Hi Guys/Gals!
As we get closer to the end of July, the anticipation to see the completed house has increased for us ten-fold. We are now at the point where making progress seems a little more... tedious, as single tasks for final finishes are completed one-by-one, not so much in concurrence as they were when walls were going up, roofing, utilities, yadda yadda, you get the gist!
BG&E has also been a bit of a challenge, but they've started the install as of yesterday! Hopefully we will have the electric running by mid-week and then can get the ball rolling with these other tasks! In typical fashion, we have a number of things that are on hold until we can get the house temperature-controlled such as: flooring, railings, lighting installed, etc. The utilities testing also needs to be completed so we can get the well and HVAC rolling and make sure all is good for U&O!
This last week the granite was installed (eep!), our lighting package reached the distributor, window trims were delivered and we finalized our final payment for the appliances (ouch). We had a bit of a hiccup with the island granite, but Norm from Carefree Kitchens hooked us up and is cutting us a new slab that will go in shortly. These are very low-light photos of the granite, so I'll make sure I take high-res pictures for the next post. I cannot wait to pick the back splash for this kitchen and see all the appliances come in!
The Frigidaire Pro appliance package we picked is a show-stopper. It is a perfect blend of professional grade (for me!) and easy-to-use (for John, sorry!) and it looks phenomenal. We opted for a professional range hood and a separate, microwave drawer that will push our space into a "Houzz" worthy feature. (If you aren't familiar with Houzz, I highly recommend it. It's like Pinterest for homeowners. But, you've been warned... you may never source Pinterest for home improvement ever again!) We will have two, full-size stacked ovens, perfect for holiday meals and big parties. I may never have to wonder to my neighbors' house just to use their oven for overflow, just like we did growing up. Although, we love our neighbors (shout-out to the Lucas family!) and they were so generous to share their home with us, just as we hope to share this new home with them.
Now that the tile is finished in the bathroom upstairs, John (and Frank) delivered the vanities that are ready for install (including the one that John built, pictured below). We went through a week we've officially deemed "backsplash hell" because one of the master bath vanity backsplashes was cracked once we opened the crates and the local granite distributor gave us the wrong backsplash that had been cracked and glued back together. All is good, though! We have new ones on order and there won't be any delay for install.
Sidewalks and driveway paving are the next steps on the outside, as well as getting those trim pieces over the windows. The framing for the sidewalks was installed, but the rain is causing quite the delay in their ability to pour. The forecast is pretty consistently "wet" for the next week and a half - just our luck!
We hope that by the time we are posting the next update, electric will be buzzing and there will be more progress with those final finishes!
Until next time!
- Cassie