Last weekend in August…part 2

Continuing the theme from last night’s posting…the photos here show more of the results of last week’s flurry of activity at the “L” Shaped House. The first photo shows the dryer in the first floor laundry room after Paul finished hooking up the newly routed venting that allows a closer fit to the back wall.

The next photo shows the tall upper cabinet above the washing machine in the first floor laundry room after Paul cut a hole through the ceiling to connect to the laundry chute above. The third photo shows the basement microwave cabinet after Luke (Wire-Rite) finished installing the electrical outlet in the cabinet above and routing the power cord to the microwave.

the fourth photo shows the stacked washer and dryer in the second floor laundry room with nearly every detail completed including paint touch-ups, window hardware, and plumbing hook-ups.

The fifth photo shows the first floor bathroom after Luke (Wire-Rite) finished wiring the light fixture…Pete (Carmichael Decorating) repainted the wall…and Paul mounted the mirror Deb selected. Paul and Nate also removed, re-scribed, and re-mounted the cultured marble vanity top to get a better fit along the back wall.

The sixth photo shows the lockers Paul is building in the mudroom. He has all of the maple trim attached and is just about ready to start sanding and filling. The 18” high upper cubbies and 8” deep hanging wire baskets underneath the lockers should give us plenty of storage for our day-to-day clothing accessories.

The seventh photo shows the French doors and side lights leading to the screen porch from the living room after Paul removed the plastic film protecting the glass. The view through this “wall of glass” at the front of the living room is fantastic and it feels like the amount of light streaming in has increased ten times.

The eighth photo shows the master bathroom after Pete (Carmichael Decorating) finished touching up all of the little “imperfections” he could find (there are still a couple pieces of masking tape on the wall). He has worked the last few days touching up “here and there” throughout the “L” Shaped House.

The ninth photo shows the collection of paint in the basement storage room Pete has to sort through as he works his way around the house touching up walls, trim, and ceilings. It kind of makes you wonder what we are going to do with all these cans of paint after they leave…

The last photo shows the mechanical room in the basement with…I’m pretty sure…all of of our plumbing and mechanical systems in place. Jeremy (Steinkraus Plumbing) finished up all of the “loose ends” on the plumbing system including the drain for the water softener early in the week and Gordie Buhrer showed up Friday to plug it in and set up a program for softening.

Carpentry…Doors (from the inside)

I took this extreme panoramic photo from the landing on the front stairs to try to capture both sets of exterior doors and the fireplace in one wide image. The photo provides a fairly good sense of the “open” feeling in the space and shows off the additional light let into the room nicely. Paul Winters took advantage of the incredibly nice weather today and has all the windows and doors open.

The whole house felt wonderful!

Carpentry…The front door

Today was a special day…Landon (Solid Construction)  installed the front door on the “L” Shaped House. The first photo shows the solid Simpson door and side lights shortly after Landon finished installing the door handle and deadbolt. The mahogany stain looks really nice and it feels great to finally have a proper front door.

The next photo shows the front door standing open into the foyer. The third photo shows Landon as he worked installing the strike plate on the door jam.

 

The last photo shows the new front door and side lights from a spot in front of the island in the kitchen. In it we see the cherry stain we selected for the inside surfaces of all the exterior doors as well as the Poplar door leading into the coat closet off the foyer. The windows in the door and side lights let a lot of light in and really brighten up the front entry of the house.

Carpentry…Final push (day 2)

The Solid Construction guys spent the day (yesterday) working on doors throughout the “L” Shaped House. The panoramic photo below shows the front corner of the living after they installed the side lights in the front wall and the two divided light doors leading into the music room. It’s really nice to see this space with all of the sunlight spilling in through the “wall of glass” on the front wall.

The next photo shows the fireplace wall in the living room with the divided light doors to the music room installed. This space is looking more and more like the Photoshop sketch we worked from as we selected the individual elements of the fireplace.

The last photo shows the French doors leading to the front porch from the living room after the Solid Construction crew installed the “side lights” on each end. We chose to build the “wall of glass” using a Simpson exterior patio door framed in the center with non-operating door panels on each end. This approach was not only less expensive than a four panel door assembly but also allowed for better framing support of the lamination beam in the front wall of the living room.

Carpentry…More doors

Paul Winters has spent the last couple of days hanging doors and installing hardware all around the “L” Shaped House. The first photo shows the inside wall of Anna’s room with the door to the hallway and by-pass closet doors installed. With most of the doors on the second floor hung the upstairs is looking a lot like a home!

The next photo shows the second floor hallway leading to the bonus room with the by-pass closet doors installed. The last photo shows the breezeway entry door with the keypad deadbolt and keyed entrance knob.

Carpentry…Door knobs and locks

As the painting continues in the garage Paul is working to get the doors and all of the door knobs and locks installed. The two photos below show the newly installed front service door shot both open and closed from inside the garage. These doors include both a locking knob & dead bolt and are switched for the alarm.

Carpentry…More doors

Paul spent the day Friday installing exterior doors at the “L” Shaped House. The first photos shows the french doors leading into the living room from the screen porch on the front of the house. The panels on either side of these new doors will get in-operable versions of the same Simpson exterior doors making this a virtual wall of glass along the front of the house.

The next photo shows the new french doors from the back corner of the living room. The light coming through the glass doors has already made the living room a much brighter place…It’s going to be amazing when the two additional panels are installed!

This next photo shows the back breezeway entry door. With both doors installed the breezeway space has been transformed into a bright and cheery place. I especially like this view out into the back yard with the upper patio and deck in the foreground and Jim Danielson’s old shed way back in the woods.

The last photo shows the same lighting transformation happening in the basement family room. Here the light streaming into the room through the patio doors is absolutely wonderful!

Carpentry…Exterior doors

Paul Winters has been busy installing exterior doors around the “L” Shaped House. The first photo below shows the new exterior doors at the back breezeway and basement walk-out. All the exterior doors are Simpson Mastermark Collection doors finished with a mahogany varnish from Sikkens.

The next photo shows a close up of the Simpson patio doors at the basement walk-out. The last photo shows the breezeway door above the back deck and patio. The mahogany stained doors look very nice set off against both the cloak grey siding and the pavers in the patios.

Painting…Day 13 (Doors)

Today’s posting is all about doors at the “L” Shaped House…In the first photo below we get our first look at one of the Simpson exterior doors without the packaging materials. These doors are all full glass and are made from hemlock. The next photo was taken in the bonus room just a few moments after Rick sprayed the second coat of polyurethane varnish on three of the interior doors. Rick and Martin are busy staging the remaining doors for their production spraying operations.

 

The last photo shows the dog door in the mudroom being held in place by our camera shy construction supervisor…Paul Winters. The door is a double flap Endura pet door from Patio Pacific and includes the interior locking panel seen in the photo.

Exterior Doors…Day 0

Scherer Brothers delivered the Simpson Mastermark exterior doors to the “L” Shaped House Wednesday morning. Included in the mix are the five first floor wood doors as well as the steel doors for the garage. The second photo below shows the finish we have chosen for the door hardware on one of the garage door knobs.