Thanksgiving 2009

Greg has been working soooo hard and finished out the back porch, built our butcher block kitchen island and got the woodstove installed and running all before my family arrived from PA for Thanksgiving.

We had a house full of people and dogs- and it was so nice to actually have plenty of room. Next year though, we promise to have doors up (at least in the bathrooms, ok?).

Here are some pics of what we have been working on since my last post.

the back porch

my brother and Greg loving the 70 degree weather

pretty door Greg made with a flap just for Ferlin

leftover roof slate we used on the porch wall

it took all of us to install this crazy chandelier

Greg made the butcher block top out of maple. It turned out really pretty and I don't want to actually cut anything on it now. Sorry Greg.

We scored these bar seats from the 42nd Street Oyster Bar years ago right before they were headed to the dumpster- they cleaned up pretty good.

pretty!

I am sad to say we lost our husky dog the weekend before Thanksgiving. That old girl was a trooper through all the construction and moving- we are so happy she got to enjoy the new house these past few months. We will miss you sweet Ferlin, the house is so empty without you.

Porches!!!

Work, a European tour and a sickly dog have kept us busy, busy, busy since moving in. I haven't updated this blog in a while, but we really have been making progress on the house. The pressure is off though since we actually live here now. whew.
Greg tore out the front porch rails (they were built and put in to meet code only) and came up with a fancy new design. Love it- and the house numbers too.

Clark and Greg put in the back screen porch this week. Lots to do though still. We are planning on using the leftover slate from the roof and putting it on the lower walls out back. Going to attempt to acid stain the cement floor which should be very interesting.

All this and more to be completed before my family comes down for Thanksgiving! No pressure G.

MOVED IN!!!!

Well, we are all moved in!

HOORAY!

Greg was able to come home for a week from his CCL european adventure and help move us in, but we couldn't have done it without Jay Brown. He not only painted most of the inside of the house, but he helped move us out of the old place and into the rental and then back into the new place. I am absolutely certain that he is sick and tired of seeing our old piano and my treadmill by now. Thanks Jay Brown! We love you!

Our fridge was a housewarming gift from Greg's folks. We love it. Ferlin loves it. Thanks Clark and Carolyn.

Ok Greg, get back from tour already so we can enjoy this beautiful house that you built!

Finishing Touches

The past couple of weeks have been chaotic over here as we prepared for the final inspections. Dad came up again to help complete the short list required for occupancy. While searching through the pile of leftover framing lumber for a 2 x 4, we found, and then exploited this little guy--a baby posssum.

Dad helped glue and clamp the douglas fir front door that I made.

This is the finished product--hung, with 2 of 3 coats of poly applied.

This is the fir back door we bought to match the front.

This is a photo of the kitchen cabinets with most of the drawer and door hardware attached. We cut the cobra soapstone to fit around the old sink, then sanded it and applied mineral oil to the top which turned it a rich dark black color.

Me setting a few nail heads deeper before the wood floor people showed up.

Short handrail sections were added to meet code requirements.

A close up of the handrail and newel post cap I made (doug fir as well)

The rooster came today.

A short video of the floor finishing crew in action.

Oh yeah, and we passed our final building inspection yesterday!

-Greg

more July photos

Greg has some shows up in Canada and I am holding down the fort, kind of. I've had a few meltdowns along the way.

The plumbers have come and gone- with only a couple walls torn up, one cracked pipe and our tile ripped out of the floor. The good news, we did eventually get water flowing, toilets and sinks in place and our old clawfoot tub in it's new home. Our tile was fixed too.

Greg's dad, Clark, also came up and helped us get the walkway completed and put the tongue and groove flooring in on the front porch. We are so thankful. He did so much and I hated seeing him leave today.

Happy 4th of July y'all

Time to relax, cook-out with friends and watch some fireworks at the fairground...eventually.

We are still working over here on the house and hope to finish up the front walkway in time to catch some 4th festivities. We are using up the rest of the old brick Greg's dad salvaged from a demolished home in Charlotte. We also passed our electrical inspection yesterday and now have running water! Tiling is finally finished too.

Getting so much closer everyday.

Hot Fun in the Summertime

I haven't updated in a while because things over here have been pretty hectic lately. The pressure is on and we are definitely feeling it. We are also feeling this hot, hot, hot North Carolina heat- almost 100 degrees yesterday. Greg's working non-stop 12 hour days trying to finish by the end of July. Everyday we cross something off our long list of things to do...I think it's getting shorter.

Thanks to some great help along the way, we are making some progress. Finishing the walls with subway tile in the guest bath is all that's left of tiling. Jay Brown is cutting some mighty fine lines while painting the inside. Fans and lights are going in right now thanks to Dave Wilson. Greg is building our kitchen cabinets and just finished the columns on the front porch. Greg's dad also came up and helped us finish the porch ceilings.

Here are some random photos taken over the past few weeks.

The front porch columns are finished- what a difference.

Jay Brown painting away.

Dave Wilson hooking up the lights and fans.

Back porch fans.

Guest bath and where the clawfoot goes.

G building our kitchen cabinets. We ordered our soapstone countertops yesterday which Greg is going to cut to fit.

Some video footage of the guys hauling the very heavy tub upstairs.

struggling a bit

Clark and Greg relaxing after putting up the porch ceiling.

Ferlin keeping cool in the pool.