Progress...Progress....

More progress today.  The paint crew got lots of the exterior painting done....I bet they should be finished by the end of the week the speed they are moving!  It looks really good.  We chose an exterior color that would "blend in" with nature, esp. the oak trees.  The color is a shade of gray (or clay) but changes colors throughout the day according to the sunlight, etc.  It's really neat to watch the various colors change.  The front porch posts and trim will be an off white.  The white color really makes the posts stand out.  It reminds me of "grandma's porch"...love the posts!   The electricians were back today to install more lights and fans.  The floor tile guy started tiling the laundry room floor today.  Things look really good!  It shouldn't be much longer?.....

Granite Arrived Again.....

Wow....lots going on out here today!  The kitchen granite counter tops arrived again today.  This time they are the correct ones.  They are so beautiful!  I am glad we stuck to our decision to have them re-do them.  It made a big difference to match  the scale of the room/cabinets.  The plumbers were here again and installed more plumbing fixtures.  We now have running water in the house.  They set the clawfoot tub in the master bath....it is not installed yet...but it already looks beautiful, even with the plastic wrap on it!  The hot water heaters were installed today.  The painters began painting the exterior of the house.  The tile floor guy was supposed to begin this week, but we haven't seen him yet?  There were some issues with the unique guest bath vanity that I ordered...but we worked it out best we could.  Things are so beautiful!!!!

More Bits of Progress....

More bits of progress today.....painters continue to caulk to prepare for exterior painting.  The electric company came today and set our meter and buried the electric line.  The plumbers were here for some of their work.  More knobs/pulls were installed today.  The wood flooring was delivered.  Foam insulation was sprayed today in the attic.   Things are moving right along....

Bits of Progress....

The guy came back today to finish the laundry room countertop.  It is now complete.  Some of our cabinet knobs were installed today.  They look great with the antiqued cabinets.  More door knobs were installed today.  The paint crew continued caulking the exterior to prep for painting.  Our closet rods were installed today.  They worked more on the screened porch.  One of the guys cleaned morter from the exterior stone work.  I believe the electricity is scheduled to be hooked up on Monday.  Also, the laundry room and mud room tile floor work should begin on Monday.  Little bits of progress today...adding up to a closer finish date!

Granite Arrives...Granite Leaves....

Wow...what an emotional rollercoaster this house building thing is!  The guys pulled up this afternoon with the granite countertops....I was so excited, I was pacing the floor.  I tried to leave them alone to get their job done...but I just couldn't stand it.   I walked in and my heart sunk.  Right color...wrong size/thickness.  We were supposed to have a 3cm granite and the greatroom shelves look like they have been designed to take a 3cm granite.  Well....they had installed 2cm...alot thinner.  We had to make a decision on the spot to allow them to continue to install the wrong product and just accept it..or send it back.  We really struggled with this decision because we feel bad that someone will have to "eat" this cost...but in this massive greatroom/kitchen space, the thinner granite just looked too "dainty"..it needed more "bulk".  So, we had to send it back.  I feel horrible!  
More pics below of some of today's progress....

Fans and Lights...

Wow....lots going on out here today.   The guys continue to install the handrails and spindles.  They look great!  The electrical crew was back to hang some lights and fans.  They will be back tomorrow to continue their work.  The master bathroom vanities were installed today.  They are really pretty and look like pieces of furniture.  Some of the wrong fans were hung today, but we will get it straight tomorrow.  They started on the laundry room countertops today.  A storm blew in this afternoon and one of our oak trees topped out crushing part of the dog kennel....but thank God for the rain!

Glaze Decision Made!

Thanks to all of you for sending us your opinions on our "antique glaze" issue.  We have had to make soooo many decisions throughout this process and we were stuck on this one.  So....we are going to have the painters glaze the bookshelves and mantle.  It may not match exactly, but we think they should go ahead and get them done...so the builder came by this afternoon and he will have them take care of it.  Thanks ya'll!
The crew started putting the spindles on the hand rails today. They look great!  One thing we didn't realize is that they can't paint/stain treated wood for 90 days in order for the wood to dry...so unfortunately, the back porches, decks, and handrails will be left alone and we will have to paint them ourselves later down the road.  That is disappointing because we wanted the house to be finished...not "almost finished"...oh well, it will eventually get done.  They started putting all the hardware and light fixtures in the various rooms today.  They will start installing those sorts of things tomorrow.  Alot will be going on now that the painters are moving to the exterior.  The granite countertops should be installed this week.  It's all starting to come together.  Yippy!!!

Cabinet Decisions....

So....the kitchen cabinets are almost completely glazed and they look beautiful!  I did notice, though, that the greatroom  built-in cabinets and mantle had not been glazed...so I asked the painter about it today.  Of course...there is a problem!  He didn't know that they were also supposed to be glazed and now he has put his "finish coat" on the cabinets and mantle.  He said he CAN glaze them, but now that there is a finish coat on them, he will have to use different glazing products and a different process.  The problem with that...is ...it will not match the kitchen cabinets exactly. 
So...I going to use my one "phone a friend" and ask that you blog followers please give me your opinion on what we should do.  Do we let them antique glaze the greatroom cabinets and mantle and not match the kitchen which is wide open to the greatroom....or do we just keep them white, as they are, which will match the white doors, window sills, trim, etc....but won't have the " antiquie look" that we were going for.  (also, the greatroom cabinets will have the same granite tops as the kitchen)..on the other hand, the laundry room cabinets will be kept white?!?!   What to do.....let me know what you think, please.....I need your help!

Glazing The Cabinets....

The paint crew began antique glazing the kitchen cabinet doors today.  They are going to look so beautiful!  The other crew completed the back porch decking today....that's about it for today that we could see.  Too bad it's sooo awfully hot...too hot to walk around the house and "oooh and aaah" for very long!

More Painting....

The paint crew continues to work their magic by spreading beautiful paint colors throughout the house.  The colors are looking really good.  They should start to "antique" the off white cabinets in the next day or two.  The other crew continues to work on the porch decking.  That's pretty much all that is going on out here right now...

Paint Colors......

Wow!  They started painting the walls today.  Now we see color and are beginning to see how our "choices" are really going to look.  This is a scary, but exciting part of the process.   So far, so good!  It has really been difficult to make design decisions because of endless options...but I think we are doing ok.  They hung the doors back up today.  More decking was installed, along with the beginning of hand rails.  The granite guy is here this evening measuring for the granite countertops.  It's a pretty neat process how they measure and design.  Things are really starting to come together...Beautiful!!!!  Can't wait for our open house, so everyone can come and see!

Painting Has Begun....

Looks like the paint crew finished the priming and prep and began painting the trim and doors today.  They are doing a great job!  The regular crew is working on the back porch decking.  They "beefed up" the front porch columns and they look great!  We can't wait to start seeing some "color" inside the house as they continue to paint, start on the flooring, and bring in the granite countertops.....beautiful!!!!

More Paint Prep.....

The paint crew continues to do their prep work for their painting.  They stained the front doors today.  Beautiful!!!!  The back deck stairs are now complete and they have started putting the floor on the deck.  They are also "building up" the front porch posts.  Also...beautiful!!!  The exterior siding is almost done.  Things are moving right along.....

Painters Working...

Painting crew has worked the past couple of days to prime all of the woodwork to prep for painting.  Looks like they are getting close to being ready to paint.  The septic system and jet sprinklers were installed yesterday.  The regular crew continues to hang exterior siding.  Not alot going on...mostly paint prep.

Caulking for Painting...

After several days of quiet and inactivity out here...the crews arrived today and continued their work.  The stone guy finished the front porch columns and stone fireplace.  The framers worked on the back deck stairs.  Some of the guys continued hanging exterior siding.  The tile guy caulked the bathroom tile and began installing the bathroom shower floor tiles.  The paint crew began caulking for paint prep.  Lots going on...lots done!  Things are moving right along!

Side Porch Steps Complete...

The guys continued the exterior siding today.  They finished the side porch steps.  The exterior stone crew was here to work more on the front exterior and porch columns.  They also prepped the fireplace for the stonework.  Progress continues....so does the extreme heat!

Side Porch Stairs Started....

The guys continue to hang exterior siding...not much more to go.  They also started building the side porch and back deck stairs.  It's amazing how warped the porch posts are getting due to the heat.  They are really going to have a hard time screening in the back porch and putting up hand rails because the posts aren't square anymore...most of them have a "bend" in one direction or another.  It really looks bad...but I don't think anything can be done about it?

Front Stairs Built...

Looks like the guys finished the front porch stairs today.  They look great!  We are having them built with lower risers so our "older friends and family" can more easily walk up the stairs.  They are so wide, which really adds to the charm of the house and front porch.  Now the stone guys can come and finish their exterior stone work.  Looks like the tile guy was back today and completed the bathroom tile work.  I suppose his next step will be to grout.  Then he will start on the laundry room tile floor.   He will also be the one to do the kitchen tile backsplash.  The guys continued hanging exterior siding today.  I really don't know how they manage to work in this heat!

Starting the Front Stairs...

The guys started building the front porch stairs today.  The bathroom tile guy was back and worked more on the guest bath tiling.  More exterior siding was installed.  The french doors for the library/music room are up.  Looks like they are getting ready to paint in a couple of days.  Things are looking great!