Week 24 - It's the little things

Week 24: February 25 - March 1

This week was all about the little things...and the backyard. We decided to do a change order to get the backyard done because we figured it made sense to do it now, rather than leave it a big, muddy mess to deal with later, and my contractor gave us a good price (I consulted with others who have done similar work, including a contractor friend).

The pictures in this post are all from Thursday, 2/28, but from both the morning, when I went over to meet with the contractor, and in the evening, when I went back to see the progress. You can easily tell the difference in the lighting. I have mixed them together so that the photos are grouped by location.

Let's start with the backyard. This was started on Tuesday and by Thursday morning they had already removed the soil, put down the rough gravel, the filter paper, and the smaller gravel.

This area will be the planting bed. We are doing a tree well to retain some water. You can see the overflow drain there on the left/middle of the image.

Close-up of the drain.

We had a couple of surprises. The first is the piece of metal you see in the middle of the pictures. It's one of 2 electrical ground poles. I was not informed of their existence nor consulted on their location. They will both be moved because they can't stay where they are.

The second ground is there in the middle of the image.

The masons were on site getting ready to finish up the brickwork. Here's the windowsill prior to being done.

They were laying out the slate for the wall cap. You can see that here.

When we returned at 6 pm, the brick sills were done. Here's the one on the east.

This is the west sill.

Here's the door threshold/sill.

I took the twins over with me because Allen was at Futsal practice with Saha.

The living room was all cleared out and ready for the floors to be refinished, which happened on Friday.

Look mom! The refrigerator is on the stairs!

Looking back from the kitchen to the living room.

Looking from the new dining room through the kitchen, slightly east.

Looking from the new dining room through the kitchen, slightly west.

Office/buffet/homework area.

Earlier in the day, looking from the living room through the kitchen to the dining room.

Take our picture, mom!

My littlest goofball

The tile backsplash. Allen commented that you will only see so many switches in a row in a new/renovated home.

Yes, I'm asking the contractor to route out a little of the cabinet door to recess the nut for the knobs because it took us way too much time to pick the one we wanted and I'm not spending any more time finding something else.

Mommy, take my picture!

Oh my little man!

Ceiling fan installed. I think it looks good.

Earlier in the day, before they covered it up in prep for floor refinishing.

I think that my color/pattern palette turned out really well. I like how the tile backsplash and countertop continuing into the dining room ties the two rooms together.

West side of the pass-through window

East side of the pass-through window.

Along the east wall.

Looking down at the mudroom/entrance landing

Another view of the new back entrance/mudroom

Windowsill at the upper landing.

Detail at the windowsill. They are going to round out that corner so it's not a sharp edge waiting to get bumped into.

Entrance/landing from the lower stair run.

Further out image of the new back door.

Looking up from the basement

The bottom run of stairs, ready to be stained and finished.

Laundry room. The lights are all in!

It's hard to tell, but those are the glass shower walls and door.

Less than 2 weeks to go! I couldn't go over this weekend because they refinished the floors on Friday. I'm going to try to pop over on Monday or Tuesday morning to see how they look.

This week is final coat of paint, installing/moving the rest of the light fixtures, last of the cabinet hardware, and then the final coat buffing of the floors.

As for the outside, they will finish the backyard paving and building the shed. Substantial completion date is March 11th!