Stairs going in!

Started installing stairs. All treads cut, first two and landing fully installed (looks good); balance to go in tomorrow. Risers painted, but not cut. Maybe tomorrow. Needless to say, all the old 2x4 stairs are gone. Needed to adjust one of the stringers - going in nicely - the baseboard are not totally square, which impacts the spacing, but probably something that only I'll see...


Final paint coat on built-ins, first shelf installed. More shelves to be built, drawers to be assembled (thanks Jason), doors still being designed... then, paint those pieces... got polyurethane to ensure the paint doesn't come off on books, etc...

No additional progress on master bath tile or paint. Picked up additional thinset and some cement to pour the shower basin...

Kids' bathroom toilet valve installed. All parts in hand - only time prevented the toilet going in today - will probably wait for me to return from travel...

It's all coming together. The only "do-it-ourselves" project not yet started are the closets (shelves, etc). One decision on carpet was made (downstairs), waiting on one final number for the upstairs decision. Likely to hire the hardwood floor re-finish tomorrow, schedule for week of 13th? If can't meet that date, we may do ourselves... been looking into that... so that may be another project not started. Looking like move-in on the 25th is a realistic goal; outside shot we could beat it by a week, but don't think it will slip past the 25th.

Stairs are here!

Thanks to Andy, Jason, and Dave today. Good progress on built-ins, kid's bath, and started on master bath tile.

Also of note, the stairs arrived! We'll probably work that tomorrow. Tile too, more painting and built-ins... picked up the paint for the master bath too.

Floor Lessons

Took day off work - lots of errands - have master bath tile (except for 9 accent tiles), wood for drawers and shelves for built-in. Good progress on finishing built-ins...

Another item today was the third quote from another floor finisher. The hardwood didn't hold up very well though all this. It swelled and cupped throughout - the reason is in question. Could be the loss of A/C during a hot and humid summer, or else moisture from the crawl space - which could be from sweating A/C ducts or the "sink-hole" I mentioned a few days ago.

As for the sink-hole - here's the deal: on the extreme opposite end of the house from the crawl space entrance, is a hole (deep, down below the blocks, to the poured foundation), filled with water, and the water main into the house and sewer line out are both "in" the hole. I hadn't noticed previously, but during the last trip in there, there is a large amount of sand piled up, under the plastic, adjacent top the hole - as if it was purposely dug up. Also, there is a "Terminix" tag hanging from an insulation hanger over the middle of the "pond" - they check for moisture and termite activity quarterly - never reported a problem, in fact, always checked it out as "OK", including moisture...

In any event, today's vendor actually tested the hardwood floor for moisture - and told me it was dried out. The hole is still there, and still full of water, so I'm thinking it was the absence of A/C that damaged the floor. The good news, the floor will recover. Need to figure out the pond though... my plan is to pump out the water, fill in the hole with the adjacent sand, install some crawl space fans, and re-inspect a month later - see what's going on. More to come...

As for tomorrow, have lots of supplies, plenty to do - finish kid's bath, work on built-ins, master bath tile... come help if you can!

Mantle and More Paint

Sorry no blog yesterday - Will turned 2 - dinner, presents, and cake.

Today, more built-ins (mantle installed, lots of priming), kids' bath - painting. More help from John A., JP, and David - broke the 700 hour barrier... He might be uncatchable... I'm still at 635 - next week work begins mandatory OT at work and I also have 3 days of travel next week (8 hours max allowable each day), so Thurs and Friday need to be 12 hours workdays at the yard... so I have this weekend... then probably nothing until next weekend...

...so I'm taking tomorrow off to make what headway I can... Lots to do - come help if you can.

By the by, we went to see "The Expendables" tonight late, after all was done, just to get a break before the big 3-day work weekend... we were hoping it would be a classic ensemble action movie... think "The Magnificent Seven" for 2010's... and well, if by Magnificent you actually mean Really Crappy, and by Seven, you mean Five, then it was... Very expendable... save your $$ - I should have...

Built In

Built-ins installed! Look awesome.

Kitchen sink working!

Kids bathroom shower working!

Kids bathroom paneling up! (not painted)

A good day. Thanks to David (685 hours) and John A. for coming out again - made great progress today.

Tomorrow, finish trimming the built-ins and start priming them. A little sanding too. Maybe paint the kids' bathroom paneling... with that done, second floor toilet can go in!

Getting closer...

"Timeout" Here...

Made great progress on the built-ins - David finished all of the face frames, and installed the bench seat and frames into the wall, and started caulking. Also installed the vent grates and A/C plenum - works great.

Big surprise today, John A. is in town - came out to help - prepped walls for cabinet installation; he'll be here all week - able to spend some more time here tomorrow. We'll put him to work for sure...

Tomorrow, more built-in progress, maybe some more plumbing in the kids bathroom, beadboard, maybe some painting. Making good strides - still hoping to have these items finished by the weekend, and hoping to have the stairs and master bath tile soon...

Running out of blog titles...

Started on face frames for the built-ins today - Thanks Uncle Bill for the tools and hardware - awesome... picked up some molding to trim them out. Painted some before rain started... Hopefully, by week's end, they will finally be finished.

Installed a new kitchen faucet, and Jen installed the faucets in the kids' bath.

Tomorrow, more built-ins...

Cyclobenzaprine is king

A tough but relatively productive day. Started with the repair of an outlet, which turned into a repair of a short circuit, when ended in the discovery of a sink-hole in the crawl space. A story for another day... short circuit fixed.

David and JP finished roughing in the built-ins - we'll start trimming them out tomorrow - followed by painting. In addition to solving electrical mysteries, I installed the under-cabinet lighting in the kitchen, finished the face-plates, and installed the sink in the kids' bath. Jen started on the faucets. Hope to have working second floor sinks tomorrow.

Regarding the title of tonight's blog, on Thursday, while working on the computer, I looked backward over my shoulder to look at the TV, and wrenched something in my back. Advil on Friday, higher-test medication starting today - feeling better. It's tough getting old...

Also thanks to Doug and Geoff for working the coat closet/house control center today - all cleaned up. Also now have a working doorbell!

Tomorrow, painting the built-ins - probably installing the roughed in pieces. Starting on the trim work. Finishing the kids bathroom sink and tub plumbing, maybe getting to the kids bathroom bead-board - last step before toilet.

As for the house re-warming party; I have tickets to the VT-Duke game on the aforementioned Oct 23 weekend - so more to come on the date...

Home Stretch

Big thanks to Dave for finishing the window seat rough-in - looks great and supports my weight very sturdily. Thanks to Doug and Geoff for painting and help with plumbing, and to Jason and Jonathan for helping with Lowes (big vehicles). Nice to see some new faces today too.

Tomorrow, Will's birthday party mid-day, so if you're going to drop in, please call first to ensure we're home. Bought lots of pieces from Lowes tonight - so plenty to do now... hardwood for landing, faucets for kids bath, balance of electrical face plates, speaker plates, bathroom drain PVC, low voltage lights for under kitchen cabinets, some other odds and ends...

The last leg...

Mom and Dad left today - thanks for all of the help.

David worked the built-in more - last sheet of MDF cut - will need more. Tile in the laundry room and kids bathroom is finished - looks awesome - thanks Dave.

I installed a light, and did some paperwork.

Getting close. Major remaining items, in sort of an order:
- Built-ins - I hope to have done this weekend
- Plumbing - sweat on valves, install kids' bathtub fixtures
- One more kitchen cabinet
- Closets - shelves, my closet, rods, pantry
- Stairs - parts arriving next week
- Master Bath - tile the hell out of it... Jen to pick out tile
- Master Bath - cabinets, fixtures, plumbing
- Kids bath - paneling, trim, cabinets
- Re-finish hardwood - hire out, out of house 3-5 days
- Install downstairs bath sink and faucet
- Wallpaper
- Carpet

Microwave!

All walls and trim painted. Rain today, so no built-in work. More grout. Microwave installed!! Popcorn tomorrow!

Mom and Dad took the kids to the zoo for their (Mom and Dad's) last day here; then out to dinner (Will's turning 2 next week), cake and presents - no work this evening. Well, no work on the house anyway (shipyard calls).

Tomorrow, finish the tiling, touch up the ceilings, probably start plumbing the valves so the cabinets can come in on Friday. More built-in work weather permitting.

Noteworthy event yesterday after-blog - we saw that the local newspaper published a list of all homes in the area that had Chinese drywall delivered to them... not too cool... after all the hard work we've put in, we were "outed" by the paper as a CD house... Will need to write the editor at a minimum... maybe open up to a story so we can be advertised "clean"... not too keen on that idea though... just another day in the life of a CD homeowner...

Stats and Schedule

Today, window seat, more painting, more cabinets, some plumbing (kitchen sink connected), some more grout.

Tomorrow, microwave installed... more built-ins, more grout...

Statistics for the job...
David = 616 MH
Me = 598 MH

Congrats to Dave for being the first to 600...

Job Total = 2,093 MH

Looking at the schedule, we look ahead on trim and painting, but my schedule forecast for floor and carpet will be too short... I'll be tiling the master bath before carpet instead of after move-in, so that will push everything back... 50-50 for moving on original schedule - my guess is a week or two longer than originally predicted.

Cabinets Going In!

The main kitchen counter is in, the high corner, and one other was installed... The big one over the microwave tomorrow, stand-alone tomorrow...

More painting today - master bedroom re-done; more trim. All that remains is some trim painting, ceiling touchup, and then other random corrections - so maybe paint done tomorrow! Jen did some good shopping today - new lights, more grout to finish the tile...

Oh, as for grout... SpectraLock is great for large field tiles and thin gaps, but for small tiles and big (deep) gaps... not so much... SpectraLock is a two-part epoxy that is water-tight, mildew resistant, stain-proof - cool - but hard to work with (mix), smells bad, sticky, difficult to clean... a tough recommendation; good performance, hard install...

Also had two floor re-finishers in - the second guy was cool; older gent, he didn't measure anything - seemed to know what others would charge and beat the first guy by $100 with barely even looking - also had a more realistic timeline (5 days) than the first guy (2 days) - one more quote on Thursday, but unless they blow me away, I'm going with "Al".

Carpet samples to look at as well - another carpet vendor in on Friday to measure (the same company we used in the play-room). I'm starting to see the end of the road...

Tomorrow, Dad will plumb the kitchen sink drain, install the other cabinets. David is looking to try his hand at the built-ins, Mom will finish painting, and I'll finish the grout work for the two newly tiled rooms... Getting there! I'm starting to think about the re-house-warming party... Late October probably - maybe the day before the permit expiration (party 10/23; permit expires on 10/24)... Seems kinda symbollic... In any event, I'll make a save the date after I look at the Hokie football schedule... :-)

More Tile, Paint, Built-ins

Today, painting rounded a corner toward the finish line. The only remaining white walls are destined for wallpaper, or we just don't know what we're doing with. All the downstairs is done, 'cept for some finishing (and eventually, the built-ins). Upstairs is done except for the re-do in the master bedroom; the master bathroom is the last room without paint, but we don't yet know the tile yet, so we haven't picked the color yet...

Tile is set in the laundry room and kids bath - very pleased with those floors.

Outlet and switch plates are installed, alarm components (most) - give quite a finished look.

JP came by yesterday and gave me a pep talk on the MDF cabinets, so I gave them a couple more hours today and may have changed my mind again on those (ie, I'm not yet scrapping them). With some internal shelving installed, they stabilized a lot, and I'll work those a bit longer to see where it goes...

Tomorrow, a big day - kitchen cabinets are coming back in!!! The kitchen is painted and prepped, and it's finally time... Also, will grout tile in the laundry and kids bath, paint the master bath, and some more trim.

Painting and Tile...

Colleen flew home today; Dad arrived in the late afternoon.

Painting - thanks to Becky, Mom, David - lots of progress downstairs. Maybe finish tomorrow; though re-painting master bedroom; still no decision on master bath. Still waiting on paper for living room and downstairs bath.

Tile in laundry room and kids bath cut and dry set - thinset tomorrow. Grout later in the week.

Quick Status...

More painting complete. Picked up tile and supplies for laundry room and kids bath. Installing tomorrow. Colleen's last day - thank-you dinner at Outback...

Lots of work needed this weekend - plenty of projects - come help! (though I'll be taking Colleen to Norfolk airport early Saturday morning, so not too early).

Goals for weekend are upstairs tiled - stretch goals is ready for carpet except for master bath... we may be with 4 weeks... seem to be on schedule...

More Painting, Tile coming up...

More painting today - the upstairs is done except for laundry room, which we finally decided what to do with... same as hall... Thanks to Mom, Dad, and Colleen for the help.

Went tile shopping today - Lowes did not have enough in Hampton, will go to Newport News tomorrow to pick up - will tile this weekend. With luck, the kids bathroom cabinet may also go in... probably some plumbing, and more painting.

PS - David passed me in hours again... 564.8 to 565.3...

Painting and Railing

Back in the blogging routine...

A/C still not functioning correctly - thankfully, not a CD related issue - but still quite annoying... it's 92 on the third floor... sleeping isn't easy, well, except for the exhaustion...

More painting today - thanks to Mom and Colleen - moving downstairs - trim work in progress, walls tomorrow. David installed the banisters - evened out the crooked one - and fixed the creaking stairs - much quieter - lesson: lots of fasteners and good liquid nails. I cut in a wall in Will's room that we left blank to consider for a mural - rejected - then worked on plans for the built-ins some more. We had made the first two cabinets out of MDF, but after a few days staring at them, I'm not happy with them. I'm planning to re-do them out of a tougher material, TBD. Think I will order the material cut to save me some time...

Internet is Back!!

Sorry for the long blog delay - the cable has been out for several days - brutal.

Saturday - big thanks to David, Mom, Craig, Geoff, and Sarah - painting began in earnest. 3 bedrooms complete, second floor foyer. 53 Hours logged.

Sunday - thanks to Mom and David - master bedroom painted, and we started on the family room built-ins.

Monday - thanks to Mom, David, Geoff, and Sarah - more work on built-ins, closets painted, hallway cut-in. Measured for carpeting (hooray).

Today - Cousin Colleen landed from Chicago - started painting. Thanks to Mom and David again too, more painting (trim); doorknobs installed.

Over 1,800 hours on the project. Jennifer cracked 100 hours - which is big since she's usually handling the kids. David will pass me again tomorrow or Thursday.
I'll try a better update tomorrow.

Painting Begins

Dear William. Son. I am very sorry - your mother made me do it. I think if you ever have trouble sleeping, you need to see your mother. She says the designer approved the color... it's... intense...

Anyway, painting is underway. Point-up complete, upstairs re-primed, downstairs cleaned. Trim painting progressing, wall painting started. Also, finally fixed the master bathtub - will install the cement board and prep that room for tile and paint.

Ready for a big weekend. Come help if you can!

PS - big thanks to Dave, Mom, Geoff, and Sarah for helping today. And congrats (and thanks) to Dave for breaking the 500 hour mark!!

Point Up and Trim Painting

Point-up today, it will take two days as I thought it would. The guys did a much more thorough job that I expected - too bad the receptionist is a little fuzzy on the drywall point-up process... scheduling should have been easier. Anyway, they'll be back tomorrow to sand - no painting until they're done, but that's OK, because...

...lots of trim painting done - big thanks to David and Mom - still lots to go. Tomorrow will be trim painting galore. Have some help coming I think, though...

I painted a few doors (David did the rest - all done), and I installed the breakfast nook light, and then installed Abby's ceiling fan... it is hot (in the electrical sense) - get warning light on the wand, but the fan nor light will turn on. I couldn't get any voltage reading at the switch, so I'm concerned that there may be a lost neutral somewhere... but that's for another day... like tomorrow.

Hoping for a half day tomorrow at work, then jump start this productive weekend!

Reinforcements Arrive

No work accomplished today. Worked late to free up time on Friday. Dave and Mom arrived - prepped for tomorrow. Point-up tomorrow; trim painting to begin. I'll probably suck it up and fix the plumbing...

Let there be even more light!

Was thinking about fixing the faucet at the master bathtub (both hot and cold point the same direction when off, or on for that matter - rather than being symmetrical that is - requires cutting copper (or melting solder and ripping apart), PEX, re-soldering, tight quarter PEX crimping to repair... I chickened out... maybe tomorrow...

So instead, I installed many lights. 2 pendant drops in the kitchen, a ceiling fan in William's room, and a flush ceiling mounted light in the laundry room. I also installed light bulbs (not serious labor, I know) in the foyer, upstairs hall, and both master closets. When all was done, the house was pretty lit up. Should be much easier to paint when the rooms are lit. Will's fan is a little more form than function I can say... looks like an airplane propeller... but doesn't work like one...

Tomorrow, assuming I still need to procrastinate the bath-tub faucet repair, I have a ceiling fan for Abby's room, and picked up the part I needed to re-install the kitchen table light. That probably won't take me long enough... but it will be the last of the ceiling lights. Maybe I'll re-install the heat detector for the alarm system... that goes in the ceiling (though I was going to replace it with new). Oooh, I can pick up 17 gallons of paint tomorrow - that might eat up some time...

Also, Mom and David return tomorrow, and I've confirmed the point-up for Thursday (after much confusion). Point up is a one-day deal - I thought it might take two days for mud to dry before sanding, guess not - which means wall-painting is still on track for Friday. Door and trim painting to commence immediately - or whenever I finish with the plumbing...

Wall patched, marked

Back from travel. Patched the hole I made in the linen closet (needed to PEX the master bathtub), installed that last pesky vent in the 2nd floor foyer that scared everybody so much, and went around the whole house inspecting and marking the walls and trim. All-in-all, not a bad job. Scheduled the point-up for Thursday, tentatively (they need to get back to me). All on track for a BIG PAINT WEEKEND. If you want to see luck, check out the schedule - last updated on May 26 - calls for paint to start this Saturday... the original (April) called for 8/15. Better to be lucky than good...

Many times, I ask for help the night before, or maybe two nights before... This time, I'll try a week's notice. If you have time on Saturday or Sunday, I could really use some help painting.

On the help note, just got a call from David, his detail is firm, but the date isn't, so he's planning to come back on Wednesday... he just can't deal with me beating him in hours... or he wants to break 500, or something... Mom is coming with him - sounds like a good start to a paint crew.

Bad CD day...

Woke up, rain - no painting doors today...

Puttered around looking for something else to tackle... ah, master tub should be installed before point-up - just in case of emergency...

Jinxed myself.

6.5 hours later... A couple leaks, small fire, hole cut into new drywall, $25 hand crimper for tight quarters - piece of cr*p. Done, water on - one of the handles is backward... water off, valve apart, reverse it, now it rotates the other way, but still backwards for on/off... look at setup - matches picture. Bad picture. One valve in 180 degrees out of axis... to repair, need to cut copper and re-sweat... sigh... Repaired wall, need to mud. Think we may just have handles that both point in the same direction for on and off... really isn't that bad... right???

Off to shipyard - prepping for travel to CT tomorrow. Hungry... think I forgot lunch.