| Our rallying cry for the last little bit has been "buy it now" "order it" so that things will all be here, or on their way, so we don't miss out on things like the garage doors (FYI, we got them, see next bullet point). So we ordered the appliances on the 17th. They came yesterday, the 27th. They'd originally said 3-5 weeks, they got here in 10 days. Which is . . . great. Except we don't really have anyplace to put them yet. We can't keep them in the garage since it's not finished or secure, and if we put them inside, we'll just have to keep moving them around. So, they may take a trip to Chehalis. We'll see. They're gonna stay in Direct Buys' warehouse for a least a week while we go up to Penticton for Mark's 20-year grad reunion. |
| The garage doors; we were able to get them. Here's what happened; the door we want is wood instead of metal, hemlock in fact. Apparanatly they'd stopped using solid hemlock and were using plywood with a hemlock veneer. So, people were staining the wood doors and were not happy with how the veneer looked stained. Well, we're painting our garage doors to match the house, so staining isn't an issue for us, so we ordered them. Yahoo! |
| While we're up in Penticton, we're going to eliminate one of the five locations we have stuff stored; his Uncle's barn in Oyama. This is the stuff from Mark's house that his mum & I cleared out when he sold it in 2004. We've rented a 6'x12' Uhaul trailer and will be filling it up for the drive back to the U.S. We'll probably also dump alot of stuff, and hopefully consign some of the good stuff that we don't need. Mark hasn't seen some of this stuff in over three years. I can just hear him now "why did you keep this???" Well, because it's hard to clear someone elses house out! Usually you only do that once they've passed away and you don't have to worry about what's important to keep for them. |
| Update: They fixed the excavator in place (see 6-25 entry for more detail) so all it good. |
| OK, I admit it. We have built a huge house. I've tried to deny it, I've tried to explain it away, I've tried to pretend it's not true, but it is true, it's big. But, I finally realized why it's so big, and why I wasn't getting to that full level of understanding, why I continued to be in denial about it. The house Mark and I designed was really just the main floor and the top floor, and those areas don't seem huge. They are generous, but not grand. The main floor (1819 sq. ft.) and the top floor (824 sf) are together 2633 sf. Good sized, but not huge. It's the addition of the basement level, plus then the additional 'found space' of the storage room that really skewed things. The sloping topography of the site demanded that we have a basement. The original basement was 738 sf, but now that we've got the whole entire footprint of the main floor on the basement level, that adds the entire 1819 sf figure to the 2633 sf for 4452 sf, plus 490 sf for the garage, bringing us to a grand total of 4942 sf. Good lord, how are we going to keep it up? Keep it clean? The built-in vacuum will help, but it doesn't do the vacuuming for me. I'm a little terrified about this, among other things. Like the mortgage. But the mortgage isn't that big, it's worth it, I don't really have to pay it... right.?.?.?.? I may not be at that full "level of understanding" on the mortgage just yet.... |
| We currently have a large piece of what I shall call 'garden art' on our patio (the area behind the garage, off the kitchen - our main outdoor living space). I know art is subjective, but most people would probably call it an excavator. Mark has been working with the excavator all week; building the hammerhead on the driveway, building the retaining wall for it, moving the dirt piles that were up along the side of the driveway, building the backyard (we are actually going to get a nice flat area for some lawn on the chimney/hot tub side of the house), smoothing and grading the backyard, building the retaining wall for it, etc., etc. So Friday, around 3:00, he's just about done, he's all the way around the house on the patio grading it along with Mark's help, basically sitting in one place an turning around and scooping dirt, and running back and forth across it with his bucket (on the end of his arm) to get it to the right height. And then he blows something. Something big. Hydraulic fluid pours, no gushes, out from everywhere underneath the machine. Something in the main turret mechanism busted. So, the excavator immediately makes a call to his mechanic. Hopefully it can be fixed in place because it won't fit along the side of the house where the garage is, and it's 3/4 of the way around the house, so it would be extremely difficult to drag it back out around the house with another machine. Not to mention there is just enough room for the one small-sized excavator to maneuver around the house, and if they needed to pick it up and drag it out, they'd need a much larger machine to do that, and I don't think anything larger would fit around the house right now. I'll let you know how it turns out. |
| So, Friday, we ordered the rest of our light fixtures, the sconces that had been under debate, we ordered something different that matched the.... replacement dining room chandelier, and then all the trim kits for all the recessed lights in the house. Holy cow, we have 79 recessed light fixtures in our house! |
| Also on Friday, we got some paint samples and painted those on the walls to check how the flat walls look, and also what color we want to use. We've selected a very subtle sage/celery green color, that will be the main background paint color for the great room, most of the main floor, and the entrance hall. We're pretty sure that we're gonna stick with the flat walls, an old house wouldn't have perfect walls, so we're ok with some imperfections. From Ralph Lauren, we're looking at Pueblo, Kauai, and Plantation, and from Resortation Hardware, Sycamore Green. All which happen to look significantly different in person than they do on my monitor, they look quite brown and gray on my monitor. Who knows, maybe your monitor will be right on? My prediction is for Plantation, but we'll have to see, we haven't painted anything yet. <update> - after painting the colors on the wall, (see pics) we think it's going to be 1/2 Kauai. That's the Kauai color, with only half the pigment. |
| Saturday we spent the day at FloorCo, Direct Buy, and Second Use. At FloorCo, we picked out all of our tile, carpet, hardwoods, etc. We'd had most things selected already, but we were making the final decisions, and getting final pricing so we could adjust things to fit the budget. We had the most problem with the steam shower floor. Most of the rated-for-shower-floor tile (AKA not slippery when wet) is boring and un-interesting, or doesn't match anything else we're doing. The whites are all, well, not white. We found some vintage-looking small hexagonal marble tiles, but they ran $700 for just the shower floor, not including the bench! So that's probably not happening. But, we know what our flooring budget is so we can adjust things accordingly. If we take this slightly lesser quality carpet here, we can get the nicer tile here; that sort of thing. It's all about what's more important. The $45/yd carpet is wonderful, but this $30/yd carpet is really nice too, and allows us to get this extra nice tile border finish over here.... |
| At Direct Buy, we placed our order for all our door hardware. We got nice, high-quality solid brass construction egg-shaped door knobs with rectangular rosettes (base plates) for the main and upper floors, and got some still nice, but less expensive knobs for the basement. All in the satin nickel finish. Most everything in the house is linear/square, so round base plates just didn't seem right. Plus, I think the rectangular rosette will look great on our 5-panel doors like this. We also found out at Direct Buy that they've discontinued carrying the line of Holmes Doors garage doors we wanted to get. We've got DB checking first thing this week to see if we can still order them <fingers-crossed>. If they have discontinued carrying them, this is not good. We had a specific style selected that went really well with the house, and we were getting a really good price through Direct Buy. If those aren't available, we'll have to go pay full retail price for them somewhere else. Probably will be twice as much. Durn it! Should've ordered them a month ago! |
| At Second Use we found some very affordable basic sconces that we'll use for the basement bathroom, and an external security light for the side of the house by the mechanical stuff that is more functional than it is attractive. We also found some trim pieces that we thought matched the white quartz. They will be used as a backsplash for my vanity, topped with the white quartz, in the spa. |
| The excavator finished off the hammerhead, and moved all the dirt to the backyard. We have alot of dirt. The backyard will be nicely sloped with one terraced level. |
| The drywall has been sanded and given one coat of the primer. We think we're gonna have flat walls! There are just a few minor imperfections, but that goes along with the new, old house thing. The walls wouldn't be perfect in an old house. |
| I think we're gonna change our dining room chandelier, to this one. They also have some sconces that would then match, here and here. I like the wrought iron look. |
| So I've been working on this large spreadsheet of all the things that we still need to buy for the house, and the finish materials (paint, flooring). There currently almost 200 items on the list. (You trying thinking of everything you need for a house, it's hard! Would you remember to buy a mailbox? Or a doorbell?). Each item has a status; Purchased, Ordered, Selected, Decide (as in we need to decide), or Debate. Can you believe that there are only really two things on the debate list? The sconces (see previous entry) and the light switch covers. I'm still unhappy that we have to have modern Lutron light switches, but I think that we'll use the covers to make them look a little more vintage. There are still plenty of things that we have to decide on, but most of those we know basically what we want, we just have to go make the final selection, now that it's time to buy. We've done plenty of reconnaissance, but we're ready to put down the plastic now. Friday will be spent making the final selections, and orders for; hardwood, carpet, craft room flooring, inside slate tile, outside slate tile, kid bath floor tile, kid bath wall tile, spa floor tile, spa wall tile, shower floor tile, shower wall tile, basement flooring, butcher block top, bar top, and the kitchen backsplash. |
| Good news about the drywall. In the spirit of building a new, old house, we really wanted to have flat walls; walls with no texture. Now, plaster walls, ala the style of a 1920's craftsman, were out of the question, ridiculously expensive, so no on that. So we got price quotes on doing flat walls with the drywall. That was only twice as much as regular drywall. So, again, no. Allright, so the budget says we need to have regular drywall with orange peel texture (if you don't know what I'm talking about, take a close look at your walls; most likely they're all bumpy, like an orange peel). So, we agreed with the drywaller to do the absolute lightest amount of texture possible. The problem with drywall is that over time as the house shrinks/expands the nail/screw heads (FKA 'doorbells') start to pop-out and show; this can also be caused by not letting the taping/mudding dry long enough. Ours was screwed in so that should help reduce 'nail pops' from happening. The texture is designed to help hide some of this, or any other irregularities in the surface of the wall. So, we're out at the house discussing the drywall and how good and flat the walls look, and I start really looking critically at the walls, and the walls really do look great. They're straight, flat, they don't bow in and out, the mudded areas look good and flat - and this is even before they're sanded. This is due to really good work from the drywallers and great work from the framers - who made sure all the walls were dead straight. So I ask Mark what would happen if we didn't do the texture? Could we get flat walls? Hmmmm.... So Mark talked to the drywaller on Monday, and we're gonna give it a try and see how it turns out. Whoo Hoo! |
| The excavator came on Monday and built the hammer-head for the driveway so we can turn around once we're in the driveway. We also called the dumpster company to come so we could get rid of all the garbage that had been building up. The excavator filled the dumpster up with the trash, and they took it all away. |
| Well, we went and rented a dehumidifier and it's been sucking alot of moisture out of the air and really helping the drywall to dry. |
| We also returned the broken fan of the push/pull system, it ran for a day, and the storage had dried out. We're pretty sure this is from the fan action, as we mostly sealed off the storage area from the basement where the dehumidifier is running. But, if we find that it does stay moist down there, we'll just buy a dehumidifier and leave it in there. |
| So, we are at 60 days out until the loan closes. We called the loan company to ask about getting an extension, and they covered all our options with us, and what the penalties will be. So, uh, yeah, um, we'll be working like crazy for the next two months to get the house done by August 15th, or at least to get the occupancy permit, even if we don't move in. |
| We ordered all our appliances today. Saved about $2500 by buying them all through Direct Buy. Fridge, dishwasher, beverage fridge, microwave, washer, and dryer. Woo hoo! |
| We picked out our exterior light fixtures. Check them out here. |
| We're still looking for the three sconces that we need for the front hall, one on either side of the front door, and one on the hall wall. Mark likes this one [edited, the link works now], I like this one (w/o the shade and in the pewter/nickel finish). I think the black looks more traditional, but I really like the style of the one I like. We both like the black iron finish, but our dining room chandelier is the satin nickel, so I kinda wanna go with that. |
| We've been struggling with the budget lately. Figuring out where we're over, where we're under, trying to categorize stuff. Trying to plan so we don't run out of money. We're past the development phase where we have 'must-do' costs. We had to have water, so whatever the watermain cost is what it cost. We couldn't get the 'cheaper' watermain, or the 'expensive' watermain, it's whatever the cost was. But the good news is that all the unknown stuff is done now. Now we really have more direct control over our costs. We can buy the $100 light or the $50 light, the $5 carpet or the $35 carpet, depending on the budget, we can adjust. Now, we aren't going to make up any major overages by buying slightly cheaper door knobs, but we don't have to go crazy. We know we have areas we care about, and we know we have areas that are less important. For instance - exterior lights - we need one on the back corner of the house where we won't hardly spend any time or look at that part of the house. That can have a cheaper, somewhat less attractive light fixture. Ones that will be constantly in view, those have to be nicer. |
| I *love* the combo lock. I could lock and unlock it all day. I'm such a dork. |
| So, the house is locked up now. All the doors have been secured. So now if somebody messes with the house, it's breaking & entering. |
| Drywall has been taped & mudded twice now. They are now waiting for it to dry thoroughly before they sand it. Then they'll texture it, and then we'll paint it! |
| We had a problem with the push/pull fan system that we installed in the storage room. The push fan didn't work, so just the pull fan is sucking air outside. The storage room is starting to get alot of condensation on the walls where the slab meets the walls. Not sure if it's just because the fan system isn't working, or if there is a problem. |
| Our cabinet order is all completed. Kitchen cabinets, pantry cabinets, corner display cabinet, built-in china cabinet, the vanity in the spa, and the cabinet in the laundry room. |
| Yes, I know it's been a while since I wrote. Not much going on at the house right now. The drywalllers haven't been back to tape/mud the walls for over a week, so we still have board seams and screw heads aka doorbells. That and Mark being gone = not much progress. |
| Mark priced all our appliances again, and the prices have gone down! I don't know if Direct Buy is getting better pricing, or what, but it's very good for us!!!! |
| Mark and I finalized the cabinet order; kitchen, pantry, china cabinet, corner cabinet, laundry room. We redesigned the laundry room in a way that we think will function better. It's so much easier to figure stuff out when you're actually in the space, you can draw on the floor/walls to place stuff. We originally had the laundry room as (L to R) washer-dryer-countertop w/ cabinet, but changed it to washer-cabinet-dryer with countertop over the washer & cabinet. Appliance measurements, along with an 6' tall empty box standing in as the dryer really helped us to get the layout right. Things we had to take into consideration (warning, this gets really long, with lots of details). [Some orientation help: Back wall (wall w/ hoses/plugs/hookups), Left Side wall (has the door - to your left if you're facing the machines), Right Side wall (blank wall - to your right if you're facing the machines), and Front wall (has the window, to your back if you're facing the machines). So, we're getting the Neptune washer, and the Neptune Drying Center, (and if you don't know the Drying Center, check it out here so you'll have a better idea of the layout issues that come with it - it won't fit it many laundry rooms). So, back to the things we had to take into consideration: for instance; the door on the washer isn't reversible (hinge on left), but it is reversible on the drying center, so I didn't want the washer and dryer doors hitting each other as they were both open during load swaps, so we designed the hookups to put the washer on the left. Initially we thought we couldn't put the Drying Center up against either side wall as we thought the upper doors have to open further than 90 degrees so we put the dryer next, so it was in the middle. But it turns out that that's not the case, it can go right up against the wall, so in our re-design we moved it against the Right Side wall. I also wanted a rod where I could hang clothes, and we wanted some cabinetry. So initially we had the countertop running along the side of the dryer, running the length of the Right Side wall from Back wall to Front wall, and an upper cabinet on the Right Side wall, in the corner with the Front Wall. But this left empty space below the counter top and a dead corner back underneath the countertop next to the Drying Center, and the rod ran from the side of the cabinet back along the Right Side wall, back into the deadcorner. And when the upper doors were open, they would knock into the cabinet and block access to the rod. Would work, but not great. We can do better than this! So we messed around with the design a bit and we moved the drying center against the Right Side wall, and we fit a lower cabinet between the washer & dryer, and are going to run the counter top over both the washer and cabinet (and yes, the washer has controls on the front, not the back). And, for the rod, we are going to install one of those rods that move up and down (called a wardrobe or garment lift, thanks google), that I can pull down to hang stuff, and push back up out of the way to fold stuff on top of the countertop. Now that does move the washer further from the dryer for the load swap, but I'm willing to work with that. I'm also thinking that the big jug of laundry soap (with the push button dispenser) will go on the upper shelf of the lower cabinet piece so I wonder if they'll cut a notch out so that I can put the laundry soap jug pulled out close to the door, but where the door will still close, but then that leaves the spigot poised right over the shelf, so if we cut a notch out of the shelf, I can just put the little detergent cup underneath the shelf and dispense soap without having to move the big jug. Right now in the condo, we have the big jug positioned above the washer, and I simply open the washer lid, press the push button for 7 seconds (only 3 if it's a new jug) and I have the right amount of detergent poured right into the washer. This method won't work on the new washer as it's a front loader, but oh well. I can hardly wait to watch the laundry in the washer. Wait, did she just say she wanted to watch the laundry? OK, story: When I was a kid, I would wander off, I would just go, I wouldn't wait for a parent, I was too curious/bold/stupid to wait for someone to come with me, gave my mom heart attacks sometimes. But, the one place my mom could leave me alone, and I wouldn't wander off was at the dishwasher display at Sears. They had a dishwasher with a clear front so you could see the 'super-duper' washing action at work. I was mesmerized by this. I would watch this for hours, and my mom had to literally pull me away from it. So, whatever it was about this that I was mesmerized by has transitioned to the laundry today. I'll load the washer, watch it fill up, and then watch it agitate. Mark will come by the laundry room and have to say something to me to break the spell. I sometimes find the lid on the washer left open because I had to consciously pull myself away from watching it and didn't think to close it. When I'm doing the laundry I have to make an effort to close the lid right away, or I get sucked in. And forget about Laundromats! If my dishwasher had a clear front, I'd probably sit on a stool and watch it. Mark & I joke that he'll have to cover up the window on the new washer, or else just give in and get me a stool. We seriously looked for a front-loading washer that didn't have a clear door. So well see, maybe I'll end up spending the most time in the new house in the laundry room. Hopefully this is funny and not too weird. Maybe I've said too much. |
| So M&D took Garrett and Parker out to see the house with all the drywall done, it's just white with all the screw heads showing. Garrett is still confused about how the house is Aunt Jean & Uncle Mark's, but that we aren't there when he comes over. Next time I saw Garrett, I asked him how he liked the house, and what color the walls were. He said they where "white, with lots of doorbells" and says it all exhausted like he pressed every single one of them. Too cute! |
| They cleaned up all the drywall pieces, but there is still white powder all over. |
| The drywall passed inspection. Apparently they only forgot 4 screws in the whole house. Good lord, how did the inspector find that?? |
| Latest drama. The large window over the tub isn't tempered glass. It needs to be tempered for code. This is a very big problem. So, we went back to the order and this one window was one that got changed around, much confusion. So Mark went back to Euroline and talked to them about. So far, they're being cool, none of that 'well, you signed for them' stuff. The guy knew that that window was supposed to be tempered. So, we're figuring out how to fix it. Hopefully, we can just replace the sash (glass) and not the frame, cuz replacing the frame means tearing stuff out. Stuff being drywall, painted siding, etc. |
| Haven't had much to update since there isn't much going on except the drywall. Mark is down in Longview working for Jim again, which is good. The downtime during the drywall gives him a chance to swap saving money for earning money. |