Floors...floors...floors

So the floors have been in process for the last couple of weeks...first we had some sanding problems (the new floors got all scratched up by the buffer so that when they were stained the scuff marks showed. Then we weren't sure that the cherry stain was really not bright orange. So things have been going slowly and we might be delayed by another week on the move in date. So it's hard to say if we were just so used to having light white pine floors and now we have these darker floors that we're not crazy about. We're holding off judgement until they are done -- in these photos the floors have been stained but no poly has been applied. There is definitely a difference between how the new floors and the old floors in the upstairs bedrooms. We're withholding our judgement until it's all done...and the trim is painted.

rounding the bend, finish line in sight...

Ok -- so it's down to the wire -- Ed and crew are wrapping up their duties and Hector has sanded the floors to prep them for stain and poly. You can see here that the kitchen hood is in which was the last of the appliances to be installed. A couple things remain to be done -- one is attaching one of the old beams from the second floor to the LVL along the peak of the kitchen -- it will give the look of an old beam. They guys notched it out so that they can fit it around the LVL and attach it with timber locks. That should happen on Monday but they'll have to do their work in socks because the floors have been sanded and if moisture or foot prints get on the floor it will show once it's been stained. Another view of the kitchen -- the plywood on the island is not staying -- it's just there to keep it out of the way for Hector. We plan on using some of the floorboards that were in the attic to make a counter top for the island. We're going to do this in my uncle's work shop -- the plan is to plane them down, biscuit join and glue them together and then treat them with something -- any suggestions for what to use to treat the counter? We don't want to use anything oil based like poly. Thoughts? The two pendants you see here will actually have two big glass globes on them...we just did want to put them up until the beam was installed.Here's the mostly cleaned out study -- I cleaned the ceilings yesterday. Lots of spider webs and 1700's stuff still up there.

Looking from the study into the dining room and kitchen beyond. May have mentioned it before but it will have a rectangular linen shade on it -- for now it's just there for people to walk into.

We're looking at the pantry in these photos -- you can see to the right of the fridge that Gus has done an excellent job creating a counter top look. Because the cabinet company didn't make 24" deep 36" tall cabinets we need to improvise to get the old fashioned pantry look over here. we bought base drawers and 15" above fridge cabinets and then we added some cabinet doors. For the "counter" we used birch plywood, like you see on top of the island. There are two pieces glued together. And to face the cabinets, Gus attached two pieces of pine. We're planning on painting it white to match the cabinets. The doors will then have glass in the open space.

Yesterday I had a little problem getting the fridge to sit flush with the cabinets like it's supposed to -- after all it's a counter depth fridge that is supposed to look built in -- BUT it was sticking out half an inch beyond the cabinets -- for various reason -- the ice machine tube, the plug, a couple of bumps on the back of the fridge. All of these things were more than half an inch deep. So what did we do - we cut out the sheet rock and plaster and voila the fridge fits -- the lucky thing was that as a practice Ed applies plywood to all kitchen walls that have cabinets attached. So we're in good shape.

So that's it for now...Leigh and I are going to head over to the house to move some wood out of the way so that we can have the storage trailer taken away next week. Fun stuff.

Just a quick update with a few pics -- stairs look great. The posts look a lot better with the balusters in...Gus did a great job finishing up the stairs.

Plumbers mostly finished up today -- here's the guest bath sink -- looks good I think..

Master Bath sink -- also looks good - unfortunately a little chip on the back that must have happened when it was stored in the basement for awhile. Here's a question -- see the two faucets in the photo? We'll they are both hot/cold water. Normally the faucet is in the middle and so the sink stop can be operated. In our case they are off center so how do we get the sink stop to work? HMMM?

Anyway, the plumbers did a good job today...and I spoke with Ed who promised to make any of the little things that I was bothered by, right. So today was a better day.

Inching towards the finish line...

It's discouraging when you have a day close to the end of the project when almost nothing gets done. We're trying really hard to get Hector into the house to get the floors done. Before he does that the plumbers need to be out of the second floor -- they were supposed to be out of there today. But for some reason they were only able to work a short day and managed to get the shower fixtures in -- that's it. So we're another day behind. Does anyone else think those posts are HUGE?

Here's the photo of the guest bath -- nice fixtures -- I'm not sure why the plumber roughed in the shower heads so low. I guess it must be to code but if I was any taller than 6 feed, I'd have to crane my head back to get my hair wet -- you know like when you stay in a 1970's hotel and you have to bend your knees to take a shower. It's not that bad but I wish they had given us a little extra height here.

You can see that the sink is waiting for fixtures.

Guest bath toilet -- the plumber made another interesting choice here too - he did a 13" rough in -- this means that the standard 12" rough in toilet sits an inch off the wall -- weird. The toilet is made to be snug against the wall -- like all other toilets...do plumbers have signatures? Could the 13' rough in be this plumbers signature?

Master Bath toilet.

Master bath shower fixtures -- low shower head.

Alas -- when we do our next house we'll be able to address all of these issues...

Getting close...

We're getting there -- not moving in over vacation week but we're getting close. We're at the point of all finish work - this past week Ed put in a good push, with four guys at the house all week...it's just a lot of details at this point. All of the trim is done with the exception of the mantels. The tile and counters in the bathrooms and the kitchen are done...pretty much all of the electric is done -- we're just waiting for some fixtures at this point. We selected a gray soapstone slab for our counters but we think it's actually green....hmmm. Anyway, here you can see the white subway tile that we selected for the back splash in the kitchen and for the wall by the sink.

A little bit closer in...

Here you can see that the pantry is coming together...since we didn't do custom cabinets we had to be a bit crafty to put the pantry together. There will be glass in the doors - we just haven't had them cut cut yet. there will also be shelves in the cabinets.

Here's the dining room -- the central pendant will have a large rectangular linen shade on it and the sconces will have drum shades.

Gus has been working on the stairs for the last few days -- they look great. He takes a lot of pride in his work. I think on Monday the newel post and the banisters will probably go in.

The plumbers will be here on Monday to install toilets and sinks -- the one major thing that is holding us up from moving in is that the floors need to be re-finished. Unfortunately Hector can't work next weekend but we're hoping that evenings this week will allow him to get lots done. We'll see...