Granite, Part 2

 Better pictures with backsplash:

Now you see him

Now you don't

And the baths:

Guest

Master

And then he left for Vieques.

Bye Bye Lucy

Don't leave me, daddy

 

 

Granite, a Preview

Today, Granite Creations arrived at the house at 9 a.m. By the time I got there at 10:30, everything was in except the backsplash, and the guys were installing the sinks. My jaw dropped.  The stone is much more beautiful than I had thought.  The cuts and polishing are stunning.  Below are some rough pictures.  It was hard to day to get good color because it is a cloudy day and the little phone camera sometimes just doesn't cut it.

Tomorrow, after everyone cleans up, (the floor sanders come on Sunday) I will take pictures with the good camera.  The backsplash will be on then also.

The finished carpentry is 95% complete.  Here are some details

 

Half wall cap detail on third floor

Day bed platform on third floor

Jeremy installing the crown molding

Ted and Dan figuring out how to frame the triangle windows on the third floor

Ted is going on vacation Friday night.  If there are any small details that remain undone, Jeremy will work on Saturday.  While Ted is gone, Jeremy will prepare the cherry ( from a tree on Ted's property in Ashfield that went down in a storm) for my desk top, Dave's desk top, and the eating bar in the dining room.

The eating bar will run along the top of the wainscotting.  The tops of the two columns on either side of the counter will also be cherry.

The door hardware arrived this week.

Seems like a pretty simple look after all my hand wringing.  They are Emtecks: they feel heavy and easy to turn.

Two weeks ago, I ordered plantation shutters for the first floor hall, living, and dining rooms. Each window will have a single shutter with 3 1/2 " louvers. The shutters are custom made of American hardwood, such as Poplar or slow growth Basswood.  The mill custom paints the shutters to match the trim, in this case BM Mascarpone.  I wanted to keep as much light as possible in the room, so the shutters will have no divider rail.  They will have two tilt bars, so I will be able to open the top half of the louvers, while maintaining privacy on the bottom.  The examples below aren't quite the thing, but they provide an idea of the shutter look.

I decided to order custom cellular shades for the master and guest bedrooms.  I looked on line, thinking I could save money.  I ordered samples, and the colors were all wrong and so were the fabric types.  Budget Blinds, a local franchise, has a private label shade with the same quality as Hunter Douglas, but with half the price.  One of the unique attributes of these blinds is that the valence is covered with fabric.  Most shade have metal valences, and boy, are they ugly.  The shades are cordless (hah! hah! Theo and Harvey you destructive little cats) and when the blinds are folded up, they are quite compact.

I haven't decided about the master and guest baths.  I could do cellulars that open from either the top or bottom.  They are expensive, and I am not sure that they are sleek enough for me. A really nice  roller shade might be the item.  I bought some Japanese decorative papers to cover the lower windows this summer.  It will give me time to decide.

I used this paper on my windows in Asheville.

The final countdown begins when Ted returns from Vieques (lucky Ted.)  First job will be to build in the double fireplace.  I am going to write to the gallery from which we purchased the art which will hang over the fireplace. It was one of the last paintings that John Grillo, my favorite artist, completed before his death last winter at age 97. They are going to frame it for us.  I need know its framed dimensions so that everything is to scale, including any mantle we may install.

Now you can see why I have tried to keep the trim and details simple.  We have some mighty vivid art.  I don't want the house to fight with it.

The guys will install the shoe molding all through the house, the baseboard in the kitchen and the crown molding around the range hood.  Ted has finally acknowledged that I have asked him 7 times to build in some bookshelves for Dave on the third floor.  (Jeremy says Ted has historically selective hearing.) Then, there are the doors, appliance installation, tiling the backsplash in the kitchen, finished electrical and plumbing. Finally, they will paint the entire house and install the door and closet hardware. I am out of breath just thinking about it.  Oh, and I forgot that the front door has to be stripped and refinished.  Ted claims he can have the old mortise lock modernized.

April 20, here we come. ( I just picked that date out of thin air, but it's good to have a goal.)

Slowly We Build

No recent blog posts because its hard to show the progress.  It's happening, just hard to show. There's a lot of trim to install: window, baseboard and crown molding.  The first floor has all its windows and baseboard molding done.  Jeremy is now working on the baseboard in the second floor bathrooms.  We have chosen the crown molding.  It's a 2 1/2" cove, which echoes the crown molding on the top of the kitchen cabinets. Ted is hoping to install the crown on the first floor next week.

Currently, he is finishing the stairs.

Steps to the third floor

Carpenter Ted and his Helper Dan

Ted was hand crafting a bead to run along the top of the stair skirt so it would match the baseboard.  He admired his work and said, "You are lucky that you got me to do this now. I am a much better carpenter than I used to be." My thought was that he must have been pretty good before. 


Here's how the baseboard looks in the bath:

I ordered a couple of mirrors for the master bath.  After spending 2-3 hours searching the internet for something appropriate, I ended up with a cliche--Pottery Barn tilting mirrors (on sale of course.) These mirrors were the right shape ( almost square) and the right size.

I will use an antique wood mirror in the guest bath.  It's currently being used behind the bar in our apartment.  I will hang it vertically.

The third floor bath is a bit of a challenge because the ceiling slopes down in front of the sink.  It will require a small mirror with a small frame to allow the glass to be as close to the edge of the wall as possible.  I don't want force people to squat to see themselves.

The half bath will have a small oval mirror that was my mother's.  Here it is in the Asheville bedroom.

Yes, that's Harvey.

Oh, and an important change of plans.  After some scheduling challenges, we have changed course and chosen different counter and vanity tops. 

It's called Blue Flower Granite.  As you can see, it's a perfect match for the cabinet colors.  It also sets of the bathroom tile perfectly.  The guys from Granite Creations (shout out to Vern Harrington, my second favorite contractor) are coming to the house on 2/11 to make the templates.  We won't have the guest room vanity until the following Friday,  but we will have an electronic template to give the granite guys when they come. Then, it takes 2-3 weeks to fabricate.  Stone in March! Now, that puts us really close to completion. 

I have ordered and received most of the bathroom accessories.  Still to go are the DOOR KNOBS.  Ted keeps putting me off on these.   I will persist though.  Next week, little brother.

The Kitchen is 80% installed

Ted has installed all the cabinets around the periphery of the kitchen.  The island goes in this week along with the crown molding and baseboards.  It is beginning to shape up.

 Here is my desk.  Ted will build a cherry top for it.  It's great with one problem that Dave pointed out.  It's right next to the side door, so no one will be able to come in if I am sitting at the desk.  I will have to be careful to place my chair under the desk when I get up also.  I think this might mean that we will use the back door off the deck more than I had thought. I think back to the kitchen design and realize that there was really no other place to put the desk.  I wanted a window.  I guess we could have placed the desk in the middle of the tall cabinets (see photo below) but then we would not have had a coffee bar.

  The cabinet at the far side (below) will be our dish and glassware storage.  It is right across the way from our dishwasher.  I will be able to unload the dishes virtually without moving my feet. I will store my canned goods, condiments, flour, etc in the second full length cabinet.  The third cabinet will hold tools that I don't use as much, i.e. baking pans, food saver, etc.

The sink cabinet faces the dining room.  Here's what it looks like from the other side:

And, one more side.  This is where the under the counter microwave goes.  It pops out to be used.  It will be great to have more counter space.

Kitchen and Baths

Ted is half way through kitchen cabinet installation.

A View from the Side Door

Ted installs the dishwasher cabinet

Billy has installed the floor in the guest bath.  As I have said before, Billy does nice work.

 This is the master bath soap dish, now tiled.

I don't want to forget the labors of Jeremy who has been off on the second floor trimming out all the windows and doors.

Master Bedroom

They are Here

The cabinets are a thing of beauty.  Ted starts installing today.

Ted and Dave unpacking

Happy New Year

The house is all tidied up for the last push.  Last week, the fireplace came and is now living in the garage.  On Monday, the kitchen and bath cabinets are being delivered.  Ted says that the trim work will be done by the end of January.  Almost all the electrical work is done. Jeff the electrician has installed all the outlets and switches.  He will cover them after we paint.  This means I should start looking for any decorative plates that I want for the first floor.  I first need to know what type of dimmer switch we will use since a number of switches will be converted to dimmers.

Switches

Plugs

Second Floor Stairs

Ted has completed the second floor staircase.  One more to go.  The basement stairs will be made from pre-cut treads. Definitely not white maple.

Painted Doors

Eli has primed all the doors and is working on their first finish coat.  The guys were installing window sills today.  Here are some finished windows in the dining room:

 Billy the tiler has started on the master bath.  He is prepping the shower stall for its subway tile.  He built a soap and shampoo insert for the shower.  This way, we won't bump into it when we turn around.  I must remember to talk to him about the seat!

Door Trim

Jeremy tells me that this door trim required him to use every skill that Ted has taught him on this job. It had to fit perfectly between the two walls.  Ted says Jeremy will become a fine finished carpenter. Praise indeed.

And oh, I forgot to display Ted's kitchen.  He said that unlike most jobs, he is not in a hurry to leave the job site.  All the comforts of home.

Ted's Kitchen

 There is still one design issue.  We have a little cave in the basement.  Maybe a place for wine?

What shall we do with this?

Dan cleaned up all the construction debris in preparation for the New Year.  They also covered the dumpster....

Interior
Still to do:
put in the cat door !
finish door and window trim
install crown molding and baseboards
hang doors
finish interior stairs
install the bannisters and railings
finish tiling
build in the fireplace
install plumbing fixtures
install electrical fixtures
Install cabinets and vanities
counter top fabrication and installation
install kitchen appliances
install washer and dryer
build: shelves in kitchen, Lucy's desk top, counter top for eating peninsula, linen closet in master, bookshelves on third floor, day bed on third floor, area around windows on third floor, Dave's desk, closet door on third floor.
paint the whole house
finish the floors
install wire racking in closets
doorknobs
refinish the front door and re-key the old lock
Sounds like a lot to me....