Merry Christmas 2017!!

I remember posting a picture of our renovation house Christmas tree last year...it was taken from the outside.  This year I decided to capture it from the inside.  Cozy:)

Things really got done on all aspects of the house this week which is good because, for the most part, next week will be a time of rest.  Steve concentrated on getting the downstairs bathroom completely installed.  Success!  The shower is tiled, the floor is in, the sink and toilet are set and functioning, and the molding around the window and all along the floor is gorgeous.  Mark installed my crazy light fixture which came all the way from China, and I added my little touches this evening and voila, we have a beautiful room.  Just waiting on the sliding barn door which Steve will make and hang once the hardware I ordered comes in.

Matt sent me to Utica almost every day this week to pick up more ceiling white, primer, and several more gallons of my colors for touch-ups.  It felt like old home week at Urbaniks whenever I walked through the doors!  All the rooms now have 2 coats of color and the 3 rooms that will be wallpapered each have a coat of tinted primer so that if at any time in the future the paper separates, the color will show through the cracks...not white.  Here is a sneak peek of some of my bolder color choices.

coral in the formal parlor

pink in one of the guest rooms

blue on 2 walls of the master bedroom

red on 2 walls of the guest bathroom "Mondrian" style

Last night Joel and I ordered 1770 square feet of interlocking Bamboo flooring for the entire 

downstairs.  It will be delivered in 2 weeks and needs to cure for 2 weeks which definitely fits into our time frame.  We will be able to salvage the original hardwood floors in the 3 upstairs front rooms and hallway with the help of Brian, the wonderful man who refurbished the floors in our Arsenal House project years ago.  The rest of the upstairs will be carpeted and tiled.

Joel and I wish all our family and friends a very blessed Holiday!!

Bring on the Color!

The moment I have been waiting for has finally arrived!!  After 6 trips to the paint store in Utica, accompanied by my parents, Joel, and sometimes the dogs, I have gotten all the primer, ceiling white, AND color paints up to the house and Matt has finished the downstairs bathroom (cotton tail white) and the first coat of gray on the kitchen walls!  I am beyond excited to see how the rest of the rooms turn out as each will be a distinctly different and bold hue.  Check out the cute little temporary sink that Matt is using to clean his painting supplies.

Steve has just finished tiling the downstairs bathroom's shower a subway white and is in the process of laying the rustic wood-grain tile on the floor.  We should have a working bathroom by early next week:)

Dennis did an amazing job of rebuilding the Den mantle piece which had been charred by that long ago fire.  In addition to shoring up the original wood, he had to create a new box-like structure to transition the mantle to the walls.

Last but not least, the other exciting thing that happened this week was that Steve installed the transom windows in the garage.  I think they look great!

My apologies for the delay between posts...

There is no excuse other than life has been extremely busy lately.  But, moving forward, there is a lot to report on regarding house and garage progress!

Steve has brought in 2 brothers to get the garage ready for winter while he continues to work inside to get us one working bathroom and all the sub floors ready for hardwood and tiles.  The garage roof is on and some doors and windows are already in place.  Joel is ordering the garage doors next week and Steve has the transom windows for above the doors on order as well.  I have always wished for a house with transom windows.  At some point we thought we could put one over the front door, but being such an old house the ceilings and beams were too low.  So, Joel came up with the cool idea of transoms in the garage.  I am very excited!  Matt is almost done with the third go-round of mudding and sanding, and I just went to get him a 5 gallon tub of primer so we should be on our way with wall colors soon.  Meanwhile, Joel worked on 2 big jobs last weekend.  He stained the back stair risers and treads and finished staining the ship lap boards for the Rustic Room ceiling which he then installed, much to the chagrin of his neck muscles:(  Here are some photos of all of the above.

EI Girls Reunite!

This past weekend the five of us were lucky enough to gather at the house to share some laughs and a glass of wine just like we did back in June down at the beach in North Carolina. Fun!

The guys have been very busy working on both the inside of the house and the garage  The back stairs, from the kitchen up to our bedroom, are installed and look solid and sturdy.  

Joel stained some beautiful thick boards and Steve put them in place as the decking for our side entrance porch area.

Steve has brought in a couple of extra guys to help with the garage.  Yesterday they got the metal roof on the back shed part of the structure and spread the first pour of concrete in the bay nearest the house.  The other two pours are scheduled for this week.

Joel cut down some more brush and one fairly large tree to improve our view to the lake. 

Now you see it...

Now you don't!!

Tape and Trusses

Matt and his guys have finished hanging all the sheet rock.  Now begins the lengthy process of taping, mudding, and sanding.  Steve has cranked the heat to 70 plus in the house so that the sheet rock stays warm and dry.  Nice to know that the system works so well!

While the inside walls get prepped, Steve has brought in a team of guys to help erect the garage.  Yesterday the trusses went up and half of the roof.  Steady rain kept them from going down the back side, but hopefully that will happen today.

Joel has been continuing his outdoor dirt dumping and moving and has brought the level of the land up significantly on the west side of the house.  He seeded it and spread hay, and hopefully some grass will start to grow before the snow flies.  He also got our mailbox secured and tidied up down at the lakeshore.

Every once in awhile I like to throw in a photo that has nothing to do with the house construction.  So here it goes....wait for it....the nature shot...

If you look closely, you will see several little mushroom growths on the outside chimney.  Wonder if they could factor into my next cookbook?  Probably not...

People Pleasing Pics

I just love the feedback I get from our friends and family who read the blog!  It is heartwarming to know that we have got so many followers who are as passionate about our progress as we are.  So....to honor some recent requests I will post lots of photos today.

Joel's split rail fence, started and finished in just one day!

outdoor eating area decorative trim is almost complete

view from dining room into kitchen

just a little bit more green siding to go

Rustic Room Rock

more decorative trim

Work starts on the Garage!

The beautiful fall weather continues so Steve began to dig holes for the support posts yesterday.  He rented an auger and got 6 or 7 beams into the ground...each 4 feet deep.  Very exciting!  

Just as exciting was the delivery of our Kraftmaid kitchen cupboards!  Unfortunately I missed the actual drop off, but I saw the huge truck driving down Turin Road as I was racing up to meet them.  They were early, and I was obviously late!  Because we are not quite ready for them, Larry and his friend stored them in the Felice van for the time being.

Matt and his team are almost done with the sheet rock installation!  They are finishing up the dining room and kitchen then will move to the final area....the Rustic Room.  He says he still has a good 2 or so weeks left of work, though, the taping and skimming.  It feels so good to wander around both upstairs and down and really see how the rooms lay out.

This is a view from the front Library room into the hallway and main staircase.  The next photo is of the kitchen.  You can see the cubby that my refrigerator will tuck into and the area to the right which will be my sink overlooking the Rustic Room below.

Many other odds and ends are getting done at a rapid rate.  Steve and Larry placed the second eyebrow window into it's attic home, and Dennis is cutting and installing pieces of molding all around the house.  There is just one bit of siding to finish and some trim to paint and then the outside will be ready for it's second winter!

Now we are rockin!

Joel and I were away at a conference for almost a week during which time the spray foam guys finished their job and Steve and Larry and Mark tidied up all the loose ends (electrical and carpentry) inside in preparation for the sheet rocking team.  Steve sent me these photos of the sheet rock being delivered on Thursday, all 18,000 square feet of it!

Matt, the foreman of the sheet rock team, had already laid out a plan of how many sheets were to be delivered to each room, and the most obvious way to get them to the upper level was through an open window!

I took photos of all the boards in all the rooms, but I do not want you to be bored  (haha) with all of them so here is a sample shot:)

And finally...today, Saturday, the guys came and started hanging the wall boards.  They worked from early morning till dusk and got almost the entire second floor done.  We couldn't be more pleased!!

Men in Suits

Joel and I are away for a few days at a conference, but work continues at the house at a fast and furious pace.  Steve sent me some photos of the spray foam team insulating every nook and cranny of the ceilings and exterior walls.  They are completely covered to protect themselves and look like spacemen!  They started upstairs, lakeside and are working their way streetside then downstairs.  It looks like an ice castle inside.

Because it is such a big job, they brought 2 foam trucks yesterday to speed things up.  Rusty sent one of his crewmembers to scrub and clean the sidewalks in preparation for the sealant, and Steve completed the Durock on all 3 of our shower stalls including the little cubby bump outs for shampoos etc. that I requested.  Go teams!