Exterior Sided & Primed, Insulation Begins - Week 18, Thursday

Siding is complete...the shape shifting house changes colors again! I know I've said this before, but it REALLY looks like a house now! We're really pleased how things are coming along and the house is looking great. I love the 4" LAP siding and simple trim. The crew did a VERY nice job putting up the siding. It is very tidy and perfectly aligned in all areas. Even the nail heads are in a nice pattern!

Front exterior with completed trim & primed siding

Back porch with new roofline framing details

Back exterior fully sided & primed

Garage close up with primed siding

Driveway/Garage - we still have our friend the "dirt box"

Now it's time to start thinking about color for this little guy. Everytime the exterior changes, I think I want to paint it a similar color. When it was plywood, I thought about a brighter color or possibly brown; when it was covered in the black wrap, I was thinking a dark gray (either with a blue or warm/taupe tint); and now that it is primed light gray, I am thinking a light color might be nice. Decisions, decisions...

Inside the house, all the electrical, plumbing and HVAC are complete with final inspections. Insulation has begun.

Living room with a pile of insulation

Stairwell prepped and ready for insulated walls

Upstairs hall bath

Upstairs hall bath from hallway

Master bath

In the master bath, you can see some insulation has been installed over the tub. One step closer to walls :)

Master bath - tub & shower

Master bath - toilet room

Master suite from bathroom

Main level powder bath

Powder bath - from office through to kitchen

Basement bath - shower stall ready for tile

Basement bath - shower stall & toilet plumbing

Basement walls - all sorts of plumbing stuff here!

Basement bath

As I mentioned in my last post, we decided to remove a window from the kitchen. Below is the final set up with the 4 windows instead of 5.

Kitchen with extra window fully removed & filled

Kitchen - final window set up

Status Update - Week 18, Tuesday

Today we received a progress update, and a bill for the next phase, from Oliver. Here's a recap:

-All interior inspections are complete (electrical, plumbing, etc.)

-Insulation will be done this weekend

-Sheetrocking will start next Monday/Tuesday

-Sheetrocking will take 2-3 weeks to complete, seams taped, screw holes filled and all walls/ceiling primed

This means that I need to get on picking those paint colors. Oliver likes to do one coat of paint when the sheetrocking is complete and the final coat when the house is finished. I like this idea, because then I can tweak some colors if I don't like them after the first coat :) Picking out colors for the whole house is a little more daunting than I thought it would be!

Siding Almost Complete! - Week 17, Friday

The house is looking great! The siding is almost complete (just a few rows left at the front porch). Again it takes on a new skin and makes me think about painting it a light color...

Primed siding is up (except the last few rows on the front porch we're the guys are working)

South side of house
(Unfortunately there is nothing with can do about the ugly service wires coming to the house above the dining room punch out. Oliver tried to get them relocated, but unless we cough up $50k to have them buried, this is where they will be.)

Back porch detail - porch roof ceiling is in place and primed

More back of the house

Fully sided back of the house

The extra kitchen window has been fully filled in

5th Kitchen window no more! I don't miss it :)

A mess of wires - we are running CAT5, CAT6, electrical and audio through the whole house!

Upstairs bathtub - filled and waiting for final inspection

Master bathroom - tub & shower

Upstairs hall closet with optional washer/dryer plumbing in place

Siding! More Plumbing, Electrical & HVAC - Week 16, Sunday

When we first got to the house this Sunday, we were a little disappointed that the front of the house had not changed much. It had been 5 days since our last visit and all we noticed was the new trim on the skirt. But, once we walked around the back, we saw that the back siding was underway!

Front with trim complete

Driveway (South) side trim

Front side

Garage with door closed

Detail of dining room window exterior

Here it is, our first glimpse of siding!

Sided & primed back of house!

North side of house

Trimmed, sided, primed & sealed window detail

After my family's last visit, my dad had some ideas for the front walk. The original front porch is cement with a impressed grid pattern. My dad's suggestion was to continue this same pattern through the front walk we are planning to add. It will come up the center of the lawn to steps directly in front of the front door. I think this plan will be a really nice addition to the house and make it much more inviting that walking up the driveway.

Front yard - future home of a center front walk

Front porch grid pattern

Here are some interior photos that show the final plumbing, electrical and HVAC details.

Master bath - tub

Master bath - shower (right) & toilet room (left)

Master bath - vanity plumbing for double sinks

Master bath - toilet room, or, the WC

HVAC, ceiling fan & can lighting in master bath

Upstairs bath

Washer & dryer plumbing in upstairs hall closet. This was a late add idea. Originally, we wanted to have a laundry shoot to the basement laundry room, but we realized there was no good home for it where it could function properly. This was an alternative solution that will allow us to add a washer and dryer upstairs at a later date if we get sick of the basement set-up.

Stairwell landing

Main level - front door

Close up of the fireplace built-in cabinet doors - these will be refinished at a later date

Close up of the dining room built-ins

Basement

Basement with bar plumbing