Landscaping…Day 31 (evening report)

Jay and his landscaping crew spent the day fine tuning the grade in front of the garage and all the way down to the street. They have the sand base laid in the area in front of the fourth garage stall and are ready to start installing pavers tomorrow morning. The first photo shows the area in front of the fourth stall with the first pallets of pavers staged ready for installing.

The next photo shows the small section of pavers Jay set in place between the third and fourth garage stalls as an example to consider overnight. The “extra” width at the edge of the garage sets the white “stripe” a little further into the driveway and seems just right to me. The colors in the North Oaks pavers look really nice set off against the cloak grey siding.

The last photo shows something of the enormity of the task ahead of Jay and his crew.

60 pallets of pavers…Phew!

Landscaping…Day 31

Brett Nutting and I met this morning to make a final decision on the pattern for the paver driveway. As we walked around the site Jay and his crew were busy setting the final elevations and adjusting the “pitch” for drainage. Jay plans to start setting pavers along the front of the garage later this afternoon and hopes to have whole driveway project complete by the end of next week. Both Brett and Jay feel that our 16’ wide driveway will look better with a wider edge detail and that it will be easier to transition the wider edge into the sidewalks at the front porch and breezeway. Jay and his crew laid out two possible edge examples along the front of the garage. The first two photos show Jay and his crew as they work on the final grading.

 

The next two photos show the two paver edging examples we considered this morning. In both examples we are holding a sailor course of Cambray Tan (the white pavers) 15” away from the edge. The first has 6” x 9”  pavers in North Oaks laid in two rows (soldier…then…sailor) at the edge with the Cambray Tan “stripe” inside.

The second pattern has 6” x 9” and 6” x 6” pavers in North Oaks laid in an alternating “running bond” with the Cambray Tan “stripe” inside. In both cases we plan to lay the (North Oaks) pavers in the field in a random pattern. After seeing the examples laid out in front of the garage we decided to move ahead with this second arrangement.

Landscaping…Day 30 (evening report)

I stopped by the “L” Shaped House on my way home from work and found an impressive pile of pavers stacked in the old driveway. It looks like Jay and his crew have at least 40 pallets work of work ahead of them as they start on the new driveway tomorrow!

Landscaping…The Paver Driveway!!!

After weeks of careful consideration we have decided to have our friends at JLM install a paver driveway. Starting at the curb of Cottage Lane and continuing all the way beyond the back wall of the garage the driveway will encompass 4,630 square feet of paver surface. The sketch below shows a preliminary plan for the paver surface. While we continue to talk with Brett Nutting about the possibility of adding some design elements to the paver surface (like a “landing zone” at the sidewalk leading to the front deck or an apron detail in front of the garage) I am drawn to the more “modest” look shown in the sketch.

The photo here shows a section of a paver driveway Brett and his guys built in the Bearpath Community a few years ago. It was built using the same pavers and pattern I would like to use as we build a driveway for the “L” Shaped House. The edging is created using 6” x 9” white pavers set in a “sailor” course inside of a “soldier” course of similar sized colored pavers at the edge. The field pavers are set in a random pattern. Jay and his crew plan to start setting pavers at the street tomorrow afternoon!

Landscaping…Day 30

Jay and his landscaping crew are busy working on the rain garden and driveway at the “L” Shape House this morning. The first photo shows the last load of “rain mix” being added to the rain garden area. They finished excavating this morning and have the plastic edging installed all around the perimeter. Gertens plans to deliver the plants today and Jay thinks most of them will be planted by the time they leave this afternoon.

The next photo shows the rain garden area and the work underway at the bottom of the driveway. Jay and his guys plan to have the final grading complete later this afternoon and will start installing the driveway tomorrow. The driveway “pitches” 3% toward the rain garden as it comes down the hill (5” across the width) and the edge will be sculpted to encourage flow toward the garden at the bottom.

The video shows the compactor working on the driveway in anticipation of the driveway installation.

Jay’s guys are also working out back completing the river rock installation under the breezeway deck as the work out front continues. Here they have filled the area under the deck and are about to add the rock.

Cabinets…Installing knobs and pulls

Paul Winters has been busy installing knobs, Bin-pulls, and cabinet pulls throughout the “L” Shaped House. The first photo below shows the back corner of the kitchen after he completed installing the cabinet hardware late yesterday afternoon. That we decided to include an abundance of drawers in the kitchen is pretty obvious in this shot!

See Deb and Martha’s knob and cabinet pull plan here.

The next photo shows the kitchen desk area with all of the cabinet hardware installed. Here we can see all three of our hardware selections…The knobs on the doors, the bin pulls on the drawers, and the cabinet pulls on the long doors of the kitchen pantry cabinet.

The last photo shows Paul’s hardware installation operations underway on the built-in desks in the book nook at the top of the stairs.

Landscaping…The rain garden

Our master plan for the landscaping at the “L” Shaped House includes a rain garden at the bottom of the driveway in front of the house. The purpose of the rain garden is to provide a place for rainwater run off from the driveway to collect and be absorbed into the ground. It also provides a place to plant a unique collection of native plants and grasses that should thrive in this moist and sunny spot along Cottage Lane. The sketch below shows Matt Wolfe’s plan for the rain garden including the plantings and address rock.

Plumbing…Day 14

Jeremy from Steinkraus Plumbing is back working to install fixtures throughout the “L” Shaped House. The first photo shows the Delta Victorian faucet assembly Deb and Katie selected for the kitchen sink installed and ready for use. We decided to include a separate faucet for filtered water it the kitchen sink but eliminate the soap dispenser in the four holes we allowed in the Cambria countertop.

The next photo shows the new plumbing fixtures in the kids bathroom. Here we are using elements of the same Delta Victorian line for the tub and shower. The last photo shows where most of Jeremy's time was consumed as he worked to get all of the water supply lines fitted and shut-oof valves installed.

Closets…Day 1

Our friends at Storganize spent their first day installing closet organizers at the “L” Shaped House today. Deb and I met with Mike Anderson earlier this year to talk about how to organize some of the many closet spaces in the house and came away feeling that his careful approach to organization and attention to our needs was just what we needed. The photo below shows the two closet spaces in Sam’s room after Mike’s crew finished installing the organizers. Sam will have all shelves in the left hand closet and a combination of shelving and hanging space on the right.

Close shots of the Storganize closet organizers in Anna’s room.

Mike lays out all of the spaces Storganize is going to work in using Google Sketch-Up and provides these very nice perspective drawings with the quote.

Landscaping…Day 29

Jay and his landscaping crew were back working at the “L” Shaped House today. They plan to be back for a couple of weeks and hope to have all of the landscaping and the driveway completed by the time they move on to their next assignment. The first photo below shows the beginnings of the rain garden at the bottom of the driveway. Jay plans to remove almost 19 cubic yards of clay from the site as he excavates the area that will become the “reservoir” for the garden. The excavated area will be re-filled with an engineered mixture of rock, sand, and organic materials to create the planting area for the rain garden.

The next two photos show the progress being made in the dog run outside the back breezeway deck. Jay and his crew have carefully added more crushed limestone to the area inside the fence and installed the rubber liner and flow-through floor tiles. Next they will install the K9 grass on top of the tiles and bring the river rock creek bed up to the fencing.

Ceramic Tile…Day 54

Matt spent the day Friday setting tile in the mudroom and first floor laundry room at the “L” Shaped House. The first photo shows the mudroom shower base with all of the 3” floor tiles in place and the curb finished. He will set the same 12” floor tiles on the walls as he finishes the tile setting in this room.

The next photo shows the “emergency” drain under the first floor washing machine with the 3” floor tiles in place. This drain and the one in the laundry room upstairs both lead into the floor drain in the mechanical room.

Carpeting…Day 2 (evening report)

We stopped by the “L” Shaped House after supper to check out the new carpets on the second floor. The carpeting has absolutely transformed the place…making the house seem like a home! The photos here pretty much speak for themselves but I will say that I think that Katie and Deb have done a fantastic job with the textures and colors throughout the space.

The view out of (and in to) the master bedroom walk-in closets.

The master bedroom.

The book nook, stairs, and hallway.

Carpeting…Day 2

Jason Armstrong and his crew from Interior Design Carpet spent the morning installing carpet on the second floor of the “L” Shaped House. When Sam and I stopped by around noon they were working their way down the hallway toward the bonus room expecting to be done upstairs tonight. The first photo shows the view looking into the book nook, and master bedroom from the top of the stairs.

 

The next photo shows one of the guys gluing seams in the master bedroom. We decided to run the carpeting in all the bedrooms all through the closets and attic spaces. The third photo shows the new carpeting laid out in Helen’s room ready to be stretched and secured to the tack strips.

The last photo shows the basement guest bedroom with the new carpet completely installed, the scraps cleaned up, and the room vacuumed…ready for action!

The Backyard…The dog run

The fencing for the backyard dog run was installed this morning. The photo below shows the dog run from the living room windows. Our master plan (here) has the fencing surrounding a K-9 grass run that drains to the PVC gutter drain system at the front edge. The dogs will enter the run using a ramp from the deck and access the deck through a doggie door in the mudroom.

The next photo shows a long shot of the dog run fencing from the window in Anna’s room. The last photo shows a close up of the fencing materials. We decided to use a black vinyl coated chain link for the fencing and black power coated posts.

The Fireplace…Mantel returns

Paul Winters finished installing the mantel above the living room fireplace in the “L” Shaped House. We had Luke from WireRite Electric pull wire for receptacles and Paul installed the recovered white pine returns last night. Paul will now frame up a support for the limestone hearth and Matt Sletten will start setting cultured stone on the fireplace face next week.

The next photo shows a close up of the returns meeting the mantel from the back side. Dan Guion and I decided to extend the mantel 1” beyond the returns as an aesthetic feature that adds “interest” to the back side of the mantel.

Painting…Distressing wrap up

Pete (Carmichael Decorating) and Paul working together have come a long way towards finishing up the cabinetry in the mudroom, laundry, and kitchen in the “L” Shaped House. The first photo below shows the kitchen desk area with the glazing complete and all of the knobs, bin pulls, and cabinet pulls installed. The “distressed” finish Pete has achieved exceeds our expectations and the adding the oil rubbed bronze pulls and knobs “tops” off the look perfectly!

The next photo is my best (of many) attempt to capture the water-based polyurethane finish coat Pete is applying to the first floor cabinetry. The polyurethane finish coat is meant to protect the glazing used to “distress” the cabinets. The cabinets now have five coats of paint applied…the primer (kills), two coats of oil-based enamel, glazing, and now the polyurethane.

Carpeting…Day 1

Our friends from Interior Design Carpet spent their first day at the “L” Shaped House preparing the second floor for carpeting. By the time they are done Rick and Jason will have installed carpeting in 12 rooms, 3 stairwells, and some interesting closet spaces throughout the house.

The first photo shows the 11 rolls of new carpeting piled in the first stall of the garage. A few rolls of carpet pad material can be seen piled up in the background. Rick and his crew have pre-cut some of the carpet at their shop but plan to use our garage and bonus room if necessary.

Sam and I stopped by the house right after lunch to look around and took a few photos on the second floor after the tack strips were installed. In the first the tack strip can be seen extending all the way around the upstairs hallway. In the second Sam is about to get his first good look at a PowerHold tack strip.

The next photo shows the right hand closet in Sam’s room after the tack strip installation. We plan to have carpeting running all through the second floor… including the closets and attic spaces.

The next couple photos were taken on my way home from work and show the carpet padding installed in the second floor hallway. We are having Rick and his guys install 5/8” Spillguard carpet padding under all of the carpet roll materials (we are using carpet squares in the basement). The second photo below shows the Spillguard pad and tack strip along the outside wall of the book nook.

The last photo shows the carpet padding running into Sam’s room from the hallway and around the corners into the walk-in closets on both sides of the doorway. The entire upstairs much quieter with the carpet padding installed.