Desk & Cleaning

Very quickly the desk was installed along with two supports that frame the area in which one of our black metal cabinets will go into.

Drew installed more trim around the big back windows and did a lot of cleaning up. The floor area between the desk and stairs is now open.

Looks like the few things left are more trim, a few things in the bathroom and the cabinets in the pantry.

Of course, the downstairs room is still a mess but things are coming along nice.

Also, got word that Gilasi will be replacing both the sink and island countertop pieces. Will be about 3 weeks.

Desk Begins

More and more trim is installed. The old wood under the new bathroom window was chiseled out so that the new trim can be put in place.

In the first photo the last of the trim band that ties together the windows and helps define the room was installed.

The second photo is the desk being assembled. The grips are for the edge piece which was nailed and glued into place. This is several pieces of solid cherry wood. We decided where the supports will go and made space for the metal filing cabinets.

Finally hauled the bricks of loose fill insulation into the attic so now the pantry is open for work to begin on the shelving/steps.

Island lights

The two lights that go over the kitchen island are now up. Very easy to install. One is as short as it can be since the ceiling is much lower. Even though one of the glass shades has a scratch in it we went ahead and put it in since it will be a couple weeks before the replacement arrives.

Now just waiting on the light over the sink.

Once that arrives we'll look into finding the right sized LED bulb to put in them.

Still need to order the under cabinet and back door lights

Countertop Sealed

Despite the fact that we want the two long pieces of countertop replaced the installers still came to seal them. Not a bad thing, since we can use them. Plus the small piece, to the right of the stove, still needed to be attached.

They look really different sealed. The colour is much darker. Odd thing about the island is this colour band that runs the lenght. Not sure why it is there; yet another reason why Gilasi should replace it.

Serious Supports

Per the design we have a set of shelves that go from the kitchen into the new section. In the kitchen they will hold the microwave and be open shelving for dishes, etc. On the other side of the 'fridge, they will be for books and other non-kitchen items.

Drew originally had them supported by store bought angle brackets. He was not pleased with them as they had a fair amount of flex; this before we even put anything on the shelves!

So, he worked with some welders to make the pictured custom brackets. The horizontal supports are square tubes. There is ZERO flex so no worries on loading up the shelves.

The vertical portion will be covered up by the wall and the horizontal portion will be recessed into the shelf and covered. So, it will appear that the shelves just float against the wall.

Countertop Update

Gilasi have agreed to make us the two new pieces we want (island and sink section of L).

Apparently this has happened before, they thought they took care of the problem but, obviously, did not. Not sure how long it will be but i'm guessing it won't be till late January before they are done. Waiting to hear back from the vendor on what we should do about sealing the countertops. It is scheduled for Wed.

LED Lights!

The majority of our light fixtures arrived over the weekend. We installed two of the three track light sets. They are very very cool and bright!

It took a bit of thinking and their installation will require a bit more work due to the power transformer and how it links up with the existing power lines. It's hard to see but we have it so the two power lines come out of the ceiling and into the transformer, then out and into the end of the track.

We found, much to our annoyance, that you can only plug the power into the end. Which means we are limited in how the track sits on the ceiling.

We'll have to chat with the electricians and get their thoughts on how to finish it off so we don't have exposed wires.

We might have issues with the two island lights. Our ceiling is two different heights and when we ordered the lights we could not (or did not) tell them exact lengths.

I also installed a light in the pantry.

One of the pictures shows the coat rack/book case. The adjustable shelves are in place along with the wall. I'm guessing the bench will be going in soon.

More Power - Countertop Update

Today the electricians reconnected the house to the main power lines, removing the temporary supports and patches so the wires run properly from the alley to the house. They installed more switches and outlets so it seems everything now works. Of course we don't yet have fixtures in most of the ceiling locations. Need to remember to call and find out when they are expected to arrive.

The good news is that the power is reconnected to the garage. No more getting out of the car to open by hand. And if we need something in the garage we have lights to see by.

More and more trim is being finished and the bench/shelf/coat rack is progressing.

On the countertop front: i made several calls today and we are expecting Gilasi (the manufacturer) to make two new slabs. One for the island and one that includes the sink. The island one is noticeably thinner than the others and the sink slap has a noticeable taper. Plus it is 1/4 inch thinner than the piece it joins with by the stove. In other words - it looks like crap.

Maria at Green Home Experts immediately understood the problem and will be contacting Gilasi. Also had to tell the countertop installers that i would not let them seal the countertops while the kid was home. The sealer is very stinky and who knows how bad the chemicals are. So, they are scheduled for next Wed. But with our demand for replacement slabs we'll see what happens.

Countertops Bad

After speaking with Drew and my mother, we have decided that the countertops are sub-par and need to be either replaces or given a large reduction in price. They are custom made. They look cool. However, the slabs are different thickness and the joint they made isn't the neatest. Also, they didn't seal them because they came so late, which is a liability to us - if something happens to them in the meantime. Doug will be making some calls.

Countertops Arrive!

The countertop installation crew (2 guys) didn't show up till nearly 6 PM but they showed and then installed.

The countertops are HEAVY, being concrete and glass after all. When you walk past them they sparkle in the light and a closer examination reveals glass of all sorts of colours, not just clear. Although the clear is the main glass.

When they were measured the guy said there would be no seams but it turns out that the long piece from the oven, including the sink and to the 'fridge, came in two pieces. One long one that has the sink and a smaller one that covers most of the corner cabinet and meets the stove.

Odd thing about this is that the long piece is thinner than the short one. So they had to shim up the long one. According to one of the installers this piece is actually wider in one corner than another. I would have thought that since this stuff is manufactured the company could be more precise with the forms.

The sink is installed and now we need the plumbers to hook up the faucet and garbage disposal.

The last thing is the countertops need to be sealed. Apparently the stuff is very stinky so they are going to come back another day when we can be gone. They'll open windows to vent. In the mean time we cannot let any liquids get on them.

More Trim

I suppose you would call it an important architectural detail. Two trim bands that run from the main floor to the basement and frame the two interior windows. The idea is to break up the mass of the wall and tie the two windows together.

We were not to sold on the idea but now that they are in we are ok with them.

Also the trim is around the back door. It is hard to tell but it matches the trim in the rest of the house.

Foam - Doorways - Stove!

Love that spray foam. In the space between the 6 south facing windows was just a pair of 2x4 studs. So, with the ole spray foam the entire space is now filled providing an air tight seal. So much better than the old days of stuffing fiberglass pieces into the cavity.

The second photo is of the doorway between the old part of the basement looking out into the new. Drew has framed out the doorway with nice pine. The old door that used to separate the basement from the stairs will go back here to keep the heat in the basement.

The other big new is that i fixed the stove. A thousand curses on the GE repair people. They told us that it would cost $500+ to fix and that it might just be worth buying a new range. Well, it cost me $30 and less than an hour to replace the two tubes that broke. Gonna send a nasty note to GE soon.

Many many thanks to Drew for making the suggestion that all the range needed was the two tubes.

Interior work

Well i was wrong about the crew working on the porch on monday. It was just Drew and another guy.

He's making great progress on the interior. The shelving is up but needs quite a bit of work. He realized he made a mistake with the ends and has to do some correction to add a miter cut so the ends look finished.

The pantry door is now in place and lots of door trim installed.

Drew is a bit unhappy with the amount of flex in the shelf supports so he's talking with some metal fabricators on a solution.

In the basement, he patched the ugly red tile floor. Put some back in that had popped out during demo and also leveled out some other spots. Can't wait till the day when we can redo the basement.

Front Porch

I'm a bit surprised but the crew showed up today and began work on the front porch.

All the decking has been removed and they put down a sheet of plywood so that we could get in the front door. The made a makeshift railing to prevent falls. The porch swing is still in place, don't know if they'll need to take it down or not.

A few more pieces were added to the coat rack/book shelf.

Coat Rack/Shelving

Progress over the weekend while we were out. The bench/coat rack half of the built-in was erected. The tops are not nailed down which is good 'cause we don't want any overhang, especially on the side facing the stairs. Of course it could be just that Drew has only rough cut the wood and has them sitting there.

He also put up one of the shelving units that extend from the kitchen. The brackets are sunk into the drywall so when they are covered up the shelves will appear to float - a nice touch.

Built-in

The built-in coat rack, bench, and book shelf begins to take shape by the back door. It is made from maple plywood to match the floors and stairs.

What you see here is the bookshelf side. Drew has drilled holes into the sides to make the individual shelves adjustable.

Good Shower

With the mail yesterday arrived the new shower curtain. So, this morning, with the curtain all hung, I used the upstairs bathroom to shower. So glad to have a decent shower working again. The downstairs one is too cold and small.

Also installed a recessed toilet paper holder.

One bad thing is the crew yesterday scratched the tub. They had a tarp of part of it but they were standing in it and their shoes, which i'm sure were quite dirty, put lots of small scratches into the bottom of the tub.

Back Exterior Done

A crew of some 5-6 people were here today and they set to work covering the exterior of the back. Came home around 4 pm and they were gone and mostly all done.

The back is clad with a cement board and the seams covered with another more wood-like product. The red vertical stuff is the wood-like product. One nice detail is the exterior cladding has an air gap behind it. This will prevent moisture from building up behind and causing rot or mold.

Sorta mock-Tudor style is how it looks to me. We'll paint it someday to make the vertical beams less noticeable. So, but for a few spots, we are weather tight. Realized that we need to by a light fixture for the back entrance way.

On the inside they put in the last two windows - kitchen and bathroom. In the bathroom we'll have to figure out some way to screen the neighbors. But, having a real window there looks so much nicer. Apparently when the glass blocks were installed many years ago the people put tar over lots of stuff. Drew things that was to prevent water from getting into the mortar but it made for quite a mess.

Speaking of mess there is lots of stuff to clean up both inside and outside.

Drew also was measuring and cutting more wood for the built-ins. The one photo shows a bit of the walls for the coat rack/bench built-in by the back door.