Our New House

Day 580: Door Sidelights

Chris — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 04:58:20 +0000

There was still quite a bit of activity at the house today despite the fact that we’re moving in tomorrow. The sidelights for the front door were installed, but they still need to be sealed and sanded, and quite a bit of trim needs to be installed. The painters were working on the outside of the house this morning. On Sunday morning one of the painters will be coming back to coat the garage floor with a layer of epoxy to protect it against car drippings.

Day 578: Officially Done

Chris — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 05:58:24 +0000

According to the city, our house is now habitable–we passed inspection today! This means that most things work–we have hot water now, for example. The painter is still working on the second coat throughout the house and has some touch-up work on the exterior too. Even after we move there will be some pending items, such as getting the sidelights for the front door and coating the garage floor. Still, at least now we are allowed to move!

Day 573: Unpowered Hot Water

Chris — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 03:47:18 +0000

The cleaners came to the house today to wipe away as much of the accumulated dust and grime as they could. This includes removing the protective film from all the windows, so everything should look very bright and sparkling now.

The plumber finished hooking up the hot water heaters, but the electrician had to come today to connect power to them. So, as of this morning the water in the house was still cold. Here’s all the plumbing work for one of the heaters:

Day 572: Shower Glass 2

Chris — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 04:08:08 +0000

When I arrived this morning the plumber had already hung the flash hot water heaters on the outside of the house and was starting to connect the pipes to them. He also installed a pressure reducer to the house, because he said the water pressure was 90psi which was too much for some of the faucets; we’re now at 50psi which should reduce waste and strain on the system.

We weren’t sure what to do with the basement shower for a long time, but we decided to install a glass door to make it easy to use while also being able to see the nice tile behind it. Here it is:

Day 571: More Rooms Complete

Chris — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 04:22:42 +0000

Last minute finishing work is progressing well. The drywall guys were working this morning to patch up the wall in the linen closet which we had ripped open on Monday to run a water line to the attic (in case we want a humidifier attached to the furnace there). Yesterday a carpenter and the plumber reconfigured the locations for the hot water heaters because the kind that mount in the wall aren’t made any longer. The exterior wall had to be patched up and siding applied. The painter even came to finish it off so that the plumber could install the water heaters (possibly today).

We had someone come and install the dishwasher that the plumber was having trouble with:

And the carpet is now complete in the basement and the second floor. Here’s the view from our bedroom out into the hallway and master bath:

Day 570: Steps And Carpet

Chris — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 04:00:24 +0000

There was a lot to see today. The carpet was installed throughout the basement and the balusters along the stairs and second floor railings are in!

Day 569: Finishing Continues

Chris — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 04:01:58 +0000

The remaining various details are all taking more time than we would like. The size of water heater that we need was discontinued, the plumber could not install the dishwasher, etc. Still, progress is being made. The painters gave the basement walls another coat of paint and the front door its first top coat. I was able to see the finished floors for the first time in person today and I really like them. Here’s the “wood corner” of the living room:

Day 566: Shiny Floors

Melissa — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 03:59:31 +0000

Yesterday the floor guys put two coats of finish on the floors and one on the stairs. This morning they were doing a bit more sanding in preparation for the final coat. The floors looked amazing!

The painters are due to start tomorrow, to clean up the baseboards and give the walls a final coat of paint. Our contractor is trying to hurry everyone as much as he can so we can move in on schedule. Well, a year late, but on our current schedule.

Day 565: More Floors

Melissa — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 06:33:20 +0000

I thought I’d come in this morning to see finished floors, but I was wrong about the timing. The floor guys were sweeping the dust off the entryway floor but had already cleaned up the family room floor:

The floor guys are supposed to be done by tomorrow morning, so I assume they put on one coat of sealer after I left and will put the final coat on tomorrow.

Day 564: Smooth Floors and Cabinets Done

Melissa — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 04:50:25 +0000

Today the floors looked very smooth:

After I left, the floor guys buffed the floor to make it even smoother, then (I believe) they were planning to apply the finish.

I met with the cabinet guy this morning to go over the placement of the cat door. He had installed all the remaining knobs and pulls, so after he installed the cat door, he was completely done with the cabinetry.

I also talked to the carpet guy today. He had told us they could bind a piece of carpet to make an area rug, which we thought might be a good idea for the family room. We got a sample several weeks ago and after testing its hardiness by encouraging the cats to sit on it and scratch it, I asked the guy to give us a quote. When I talked to him today, I got a great surprise: they are planning on giving us the area rug for free! It’s going to be a big rug, so I was pretty excited.