Friday, June 9, 2017

A washout week!

Well, our six-month streak of favorable construction weather came to an end, with a solid 3+ days of rain dampening our progress this week.

Our plan for excavation and marking of the driveway was postponed, twice, and will now be a focal point for next week, provided the weather cooperates! Work on the outdoor fireplace resumed just this afternoon with application of the base metal mesh, and potentially a first coat of cement that the mason was planning to apply by end of day.


Wire mesh that serves as a base for stucco finish was just applied to this fireplace today





















Inside, tile and grout work in the bathrooms was completed as planned, and we're very please with the results!


Master shower was completed with the exception of the curb-top, which will be finished in the same marble stone that will be used for the countertops. Here Bonnie double-checks the measurements and approves of the plan...

The tile rug feature in our bathroom, a source of much planning and angst, turned out terrific!







































We still need to finalize our plans for the kitchen backsplash, but we're leaning toward use of the simple tumbled subway tile that we have planned for the pantry, with a little artistic twist in the form of some feature tiles or different installation pattern behind the rangetop. Maybe a rectangular section laid in a herringbone design, surrounded by a more common "brick" pattern for the balance?

Carpentry work continued at a good pace this week with completion of our closet and pantry shelving, installation of pocket doors, and some initial work to prepare our reclaimed lumber and cherry slabs that will serve as shelving and kitchen ceiling beams. 

We made a last-minute decision (today) to add perimeter beams along the length of two walls in the kitchen, to tie into the beams we've already planned. So, we'll need to source some more cypress material before getting started with installation, but that should still be in plan for this coming week, and we're excited to see how this takes shape!


Shelving was constructed in a U-shape around the interior of the walk-in food pantry. The carpenter demonstrated the integrity of his work by doing pull-ups on the support structure!!

Cherry slabs receive their first-pass cuts, being ripped down to shelf-sized widths, destined for installation in the custom bookcase units that will flank the fireplace in coming weeks





















Hickory stair treads were delivered and may be installed as early as next week... cool!




















Next week we should see a proposal for our landscape installation, and make up the lost ground on the driveway prep work, while we continue tackling items on our decision-making and to-do lists.

Bubbling up to the top of our list are hardware selections for doors and cabinets, closing in on decisions on furnishing for our dining room and study, and a half-dozen other details that are all top priority!



Google updated satellite photos of our neighborhood recently, so you can now see our project from space!
















That's our update this week!

Ron & Bonnie

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