Hurdles to Final Inspection

We are *almost* there! I think we are truly at the "one more week" point (even though I've been saying "one more week" for about a month now!). Before we get the go-ahead to occupy our house, the inspector is requiring us to finish plumbing on the water heater (we have to connect the drain and move a valve); set the toilet in the guest bath; put dimmer switches on the lights in the master bedroom, office, master and guest bathrooms (WHAT!?) sorry, but that's an odd request; and, finally, pay a $72 encroachment permit fee for the paving we did in front of the house... don't even get me started on that one!

1 Bedroom House, Move-In Ready (Almost)

The pieces are coming together, and our house is slowly transforming back into a home. Over the past week or so, a lot has gotten done, so I figured I'd post a quick update. We are paved up, decked out and totally floored!

No More Dirt Pit!

Flooring Finished!

Ready for a Memorial Day BBQ

One of my Favorite Finds... 

A Designer Knock-Off Vanity

Party Potty Time!

A quick post to report that we now have a functioning toilet in the house! The "Honey Hut" from Harvey's has served us well, but, alas old friend, it's time to go!

Honey Hut, you will be sorely missed!

A Month in Review

I just took a look at my last post, and I cannot believe it's been a month since my last blog! Shame on me! I know you are all waiting for more photos and info with baited breath... LOL!

I'm sure you could guess that a lot has gone on in our little bungalow during the last month, so I'll start with a recap, and follow with photos. The slate tiles went down in the kitchen, guest bath, and hallway leading to the backyard without a hitch, and they look beautiful. The variation in the stone is just amazing, and almost every day, I find a new "favorite" piece. The weekend after the slate went in, Dennis from Archimedes Granite (with the help of his son-in-law, Zach) installed our beautiful granite counter tops. I got there just as they were bringing the slab in for the island. It was incredible to watch the two of them lift the huge slab into it's final position. If I had to give our island a name, I'd say it is Hawaii... as in, the big island!

Next came the range hood and appliances. Mike learned how to install a dishwasher, range, and garbage disposal. Turns out, sliding appliances into their niches on slate tiles isn't an easy feat! It took Mike and Nick over an hour just to get the range into position.

While all these things were going on, Barrett, the latest addition to our cast of characters, was busy building cabinets in our hallway, and the custom booth (or banquette) seating in what will be our dining area. Barrett is trained in the field of graphic design, and he also happens to be a sensational carpenter. His eye for detail is impeccable (which I believe comes from the graphic designer in him), and he took the time to ensure that the pieces he built for us would serve their intended function, and serve it well. He is a true craftsman.

Next, the focus shifted to the exterior of the house, and the dreaded sewer tie in. R&R Rolloff came to pick up the last of our 40 yard bins to make way for Ed Crye & Son Excavating to bring in their heavy equipment and start "the big dig." They were able to locate the sewer line quicker than expected, and they were in and out in about a day and a half.

Moving back to the interior of the house, my dad and I tiled the tub/shower surround in the master bath. It took us a full weekend, and a couple nights after work, but we got it all done, and it looks great. We added a stripe of travertine mosaics to the shower, and realized that we would have enough of it left over to tile the shower seat, and inside a wall niche... major time saver there! Note to self: Subway tiles look cool, but are incredibly tedious to install! The bathroom floor went much quicker. We used 18" square travertine tiles, and had to make very few cuts. A breeze compared to the wall tiles!

Just this past weekend, we switched focus again, and started laying the laminate flooring in the master bedroom. It took a little while to get going and become familiar with the product, but once we got the first few courses laid, the rest was a breeze. After flooring came baseboards in the master bedroom and bathroom, and the laundry area of the guest bath. We learned a valuable lesson in the realm of "just because you can, doesn't mean you should" while installing the stacking washer and dryer. Don't get me wrong, everything ended up working out fine, but figuring out how to get the dryer connected to the vent and plugged in after it was stacked on the washer (in a space that was large enough to fit only the two appliances) was quite a challenge. As you'll see in the photo, we're lucky Mike has such long arms!

The Slate Flooring

The Granite Countertops

The Appliances

The Banquette Seating

The Last of the Bins

The Big Dig

Tile in the Master Bath

Floor and Baseboards in the Master Bedroom

(and Hallway Cabinets)

Connecting the Washer & Dryer

Next up... The Devil's in the details; finish work, plumbing, and moving in!

A Place for Everything

Our kitchen cabinets are in! I don't think I've been this excited about anything we've done so far (well, except maybe when the mud pile was removed from the inside of the house!). I cannot wait to unpack everything we have in storage, and, being the obsessive organizer that I am, I'm already planning where all our kitchen goodies will go! Some of my favorite things in the kitchen are the pull-out mixer shelf and open shelving for cookbooks at the end of the peninsula... oh, and lets not forget the massive island!

Here They Are:

The Stand Mixer Shelf:

Oh! And, before I forget, our back door was actually delivered as promised. Hayward Lumber gets one Brownie Point back for that one, but unfortunately, they are still in the negative in my book.

The Back Door:

The painting of the interior is finished (except for the back door) and everything looks great! The main color throughout the house, Grége Avenue, is from the Benjamin Moore Classic Collection, the master bath is Philipsburg Blue, and the guest bath/laundry room is Van Courtland Blue (both from the Benjamin Moore Historical Collection).

This morning, Dennis from Archimedes Granite headed out to our house to make the templates for our granite counter tops. We also picked up the slate and travertine tiles for the kitchen and master bath, and the hardware for all our doors. The tile work is scheduled to start on Tuesday, and the granite is scheduled to go in next Saturday.

We are hoping to be moving in within the next few weeks! *fingers crossed*

Next up... Laying tile, installing appliances, granite, hallway storage cabinets and custom banquette seating!

Photos As Promised!

Here are some recent photos of the house as promised!

Exterior on an Overcast Morning:

Insulation:

Drywall:

Taping:

Texturing:

Painting and Cabinets:

This morning, Mike and I went over to Morro Doors to pick out all the hardware for our interior and exterior doors. Hopefully, our back door will be delivered today *fingers crossed* as promised. Tomorrow, we will be heading over to Precision Tile and Flooring to finalize our tile order for our showers, and hopefully to pick out some wood flooring for the rest of the house! 

Next up... The cabinet install, appliances, and flooring

Windows and Doors Revisited

In a previous blog, I talked about some problems we were having with the windows and doors we ordered from Hayward Lumber, or, more specifically, problems we were having with Hayward Lumber. I said that, "Our salesman was not returning phone calls from Nick (or Mike), and when he finally did, he never showed up when he said he would. In the end, Mike took a trip to Hayward Lumber to sort things out, and I must say, everything has since been handled satisfactorily." Well, I have decided to rescind the latter portion of that statement.

One thing that I did not mention in my previous blog was that our back door had not been delivered at all. No big deal, per a conversation with our salesman, we expected that it would take a little longer to arrive. Well, it has still not been delivered. After multiple calls to the salesman regarding the status of the order and delivery, we have been given (at least) three different delivery dates - yesterday was the most recent. Apparently, our door has actually been in for a month, but they "have not had any other deliveries to make in Morro Bay," and for some reason would not make a trip out to deliver our door by itself. (By the way, Hayward Lumber is in San Luis Obispo, and for those of you not familiar with the Central Coast, it is only 12 miles from Morro Bay). If this door cost us $50, I'd probably think that was a valid claim - it would cost them more to pay a driver for an hour of his time, wear and tear on the delivery truck, gas, etc., than the door was actually worth. However, this door, combined with the cost of our front door, was about 25% of our total bill.

At this point, to say that I'm frustrated would be the understatement of the year. The worst part? In any other instance, I'd just call them up, and speak with our salesman's supervisor; unfortunately, our salesman is the supervisor of the window and door department. And, to top it all off, we have to re-schedule our painter to stain and seal the door... again. *sigh* Their slogan is, "So You Can Build." I think they should change it to, "So You Can Build... Someday... Well, Maybe."

On the bright side, a representative from Milgard came out and adjusted all our windows, so they work beautifully now; the crew from Drywall Dynamics completed taping and texturing; our painter is rockin' and rollin' on the interior paint; and our cabinets were delivered today!

Pictures coming soon... I promise!