Monday August 16 Week 23 Total completion

 Everything is done. There were obviously many days since the last post that no work was done but today the speed oven was installed and the punch list items completed. The speed oven was ordered with the other appliances in January and only arrived last week. Our punch list included a few minor things that had been done incorrectly. The sink faucets were installed on the wrong sinks so a plumber was here to correct that. The finish painter used a different gloss paint around several pieces of trim so the original painter returned and repainted a couple of walls and the ceiling around the vent. A list of other tweaks but they were finished by noon. 

The bonus was the shutters were also installed today. Some of the  interior furnishings that we have planned are yet to arrive but it is looking great and we are so happy with the finished look to our house. Happy, happy, happy.

Fun Times in Boston

 Grandparenting is great. We spent a week in Boston while Marco and Jessica were in a destination wedding. Sophia was a delight!

A lot of time was spent in the pool

The Ogio game rings made great bracelets.

More pool time

Just a little video time while Mimi and Papa take a break

Papa helps with eating too

Partial arrival of furniture August 12

 Of course I get a call from Luella, our decorator while we are in flight to Boston. Jessica is in Sarah Randolph’s wedding in New Hampshire and we are babysitting Sophia for the weekend. The kitchen table and bar stools can be delivered on Thursday. We are so excited and give Luella the garage code so we can have stools to sit on when we get home. 

Close to finished pictures Day 68

 Well on Friday June 18th the working crew finished all that could be done. The contractor came in and said live with things for a couple of weeks and he will send in a crew to do a punch list. We are waiting on the fixes for faucets and vent but there are a few other things we are finding too. But we love everything and now can’t wait for the new furniture to arrive. Bar stools and kitchen table and chairs.  It almost feels like a new house now.

The coffee/bar area with the wine refrigerator 

                                            The view from what was the original dining room

The view coming into the kitchen from the laundry room

Another look from old dining room

New slate floor in foyer

Another view of foyer

New Powder Room

Thursday June 17 day 67

 And the end is so close it is in sight. The last 2 weeks without a post have been because all of the changes were small with little visual appeal. This week we have had full work crews with painters, carpenters, tilers, plumbers and electricians all working on separate projects. As of this morning, Thursday, we have a working oven, stove, dishwasher, wine refrigerator and regular refrigerator. The quick oven is still on back order from January. The laundry room has the washing machine hooked up but the dryer is still on backorder from March. Due in August 10. 

The tweaks at this point are that the refrigerator does not appear to be set right although it is working. The vent over the stove has some issues since the hole they cut was too large. Hopefully the drywall guy can fix. The roof people come today to cut a hole in the roof for the outside venting. The sink faucets were put on the wrong sinks in the kitchen and bar sink. We just noticed that last night.  The slate floor in the foyer looks amazing and all that remain there is the transition strips.

The new windows are in but require some interior and exterior finishing. There are several little things in the kitchen and baths that need to be finished such as lights, mirrors, towel bars and door handles. And then there is the clean up! Everything is soooo....dusty.

Friday June 4 Day 58 end of week 12

 Another slow week after the holiday. Small amounts of painting were started or completed on doors and trim. The window over the sink came in but isn’t installed. The foyer floor has been started but it is a slow process and at weeks end we are about half finished. As I have said the last 2 weeks hopefully there will be big changes next week.

                                                  These are before cleaning up and grouting.

Friday May 28 Day 54

 End of week 11 update.

Steve the painter was around most of the week doing some painting and lots of prep work. We decided to paint the laundry/garage door dark after seeing how dirty it has looked with the workers going in and out these past months. I love it. The walls are not painted yet but will be a light shade of gray.

There was a little problem with the utility bath countertop and Jen, the designer stopped in today to discuss. The top has an overhang which she designed to have cut always for the door molding and be the same on the other side. At first it seemed a little strange but I think now it is all worked out.

The backsplash over the bar is finished after an almost design error. I was out and the installer planned on putting it up in a vertical pattern instead of horizontal because it wasn’t spelled out in the designers plan. Luckily I saw it laid out and corrected before he cut anything. 

The finished result looks good. 

The appliances were delivered on Thursday and hopefully we will be able to get them installed sometime next week. The quick oven and the dryer are still on backorder.

Being that it is the Memorial Day weekend all but Steve the painter left early on Friday and won’t return until Tuesday. But we have nice weather to look forward to and 3 days of golf set up with friends.

Tuesday May 25 Day 51

 No big changes today. The painter is here working on trim and moldings. The dry wall guy came in and fixed a few spots where changes had been made and the electrician moved the switch boxes up in the two bathrooms as with the higher countertops they would have been under the backsplash.

Monday May 24 week 11 Day 50

Monday morning the countertops arrived and are installed in all but the powder room. What a difference it makes.  Unfortunately the windows are delayed and that will mean the kitchen areas will not be able to be finished until they do arrive. 

The island is huge but we love it!

Part of the hold up is the garden window which is to be replaced

Pano shot of the laundry room

Pano shot of the whole kitchen

Installation of the coffee/wine bar countertop

Finished look of bar area

Week 10 Friday Day 49 End of week report

 Wednesday the foyer work continued with the laying of the Durock material in preparation for the slate.

Wednesday,Thursday, and Friday Matt the carpenter and his Dad, Rob Steinecker continued finish work on the cabinets in both the laundry room and kitchen adding the crown moldings and baseboards, and putting all of the knobs and handles on the cabinets. 

                                   It was a good week but not a lot to show a difference in pictures yet. 

Laundry room

Laundry room back half bath

Week 10 Day 46 May18

 This morning the same 2 young men show up and begin the task of removing the foyer floor with the glue on top. This floor was nailed down and they are having a hard time removing the wood and nails. They are not nearly as friendly as they were yesterday. This is hard work. And as I later find out is even leaving wood and dust debris in the basement under the foyer. Yuck! But by the end of the day the foyer floor is definitely the original sub floor and will be ready for the tile installation. Meanwhile the carpenter has been continuing work in the laundry room. All of the upper cabinets are in place and he has started the floor moldings.

Week 10 May 17 Day 45

 Another week begins with carpenters showing up to finish hanging cabinets in the laundry room and surprise...demo of foyer floor begins. Two young men started prying up the parquet flooring which appeared to be glued down.  By the end of the day this is what our foyer floor looked like.

Not a good look.I could tell this was not the sub floor and that another layer needed to be removed. Steve sent a picture to Nick and his response was that they were not finished with the demo yet. 

May 13. The out of town update Week 9 Day 43

 So as I last published on May 3 and it is now 10 days later we are at week 9 and day 44 of the remodel. We left on May 5 to drive to Boston for Sophia’s first Birthday and my 70th. We had a great time and didn’t think about what was going on back in our kitchen. It was especially nice to use Jessica’s kitchen and make some of the things we have been missing these past months. Mainly pasta! We went out to CK Pearl restaurant in Essex, Mass. for Mother’s Day brunch with Sophia and she was a charmer in the restaurant and a very good brunch companion...meaning she sat in the kid chair while we ate and she had her own lunch. She is very interested in people watching. Maybe because of covid she has not been out much to see the world outside her home. That will change.

But back to the kitchen. Unfortunately we are now into the little changes with not much visual change. The laundry room floor was tiled and the lower cabinets were set. The countertop measurements were taken on Monday, May 10 so we expect them to be ready for installation in about 2 weeks. This week we have a finish carpenter working on moldings around doorways and windows. We were informed that our contractor lost a tiler so he is delaying the foyer floor by a week or so. In a way that isn’t so bad because it is less disruption around the house. We are still hopeful to be near completion by the end of June.

Just a few update pictures since there really isn’t much to show that is different.

Laundry room floor and lower cabinets 

Oh yes! My kitchen farm sink is in too.

May 3 week 8 day 35

 Today was a disappointment because the kitchen carpenters had another job that they had to complete a punch list on and it ended up taking them the whole day. We had one guy spent about two hours putting the frame molding around the doorways and so no real progress to see and since the island isn’t completed no counter top measurements will get to be taken until next week. The first day where I feel progress should have been made and it wasn’t. 

Thursday April 29 Day 33 week 7

 More work on the the cabinets today and starting to set the island. The laundry room and half bathroom are ready to be tiled.

April 28 week 7 day 32

 By the end of today it is really starting to look like a kitchen again. Rob and his son have completed much of the wall cupboards and began placing the island cupboards. It is slower work than I imagined but I am excited to see the cupboards out of their boxes.

The coffee /bar area cupboard colors

The wall cupboards still don’t have doors but getting a feel for the area.