Week 28: Flooring

 
 
 
 

I was out of town most of the week but a friend of mine stopped by the house to take pictures for me. This week work was started on the master bath shower, the new ceiling fan is in place, and a bunch of lighting fixtures were installed. The big effort was on the hardwood flooring in the downstairs and upstairs. I can't wait to see it all in person!

Week 27: Putting Humpty Dumpty back together again

 
 
 
 

The house is at the stage where a lot is going on but it feels like nothing is getting done! The weather was great this week so the guys were outside working on the siding most of the week. They also got my range vent installed.

The plumbers finished putting in all of the radiators and started on the plumbing. The electrician has shown up a couple of times and is plugging away at electrical outlets, lights, smoke detectors, etc.

I finished all of the painting on the first two floors except where there is staging under the big front dormer. I bought a ceiling fan this week so once that is installed, and the trim around the front dormer window is completed, then the staging will come down and we can finish the painting. In the meantime, I've moved painting operations to the apartment.

We found one "gottcha" this week. The light switch box at the base of the stairs is right where the handrail needs to go. So it has to be moved. I'm hoping it won't be a big deal, but we'll see!

The weather is supposed to be ugly early next week so the guys will come inside and start flooring.

Week 26: Six Months!

 
 
 
 

The house project is officially six months old now and there is a faint light at the end of the tunnel. It was a good weather week so there was good progress on the exterior siding. My propane tank was delivered and is in place but not yet hooked up to the stove.

On the interior, I finished painting a number of rooms and the plumbers installed the radiators in those rooms. The rest of the flooring materials arrive on Friday so if the weather isn't good for exterior siding next week then the guys can start putting tile down in the entry way or the laundry room.

This week the plan is to get the painting finished on the first and second floors. The electrician should be back to start putting in the outlets and light switches. I'm hoping that the plumbers can install the rest of the radiators and get the new water heater hooked up.

Week 25: Kitchen, Painting, Siding

 
 
 
 

The front of the house still hasn't changed much but the new shipment of exterior siding arrived late in the week and the back of the house is pretty much done. The contractors finished all of the mudding/taping/sanding/priming of the dry wall this week. They did a nice job and were very efficient. It is not easy work.

The weather earlier in the week was terrible, so the guys did a lot of interior painting and installed the kitchen cabinets (which are beautiful!). The appliances arrived on Thursday and I like them alot. They fit just as they were supposed to. The kitchen designer came and took the measurements for the counter top so that should be delivered in another week or so. After shopping around quite a bit I came to a deal with Marden's for hardwood flooring and that will be delivered next week along with a bunch of flooring tile from Home Depot.

I've been putting in my "sweat equity" by painting after work and on the weekends. The rooms are pretty small so it doesn't take that much time. If I can get all the painting done on the first and second floors it means that the guys can start putting in the flooring when the weather isn't good for the exterior siding work. The only hang up at the moment is that I want to put up the ceiling fan in the stairway before they take down the staging and the painting in the stairway can't be finished until the staging comes down. Not a big deal though..there is still a ton of stuff to do for now.

Things are really starting to come together!

Week 24: Painting and the Arrival of the Kitchen Cabinets.

 
 
 
 

There is still more drywall work (sanding) and priming left to do, especially in the downstairs apartment, but the upstairs got to the point this week where the guys started painting. The goal was to get the living/kitchen area painted first so that the kitchen cabinets can be installed. The color for most of the walls downstairs is "cottage white." It is a bit darker than I thought, but I think it will work well. The kitchen cabinets were delivered so they can be installed next week while we wait for the rest of the exterior siding to be delivered. The cabinets are maple with a Shaker panel style. The prep work for the master bath shower was started this week as well.

I went shopping for wood flooring at Marden's because they have the best prices. I can get a nice select red oak right away because they have more than the quantity I need for the project. But I saw a very nice maple flooring that I might consider if they can find enough of it. The maple is lighter than the oak and has less grain. Both are about the same hardness rating. The price at Marden's is about 50% of what I can get anywhere else for wood from the same manufacturer. The flooring guys really know their stuff, too.

Week 23: Mud, Tape, Side...Repeat

 
 
 
 

Although the front of the house looks about the same as it has for weeks, the inside changes every day as a new coat of mud is applied to the drywall. If all goes well I think they'll be at the point of priming the walls by the end of next week. Then I can get in the house to start painting!

Siding is going well except that the building supplier says they can't get more materials until the first week in March. Shouldn't slow down the work because there is a lot of exterior trim and soffit work that needs to be done and that can proceed while we wait for more siding.

Week 22: Mud (and Tape) Season

 
 
 
 

Lots of sheet rock was hung this week and the mudding and taping crew showed up on Wednesday and have made excellent progress on the first coat. There is probably a day's worth of sheet rock work in the basement apartment and then it will be another week or two before the mudding and taping and priming is finished. In the meantime Matt and his team will move back outside and work on the siding and on getting things ready for the roof that will be over the front porch.

The plumbers finished running the pipes for the heat and have taken off for another job until the radiators are ready to install. Time for me to pick out colors for painting because we'll be to that point early in March!

I'm also off the temporary Bangor Hydro connection and am officially back "on the grid." Bangor Hydro welcomed me with a nice big bill...