard it would be to tear out some bricks rebrick a part which I thought didn't look right. (see the vertical line in the mortar in this picture). Turns out it's not that hard for the masons to knock out selected bricks and re-lay a few.

Preethi, Danny, and W.D. discuss the exact path of the sidewalk during lunch.

The sidewalk later that night. The curved wood is actually masonite.

This is mostly to see the bricked floor in the entryway. Still has to be cleaned.

Dan drops off a fresh load of dirt to build up the support around the piers that will support the garage backdoor pad.

Dirt filling in around the pillars. Eventually, the concrete blocks will be covered.

Glass samples we were considering for the cabinets. The left is "ridged" the right is "bubble". We're going with the ridged.

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August 25, 2009: Concrete and Water

On Tuesday, we made it out to the house shortly after work. They've begun hooking up the water to the house, some concrete was poured and drainage pipes were placed in trenches.

Water beginning to be run to the house. This is the end that will connect to the water hookup.

And this is where the water will go into the house.

A bunch of plumbing tubes.

The concrete was poured to support the front steps.

The concrete piers that will help support the backdoor garage stoop. Dirt will fill in around the piers (dirt has a way of receding over time and if there isn't the concrete support the pad by the door will eventually crack and drop off too)

Concrete piers for the garage backfoor stoop viewed from the master bedroom.

Gutter drainage pipes were trenched in.

Preethi saw some dirt in the master bedroom and a push broom and couldn't resist a chance to sweep.

The attic fan in the house was running when we entered (probably kept the house cooler). And yup, it showed up on the meter. We're all the way up to 1 kWh

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August 24, 2009: Forms and veneer

On Monday, we visited the house shortly after work. Concrete should be poured tomorrow and forms were in place.

Forms for the piers that will support the back door garage concrete pad.

Turns out that the ridge can't be stained (the downside to engineered wood). So now we're building a fake ridge over the real ridge but using wood pieces that can be stained.


My apologies for the misrotated image. But I've rotated it, saved it and reuploaded several times and either the file save is failing or blogger is doing something weird. Regardless, a little more prep work was done on the front stoop. I assume the plastic is there to help with the curing process.

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August 21, 2009: Electricity, forms, and a little granite

On Friday, we got out to the house in the afternoon. The countertop guys had been out to template for the granite and I noticed a couple things that were probably already done that I had just missed.

Preethi inspects a granite sample the countertop guys left. We were considering using unpolished granite on the top of the mantle (for a stone mantle look) but we decided to go with a polished granite piece that will match the kitchen counter tops.

Same piece as before, but now set on the island in the kitchen.

The concrete pad for the front steps is ready to be poured. Preethi told me this happened on Thursday, but I hadn't seen it.

A different view of the drainfield with an inspection pipe for the septic tank.

See that light? It indicates a ground fault interrupt. I assume it's on because the electrician was testing its operation. But also means that the main power line is now hooked up to the house.

Our power meter was installed and reading 0 kwH. I've never owned or lived in a house that showed that. Probably won't stay there for long.

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