Final Product

Final house video:

http://animoto.com/play/nnkVWhrNkMrbVNXnCuHCCQ

And gardens:

http://animoto.com/play/CaIRT0unuio8Q1g5UkGYUw

Wall of Stone

When picking out countertops we starting admiring how the stone resembled fine art. Then we had the idea to put some on our walls as art. When we starting inquiring into this we got a quote for a remnant piece mounted and installed for $4,000. Yeah, we didn't love the idea that much. I happened to mention it to the guy at the place where we ended up getting our incredible deal on our stone countertops and he included it as part of our package. For essentially no charge if we picked items he had in stock in the stone yard. Although it was a little frustrating how long it took for them to fabricate the pieces (4 months) we finally got them. For them to install it it would have been $700. Instead they told Ben how they would do it and he did it himself. Not without consequence, but overall a fine job.

here is piece number one - It's either rainforest green or jurassic granite. It's 18 inches x 3 ft. It probably weighs about 100 lbs. This is how we installed it:

Ben put screws into the studs of the wall



He drilled corresponding holes into the stone. Then a whole mess of Liquid Nails

Then we stuck it to the wall in the guest bath. And said a silent prayer.



The other piece is a 4' x 4' piece of marble in the entryway niche. Hooks installed into studs.


The stone company epoxied the 2 x 4's to the back of the marble and Ben drilled holes and epoxied in the hooks onto the wood. Next he added lighting for effect.

This piece is probably over 200 lbs. But with the help of a friend, it made it onto the wall. But before it made it onto the wall, it suffered a crack while picking it up. even though we have picked it up and down a number of times prior. Which is probably what weakened it.

All in all, I think it looks nice and appears to be quite sturdy. Of course this is a concern. I do wish it was about an inch or two recessed into the wall. Right now it is suspended about 5 inches from the wall. But first we have to get the crack fixed.

When will we ever have the house to ourselves?

I'm not talking about visitors. Guests are always welcome. I'm talking about repairman, subcontractors etc. We've been here for three months now and still have people coming in and out to fix things. Today I have the cabinet guys coming to tighten up some cabinet drawers that weren't installed properly the first time - they fall right out and onto your toes if you're not careful. We are going to have our front door replaced here in the next few weeks. Windows, drywall, electricians etc. Our home is not our own. This isn't a complaint - just an observation as to what building a house really involves - the tweaking and fine tuning.

Mud Room Countertop

This is our new, not so very exciting mudroom countertop. It's laminate and about 4 feet wide. Ben built some handy supports and put this in in less than two hours. I imagine that this will be where we stash all of the things that we need to take out the door withus the next morning for school. Once we start parking in the garage anyway.

An Upscale Storage Building - aka Giant Tupperware.

Because we are determined to actually park in our garage as well as have some weightlifting facilities we decided that a shed for yard tools and equipment - not to mention the bins and bins of home decor, baby clothes etc. How all of these things fit in our condo and small house with no garage before I do not know.

So sheds are expensive. Especially nice wood ones that could be painted to match our house, which would be ideal. Even used sheds on Craigslist weren't cheap - and most had to be moved in one piece - another expense. So we settled for this beauty from Costco. It's nice enough looking. I doesn't really go with our house but It'll work and the price was right. Plus a trip to Costco means pizza, hots dogs and ice cream bars so it was the perfect excuse to go make pigs of ourselves.

I particularly like the corrugated cardboard style construction. But hey - it has a window and a skylight!

Fireplace Cleaning

The fireplace guy came out last week to light our pilots. He also gave our fireplaces a thorough cleaning - rearranging the gravel, setting the logs up nice and cleaning the paint off of the grates - I've been meaning to get to that for some time. Now we just have to put the final coat on the fireplace hearth and we're set to have a cozy winter (And fall and spring here. I wouldn't be surprised if they come on in August).

Silgranite Sink

I also really like our sink. It's a composite called silgranite. In this picture is dirty but it's black and so far, no problems keeping it clean. It doesn't ding or scratch so I'm a fan.

Select Blinds

Anyone who's shopped for blinds/shades, knows that window coverings are expensive. And they stay with the house, so it's not like other decor that can be taken with you when you leave. We have a lot of windows in our house. Which we thought was a great idea...until we started getting quotes for shades. We knew what kind we wanted - honeycomb with a top down - bottom up mechanism to preserve both our privacy and our treetop views. First stop Costco - which sells Hunter-Douglas - qoute - over $5000 - that includes their special "deal" of $50 off each blind.

Next stop, Budget Blinds - quote - over $3000. Better but not great.

Luckily luckily, our builders wife mentioned something about the blinds you can order from the company that does Extreme Home Makeover. It was easy enough to find them - it is Select Blinds.com. I ordered 15 different fabric samples, took the measurements - surprisingly, even windows that were next to each other and the same size did not always measure the same, Some were off my 1/8 inch or so - and we placed an order. Unlike other companies who charged like $40 for the top down feature, Select Blinds only charged $9. If the window is low enough to reach the top we ordered the cordless type which we really like. Our total with free shipping, and no tax I believe - was $1200. And installation was simple. at least it looked simple while ben was doing it.

Insinkerator Evolution

I forgot another appliance that I love. Our garbage disposal. We got the cheapest of the Evolution Series from Lowe's but it's quiet, it can chomp just about anything - potato peels are like baby food to this guy. It says it can even do chicken bones...I'm not quite brave enough to try this one. Although I should before the warrenty is up - I have four years. It has an auto reverse if it gets stuck and what else... nothing really. But, that's why I love my garbage disposal.

Appliances, etc.

Caution - The information in this post may cause covetousness. You have been warned.

(most pictures are from the manufacturers websites)

The fridge - Electrolux Wave Touch Side by Side. I loved this fridge the minute I opened it's doors in the showroom. The "luxury" lighting that increases from dim to bright captivated me. Unfortunatly, the $3000 price tag wasn't in our budget. We were hoping to stay between $800-$1000 until we realized we were going to have to get a counterdepth fridge due to the congiguration of our kitchen. Counterdepth fridges are less deep, resulting in less cubic space and while smaller, are more expensive. Long story short, persistance and research led us to get exactly the fridge I wanted at nearly half off from the Sears Outlet. And unlike many other specimens at this store there was nary a scratch or dent. It was simply a returned unit. Yea for me.

Note- About a month after having this I started noticing the lights on the electronic panel showing when they should have disappeared. I called Electrolux and no questions asked was sent a replacement motherboard and the name and number of a repairman who would fix it at no cost to me. Now that's service!

Note - We also got a second, what I call "Costco" fridge for the mudroom from Craigslist. $170

Ovens - I already made a post about these a while back. We got a floor model knocking a measly $1000 off of the price. Actually we were supposed to get the floor model but the one we got was brand new in the original unopened packaging. But we only paid the floor model price. We got the GE Monogram convection oven and Monogram Advantium Microoven - it's a microwave or an oven depending on was plate you use in it. It also cooks with halogen lights.

Cooktop - 5 Burner Gas Bertazonni. This fancy sounding italian cooktop had great reviews and the best price by a long shot. $650 plus (or minus) a $50 rebate.

Note - There were a couple issues with installation - like the guy put something on backward and another valve seemed to be leaking. Again, customer service was excellent. Fast and no charge. Works like a champ.

Meet Pilar, our kitchen faucet. She is magic. She turns on with the tap of a finger, the back of the hand, an elbow etc. She also knows the difference between a touch and a tap so if you want to move it while it's on she doesn't go crazy and turn off on you. If you want to go old school and use the handle, you can do that too. Ben thinks this just might be his favorite feature of the house.

Originally we had picked out a pretty faucet from Hansgrohe. But it was expensive and I started having a real problem spending $600 on a faucet when there are people starving. Unfortunately while on my search for a more reasonably priced faucet that conserves water and performs well I stumbled across this video. Although $400 is still a lot to pay for a faucet, at least this one does tricks. And, it makes for good conversation.

Laundry - Whirlpool Cabrio I am very excited about these machines. They do the equivilant of three standard washer loads at one time. It really does. Sometimes I am bummed because I have a huge pile of laundry and I only get to do one load. And then I am bummed because I have to fold a giant load at one time. What I also like about them - they are not front loaders but they are energy efficient. (I have issues with the front loaders b/c of mold and the fact that they lock so quickly) This one actually locks too but it doesn't have to drain if you want to add something. I also like that the washer has a see-thru top because it is mesmerizing to watch the machine work. it has no agitator so it is quite interesting to see how it moves the clothes around. And the dryer is supposed to have a steam function for enhanced touch ups. It does spray a burst of water b/c it dampens the clothes a bit but I'm not sure how well it removes wrinkles compared to a regular dryer and a wet washcloth thrown in.

Dishwasher - We went straight Consumer Reports on this one. I really wanted the Electrolux, but Ben wouldn't give me the extra $150 bucks for it. So we got a Bosch. It works fine. We had the same one in Hawaii in White. I didn't realize this until I ran my first load. No bells and whistles, very few options, but quiet enough (I actually like the sound of a dishwasher) and gets the job done.

The case of the missing trash can.

When you plan your custom cabinets you would think you would remember to include a trash receptacle of some sort. In Hawaii we had a double trash can built in and it was great. It was right next to the sink and close to the dishwasher. Ideal. Well in our first drawing of our cabinets we had one in a similar location. But when we switched cabinet makers, we didn't look closely at the new sketch and the trash cans were replaced by three drawers. To rework the drawers and put trash bins in it would have been about $450. So we tried to find room under the sink. Not sufficient. Luckily, we had the perfect place in the corner of the kitchen near the pantry.

Unluckily, building a new cabinet cost us $400. Luckily, we still have the drawer space and luckily we had some money left in the construction budget. Now we have a double bin (recycling and waste) and a junk drawer on top. The other bummer is that we have to get a top fabricated to match our countertops. All of this would have been included in our original prices had we not made this mistake, right now we have a temporary top that Ben made from a shelf that we took out of our corner cabinet and replaced with glass - to display all of our fancy glassware - haha.

Stair Railing

For the record I wanted a wood railing painted the same as our trim (like the one that won the poll) Ben wanted iron. So this is what we came up with. Some days I love it some days I don't.

Thanks to technology being locked out is a thing of the past. At least we hope so. For less than the price of a visit from a locksmith (an after hours visit anyway) we now no longer have to fear forgetting a key. With a code we can get into our garage, and with another code we can get into the house. Even Avery can use the keypad. I thought this might also be handy if we are out of town and a friend or neighbor needs to get in. Also, Although we don't have lever handles anywhere else inour house, I am glad to have this one that can be opened with an elbow should one have their hands full - not that a mother ever has her hands full.

Carpet

We chose to go with two different carpets for the house. A low pile and, well, a lower pile (cut/loop).


This textured one is for the kids bedrooms, guest bedroom/office and the living room. It is Dixie Home "Blueprint" - color Chinchilla. 126 Yds. It is a special polyester blend that is super soft and is much like Dupont's Smartstrand line which we love the feel of.

This is Tuftex "Crystal Visions" in Sun City. It is on our stairs, hallway, and master bedroom floor. It's not my favorite but Ben really likes it. It looks nice and should wear well. 86 Yds.

Both carpets were on the lower end of the price scale since we were at the end of the build and therefore the budget. Shaw just came out with a new carpet that is so so soft and super plush and had I wanted to double our carpet budget we could have gone for it. Unfortunatly not worth it for a house we will only be in for a few short years. Both the Tuftex and the Dixie Home ones we got have great wear ratings so they should stay new looking - especially since we have employed the no eating on the carpet rule. We'll see how long that lasts - so far so good.

Carpet shopping is fun!

Not so "Easy Railings"

I like this technique -

Pantry

We finally got shelving for our pantry and closets. It took a good three weeks to get an installation date. Looks like Miles found where I keep the good stuff.

Landscaping.

Even though we practically blew our budgeted amount for landscaping on the retaining wall and fence, we came in on/under budget - the final numbers aren't quite in - for the whole house build and because of that we decided to outsource the yard. We also waffled between whether or not we should get a sprinkler system. Our lot is kinda sunk down and with the copious amounts of rain Washington recieves, we really would only maybe need irrigation in the summer. Well, we decided to go for it. We got bids to do it for $3700 plus $1000 for the yard prep, seeding and finishing a portion of our retaining wall we added and we had a deal. Multiple guys worked everyday, nearly all day and it took them 6 days to get it in. And they know what they are doing. Imagine, us trying to do a complicated sprinkler system on the weekend. We would finally get it done in time for rainy season to kick in again.

The yard looks so awesome - and there is not even any grass yet. They did a great job and it looks huge. There was zero buyers remorse handing over that check - partly because it's still coming from our construction loan account but still. Next purchase - lawn mover. Any suggestions?

What's next...

So even though our house is habitable - and we have moved in - what are some of the things keeping us from getting back to a normal , non-house-building life? Well, scraping stickers off of super high windows for one. Why they didn't remove the stickers upon installation is beyond me. The quote for having someone come clean our windows for us - $400-$500.

We've also been finishing up backsplashes and fireplace surrounds. I think Ben is anxious to put away the tile saw for good. And more tile means more grouting for me. Not my favorite, but I'm willing.

Ben has also been putting in closets and shelving. Not having them really hinders the unpacking process. On about June 3rd we got wire shelving in the pantry and linen closets put in.

Besides all of that we've/I've just been cleaning and unpacking and cleaning - construction dust just never seems to go away.

I'll get busy taking some pictures of the finishes and giving final updates.

Done!

We got our occupancy permit on May 13th. After only two attempts.

Almost Done...

They say we might be done* by Friday. To me it looks like a case of so close yet so far away.

*Done as in can passthe final inspection - we still have some finishes to complete - a fireplace surround, a hearth, some backsplashes...