We have "final approval" and are moving in!

I haven't written in a few weeks..... but we have passed final inspection.  I have a new septic pump, a screened in porch with storm windows in place keeping out the winter winds, a real front door installed and finished on the outside (waiting for the storm door), a completed front porch with a wide entry step, and a kitchen with warm floors, cabinets, lights, big windows, running water, a sink big enough to wash a dog in (I love it!), and a real roof.  The tile work is complete and I love my cooktop backing.... it reminds me of Italy somehow...and so easy to clean.  Yes...we are cooking in the kitchen.  Still figuring out all the tweaks of the new appliances but I have a dishwasher that cleans the dishes and is so quiet it's amazing.... my convection oven is great!  My old oven was so small and heated so unevenly- this is fast, clean, and big.  

George brought in an old TV set and plopped it up on top of the refrigerator so he could watch his news in the AM while we have breakfast.... I'm hoping for a flat screen for Christmas and suspect he is just trying to figure out placement/ size/ etc..... that would be nice.  I need to put up shelves in the corner to hold coffee cups and such but otherwise much of the kitchen itself is complete.... still waiting on putting in my antique big cabinet but it will get there eventually.

We temporarily moved in my old center island and a small
table and chair set to mimic the "island" table I hope to build
next summer.  It works for now and fits into the space.
Note my fabulous backsplash behind my cooktop - it's great!

View from the porch entry door into the kitchen.

View of the sink/ dishwasher area

The last few weeks have been hectic.  coming home from work and trying to get all the door staining/sealing, painting, chinking, etc. done in order to keep ahead of the contractor.   Irv finally seemed to get a fire under his tale and I had doors arriving needing painting, lumber to stain, holes to fill, etc..... but we are "done"....at least his side of things. 

Front entry...

And this is the dining room.... still waiting work.  But all of this
was on my side of the to-do list and will have to wait until I have time to do....
It's like living in a war zone... well, no guns or explosion but very messy.

 I still have a check list of about a page and a half and as you can see by the photo of the dining room, everything is still in crazyland.  But at least I can start to move into the kitchen.  I filled the last of the holes today on the woodwork and hope to get paint touch-up complete this week.  Then I can really move in and put things in cabinets and such.  George started the move last week so I have some pots and pans but still no place to put dishes/glassware until we have the big cabinet installed.  I'm working to get that cleaned up and braced before moving it in place.  Just hard to find the time.... King Lear opens in three weeks so as you can imagine, I'm pulling the long hours at work (and on Saturdays) so by the time I'm home the last thing on my mind is refinishing cabinets or painting..... I just have to get to Thanksgiving.... then I will have some time....

My front door- Christmas money gift from mom!

The front entry...

Enjoy the photos....

The porch with storm windows in place....

Septic melt down, HVAC and electric almost done

It's been two weeks since I last wrote...what has been accomplished you ask?  Well... Dave the finish carpenter came one day and did part of the kitchen molding install and then left.... saying he needed me to have the sliding door stained before he could do more.  Huh?  But off he went and didn't come back until this past Monday.  And no one else came and worked either.... had to have a little "come to Jesus" moment with Irv, my general contractor, and said I needed better communication and planning to get this project done.  He needs to step up and get his folks in here.  The same old excuses but this past week it's been very busy...

I prepped, sanded, and stained the door over the weekend...and stained all the new cedar for the porch wrap thinking otherwise Dave would use that as an excuse to not do that work too.  And just to be doubly ready for him I took my trusty pick ax and broke up the dirt to get the area around the front step cleared for him and at grade.... He returned on Monday and spent the day finishing things in the kitchen....walking around the door he claimed he had needed.  Then on Tuesday he worked on the porch...and Wednesday on the step....(sigh)  He has now actually hung the door he "needed" and most of the trim is complete...he still has the front closet to do but I may just do it out of frustration when finishing up the area's I have to do.  Arrrrghhh.....

The electricians arrived and worked all day Thursday, only small mishaps of wiring which fortunately I caught as they were walking out the door so they fixed and everything seems to be working now.  One of the guys had wired the switch to my cabinet overhead light so you had to have the switch to the sconces on or it wouldn't work.  Took us a while to figure out why it was malfunctioning but all working now...I had made a quick run into Menard's (Our local home store in Menomonee Falls) that morning to get the last of my track lighting so everything is up, light bulbs in place, and illumination has occurred....I discovered this afternoon they forgot to put the outlet in for the water heater so I guess they will be back for that at some point...

Heating and ventilation was here as well hooking up the forced air vents and running the last of the hookup for the floor heat.  When they went to re-pressurize the system two valves in the "old" system leaked so had to shut everything down.  They just left today ($315.00 on top of the original bid) with everything repaired and operational... as the heating guy was leaving he came up to the kitchen where I was sanding on the front door (having arrived home from work) to tell me he thought my septic tank was overflowing.... sure enough, I ran down and it was seeping around the edge and down the hill.  Somehow, really!  I feel like I've repaired, replaced, and fixed up every system in the house to some degree during this build.  The only thing that hasn't failed in some way (so far) is the well.... but the plumber was here today running copper for the sink so we are just starting into the water system now...

Anyway, back to the septic....I quick got on the phone and called my usual septic folks but hey, it's Friday at 4:30 and they don't do after hours calls (4:30 is after hours?) ....so on to Angies List and looking up other people.  Called the next people on the list but they were just leaving for a reunion out of town and couldn't do it.  They recommended I call Rural Sanitation in West Bend so looked them up, called, and managed to get someone...and convinced him I REALLY REALLY needed them to come...but they won't do it until tomorrow morning...big deep breaths Sandy...it will all be fine....

Tile and siding complete!

Front entry tile.... it looks so great with the log walls!

I have tile!  I really love the tile in the entry/pantry.  It's perfect.... but I was surprised by the "brightness" of the tile in the kitchen.  It will certainly make the kitchen a light filled space.  The creamy pattern has slight swirls with an undertone of beige and it looks good with the cabinets and the cleaned log walls.... it's just so different from the brown log world of the rest of the house....the tile guys did the entry/pantry/closet one day and the kitchen the next.  Everything is done...floor complete!

Kitchen with windows painted, trim boards ready to be installed, and tile complete!

Oak trim stacked ready to be installed for base
board and around doors.    Tile folks will return to do
tile for stove surround and "backsplash" between windows
once the countertops are installed.

Other than that, the past ten days has been very slow but some progress...Last week Irv brought all the poplar for my window trim so I spent my evenings after work sanding that all down and priming it, then two coats of paint.  I also painted out all the windows and their returns so it will "bounce" in the light.  I chose to paint the trim and window returns the same color as my ceiling- only in satin finish.  It looks nice.  Not too yellow but a good warm white...which I will appreciate in the depths of winter here.  I've decided to stain the patio doors and only do the returns and trim in white.... if I decide later to paint it, I can but I want some wood tone to frame the porch.... and I may decide I even want the trim to be oak...but at this point I don't have enough oak to do it and Irv had provided poplar for it so I will put it up and then live with it for awhile... They also measured for countertops and back splashes so I am looking forward to that happening!  It just seems to take forever between events- I know I work from a theatre mindset where we collaborate and coordinate tightly with an "opening" night that is our deadline but this feels like it's taking forever.
This week finally the siding was installed and everything is trimmed out.  After all my work to get the "old" siding cleaned and re-stained the installer used the full lengths in the barn and then used the restored lumber for smaller areas....so I have a lot of 4'lengths of cedar now....arrrgh.  It was "easier" for him.  Stupid men.
This is exactly why I prefer to be present when they are working because they always choose to do what is fastest and easiest.  I don't understand how much of a time savings it really was since I had all the boards labeled as to where they should be installed and all the stacks of boards distributed around the house close to where they were to go, everything labeled, AND I had talked quite specifically to the "installer" and not just Irv, my general contractor.  Apparently the problem came in that he started on the tallest area using the new boards in the barn (which is what he was supposed to use for that area) and that was so easy he just kept on using that lumber and didn't use the labeled lumber for the shorter areas until he had to start fitting under and over windows..... so, instead of having enough "new" cedar to do my porch wrap and trim, I only have three remaining lengths of cedar and a whole lot of useless cut off boards now.  Know anyone who can use some cedar in 3-4' lengths???   Birdhouses???  arggghhhhh.  And I'll be paying for cedar for the porch trim....

Cedar installed and trim completed.... now to do final stain...

And of course, the lumber from the barn all needed to be cleaned and stained so most of my labor these previous weeks was wasted.  Yesterday I pressure washed the installed cedar, let it dry, and started the staining process.  It goes fairly fast since it already had one coat on it but being stacked in the barn for several years, it needed to be top coated.  I have the East exterior wall complete including all the soffits and trim..and everything else cleaned.  I just ran out of daylight and strength.  While everything dried, I spent some time working on "mouse proofing" the old foundation area and have the bottom edge of the original house cedar all cleaned, spray foamed up into the narrow bottom cavity, and cedar ready to be applied to fill the gap once George gets home and can help...I need four hands.

After mouse proofing,  I sorted my oak for all the door trim.  I had moved it to the barn and stacked it on shelves after the demolition was complete and I had cleaned it all, removing nails and sanding the rough areas.  Hopefully the finish carpenter will be back next week to install it.... and my hope is by sorting thru the oak and standing it next to the door it is to be installed on this time it might actually be done correctly.  So.... I sorted thru piles of oak boards to find the right lengths, loaded it on my wheel barrow and wheeled it up the hill to the house, and distributed it around the rooms, leaning the pieces against each door and on the floor where it will be installed.  Amazingly, I think I have enough oak to do everything.... and since they don't have any other oak laying around to use they might actually get it right.  Oh yeah- I think this blog was something about learning to "let go".... lol....

Porch light and entry chandelier came in so went and picked them up.  Not sure when electrician returns but can't be soon enough for me....as well as HVAC.  We've had a few nights now down into the 50º range and it does get a bit nippy without any heat....We've had fires in the fireplace to take the chill off in the living room at night and I put the down comforter on but having heat again will be a good thing.  Fortunately, it's been warmer these past few days.

I know my frustration and exhaustion stems from the juggle of being back at work and also trying to stay on top of this renovation.  But I'm really ready to have my home back, a kitchen with appliances, less noise and dust, some privacy, and order.  I need organization and access to my things.  After a long day at work dealing with students, teaching class, having meetings for fruitless administrative missions and agendas that frankly seem mostly like "make work" instead of having anything to do with teaching or helping students, and then to come home to this.... I'm just ready for it to be done...I need Irv to get things scheduled and stop this "drift" of day's when nothing is happening.  And in my  spare time, I've designed the Tragedy of King Lear but I need to complete the scale model so best get off this blog and get to work.... more as things progress.  Best to all- Sy

Cabinets installed!

The cabinets are installed, window extensions in, vent hood delivered, the porch floors are completed, and the ceiling is in in the front porch... Dave, the finish carpenter had a busy week.  He works solo so things go at his pace, regardless, and he has his own way of doing things....

Irv had the cedar for the porch ceiling delivered so I could get it pre-stained before it went up.  I was at work when it was installed and am uncertain I like how it looks.  The soffits are installed with the woodgrain going lengthwise and the ceiling woodgrain is going now at a right angle to that.... my eye saw it immediately but no one else seems to see it and I realize it probably made for easier installation.... I'm going to just "float" on it for now... some hills just aren't worth dying on.

View of the front entry from the dining room.  Closet (old entry) is  the left log opening.  Walls are painted a soft "fern" green.... new tile will soon be going in to make this all one level and far prettier!  Opening in the entry goes to the "pantry" with a pocket door to close off the space.

View of the painted kitchen wall where my cabinet will eventually be placed and a view out the doors to the screen porch.  

Front entry and front porch.

Kitchen cabinets in place.... box with plywood top and stools are our prototype for the center table I hope to build.    I think it probably has to be longer but the width seems to work at least until I get the big cabinet in and we discover it might need to be more narrow.

Now that the cabinets are installed it's far easier to see the footprint of the work area... This is going to change everything about how I prepare food!  I put a box with a plywood scrap on top to replicate my future table for the center of the room.  George and I are trying to figure out how big it should be- how long and how wide.  Given the amount of storage I don't really need space to "store" things... but I would love a big harvest table (counter height) in the middle of everything.  What a perfect place to sit with a cup of coffee and watch the news in the morning before heading off to work....I have the lumber in the barn to build it- I just need to design it now that I can see the space.

Time to paint the kitchen......because the cabinets are ready to be delivered!

George rolls on the ceiling paint...sweat equity!

And so another week has passed... sort of a hurry up to wait kind of week.  Tape and grout the lines- two coats feathered out to a beautiful edge.  Then dry time... mid-week the "orange peel" spray went on to give a slight texture to the walls and help disguise any little imperfections in the finish.  I had used this same technique in the "Little house" addition and really liked the softer quality it gives to the walls.  that, of course, had a longer dry time so it was Friday before the "primer" could be sprayed on.  That gave me the weekend to paint.  Fortunately I had help... with only a little instruction and a quick demonstration, George was soon up and "rolling".  I did the edges and moved the lights, masking, and ladder as needed but he rolled the paint.  We did the ceiling in a warm white- lighter value than the cabinets but warm and clean.  Next came the walls... I rolled the paint on for the entry and pantry but George did the second coat making it smooth and beautiful.  Finding the right color to work with the tiles, not compete with the dining room colors, and to feel welcoming- a bit of a trick.  We settled on a soft fern green/grey color.  It is a nice match with the tile that will be going in that area.  Of course, in the kitchen I knew I wanted some version of red but I swear, I tried at least ten colors before picking this "tomato" red.  

Rolling on the wall paint- a tomato red - full of warmth and celebration.

I have a photo I've used as my inspiration for the kitchen.  I bought it several years ago from a photographer in Oconomowoc by the name of Jill Bedford and it hung in my bedroom to remind me of summer and my garden.  It was my way of trusting this kitchen would actually happen and all I had to do was keep on saving and planning and know it would happen...someday.  And now.... it has!  It hangs on the log wall just inside the door where I can see it every morning.  Please check out her website for truly amazing photos that will bring inspiration from the garden to your home- amazing photos of vegetables, flowers, and all that is lush and wonderful.... http://www.jillbedfordphotography.com/Portfolio/ 

 We had a week of "off"- a nice break from the hammering and people everywhere.  A brief respite from the noise and dust.  Since then- it's been fast and furious.......

The front entry- gutters installed!  I've got gutters!  Just in time as we also got some major rain- I was out adjusting the downspouts and adding on the run-out tubes as the rain poured down but finally the water is away form the foundation and out giving some much needed water to the lawn and gardens around the house.  The front door is still not installed- waiting on delivery from Oregon.

The floor was poured!  They arrived mid-morning and by noon I had a floor covering all the heat tubes and solid.  I was able to walk (carefully) on it the next morning.  It really creates a solid feeling under my feet and it should only be MORE so once the tile goes down on top of it all.....

The insulation is batt's in the wall but foam filled in the ceiling-  I had them foam fill the old door as well since it is so shallow and I wanted the higher R-value.  As they were working on the ceiling one of the hoses busted open and suddenly I had a small mountain in the kitchen.... They got it all cleaned up by just lifting the plastic they had put down for protection but it was pretty exciting for a moment or two!  The material is really interesting- a closed cell foam, expands about 2-21/2 times it's size when sprayed and then dries to a HARD surface.... no mice getting in here!

 

The installer, Jose, fully suited up in protective gear to spray the foam and everything carefully masked off for protection!

After the insulation was complete I had a few days to spend on cleaning the walls and re-chinking.  I used soap and water and lots of scrubbing but the walls really cleaned up well.  I chinked over any cracks and where I had pulled chinking for the electrical runs.  Looking good!

Drywallers arrived with delivery of drywall on Tuesday and then installation the next morning.  I had to folks drywalling and they just smiled when they looked up and saw the ceiling.  I think they must also like to have a challenge in their work.  They were very neat and cleaned up nicely after themselves.  Miquel was the lead installer and they had it done (beautifully) by mid afternoon and all trimmed out for the mudders to arrive.

Meanwhile in all my extra spare time I've been cleaning my old cedar siding and priming it in the house stain- a beautiful gray.  I measured the new walls and created a cut list so I would know what lengths I would need- then it was just a matter of sorting thru the stacks of siding to cull out anything split or unusable, making piles of the right sized pieces and staining it all (front, back and sides), re-stacking and labeling it for where it is to go.  I have enough siding from what I saved off the old house, combined with what I have in the barn left over from when we put on the little house addition, to completely re-side the new kitchen and entry.  What a cost savings!  Yes, it's been a lot of work but it is recycling perfectly good cedar and using it all again for the same purpose.  Having the time to paint it BEFORE it goes up has been a luxury and the weather has been perfect.  I try to be up and out painting, cleaning, sorting by 7:30 and am able to work in the shade until 1 when I stop for lunch and to check out what is going on with my "workers" in the kitchen.  And when they see me working on this I think it has also created an opening to talk with me and not just have me be the owner of the property and them the "workers".  I am very aware that I am extremely lucky to own such an amazing piece of property and to live in this incredible home.  I know many of the folks who are coming here to work have no idea of what it has taken to have this home or the work I've put into it but I do think they have a small glimpse into all that when they see me scrubbing away on the cedar to clean it all and then the careful painting, stacking, labeling.  They get it... and they appreciate that I am "working" as they do their job.  At the end of the day or as they are cleaning up to leave we usually find ourselves chatting for a moment and they are supportive, appreciative, and caring folks.  I've enjoyed having them to my home... and they take pride in what they have brought to the project.

Stacked, labeled and ready for installation.

Sonya and Miquel came Thursday to mud the joints and install the mesh- clean neat work.  She did most of the tall stuff on her stilts- working overhead smoothing and feathering it out.  It won't require much sanding!  We are to have nice 70º + days thru the weekend so it should dry nice and slow making a durable blend to the drywall.  I've chosen to do an "orange peel" texture since that should be easier to clean than a stucco or sand finish and I want some texture for "breakup"....

I spent all of Friday morning at the table saw ripping the cedar that was too broken to be used as siding into all the trim pieces for the windows, door, eve edge, etc.  first I trimmed off the "tongue" from the edge of the siding and then was able to rip down the board to the right width for all the trim.  Nancy BichaDale came to help me paint it on Saturday.  By the end of the day, all the siding and all the trim was primed with at least one coat of the stain and we are ready for installation!

And on Sunday... we rested...and I updated the blog.

HVAC roughed in..... the guys put in the tubing for the HEATED KITCHEN FLOOR!  Did I say HEATED FLOOR!!!  No more wearing three pairs of socks in the winter to keep my feet warm.... yeahhhhhhh.....  Also dropped in under cabinet vents in two spots for forced air heat and central air conditioning.  The forced air is from the old system but it works good when you need to bring the house temperature up fast...and then the other heat system can maintain the heat easier.  I dislike the noise and dust of forced air but it does heat the house faster....and if we continue to have summers like this one the air conditioning is a must-have.  In summers past we have gone most of the summer without even turning on the air conditioning...but not this one!~

 The "sun tube" brings in a lovely light to brighten up the central kitchen area.  I loved my skylights and the wonderful light they had in the old kitchen but they were cold in the winter and leaked..... so.... a compromise with the sky tube.  Once the cabinets, floor, and wall treatments are done it should also be quite a bit brighter...

        Wiring is all roughed in- I did some small revisions with the electrician after I saw what they had initially installed...moving to balance the sconces on the windows instead of just nailing them up to the most convenient stud and making sure we have switches to the outlets I wanted switched, etc....
Rough inspection was Friday and WE PASSED!!! so now the move is on to pour the floor, start exterior siding and finish the front deck, wait for the front door to arrive for installation, insulation will get added (and then we will be able to keep the house cooler - plastic walls really aren't all that helpful in 100º heat.) After that is drywall, cabinet installation, floor tile.... a long ways to go yet it feels things are moving along nicely.