Finish carpenters rock....

Finish Carpenters Rock....

January 28th -- This morning the finish carpenters and the painters arrived on site.  I haven't seen the painters since the end of last year, so it was great to see them.

Every time I travel I have a mini-battle with the post office.  I either go online or complete the yellow vacation hold card.  I request that my mail be hold while I'm away and I always check the option to have the accumulated mail delivered when the vacation hold ends.  This is a very simple request, but this only seems to work about 50% of the time.  So, part of this project includes a mail slot in the brick wall in the front of the house, which means that I won't have to request that my mail is held when I travel.  The only thing the postal carrier could screw up is to not push the mail through the slot.

Ta da....and here is the new mail slot from the front porch....

And, here is the view of the mail slot from inside the foyer -- the finish carpenter used some of the original mill work in the house to frame the opening.  Right now there is a bunch of insulation in the slot -- the pink stuff below -- because we will need to paint the interior of the mail slot and weather-proof the opening.

The work on the built-ins in the mudroom progress, including the sliding doors on the coat closet, shown here with the doors open and closed.

Here is the shelf above the coat hook cleat in the mudroom with really nice detailing on the corbels that hold the shelf.

Here is the bench with the cubbies over a second coat hook cleat, which means that I need to go shopping for the coat hook hardware.

The bookshelves are just about done and the carpenters have done the math to determine the slant of the seven-foot library ladder.  Soon they will install the hardware for the rail that the ladder will slide along.

There are many reasons why these finish carpenters rock, and here is one -- attention to detail.  Below is the pocket door that leads to the basement stairwell.  You'll see that the finish carpenters added a design detail on the sides of the bookshelves that surround the door to match the panel design that is on the door.  How cool is that?

Today the finish carpenters were working to create doors on the AV cabinet that is shown here that is between the fireplace and the bookshelf.

The finish carpenters also installed all the hardware on the cabinets.

Here are photos of the cabinet knobs and drawer pulls in the kitchen, which have a satin stainless finish

Here are the chrome knobs for the vanity in the master bathroom

The knobs in the guest suite bathroom are solid black, 

as are the knobs in the 3/4 bathroom off the gathering room, 

and the black knobs are also in the laundry room on the wall cabinets and the drawers and corner unit under the counter top.

The finish carpenters also set the hardware that will hold the handrail for the basement stairwell (shown in this photo).  I think they will install the actual wooden rail tomorrow.

The head finish carpenter and I discussed the design for the headboard he will build for the master bedroom that will match the fireplace and chest of drawers.

I am guessing that the next blog post will probably be called something like..."Painters rock," as they have set up their gear in the master bedroom, covered the hardwood floor, and began to put wood filler on the nail holes in the mill work today.  Their plan is to finish the master bedroom wall texture, put on a coat of primer and then paint it.  I can't wait.