Extreme Craigslisting

The deal has been dealt!  With a major Craigslist buy now official, I can share the details.  Thanks to the new owners of a Minneapolis condo having extremely different taste than a former Timberwolves coach, we were able to buy a lot of extremely high-end, pristine Kohler bathroom products valued at approximately $15,000 for $2,300.  We had $1,800 budgeted to purchase some of the products that we were able to buy, that meant that we were able to purchase the $9,000 for only $500.  

The tub!

The tub was not included in the build budget.  Our plan was to rough in the plumbing, but add the tub later.  Now with our dream tub in hand, we have decided to do it right away.  How big of a deal is this to us?  To give you an idea, we have vacationed in Kohler, Wisconsin for the last 2 years enjoying the plush bathrooms and drooling at the design center.  

Nuff said.

Progress, Shock & Awe

With Friday's progress, we are definitively not building a double wide.  Andy climbed up to get a first hand look at the upstairs.  It will be great when there are stairs to look around, Lucy is getting a little emotional being left out of some of the exploration.  This week should see the roof go up!  

Andy standing in Lucy's future room - which she claims will be orange.

The temporary stairs...  not a long-term solution.  The window to the right is in the Master Bathroom.

The window above will be in the Master Bedroom - same view as the living room.

Shock and Awe 

There is an event on the horizon that will take the Craig-o-Meter to unprecedented heights!  A deal is in progress that will tie up many items on our list in a single purchase:  the final toilet, the sink for the kids' bathroom, the 3 remaining bathroom faucets, the powder room mirror and lighting, and all bathroom accessories (towel bars, etc.).  The spectacular part of this deal is that most of these items weren't listed in the add - we were there looking at a bathtub!  I will share details once the deal is finished, hopefully tomorrow :)

Surprise, it's a double-wide

I quickly stopped by the site around 5:30 today.  The fact that there is still a sliver of light is very good for my psyche - and means we can start to see the progress without flashlights.  Finishing touches were being put on the subfloor on the 2nd floor joists, enclosing the first floor, and getting ready for going even higher.

Looking a bit like a double-wide from the front right now... 

The living room/mudroom that remains open to the elements are waiting for a roof, there will be no 2nd floor over that part of the house.

Tomorrow, walls start going up on the 2nd floor.  Next week we should have a roof!  In other news, the new owners of the house next door have two young kids - great news for us!  The carpenters are getting all of the neighborhood dish.

Moving on up!

Thank you, Minnesota weather, for finally allowing work to continue.  In one short day, the majority of the 2nd floor joists were installed.  No crane, no pullies.  Just two brothers who flexed their biceps when I asked how they got the joists up to the 2nd floor.  Impressive, guys!

Standing in the entry looking down the center of the house. 

View from the front, notice how the 2nd floor is cantilevered over the first floor.

The way the guys walked around on 2nd floor joists is insane. 

The algebra

It was a regular math meet in the DeMaster household last night.  We had to figure out how wide windows would have to be to have 3 equal-sized windows (w/ 6" between them) centered on the back wall AND the left-most window would need to be centered on the hallway.  As a couple that both likes symmetry, we didn't wan't to chance that the view would feel out of whack.  At one point, Andy said, "I have the first equation!"  I said, "So, I have the second one, too!"  

For my fellow nerds, here is the equation set:

          2x + 3y + 2(6) = 168

          x + y/2 = 45 1/2

          where: 

          x = length of the wall on each size of the windows

          y = width of the window (rough opening)

That meant that the windows would only be 32 1/2" each as opposed to the 36" ones that we ordered.  In the end we decided we prefer bigger windows to symmetry in this case.  Please assure us both that the windows look great once they're in - and COMPLETELY balanced.

And for the record, I won the math meet.

Lights!

No work happened on Thursday or Friday because of the low temps.  I just checked the 10 day forecast and it's looking like high 20s to high 30s every day.  A couple of the days show snow, but nothing significant.  Thank goodness!  I'm getting nervous with the insides of the house being exposed to elements for so long.  HOPEFULLY the 2nd floor joists will get installed early this week now that the weather is cooperating.

The luxury of daylight on the weekend allowed us a few more pictures.

Back of the house, you can see the back door on the right of the photo.  The adjacent wall should have a window framed in it - hopefully that will be fixed soon.

View out of the big back window.  The 2x4 is not part of our plan.

The powder room - it's a bathroom.  Powder is optional.

View from the back of the house to the front.  You can sort of see the framed opening between the living and
dining/kitchen area.

Other stuff - Dining Room Chandelier
Craigslist is just not delivering on a few items.  The dining room chandelier is one of those items.  We really like drum shade chandeliers.  Room & Board has some great print ones, but they run about $500 for the largest sizes.  I found a designer on Etsy (JesseLeeDesigns) who custom makes the entire fixtures with your own fabric.  She suggests a site called spoonflower.com to chose your fabric, we have decided to go with a large scale, bold tangerine print.  It was a toss up between lime green and tangerine.  Stay tuned for lime green elsewhere.

Our first trip in

We're in!
Perfect timing.  Andy and I were both doing drive-bys on the project at the very same time.  So we decided to unbuckle Lucy and go into the house for the first time!  This will be much easier once there are front steps, but we got up with a little oomph.  Being in the space was a bit of a relief that we weren't crazy with our design, but it actually does flow well.

Lucy and I standing in the kitchen, in front of the window that made me so happy yesterday.  Still smilin'!

Here is a view from between the kitchen and dining into the living room.  The opening on the left is the triple window, the opening on the right will be the fireplace flanked by 2 high windows.

Lucy and Andy standing between the entry way and the door to the kitchen/dining.  

PANTRY!!!

While it might appear that we are standing in a meteor shower, it's actually snowing really big snowflakes picking up the flash on my phone.  We'll see tomorrow if the 2nd floor gets put on!

Q&A:  What's the deal with a batch disposer?  Say more, please.

Here's my analysis from what I can gather online and in Consumer Reports. 

• Turning it on - you turn on a batch disposer by flipping over and turning the special drain stopper.  This trips a magnet switch and turns the unit on.  This means that you don't need a switch wired on your wall or drilled into your counter top. 
• Safer - nothing can fly out and take out your eye because the stopper is on.  Also, no way to get your hand caught since it won't turn on with the stopper in place.
• Super grinder - They appear to do a better job of liquifying the food, probably because they use more powerful grinders... something that wouldn't be safe without the stopper in place.  They claim it is better for treatment of the sewage.  They also claim you can stick anything in it like bones and celery (I didn't realize they were on the same plane, but indeed.)

Right down the middle

Sorry.  Yes, more darkness.  

It appears that the first floor is framed for the most part.  The 2nd floor joists arrived and await whatever crane/levitation machine that is coming tomorrow.  Each of us stopped by the site.  We have promised not to go "inside" until we're both together.  However, I did stand and the front door and looked down the center of the house and out the back window.  

This view down the spine of the house was an important view to us.   If any of the doorways or the windows were off center, we felt like it would feel out of balance.

The view from the street.

Does it amaze anyone else that this part can go so quickly given that there are only 2 men on the crew?

Walls in the dark

Even with the darkness, I have seen my kitchen window for the first time.  I am so excited I might pee my pants.  Things were looking a little sketchy at the end of last week.  Xcel still had not connected the power so the carpenters were using the neighbor's temporarily...  and then their circuit blew.  The guys quit early on Friday because they had run out of "unplugged" work to do.

To our surprise, walls appeared today!  I'm guessing they used power and didn't hand nail each 2x4 into place.

The kitchen window is in the center, powder room to the right.

Barely visible view of the entire first floor.

Word is the second story floor joists arrive tomorrow.  I can't wait for the opportunity to walk around in the space and get a feel for it.

Let the framing begin!

It truly has been quiet - nothing to report.  After a week waiting for the delivery of the framing materials, then there was a delay while our carpenter recovered from an injury.  Finally after 2 weeks of quiet, it's time for major progress!  Terribly unfortunate that our house couldn't be the one that got framed by toasty, warm carpenters during the 50+ degree weather.

Yesterday, the carpenters spent the day planning, measuring and installing the sill plate.  That's the wood frame that is installed directly on the foundation walls.  I stopped by the site around 7:30 this morning and the first floor joist was in place.

As of 7:30 this morning.

I stopped by again after work around 5:00 and found this!   

At 5:00, all the joists are in place - I pray that floor won't squeak like our current floor.

And the bearing wall in the basement is framed in.  This will be the stairs to the basement which will someday be a family room.  

The only bearing wall section in the basement, otherwise it's wide open.

I was asked by the carpenter - in a nice way - if I was going to stop by every day.  I said I would want to visit if cool stuff was happening.  I didn't have the heart to tell what I think qualifies as cool.  We shall see each other often.

Craigslist Update

While it's been a bit of a dry spell, Craig finally came through this weekend.  I have been watching for a new garbage disposal.  Our contractor had 2 stipulations, it had to be an InSinkerator and it had to be 3/4 horse power.  He had spec'd $150 for one.  I was able to buy a new InSinkerator Cover Control (a batch disposer model) which retails for around $300 for $80.  Never knew that there was such a thing as a batch disposer, but per Consumer Reports, the only downside is the cost...  <smug grin>

Happy, Happy, Joist, Joist!

Material delivery!
Today the floor joists and related materials were delivered, tomorrow the carpenters will start their framing magic. The floor joists are a testament to the mighty triangle.  Because of this style of joist, we won't need any posts in the basement.  It will be a wide open space for bikes, roller skates and any other madness that the kid(s) can dream up.

Floor joists.

Plywood and other floor materials.

Framing goodies - if you're looking to steal some, now's your chance...

Kid & work-free progress
Over the break, we had 3 WHOLE days to run house-related errands while Lucy was in daycare.  It was a very productive few days:

• Met with Mike (designer) to rework the mud room, fireplace area, and a desk near the kitchen.  Very happy with our new direction!  The mud room will now have bountiful shoe storage, something that we were missing.
• Chose a fireplace unit - going a little modern with a Heat n' Glo Cosmo - pay no attention to the price, a contractor discount is an amazing thing!
• Took delivery of washer, dryer and stove, all of which need to be replaced due to major damage while stored at ApplianceSmart.  The good people there are really making the situation right and replacing all of the units with ones in perfect condition at no additional price.
• Met with John (contractor) and Dan (lumber yard) to order the windows and make exterior door choices.  Nothing that a 3+ hour meeting can't solve!