This week our remodeling project passed final inspection! Moreover, the general contractor hauled off the last of the debris, had the port-a-loo taken away, and removed their scary-big sign from our front yard. Yes, quite relieving.
In terms of construction, the new bathroom is officially functional with its new shower door and medicine cabinet.
The 25th week of construction included more carpentry, final cabinetry bits, hauling off of more debris, and finishing of the white oak flooring.
Finally, we had a week full of construction progress. Not finished, but getting close.
Plumbing work brought us sinks, faucets, bathroom fixtures and a dishwasher. It’s great to have more than one working sink now, especially with all the counter space we have. More ways to wash things! More space for stuff! More than one toilet in the house!
“Upgrade your seat to a Washlet®!” Now they tell us, after we had that conveniently located wiring removed. 😉
The delays keep pouring in. Like a curve approaching its asymptote, our project ever so slowly nears its goal, over the exasperating, longer than expected passage of time. But I best leave disappointed reflection for a later entry, once the renovations are complete.
Week 22 saw only one day where construction work occurred: Some cabinetry fixes to accommodate the microwave and convection ovens, and tuning of the HVAC system. No name selected yet for the humongous heat pump.
Finally some progress! Bathroom tile was fixed, kitchen backsplash tile was installed, and gutter downspouts were installed.
Not much progress over the last two weeks. The final stucco coat was at last applied, and several components of the HVAC system were put in place: heat pump, register covers, thermostat, lines tested with nitrogen gas and refrigerant (result: no leaks, yay!). But we still have no centralized heating, because the electrical work is incomplete.
My, I’m large. What will you name me?
There hasn’t been much remodeling activity, in part due to the rain-rain-rainy weather. However, a few key things were taken care of.
We were happy to find a color for the living-dining room, then paint it ourselves. That just leaves the den-entryway, hallway and new bathroom — eventually. Also, we had two sun tubes installed in the new hallway, the darkest region of the house. They’re only 10 inches in diameter, but wow, do they bring in a lot of light!
In addition, the counter tops were finally installed, after some delay in either fabrication or shipment (or both). The result, though: beauteous.
Not much occurred during the fourteenth week of renovations, other than installation of cabinetry toe-kicks and the shower pan in the new bathroom. We did, however, get most of our appliances and fixtures delivered.
The following week saw more activity: Second “brown coat” layer of exterior stucco applied, kitchen subfloor raised with 1/2″ plywood so that the cabinet height is more usable, the template made for the engineered quartz countertops, and some electrical fixtures installed, including lights, outlets and ceiling fans.
Lamp shades for the pendants will come later.
This week we slapped primer and paint on the walls and ceiling. And we got our cabinets!
Crown moulding not yet installed. The upper corner diagonal cabinets will eventually have frosted glass doors. That mondo pipe is for the vent hood, right above the future cooktop.
