Hardscape and a Bit o' Color

Please forgive me as it has been 3 weeks since my last post.  While much has been accomplished, it seemed to go in tiny little increments.  So on with it!

Driveway, Patio and the Retaining Wall
These crazy little increments that stretched the days into weeks and almost into months were because of the staging that needed to be done between multiple members.

Step 1: All of the heavy stuff needed to get delivered before the driveway could go in to avoid leaving marks in the new driveway.

Step 2:  Lay the asphalt driveway.  I was shocked at how much equipment and manpower it took

I was worried ho the rock wall was going to meet the asphalt, but it looks pretty slick!

The line where the driveway and the patio were going to meet was left exposed.  On to the hardscaping!

Step 3:  Lay the patio block.  We used a Belgard Laffit pavers and mixed the 2 colors 50/50.

The curved edge of the patio has a soldier course of the smaller pavers.  Finishes it off nice.

Step 4:  Base for the retaining wall.  Approved by our friendly local kitty, Annakia.

Then the wall block itself.  We used a freestanding wall by Anchor Artisana in the Woodlake color.

Step 5: Beds edged and mulched, you can see the tiny itty bitty micro grass patch,  mowing should be a breeze once the sod is in!

Irrigation
We had an irrigation system installed next to maintain the sod and our landscaping plants.  We also had a drip line run to the raised bed by the back door for an eventual kitchen garden.  I'll be taking bets on whether that ever happens.

Exterior Painting
No, our house isn't supposed to be patchy green.  Now that the mulch is in, painting has begun!  The house body is painted and the trim has begun.  SOOO EXCITED!

The lower body is Valspar Walk in the Park and the upper is Valspar Bunker.

You can see how the Valspar Deep Bronze contrasts with the Walk in the Park.  

The back entrance trim is done - that's where the kitchen garden will go...  someday.

You can see a little bit how the time looks against the upper color.

Color Kismet

Timeline Update: Demolition
We appear to have a date for the demolition - it will now be Tuesday, December 6th.  All previous calls for gawking/toasting still stand!

Color Inspiration
This has been a pain in the rear.  While I realize that we can't paint until it is built, or the spring flowers are popping out of the ground, materials can be purchased NOW.  That means we need to get the color scheme figured out.

If you love to look at books and magazines for inspiration, you need to discover Houzz.  Architects, designers, and builders upload their project pictures and there are hundreds of thousands of searchable photos to browse for inspiration.  With hundreds of thousands of pictures, still nothing that made the color combo come to life for either of us.

So, Andy has been trolling local architect sites.  He showed me one yesterday that I quickly dismissed.  Today we were on a Craigslist buying tour of the city and came back through an area with lots of tear-downs.  We snapped pictures as we went.  Sure enough, one stuck out to me!  Back at home Andy put the iPad under my nose, looking a little smug... it was the same house he showed me the day before.  I call it destiny, he calls it "I told you so."  Either way, we both seem happy with it.

The architect's shot, not ours.

Craigslist Delivers
The Craig-o-Meter is climbing!  The long weekend has yielded some excellent scores.  A few items are   New in Box (NIB) such as a kitchen sink, the previously discussed hood (from White Bear Lake) and a faucet for the kid's bathroom.  Thank you to everyone who we have purchased materials from - I have to say, everyone has been wonderful!

The house that Craig built.

What did we do before Craigslist?  We have both gotten to the point where we have memorized the postings of all relevant materials and can discuss them in regular conversation.

Rachel:  Andy, do you think the Euro Vent-a-hood on Craigslist would work?

Andy:  The one from Eden Prairie, or the one from Maplewood without the vent cover?

It seems like a strange way to shop, but the deals are outrageous!  This weekend we came out $580 ahead.  We bought a Kohler sink and faucet that had been installed for 2 months, the lady even delivered it to our home.  Then we helped a couple from Hudson by agreeing to sell them the tear-down's corner tub as a replacement for theirs that was ruined by a refinisher.  I think this will be a significant source of savings, so much that I have created a Craig-o-Meter to our blog to tally our deals.

The other topic that has consumed the weekend is COLOR.  We need to make some decisions on exterior and interior colors so we can continue to accumulate materials on Craigslist.  I uploaded our drawing to a color visualizer and asked Lucy's advice.  What do you think of her submission?