Latest pictures

Brian's dream come true. A window and lights over our kitchen table.



Our new entryway.



Kathy's entrance.



At first, 2 ceiling fans seemed like it'd be a bit much. But it's really nice!



Kathy's closet.

Ah yes, just what we need

So, I'm working on clearing out our closet today for the closet installer and when I got everything out, I decided to vacuum (found some mouse poops). I plugged into the outlet behind the dresser.

The lights went out.

So, naturally, I went outside and checked the breakers. None of them had been thrown, so I thought maybe the fuse died (?). No idea. Well, would you look at that? TWO electricians in my house.

I had one of them look at it. It's so much more than the breakers. Actually, the breakers are fine, it's, well "that" electrician, as the previous owner refers to him. He mixed the electrical gauges and didn't do the electrical to code. Our electrician said that we have a splice in the neutral wire (the white one) but isn't sure where it is -- maybe the attic? The opened up a few more boxes (our bathroom, boys bathroom) and was shocked. "Hey, Steve! Come look at this!"

I said "Thanks for your help today, but we'll have to take care of this later."

So now we don't have lights in our bedroom tonight or in the boys bathroom.

When I mentioned this to Brian, he said "Sounds expensive."

grrrr.... Boulder County

Lightbulbs.

They count your lightbulbs to make sure you at 50% CFLs, 80% in new builds.



I can't tell you how much that drove me INSANE trying to make sure we had enough of the right lightbulbs. I won't even tell you how much money I spent on them.



Now I'm going to switch all the bulbs back and return the ones I'm not using.

The Finish Line is in Sight!

The floor is in, the walls are painted, the cabinets have been installed and the electricians are here today.

It looks AMAZING. Seriously. It's gorgeous. You should come over and see it.



Kathy's front door


Cabinets


Tiled bathroom. I'm planning on showering in here whenever Kathy's not around!

Hi. It's been a while, huh.

My dad wrote to me because it's been about a month since our last post.

Sorry about that.

The tile guys have been here for several days and have made Kathy's bathroom GORGEOUS. I'm going to take showers in there when she's out of town.

The painters are coming sometime this week -- exterior and interior.

The doors are up, but they haven't been stained or varnished. They don't have door knobs yet (they're still in their box) because our GC says not to put them on until after the painting is done.

Our garage is full of kitchen cabinets, the bathroom vanity, toilet etc. Brian's going to schedule a garage door soon. Please let it be soon, so we can cut down on our mosquito population!!

Our tentative completion date is the first week of September. We're almost done!!

This is going to be the week of dust

Last week, the drywall was hung (mostly on Wednesday). The worst thing about it was we had to wait for an inspection on Monday (passed), they dropped stuff off on Tuesday, hung the drywall on Wednesday (when I had friends over. It was loud) and then Thursday... or Friday...? we had another inspection.

Tomorrow they start the mudding, taping and sanding. And the dust will begin.

Insulation this week. Drywall next week.

Insulation is boring and loud.

Siding, Electrical and Plumbing

While we were in Montreal, they finished the siding which makes the outside look complete. The electrical and plumbing is in (not a significant visual change, but an important step).





When we ask people who live in our neighborhood what they think, almost without fail, the first thing mentioned is "well, I'm glad you got rid of that sunroom."

This is what it looked like when we left

Brian and I are in Montreal on honeymoon (15 years), so this is what it looked like when we left. What will it look like when we return???





Here we are at the airport:

I can hardly keep up!

They started framing last Monday. Today is Saturday and you can see the whole space! It's amazing!

What will be our front door is on the left (hard to see from this picture -- I'll try to get a better one). This is a view from Kathy's door to the kitchen.

Yeah, lots of framing. Come over and I'll walk you through.

Our two-car garage door.

I have more pictures

but they're building so fast I can't keep up! I'll post the pictures later!

That was then. This is now.

Before we left for swimming lessons:

After we returned:

Three hours later:

Framing Has Begun!

Here's what our kitchen looks like now.

A friend encouraged me by telling me framing is the best part. It goes fast and you can get a good idea of the scope of the project. You can actually walk around and get a feel for what's going on.

The Waiting Place...

We're waiting on lumber.

Trusses or something.

The Waiting Place…for people just waiting. (Dr Suess)

Waiting for a train to go or a bus to come, or a plane to go or the mail to come, or the rain to go or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow or waiting around for a Yes or No or waiting for their hair to grow. Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite or waiting for wind to fly a kite or waiting around for Friday night or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake or a pot to boil, or a Better Break or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants or a wig with curls, or Another Chance. Everyone is just waiting.

::sigh::

Boys love dirt

Charlie, Isaac and their friends played on the dirt piles all afternoon.


Charlie and Luke.

Friday

The removed the forms and now this is what we have now.




The removed the forms and now this is what we have now.

Wednesday

Forms are put up to pour the second round of concrete for the foundation.

Tuesday

Today they poured the concrete for the foundation. It's really taking shape!


Looks like Charlie wants to be a supervisor when he grows up.

My Camera is in Boulder

I left my camera at church on Sunday and had not yet transferred the pictures off of it yet so I can't post all the progress that has been made in one week! It's incredible!

You'll have to take my word for it until I retrieve my camera tomorrow. Afternoon.

Is this bad?

I can never tell.

Friday morning

They started moving the dirt out -- on to a big dump truck. I wonder where they're taking it?