September 16, 2009: Outside lights, carpet, and seeding

I went out of town for a few days and a lot stuff happened. Maybe I should try this traveling thing a little more. Pictures are from when I went out to the house Wednesday after a red-eye into town. The garage door was functionsal, exterior lights were up, seeding had started, and.... well, you'll just have to see in the following.

House viewed from the tree in the northeast corner of the lot.

A light in stairwell going down to the basement.

A light post at the corner of the driveway and the sidewalk.

Light on the north side of the garage (it has a twin on the south side)

Preethi inspects a fan in the master bedroom.

A light in the entryway. Looks real nice at night from the road.

A light by the garage backdoor.

Lights over the basement entrance and the eventual (year, two?) deck entrance.

We're seeding the ground with creeping red fescue. (We have a lot of shade).

Some of the seeds on the ground before straw covering.

Floor padding waiting to be installed in the main level bedroom.

Floor padding was installed in the master bedroom.

Glass began to be installed in a cabinet

Glass in the cabinet doors.

The range was delivered, but hasn't been installed yet.

The floor vents were installed. We didn't want the vents that are flush with the floor to keep dirt from falling in when we clean.

Vent cover for cold air intake.

A little flooring covering to cut down on foot traffic as the floors still need another coat (and sealing).

Preethi reflected in one of the vanity mirrors in the jack and jill bathroom.

The other vanity mirror in the jack-and-jill.

That first vanity in the jack-and-jill with a wider perspective.

The shower door in the master bath was installed.

Mirrors in the master bathroom were also installed. You can kinda see both in this shot.

When you raise the grade of the land, roots can have a hard time getting the nutrients they were getting closer to the surface. One way to help this is with a tree well.

A tree well in progress.

A little retaining wall on the northwest corner of the house. The pad in front of the wall is where the propane tank will go.

Garage door from the outside.

Garage door from the inside.

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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 20, 2009:

On Thursday, we got out to the house in the evening. The rest of the cabinets were in place and cabinet hardware had started to be installed.

A view of the slightly update cabinets. The handles on the doors are on, but the knobs on the drawers still have to be added. Also crown molding on the top of the cabinets and a shelf for the microwave was added.

Closeup of the microwave shelf.

Detail of the cabinet crown molding which was added today.

Compared to before, I don't know that the gap between the doors was adjusted much. However, Preethi spoke with the installer again today, and it turns out that we be able to adjust the doors further, which I'll do later to close the gap. Sure the doors will swell and shrink throughout the year, but cabinet doors haven't been that hard to adjust in the past.

The bifold door for the pantry was installed today.

Bifold door on the linen closet in the jack-and-jill bathroom.

Vanity on my side of the master bathroom.

Forms in the ground for the piers for the stoop on the south facing door from the garage.

The rest of the forms for the piers are currently in the garage.

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