Moving along

All the floor installations are in progress... the errant finish nailer we ordered for the floors found its way here on Christmas Eve after being lost in Lacey, WA (about 6 hours away) for a while. It is working well and the kitchen/dining room flooring is almost done. We are pleased with the look of the Ecotimber stranded bamboo.

Here is a sampling of the bamboo.

Tiling is underway also, although we discovered 3 boxes of the wrong tile mixed in with the rest and will need to have them replaced. One good thing, we won't have to take the big truck this time. On a positive note, the replacement part for the truck heard round the world cost only $2.00, so it wasn't a major expense.

This is the entry tile. Ken designed the pattern.

Ken has installed the under tile heating system for the master bath-- Yeah! Now he is filling the space with self leveling thinset to even out the flooring before the tiling begins.



Having some spare time on my hands, I decided to start digging for native rocks/stones to put around the bottom of the pillars at the front of the house. I found some good ones and there are plenty more out there. (I kept thinking of the movie Cool Hand Luke while I was digging.)

Lots of pieces to the puzzle

Well almost all the pieces are here. We managed to get all the almost 100--72 pound packages of flooring in the correct rooms, lugging about half of these up the stairs.

The interior doors and finish woodwork arrived at the beginning of December and the replacement pieces of flooring arrived today.

Installation of the flooring started earlier this week, but ran into a snag as the wood is so dense and hard (which is a good thing in the long run). We have had to order a new tool to install, so that added a couple of days delay.

Yesterday Ken and I borrowed a vintage flatbed truck from our neighbor and drove 100 miles each way to pick up about a ton and a half of tile. It was an adventure as an exhaust gasket failed and we made LOTS of noise all the way home, so much that a Washington State Dept. of Transportation rescue vehicle followed us for several miles to make sure we were ok.

Making progress- finally

The sheetrock is finished, and the interior of the house is painted-- Desert Tan.

The garage now has the following items, waiting for installation:

3 toilets

1 guest bath sink

1 guest bathtub

1 laundry sink

1 washer

1 dryer

6 heaters

several faucets

Door knobs for all interior and exterior doors.

On Thursday, the hardwood flooring (some of it pictured above) arrived-- over 90 packages. Ken is installing the heaters this weekend so the flooring can acclimate to the interior before we start installation. That will probably start the first week in December.

We spent a day at the tile store and picked out the tile for the entryway and both bathrooms. We got a lot accomplished. That should be ordered early next week. None of the above installations (except for the heaters) can be started until the flooring is done.

We have ordered the interior doors and finishing woodwork. That should be coming soon.

We missed the Thanksgiving deadline... we should be well on the way by Christmas.

Appliances arrive

All the appliances arrived today. The delivery truck driver had some bad connections and spent a lot of the day in the ferry line. He was pretty good natured about it though.

It was quite a feat getting the ovens and the refrigerator up the staircase to the second floor. It's a good thing that Ken is strong and was able to help. :) We originally thought it was a bit early to have them delivered, but it was good timing as we probably would have scratched up the walls and had difficulty getting the appliances over staircase railings.

Now as we sit in the "old" Manor, I can dream about a washing machine that spins clothes dry, a dryer that dries in one cycle, an oven that keeps a steady temperature, and a freezer that stays closed and is frost-free. Ken is dreaming of the automatic dishwasher. Pictures coming soon.

Sheet Rocking progress

Chuck and his team have been working on the sheetrocking since the second week in September. All the boards are in place and taped. The first round of mudding is done. We are waiting for that to dry. We hope that the mudding and priming will be done in the next two weeks.





















Ken worked on installing the pocket door frames.

Rain gutters in place

The rain gutters were installed last week and the finishing touches put on today. We had our first real rain in months last night, so the timing was perfect.

Getting Ready for Sheetrock

We spent the Labor Day holiday getting the new Manor ready for the sheetrock installation which starts tomorrow. I swept out all the wood shavings and loose insulation and Ken finished up the wiring and other details. The sheetrock arrived last week. It was quite interesting watching them unload it.

The crane lifting the sheetrock to the second floor. (We got them to load the pellet stove into the house too.)


Piles of sheetrock waiting to be installed. Some in each room. They are 12 foot lengths.

Insulated well

The insulation company finished the project 8/20 and we called for the next inspection. We passed with flying colors and are now cleared to begin sheetrock process.

They insulated between the rooms so we should be well sound proofed also.

The New Manor Unveiled

Exterior Painting done... Now you can see the house in all its glory.


Front door to match the windows.

Living room windows peeking out over the downstairs patio.

Close up of the back of house.

Exterior painting just about done

The exterior is just about finished. Kerry needs to do some touch up and finish the trimwork. I am watching via the webcam since I am in Houston right now.

The other good news is that the inspector came by and now we have a "go" for the insulation and sheetrock to be done. The cabinets have been ordered and should be here by the end of the month.

Making progress on exterior

Progress is being made. A good portion of the back of the house facing the water has been painted.
This section is just about done. You can see the body color (green), trim color (ivory) and the windows (cranberry).Just starting on the garage side.

Exterior Painting

The exterior has been primed, the trim and eaves have been painted. Now we are able to start painting the rest of the exterior. We chose a shade of green to blend in with the trees behind the house. Window trim is ivory; the eaves are a walnut color. All the detail woodwork is a natural finish.

Kitchen plans

We have been working behind the scenes with the very patient Sharon to design the layout for the kitchen cabinets. (Can't count how many variations of this we have done). This is what we have decided upon. At the far right is a cabinet that will act like a hutch for our glasses and dishes. The refrigerator will be a French door model with a bottom freezer and our range hood is a more classic design. (Click on the photo for a larger view)

What is not showing is a center island with a prep sink and eating area. This will come later.

exterior progress

The weather has been cooperating (gorgeous, magnificent weather on Lopez) for a while, so now we are beginning to paint the exterior of the house. We decided to have the posts and knee braces go "natural" and have had them treated with a preservative clear finish. We wanted the warmth of the wood and Ken's woodworking craft to be displayed and not covered up by paint.

This adds some steps to the painting process, but we feel it is worth it.

This should be dry over the weekend, and then they willl be taped off. The windows are all covered and a lot of the primer is on the back of the house. Hopefully the rest of the priming will be finished on Monday.

Good news for the interior-- the long awaited and errant exhaust fans have arrived so the final touches can be put on the rough-in plumbing. The bad news is that the plumber seems to be unavailable and is out of contact. Hopefully that will be resolved soon so we can proceed with the insulation and sheetrock and get moving on the interior finishing.

Back to the vision... Think we are doing pretty well. We are debating about whether or not to keep the outside staircase. Right now it comes off the living room and master suite. Our builder says it reminds him of a fire escape in NYC. Comments welcome. Click to enlarge image.

Back in operation

After some delays- weather, supplies, work, travel, etc. , we are back at work on the house.

The giant pile of dirt from the excavation was spread around the base of the house to level the ground. Additional filler and gravel were brought in to make the driveway even with the entrance of the garage. We needed about 3 feet of fill to do that. (We had our own loading dock there for a while.)

Last week the exterior was power washed to ready it for painting. Colors were picked out and the paint was purchased-- and then it rained ever so slightly, but enough to delay the process. The painters were back for more prep work today and it looks as if we will have clear skies for a while now. The exterior will be getting new look soon.

Yesterday the front "stoop" was poured-- concrete aggregate and it looks great. The entryway is shaping up.

We have looked at the umpteenth version of the kitchen cabinets (with a very patient kitchen designer) and are just about finished with that selection.

We are waiting for the delivery of an exhaust fan system for the interior to complete the rough-in plumbing. Ken is pretty much finished with the interior wiring. Once those two jobs are completed, we can proceed with the insulation and sheetrock-- and then the interior work will begin.

Siding finished

The six plastic strips arrived and the siding is finished except for the vents at the peak of the roof lines. Ken is going to make those. Low voltage wiring is 1/2 finished. Ken is still working on that. Insulation will be coming soon, I hope. Then the sheet rock and it will start looking like a real house inside. The current Manor is being repaired with duct tape as things fall off. Is it possible to have a home made of duct tape?

In the progress department:

• The septic system is now almost totally buried-- no more open trench in the yard- just awaiting connection to the house.
• We now have electric service to the new Manor-- almost lost all the service to the current Manor as the technicians started removing the meter and wires to it-- a miscommunication.
• All the rough in plumbing and electrical is finished.
  

Next stages

We have the house almost closed in-- waiting for about 6 plastic strips used in the siding process. Building supply wants us to buy a whole box, so we ordered a few pieces from the manufacturer and are waiting for them to arrive.

The things we are working on now don't show too much. The house will need to be dried out for the next stages-- insulation and then sheetrocking. We hope to start the sheet rock process in about a month.

We are working on the cabinet design with a kitchen designer and almost have it down. Still a bit of tweaking to do yet.

The exciting part for me is that I ordered all the appliances yesterday. (Give me a refrigerator and dishwasher any day over expensive jewelry.) We need the exact measurements to finish the cabinet planning. Everything fits together like a jigsaw puzzle. :)

Maytag Washer and Dryer Kitchenaid-- Convection oven/dishwasher/induction cooktop/French door refrigerator

Winter Wonderland on Lopez

We were graced with a seasonally unusual snowstorm on Monday, which dropped about 4-6 inches of snow on the Manor. This delayed the final closing in of the house as the newly waterproofed decking is like a skating rink. (We don't have the final finish on yet. We will make sure that is textured to avoid the skating rink syndrome.) We will have to wait until it thaws to re-install the final door facing the deck.

We are now working on less obvious tasks as wiring for for telephone and television, planning the cabinets and appliances, looking for bathroom fans and fixtures, etc.

Progress inside and out

Inside the kitchen-- wiring there for the stovetop and pot filler between the windows.

Kitchen lighting makes progress. Cans for recessed lights are in place.

The long awaited waterproofing for the decking over Kathy's office and Ken's shop is in progress. Now they can finish the siding for the whole house.

In Ken's shop, here is the breaker box-- filled to capacity. Before we can go "live" we need to add another breaker box to meet the 2008 code. (There is no restriction in the 2009 code...)