We've come a long, long way together

I wonder if I could title all future posts based on songs from my high school days?  That's probably a bad idea.

But sometimes a house renovation is overwhelming, and it is valuable to be reminded that we HAVE come a long, long way!

From this:

To this:

To now:

For real! Just breathe, we can do this... (did you catch that one?)

The past few weeks we have been finishing up details to prepare for the rough in inspection by the county.  This includes a second HVAC unit for the upstairs.

The deck was also installed on the front porch.  We went with a cost-effective pressure treated lumber.  This needs to be left alone for 6-12 months before we stain it, but that makes one less choice we have to make right now.  The posts will be wrapped to match the siding.

The plan is to get an inspection in the next day or two and to insulate next week in preparation for drywall the following week!

Oh yeah, and we ordered all of our cabinetry!  And mostly stayed in budget!

We're going the distance.  (Sorry, I couldn't resist another lyric.)

Shingles

We have shingles!

And they are on our roof!  

And I love them!  Owens Corning Oakridge in Twilight Black.  

AND...all the new windows are in.  

The front door still hasn't been delivered; so it is still plywood for now.  

All in all, it was a beautiful day at the HWCV.

Barn Treasure

We spent the rainy Saturday morning cleaning out another part of the barn this weekend.  

And we found dirty, rusty  treasures.  

There was some great rough sawn wood, some rusty metal, and the greatest treasure of all...

an old bumper.

We noticed this old bumper in the back of a pile of wood many months ago.  When we dug it out, we were excited to find it in such great condition.  I believe this will become wall art or a shelf in our son's bedroom.  

Artichoke and Guests

Artichoke

The house has been painted!  We went with Sherwin-Williams Artichoke for the color.  I love how it looks in the shade, and we have a lot of shade.  I wish it was a tad darker when the sun is bright, but then it would be too dark in the shade...dilemnas.

I am curious how it will look when we get the shingles on.  The shingles still haven't been delivered - we special ordered to get the color we wanted.  Now we are hoping they arrive tomorrow.

Guests

We love to host guests, but we haven't invited many over for the lack of restroom facilities.  But something I am loving about country culture is that people are more likely to "drop by."  We have had some guests recently, and their kids all left in some sort of combination of wet, dirty, stinky and sticky.

So, if you don't mind gross kids, drop by anytime!  

Rough-ins

I haven't posted recently for two reasons.
#1 - the kids started school today, so the last couple weeks have been INSANELY busy.
#2 - this picture isn't riveting:

The past couple weeks have been filled with rough-in stage plumbing and electrical.  These are exciting and important aspects, but I didn't know if everyone would love seeing pictures of my can lights and washing machine drain.  

 

OOOOHHHH....AAHHHH....yeah right.  

Most of our lighting is recessed.  We have to select ceiling fans, and we have several "statement" lights to choose:  a chandelier for the entry, a dining chandelier, vanity lighting, etc.  Right now we are still debating oil rubbed bronze or aged pewter finishes for lighting, drawer pulls, plumbing fixtures, etc.  I prefer the aged pewter look, but it isn't as widely available as the oil rubbed bronze. 

 

Our contractor started last week on the exterior trim.  The siding and trim will be painted this week, then the shingles will go on, and the special order windows will be delivered and installed.  

We chose a grayish green called Artichoke for the exterior color with white trim.  The shingles will be a dark charcoal/black color.  

Also, the new front door has been ordered.  I wish I had a picture to share, but you can see it after it is delivered.  We need to decide on a color for the front door.  I think we will go bold. What do you suggest?  

Front Porch

Introducing...wait for it...THE FRONT PORCH!

We are thrilled with the size of the front porch.  It is 8' wide and east facing, so it will create very livable outdoor space.  We plan to have a deck style floor and ceiling fans on each side.  We will use one side for a seating area and the other side for a dining space.  

You may also notice the front door is gone.  We didn't love the old front door, and when our contractor was repairing some old termite damaged areas around the front door and the front window, it became clear that a replacement was the best option.  We still haven't picked a new front door.  So there is plywood over it now. Hopefully we can agree on one soon. Ideally one that is in our budget!  

By the end of the day Friday the upstairs windows were in place.  

The upstairs bathtubs are also in place for the kids' bathrooms.  

And a lot of the rough in electrical was completed in the kitchen and living room.  But I didn't get a picture of that.  

The plumber and electrician will be busy in the house next week.  

We are trying to select a lot of the design features.  This door is currently on the old milkhouse.  Mike had the idea to clean this up a little bit and use it as the pocket door for the pantry in our farmhouse style kitchen.  I think it will be very cool. What do you think?  

Stairs and Stonework

It's been a while since I last posted.  A lot has happened, but it is the type of stuff that doesn't really make a statement in a photo. All of the framing is complete.

Here are some sneak peaks of the recent progress.

We have construction stairs to get to the second story.  They are in the location of the permanent stairs, but are just 2x4s for now.

The chimney has been raised to accommodate a 2 story structure.

The new kitchen windows had to be raised to be above the counter top.  These used to be bedroom windows.  The stonemason did a great job!  You can barely tell they have been adjusted from the exterior.  

And the posts for the deck have been set.  The deck should be in place next week.  

I met with our contractor, Matt Allen from Allen Construction, this week to discuss electrical and plumbing specifications.  Those should be starting in the next week or two.