Luke from Wire-Rite finished installing the electrical connection for our back-up generator at the “L” Shaped House late last week. We have decided to use a manual transfer switching mechanism that is housed in the enclosure directly under the meter. The photos below show the generator connector in the small enclosure at the bottom right hand side of the main service entrance to the house.
Curt and Luke were back today putting the finishing touches on the electrical system at the “L” Shaped House. They spent some time replacing a few light fixtures and labeling in the service panels. The first photo shows all of the fluorescent light fixtures in the garage ceiling hooked up and shining brightly.
The next photo show the fluorescent light fixture in the basement mechanical room mounted to the ceiling.
The last photo shows the entrance to the crawl space under the East end of the house with the two new light fixtures in place and the space cleaned up nicely.
Luke from Wire-Rite is back working to install the electrical outlets in the screen porch. We decided to have four outlets spread around on the three “outside” walls of the screened-in area. The first photo shows Luke trying to escape the camera as he wires in one of the surface mount boxes on the West end of the porch.
The second photo shows a finished outlet box assembly on the East wall of the screen porch. The electrical code requires that these boxes have the dreaded “in-use” bubble covers as protection in a wet environment.
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.
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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.
The last few days have brought a flurry of activity in and around the “L” Shaped House. Most of the sub-contractors have been in and out as they finish up items on Nate and Paul’s list. I took these photos as I wandered around this morning catching up on the progress and decided to put them all in one blog posting. The first photo shows the steel I-beam post in-between the third and fourth stalls in the garage after Paul got it partially installed. The post attaches to the 8” I-beam in the ceiling and is designed to carry 25% of the weight of the back wall of the bonus room above.
The next photo shows the back corner of the mudroom under the new lockers after Matt Sletten finished installing and grouting the ceramic tile sanitary base. With this last bit of tile in place Matt is just about finished working at the “L” Shaped House!
Speaking of Paul’s nice mudroom lockers…The third photo shows the collection Minwax stain Paul was able to produce after a couple of minutes of digging in the back end of his pickup truck. He wiped some stain on a few samples and Deb picked Golden Pecan 245 for the lockers.
The whole process seemed a little like a magic trick ;-)
Luke (Wire-Rite) has been in and out all week working on various projects. The light fixture above the sink in the first floor bath has been uncooperative all along. The fourth photo here shows the fixture installed on the wall all ready for action.
The fifth photo shows one of the cranks on the casement window above the kitchen sink. Steve Carmichael’s guys have been re-installing all of the window hardware as they finish up their work at the “L” Shaped House.
The sixth photo shows the pile of Deckorators aluminum balusters (spindles) and connectors for the railings on all three porches at the “L” Shaped House. Paul estimates that the Solid Construction guys will need 336 spindles to complete all three railings.
The last photo shows the view off the front porch after I finished up mowing the front yard for the first time using our new John Deere lawn tractor. I had the sprinkler system turned off for four days before attempting to mow and it was still a little softer than I wanted but it had to be done. I dumped the clippings bag 10 times as I worked my way SLOWLY across the thick jungle of grass!
Paul Winters and Nate have continued working on some of the little details throughout the “L” Shaped House. The photos below show the upper cabinets in the dining room hutch after Nate finished installing the clear glass in the doors and tempered glass shelves. Paul insists on installing the glass using a little bead of clear silicone all the way around the inside perimeter to eliminate any “rattling” when the doors are opened and closed…its a nice touch!
The dining room hutch has a halogen “puck” light installed in the top of each cabinet, a set of Xenon under cabinet lights illuminating the countertop, and a provision for LED rope lighting above. Combined with the 14 electrical outlets in the space between the upper and lower cabinets we might be (fairly?) accused of going a little overboard!
Both Luke and Curt were working in and around the “L” Shaped House this morning as they prepare for the final electrical inspection. The photo below shows the new fluorescent light fixtures they installed in the ceiling of the garage and if you look close you can see that all the wall plates are also in place. Other than a couple outside light fixtures we might change…I think these guys are almost done!
The “L” Shaped House saw a lot of change over the last week. While going through the photos I came across a couple of projects that merited publishing. The first photo is an extreme panoramic taken in the mechanical room after everyone (plumbers, HVAC, electricians, and home automation) finished up projects this week. The nice neat work everyone has done contributes to the “organized” feeling in the room.
The second photo shows the last stall in the garage after Luke installed the first two fluorescent light fixtures in the ceiling. We plan to make a couple of “tweaks” to the fixtures before he moves into the remaining stalls but the placement and “amount” of light will stay the same.
The last photo shows one of the Barn Light Electric exterior gooseneck light fixtures above the garage doors. I’ve included it here just because I like the shot!
Luke from Wire-Rite was back today installing lights in the “L” Shaped House. The photo below shows the wall sconce he installed above the right hand sink in the master bathroom. Or at least this is what it looked like at about noon…Deb showed up later this afternoon and made him turn the fixture 180 degrees (something about the light shining down…).
I just like this photo better than the one I took later.
Edit…The two photos below now show the wall sconce “upside-down” and “right-side up”.
I left the “L” Shaped House after dropping off some networking gear and got to see the Barn Lights above the garage doors after dark for the first time. The combination of the lights, the cloak grey siding, white trim, and paver driveway make for a very nice scene.
Enjoy…
Luke from Wire-Rite is back today working on the first floor wiring after pretty much “buttoning-up” the second floor yesterday afternoon. The first photo shows the back corner of the kitchen after Luke finished installing the back ordered under cabinet lights. Now that all the lighting fixtures and appliances are in place the kitchen area is getting closer (and closer) to being complete!
The next photo shows the first floor laundry room with the under cabinet lighting in place. This ro0m also feels more complete with the lights and appliances (almost) in place.
The last photo shows the front wall in Sam’s room after Luke installed the fluorescent light fixtures above the closet doors. The whole second floor feels very much like a home with the lighting in place!
Luke is back today installing closet lights and under-cabinet fixtures at the “L” Shaped House. The first photo below shows the two closets in the basement guest bedroom with the florescent fixtures installed above the doors. The 4 foot fixtures cast plenty of light and really make the closet organizer stand out!
The next photo shows the hall closets across from the kids bathroom with the interior lighting installed. Once again the bright lights make the interiors really stand out. The third photo shows the 4’ fixture installed in the attic space in Helen’s room.
The last photo shows the basement kitchen area with all of the lighting installed and the refrigerator plugged in. The three cans in the ceiling are on a dimmer switch while the under-cabinet fixtures feature high and low settings on each light. With the Samsung refrigerator door open the whole kitchen lights up nicely.
Luke (Wire-Rite) and Paul worked late Friday evening finishing up some of the electrical work at the “L” Shaped House. The first photo below shows the Faber vent hood above the cooktop after Paul moved it down 3” and Luke re-connected the power. Once the special order 12” fixtures arrive Luke will finish up the under-cabinet lighting and the kitchen will be almost complete!
The next photo shows the air-conditioning condenser on the upper patio after Luke finished installing the electrical enclosure and wiring. It looks like cool air inside is just around the corner!
The last photo shows the front side of the Luxaire furnace and central air-conditioner in the basement mechanical room after Luke finished connecting it to the electrical system.
Luke from Wire-Rite was back today working with Paul Winters to install the pendants in the kitchen ceiling above the island and sink. The first photo shows the five new pendants from the bay window in the dining room. Our goal was to align the two fixtures over the sink “in-between” the three over the island when viewed from the dining room. The Kichler Mini Pendants are from the same Hedrick family of lighting fixtures Dianne at Cartier Lighting recommended for the dining room chandelier and wall sconces.
The second photo shows the kitchen pendants from the laundry room doorway with the lowered vent hood on the oven wall in the background. The kitchen looks absolutely wonderful with the pendants dimmed and the under cabinet lights turned on. I think the hood looks better 3” lower…especially with the cast iron cooktop grates installed.
Curt and Luke finished installing both the double wall oven and the drawer style microwave in the kitchen before they left late yesterday afternoon. The first photo here shows the GE wall oven installed in the cabinetry with the oven doors in place all ready to bake cookies!
Luke is also preparing the wall above the cooktop for the vent hood that will be installed shortly.
The next photo shows the Sharp Microwave Drawer installed in the front face of the island. Virtually everyone we tell about this product has an opinion about a microwave installed in a lower cabinet. If you look closely at the photo you can see that Sharp has addressed the primary concern by “tilting” the control panel (up) just a bit making it surprisingly easy to see from above. Now that it is in place and we have had a chance to try it out a little…I think it is going to be really nice!
I stopped by house on the way home from lacrosse practice with a car full of kids and took a few photos of the new garage lights. First a shot of all four doors from the middle of the driveway surface just after sunset.
Next the girls standing in the glow of the light over the third stall…and last the light above the fourth stall bathing the paver apron in light. I think the gooseneck barn lights are just about perfect!
