Trim, Crown Moulding and Basement Bathroom Floor

In the last few weeks Adam has been working on trimming out the windows and doors and also putting the crown moulding up on the main floor. It is hard to tell from the pictures but we decided to go with a 3 piece crown moulding and I believe a 3 piece trim as well. It is turning out really nice. All trim will be painted white.

Here is a close-up of the crown-moulding.

Close-up of the door trim.

Since last post the basement bathroom floor has been tiled.

I also couldn't remember if I shared the final master bathroom floor so here it is. Unfortunately the glare from the sun is horrible, but you get the idea. Hopefully I can get a better picture next time.

Master Bathroom

Progress has begun in the master bathroom. The tile floor is down and the grouting is being completed this week.

 



The vanity also arrived from The Interior so I got a sneak preview of how that will look when installed.

 

Adam has also been working diligently on the trim which is really starting to change the look of the house. I believe he is starting on the crown moulding this week. I will get out soon to get some more pictures.

Interior Doors

Interior doors are in and mostly installed. They look really great. Per Adam's suggestion we went with solid core 1-3/4" thick shaker style wood doors, 7' tall by Simpson Door. We ended up going with 4 panels rather than 2,3 or even 5. I thought the 4 and 5 panel doors gave more of a "farmhouse" feel. I'm realizing throughout this process there are so many decisions that I didn't anticipate having to make. Not that I didn't want to choose the doors but I guess when we started this journey I didn't think about all the details that come along with it. We also talked today about closet doors for the upstairs, sliders or actual doors?, for the master closet door we have a unique idea that I am really excited about, so stay tuned for that one.

Below are the doors, they are primed but will eventually be painted white along with all the trim.

The upstairs bath is coming along nicely as well, the tile is almost complete. The vanity will be painted by "The Interior" and we are going to go with some sort of grayish color to pull out the color in the tile floors. We have even talked about given it a distressed wood look that I'm excited about. For the vanities and the kitchen island Adam suggested we design them to look more like furniture rather than built-ins and I really love the uniqueness (at least to me) of this idea. We are hoping to get bids for the cabinets and get them ordered next week.

Upstairs Bathroom:

Siding & Upstairs Bath Floor

The house is continuing to come along. Adam has finished most of the lower level siding. The lower level is board and batten siding and the upper level will be a shingle similar to what was there. When Adam initially told me about the board and batten (vertical) siding I was slightly hesitant because I was not familiar with it. But I trusted it would look good and was excited to have something different than the typical horizontal siding we see in this area. I do like the way it has turned out so far and I have had several compliments from others who have driven by and seen it. Below are a few pictures.

The upstairs bathroom floor is pretty much complete. We went with a 1" hex mosaic tile with a single row of 4x4 tiles as a border.

We are expecting the upstairs vanity from Feser Cabinets late next week. Excited to see this bathroom put together. :)

Panoramic Drywall

I stopped by the house today to check out progress. Adam said the drywall guys have finished their taping, and have just started floating out the walls. If we were doing textured walls they would be finished this week, but the smooth walls we decided on take much longer to complete. I downloaded the "360" app on my IPhone so I was excited to try it out and hopefully get panoramic views of some of the rooms.



Living Room

 

Kitchen

 

Dining Room

 

Master Bathroom

 

Master Bedroom

 

 

I was really happy with the way all of my panorama's turned out except the basement picture below (not sure what I did). It is a photo of  the main family room area in the basement, except obviously there isn't a black arrow going through it :). It was the first time I had seen the basement since any of the drywall went up. Any of our family or friends that braved the stairs and the stench to get to the basement would not recognize it. We are so glad we ended up going ahead and finishing this area. I vision it as a game/movie room and imagine this is where the kids will spend most of their time while inside.

Basement

 

Also, if you have ever wondered how they mud/tape the top of the walls and the ceilings, here ya go. There were a couple of guys on these stilts. Oh, the balance it must take!



 



While the drywall guys have been working inside Adam has been working on the outside. I hope to get back out and meet with Adam next week to check that out and to choose master bathroom tiles and vanity.

Doors are scheduled to arrive at the end of June ( a 6 week lead time), but Adam says that works out well because he doesn't like installing doors/cabinets/trim until the majority of tile work is complete to avoid damaging them.

He also mentioned he is drawing up the garage for the building department so he can pull the permit for that project next week. I think that about sums up what I know.

Drywall

The drywall is almost complete on the main and upper floors. I told Adam it feels weird not being able to see through the walls anymore :). Here are a couple of comparison photos of before and after drywall.

 

Living Room

 Kitchen

 

It impresses me every time I go to the site to see how hard everyone works. Whether it is Adam and his guys or the subcontractors they are always busy and focused and not distracted by me or whoever else shows up.

 

 

Below are some other pictures I took today.

 

Dining Room

 Laundry Room

 Master Bedroom

 Landing/Office

 Upstairs Bathroom

 

You can tell by the mess it's been a very productive/busy last week. We are starting to choose flooring (tile)/ and counters for the bathrooms and chose/ordered the interior doors. We decided it would be more cost affective to go with new doors rather than refinishing the original ones. I also met with Adam at Cost Less Carpets yesterday and we looked at granite slabs which was fun. Lots of exciting design choices coming up.



Insulation

It looks like we are on the verge of some major visual changes. Most of the electrical has been completed. Insulation installation began last week and will be completed by the end of this week. I believe Adam said we will have sound barriers between the powder room and living room and also around the master bedroom, laundry and kitchen. He was also working on getting a bid for a sound barrier between the upper and main levels, but I haven't heard the final consensus on that yet. Then, dry wall installation! It will be amazing to start seeing everything put back together again. I am excited for the "fun" phase, kitchen and bathroom design, etc. 

 

 

While Curtis was finishing up the electrical, Adam began prepping the outside for siding. This is the side of the house with the master bedroom that will have the wrap around porch.

 

Should have some more updates soon!

 

Electrical

I realize it has been a while since my last update but things have been moving along. Curtis from Quality Electric and Adam have been running the electrical throughout the house. A couple of weeks ago we had a walk through of the house finalizing where the outlets, switches, etc will be located. It's one of those major details that I hadn't really considered. It was honestly a bit overwhelming trying to think of where I will want an outlet for a lamp, how many switches for a particular light, whether to put fixtures or canned lights in the kid's rooms, where we will want TV outlets, etc. With Adam's recommendation we also decided to place the switches more at "hand" level rather than at the standard higher placement. Below are a few pictures I took today.

Furnace/Basement

I met with Adam today at the house. There have been some significant changes/additions since my last post. Young's Heating and Cooling installed the Furnace and Ductwork and the framing of the basement looks pretty much complete. Things seem to be moving along steadily, even with the below freezing weather we have had on and off the last couple of months. Below are some pictures I took today. I know they are not the most exciting or glamorous photos but I'm trying to keep everything documented, plus I think it will be cool to compare them with the finished product.

 

Young's installed a Coleman 18 Seer Echelon 2 stage heat pump with a Honeywell Zoning Kit. Adam said Young's was timely, professional and he was very impressed with the way it turned out, all except some vent covers he sent back that didn't meet his standards. :)

 

 

We decided to go ahead and finish off the basement along with the house. We wanted a family/play room for the kids, a spare bedroom, bathroom, the mechanical room, and of course, a wine cellar. The framing is mostly complete so I can now start to picture it. It will be a nice addition to the house I think.

 

 





 

Electrical installation will begin next week and Adam said we should have Drywall installation going by the end of next month. Things are really starting to come together.