We visited the house the day after Thanksgiving this week for a meeting with Mike and Margaret and found the house full of electricians and general installers. We couldn't have asked for a nicer day with temperatures in the low 50s and sunny. The air was still brisk but the clear skies helped lift our spirits as did the buzz of activity around the house. Plumbers came through earlier in the week and got the water running in most of the bathrooms, showers and sinks, but we're still waiting on toilets. Mike said he likes to wait on those because once they're installed, people like to use them. He'd rather the installers stick to the port-a-john, so toilets will be one of the last plumbing fixtures to go in. Not much movement on light programming but they're expecting a disbursement check this week so Mike is going to insist that we get all the lights controllable before that money is disbursed. Castro and the tile installers are slowly moving forward by completing all the time installation in the master bathroom, but still have some grouting left. There's plenty of tile work needed in other places around the house, so they have their work cut out for them. Mike is still pushing to get all inspections done in the month of December. Whether the installers let that happen remains to be seen.
The lake wasn't frozen during this trip since we had a little warm up, but we don't have many of these sunny, blue-sky days left. I couldn't help but take a pause from checking everything over to look out on the view we'll have for the rest of our lives. Whether it's from the side porch, as shown in this picture, the greatroom, back porch, master balcony or even the front retaining wall, you can't help but stop and take it all in.
On to the progress. In just one day, the electricians installed nearly all the exterior power receptacles. Since they're on the exterior, they're weather protected with covers, even though they're all under porches. This will protect them from water spray when I need to power wash the house. This one is actually in the ceiling of the back porch, all wired on a circuit controlled by a timer. We'll use these for holiday lights. We don't have these sockets wired to the Control4 system, which would have made more sense, but we didn't think of it at the time. It still might be possible to install wireless switches in lieu of the timers, which will integrate the sockets into the system.
The weather protected receptacles on the cobble stone walls are fit as best as possible and may need to be caulked to the mortar. These receptacles will be used in temporary situations for power tools so the little door won't be too obtrusive when in use. There's nothing we'll need to plug in long term so these doors will always be opened situationaly and short term.
The copper gooseneck
Carson lamp from Rejuvenation was finally installed over exterior storage. I'm looking forward to finish off this unconditioned storage space under the back porch. We purchased this light a couple of months back and it has been sitting in the house. I'm not sure where the light switch for this light is. It might be one of the dumb switches up at the kitchen sliding door, which would be convenient, or it might be just inside this door. Either way, it will be nice to have a light here on the rare occasion when we'll need to access this space when it's dark.
The remaining recessed exterior lights were installed in the back porch. These are just retrofits into standard incandescent recessed cans, so there's nothing tricky about the installation but Mike left it up to the electricians to finish. These lights are also not yet controllable so
the Sound Vision will need to get them operational before we can test to see how they look. They're the same lights as on the front porch, and completely dimmable so I'm expecting the same performance as those up front.
The correct light was installed on the rear garage walk out so all nearly all the exterior lights are installed. We're still waiting on getting the front hanging light back from the Coppersmith since we needed to change the hanging implementation. All these lights are controllable, but the naming is a little odd. The exterior walk out light is labeled "Gen Cones" under the equipment room heading and the back garage door is labeled "Garage Coach" under the Exterior heading. These labels are only programmable by the Sound Vision so we'll need to get them to name them properly so it's less confusing.
The light is the "
Cavo" from Hubbardton Forge in the tall configuration. It takes a single standard base bulb that we filled with an Edison looking LED bulb. There were options for seeded glass, but we opted for clear. There's also a multitude of metal finishes to choose from, but we found one that most closely matched a weathered copper since we have the real copper lights hanging near by, next to the garage door.
The lights on the two basement walkouts were also installed and are currently wired to the standard switches just inside the door. They're from the same Hubbardton Forge Cavo line, but are shorter and only a single mount. They also use a standard bulb and we installed some spare LED bulbs with a normal look. Unlike the long mount, these are easier to change so if we want a nicer look, we can just reach up and change them. We'll one day have a paver patio here, but it will be one of the last elements of landscaping installed. These will be the primary light source for this space but there might be some landscape lighting as well. The landscape lighting will have a much lower light output and isn't sufficient for general lighting.
The Cavo lights share the same loop characteristic which adds continuity to all the exterior walk out doors. Some of the stone and mortar had to be chipped away so the lighting plate could be mounted. These fixtures are capable of using a 100 W incandescent so we could put a higher equivalent LED if we find one that looks good. These will suffice for now.
Here's what the single Cavo lights look like on the rear basement walkout. These two bulbs should provide enough light. Final landscaping plans have a small paver patio installed in this location so a little lighting is needed. The catwalk and dock will meet up with this patio so it will probably be more used that the other walkout.
Moving to the progress inside, our replacement glass light shade for the Framburg ceiling mounted light came in. The one that was originally sent was too small. A replacement was sent, but arrived broken. This one looked intact and was installed as we waited and watched. The shade is made from glass and look like ropes of glass poured in loops in an open lace. A nice departure from the standard crystal glass, it's a clean and modern light that fits well in the foyer.
The fixture takes four bulbs and provides more than enough light in this space. The glass is transparent enough that we need to be careful about how the lightbulbs look. I found some clear LED bulbs that are shaped like the standard light bulb, but have the thin LED filaments inside. They filaments are yellow when turned off, but they're not too visible through the glass shade. I might replace them with the standard frosted bulbs.
With every passing weekend, more functioning lights are giving us a better idea how the house will look when we're finally moved in. The sconces in the foyer were confirmed to incorrectly manufactured. The base that is supposed to support the glass is too small so the glass precariously perches on the base. We have the option to wait 4-6 weeks to get new fixtures, or send our current fixtures back to Framburg to be fixed, with a shorter turn around time. We're opting for the later since the results should be the same.
All the rotunda railing and base have been stained and the final polyurethane coat has been applied. The finish is very smooth and without blemish and the color is a perfect match to the wood floor that will be installed next to it. The baluster base does have a satin polyurethane finish on it so the reflective sheen is a little bit more than the oil/wax finish floor that will be installed next to it. The stair treads will be stained near the end of the build, when there are fewer people to walk all over them.
The staining balcony overlook railing to the greatroom has also been completed. Again, there's a smooth coat of satin polyurethane on this wood. You can see how similar the colors are between the railing and the wood floor. The only difference between the two will be the amount of surface shine. I'm surprised at how closely the wood floor, exterior doors, balusters, and second story mantle color all match. They're all sourced from different vendors, but they're close enough to look like they came from the same place.
The polyurethane finish has also been completed on the dining room built in. The wood species is already walnut so no stain was required to achieve this color. All the internals and have been coated with the same finish so the only finishing touches needed are the final hardware. We chose some interesting handles for these and the office doors and I can't wait to see them installed. We have a dining room table designed for this space, but it won't be fabricated in time for move in. We'll hopefully be able to get it soon, but since we're probably going to miss the holiday season, it's not a high priority.
The circuits to the lights going to the basement were connected, but I don't have great control over them yet with the software. They're programmed into the "all on" function currently implemented into the Control4 switches so that will have to do until The Sound Vision completes the lighting programming next week. The lights use a smaller base candelabra bulb and I opted for a clear LED type, but I might need to switch it with something brighter since these two are the only two in the stairwell. It's unbelievably difficult to find bright LED candelabra bulbs, especially frosted ones so I might need to purchase them online.
Almost all the showers and sinks have been hooked up to water and are operational. The guest shower, shown here, has the hand shower holder installed where we requested it to be installed as with the other shower locations. The only two bathrooms still unplumbed is the mudroom and master bath. I tested the functionality of this shower. The head doesn't spray really hard, but it has a large spray pattern. There's also a spray pattern selector that I didn't play with so it might just be on a setting that sprays a more gentle pattern. The top selector nob is for on and off, the lower knob sets the temperature, so this can keep a favorite temperature so there's no more hunting for that perfect shower. The control lever on the shower head can select between the shower head, hand shower, or both at the same time.
The guest faucet is also plumbed in and functional so now we can wash our hands when we visit. The faucet sprays directly down and almost perfectly hits the drain plug, which actuates from a small lever on the back of the faucet. This counter top actually had to be re-drilled since
Solid Surfaces initially drilled it for a single hole installation. Mike called them and they responded the same day and sent someone out to drill the other two holes. Excellent service.
Any of the faucet installations on exterior walls will have a drain setup similar to this one in the guest bathroom. Since we can't run pipe in the exterior walls, the vent needs to be installed in the sink cabinet. Other sinks on the exterior walls have the same type of venting, but interior wall sinks have proper venting in the walls.
The extensions for the Theta have arrived and are ready to be installed. This should drop the light fixture a good amount, placing it exactly where we wanted it to be. Unfortunately, the scaffolding is gone so it will either have to be brought back in to install the extensions, or they'll have to find a safe way to remove the lighting fixture and install the extensions. We're expecting the light will be able to hang down lower, bracketed by the railing on the balcony overlook. That would put it at the perfect height to be viewable from the greatroom floor without craning your neck too far.
The kitchen faucet was installed, but only temporarily, which is a good thing since it looks a little crooked. It's not hooked up to water yet and the garbage disposal isn't installed yet. I'm not sure if they'll remove the faucet for the tile backsplash installation or if the tile installers can work around it. We'll also have to call PMP back in to drill one more hole in the counter so the air switch for the garbage disposal can be installed.
Besides lighting, the electricians installed all the smoke/carbon monoxide detectors around the house. They're wired in with a back up battery and all wired together, so if one detects smoke and sounds the alarm, they all sound the alarm. I think that's pretty much code for new builds.
All the tile has been installed and grouted in the shower and everything has been cleaned up. We're still waiting for the shelves to be installed in the shower nooks and the supports for the bench aren't cut to final dimensions, but things are wrapping up nicely in the master shower. The plumbers should be able to get in here soon to do their final installation. Lights are still not functional in this room but we're expecting The Sound Vision to swing by this week to get some more work done.
Here's a closer look at how the tile in the eyebrow window of the shower turned out now that it's finally grouted. There's a little variation in the setback line it makes with the window as it follows the curve, but I think it's acceptable. The window sill at the bottom doesn't return around the corner so the stone molding tile doesn't land on it. It's not too much of an odd look, but it's different that the rest of the wood molding around the house. I'm not sure why the sill wasn't cut with a return, but it was made to spec, so we can't complain. There's little chance for water to get up here, but if it does, everything looks well sealed enough to prevent any damage.
The penny round tiles in the nook is grouted, but the main shower tile itself isn't. I'm not sure why they did one and not the other since I'm pretty sure the grout colors will be the same between the two. The shelf still needs to be installed so the penny round tile will need to be cut away, so it makes even less sense that it's already grouted. The tile installers are taking a pretty long time getting the work done, but their completed product looks good. Mike and Margaret were telling us about one of their best tile installers who produced excellent quality work. He could look at a space and determine how the tile should be laid out, all in his head. The only problem is that he takes a really, really, long time to get the job done. We might use him when we finish off the special curved tile on the dry side of the dividing wall. Speaking of which, we decided that since we're going to be installing that tile in the near future, it doesn't make sense to install the tub, which would get in the way. So for move in, we'll forego the tub and get it installed when we have the money to install the tile, which is a considerable amount.
All the tile has been installed around the master bathroom vanity, both above and below the vanity. There still needs to be some grout floated on the wall but there's enough done for the electrician and plumbers to get started with their installs. Still no sign of the Robern medicine cabinets on site, so I better confirm with Mike to see if he's purchasing them or if we are.
Misplaced in the master bathroom, we found the pot filler for the kitchen. This is one of those things that we didn't think we wanted, but it was suggested we get, just because every other house in our price range has one. I can see it being kind of useful since you can fill the pot on the stove without taking up the sink, but it's not so useful since you still need to carry the water from the stove to the sink to dump it out. It will be nice to have it, as long as it doesn't fail.
The faucet in the laundry room is finally installed. I think this was one of the first finished plumbing pieces on site, but almost one of the last installed. It's a simple affair, meant to be more utilitarian than flashy. It does have a pull down nozzle which might be useful for hand washing clothes. The sink is a good size for a laundry basin, but it's not as big as the white plastic tub basins you generally find in a laundry room. I think it will suit our purposes and I don't intend on cleaning paint brushes like I do in our current laundry tub.
The turret shower handle was mounted to the right of the shower controls. This was the only bathroom we could do this in since all the others have a corner shelf that would get in the way. This will currently be a heavily used bathroom since both our girls are staying in this room. We don't have plans for a shower door on move in, but will hang a shower curtain. A shower curtain provides more access to more of the tub, so bath time for the two will be easier with this setup. Once they get older, we might consider a sliding shower door in here since we generally dislike shower curtains.
Not much change in the basement except for the final hookup of the house main PEX to the copper main coming from the meter. I have no idea why they put a bend and two additional sections of PEX in but as long as it doesn't leak, I'm okay with it. I almost wonder if they left it this way in case we want to tie in an irrigation system or something. It would make it easier to install a "T" in the line since the junctions already exist.
That's about it for this week. Next week should be a big one with the delivery of all our appliances, installation of closet organizers, some landscaping installation, and continued progress on the tile, lighting, and plumbing installation. Wood floor installers have been MIA for a while and I'm not sure what their hold up is. Mike said it would only take a day or two to install all the shoe molding after the wood floors are in, so that's good news, but they obviously can't get started until the wood floors are completed. Like I said, the tile installers are taking their sweet time to finish things up and they're the rate limiting factor on the kitchen hood installation so I hope they get moving again soon. We're going into December at the end of next week and I'm not hopeful for being in by Christmas. Even if we get COO by mid-December, we still have to consider the time it takes to clean up our old house and move. If it does happen, at least I won't feel as guilty about staying at the house. Here's hoping.
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