Floors laid, next up the finish carpenters.....

Floors laid, next up, the finish carpenters....

December 20th -- With the new hardwood floor already laid in the kitchen and gathering room on the main floor and the master bedroom on the upper floor,  the floor guy returned to the main level to work on the guest room hardwood floor that  needed to be repaired with patch work and new sections.  Below are photos that show how new pieces of oak have been fitted into the original oak floor.  Eventually, the new pieces will be almost indistinguishable with the older pieces after filler, sanding and staining the old and new wood will make them blend together

December 20th and 21st -- The finish carpenters are not from Finland.  They are however, a very interesting bunch of guys, and I've only met a few of the crew so far.  The main man is a very thoughtful guy who spent a good part of the first day plotting the strategy to attack this very complicated job.  

There are several things that make this job complicated.  First, is the total lack of space for them to work in because all of the trim, doors, and cabinets are being stored in the house .  The carpenters have to step over piles of trim as they set the cabinets.  By the end of day on Friday they had almost all of the cabinets out of their packing boxes and just about set.  The head carpenter told me that he was concerned about the appliances that will be delivered on Monday because he doesn't know where they will go and where they will set up their saws and work tables.  Sure enough, later that evening the contractor sent me a text telling me that the "head carpenter's head is about to explode" because of the lack of work space.  So, it looks like not only the refrigerator will need to go into my "temporary kitchen/living room" but so will the double ovens, the microwave, and the range top.  Second, the tile is supposed to be delivered on Monday as well and the tile guy will begin work on the file floors in the two main level bathrooms -- yes, that means the carpenters and the tile guy will be working simultaneously.  Third, the head finish carpenter will also need to begin on the AV cabinet and the floor-to-ceiling bookcases in the gathering room and he needs space to work in that room.  Fourth, there is so much mill work to do that I think they are almost overwhelmed by the very thought of all the trim that will go around the windows, doors, baseboards, and all the finishing trim around the kitchen cabinets, the laundry room cabinets, the double vanity in the master bath, and the vanities in the remaining three bathrooms.  Finally, the cabinets are maple painted bright white, which means they need to be very careful to keep them clean.

Nevertheless, these guys seem up for the challenge.  When I got home late on Friday, the day before the shortest day of the year, the three finish carpenters were working with headlamps on as there are no light fixtures in the house.

I got to see the very first glimpse of my farmhouse apron style sink, which was temporarily set atop the base cabinet for the sink that will hide the garbage disposal.  Here are a few photos, but the stainless steel sink looks black because there is no light and the flash from my camera blacked out the sink.

The carpenters carefully took the sink out of the crate to align the base cabinet and then they put it back in the crate to protect it.  They told me that there were taking bets about how much the sink cost. They all lost the bet because the sink looks way more expensive that it was, although I got an amazingly deep discount by ordering it on Amazon after doing a lot of research.  Just wait until they see the faucet!

The head carpenter told me that he thinks all the trim, cabinets, doors, bookcases and built-ins in the mudroom will take over two weeks worth of work.  These guys are a pleasure to have around because they are meticulous, precise, pleasant, and clean up before, during and after they do their work.  

Here is a photo of the cabinet that will hold the refrigerator with the wine rack that goes above it.

In this photo, one of the carpenters is working on the cabinetry (in the dark with his headlamp) that will hold the double ovens.

Here is a good view of how the galley kitchen will open to the gathering room.

The view for almost all of these photos is from the gathering room.  In the next several photos you can see the cabinet that will hold the double ovens, with the cabinet over it with dividers that will hold cookie and baking sheets, and other shallow baking pans, as well as platters and glass casserole dishes. You can also see a cabinet next to it where the double ovens will go, and the space below it where the microwave will be mounted so that it will be positioned under it.  The base cabinets include drawers as well as a desk area. There will be more wall cabinets that will go above the desk area, but they have not yet been mounted.

Here is the view of the north side of the kitchen where the refrigerator, range top, and range hood will sit -- at the near end of this bank of cabinets will be a small penninsula/breakfast bar that will be built later and will help to divide the gathering room and the kitchen.  I keep imagining myself sitting at this breakfast bar sipping a latte.

I'm back at the house today, Saturday, to meet the contractor to go over a few details.  Before he shows up, I have time to take some new photos.  To the left are the cabinets in the laundry room that have been  mounted on the same west wall adjacent to the where the washer and dryer will sit. There are base cabinets adjacent to the washer and dryer with a corner unit  and base cabs on the north wall of the laundry room.

Here is another view.  Just as I shot this photo, the contractor walked in and told me how jealous he was of my laundry room!   Yeah, baby it is going to be pretty awesome.

While the finish carpenters have been busy the last two days, so have I.  I needed to go select the actual slabs of granite for all the counter tops.  Because the sink, faucet and range top will be the focal points of the kitchen, I needed a granite that would complement the white cabinets, oak floors, and stainless steel appliances, while not "fighting" with everything else.  I decided to go with Nordic Black Antiqued granite.  This is a stone that comes from Canada that is black with cells of grey and mica with occasional veins of white mineral deposits.  I decided to go with the honed or antique leathered finish instead of the polished finish, again to complement the appliances.  

Here is a close up of what the granite looks like.

   

To make a very long story short, for the last two days I spent a lot of time visiting granite yards and I finally was able to locate three slabs for my project.

I also ordered "draw downs" which are 8.5 x 11 inch sheets with selected interior paint colors so that I can tape these to the walls and move them from room to room as the light changes.  I picked up the draw downs and the containers of sample paint.  I will  spend time tomorrow trying to finalize the ceiling and wall colors by throwing some paint on the walls and moving the draw downs.

With the majority of the drywall done, I spent several hours today cleaning.  I used the shop vac to suck up as much as the drywall dust and grime as I could.  Then I did a serious damp mopping.  I also tried to rearrange the space in my temporary kitchen so there will be room to store the refrigerator, range top, microwave, and double ovens until they can be set into the cabinets in the kitchen -- that will be in about two weeks given the holiday.  Also, once all the cabinets are set, the counter top fabricator needs to make a template of all the base cabinets and vanities so that the granite tops can be cut.

The penultimate accomplishment was to order the decking material for the south side deck and the decking for the rear-entry porch.  In addition, I ordered replacement boards for the decking for the front porch.  These materials will be delivered to the house in about three weeks and the decks will be constructed as the winter weather allows.

And, the last triumph of the day was that after I got the contractor to sign the paperwork, I submitted the application and supporting documentation for the 2013 heating system rebate from my local utility -- with 10 days to spare!