Final Inspections

I'm actually packing! Not just clean out a closet and organize packing but boxes filling my house, bubble wrap and begging newspaper from family to wrap dishes in PACKING! The bubble wrap is almost too much of a temptation for Alex and I have to chase him away from it before it's all popped and I'm already worried about how heavy to make the boxes. Fewer boxes that are heavier or more smaller boxes that are easier to carry?

It "looks" (IE I'm not counting those chickens yet) like the final inspection will be next Wednesday. I could be swimming in the pool Wednesday night!! In the meantime, the builders sent pictures of some of the finishing touches. I'll be sure to get a full set of every room when we move but I might be a little preoccupied for awhile. The top photo is the front door which was just stained and installed. They're still waiting for the weather to improve before completing the exterior painting. We will most likely be moving in before they paint the outside.

The railing is stained and completed. The main floor hallway is now a color called dovecoat. I think it'll be a great color for art.The front door from the foyerThe dining room The master bedroom ceiling fan, now with more beamage The master shower grouted and with all the handles and sprayersThe other side of the master shower grouted, the shower door goes in Tuesday The fireplace has tile!!! A mirror is going in on Tuesday in the top section. A closer look at the fireplace tile

Lights and other details

I had more pictures in my camera from our trip last week. Mostly of the shots are of the light fixtures that were going up while we were there. I'm really happy with how the lights look. We're down to approximately 2 weeks until the house is ready for the final inspection. Unfortunately, not only can anything happen to add a delay in that time but the final inspection is a big unknown as well. The inspection in November was also from the county and we had a big hold up then. I'm trying not to think about it at this point and focusing instead on straightening and packing parts of the old house and working on some Easter projects. The builder might have some finished room shots for me later this week, meaning we'll be able to see floors, painting finished, lights and trim all together.

The foyer light and final coat on the blue paint. This color is awesome and looks great with the tile.
Light and medicine cabinet in the main floor powder room
Light from the side walls (on either side of my big tub) in the master bathroom
Closet system going up in the master closet
Alex in the dining room
The fireplace got it's final coat of paint and will have mirror and tile soon, the banister is up all the way and the handrail will be stained soon. It will be darker, like the flooring.
Light up in the top floor powder room and the darker color up on the walls
The uber-cool lights for the pool room (this one is horizontal over the sliding doors, the others are all vertical) A vertical pool room light with the duct to show how they make the ducts fit in better
Alex in the pool room, in front of John's office window
John's bathroom vanity cabinet
The fan/light up in the downstairs family room
The patio light, the same lights are on the garage, I loved the farmhouse look of these and the fact that they have large shades to protect the night sky view. I don't want to miss even a single star!
The garage with the exterior lights up

The pool is open!!

After several cancelled trips we're finally up north to see the house. When we arrived yesterday afternoon we got to see the pool uncovered, clean and being filled. I don't know if I've ever seen my son Alex happier. He had to take off his boots and play in the water. I was thrilled to see some of the lights installed. So far they look great. Here are some pictures from yesterday.

The pool room from the main floor hallway windows
Alex going in the pool A little more stair railing is up is getting paintedThe bench is installed in the mudroom We aren't going to have air conditioning (even though that will freak out some of our family) but we have are ceiling fans in all the bedrooms.The master bath vanity lights, a single bulb light will go on each side and I found this mirror to hang in the middle. I can't make up my mind about whether I want a backsplash or not. The master bedroom ceiling fan/light A closeup of the master bath shower accent tile, I love this green marble!

Pool room duct and master bath tile

I've been doing a lot of yard work and cleaning on our soon-to-be old house but wanted to quickly post some pictures the builders sent from earlier this week. Above is my first look at the tile in the master bath shower. I love the way it looks! The accent tile is a small green marble. I'll try and get a closer picture of it once it's grouted and sealed because it's such pretty stuff.

The pool room is getting it's final work done before they can remove the platform that currently covers the pool. Then they can clean the pool and install the cover. We're so excited about seeing the pool again! Part of getting the pool room ready for the pool unveiling is installing this hanging air duct. It's a necessary evil and I think it'll work better in the room once my industrial-style lights are installed. Here it is in all it's shiny, metallic glory.

Kitchen Pictures

Pictures of the kitchen progress are here on Dog Hill Kitchen.

Getting close

I'm approaching a full year blogging about building and the house is getting so close to being finished I can taste it. The trim for the windows and doors is finished, the fireplace has been trimmed out, and the railing for the stairs is going in. Toilets are installed, faucets are going in and the wall tiles are going up. The cabinets and floors are installed in the mudroom and the pool room is getting finished so that the pool cover can be installed. The counter tops were installing in the kitchen but I'm saving those pictures for my foodblog. Here are the rest of the pictures the builders sent of this week's progress.

There will be four of these decorative tiles on the fireplace (see the top photo).
All the fireplace trim will be painted white and the tiles will be all white.
(image from Meredith Art Tile)Stair railing going in
The stairs down with the railing beginning The cabinetry in the mudroom: a printer station, file cabinets and coat hooks and bench on the right
The mudroom with tile and trim, on the left is a mop sink for washing dog feet
The kid's bathroom with tile up in the shower and the toilet installed
The kid's bath vanity
The master bath with the toilet installed in the water closet
The master bath vanity with the counter tops and faucet
The main floor powder room with the mini vanity and toilet installed
The attic/top floor powder room with the sink and toilet installed
The attic with trim going up on the halfwall
John's red office with trim
John's bathroom vanity, without doors
John's shower
And John's baby, the sauna
Doesn't the color of the sauna cedar look awesome with the wall color?