Round two...ding...ding...ding...

Things have been progressing slowly...very slowly. Tomorrow we go for round two with Sears Home Delivery. Our fidge, better known as the "hog" is being delivered. Luckily Brad will be there to receive the 600lb beauty. Our first attempt was far from successful, although we were able to get the range. In case we haven't shared, here's what's coming our way in all her 7'6" glory! I'm keeping my fingers tightly crossed that all goes as planned.

Here's another brief update of the things going on at the Crawford house:

The powder room vanity and tile are complete. The trim is waiting on a shiny coat of white paint. Although Brad was hesitant on the color, I think he thinks it looks nice. Once it all comes together, it'll look great. We're also using the mirror we got from Pop Crawford in here. It's a gorgeous tall mirror that will accent the high ceilings. We can't wait to see it come together.



The crown molding on the cabinetry is still a work in progress, but the glass was installed in the door frames and looks great. The hardware for the cabinetry also arrived. We chose to go with a vintage looking matchbox catch and cup pulls. Although the majority of the fixtures in the house are bronze, I liked the contrast between the white cabinetry, dark island, and shiny polished nickel (see below). Thankfully Home Depot and Martha Stewart came together to offer the exact hardware we were looking for at a reasonable price.

 



Not sure how well you can see it in this picture, but the crown molding in the dining room has been painted. All crown will be brushed on, but the casing and base molding will be sprayed. I'll definitely be happy when this phase is over becuase we're about at our whits end with the dirt, dust and debris. It's taking all the the restraint we have not to bust out the Dyson again!

These days, it seems like only little things are happening and you have to find them like a mean game of hide and seek. This one was pretty obvious, but we were happy to see it. Our steps were finally in. They presented one small problem - our parking situation is going to have to change. Brad's truck barely fits with little room to walk around, so he may be parking on the single side and our mower (when we get one) can go on the right. We measured the truck before building, but sometimes things are a bit tighter once they get built. We're just excited to have a garage, so we'll make it work. :)

Another pleasant surprise today. The materials for our deck railing have arrived. Now if only Mother Nature would do so too. Last week it was in the 70's and gorgeous. This week it's raining, windy and cold. Not ideal weather for the decking and front porch. We desperately need the mud to dry up so John can get the earth moved and backfilled around the house. Guess we have some praying to do!

Anywhoo, this week is incredibly busy and we're spending our evenings grouting what seems to be endless 1" hexagon tile. We finished at 11pm last night and were absolutely exhausted today. Tomorrow we're back at it as Thursday night is Broadway Maybies at Theater Cedar Rapids. I can't believe it's nearly the end of March. Time is flying faster than we can keep up. It's definitely exhausting work, but in the end, it'll all be worth it!



The little things...

Over the last week, we've been able to see some of the little things come together like the staircase railings and vanities. While it doesn't seem like a whole lot - to us it really feels like we're not that far out from our finish date.

When the home building process dwindles down to the finish carpentry stage, it seems like you're always against the clock and need to have everything ready to go at a moment's notice - case in point...the stair railing and vanities.

Brad and I typically meet at the house right after work and meet with our Trim Carpenter, Kendall. He has been a godsend and is extraordinarily talented. He has singlehandely installed our kitchen, staircase (risers and railing) doors, moldings, the works. So as of right now, we're taking orders from him. Last Thursday night, we met with John (our GC), Kendall and his son to discuss the next steps, timeline, and getting a bid to paint the trim (thank God). Kendall told us that in order to fill his day on Friday, he would need the vanities painted and the Carrara Marble tops to be brought to the house ASAP. Translation, Brad and I would have to somehow get all this done in just a few short hours. So we departed the house around 7pm and headed to Mom and Dad's to change clothes. I picked up Charlotte so she wouldn't have to spend the night alone and headed to Menards because of course I hadn't gotten any of the paint on one of Mom's million trips to Home Depot. Thankfully I had all of the necessary paint swatches so I knew what I was out to get. Brad was in charge of taking the vanity tops to the house and picking up McDonalds (I swear we will never eat fast food again after this is over!).

We met back at the house paint-in-hand, and began our work on the vanities. Of course...we encountered a problem 10 seconds into the project. The rollers we had were for rough surfaces (e.g. brick or stone) - not perfectly sanded cabinetry. Instead of just half-assing it, we decided we'd head back to Mom and Dad's, check for a smooth roller and drop off Charlotte. Of course we weren't able to find anything and by this time it was close to 11pm. What's open at 11pm that has paint rollers...good 'ol Wal-Mart. Use your imagination when you consider the folks at Wal-Mart at 11:30 at night. They're literally straight out of the "People of Wal-Mart" emails you see go around. Brad and I fit right in with our hillbilly outfits - covered in paint and dust. We found what we needed and head back. Once we were finished, at 1:30am nonetheless, Brad told me that he thought that the vanity colors I chose made it look like a daycare - all we needed we're some red balls. Ha! He later told me he really liked it - I wouldn't let him down!

Here's a handfull of pictures of our work in progress. We're looking very forward to wrapping up the project and moving in. Almost a much as we're looking forward to moving in, we're looking forward to the mud drying up. I'm sure John will second that emotion!

Finished railings on the second floor! Turned out better than expected! :) And the best part is that we don't have to worry about falling down the stairs or over the edge of the catwalk!

We had stained the majority of the handrail, but the "S Gooseneck" didn't come in until a bit later and had to be sanded to make a smooth transition.

The vanity cabinets in the second upstairs bathroom. We painted them a darker color than the walls. This bathroom is going to be just as nice as our Master Bath - and is just waiting for it's first visitors! :)

The commode will be to the right of the vanities and the tub across the way.

The master bathroom vanities. The first purchase we made for the house were the Carrara Marble vanity tops from Lowes. They were on clearance for $89 and we bought everything both local stores had in stock. So glad to see them finally in their proper place. They've been hidden under a bed for the past 18 months.

Instead of expensive cabinetry to the right and left of the actual vanities, we decided to have two small closets built. Fully equipped with outlets in the back for the uber popular single-shot coffee makers or electric toothbrushes. Although we don't have either one, but one can dream, right? :)

Brad's closet.

Our master bedroom fully based, cased and crowned.



It finally warmed up enough for the garage to get fire taped. I'll be so happy when the drywall mess is gone - for good. Somehow, joint compound seems to get EVERYWHERE, even without going near it! Ugh!



Another shot of the garage. Our very first garage that a car can fit in. I'm not sure our cars will know what to think! Let me rephrase, I'm not sure I'll know what to think when I can actually just back the car out of the garage in the winter and not have to scrape the snow! Woohoo!



The crown molding is complete in the entire house. It's patiently awaiting it's final coat of crisp white paint!



The crown in the foyer and dining room. You can also see a bit of the sawdust mess on the wall. I think it'll take months to get rid of the dust in the house - it's literally everywhere! Thank goodness for "Doris" our Dyson!

The candle really does burn at both ends.

Two weeks have gone by since we last blogged.  Lots of important finishes of the house are being completed and started.  Our home is really beginning to have the character and charm we had hoped for.  Erin and I have been mixing mortar, running tile saws, staining wood, and painting on the weeknights and weekends.  Our kitchen framing is also near completion, we are just waiting on a few key trim pieces and a couple of customized cabinets.  Of course the stove was delivered but our refridgerator was deemed dangerous when the delivery driver refused to haul the 6001b appliance into our home without our concrete pad exterior being finished.  We will have to hold on that appliance until the end of March once all the exterior concrete is complete.  The big winner this week has been the staircase however.  There is a lot of attention to detail with this elaborate stairwell and we are excited to see the end product.  Here is a peek at the previous two weeks and the progress underway.

Laundry room tiling in progress.



Carrara marble hex tiling is being installed in all bathrooms.

Primed trim, baseboards and doors.

We had to put the tub on wheels to roll it out of the bathroom in order to lay the tile.  It's only 500 lbs.

Stress relief.  20 minutes earlier there were 20 foot flames.

Mudroom

Hall closet to the left and powder room (1st floor) to the right.

Staircase is slowly taking shape.

Stove has arrived.  Thanks Dad!

Upstairs framing of the stairs.

Dust and dust and more dust.

Crown molding has also began.  This will be carried throughout the entire 1st and 2nd floors.

Erin taping off where we need to stain.  How about those hot pants?  Fully functional sweatpaints equipped with mortar chunks, sawdust, and paint.