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. 

Late Breaking News

We just got pictures from our contractor of the kitchen counters.  They were installed this afternoon. 

They are really looking good. 

It has been a very productive week.

The kitchen backsplash tile is supposed to arrive on Monday.

Moving Along

A few days ago our contractor sent this picture of the completed sidewalk. It brightened up what you can see was a very rainy day.  Now it is very clear how to find the front door, and it is only two steps up to the porch. 

On the right are the stacks of pavers for the parking pad. 

They could not do any work yesterday because of the steady rain throughout the day.  When we arrived early this morning, they were setting a drain, filling and leveling the crushed rock layer. 

Looking from the street into the parking pad, it is surprising how much slope is visible from side to side.  They are creating a reverse slope away from the house to stop water from piling up in the corner.  We hope it will further reduce any water coming into the basement. 

Inside the house, the porcelain tile is going in, such as the bathroom here.  Both bathrooms are done. The front hall is done and looks fantastic.  I will get a picture when the front door can be opened. The office was being grouted as we were leaving today.  The sun porch needed to get "floated" to level a very uneven floor.  That was still drying today. 

While we were there, David sorted through all of the marble tile for the wall behind the fireplace.  He wanted particular tiles for certain places.  I couldn't tell the difference, but I am sure he is right.  They were planning to put that up today.

Finally, the upper cabinets over the island in the kitchen were installed.  While I was anxious they may be too low and bulky, I am happy to say they look great.  They are too high for everyday use, but will be convenient for larger serving pieces.

The counters are supposed to get installed this afternoon. 

Parking Pad and Sidewalk Started

Even though Covid-19 has closed down many businesses, construction workers continue to work. With only a few on site on any day, there is less danger of spreading the virus.  Our contractor has noted that most of his crew live paycheck by paycheck.  If he was forced to stop work because of state or federal rules, he is commitmented to provide them with some income throughout any shut down.  We appreciate his commitment and hope he doesn't need to do that.

The new parking pad and front sidewalk are going in. I am glad we visited Saturday, because I had to remind them to run the drain pipe from the corner downspout into the drain line running across the front of the house.  But they can easily fix it once the concrete is cured.

The front porch and door are now prominent on the house, with a nice wide sidewalk leading up to it.  The soil level is raised so there are only two steps up to the porch.  We won't need a handrail.  There will be more fill on the right side of the porch and house foundation.

The big change inside is the demolition of the solid brick bar in the basement.  For those who haven't seen the house, the outline is visible on the floor.  The wires hanging down are for the lights over the bar that are coming out.

To the left of the refrigerator is our brand new, much bigger circuit box for all the new wiring and 200 amp service.

Also, you can see our 1970's orange vinyl padded walls with big brass buttons.  Maybe we will replace that with the paneling saved from upstairs?