We debated for some time about whether to have fireplaces that were capable of burning real wood. I grew up with a wood burning fireplace, and have lived in and owned houses with them. But we also rented a house that had a gas fireplace appliance in the master bedroom, where you could simply useRead more about Fireplace units are in![…]
The stone work is coming along nicely, with the fireplace entirely finished, and the stone masons starting on the foundation and columns. I must say, I am just thrilled with the way the stone work is turning out.
We are 3-4 weeks away from drywall. Before we can drywall, everything that is going to go in the wall has to be there. The plumbers, electricians, and HVAC folks are all working hard to get it all done, and we have a very full crew here. One of the last things we are puttingRead more about Audio | Video | Network prewire[…]
The stone work is turning out so beautiful, I just have to post some more pictures. Note that this is all what is called “Santa Barbara sandstone” which is the local variety. All of this stone came from the excavation of our basement. We went back and forth a little with the color of theRead more about Additional stone work pictures[…]
We spent the week in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, visiting the Pictured Rock National Lakeshore (A national park). Upon our return, we discovered quite a bit of progress For starters, the walls and ceiling spaces are visibly becoming visibly full of various utility runs. In that one ceiling section, you see HVAC ducting andRead more about Weekly update 7/14/17[…]
Wow, our designer Jessica has been working her tail off. In the past month, quite a bit has happened. Appliances We’ve selected all our appliances and have an appliance package now. Knowing the appliance specifics matters quite a bit to the plumbers and electricians (see more about that below). Plumbing fixtures While we chose allRead more about Much progress on the interior design[…]
The stoners … er … make that, stone masons, have started to stone veneer the main fireplace. The did an initial sample of the style we settled on. However, after some feedback from our landscape designers, we decided on some changes: Increase the size of the stone pieces and make them a bit more horizontal,Read more about Stone work is under way[…]
When we tore down the old house, we kept a number of old leaded glass windows, hoping to use them for something in our new house. We pulled them out today so the interior designer could measure them, and it made a nice picture. Almost all of them will need to be restored; some haveRead more about Recycling old leaded glass windows[…]
One of the more frustrating aspects of building a house are the bureaucratic rules that are pointless. Along those lines is this story about our biofiltration basin. When we original submitted our landscape plan, it included a lot of new impermeable surface area: larger roof profile more concrete for patios and such paver driveway walkwaysRead more about Bureaucratic check box – bio-filtration[…]
The last few bits of the shingles are being installed this week, and there are a few remaining railings to be installed. Now, for the most part, it is up to the painters. The shingles are all pre-painted, so they will only require touch-up where damaged or where they were cut, like this bottom edge.Read more about Exterior home stretch[…]