N I N E D A Y S L E F T . . .

Tonight was the first night all week that we didn't spend at Home Depot - so many loose ends needing to be tied.  Exhausting.

Light, dazzling light

The electrician has been working in the paint-free zone (the second floor) getting lights installed. It's amazing how simply covering a light bulb seems to finish a room.

Lucy's shiny, girlie light.  Even more fabulous than I thought.  This is the Bel Air Metalic Ceiling Light from Lowes.  

This Portfolio Flush Mount from Lowes was the only decent looking fixture that we found that took a 100W traditional bulb.  AND it was only $25!  Score!

Garage power!

Electric has been run to the garage and now lights have been installed.  

We totally cheaped out on the garage lighting.  Thanks to $5 jelly jar outdoor lights.    Yup, they provide light.  

Oh no!  We built on a fault line!!!  Crap.

Plumbing power!

Also in the paint free zone, the plumber is plumbing away.  Things are coming together, pieces here and there.  

The first piece of the master shower is in place.  

This Kohler Kelston faucet was scored on Craigslist for $50.

Finally ready for plumbing!  The backsplash was installed now that it is thinned down and sinks installed.  

Steps, Floors and doing the Electric Slide

Stairway to Heaven... or at least the 2nd floor

Last weekend we stopped by the house and found stairs!  Very handy.  The stair configuration was one of the most difficult things about our design.  We wanted to have the stairs to terminate in the center of the 2nd floor to minimize hallways.  With such a narrow house, you don't have a lot of options.  We ended up with a configuration with 2 landings - a few stairs, a 90 degree turn, quite a few more stairs, another landing, another 90 degree turn, then a few more stairs.  

On the first landing.

Maple!  No, Birch!  No Birch!  Yes Birch!

Flooring has been one of those things that we have waffled on.  We knew we didn't want oak.  We knew we wanted sand-in-place, not the micro-bevel kind (just something about the micro-bevels that seem to invite dirt).  In our bid, we specified select maple.  During our discussions about cabinets, maple started to appear a little too stark.  

After a trip to Lon Musolf Distributing, we were down to 2 options:  common red birch and heartwood hickory.  The rep told us that both were approximately the same cost as the maple.  After much deliberation, we chose the birch.  We felt so good and proud of ourselves.  Then, the flooring dude said the birch was going to be $1.00 more per square foot.  Heartbroken, we let go of our birchy dreams.  After much calling between us, our contractor, the flooring dude, and Lon Musolf a miracle happened - the birch was on sale.  There would be no difference in price, the we could have our birch.

Common Red Birch - reds, browns, bluish grays and lots of swirls and shimmer.  

It's electric (boogie, oogie, oogie)

This morning - with freezing toes - we did our walk through with the electrician.  We set switch, light, and socket locations.  Everything feels so incredibly permanent.  The pressure is really mounting to get things right.

General Progress

Lots of stuff is starting to happen at the same time.  I feel like the progress is growing exponentially - the site now buzzing with various tradesmen, all doing their piece of the puzzle.  Stuff just starts showing up:

• The laundry chute was put in making a drop from the 2nd story to the basement laundry
• Exhaust vents have been run from the baths 
• Ducts/returns are being cut into rooms
• Windows arrived on site
• The portico (covered front step) is taking shape

The glorious laundry chute. 

First glimpse of the portico.  Sounds fancy, doesn't it?