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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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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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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Too much excitement

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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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Stairway to...

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The guys from Stairs Unlimited have been here for two days putting the staircase together.  They show up early and stay all day working hard and doing a wonderful job.  We couldn't be more pleased.

The flooring on the landing is the same flooring that will be laid throughout the house.

The bannisters will be installed next week.  Hubby and I spent the afternoon shopping for doorknobs, towel loops, grab bars, etc.  We got 3" of rain in the last 24 hours, so it was good that there was plenty to do inside to keep everyone busy.

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Old treasures

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Hubby and I enjoy going to estate sales and auctions.  We went to one on Saturday and came home with some real treasures.  Maybe.

This sewing machine cost me $2.  Yes, it's a dirty mess, and who knows whether it will work or not? It is a Japanese badged machine made in the 60s for sale either in Canada or the US.  The name on it is "Long Life."  I'll eventually clean it up and try to get it running, but if it won't, I'll use it for parts.

 

This "Wizard " machine was manufactured by Brother for Western Auto stores in the 60's. It also needs work, and is missing the bobbin plate, but I only paid $5 for it, and parts are still readily available for it online.

This is a Singer 237, and I paid $7.50 for it.  It's fairly clean and intact, and takes commonly available parts and accessories. The case is all beat up, but I have a couple of empty cabinets it should fit in.

You may be wondering why I buy old "junky" sewing machines like this at all.  Two reasons: I enjoy the challenge of rehabilitating them into useful machines again, and I like to be able to give a working machine to someone who can't afford one. I am not a repair technician by any stretch of the imagination, but I have learned a lot after 40 years of sewing.  You would be surprised how often a dirty old machine will purr like a kitten after a good cleaning and oiling.  Many of the former owners didn't know how to maintain the machine, or ever really used it. It may have sat in a closet or garage for years, before essentially being thrown away.  So I buy them when I can get them cheaply, and expect to spend a few bucks, so I can give them away.

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I bought this beautiful relish tray with a matching sugar, creamer, and what I suppose is a lemon bowl. They are all in perfect shape, and I only paid $5 for the set.

This unglazed pottery pitcher is about 7-3/4"  tall, has no chips or cracks, and is a Capodimonte-style piece. I paid $4 for it because it is just so pretty.

I fell in love with this oil painting, an 18" x 20" canvas in a really nice frame, signed with what looks like "Annie."  It cost $7.50--see? I can find some nice treasures at these sales.

Not everything is a winner, though--I did buy a magnifying glass attached to a flashlight for $1.  When I put a new bulb and batteries in it, it works!  It just won't turn off.  There's a problem with the switch.  But at least it was only a buck.

Hubby came home with an electric typewriter.  He had been looking for one, and found one in a nice case for only $5.  He looked at some gardening equipment, but didn't buy anything else.

We don't get to go to these auctions very often, but we do have fun!

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