April 27 Day 31 week 7

 Rob is here at 8 am ready to start. He is impressed with the number of boxes we have and says he will be around most of the week. His son works with him now but he is ill today so it will just be Rob. By the end of the day we have a few cabinets up but it hardly seems to make a dent in the number of boxes as Rob has spread them out to the areas they will be used. But it is great to finally see what will be going into the room and begin to get a feel for what it will look like. I will try to post many pictures of the daily progress this week. 

 

Week 7 Day 30 April 26

 As we begin week 7 the email from Nick says the laundry room and half bath area will be started this week and the installation of cupboards will start Tuesday. Our former neighbor Rob Steinecker is a sub contractor of Nicks  and he is the one who will be installing the cabinets. Rob did some work on our bathroom remodels too so we are happy to hear this. About 10 am a young man shows up and begins to put down the sheet rock and take out the back half bath fixtures which the workers had been using.  Looking forward to tomorrow.

Friday April 23, Week 6 day 29

 The kitchen floor is finished. We will have “stories” to tell about the kitchen floor and the installers and how we felt as somewhat proficient hardwood flooring installers ourselves. We are happy with the look and the transitional change in direction of the wood. It is nice to start to see things heading toward completion. 

Thursday Week 6 Day 28 April 22

 Continue floor...new roll away bin...our third...But we have cabinets! This morning as Mike and Terri arrive a truck with our cabinets also arrives. Paper is put over the new floor in what was the dining room and the boxes start being brought in while the kitchen area flooring continues to go down. Box after box is brought in. I compare it to the cartoon with clowns continuing to get out of a small car. The truck does not seem big enough for all of the boxes to have been in it. By the end of the day it appears the floor will be finished tomorrow. Not sure if cabinets will begin or wait until next week. 

The kitchen area looking to the front of the house.

Hopefully this space will be completed Friday.

Boxes, boxed and more boxes and there are even a few in the garage.

April 20 and 21 Week 6 construction days 26 and 27

 Tuesday and Wednesday the floor work continues. The progress is slow because of the angles of the wood   require each piece to be routed perfectly for a smooth and seamless abutment for the change in direction. Wednesday when things required less fitting the speed stemmed to pick up.  The pictures are from the end of Wednesday.

Construction day 25 week 6 April 19

The beginning of week six and we were anxiously awaiting the floor installation. We were surprised when the elderly couple rang the doorbell and told us they were the sub contractors for Nick here to install the hardwood. Mike and Terri have been putting down floors for over 60 years so I guess they know what they are doing. As with many projects the prep work and decisions about how to proceed took most of the day. Because the room has a bend, the direction of the wood needed to change or the eating area would all be on an angle. The other challenge was matching up to the family room hardwood which Steve and I had installed in January of 2015. The two areas where the wall has been opened up needed to have a seamless entry to the new area.

The first boards matching up with the family room where the wall has been cut away

The solution to making a change in direction for the eating area in the kitchen.

 

Thursday /Friday April 15 and 16 construction days 23 and 24

 Thursday was a sand and clean up day for the dry wall guys. The ceiling was finished and they just sanded the walls. Friday the painters arrived about 10:30 and sprayed the ceiling and painted the walls with the first coat. They said the second coat is applied after the cabinets are in. Wow! It is beginning to look like a finished space. I can’t imagine how adding the floors will change things next week. Keep posted!

Wednesday April 14 week 5 construction day 22

 Today the finish was added to the ceiling. The drywall guys came and it took about 3 hours. It is a smooth surface unlike the old popcorn texture. They applied it with a spray machine run by a big very loud air compressor. Fortunately it was a nice day so I was outside doing a little spring yard work the whole time. 

The slate for the foyer came in unexpectedly today and is to be delivered Monday. Things may really be coming together next week.

Monday April 12, Week 5 Day 20 and Tuesday April 13 Day 21

 We spent a great weekend with Mike and Kim relaxing and eating well and enjoying the Masters Golf Tournament. It was so nice to be with friends and away from the construction site we call home these days. Returning on Monday morning we found the dry wall finishers hard at work but not seeing a great deal of difference in our project. Smoother walls for sure but no significant structural changes. 

And the same for Tuesday. The good news coming in today though was that the wood for the floors was delivered and will begin acclimating to our interior conditions. Steve sent Nick a note and his response was that the floors would start going in next Monday. I’m hoping that means the painting gets done later this week. Pictures taken Tuesday evening.  

Friday April 9 Week 4 Day 19

 We met with Jennifer our designer again today and continued the endless list of details. Paint colors for walls and wood work, hardware for cabinets, light fixtures where LED cans aren’t enough light. We picked out lights for the bathrooms and mirrors. It was a very productive session. Not much change on the home front although the drywallers were there for several hours today. 

Week 4 - Wednesday/Thursday April 7 and 8 Construction days 17 and 18

 The week of slow changes. The drywall finishers came both days and stayed for 2-3 hours smoothing and “finishing” the surfaces of the drywall hanging in the new kitchen and laundry room areas. So while it is progress there isn’t much changes to see.

Tuesday April 6 week 4 day 16

 Dry wall finishers came today to continue to work on getting drywall prepped for finish. I chatted with them and ask how long they would be working on our project and they thought about a week. They are also the ones that will put the ceiling finish on. Yay! No more popcorn ceiling in the kitchen. 

We also met with our decorator who has helped us on several previous projects. She will be looking at some pieces we will need for the newly open family room and window finishes. 

And another set back. The hardwood was suppose to be delivered today to start acclimating to our house before installation. The wood is in but the load was heavier than anticipated and the truck wasn’t big enough to handle the load so they arbitrarily re-scheduled for next Tuesday. Steve is handling that one tomorrow. I’m sure these are the kinds of set backs that contractors deal with regularly but it is frustrating when things had been moving so well. 

On the plus side the April weather has been outstanding and working outside this early has been a plus to the landscape. I even mowed today. Everything is so green and the trees and bushes are beginning to bloom. 

Sophia turned 11 months old today. Next month we will be in Boston to celebrate her first birthday. Time goes so fast!

Monday April 5 week 4 day 15

Wow when I type week 4 that seems like a long time. But remember it is the beginning of the fourth week so really only 3 weeks into the project. Today  2 drywall guys got here around 10:30 and they left just after noon. And they never came back! They worked on the ceiling joints and taped most of the side wall seams. So... I guess they will be back tomorrow.🤞🏻 

A setback today though. The slate we picked for the foyer has been delayed until the middle of May. It was suppose to blilld next week. Contractor says he will work around  it and finish that area last. Supposedly it is on a boat coming from Africa. I hope it was not one of the ones waiting to get through the Suez Canal where a ship was stuck for over a week.

Friday week 3 day 14

 An interesting day in my count because there was no work done today. The contractor texted that he had planned 2 days for the drywall hanging and was surprised they had gotten it all up yesterday. He has the finishers scheduled to start on Monday. Happy Easter! 

On a personal note Steve and I are scheduled to get the second dose of the Moderna vaccine for covid on Saturday. It will be good to have this completed and begin the return to a more normal life. 

Thursday April 1 week 3 day 13

 The project is finished...April Fool! But we saw probably the second greatest change so far with the completion of the hanging of the drywall. Those guys work fast! Again lots of loud sawing and dust but it is looking good.  

I tried a panaoramic picture

The hole in the ceiling is for the kitchen vent 

Wednesday March 31 week 3 day 12

 We had workers today finishing the insulation and putting the visqueen over the exterior walls. The electrician was here finishing the laundry room changes. The framer was here adding our new door to the back deck. It was loud , noisy and dusty. But hey! We are happy with the changes so far.

Laundry room plumbing changes

They took out the cabinet in the utility bathroom