Fireplace insert is in

Rounded Stairs

The stairs are done! Woohoo! You really need to come check these out...... even the framing looks nice. On Saturday, dad, Mike and Jim will be pouring or packing cement to fix the floor so it's ready for tile some time down the road. The electrician will be here this weekend, and the gas lines and plumbing are done. We're trying to get as much done as possible prior to Aug 3 when Paula and her family come to visit from Alaska. The race is on!

New upper stairs

MikeK and crew ripped out the stairs going up to the 3rd floor today and built these nice new ones. The railing is temporary :) They'll start the entry way stairs tomorrow. The treads are longer and the rise is not as steep. The ends of the stairs will be exposed like they are here in the photo and finished in "tulip wood" as MikeK calls it. He likes to make fun of my South American Pearwood flooring given how exotic it is.

The plumber also comes tomorrow to install the gas lines and move the kitchen sink plumbing about 6 feet. The electrician has also started. Things are moving right along!

Ian earns $10

We started around 10 and finished up around 4 stripping the downstairs of tongue and groove. Ian worked from 10 to 3 and earned himself $10!!! It doesn't seem like much but when he typically earns $3 for helping with chores, he was delighted to get so much money. Mike and I were impressed with his determination to earn money and help us on the house. Ian pulled boards off the walls, hauled debri out to the dumpster, vacumned, etc. It was great to have the help and it's amazing what a 5 year old can do....safely! Mike stepped on a nail and Ian lectured him about construction safety. What a crack-up! It'll be replaced with sheetrock and should make the room seem even larger.

This week, the stairs will be rebuilt, the gas lines installed, HVAC restructured, plumbing moved for the kitchen sink, etc. if all goes as planned. We picked up the fireplace insert last week, will order the wood flooring this week and also the hood vent for over the kitchen range. Whew!

Drawing the kitchen

It's been a busy weekend thus far. The posts are in, and the space is cleaned up enough to where we could start drawing the kitchen. It's important that we get the center of the range in the right place so the island hood vent fits in between the beams in the ceiling perfectly. I think we got it! We'll know for sure though Sunday night when Danny, the custom cabinet maker, comes by the house and reviews our work.

Final east face

Window and slider are in!

No Mosquitos, almost

Four of the 5 windows are in! Tomorrow, the last window and door will go in. We found our first "general contractor" mistake today. I ordered the wrong size interior doors for two of the openings. Oop$! Hopefully we'll be able to return them and get the right size. It all depends on whether or not the stain house has already stained them. I'm still not quite sure how it happened, but it did. One more hiccup- we ordered the big Waste Management bin to be removed on Friday. Well, they came today. This is a problem given that we have a bit more scrap material that needs to go in and the old fireplace casing. One phone call later, they agreed to bring the bin back out. We're excited to say "No to Mosquitos" tomorrow! We'll post final window pics then.

Final post

At last, the final post is in. You see 4 in this photo, but it's only the two with black at the top that actually stay put! The inspector came by today and signed off on the footings/foundation. We're good to go! The windows will be delivered tomorrow. We're very excited to get the hatches buttoned-up. It's been great weather but it makes for a tad-bit chilly morning downstairs. Mom and dad were here over the weekend for Raea's birthday. Their dog, Jazzy, had a surprise visit from our cat who let himself in through the opening. He's been coming and going at his leisure. It was not a friendly meeting to say the least. Out the window he flew!

We ordered the gas insert today from Dick down at Cutter's Supply. We've also decided to forego a hearth and keep the insert down toward the floor with some sort of stone flooring. Mike is still hoping to get his deer-mount above the fireplace. By keeping it low, it should maximize the room above the mantel. I don't think we'll really know until it's built. I placed a call into a mason today out of Green Water. We hear great things about him. We're also bugging our custom cabinet guy for another stain sample. The key now will be to keep all the subs lined-up and sticking to my timeline. It's just about time we place the floor order as well. Electrician, Plumber, Gas Lines and HVAC should all start happening next week. YES!

Entry way

The slate is coming out this week in the entry way. MikeK built the framing for the new entry way closet today. Sorry to all you who liked that old planter box. It's never to return!! Other than the 1x a year when it was filled with Poinsettias, it was really an eye-sore. Might of been my horticulture skills with house plants :) Still to come will be the fireplace framing, 2nd post, rebuild of the staircases, window installation and floor patchwork. Supposedly this will all be done by end of next week???....... I'm not willing to be on it yet :) We also forgot to mention that the roofer was back installing the main roof vent along the peek. Doesn't look much different so we didn't post any pics. Night night.

One post up!

Early this week, MikeK and his team put one post up using the existing fireplace footer in the basement. They've been busy building the 2nd footer so it's ready for inspection by the county on Monday. As you can see, they also framed in the old staircase. All it needs now is some plywood flooring and some sheet rock. You'd never know it was ever there!

Raise the roof!

As you can see, the roof is on! Looks great! No more tarp flapping in the wind :) YES!

Roofer is here!

Late last week, MikeK and crew spent time finishing up the gable to prep for the roofer. He's here today banging away. The shingles won't match perfectly, but the tone is VERY similar. Unless you are in a plane, or in the far corners of the yard, nobody will know the difference. Its only the shape that is a tad different. Lucky kitty, Junior, finally gets a roof on his cathouse as well!

Fun pics

New Gable is up!

No postings for a couple of days..... sorry! Here is the progress of the gable. It's becoming easier and easier to picture what this is going to look like afterwards. Much better of a roof line! I think the windows are still on schedule for Friday or Monday. The roof makes it look like the windows will be straight edged but remember, they'll be radius on the top edges. MikeK says they'll start earlier tomorrow to beat the heat while on the roof.

New Peak in Dining and Kitchen

MikeK and his crew were able to put up the last beam facing east to support the new gable. He was here over the weekend preparing the supports so when his crew arrived today, they could hoist it up. The back wall continues to be boarded up at night. The new windows should arrive this Friday so maybe sometime next week we'll be able to show photos without the boards. Moving right along now, isn't it?! There are some nasty clouds over the foothills this evening. MikeK came back after leaving to tarp the roof, just in case. Supposedly it'll be sunny all week but I think the clouds made him think "we better be safe than sorry." Mike and I surely appreciate it!