Productive week

It's Friday and a I'm pleased to report that this was a productive week.

Completed:
- All electrical wiring installed
- Finalized kitchen design & placed order for cabinets
- Framed in two new closets
- Chose doors and trim styles
- Chose all tile for master bath (floor, shower wall/floor/accent)

Because of the massive rain yesterday, we'll need to wait a week to begin on the insulation and drywall. So, not a lot will happen over the next seven days.

Pics of current state of the addition to come.... Stay tuned.

Step down

We decided to do a small step down from the old part of the house to the new part of the house to add some dimension and a bit of architectural detail. There are two openings where the old house meets the new house -- from kitchen to family room; and from dining room to family room. To extend the size of the kitchen, today the guys built a "platform" and the step will be where the kitchen cabinets end. You will be able to step down from either side of the island. See below (imagine the island placed in the middle of the opening).

Future kitchen

Tearing down walls

Late last week, the guys removed the wall between the old house (kitchen) and new house (new kitchen/family room). 

BEFORE

Now you see it...

AFTER

 

Now you don't!

 Here are some in progress shots:

From family room to kitchen

Looking from kitchen to family room

The wreckage

This week and next

There aren't many major visual progressions this week but lots is still going on.

Monday: Plumber does piping install; roofing begins
Tuesday: Roofing continues; conduct walk through to identify locations for recessed lights, outlets and direction of door openings (swing in or out; knob on left or right)
Wednesday: More roofing; kitchen cabinets and master bath vanity are ordered
Thursday: Hopefully roofing finishes (although the rain is slowing down the progress)
Friday: Brick wall between old house and new house comes down!  This WILL be major, so pics to come...

Next week, the electrician will come on Wednesday to wire the addition for electricity and cable.  Then, if all goes according to plan, the building inspections will take place after that. Cross your fingers for a passing grade.

Other decisions that need to be made over the coming weeks, or were already made this week:

NEED TO DECIDE THIS WEEK: 
- Storage of TV equipment/components. Will wants to have wireless components so that we don't junk up the family room with all of the wires and electronics that come with the TV (cable box, dvd player, etc). We would potentially store the components in the hallways leading to the master. Need to decide by next Wednesday before the electrician comes.
- What do to with the hallway leading to the master. Right now it's just a hallway but there's ample room to do something like 1) just put a piece of furniture in there like a dresser to serve as storage space or display; 2) have Steven frame in a linen closet; or 3) have Steven do built ins. I have an affinity for built ins but they are pricey (like probably $3K or so). I'm currently doing some research to see what the options for built ins are and if I think architecturally/stylistically if it will really make a difference to be worth the money.

NEED TO DECIDE IN THE COMING WEEKS:
- Siding style. We are doing Hardie plank. Options: We can do smooth beaded to match what we have on the existing sunroom.  We could also do smooth lap siding, which is straight siding with no bead detail, or the lap or beaded option with a wood grain texture.
- Tile for master bath (including floor tile and shower tile)
- Counter tops for kitchen and master bath. Steven says we can do some browsing now at Arc or Marva but they won't cut the slab until 2-3 weeks from the time we need it, so we can't select our piece until we're further along in the process. 

ALREADY DECIDED THIS WEEK: 
- Insulation. Per dad's request, we're adding more insulation to the master bath walls for sound purposes. Classic dad concern.
- What to do with the spaces where the old windows were. With the addition, we are covering up four windows (1 in sunroom; 1 in hall bath; 1 in master bath; 1 in master bed). We have decided to do "niches" instead of dry-walling over the area where the windows were in the baths and bedroom. We will drywall over the old window and door in the sunroom.
- For the outside entrance to the mudroom, we will have two sets of stairs: 1 leading to driveway; 1 leading to backyard. 
- We are going to install 2 floodlights on the back of the house so that we can have light when entertaining on the deck at night.
- Decided to go with granite -- probably same as kitchen -- for the master vanity instead of the cultured marble.

Exterior paint samples

Time to weigh in on exterior paint samples. All are Benjamin Moore. This pic is taken while it was slightly overcast around 4pm in the afternoon. More pics to come at other times of the day.

Top row (left to right)
A - Marina Gray
B - Coventry Gray
C - Harbor Gray

Bottom row (left to right)
D - Storm
E - Pelican Gray
F - Pebble Beach

My current thinking is that A is too blue; B is too green; C is too beige; D is too dark; E is looking pretty good; and F is slightly blue but I still like it.

This could all change when I see them in a different light.... More to come. 

Windows are in!

The guys were working hard on Sunday to get the windows installed, as we are expecting rain every day this coming week.

Family room (French doors still missing)

Master bedroom and master bathroom windows

Final framing post

The guys finished up the framing this weekend. The future home of our family room and master...

View into hallway that leads to master from family room

View from kitchen into family room

Family room looking toward fireplace

Portico

Per a previous post, we're doing some work on the front exterior of the house to add some curb appeal. In addition to the stoop renovation (removing old tiles and adding bluestone), we are adding a portico to give some dimension to the front of the house. The guys started work on this today.

The White House

.... but not the one on Pennsylvania Avenue!   Got a call that said the painter had extra time so he swang by the house and primed it.  Talk about a shock when I turned the corner...

Before:

in the winter obviously

After:

today!

Framing - Part 4 (Woah!)

This is really starting to look like a house!  Can't believe all of the progress just since last night.

View from the back (left side is the master suite; main area is the family room; not pictured is the mudroom/bathroom)

View from the side standing in the driveway

Framing - Part 3

Framing continues this week. As of today, the floor was laid and some of the perimeter framing had been constructed.

Subfloor extends all across addition

Perimeter framing being constructed