13 weeks +

Thursday we journeyed down to N.H. to the granite emporium to select the slabs for our kitchen counters. Mark at Kitchen World had suggested we do this, and I thought it a bit overkill. However, once we got to see ~9' x 7' polished slabs of granite, we ended up with a different choice. The initial selection was made from viewing ~ 6" x 12" samples which really didn't highlight the amount of dark gold streaking in the green. So we opted for another dark green variety, and specific slabs were tagged for our job. Once the cabinets are in, these people with come to the house to make templates, returning 7 days later to install the finished products.

The place has been tidied up a bit now that the taping and sanding is over. We wonder who does that part.

Hardwood flooring has arrived to acclimate. I'm not sure what happens next. I would guess painting, but we'll see who shows up next.

view from the dining area to kitchen to living room.

boxes of tile for the hearth and fireplace surround.

MBR

Upstairs rear bedroom

The flooring is pre-finished red oak, 4¼" wide.

2 pics

We completed our appliance buys with a dishwasher order today at Bouchard-Pierce.

Naturally we had to drive by the site on the way home.

no pics, just words

We went to Lowes to check on dishwashers. The other appliances are in a local company's warehouse, but the last item is still to be determined. Lowes was open, Bouchard-Pierce wasn't.

Since the drywall tapers were going to be working today, we wondered if we should bring a treat, but arrived empty handed. Good thing as Fred was there as well. Hate to leave anyone out.

Fred was hanging shutters on the adjacent unit. The younger taper was taping the very high garage ceiling. Things look good. The tray ceiling in the MBR was all taped.

Windows were wide open upstairs, and there were 2 fans running in the basement to aid in drying the compound.

The tapers have been very quick to lower the volume on their boom box when the owners show up (they are very polite). We cranked the tunes back up as we left. Don't leave the scaffold on our account. Keep on spacklin'.

keeping busy

Us and them. Today was garage sale day here. Yesterday we were preoccupied prepping for that and didn't visit the new. After close of business here this afternoon, we headed over to check mail and progress. We found both.

The drywall tapers were on the job at 5pm on a Saturday. Two very pleasant guys, ages suitable for father and son, but don't know. Ginnie complimented them on working so late on a Saturday holiday weekend. The senior guy said they had more to do today, and that they'd be working Sunday and Monday. Apparently Paul B. asked them to help speed up things on our house (nice to hear, sorry if it messed with their weekend plans). Senior guy said it was ok, they'd take a 4 day weekend next weekend.

Maybe we should bring them some of this stuff? It might be better than cookies or doughnuts.

   
Taped. I remarked that it seemed surprising 26 cans / 130 gallons of compound would be used. Sr. guy said, we're short. This is more like a 33 bucket house ... a different kind of bucket list?












Siding appears complete all around. Fascias and other trim will take more of Fred's time.

a cover up

We enter a new phase now that the walls are covered. The drywall crew was back this morning, but when I went by, they were in their truck. Meanwhile the cellulose insulation truck was there. I'm not sure if there was a connection or if it was just break time.

Meanwhile one insulation guy was stuffing bats into the basement studs' cavities. Others may have been at the end of that big hose, blowing insulation into the attic. I didn't check.


In the afternoon we headed back. Ginnie hadn't seen any of the rooms with drywall. It certainly changes the appearance when you can't see through walls. We also checked the mail (a weak excuse for driving to the site) as we are getting some mail there. No one was working. Sheetrockers done, scraps stacked in the garage for a trip to a recycler somewhere.

Looking from the front to back, dining area, through kitchen, to living room. Lots of dust everywhere, and the taping and sanding hasn't started!

Living room. 

MBR.

130 gallons of spackle. It boggles the mind.











When we bumped into Paul B. Tuesday, one thing he mentioned that he might be able to get us a foot more space in the 'sitting area' a.k.a. office/computer spot upstairs. It is constrained by headroom coming up stairs. Sure enough, when we stopped by this afternoon, the floor had been extended a foot (from yesterday). And the ceiling underneath sported a patch of a foot before the drywall crew left. He is building dozens of houses all over the place at the same time, yet he manages to tweak things he had said months ago he would try to do . Very impressive.

rockin' *

*as in Sheetrocking, but that may be a trade name. From now on, call it drywall.

The drywall gang was on the job. As Paul B. said, they are fast. I stopped by on my way to lunch with a friend. By 11:30 they had the 2nd floor done and were on break somewhere.

Peering up at the 2nd floor.

 

Second floor ceiling viewed from the stairs. That's high. How do they screw drywall in from ~18' below?

Better them than me.









Shortly after 2pm: ceilings hung in the dining, kitchen, and living rooms of the house, and the lower part of the tray ceiling in the MBR.

This by a 4 person crew from across the lake. They only hang drywall, another crew (2 guys?) does the taping.

Fred continues working his magic.

Shake style siding on the front peak for variety.

Seen from another angle. Ours is in the background.

Scoping out the back yard. It is close from the porch to the woods.








We got our first mail at this address yesterday including our first junk mail. Progress. The other piece was an appliance rebate. I'm glad I got the mailbox key and the P.O. primed to deliver here.

A letter sent as a test from 4 miles away (here) didn't arrive until today (2 day transit) although from the postmark it went to Burlington en route.

outta here, again

The current house was scheduled for home inspection this morning. We didn't realize we had to vacate as the buyer(s) would be present. It makes sense, but nobody let us in on it.

So, where to go? To McD's to score something to break the fast for Ginnie, then off to Waterlefe.

Plumbers were hard at work on the HVAC stuff in the basement. Rohn (electrician) stopped by for a couple of minor things to do. Fred was busy hanging siding.

Yesterday the wall insulation and vapor barrier went in. Drywall was delivered and dispersed around the house. Drywall is supposed to be hung tomorrow and maybe Thursday. Paul B. happened to be on site and he mentioned the crew coming in was very fast. We hope for accurate, too. We asked him about closing date. He said soon, once drywall and taping is done, it will be easier to give us a date. We met with a mover yesterday, and we need to get them booked.

Drywall stacked upstairs. It's a lot of heavy stuff. The good news is it came in through an upstairs window.

A little spackle.

With a few buckets not shown, there are about 120 gallons awaiting!

Fred, all by himself, hanging siding and doing a great job.

In a good move, the furnace vent is being moved to a better location since we opted to move the furnace. Paul B. said that's a good thing about vinyl siding, it's easy to re-work. It appears the same is happening in the adjacent house. That will likely have the air conditioners moved farther away from bedroom windows. The A/Cs are quite quiet, but more separation is good.

11 weeks +

 

Fred working on Saturday, all by himself. A hardworking guy.

Inside, the furnace is placed, ducts in progress, etc.


 
The sill plate has been foamed all around for air tightness and insulation. All the floor plates are caulked as well.
 









The egress window is in.

Wiring is mostly done, but the electrical panel isn't placed yet, the basement needs to be wired, a few outlets missing, etc.

The unfinished siding is waiting on something for the fireplace vent.

Ginnie had been wondering if the 3 lights over the sink counter were placed so we would be working in shadow. It's hard to visualize how far counters extend, etc. without a ruler

Not to worry, the lights are placed well. They've done this before.

Yesterday I stepped out back to check out the scene from the wildlife's perspective. This was the high spot. Beyond here the land slopes down to the lake, about a quarter mile away.

details

I went by today to give Ron/Rohn (not sure it that's the way he spells his name or the name of the company he bought; need clarification) a list of where we want dimmers. I complimented him and his crew for the amount of work they did yesterday. He was appreciative. If you need an electrician in the Burlington area, try RohnFord (google them).

We asked that one switched outlet in the upstairs rear bedroom be moved as it wasn't where we understood it would be from Peter at the Lighting House. "No problem. My mistake." What a great guy and crew.

Meanwhile he was wiring recessed lights in the living room ceiling.

We opted for 4 recessed lights in the kitchen ceiling rather than a single flush-mount fixture. There will be lots of light in the kitchen (7 recessed lights), but they will all be on dimmers so it won't be like it's an operating room (been there, done that, and they are bright! [until the anesthesia kicks in])

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Stopped by the post office today to let them know we are prepared to get mail at:

• 123 Waterlefe Way
• Colchester, VT 05446

 We have mailbox keys. Bring on the appliance rebates!

1) an early start

We had an 8 am meeting with Paul B., Rohn (pronounced Ron) the electrician, and Chris the tv, phone, internet wiring guy, for a walk-through to figure out and confirm where all that stuff goes. It was a whirlwind, but it all seems to make sense. Then we had a call from Peter at the Lighting House to go over stuff we had discussed with Rohn. Cell phones rule.

The place was a beehive of activity with the Benoures (plumbing & HVAC) running ducts, plumbing, etc. as well as electricians getting revved up.

We decided to move the furnace and hot water heater to the end of the basement farthest from the MBR to lessen noise.

As we walked around with Rohn, who was marking outlet locations, one of his guys was not far behind dropping the boxes which are probably mounted and wired by now.

The fireplace is in.

Paul B. gave us the keys to our mailbox as some rebates that were supposed to take forever to process are on a faster track, being mailed to the new address. We can get mail at 123 Waterlefe Way, Colchester, VT 05446 as well as here. We just won't check it as often ... until we can walk to it. Having access to the our mailbox gives me a greater sense of attachment there.

The pace seems to be picking up. Meanwhile, Fred continues the siding in what turned out to be a driving rain. It didn't last long. Sun's out now. Hope he dries out.

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2) and a busy crew.

We had another house showing at 7pm, so after an early dinner of Vietnamese / Nepali left-overs (another story), we headed to the house then to Costco.

Much was accomplished today by the electricians, plumbers, and Fred the siding guy (not sure how many people were in his crew today. We had seen him working solo at times.) They finished both ends and started the back.

 

Mothers' Day tour

Fred was busy hanging siding on Saturday we learned, so we visited today to check progress. It's coming along.

We meet with the electrician Tuesday morning for a walk-around to figure out where to put outlets, lights, all things electric. We have a base plan, but get to tweak things to our liking, hoping we don't forget too many things before the drywall goes up.

outta here

Tonight we had our first showings of the house. First appointment for 6:00. I emailed our realtor that this will cost me a dinner. He responded, make it an early bird special as there is another booked for 5:30.

What to do? How about snacks (a can of almonds) and a glass of wine at the new place? So that's we did. Once again, we spent a lot of time talking with the neighbors on a gorgeous evening.

The siding has started. Rich, next door, stressed that Fred (installer) has a great work ethic, likes what he does, and does it very well.

It doesn't show well here - too much glare.

A better rendering of the color.










  
Framing around the egress window: Grading will be brought up to ~1 board from the top.

We capped off the evening with dinner at Bayview Eats overlooking Mallett's Bay. The neighbors gave it good reviews for dinner. We have lunched there a few times, but had not had dinner. It was good. We'll be back. It is within biking distance from the new house. No promises, but it's possible.