Final permits recieved!!!

We are almost there!!!  What a journey.  We passed our final inspection yesterday and celebrated with bottle (or two) of wine with Bob.  A few more things to get completed in the coming week and we are moving in.   A few more images...

Second Installment

As promised, here are some additional photos from the past week or so.

Built-in shelves in Mike's office

My built-in desk

Rubber-coin flooring in kids' shower surround

Kitchen (with my hard-workin' man)

Looking from front yard to back

From deck to garage

From backyard looking into kitchen

Partial front view

Welcome to 1430!

Coming to a Close...

Who knew 98004modern had such a loyal fan base. This one goes out to you :)

With luck on our side (please cross your fingers for us) we will be moving into our new home in less than two weeks. It seems almost impossible, given the bumpy road we've experienced on this crazy ride, but if over the next few days, we pass mechanical, plumbing and electrical inspections, we will stomp our feet (very hard, by the way) in celebration. I'm not sure if we're more excited to leave the condo and the extremely gracious and friendly community we have called our "neighbors" for the past 9 month (being completely facetious) or to just be moving in to our own space...the place to call home for probably the next say.......20 years????

With only one week from completion, I'm going to let the photo images speak for themselves and not describe our progression since the last post. Unfortunately, there are a number of completed projects that have yet to be photographed. I will post another set of images this weekend, once the painting is completed. Enjoy!

Kitchen installation

Nickel tiles in master bath (Yes, they are real nickels)

Master shower

The lights are on!

Cedar interior walls

Cedar interior with perforated metal (loft wall)

Concrete pour for our driveway and walkway

Completed landscaping in front yard

Outside-In

Deck (thanks B. Clapp )

Splash Block

Lookin' up

where the macic will happen for years to come

Master Bath

Moving On

Unfortunately, the progress on our home took a HUGE turn for the worst a couple of weeks ago, which explains why I've been absent from the blog. Rainstorms pounded on our home and unfortunately our gorgeous clear siding that clad the garage saw the worst of it. We noticed greenish goo seaping from the gaps in our siding and thru the nail holes that hold up the wood. To make a very long story short, we fired our sider (I will not name names, but if you're ever in the market for a siding company, make sure you check in with me just to make sure you're not hiring the wrong guy) and are moving on with no solid resolution, but with a great team of people who are assisting us.

With that bad experience behind us, we marked a major milestone last week with the installation of our insulation. AND, sheetrock is being installed this week. By Friday, the interior of our will be taking on a completely different life. We should have a good idea of how life will be with solid walls. Amazing!!!!!

Here are a couple of photos with insulation. Check back next week and I'll post more photos of the nailed up sheetrock.

Check out that light streaming down from the skylight

Kitchen wall and corner of loft

Up to our bathroom

Kids' floor

Sheetrock delivery

Past and Present

I don't want you to think that we're not moving forward with success, but unfortunately all that has occured over the past week or so has been un-photographable (probably not a word). We passed electrical, plumbing and venting inspection!!!! Huge milestones! Most of the siding has been completed. Garage door has been installed. Main floor is being prepared for concrete next week. See, things are a happenin'.

Yesterday, I walked inside and was surprisingly confronted by a past and present photo of our home. See for yourselves:

October 2009

May 2010

Nice Spring Evening

As the weather warms, we find ourselves wanting to be outdoors more (rather than cramped in this senior citizen, crabby infested condo community). AND, as progress on the house becomes visually more exciting, we find ourselves wanting to be at the house more. Given the lovely spring day, there really wasn't a question where we would be spending our early evening -- at the house, ofcourse. While the kids raced in the garage, we admired our home and took the following pictures so you too could admire it. Enjoy!

Wide cedar planks on backside of home

Great architectural details

Close-up of the wide cedar planks (stained with a grey wash solution)

Close-up of clear stained cedar on garage

Where the two materials meet (on the backside of our home - Mike's office window)

Basement with doors

Good night!

Just Photos Today

I'm a woman of few words today (bet you can't believe that). Actually, I'm just not feeling very inspired to write, but I didn't want that to stop me from posting new photos. Enjoy.

Stairs (and storage door) in the back of the garage

Cement board siding on south side of house

Cement board siding on front of home (and my little helpers)

Poured concrete in garage

3 different siding materials: Wide knotty cedar (in weathered grey) above + Clear stained cedar on garage + Cement board (Hardie Panel - to be painted light grey) on main floor

Last, but definitely not least....check out all of our lights in the main living area. AWESOME!!!!

A Fantastic View

So much has happened over the last week, I can hardly keep up. Let's see if I can list the progress, in no partcular order:

1) The cedar siding project has begun, and is coming along quite amazingly, may I add (photos to prove below)
2) Major plumbing continues (i.e. installation of significant piping) which includes designing a plan for where faucets, mirrors, sinks, lights, outlets (all the essentials for a bathroom) are located
3) Basement framing was completed, including outside walls, closets, etc.
4) Electrical rough-in continues. Photos below show the installation of loft recessed cans.
5) Our super-dooper heavy duty steel canopy was installed over the front door
6) The last of our windows were installed

I'm sure I'm missing something, but for now this should suffice. Enjoy!

Recessed Cans Rough In in Loft

Welcome to Our Home!

Close-Up of Steel Canopy

Front of Garage in Cedar

Completed Cedar Wall on Garage

View from the Living Room

Ahhhh.....