So bummed!

DS and I headed out to the house this afternoon so that I could see the master bathroom granite before I leave town tomorrow. Just as we arrived, 2 workmen were getting into their truck to leave. One of them said that they had just put another coat of sealer on the hardwood floors and stairs and they had it taped off as a reminder not to walk on them. It took a few minutes for his words to sink in, and to realize that I wasn't going to be able to get up the stairs to the master bathroom to see the granite. Aaargh!!!

The floors did look lovely though, and were very obviously still wet from the sealer that had been applied...

I couldn't go in the great room because of the wet floors, but I did sneak a photo of some of the puck lights that were installed up under/behind the valance that circles the room. It looks like the lights are up, but not wired in yet.
The rough grading is still looking very rough and was a bit smelly. I also saw some of the flies that I was warned about yesterday.
The columns look nice now that they have been painted to match the house and trim colors...
The granite backsplash in the kitchen was not installed today - I don't know when it is scheduled to go in. The granite fabricators were trying to get it ready in time to install it today when they did the master bath, but that obviously didn't work out.

So, DD and I are off to NC tomorrow afternoon for the wedding (well, actually we are only going as far as Beckley, WV because we can't leave until about 4:30 - we'll go the rest of the way on Saturday morning). I told DH that I was going to leave him the camera so he can email me photos of the master bathroom with the granite counters installed!

Items completed as of today are marked in green...

septic tank - I think this is done, although their equipment was still there
gas lines - still need to be connected by the gas company
furnace
A/C
painting
kitchen - granite, finish-work, vent fan, pulls, granite backsplash, appliances
plumbing
electrical - lights/fans, valance lights (almost done)
gutters
brick/stone/pillars
driveway - concrete, gravel (part of the driveway had gravel on it, but not all)
grading - rough, topsoil
sewing studio - knobs/pulls, upper crown moulding on cabinets
master bath - grout, finish shower, cabinets, glass doors, baseboard stone, granite
stained woodwork on great room walls
closet shelves/rods
pantry shelves
stain front door
paint garage doors, install gaskets
grab bars on guest tub
shower curtain rods in 2 bathrooms
stairs
fix vanity granite backsplash in kids' bathroom, recess medicine cabinet?
top for windowseat
doors on bookcase shelves in great room (doors are on site and stained, but not installed)
doorknobs
carpet (going in on Monday)
fireplace granite surround

Countdown to move day: 5 days and counting!

Step by tiny step...

The house is looking quite finished from the front, except for the rough grading, and top soil that needs to be spread. The front porch looks finished, except for the columns that need to be painted. The builder added a stone-covered pillar in the front of the house to display our house number and for the outdoor light to sit on.
The bathroom tiler must have worked today - the shower has had an enhancing sealer applied and the whole shower is now grouted. The sealer really brought the colors out. The tub still hasn't been grouted yet, but the plumber installed the shower heads and handles.

The carpet was partially finished. They completed the carpet installation in the guest bedroom...
and in the music room...
But the carpet in the other bedrooms and the third floor hallway wasn't done. All the pieces are there and laid out, but not installed. This is the master bedroom carpet...
This is DS's bedroom...
I'm not going to repeat the list of what needs to be finished, as not enough was done today. The kitchen guys hadn't done anything new, the electrician hadn't been back, and if the septic guys were there at all, they didn't get finished.

Countdown to move day: 8 days and counting!

It's looking good...

The electrician and a couple of carpenters were at the house today putting in lights and doorknobs. The cleaning crew was also there making everything look nice. It certainly makes a huge difference to get all the plaster dust off of everything, especially the wood on the stairs and the floors. The wood floors had been given another coat of sealer and they are looking gorgeous. I believe they are doing the final coat on Tuesday or Wednesday.

We came up to the house through the field today so that we could check out what the septic guys have been up to. From the patio side of the house, we could see that the support columns are finished. DH was surprised to see that they were square, as the plans had called for round ones. I like these much better...they still need to be painted. The patio columns match the columns on the front porch (which are almost done).

The bricklayers had finished up the brick over the concrete pad and up to the step near the mudroom door. I'm not sure why they didn't have the brick in there before the pad was poured.
I was also very happy to see the bathroom fixtures installed! And they even work now - the water was connected to both. And judging from the partial roll of toilet paper sitting there, the ones in the powder room have also been broken in. :-D
My fear that the refrigerator was still in the garage because it didn't fit in the space turned out to be unfounded (phew!). It was in place and running, as were all the other appliances in the kitchen...
The fireplace hearth is finished - the triangular pieces were not in place the last time we were out there...
I had taken lightbulbs out to the house today so I could see what the kitchen pendant lights look like when they are lit up, but we found when we got there that someone had put bulbs in them yesterday after I left. I like these better now that they are lit up...
I still like the blue ones too!
DD's window seat looks really nice now that it is clean and shiny! I bought fabric for the back of her window seat pad yesterday so now I can finish making the pad (and she can cover up all that gorgeous, shiny wood with her seat cushion)!

This is the leech field for the septic system...
It looks like they had to cut down about 4 small trees to get the septic system installed...
The septic tanks are now in the ground and connected to the plumbing in the house...
Here is one of the outdoor sconces...

Items completed as of today are marked in green...

septic tank - almost done - probably 1 more day of work
gas lines - still need to be connected by the gas company
furnace
A/C
painting
kitchen - granite, finish work, vent fan, pulls, granite backsplash, appliances
plumbing
electrical - lights/fans, valance lights (probably going in Wednesday or Thursday)
gutters
brick/stone/pillars
driveway - concrete, gravel
grading - rough, topsoil
sewing studio - knobs/pulls, upper crown moulding on cabinets
master bath - grout, finish shower, cabinets, glass doors, baseboard stone, granite
stained woodwork on great room walls
closet shelves/rods
pantry shelves
stain front door
paint garage doors, install gaskets
grab bars on guest tub
shower curtain rods in 2 bathrooms
stairs
fix vanity granite backsplash in kids' bathroom, recess medicine cabinet?
top for windowseat
doors on bookcase shelves in great room
doorknobs
carpet (going in on Monday)
fireplace granite surround

Countdown to move day: 10 days and counting!

The ant hill came alive!

What a flurry of activity at the house today! I stopped by for a quick peek because I was in the area. There were about 10 trucks there and at least 15 guys working on all sorts of things.

I didn't get any photos, but the front porch was being finished, the kitchen details were coming along, the electrician was there to wire the rest of the house, the septic guys were digging more trenches, the plumber was installing the fixtures in the powder room, there was a guy in the master bathroom caulking the trim around the window, and there were a few other guys around that I didn't have time to figure out what they were doing.

The great room floor had been cleaned up and there was blue tape up across the doors to keep people out. There are 2 more coats of finish that need to be applied to the hardwood.

I'm struggling with what tiles to use on the backsplash in the beverage area in the kitchen. There will be a 2" backsplash of the granite along the counter and I'm leaning toward glass tiles of some kind to go above the granite to under the cabinets. I'd love to add some more color to the kitchen in the backsplash. Any thoughts?

Countdown to move day: 11 days and counting!

The septic man cometh!!

Hallelujah! The septic system is going in! We were excited to see the septic man's equipment at the house tonight.
He has been busy digging trenches and holes for the tanks.
The front door has been stained and sealed and the columns have been started. The column bases will have stone on them.
The refrigerator was in the garage (I'm hoping that isn't a sign of it not fitting), but all the other appliances were in place in the kitchen.

The beverage area is almost finished. The glass is in the doors and the ice maker, beverage refrigerator and oven are in place. The faucet has also been installed. I'm not sure why the faucets went in before the granite backsplash - it seems like it will be trickier to install the granite with the faucets in place. The cabinet pulls have also been added.
Here is the main oven, installed under the cooktop...
And the dishwasher is in place...
The main faucet is in...
And it is VERY close to the window trim...we are going to wait until the granite backsplash is installed and then maybe we'll have the window trim cut back a little bit.

The woodwork in the great room has been sealed. It looks much better without all the white dust all over it.
The master bathroom tiler worked today and finished the floor in the shower, the seat in the shower, and the stone baseboard. He will be back tomorrow to grout everything. This is the stone baseboard...
So, thank you to those who voted on the newell post topper. We decided to go with the square topper.
The fireplace mantel has been stained to match the cherry cabinets in the kitchen.

Items completed as of today are marked in green...(I added a couple of items that I had forgotten about.)

septic tank
gas lines - still need to be connected
furnace
A/C
painting
kitchen - granite, finish work, vent fan, pulls, granite backsplash, appliances
plumbing
electrical - lights/fans, valance lights
gutters
brick/stone/pillars
driveway - concrete, gravel
grading - rough, topsoil
sewing studio - knobs/pulls, upper crown moulding on cabinets
master bath - grout, finish shower, cabinets, glass doors, baseboard stone, granite
stained woodwork on great room walls
closet shelves/rods
pantry shelves
stain front door
paint garage doors, install gaskets
grab bars on guest tub
shower curtain rods in 2 bathrooms
stairs
fix vanity granite backsplash in kids' bathroom, recess medicine cabinet?
top for windowseat
doors on bookcase shelves in great room
doorknobs
carpet
fireplace granite surround

So, it turns out that the kitchen granite backsplash has not been templated. The granite fabricators will be there tomorrow to template for them. The carpet is going in on Monday, the master bathroom shower doors will be installed on Tuesday, and the granite in the master bathroom and (hopefully) the kitchen granite backsplash will be installed on Thursday.

Countdown to move day: 12 days and counting!