So the travertine has been delivered. 2 pallets of it sit in my front yard, less 2 tiles I'm now carrying with me to help me shop for countertops.
The porch forms came off yesterday and Dave was working on a skim coat of fine cement to cover the high fiber aggregate that comprises the bulk of the porch. The thin outer layer should turn white over the next few days and then gray after that. I like the shape of the recessed panels, they look nice. I'm trying to withhold judgement on how I feel about the rest of it until it's finished. I'm already pretty sure I'll mostly just be happy to have it done. See a few recent--from today--pictures on flickr of the front porch progress, the saws for the tile work, and the kitchen and bathroom cleared out for the tile work.
Tomorrow Sim will lay thinset in the kitchen, then a layer of electric heating mats, and then a second layer of thinset on top of that. There will be a similar treatment in the bathroom, I'm not sure, that may have to wait for the tub surround to be built in. Which means I need to select and buy a tub pronto. I have my 3 top candidates, but there's one clear favorite. I'm not sure it's feasible though since it would require moving plumbing again. Actually, I'm sure it's feasible, I'm just not sure it's worth the time and trouble, plus it's the most expensive of the three models I'm looking at. I'll have to have a real heart to heart with Dave in the morning and see where we end up. I mean I like the tub, but not if it means I'd have to take a second job...
Cross your fingers for me. Stove and oven shopping continue. Now countertops too. After that, I'll be past the immediate "big" decisions. The living room/dining room wall, the floors and the fireplace may just have to wait.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Porch Drama and Tile Delivery and Short Cut
I got a call from the tile guy today. My travertine is supposed to arrive this afternoon at the house. It looks like I'll be using electric mats for radiant floor heat rather than hydronic. It's simpler that way, and it's one more item checked off my list. That's progress I can use right now.
The concrete for the main wall of the porch is poured now. I freaked out about it on Monday night/Tuesday morning because the stairs and central posts looked WAY different from what I expected. I went back and looked at the drawings though and it looks okay there, so I'm going to go with it. I'm learning a lot of lessons about myself here, particularly in the realms of procrastination and attention to detail, critical thinking and communication. Whew!
I'm settled on the cooktop being in the island, though I still haven't made a selection or purchase of any particular unit. I'm thinking about hybrid induction/electric radiant models. I have this pattern of looking at gas cooktops until for a moment there's one that I like, and then suddenly I've thought too long and I hate them all. I predict that I will come back around to gas, something with an integrated downdraft that I might never use.
I'm likely to have a significant amount of light-colored travertine tile leftover. I got a deal on it, somehow it felt like an offer I couldn't refuse. You'd think I'd have learnt a lesson from the brick, but I didn't. It's not always worth it to have more than you need of a material for the same price you could get for exactly the amount you need. Know what I mean? The remainder of my brick will be buried under the porch. Another "time capsule" of sorts.
Tile guy says he'll travel, by the way. I happened to mention that I had a sister working on a house in Long Beach and parents in Longview doing a remodel as well. According to Dave, he does great work. I look forward to seeing it.
The concrete for the main wall of the porch is poured now. I freaked out about it on Monday night/Tuesday morning because the stairs and central posts looked WAY different from what I expected. I went back and looked at the drawings though and it looks okay there, so I'm going to go with it. I'm learning a lot of lessons about myself here, particularly in the realms of procrastination and attention to detail, critical thinking and communication. Whew!
I'm settled on the cooktop being in the island, though I still haven't made a selection or purchase of any particular unit. I'm thinking about hybrid induction/electric radiant models. I have this pattern of looking at gas cooktops until for a moment there's one that I like, and then suddenly I've thought too long and I hate them all. I predict that I will come back around to gas, something with an integrated downdraft that I might never use.
I'm likely to have a significant amount of light-colored travertine tile leftover. I got a deal on it, somehow it felt like an offer I couldn't refuse. You'd think I'd have learnt a lesson from the brick, but I didn't. It's not always worth it to have more than you need of a material for the same price you could get for exactly the amount you need. Know what I mean? The remainder of my brick will be buried under the porch. Another "time capsule" of sorts.
Tile guy says he'll travel, by the way. I happened to mention that I had a sister working on a house in Long Beach and parents in Longview doing a remodel as well. According to Dave, he does great work. I look forward to seeing it.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
new concrete, windows, electric, subfloor, walls...
I went by the house today. There is still a significant number of bricks in the yard, but the piles have gotten a little lower. It's a little unfortunate as I promised my neighbors they'd be gone by last weekend. Oops. According to Dave though, passers by have been indicating interest, so there's still hope that more will disappear before this weekend of their own accord.
The new concrete footings for the porch are in place. I think we have two more pours before we're done, the main portions of the walls and then the porch deck slab. There are forms for the outer face and abutting the stairs, but not for the interior face yet.
In the kitchen they just finished mudding and sanding the walls. The outlets are in and most of the lights, I think... My attention to detail is beginning to flag I think.
There are new walls and plumbing in the bathroom, and a reinforced subfloor, but I have yet to buy new fixtures. My immediate need is for a bathtub. Then Dave can build the surround around it and then the tile contractor can come do tile. I've ordered a boatload of travertine for the kitchen and bathroom and will have some leftover. I also need to order cabinets, a cooktop, and an oven. Oy. It's going to be a long weekend.
The new concrete footings for the porch are in place. I think we have two more pours before we're done, the main portions of the walls and then the porch deck slab. There are forms for the outer face and abutting the stairs, but not for the interior face yet.
In the kitchen they just finished mudding and sanding the walls. The outlets are in and most of the lights, I think... My attention to detail is beginning to flag I think.
There are new walls and plumbing in the bathroom, and a reinforced subfloor, but I have yet to buy new fixtures. My immediate need is for a bathtub. Then Dave can build the surround around it and then the tile contractor can come do tile. I've ordered a boatload of travertine for the kitchen and bathroom and will have some leftover. I also need to order cabinets, a cooktop, and an oven. Oy. It's going to be a long weekend.
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
One week later...
So many pictures (334 to be exact) from last weekend at flickr
Some shots are from the house, and some are from the rest of the activities surrounding the day. "We" got the porch off in like 2 hours or so! I put "we" in quotes because I didn't have much to do with it besides capturing a couple of photos. But while 4 or 5 people were working on dismantling everything, another 3 or 4 people were stacking bricks and wood separately so that the bricks could be reused and the rest of the rubbish could be tossed.
I learned I could actually make money on bricks as opposed to hauling them to a facility to have them recycled. It's only 20 bucks, but still...
Now that the porch is gone, the bathroom is demolished and the kitchen is sheetrocked, I really need to figure out my cabinets and floors. It's another big check when that gets done.
Bathroom redesign and plumbing happened this week. We need some steel reinforcements for the joists since we put holes in that for the toilet drain. I picked those up yesterday from Marty who had some "scrap" pieces at his workplace. DANG those are HEAVY! I don't know if there's work happening today or not.
Some shots are from the house, and some are from the rest of the activities surrounding the day. "We" got the porch off in like 2 hours or so! I put "we" in quotes because I didn't have much to do with it besides capturing a couple of photos. But while 4 or 5 people were working on dismantling everything, another 3 or 4 people were stacking bricks and wood separately so that the bricks could be reused and the rest of the rubbish could be tossed.
I learned I could actually make money on bricks as opposed to hauling them to a facility to have them recycled. It's only 20 bucks, but still...
Now that the porch is gone, the bathroom is demolished and the kitchen is sheetrocked, I really need to figure out my cabinets and floors. It's another big check when that gets done.
Bathroom redesign and plumbing happened this week. We need some steel reinforcements for the joists since we put holes in that for the toilet drain. I picked those up yesterday from Marty who had some "scrap" pieces at his workplace. DANG those are HEAVY! I don't know if there's work happening today or not.
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