Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! This year Santa brought us a list of what is left to do on the house. This is a major milestone because until now it's always been "what is next" or "what has been done recently". It may be slightly incomplete, but here it is, in no particular order:

  1. Finish putting-in the banisters
  2. Put in the cabinets
  3. Put in the countertops
  4. Put in the appliances
  5. Finish the electrical
  6. Finish putting-in lights, inside and out
  7. Put in the baseboards
  8. Paint the baseboards
  9. Finish putting-in linoleum in the basement
  10. Put in carpeting in basement
  11. Finish basement window sills
  12. Finish putting on siding over the front porch
  13. The Dreaded Driveway
The driveway isn't happening until after winter and the soggy spring are over, but the rest will have to be done before we can move in. My mom doesn't want it to get signed-off as "inhabitable" until it's totally finished because she thinks that will mean whatever might get left undone would then take even longer because the project would lose all priority.

Happy New Year! We probably won't be moving in until the first weekend in January - or maybe even shortly after that - but the end is in sight!

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Not-so-good news

Apparently the wrong linoleum was ordered, and they're going to have to re-order it. No clue what that means for the time-table, but my mom is not happy.

Saturday, December 15, 2007

Getting closer

From my mom:

The house is coming along. With any luck the main paint job will be finished by Sunday night. Friday the hardwood was started and the living room is half completed. Monday the linoleum goes in. Thursday the bathroom marble shower walls go in. Hopefully we will get the carpet started this week also. Christmas Eve the cabinets and counter tops are delivered, and they go in the day after Christmas. We now have all our appliances purchased and they are waiting to be delivered around the 28th. Will we make the big move back by the first week in January? We'll see.

Thursday, December 13, 2007

P.S.

The "between Christmas and New Years" goal is back up again. Why do we believe this stuff? I guess you have to believe something.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

IT GLOWS

I kid you not. The paint is being done this week and it is PINK peach. It looks pretty subtle in natural light until you turn on interior lights and then it GLOWS like the inside of the peach in the book James and the Giant Peach.

The wood flooring was delivered today and will be put in beginning Friday.

Friday, December 07, 2007

Pushed back again

Technically, I think it should be "pushed forward."

My mom reports that we will not be moving in the week between Christmas and New Years. Apparently the men doing the sheet rock have taken three weeks to do their job rather than one week, and now some of their work has to be redone, which has put off finishing the painting, which moves back the flooring and the kitchen and... you get the idea.

But! She also reports that there is still progress. The electric meter and lines were put in. The primer paint is nearly all done. The sofit and facia and siding are nearly all finished; just the bit above the front door to go. The rock on the front steps that was broken and coming off from all the work has been straightened and re-glued into place, with the handrail going back on soon. With any luck the garage door goes on next week, and the cabinets and counters for the kitchen and bathroom are on the truck and should be here next Tuesday. And my parents - with help from Benjamin and family - have emptied two of the three remaining storage units.

My mom says, "So, instead of ending this year in the house, we will start next year in the house. I'm trying to be philosophical about all this. Can you tell?:

Monday, December 03, 2007

What's new?

Siding is done on the two "cold" sides and almost finished on the south as well.


This was the first interior door to go in - in the basement bathroom! My dad wanted it on first. NO clue why. ;)


The first things to get moved in, from storage, to storage.


Tile walls and floor around where the wood stove is going in downstairs. I tried cropping out that intrusion on the right, and it just looked funnier. Sorry!