Hardwood Floors Almost Done

We have been staying away from the house so the hardwood floors could get done.  We received these photos from our contractor this morning.

This hardwood in the Great Room is original to the house, dating back to 1963.  It has been sanded stained, and has the first coat of polyurethane. 

The kitchen is all new hardwood.  You can see how well the old wood, in the front of the picture, and the new wood matches in look and color. 

They plan to apply the second coat of polyurethane today.  With the rain and humidity, it is unclear how long it will take to dry.  We had hoped to get down over the weekend to do garden work.  But that may have to wait.

Plumbing Done

This last week the plumber installed all of the fixtures.  In addition, the under-cabinet lights have been put in place.  So the kitchen is looking even more like we could use it.  Except, the hardwood floor needs to be sanded, stained, and finished.  That is scheduled to be done next week.  Then the stove, dishwasher and refrigerator can be put in place.

Even though the medicine cabinet is still missing, the bathroom is looking more useable.  This is the view through the guest bedroom pocket door. David picked the faucet for the vanity, a model called "The Wave."  Our contractor selected the toilet style, which has its own flair.

I won't bore you with multiple pictures to show the shower, Jacuzzi tub, cedar shelves.  You will just have to come and visit us.

Also, you will notice with all the pictures have some kind of construction tools or supplies. 

The built-in library wall is almost done.  If you knew where to look, you would see missing pieces on the trim.  Our contractor has had trouble getting certain kinds of finish quality wood trim.

The cedar planks stacked up on the floor are drying out before being installed on the pillars for the front porch.

In the Great Room, the media wall is looking even better now that the "living edge" cedar plank has been installed on the half-wall.  The cedar shelves in the component box are quite dramatic. 

The door on the right, with the unfinished sides, goes out to my office.  They will install it after most of the construction work is finished.

The double mantels are in place over the fireplace.  They were originally intended to be "live edge" like the one in front of the media wall.  But during the construction, the good edge was badly damaged. Rather than throw out the wood, we decided to revise the plan and have them squared off. 

The LP gas company has to come and do the final installation of the gas line to the fireplace, as well as the stove in the kitchen.  Then the fireplace company will finish installing the front trim.  It should be done in time for air conditioning season.

But the most exciting thing is that our water heater has finally been installed after having no hot water for five months.  Doesn't it look wonderful?

Tiles, Bookshelves and Office Door

The tilers have finished their work. They had started with the floor tile in the entrance hall, bathrooms, office and sun porch. Then moved on to the shower and bathtub. The backsplash for the kitchen was the last to be done, and looks great.  There is a surface texture for the kitchen tile which is visible in this photo.

At the same time the carpenter has been working on trim for all the windows as well as the recessed bookshelves that are built into the sun porch.  Maybe we will need to change our name for this room to "library?"  There will be adjustable bookshelves, and enough depth for really big books. I think I know the new home for my downsized collection of garden books.

But what I am most happy about is seeing the new office door installed.  The large window shows the view through the office to the Chesapeake Bay.  This will be a very welcoming entrance for people who are coming for spiritual direction. 

I look forward to seeing it finished with the trim and the indirect lighting up in the beams.

Paving Done

The paving was finished by last Saturday when we went down to the house to check-in with our contractor.  The parking pad now has room for a big van or the big pickup trucks that are so popular in Calvert County.  Or if we park our two cars close to the front edge, there is room for a car to park across the pad behind them.  These are all things we have to think about with limited room for parking.

Here is the front porch and walk.  There will be cedar planks covering the posts. The porch light is also in place with some adjustments needed. 

Our contractor filled in the low areas with top soil, and scattered grass seed and straw.  I didn't have the heart to tell him I don't want a lawn there. 

The tile has continued to be installed.  Most exciting is to see the marble tile for the fireplace.  It looks wonderful, with a wonderful grain to it.  Hidden by all the junk is the tile on the floor. 

You are wondering what those square black things are.  They are metal posts screwed into the framing behind the wall which will hold the two mantels.  There will be holes drilled into the back of the mantels, which are then slid onto the posts, and a screw from the bottom to lock them in place.  The mantels will be cut out of cedar slabs, with the lower one as wide as the marble, and the upper one several inches in on the sides and shallower.

Here is a view of the Great Room from the Sun Porch, currently the carpenter's workshop, with lots of saw dust and scattered tools. 

We had no problems driving down to the house and back.  We were not sure how aggressive the police would be challenging people moving around.  Hopefully there will be no need to stop work since there are usually only 2-3 people working at the house at any one time.