One foot in front of the other....

One foot in front of the other....

January 20th to 23rd -- A few inches of snow fell overnight, but that won't stop the progress at that this point.  The workers are literally putting one foot in front of the other as the detail work continues to get done, little by little.  

The decking that was supposed to be delivered today has been delayed.  Some of it is coming from Minnesota, and the cold weather is one reason for the delay.  Hopefully, it will arrive next week and the weather will still be good here.  In the meantime, the framing has started on the greenhouse, which you can see  below as the structure in front of the pergola in the first photo.

Here are better photos, showing the framing for the doorway, which faces west and the sloping roof, which will have skylights that will open so the greenhouse can be vented.

Here is another view of the greenhouse as it sits to the west side of the deck and pergola.

The half-round gutters have arrived and all the gutters are being installed.  Once they are installed the painters will add the gutters to their "to do" list.

These two photos show the view of the pergola and deck from the inside the dining room, looking south through the sliding doors.

There is more progress inside.  Here is a photo of the granite counter top that was installed in the laundry room.

 The granite and the tile setter have been busy.  The next sequence of photos show the completed tile and counter tops, with the under mounted sinks in the master bathroom. The granite has been used for the bench in the shower.

The granite was also used to cap the ledges at the head and foot of the soaker bath tub.

Back downstairs, you can see where the decking will go on the small porch outside the rear-entry to the house.  Once inside, this photo shows the "hanging" cubbies in the mudroom and below them there will be a wooden cleat with hooks for coats and below that a bench to sit on.

In the gathering room, the platinum colored slate tile has been placed around the fireplace.

The granite has been set for the kitchen counters, and from this view you can also see  the range top and the small breakfast bar at the end of the counter.

 Here is the counter top around the farmhouse sink, and you'll notice that there are no back splashes here because the thin brick tile will go on this wall from the granite to the ceiling and around the window.  

This photo shows the rest of the kitchen on the south wall with the cabinet box where the double ovens will be set, the place where the microwave oven will hang below the cabinet and the desktop.










Here is the counter top for the vanity in the guest suite bath, with the bead board and chair rail above the back splash

 The finish carpenters are still working on the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves in the gathering room.

And, here is the view from the covered porch off the master bedroom after a few inches of snow!

Taking advantage...

Taking advantage...

January 17th --The usual freezing winter temps of January have not yet settled in, so we are taking advantage of the "unseasonably" mild weather both in and outside of the house.

In these photos you can see the bead board and chair rail that the finish carpenters have installed in the guest bathroom.  Soon, the original claw foot tub will be re-glazed and moved back into this room. 

The floor-to-ceiling bookcases are coming along.  Below you can see the basic design, which is to have a top row, near the ceiling, that are fixed shelves.  Then the library ladder rail and hardware will be installed right above the trim of the top of the pocket door that leads to the stairwell to the basement.  Below these fixed shelves and the library ladder rail, the bookcases will have adjustable shelving and there will be trim facings for each of the five "sections" of the bookcase, as shown below.

The framers worked on the deck substructure for the small porch in front of the rear-entry, as shown below.  Now that the deck substructure is set, they will wait until the TimberTech decking is delivered later this coming week.  There will be a couple of steps off the porch and a short walk to the garage.

The substructure for the south-side deck and the cedar pergola are in place, again awaiting the deck material that will arrive later this coming week.  There will be one to two stairs down from the deck to the yard.

The good weather is supposed to continue this coming week, which means that I am optimistic that the framing for the greenhouse will begin while we await the delivery of the decking material. 

Also, in the week to come the tile setter should be back to complete the tile in the master bathroom, now that it has been delivered.  The granite counter tops have been cut, but not yet installed, and that should happen soon.  The painters are eager to get back to the drywall and will start in the master bedroom and bathroom as soon as the tile setter is done.

After the bookshelves in the gathering room are completed, the built-ins in the mudroom will be constructed.  I was so pleased with the chest of drawers that were built for the master bedroom that I asked the head finish carpenter to give me an estimate to build a headboard to match the fireplace mantel in the master bedroom.  Given that the original staircase in the house has a wicked turn and is narrow, it might be best to have furniture built for the rooms on the upper level rather than try to buy furniture that will be impossible to get up the stairs, unless it needs to be assembled.

I also hope that the gutters will be installed soon during this nice weather.  Every time it snows, there is a mini-moat around the house, and it would be nice to have gutters to control the runoff of the melting snow.