Sunday, December 22, 2013

Complete!

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It's been over a month since the last post.  My hubby has been in and out of the hospital, and is now on hospice care at home.  His declining health has kept me from being able to post here or to keep up with other things.  Meanwhile the work has gone on, and now the addition is finally complete, and completely paid for.  Oh, there are a few details that are lagging, but very minor things, such as a missing piece of porch railing due to a couple of missing attachment brackets; some wallpaper that needs to be glued down after the flooding last summer, and some caulking.

So here are the finished photos:

The front view:


 The north end.


The back, showing the upper deck, and the lattice.
 

The back walkway and staircase, covering the A/C unit and natural gas generator:
 

These are showing our rather unusual Christmas lights in the evening.  We have colored bulbs in the can lights on the porch. Landscaping will wait for the spring and for the time to work on it.
 

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I am still trying to get things organized, but I'm making steady progress.  Here is my sewing room as it looks today:
 

and the craft room:


My desk area:


The downstairs bathroom now has the mirror in place. The left door covers the tankless water heater; the right one has the furnace for the addition.


We finally got the mirrors hung in the upstairs bathroom as well.  I'm really pleased with them.


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I may not post as often for the next few months due to my hubby's illness, but news of that and of other events will be posted here, so stay tuned! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of you!

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Sunday, November 17, 2013

Almost finished!

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I can't believe it's been so long since I posted anything! Unfortunately we've had some medical problems pop up since October.  My hubby had a hospital stay due to his cancer, and is now undergoing chemotherapy to keep him functional and more comfortable.  In addition I discovered I need to have another surgery on my eye, which will take place in a couple of days.

We have almost finished the interior of the addition.  This week we finally got the countertops installed, and the plumber finished the bathrooms.  



The framers have poured the footings for the upper deck, and that will be built this coming week. The natural gas powered generator has been hooked up, and the HVAC is working perfectly.


The pantry is complete and I love it! Especially the door...



I have started moving furniture into the craft room and sewing room, although I still need to find a couple of workspaces for the craft room.  I am having a 4' x 8' cutting and pressing table custom made for the sewing room, and it will be delivered in a week or so.



 
It will probably take all winter to get everything where I want it, but  we're getting there!

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Saturday, October 26, 2013

Flooring is finished!

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The wood laminate flooring has been installed throughout the old part of the house now.  I am very pleased at how well it matches the existing paneling. We had to pack up almost everything in the house to get it out of the way, but we are finally getting it put back together.





The master bedroom closet is not finished yet.  The painters should be here within the next week or so.  There is still a lot of painting and staining to do.

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 I have been working on arranging the furniture in the sewing room and the craft room, but only on paper.  I drew them out on graph paper to scale, measured all my furniture, and cut out cardboard shapes so I can figure out where to put them. 

 Above: both rooms


 The sewing room


The craft room

It will be a few weeks yet before I can actually move the furniture into the rooms, but it helps to know where things will fit.  A few of the pieces I have not yet purchased, so I will be looking for the right size tables, armoire, etc. while the rooms are being finished.

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Sunday, October 13, 2013

Flooring

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Some of the flooring has gone in on the ground floor.  We are quite pleased with the look.
 

As you can see, the flooring closely matches the staircase.


A thick underlayment makes it comfortable underfoot.


The elevator cab is installed and functioning.  The flooring needs to go in and a few other touches need to be completed, but it is nice to get it up and working.


The installers will finish the downstairs this week and with luck will be able to complete the upstairs floor as well.


They have given us a week to get as much as we can up off the floor in the old part of the house, so they can rip out the old, nasty carpeting and install the new laminate there as well.  It will be disruptive for the next couple of weeks, but I'm glad they have arrived at this point.

I hate having to pack things up again, but this should be the last time.  Once I unpack it all again, I expect it to stay that way!

Also this week, the electrician should be here to install lighting fixtures, receptacles, and switches. The trim guy should finish most of his work, and the painters should start on the exterior and complete their work inside.  I'm not holding my breath, though.

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Sunday, September 29, 2013

Built-ins

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The cupola arrived, and the roofers put the base up on the roof.  The carpenters will finish putting the top on next week. It looks smaller than it should right now, but once the top goes on, it wil look more proportionate.



And this is the weathervane:


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Today the cabinet maker finished installing the built-ins. After they are painted, the shelves and drawers will go in. 

Above:  the entertainment center in one of the upstairs bedrooms. This is set up for video games and a TV.


 This is the downstairs half-bath;  linen closet, vanity, and upper cabinet.


The four bookcases are in the craft room.  They will be lacquered, not painted; and have adjustable shelves.


 The storage area under the stairs has bead board covering it.


 This is the desk area under the upper staircase.  The door hides the electrical panel.


The vanity in the upper bathroom; the center cabinet will rest on the countertop in the center.

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The painters will be doing their thing this week; the cupola should be finished as well. I hope to see work in the pantry, too.  I am anxious to get that finished and have a place to put my groceries again.

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Thursday, September 26, 2013

Too much excitement



The guys from Stairs Unlimited finished putting together the staircase, and we love it!  We recommend them highly.  They were very professional, worked quickly, and cleaned up after themselves. 



 
 

The stairs will be stained to match the woodwork and doors. The painters started the staining today, beginning with the upstairs trim and some of the doors.




The custom made vanity cabinets have been delivered and installed. They will be stained as well.
This one is in the half bath and will contain a farmhouse style deep sink.


This one in the upstairs full bath will have double sinks, drawers, and a cabinet sitting on top in the center that goes to the ceiling.
 

These are the bookcases made for my craft room.  There are four in all, with adjustable shelves. The cabinet maker is the man who rented our house for three years before we moved here.


The painters will be working all next week.  The whole house reeks of stain and paint thinner.  It smells like a meth lab in here.  

By the way, do you know what happens when you throw old paint thinner soaked rags in a dumpster full of sawdust and construction materials? You get a visit from the fire department! Can you spell spontaneous combustion?











Although the flames reached about 4 feet high, hubby had the fire knocked down pretty well by the time they arrived, but better safe than sorry.

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