August 18, 2009: Last of the floor tile and cabinets arrive

I went out to the lot Tuesday evening (Preethi had been there most of the morning) and snapped a few pics.

The foyer tiles. We were going for a kind of carpet look.

The foyer tile area viewed from the dining room.

And viewed from the great room.

All of the cabinets and vanities were delivered for the entire house, which means the kitchen cabinets and all the bathrooms. In theory, they're all going to be installed tomorrow, but they're certainly taking up a lot of space now; this is just the set in the great room.

Here's the cabinets in the kitchen.

More cabinets.

In the meantime, more grading was done on the back yard.

Dan was still busy grading the backyard (drain field) when I was there.

The basement railing was also stained. That probably happened earlier, but I hadn't been down to the basement.

The hole where we'll dump the bodies. Or a foundational pier for the steps. Probably the latter. Probably.

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August 17, 2009: Staining and drainfield

Over the weekend, we visited the lot and ran into Dan where we found out the drainfield wasn't actually quite done as the number of required drainage lines had doubled, so that now the builders and the survey engineer think the drain field is ridiculously overdesigned (large enough to accommadate a 8 bedroom house - it's 4 bedrooms).

However, by Monday evening, the additional lines had been dug (cheaper than fighting the state for a few months while simultaneously delaying our certificate of occupancy) and some staining had begun on the railings.

View of the house at sunset.

Rebar that will be used to reinforce several concrete pourings in the near future.

The stained railing. Note neither the steps nor the floor have been stained yet. That won't occur until virtually everything is done.

Another view of the stain on the stair railings

Over hte weekend, Preethi and I picked out some tile and made a little pattern for the doorway. It'll be laid tomorrow and presumably grouted on Wednesday.

The larger (twice as big now) and graded (again) drainfield.

A better view of an inspection pipe on the septic tank.

The distribution box with ALOT more pipes. Originally, 4 holes had been left unfilled so that if there was ever a problem with the field, the same box could be hooked up to the reserve field. Now, every hole but one is taken.

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Aug 3, 2009: Paint and tub tiles

On Monday, we visited the house in the evening. Painting had begun on the ceiling and the first coat on the walls was up in some rooms. Also some tile work was still going on in the master bathroom.

View of the dining room. As painting traditionally starts with the ceiling, that part is about done even though there's not yet any primer on the wall (which will eventually be bluish grey shade you see in the corner (top part). The railings will remain covered for quite a while.

The ceiling in the kitchen.

A railing was measured and cut for the stairs. It'll go down as soon as the painting begins on the walls.

View looking up the stairs. Here you can see where some of the walls are beginning to be painted an off (yellow) white. That color was chosen mostly because we don't really have the furniture we want for the house yer and thought it would be a nice neutral color.

View of the walls in the master bedroom. If you look closely, you can see a gap between the walls and the ceiling. That'll be filled in eventually, but a little gap makes spraypainting the walls easier.

View of the walls in a different second-floor bedroom.

Tiles around the master bath tub. The little row of small tiles uses the same tiles as on the floor of the shower - in theory tying it all together. That's actually the last of the tile except for the foyer.

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July 31, 2009: Steps, tile, and paint prep

We actually visited the house on Thursday and Friday, but I didn't get around to posting pictures until after Friday's visit, so there will be some progress shots of the same room in this post. Work focused on completing the steps (done, except for staining), tile work, and prepping for painting, which begins in earnest on Monday.

The completed steps (well except for staining, which is why the feet are above the steps) viewed from a low angle in the great room.

View of the great room. And Preethi.

A couple steps were built in the garage to lead into the main house.

Some casing around the garage opening was added.

Tiles in the laundry.

Tiles on the floor in the master bathroom.

Another view of the tiles in the master bathroom.

Yet another view of the master bathroom. You should generally stay off of the tiles while the thinset is curing, hence the slight barrier.

Tiles in the downstairs bathroom.

A view of some of the channels in the drainfield from the master bedrooom.

In prepration for painting, the tiles were covered.

Covered tiles in the laundry.

Actually, from the painters' perspective. they've already started painting as they caulked the trim around the house, which you can see if you look closely at trim around this closet door on the second floor.

The caulk is a little easier to see when the trim isn't also white (it will be painted white along with the rest of the trim).

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July17, 2009: More Stairs and Tile

On Friday, we went out to the house briefly before going out to Rustburg to meet the granite company. Tiles were laid in the kitchen and the stairs were completed. On Monday the stair railings will start going in.

Tiles in the Kitchen. They're 2'x2' Ivory tiles from the Marazzi Stone Collection layed out in the brickwork pattern.

Closer view of the kitchen tiles.

Preethi ascending the completed stairs.

Ballustrades and posts for the stair railings.

Trim in around the front door. I hadn't seen it before, but Preethi said it had been in for a while. The curved trim on the top is a bit more challenging than normal.

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July 16, 2009: Grading, Stairs, and Tiles

We got back out to the house on the 16th where the front yard had been graded and the last of the backfill on the front of the house was complete. Work also continued on steps and tile.

Grading on the front yard viewed from the driveway. All of the gutter drains on the front are now covered.

The bottom portion of the steps were completed (still have to be painted and sanded). You can see how the bottom step opens out into the great room.

The tiles were laid in the Jack-and-Jill bathroom.

Another view of the tiles in the Jack-and-Jill bathroom. The white things are spacers.

The little divot in the corner (white line in in the corner) and the tile will hold up a corner seat in the shower.

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July 15th, 2009:Stairs, Trim and Tile

On Wednesday, I finally got out to the lot (thought I think I really ought to be calling it "the house" now) where work on trim, the stairs and tile.

Work was progressing on the stairs. The stringers are in (on the side supporting the steps) with most of the risers in and a few of the treads. The riser on the bottom step isn't done yet as it's going to stick out and a little bit for the bottom post with a slight curve in the handrail into the great room. There's a discussion of stair construction terms in this DIY article.

While we're not putting in crown molding anywhere (the vaulted great room would screw it up) we are installing chair rails in the dining room.

More chair rails in the dining room.

The baseboard trim was finished in the great room.

Tiles were delivered. These are for the master bathroom.

Close up of the master bathroom tiles.

A rubber mat is down in the shower as a vapor barrier on the floor. (How to tile a shower)

Tiles for the Jack-and-Jill bathroom: "Moss" colored.

It felt like I hadn't posted an outside picture in forever, so here's a view from the woods' edge. You can just make out the front covered entry on the left.

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