Now, that by no means indicates that the house is done, but it is close! We’ve spent 6 nights here, during the day co-existing with workers. We came so far in the two weeks from the last post to moving day. It is just unbelievable! To hit some high points with a few photos:
This is the tile in the guest bath.
Finishing up the screened porch really made a difference in the look of the back. We decided to go with an opaque stain on the framing.
A huge issue has been the amount of rain. Week before last we had one good day and the landscape crew was able to clean out that corner in the back yard. Buried in there were old, mature oak leaf hydrangeas, and the buckets you see against the neighbor’s shed were hostas that we’re going to reuse in the front.
A nice crepe myrtle was saved….
and here it is in its new home left of the driveway.
And the rains returned. This was pretty depressing.
And I decided to do a little off-roading out front. Josh and Randy, with Centurion, came to my rescue.
Our granddaughter, Paige, came to be my assistant one day and she brought her class pet, Camo. Stephan asked Paige if she would like to move some bricks, but she wasn’t real high on the idea.
We have tried to be conservation-minded whenever possible. These cabinets were saved from the old house and are installed here in the laundry room.
This granite is what we used in the kitchen. There was enough to to cut a piece for the laundry room out of what we had.
Buddy had the idea to “mark” the driveway. Our three grandchildren, Beau, Paige and Emily we hope will be able look back one day on lots of happy memories made here.
The metal roof finally gets installed over the porches.
I was a little worried that this “glacier granite” was going to be too blingy on the fireplace. Up close it was quite glittery. But, once in place I loved it.
Light fixtures went in…..
The little kitchen island in its custom color came in just a couple of days before move in day. It is pretty, though.
The finishing of the hardwoods was completed at the 23rd hour literally. I think the guys worked until about 11pm two nights to get them done. The stain is Provincial on white oak.
Even our contractor, Louis Tapia, of Centurion Home Improvements got into the act when it was crunch time.
The concrete counter on the grill station turned out really nice. They used the same stain on it that was used on the screened porch floor.
I waited as patiently as I could to see those great sliding doors without the film on the glass. This was an exciting moment for me. I did before and after pictures. Wow!
The kitchen isn’t huge, but I think it will be really functional. The cooktop wall really turned out to be a nice focal point. The cup hook drawer pulls went on the day we moved in. Talk about cutting it close!
Cheers! We got our C.O. At 3:30 on Friday afternoon and the movers were scheduled to arrive at 9:00 Saturday morning. Nothing like toasting the new house with solo cups, sac-o-chairs and a step ladder for a coffee table.
The screened porch on Saturday night after moving in.
It was a few days before they came to get this guy. Good bye, old friend…..
You might thinking having a C.O. and moving in means no more construction. Nah, that’s not how we roll. This was was the scene on the driveway and in the yard today.
The city was gracious in allowing our C.O. with just straw down because it was too wet to lay sod. Here they’re removing the hay and smoothing it all out. It’s going to dry further a couple of days before we get sod and the landscaping is completed.
These stones belong to our new neighbor. He took them up when he added a new deck and we plan to use them as stepping stones. Recycling again.
Completed new doors for the old shed.
Oops….. The pedestal sink in the powder room was too close to the door and is in the process of being moved over.
The first night we came home after dark I thought the house looked so pretty lit up. So, maybe all the shutters hadn’t been hung, but it was still pretty. By this time next week the landscaping should be finished, the pedestal sink moved and the new shed doors hung. With a little luck I can post “Construction Complete” very soon!
(To read the final installment in this series on our construction journey click here.)