day 305: sink

downstairs bathroom vanity installed. foyer.

day 304: vanity top

the master bathroom vanity countertop was installed today with two under-mount sinks.

day 302: guest rooms

Bedroom 3, the non-yellow room


Bedroom 3 98% complete


Bedroom 2 closets


Bedroom 2


Bedroom 2

day 301: snow

first snow of the season


fireplace stone still drying


driveway

day 300: bookshelves

Kevin delivered the living room bookcases. they are 7'-6" high to align with the light shelf.


they just need the baseboard and the outlets installed. and now Stevie can install the baseboards in the room.

day 299: lots of progress

the pocket door to the pantry is finished now that it has a door pull, and the Steves trimmed out the kitchen window, which might have been the last window. The countertops on order won't be installed for quite a while, so they opted to put in some OSB temporary counters and get the sink hooked up.


Overall kitchen view with temporary plywood counters and completed toekicks and cabinets. Looks like it just needs a few pulls installed.


Most of the trim work is complete, so the Steves started outfitting the closets. (Left) the linen closet in the 2nd bathroom, and (Right) a coat closet in the entry foyer.


Progress continues on the fireplace stone and mantel.


the excavator laid out a parking lot and brought in some ground-up blacktop to give everything a solid base.


dad painting the rooflet and the built-up driveway


smoothed out lower yard


the door at the back of the garage now has a stoop. this is one of the unearthed concrete slabs.

day 298: farmer... again

maybe dad is getting the hang of this farm thing? you look good on a tractor, dad!

day 297: garage doors

garage doors! almost what i ordered.


closed in garage

day 297: dirt yard

The excavator has been grading around the house lately. and the eaves have finally been painted white.


the north slope is built up. and white eaves. didn't know if that would ever happen.


most of the work lately has been filling in the giant hole in the yard and transitioning the ground down from the house into the pasture, now the yard. it still needs some smoothing.

day 293: propane

Suburban Propane were back today with a 500 gallon tank. they came last week sometime but the tank they were bringing sprung a leak on the way over so they had to take it back. The house only uses propane for cooking and the backup furnace to the heat pump, so this size tank should be plenty large.

they set the tank on a slab that was unearthed while the excavator was grading the west side of the house up the hill. The excavator trenched the line over to the house. Dad said they stayed until someone from Breese Heating and Cooling came to install the propane to the furnace. so now the furnace is complete and there is heat. again. just in time for a warm spell.

day 292: pantry

my cousin steve, who we always called stevie, installed the brackets and shelves for the pantry. the right side shelves are narrow, perfect for food items; the back wall is regular 12" deep; and the left side is partly 12" deep shelving above with two deep 18" shelves at counter height and below. Mom was so excited she wanted to start moving stuff onto the shelves right away before i asked her to wait.

day 291: mantle

Eric, our stone guy, installed the solid cherry mantle beam. the chunks of cherry wood sitting there on top will be mounted under the beam as corbels, even though they apparently won't actually be doing any work holding up the mantle. but that is the idea. Eric also installed the stone arch.

day 290: backyard

the backyard is mostly graded. dad reused a big slab they dug up as a pad for the propane tank.

day 286: furnace

the guys from Breese Heating and Cooling finished installing the Heat Pump (not pictured) and the backup propane furnace, seen here. Since we don't have propane yet, they set the system to run without triggering the backup furnace. So the house has working heat. i'm also told that there is a working toilet in the house as well.

day 283: fireplace stone

Dad got the guys down the street to cut the mantle and corbels for us, and there has been some progress on the fireplace stone. see Dog?


Dog wants to move in, or at least a ride home.

day 281: hearth

the stonework on the fireplace began yesterday

day 277: lights & laminates

laminate flooring being installed in bedroom 3


flooring complete in bedroom 3


bedroom 2 flooring and wood trim is also installed


closet doors came primed, but they still need to be painted


the HVAC guys have been working all week installing the furnace and this heat pump/air conditioner.


electrician has been steadily progressing through the house.


the ceiling fan in the living room is one of seven fans in the house.


the light shelf in the master bedroom. the hole in the wall will get a return air grill covering it.

day 275: kitchen

i installed most of the drawer and door pulls in the kitchen and for the laundry room cabinets.


and we have appliances


who wants to install the over-the-range microwave.


the powder room is mostly complete. it just needs a mirror and a light.

day 266: dirt + pot

Uncle Paul built a base for the island cabinets in the kitchen


the master bathroom has a toilet!


Rich, the lead plumber, working on the master shower.


Body sprays installed.


The excavators have been bringing earth over to the north side of the house and smoothing out the area west of the house. It's a nice view up the hill too. Inspector Dave is in the background, as always.


i had to laugh; it looks like someone used drywall screws to mount this decorative grill. It looks nice now that Dad painted everything black behind the grill.