Seeing the light(s)...

This week was one that seemed like more should be completed! Having said that, interior painting was finished, save for some needed touch-up, and electricians started in earnest with the trim-out work, so we actually made good progress. Just not as much as we wanted!

It's great to be seeing our lighting fixtures installed; especially some that we stressed over, excessively! We've mixed things up with a combination of antiqued brass, bronze tones, antiqued silver, and chrome. The notion that "anything goes", more or less, seems to be a trend. Unfortunately, a few fixtures are on backorder so it will be a few weeks before we see if that theory holds!

Copper lanterns (4) on the upper front porch are of the same style and construction as the gas lamps that will flank the front door on the lower porch below

This brass and glass globe is one of two that will light the way in the upstairs hall 

A single pendant centered on the farm sink will shed light on the dish-washing situation!

Once electrical work is complete, and inspected, we can turn on the power. That's a big deal, because a lot of remaining finish work will be done after the wood flooring is installed, and the flooring won't be installed until the material sits in the air conditioned space a few days to ensure humidity levels are in harmony, prior to installation.

After the first coat of clear finish, the wood grain on the mahogany front door is really making itself apparent, and it looks great! The installed hardware is temporary... we just order the "real" items this week, which will be finished in Venetian Bronze   

Here the fir French doors are being stained a red mahogany color to complement the natural finish on the front door

View from inside the Study, which at the current rate will be furnished with two rugs and an ottoman when we move in!

On the acquisition trail, we finally ordered hardware for our doors, which necessitated some counting... 34 doors! 14 deadbolt locks! We think our floor plan is fairly open and flowing, but access to  porches, elevator shaft, ground level access, etc., really adds up! We ordered a couple of tables, too, so we chipping away at our furnishing needs, slowly but surely.

This simple brass knob will be installed on the majority of our doors, with levers adorning the exterior French doors, and a more decorative handleset reserved for the front door.

 


While weather wasn't a big factor this week, we're experiencing intense afternoon storms that seem to arrive at just the wrong time! On Wednesday a storm interfered with delivery of our generator for a few hours, and made a handful of people generally miserable in the process. Thursday we were hit with another that took the crew by surprise, dumping a large volume of water, and delivering some of this, courtesy of 60 mph winds, right through a few of our open doors and windows! Fortunately there was no damage, but clean-up work caused an unneeded distraction...

Typical of some of the small storm cells we've been seeing. We think this one, seen from our apartment porch, is the one that made its way to Rushland Island and slammed the neighborhood yesterday afternoon!

Cabinet hardware, an area of procrastination for several weeks now, should be on order in a matter of hours! The kitchen and pantry areas will use a polished nickel finish to complement the plumbing fixtures, and antiqued brass in the family room will complement the articulating-arm lights to be installed on the bookcases. Chrome will be used in the bathroom and laundry, and it should all make sense once plumbing, lighting and other finish details are completed!

Now the press is on to get power connected by end of next week! The builder has called for the electrical safety inspection on Tuesday. 

Assuming all goes well, we'll still have about three weeks of finishing work to complete after that, so our plan to move by mid-August is on shaky ground. We'll adjust, and we aren't going to stress about it. And we'll keep telling ourselves this until we believe it!

That's it for this week!

Ron & Bonnie

Kitchen countertops!

Most visible of the week's efforts involved interior painting, and working with cabinets and remaining countertop installations. As a result, the kitchen is starting to look like a living space, as the cabinets are finally out from under their protective coverings, at least for the time being.

The kitchen is starting to come to life! The lower cabinets have been uncovered for the first time since installation several weeks ago

The crew was installing the countertop around the perimeter of the kitchen when we visited the site this afternoon

As the paint work continues we've focused our attention on planning for the upcoming weeks, and taking care of the many odds and ends from our to-do list. Shower door glass was ordered. Among other things, we bought a small chandelier for the powder room, an outdoor shower fixture, and dining room chairs and lighting to accompany the ash table we've commissioned (note to us -- check status on this!!)

Custom cabinet doors, freshly painted and awaiting installation in the family room built-in entertainment wall

Spray-painting of the trim work is making for a very smooth finish

From the "bigger than a breadbox" list, we pulled the trigger on purchase of a standby generator. On paper, at least, this natural gas powered system will create enough energy (22kW) to run the whole house, including two air conditioning units, simultaneously!

The "innards" of the 22kW generator, with doors removed. This unit will be connected to the house's natural gas supply line, ensuring a steady, reliable source of fuel to run as long as needed (hopefully not TOO long!) when power goes out

The generator shipped today, so we should see it on-site by later next week. By that time our crew will need to determine how to lift this 500 lb. piece of equipment 10 feet in the air to position on the elevated HVAC platform at the side of the house!

This simple antiqued-silver chandelier should be a nice complement to the somewhat rustic trestle-style dining room table (good choice Megan!)

The last item on our must-buy list of lighting fixtures was this small chandelier destined for the main-level powder room 

Despite good progress, the list of miscellaneous items we need to address continues to grow! Next week we'll be looking at options for Bahama shutters (hinged at top) to install on one of a few South-facing windows that is not shaded by our porches. We'll need to finalizing selections for the cabinet and door hardware, probably order some coffee tables, and who knows what else!

From the upper balcony... just a nice shot of a beautiful sky to share!

That's it for this week. As we look ahead, it appears our project will be going right down to the wire, with some residual work to complete after move-in being a real possibility. We're planning to move from our apartment by the middle of August, so things need to fall into place over the next 4 weeks, or we'll be sleeping under the stars!

Ron & Bonnie

A little fishing and hunting...

This week started with a little surf fishing action on Kiawah Island and holiday getaway to Savannah, and ended with a successful rug-hunting excursion on Friday afternoon.

One of two Whiting fish caught on Sunday from the surf at Kiawah. Thank goodness for the 8000-series spinning reel loaded with 40-lb test line!

Our builder planned for a full work week this week to help with some needed catch-ups, but was promptly sent packing on July 4 after complaints to the homeowners association about work being done on a holiday! As we learned, that's a no-no, as is working on Sunday, or any day after 7:00 pm. I'm sure we'll appreciate such rules much more after we're finished with OUR project!

Despite a holiday-shortened work week, most of what had to get done in preparation for the next round of interior painting is done. The makeshift woodworking shop has been moved, along with most everything else that occupied space in the living areas, including cubic yards of sawdust! A new round of masking, sanding and other work is now being completed in anticipation of painting next week.

Smaller projects like the pull-down attic stairs, drywall touch-up, bathroom vanities and countertops, and installation of steps for the main staircase were also completed this week.

Stair treads are installed, while the rest of the staircase awaits completion of painting before installation of newel posts, spindles and railing. Bookcases have been prepped for paint and installation of shelving

Bathroom vanities and countertops were installed in the guest suites and now protected in preparation for finish painting of the walls and trim

Outside, rough grading of the property was completed, which allowed us to obtain our final elevation certificate that will serve a number of official purposes, including documentation we'll need in order to obtain flood insurance. At the perimeter of the house, the property was graded to 8.3 feet above sea level, and the floor of the main living level sits at 18.6' above sea level; about 5-1/2 above the minimum for our flood zone, as anticipated.

As an aside, did you know that the national flood insurance program is operated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security? (??)

Finally this week, the oyster shell and sand mix for the unpaved portion of our driveway was placed, and the garage doors and opener systems were installed, giving this ground-level area a more finished look.

The garage is starting to look like... a garage!

Oyster shell and sand mix was spread late in the week. It should lighten somewhat in color as it dries out and the finer particles filter down into the base

Next up in priority is the application of the second coat of interior paints, which can then be followed with installation of lighting. In turn, along with installation of the air conditioning units, this will allow for the power to be turned on, which is a prerequisite for floor installation, etc.

Our Friday afternoon hunting excursion landed us this beautiful wool rug to anchor the main seating area in the family room. We also chose a vintage-looking rug to complement this in the adjacent keeping room (space between the family room and kitchen)

This hide, atop a simple rectangular jute rug, will find itself at home in the study 

All in all, several weeks of work remain, inside and out. Hopefully this coming week goes smoothly so the rest can fall into place as planned. We need to assess things at week's end and see where we're at!

Low tide and the early morning sun make for a wonderful view

That's it for this week. Hope you enjoyed our update!

Ron & Bonnie