Finally Adding Finishes

A [long and slow] ten months since my last post, we are finally installing tile and other finish materials.  Our appliances have been ordered and cabinets are being built.  We are finalizing all our flooring and continue to make multiple major decisions weekly.  It is incredible how much time and thought and work has been put into this house, but I'm certain that it will be apparent in the finished product.

First are pictures of the tile that is being installed in the bathrooms.  We've run into multiple snags with boxes of broken tile,  backordered shower drains, and incorrect (insufficient) amounts of tile, so I don't have photos of all the bathrooms yet.  Most of them are well on their way to looking like bathrooms, though, which is progress indeed! The guys installing the tile have done a wonderful job...a rare experience so far on this project.

This is the floating wall that will be behind the tub in the
master bathroom.  The wall will be trimmed out in wood,
(including the little peek through) and the tub spout and
and control will be floor mounted (you can see the rough
valve off to the left.)

Close-up of the tile on the tub surround.  It is a natural
stone called Jasper Quartzite, cut into 2" dimensional squares.

This is the slab of Jasper Quartzite that will be used for the counter and
backsplash in the master bathroom, to help tie in the tile on the tub wall.

This is the master shower.  The floor tile will be installed
soon...after the drain is in place.

The powder room (bathroom by the living room and kitchen)
has a slab of stone installed on the back wall called Turtle Blue.
In this photo I was auditioning a stone tile as an option for the
flooring, but we've decided to use terrazzo instead (picture below).

The pool bathroom looks so much better than before! If you happen to
remember the wallpaper with seashells, you know what I mean! The back wall
is tiled in a linear glass mosaic.  The shower area will sport teak treads
and a rain shower.

Melinda's bathroom is still awaiting the installation of the
shower drain also, but the tile is almost complete.  On the
floor is a porcelain tile made to look like wood, and on the
wall is a French clay hand-glazed tile.

Audrey's bathroom will need a better picture once the floors
are installed, because this lovely blue tile is also the floor
tile! All the walls have the white tile, making the bathroom
look very clean and fresh.

Narrowing down our flooring: the squares atop the wood are our terrazzo samples. Terrazzo is similar to concrete, but with aggregate mixed in, and a more uniform, softer appearance. The light color will be going in the lower entry area, as well as through the library and back patio. The darker color will go in the living room. The wood floors will be in the bedrooms as well as the kitchen, dining room, and great room.

The planks above represent the tone the walnut floors will be stained...more
precise samples are on their way.

Our door frames (walnut) have been installed, along with the recessed trim
along the outside—an updated version of the original.

Outside, the shed for our main electrical panel has tripled
in size (or thereabouts) to handle all the new equipment.

The cement work in the back yard is done! We have new steps inside (and outside)
of the pool, a built in fire pit with benches surrounding, and an all new patio
surrounding the pool.

We look on as the stucco guys apply the final layer.  The color lightens up some
as it dries.  The lines with red tape are covering a simple grid that we've
added to break up the space and lend a more modern look to the house.

Weeks 56-59: Putting the Lower Entry Back Together

In some ways, we are still working on "getting out of the ground".  Other areas are seeing a bit more progress, as we move into getting all the remaining systems roughed in. December is typically a slow month for construction since there are so many other things happening for the holidays, and this one is a little more chaotic since we are in the thick of picking up after our contractor.  There have been some things, like the roof, that are moving much faster while other things, like those involving existing subcontractors, take a little more patience. Soon, however, we should be up and running and seeing some serious progress for the first time.

From this angle the house is barely visible.  Soon the trees will be trimmed
and thinned. (Say goodbye to the palm trees!)

Adding the main staircase back to the entry is a good first step in making
this jobsite look like a house again!

Access to the Great Room is finally easy again.
The trenches in the lower entry and library have
been filled—we now have the beginnings
of a subfloor!

All of the toilets in the house (except for the one
in the basement) will be wall-hung toilets.  The tank
is inside the wall.

Looking up at the kitchen from the living room is what I've been doing lately...
we have to figure out how to vent the hood over the stove (which will on the
wall centered on the post between the windows) without covering too
much of our loved window space.

Weeks 52-55: HVAC, Plumbing, and Other Changes

Well, we passed the one-year mark.  Sigh.  It really was just about the longest year ever.  The closer we got to that mark, the more we started becoming aware of multiple [major] issues concerning our contractor.  The more we worked at getting them resolved, the more it became apparent that there was going to be no way to rebuild the level of trust needed to continue the relationship.  After weeks of delaying the project (the last thing we want) in order to make sure we had thought through the quandary and didn't act rashly, we made the difficult decision to let our contractor go, and finish the house ourselves.  We did retain Jerry, (the supervisor,) and were able to straighten things out with most of the sub-contractors so that they could continue on the job.  It was an ordeal, but it was also—ultimately—a relief.

Now we have no delays except those of our own making, so the pace of the job has been kicked into high gear.  Framing, plumbing, and HVAC have continued, with work on the roof starting as well.  Though we have made most of our decisions, there is still problem solving to be done and some details to nail down. 

This is the new wall between Andrew's and Audrey's closets.  Remember me saying that we took out the closets to make room for a superior HVAC installation?  Come to find out, there was no wall between those closets, only the backs of the closets themselves separated the two rooms.  No wonder they could hear each other so well!  So a wall was built, and the HVAC now runs from under the house, and through slim ducts inside that wall.  They will vent over the tops of the closets, hidden behind the belly band that runs around the tops of the rooms.  This same system solution is being used in the master bathroom, living room, and Tim's room.

In other areas of the house, we needed an even more specialized system.  The kitchen and dining room are two of the rooms that do not have an open-beam ceiling, but that doesn't mean the ceiling doesn't have detail of its own.  There is a soffit (of sorts) around the perimeter of the ceiling, with a large light box in the center that has the roof beam running through it.  In an effort to avoid conspicuous vents dotting the soffit, our HVAC team custom-made special linear vents that were able to fit in the space between the two parallel ceiling beams.  They look really nice, though it is hard to see in the picture! We repeated this linear system in the library as well as the hallway by Timothy's room.

A handful of other items have progressed as well.  Melinda's room has a doorway. The massive trench that had to be dug in the back yard to accommodate a new sewer line and gas line has been dug and refilled. The existing built-in barbecue has been pulled out to make way for a pizza oven and new grill.  The roof has been started.  And the grading in the front yard has begun.

Melinda has a doorway!  She also has a catwalk - one
of Chris's self-proclaimed "hair-brained ideas" that
looks to become a reality!

The trench in the patio area has been refilled.

The trench continued along the planter outside the
bedrooms.

There once was a barbecue...and there shall be again.  Just not brick this time.

Oooh! Plumbing!  There's my washer and dryer hook-ups in my newly
situated laundry room!  Progress!

Plumbing and framing have begun in the kitchen as well.
Our kitchen layout has changed completely.
Pictured above is the new island.

In the guest bedroom, the area above the belly band line used to be filled
with glass (most likely because that wall used to be an exterior wall) but will
now be drywall all the way up.  This is partly to provide a solution for hiding
the soffit in the hallway (which you could see through the glass) and partly
for a better sound barrier between the two rooms.

Seen from the other side, in Timothy's room.  This was the
best solution for this space (good problem solving and
decision making, Chris!)

In the front yard, more demo is being done—specifically
to the retaining wall—in order to prepare the grading
and drainage for the new landscape plan.

Although the retaining wall has been taken out, it will be
replaced.  It needed to be deeper due to the basement
addition, so replacement was necessary.

In a very very dry winter season, when is the one time it will rain like the Dickens?
When you replace the roof, of course.  Everything was covered in time to
prevent any damage, so no harm done. 

Weeks 49-51: HVAC and Framing

We've been meeting every Tuesday morning from 9am until around noon in order to address some of the particulars surrounding each finish detail. In addition to Chris and myself, these meetings include Justin (our friend who is acting as quality control), Emily (interior designer), Jeff and Alison (architect & assistant), Brett and Jerry (contractor and supervisor), as well as any subcontractors that may need to be involved at any point in time.  For the first part of the project (digging out the basement) there weren't many weekly decisions to be made, but as the house has started coming back together these meetings have proved necessary.

These meetings can be long and tiring, but as long as we are making progress it is all worth it.  Because this house is gigantic (some 8,000 square feet when all is said and done) it isn't easy to walk through the whole house at one time, though we do attempt it on occasion.  When it came to final decisions regarding the HVAC systems, we knew that a standard installation wouldn't be the right fit for the house and so a room-by-room detail was necessary.  I'll show pictures of those details as they are completed—it's too complicated to explain without pictures!

Two huge main lines for the HVAC system, which will
be installed in the trench dug in the lower entry.

Jerry (left) and Jeff (right) listen in as Dan (HVAC, middle) explains why
there will no longer be room for a workbench in the garage where it previously
was.  Okay, he was explaining more than that, but the rest went over my head.

One of those huge pipes finds a home under our home.

Fast forward...both pipes have been installed, and the trench
has been filled.  Almost like it never happened.

Chris and the crew discuss possibilities in order to keep the doorway to the
kitchen open (as shown) instead of closing it up a bit.  For reference, the
kitchen is past Chris, dining room to the left, great room up to the right.

Brett (contractor) looks on as we discuss possible ways to use the tiny amount
of space left for storage in the bedroom hallway.  My full-height linen cabinet
is untouched, but the lower cabinet next to it had to be reduced due to the
forced air heating unit that was installed behind it & requiring ample breathing
room.  An access panel will need to remain, other than that, I think it is a puzzle
to hash out with the cabinet maker.

One last look at the original bedroom closets.  They will soon be removed
in order to accommodate HVAC in the walls behind.

Audrey discovered the Warriors series this week—she said the meeting
went by so fast (for the first time ever).  This marks her jump into larger
chapter books - so long Magic Tree House!

Weeks 47-48: Plumbing, HVAC, and Exterior Structure

In addition to the framing and HVAC, some of the interior rough-in plumbing is happening.  Also, we are in the process of trying to make final decisions regarding the exterior surfaces of the house. This includes the style of the siding, the finish of the block, and how the windows are installed in all situations.  Because the house is so big (so long, really) it is a challenge to make each part interesting without making it look disjointed.

Meanwhile, on the interior design front, much progress has been made with selecting tile for the bathrooms as well as the faucets and other fixtures.  We have decided to use wall mounted toilets from Toto (except in the basement where it won't be possible) and most faucets and shower fixtures are from La Cava.

It is difficult to determine which design decisions need to be made next, so we just keep plugging away at getting everything tied together and perfect.  It is nice to see the house begin to come back together.  I'm ready to move back in already!

The drop ceiling in the basement has been adjusted to properly tie into the
belly band design in the lower entry.  We are very happy that this was a
solvable problem!

Both windows in the theater have been eliminated.  Chris is so happy!

An access window was not required in the wine cellar after all, so it has
decreased in size in order to match the adjoining window.  Of course, Chris
would prefer to have no windows whatsoever, but we kept some so that the
house would look right from the outside.

Yes, please.

The full HVAC trench in the lower entry way.

The future kitchen.  It looks so much closer to the living room now that
there isn't a seven foot wall in between.  The glass railing that will take its
place will keep the areas much more open.

The sliding glass doors in the great room are some that will be receiving
special treatment - a system by Vitrocsa that will open all the way up.

Starting to look like a house again!

Little by little...

A lot of grading and drainage still needs to happen in the front, but it is
shaping up.

The trash can area will eventually have a gate to disguise the bins.  We are
happy to have eliminate the window to the master bathroom that used to be
here.  Who wants a window to the trash??

Pretty pepper tree, the area that used to be (and shall be once again) the
herb garden.  We added a couple of small vertical openings into the
master bedroom's courtyard to add some depth and interest to the area.

Saving my rocks! Yay rocks!

Developments in the bedrooms:  The hallway outside of Tim's room needed to have the soffit rebuilt (the one we originally installed when creating the hallway in order to have access to the guest room).  For some reason, rebuilding it properly has been much more difficult than the original building was.  I still can't quite figure that one out, but as long as we end up with a good product, everything is cool.  The first picture below shows the beginnings of it...prepare to be confused!

Soffit in the hallway outside Tim's room.

A drawing in the dust of Andrew's closet shelves.  :)  The closets in Andrew's
and Audrey's rooms had been saved, but it looks like they will need to be
taken out in order to install the HVAC in the best possible manner.

Melinda's room has such a nice, open, loft feel. It's been a fun room to
design!

The other corner of Melinda's room: she has a large,
blank wall that we are planning on treating with a
special treatment for our in-house artist.

The master bathroom will be so different than it was before!  Very open, as
opposed to the labyrinth it was before.  One of the problems in this area,
because it didn't not previously have an open ceiling, will be how to make
the white paint on the tongue and groove revert to its natural tones.