Three Weeks to Go

Howard visited the construction site again today to meet with the contractor, the construction superintendent, and the finish carpenter to answer a bunch of questions.

Some of the questions were about mirror frames and their dimensions, some of the questions were about ceramic tiles in bathrooms and dog rooms, and some of the questions were about a built-in entertainment center, which is to be installed to the left of the fireplace in the family room, pictured at top.

The fireplace will be covered with stone, but not before all questions about the built-in have been decided. Those questions were all answered today.

The painter hustled last Tuesday to finish painting the kitchen so the tile guys could install the porcelain tile on Wednesday. The tile wasn't even started on Wednesday, so Howard felt bad for the painter, who could have been finishing up painting the exterior of the house since the weather was so great then. Now the weather has turned nasty, so the painter is forced to finish up inside with the family room, the study, and the away room/dining room.

The kitchen, pictured above, is still waiting for granite countertops. For some reason, this has been delayed and won't be done for probably another week. The cabinets to the left of the window are also awaiting the granite since an appliance garage between the base cabinets and the wall cabinets will sit on top of the granite, with the wall cabinets on top of that.

The most recent addition to the house these past few days involved the finish carpenter's fabrication and installation of the mudroom lockers and bench near the back door entry of the walk-out basement.

When Howard puts together a Top Ten List of his favorite things about the million-dollar house, the mudroom lockers and bench will surely be on that list.

All of the interior pictures are darker than usual because the light conditions were so murky, requiring Howard to use his camera's flash. Not a good camera, and the flash is the worst feature of the camera.

The contractor said he's trying to get the electrician to install the light fixtures next Monday. But the electrician says two other contractors have already spoken up for Monday. Wow, Monday's must be really bad days for electricians.

Finally, Howard includes two more pictures of the exterior -- just because Howard likes to see how it changes in varying daylight conditions.

Today's daylight was filtered through dark and stormy clouds filled with snow. You can see a new buckrail fence being constructed by the landscapers to enclose an area for the family dogs. They are large dogs, but could still easily escape should they choose to do so. Wonder what else the landscape designer has planned as he only briefly consulted with Howard about the sidewalk layout, stamped pattern, and color. Everything else will be a surprise for Howard.

Since Howard rode his bike 13 miles to the job site in 36 degree temps and 15 mph winds (you can see his bike in the picture above of the front of the house), he was concerned that the ride home might get much worse. Snow was forecast for the day.

Fortunately, Howard made it home with only minor frostbite before the snow began to fall.

Update: 6" of new stuff on the ground Tuesday morning, though it wasn't enough to close the schools.