Remodeling Week 9

 This week not much happened.  The plaster folks finished up their plaster work,  and the trim on the outside where the new windows got finished.  The work does ebb and flow as we wait for the flooring to go in and the cabinets to arrive.  Pretty soon the contractors will take a break while we wait for those cabinets, so right now only little things needs to get done.

The mudroom where we are going to build the lockers was one of the last things to get plaster

Windows are all framed in nicely outside.  That is a good job done.  They used PVC so that it won't weather .

Remodeling Week 8

 This week was pretty quiet unti Thursday.  I have to say - it was kind of nice to have a small break from the noise and dust for a week.  Arlington came home from college on the 15th so it gave us a chance to get her settles and used to all the changes before they came back.

This week was all about plaster.  The plaster folks were here on Thursday and Friday and got 3/4 of the work done.  They will be back Monday to finish.  Looking like a house once again.  The plaster has a neat feel to it - it is glass smooth. I didn't expect that.  We are hoping that we get a chance to do some painting before they put the floors down, but that is yet to be seen.  We will see how long it takes for the plaster to dry.

I also started painting the upstairs hallway and staircase.  We decided to do an accent wall on the stairs of a deeper shade since it is such a big wall.  We picked a blue/gray color called Little Falls by Benjamin Moore.  On the other walls I put a lighter blue gray (but really it is more blue) called Silver Mist by Benjamin Moore.  

The two paints side by side

We interrupt the constant remodeling post

 To bring you friendship.

All 7 of us are fully vaccinated, and it was time to celebrate.  In person.  No masks.  At a restaurant.  Something that hasn't been available to me, personally, for 4 years with these ladies.  I have not been out with them mask free or at a restaurant since 2017 when we left for Switzerland.  

Did we hug and cry?  You bet.

Remodeling Week 7

 We are 7 weeks in to this project already!  It is moving along at a nice steady pace.  I am anxious to get to the finishe product, but we do not feel overly bothered by the rennovation.  We have a nice set up on our second floor and basement that is working well.  We will see if I still feel that way in another month.

This week was short on days of production but big on change.  Our wall board went up this week and the layout of the downstairs has finally taken shape.  We can see how the mudroom and pantry will look now and how the ligh filters on the first floor.  The ceiling also got boarded and our beam was wrapped.  Big progress.

Wall board got delivered on Monday and installed on a Tuesday.  It was super fast.

This is where we will put the locker built ins in the mudroom

In the mudroom looking into the pantry.  Mat wanted this small inserts on either side

Mud room - that doorway leads out into the main area of the house

Bay windows in the mudroom

Looking into the pantry.  That wall will have the cabinets and counter top

Looking into the pantry from the kitchen area

Looking into the pantry from the mudroom

Looking into the pantry- that window is going to be nice.  It has a sill and will be a nice place to put plants.

Where the kitchen will be.  To the left the small doorway is where the fridge goes and the tall is the entrance to the pantry.  Straight ahead will be the wall where the Range will be.

Outside the pantry - that area is where we are going to build bookshelves

Looking into where the main kitchen area will be and into the pantry

This is where the sink and dishwasher will be.

This is the backside of the basement steps.  That isn't our door - just a temp. door the contractors put in when they had to adjust the side of the wall

Looking into the pantry.  To the left there is where the fridge will go

Looking into our living room space.  They wrapped the beam and I was pleased that it isn't that much lower than the ceiling height.  Looks good.

Looking into the living room.  Still excited to get that temporary wall down on the right to see the full space.  Don't mind my paint "extravaganza" ont he walls - trying to find the right combination of colors.

Also our appliances showed up.  I didn't get a good picture of them before they were put in the garage for storage.  They will stay there until the contractors are ready for them. The range, of course, didn't show up.  It is still on track for the end of July, so we continue to hope that date doesn't change again.

They are all sitting nicely in the garage.  Fridge, Hood, Dishwasher, Microwave, and all the moving parts for those appliances.

We will leave all the covering on the fridge until it is installed.  The handles are boxed separately.  We chose Cafe for our Fridge and Dishwasher with a chunky stainless Steel handle.

This is the hood that will go above our 48 inch Wolf Range.  IT is ennormous.  We chose a chunky style - didn't really like the thin one.  

Remodeling Week 6

 Another week is done!  We have had 30 days of construction work on this house.  While the last few weeks have been "boring bits", progress is being made.  I spoke to our contractor yesterday and he said he is right on his scheduled timeline so far, so that was good news!  With Coronavirus, and all the coordination of the various people who do various jobs - we feel pretty lucky that it is moving along as well as it is.  

The only real hiccup we have come across so far is our Range.  We ordered a Wolf Duel Fuel range which was new for 2021.  We liked the upgrade panel that it offered and pushed us over the edge between a few different Ranges.  This week we got a call that it has been backordered to at least July 29th.  It was a bit of a blow only because our project will be over before the Range arrives.  Which means we have to get the contractors to come back to install it.  AND - that July 29th is just a hopeful date.  It could get pushed again.  Supply and demand are not equal and really there is no one to blame.  There is a snowball effect of a pandemic where things cannot be controlled.  We are going to keep an eye on it and just hope for the best.

Here is what happened this week:

1) celing insulation - which was a spray foam - was done.  It was a little bit stinky, but not terrible.  

A big change happened this week and that was windows!  Our entire downstairs lit up for the first time in 5 weeks with the installation of our bay windows and pantry window.  This bay was there, if you remember - it was in our previous dining room.  They were much larger and lower, but our sink and counters are going here, so the windows had to be raised and shrunk some.  However - they are still enormous and letting in so much light.

The pantry window was where our tri window was before over our sink.  This one got the biggest decrease in size, but I wanted more wall space and less window in the pantry.  It lets in a nice amount of light for that room, and will leak into the kitchen as well.  And it has a really nice sill where I can put plants or herbs or knick knacks

Wall insulation went in and got inspeted.  Our back wall - and everywhere else they took down walls - got reinsulated.  Our contractor said that there was a lack of insulation in those walls and the seal around the windows wasn't great.  So they really packed in it and filled in all kinds of cracks and crevices after 30 years of not being touched.  They also insulated our mudroom ceiling.  That area of the house had a cold area (above it is our master bedroom sitting room and closet) and they wanted to help keep that floor better heated and cooled.  

Last this week they started to reframe the windows outside.  Because of the changes in the windows - but not the changes to the outdoor structure - our windows will be boxed in white wood siding to match what was there before.  We just needed more of it.  I am excited to see it when it is done.  I am thinking for that small window and ALL that white wood siding, I might try and incorporate some outside window boxes.  They didn't finish the project this week - but did get it started.

Spring Break

 We did take a break from the remodeling and visited some family in Pennsylvania.  Mat's sister, Teen, and her family are moving to Texas for a job transfer and we wanted to be able to see them before they moved.  We are going to miss having them so close, but are excited for them and their upcoming adventurers.

While we were in PA, Cainan did his service hours he needed to get done for NJHS, we sorted golf balls for Finley's fundraiser this summer, and Mat and Finley got to see Reese's musical.  Finley developed a terrible virus in her throat and we took a few trips to Med Express and the ER to try and get her pain under control.  Wouldn't be a vacation for us if someone didn't get sick.

Teen's dog, Oreo, really liked Cainan.

Finley at the ER getting some fluids and some pain medications

Cainan helped my dad at the Trail to get his service hours

We got out the 2600 golf balls and sorted them into groups of 200 so that it will be less work later this summer

For those of us who couldn't see Reese's show in person, we watched it on TV.  She was Rafiki and she did a great job!