pizza on the porch

A nice Saturday evening to dine on the porch.

It is very different here with fewer trees blocking the view, good for star gazing, satellite watching

A little later ...

It's nice to be here.

We're in !

Today was moving day. The weather forecast had been rainy, but a cold front went through around dawn, the rain stopped by 7am, the movers showed up on time shortly after 8. The four movers were very pleasant and professional, had us out of 309 by 1:15pm, and all carried into 123 by ~4:15.

Now we have a few boxes to deal with, but we are here!

While the movers did the heavy lifting, and easily had their 10,000 steps today, we were tired from all the cleaning and packing as much as we could before, and while, they were on the job. So a libation on the porch was very welcome.  

We made lots of labels to show where things were to go, or not. I adopted this one at ene-of-day.

first guests

Ginnie's brother and sister-in-law Charlie and Linda arrived late last night after a attending wedding in NY. We were happy to have them as first guests. The menu was fresh fruit, Mimosa's (declined), chocolate muffins, eggy muffins, coffee, etc. We had a great time visiting with them.

 

They brought a house-warming present of an Amish crafted quilt. Beautiful!

Thanks very much!

Ours now

It's official, we own a new home. We did our walk-through with Paul B. at 8 a.m., then off to the lawyers' office for a 9 a.m. closing. All went well, the attorney went to make copies of 'the important stuff', and returned with a chilled split of Champagne for us! We were out in 45 minutes.

In late morning, our new dining table and chairs arrived so we had somewhere to sit.

Ginnie went home for a few things, and returned with lunch. I made a trip to the storage unit for new porch Bistro table and chairs (can you say Costco).Then Buzzy showed up with a crew to rake, seed and mulch the future lawn stirring up lots of dust and dirt, so lunch was in the dining room instead.

The only issue today is that the spiffy new refrigerator is D.O.A. The dealer was very responsive, had a repairman there this afternoon, but it needs a new part that has to be overnighted from who knows where, and the best outcome is it gets repaired Monday afternoon. We cranked up the icemaker here as we will be carrying coolers with ice, lunches, etc. on our daily treks & shleps to 123.

The house cleaner is in the house. Peggy was cleaning windows, vacuuming, and will remove all the packing from the appliances tonight. She is another in a long string of very pleasant sub-contractors.

We did our own 'walk-through' tonight as there won't be a lot of time for it tomorrow. In general, things look very good. There will be some minor paint touch-up, a few door-stops need to be added, and one of the ceiling fans has the wobblies, but overall, we could live there!

The appraiser first appraised the house in December before a shovel had been stuck in the ground, based on spec's & plans, and the neighbors' houses that were partially built. Yesterday he showed up again and verified the house had, in fact, been built. I think that's the last hurdle. 

The yard was regraded a bit, large sticks plucked from the topsoil. I think the lawn may be seeded tomorrow.

rounding 3rd, heading for home

The pace continues. I stopped by briefly in the morning, but left quickly to get out of the way. We returned in late afternoon, walked in, saw a sign saying "clean shoes only" as all the cardboard covering the wood and tile floors was removed, and all the rest was brand new carpet. Oh, and it was nice and cool so the a/c is hooked up and working.

We had hot and cold running water, the gas stove lit, but I didn't try the fireplace. I'm not Nixon.

Ian was installing shelving, Jay and Tyler were hanging towel rods, etc.

Three strangers were casing the joint - a realtor and two prospects. They were looking at layouts, floor plans, as they are buying a stand-alone version (non-duplex) in South Village. I mentioned that we began our process by touring a house prior to its closing in South Village. Payback.

An appraiser was scheduled for 4:00. We hope the house got a thumbs-up so we can close Friday.

Just a couple of pictures ... I thought I took more.

Yesterday and today the place was alive with workers.

• Ken from Chittenden County Glass installed mirrors and measured for shower door yesterday. Like everyone else we've dealt with here, a nice guy, doing good work.The shower door should be installed within a week.
• Wiring is complete, both power and tv/phone/internet.
• Plumbing is mostly done, with the the supply connected today, but a few drains await connection.
• The refrigerator was plugged in, but the cooling wasn't turned on (lights on, nobody home?)
• The air conditioner compressor is in the yard, nearly in position.
• Back porch railings installed, pillars covered.
• Landscape plantings are in. We met with Rick, the landscaper, yesterday to talk over choices. We were surprised to see them installed already. Lawn seeding tomorrow?
• Gas meter manifold installed this afternoon. Meters tomorrow.
• Carpet padding in the house, carpet coming tomorrow?
• Closet shelving - tomorrow.
• Tile shower floor epoxy-grouted this morning. 
• Closing is 3 days away, and the appraiser is due at 4pm tomorrow. Keep up the pace.

When we met with Rick, we mentioned it would be good if he did his plantings before the lawn was seeded. It looks like he beat Buzz to the punch.

 

Floors awaiting carpet have all been screwed down. During construction, sub-floors were nailed, but now they are also screwed down recently (this afternoon?) ... impressive attention to detail.

Ginnie was out and about today. I mowed the lawn (wondering how many more times...), had lunch, and held off until 1:00 pm to visit. No workers on the scene, but Jamie the tile guy had been there and finished tiling the MBR shower.

For a first, no trucks or trailers in the frontal view.

I haven't figured out why the photo stitching varies so much. I stand in the same spot, take 3 pictures with the same settings, etc. Sometimes the house looks straight, more often like something from a fish-eye lens.

There is still a lot to be done before 4pm Wednesday when the appraiser pays his final (we hope) visit. We need some sort of certificate from him that they really built the house since the initial appraisal was done before a shovel had been stuck in the dirt, based entirely on specs & plans, with a few photos of the neighbors' houses under construction. What a racket. Never mind.

One week to go? We hope.

We managed to hold off visiting until after lunch. The place was buzzing with 2-3 electricians, tile guy, painters, etc. The gas line had been buried through the yard, the yard graded, and topsoil spread. All before lunch.



The second floor has had its second coat of paint and all electrical stuff is in place.

rear / 2nd floor master bedroom

front 2nd floor bedroom

v

MBR shower in progress

Bothersome outlets have been raised. Bring on the backsplashes ... and some drywall to fill the gap.

One week to closing!

Many trips today, a record. I stopped by on the way home from breakfast since today was supposed to be 'granite day' with the counter tops installed. Since they come from New Hampshire, I was too early. Jay said, usually mid morning. Ginnie & I came back at 10:30, no rocks. Paul B. was there and said "2:30". So we returned then, no dice. We hung around for a while, walked around the adjacent new neighborhood to check out plantings, went off to the town offices to check on some things, back to the house ... no granite. We hung until 4:30, then bagged it.

After dinner, Ginnie proposed another visit. Pay dirt! We ran into 6 guys from Stone Creations of N.H. who were busy installing the counters - very nice people, like every contractor we've met on the job. They were two crews who merged on our job as the third of the day.

Great license plate.

Good to see things on the level, this a six foot level on the back counter top.One of the guys said things haven't been this flat since 1491.





afternoon:

evening:

The horizontal electrical outlets (one shown below) were supposed to have been raised according to the crew. They took away the back splashes until that happens. It was something they flagged when they did the templates. They are in this area almost daily, so it will be no problem to re-install the backsplashes once the outlets are raised.

Two trips today. Early morning we met Jay to locate a grab bar to the MBR shower. It was just in time as the tile guy was there, and they could add appropriate blocking reinforcement.

In the afternoon, after yet another trip to Re-Source to drop off a truck load of donations (that didn't sell at the garage sale), we found the place empty, quite clean, refrigerator and dishwasher poised for installation, and the kitchen ready for granite counters installation tomorrow.

The trim and interior doors apparently had their 2nd coat of paint. The walls await theirs.

We heard that the electricians were planning on returning (finishng?) Friday.

We received and (electronically) signed off on an addendum to the purchase and sale agreement which the bank wants prior to closing. Upgrades, changes, are pretty much what we expected.

We are racing towards closing.

progressing

Today: trim painting, garage door and opener installed, appliances delivered, cabinet crown molding and knobs installed, range and microwave placed, and probably other things we didn't notice.

still a few details to be completed



The basement had been swept, and there was much tidying up throughout.

No pictures. We dropped by with the bathroom hardware to go over where which pieces went where with Jay. He knows his stuff, what level to put things, where to place them, etc. Not his first rodeo.

We had been assured that 3 painters would be on the job today. Not so. AWOL.

Next off to the closet emporium to check on closet shelves. We're opting for 'full slide' wire hangers, a modest upgrade.

Then a brief stop at Trowel Trades to look at possible patio pavers if we decide to add one.

No one was working today, good for them. We had a quiet visit, measured a few things, wandered around trying to imagine what it will be like to live here.

The bubble in the level was dead center, expected, but nice to see.

15 weeks +

We had a call from Jay (finish carpenter) this morning about which way to mount a closet door. That prompted us to visit. They have completed the second floor trim carpentry, and will complete the first floor soon. Three painters will arrive Monday to paint the second floor while the finishers finish the first. Carpet will follow, kitchen counters on Thursday. Jay said by week end, it will look very complete. He said we were in good shape for closing on the 26th.

Lots needs to be done, though. No gas meter yet, plumbing isn't connected to the supply, electrical panel wiring, tile shower needs tile, ...

Paul B. stopped by and we covered a few items. One nice thing is he gave us a key! I didn't expect that until closing.

He mentioned that lots 19 & 20 (pair next to our pair) are under deposit as are lot 5 (other side of the street) and lot 14. He felt they would stop for the year with those which still leaves lots 6 and 13 available. By my count that is 9 houses sold, 1 model, 2 that could be completed.

Upstairs bath

MBR bath

shower

Two weeks to closing? We hope. We're banking on it.

The 'sitting area' upstairs would have been empty space in a two-story high entry. We like this use better, a good spot for home office, or ... sitting area.

The upstairs bath takes shape.


Downstairs, we met Dave, installing Hardibacker for the tile shower.

The medicine chest is in, vanity installed, granite counter and undermount sink ready for the plumbers.

The two finish carpenters have two of these saws, one in the living room and one upstairs. They have good stuff for good work. There is also a table saw in the garage.

Very long pieces of trim were fed through the 2nd floor window. Window trim and baseboard finished in this, the larger upstairs bedroom.

Handiwork on the banister. They even did this on the basement stairs, also an oak banister. Nice stuff, nice work.

I have to document this although I should have photographed them all. The contractors all have boom boxes capable of very loud, not too distorted, tunes. Almost all workers would quickly turn down the volume when 'the homeowners' showed up in spite of our protests that it wasn't necessary.

This one belongs to the finish carpenters. Framers, dry wall guys, wood floor installers, tapers, tilers, everybody has tunes. Some are elaborate with multiple charging slots for their cordless power tools. Many were tuned to country music, some to WNCS - adult contemporary, no public radio, though, (yet). No Rush Limbaugh. That's good.

We went to Costco today, and on the way in the store I saw a contractor targeted boom box. I was tempted, but didn't.