Managing a lot of a big job like this, we were bound to make some mistakes. Other than hiring the wrong plumber, most of the mistakes we made were not substantial. One mistake we made had to do with our exterior stairs. They are wood framed, covered in stone, and go from the 2nd floor,Read more about Oops, or how we learned an important lesson[…]
It was finally time for us to wash the outside of the house; it was actually a bit past due. We wanted to wait until the end of all landscaping work, so we were past any activity that would dirty up the outside of the house again. And our house was filthy, from all theRead more about House washing[…]
One of the last things we had to do to get signed off was to add the railings to our light wells. These light wells drop about 4-5 feet from grade into the bottom of light well, more then enough to require a guard rail. We opted for a simple cable railing that would beRead more about Light well railing cables[…]
It’s been almost a month since my last burst of posts, and it’s been quite a month. Frustratingly little progress in terms of what we can call complete, but lots of work going on there an there, just more slowly than we want. The estimates of our move in date keep getting pushed back. Originally,Read more about April – what a month it’s been[…]
The garage doors came last week, and the painters made quick work of painting the panels. The doors were installed yesterday. It’s a nice look. The installers took care in the installation, including things like putting waxing all the metal where it touches the painted wood doors, to keep the paint from sticking to theRead more about Garage doors[…]
Because our design includes a “skirt” or flare from the second story to the first, it is impractical to run downspouts down the side of the house on some places as they will have to divert around the flare; it just looks like an afterthought when downspouts do that. For example, here is one ofRead more about The details – leader heads and cow’s tongues[…]
Columns are a signature craftsman style element, and there are lots of different types that are used in craftsman homes. If you search Google images for “craftsman columns exterior” you’ll see what I mean. Most of the time, they are made out of wood. However, because they are exterior columns, and would likely have miteredRead more about Porch columns[…]
The painters spent about 4 days prepping and then painting the bead board ceiling above the front porch. Boy does it look good. When I first saw the painting bid, I thought it sounded like a lot. However, seeing the quality of work that is being done, and all that goes into it, it makesRead more about Bead board ceilings[…]
But for the stone cap, the stone work on the front porch columns is almost complete, and boy, does it look stunning. Typical craftsman columns would be made of wood above the stone, but, such wood cladding would be prone to water intrusion at the corners. Instead, we are going to put on a smoothRead more about Front porch columns[…]
We’ve opted for bead board ceilings for our outside porches and our kitchen and family rooms, a nice craftsman touch. The installation process is actually quite tedious, as the boards must be precisely cut around each opening for lights, sprinklers, outlets, and speakers grills. But the results are outstanding. Here is the back porch. YouRead more about Bead board ceilings[…]