Painted Walls

Last week proved to be a busy one at the homesite. Jeremy did some work and met the two men who did the priming and painting in the main rooms of the house. He said by the time he left the day he was there they looked like ghosts because there was so much primer covering them! But he also said that they told him they were staying until midnight if need be so they could finish the painting! Our builder allows three colors in the home specs, so I did my very best to choose three colors that I thought would be able to go in bathrooms, halls, closets, and then the main areas like the living room and the kitchen-AND coordinate with the carpet, tile, and entryway's hardwood. As it turned out, all three colors I chose were from the same color family, so they blend well together and transition beautifully into the dining area and kitchen from the living room- and they look great with the carpet and tile we chose! If I wanted the builder to go ahead and paint the bedrooms I could have, but we would have had to pay an additional $150 per color over the three in our allowance! Since I wasn't sure what colors I wanted in the bedrooms (at the time), I asked if they could just prime the rooms and I would paint them when the time came. That was not a problem, so I just had to find the right colors for the master bedroom, the guest room, and the kids' bedrooms. Michael chose a VERY light shade of blue called "First Frost"- he actually calls it "Frozen Blue-" isn't that cute?!? Megan actually has pink curtains in her room that will also be hung in her new room, and she kept telling me "purpo" and "pi-" (purple and pink) when I would ask her what color she wanted her room to be. I ended up helping her out and settling on a light shade of purple called "Little Lilac." The next decision was much harder! I had to choose colors for the master bedroom and the guest bedroom- and I knew I wanted to paint one wall one color and the other three a different color, but I didn't know which ones... I ended up settling on shades of blue, and I went with the same color scheme in both the master and guest bedrooms. Here's the kicker... Jeremy had knee surgery last week AND we got a phone call from the builder saying that the floor crew would be in on Monday (11/24) to start laying the tile in the areas with tile. Wow- that meant that I HAD to get four rooms painted over three days- BY MYSELF. Well, luckily my sister had a day off work and offered to help me paint, so we were able to get Megan's room painted and Michael's room started on Friday. Saturday I worked by myself and I finished Michael's room and got the darker shade of blue painted on the one wall in the master and the one wall in the guest bedrooms. Sunday I had to miss church so I could finish the painting, and my sister came and helped me again. We finished painting the guest bedroom and were able to finish one coat of paint in the master bedroom, but it needed a second coat and we ran out of light for the day. We couldn't turn on any lights because none have been put in yet, so we literally were at the mercy of the daylight each day we painted. Now by this time I have put in three days of painting and I STILL have one more coat to do- PLUS touch ups... So, Monday morning I head back up in hopes of arriving before the flooring crew so I can finish the last coat and do my touch-ups. Turns out that I was the only one there! I finished the job and left- utterly exhausted and GLAD that it was done- but not before taking a few pictures. I'm not sure the colors really show up properly, but you'll get the basic idea. It was cloudy and rainy outside so the only light I had to really show the colors on the walls was the flash in the camera. Here are the pictures:

This is the master bedroom, looking from the doorway toward the corner to the right of the large window. I like the colors better in person than in pictures!


This picture is from the entryway of the kitchen facing the dining room and living room. Again it's hard to see the colors, but the living room is "Latte" and the dining room is "Kilim Beige."

Here is another view of the living room. It's a better representation of the color in there, but I still like it better in person!!

Here's Megan's room. It's hard to tell, but her room is a light shade of purple. It'll go well with her pink curtains and bedding that she has already!

This is a view of the guest room. I painted this the same shades as the master bedroom, with one wall being the darker blue and the remaining walls being the lighter shade. As my sister described it, it's "Smurf Blue" and "Baby Blue." Thanks, Michelle...

Here's a picture of Michael's room. It looks white in this picture... but it's really a VERY light shade of blue. I guess you just have to see it in person!

This picture was taken in the study right in front of the window. Here you get a decent view of the kitchen and dining room (on the right) and the living room- but you can't really see the colors- and the color in this room looks lighter in the picture than it really is!

Well, that's it for paint. The next addition should be flooring and possibly the stone work around the fireplace! After that will be cabinets and trim. Not sure when the doors will be put in, but they're coming soon! Until next time... Happy Thanksgiving- and don't forget to check back in a week or so!!

Textured Ceilings, Railings, and Front Porch Posts

This past Saturday we went up to the house and we brought Michael's friend Matthew with us. Michael wanted to show him where his room is- and all the other rooms in the house, too. I hadn't been there in nearly a week myself, so I wanted to see the progress as well. When we arrived we were surprised to see two cars parked out front- the "sheetrock guys" were there working! It was extremely muddy on Saturday since it was raining, so there was no venturing outside to get a picture of the back of the house like I wanted to now that the siding is all finished. That's okay- I'll get that picture once the final grade has been completed around the house and it'll really look finished! I was surprised to see the gutters all installed, the front porch pillars put in, the back patio railings installed, and the sheetrock guys working on texturing the ceilings in the living room (I STILL don't understand why it's called a great room by builders...). The kids were really interested in watching the texturing process- it was cute to watch them watching the guys at work! Here are some of the pictures I got on Saturday while we were there:

Here are the pillars to the front porch. It won't seem like such a long drop once the final grade has been done and the steps going up the porch are put into place!

I took this picture looking out the master bathroom window. All that dirt pushed around is from where the geothermal loops were put into the ground. YAY for geothermal heating and cooling!

Here's a picture of Megan and Matthew watching the men work on texturing the ceiling in the living room. We asked the kids to make sure they stayed well out of the way- and they did a great job listening to us!

Here is our back patio- DONE. I wouldn't let the kids go out there before the railings were put up- now it's done! Jeremy is at the other end of the patio (in front of one of the master bedroom windows) getting video of the house.

This is a picture of the geothermal unit in the basement. It's not completely hooked up yet, but it will be once the drywall dust and painting are complete- don't want to risk getting any dust or particles into the system!

Here's a view from outside the basement door. You would be looking to your right as you walk out the door for this view.

Here's another view from outside the basement door. This one, obviously, is looking to the left.


I just HAD to take this picture. It's the garage ceiling. It's not easy to see, but it's TEXTURED like inside the house!! In all my life I have never seen a textured ceiling in a garage, but I guess it's par for the course with our builder! I am seriously impressed with their work and who they get to do certain jobs on site! And here is the final picture for this trip... I know- it's only a downspout and gutter shot from the side of the garage, but it was the first time I got to see the gutters and downspouts on the house! I didn't even realize they had been put up when we arrived! It wasn't until we were out on the back patio that I realized the gutters were there!

Well, that's about it for this update. The builder had the painting crew come out yesterday and start priming the walls for paint. Jeremy was there, too, working on wiring and putting up the speaker grills so they can be painted the same shade(s) as the walls/ceilings. He told me that when he left they were nearly finished priming and they told him that they were going to start painting and work until midnight! At the rate they were going they might have finished the painting that they had to do!! I'll be heading out this weekend so I can paint the bedrooms- I wanted to do that, so now my part of the "sweat equity" gets to kick in! The floors will start going in soon, too- Friday is what I think I recall Jeremy saying to me. Jeremy also said that he was able to talk to the plumbers again and the water is just about ready to be connected, too! Wow- it seems like all of a sudden things are really picking up! We'll be moving before we know it at this rate! So, be sure to check back- we'll have more updates later this week!

WALLS!!! We have walls!

Yes, I'm excited... it's been a whole week and we now have WALLS inside the house! It's really looking more and more like a house that will be ready to live in soon! When we arrived this afternoon we saw two cars in front of the house and we were pleasantly surprised to see two workers there taping along the drywall lines in the master bedroom and bathroom. Plus we saw a nice surprise in the garage when we got there... you'll see that in the pictures below. Jeremy brought it to my attention while we were there that the geothermal loops were put in, too. I was so busy walking through our house- looking at the walls- that I didn't think to look outside- and I couldn't tell when we drove in that any digging had been done. But, looking out the laundry room and bathroom windows I could tell. The loops had been put in and the system brought into the basement. Now it just needs to be all hooked together and turned on!

Here are some pictures from today's trip:

Look! There are garage doors in the garage now!! THAT was a nice surprise when we arrived!


This is a picture of Megan's room. She wasn't real thrilled when we walked in there- she had just woken up from a nap on the way up there- but the rest of us were!

Here's a view of the kids' bathroom. Since there is no light in there, I couldn't even see anything until I looked at the picture once it was taken with the flash!!

Here's a view of the entry way and the entrance into the study. I like it because it's nice and open- not narrow and hard to get through- and it lead right into the living room.

I took this picture standing right behind the front door. You can see into the study and kitchen looking toward your 1:00 position, and you can see the dining room bay window just up from that... cool!

Here's another view from the front door- looking directly into the living room. The light on the scaffolding was a lot brighter when I was looking through the camera- but I'm glad it only showed up the way it did because you wouldn't have been able to really see the living room otherwise. I love the fact that you can see the outdoors so clearly even from the front door!


Here's another view of the living room. This one was taken from the dining room area. There is a built-in shelf area on the left, near the scaffolding, that will be a nice area to display some pictures and store some finished scrapbooking albums!

Here is a view of the master bathroom shower. Now that the walls are up the bathroom doesn't seem to dauntingly big anymore! LOL- it's just right! The master bedroom closet, on the other hand, seems bigger!

I took this picture of the master bedroom from the bathroom doorway. As you can see, there is still no window on that one side. I am hoping it arrives this coming week along with the railing for the back patio and the pillars for the front porch. Then they can be installed and the siding can be completed on the back of the house. That would wrap up the outside work on the house, too! Then all the work will be inside! If things go as we were told, we could be moving by mid-January 2009! Guess we'll see! So, until next week, take care- and don't forget to check back next week!

Drywall, Electricity, and the elusive Geothermal System

Last week was supposed to be a week of stellar progress at the homesite. It was in a way, but not nearly like I thought it would be. Jeremy wrapped up the low voltage wiring and got it all put into the control box (as I'm calling it) in the basement, the electric company came out and got the electricity hooked up to the house, and the drywall was delivered. Insulation was put in the house, and the man who is putting in all of our trim work came out and measured for that this past week, too. Still... the biggest job (that I see right now) is still not done. The loops for the geothermal system were supposed to be dug last week, and every time Jeremy called about it he got the same story. Okay- the system still eludes us, but HOPEFULLY it will be put in THIS week!!! Since we're not going back to the homesite until Friday of this week, we're all hoping for some nice surprises when we arrive. We went to the homesite on Saturday to see how much drywall was hung, and when we walked in Jeremy was really disappointed. At first we couldn't see anything hung- but that's because we didn't look above our heads! Measuring and cutting drywall to put up for the ceiling must be harder than measuring and hanging for the walls, so all that was done last week were difficult little spaces like closets, pantries, and bathroom areas. Hey- at least that much got done! I didn't take any pictures of the outside since it really doesn't look any different than the past couple of times we have been there. Here are the pictures I got of the inside:

This is the garage. Looks totally different insulated, huh?

Here's one shot of one piece of drywall that was put up in the master bathroom. It just happens to be in the area where the toilet will be... hence the fan cut-out- LOL!!

Drywall in the dining room. It's going to look SO different once it's put on the walls!

Here's the fireplace all insulated and ready to be finished. Even THIS space looks different with insulation in it- don't ya think?

There you have it... the gist of what was accomplished last week. I am HOPING that this week will see more completions- such as the pillars on the front porch, the railing on the back porch, the remaining two windows installed, the siding finished along the side where the windows need to be installed, the geothermal system loops dug and connected, and drywall put up in at least three rooms completely. I know that sounds like a lot (and it is, really), but I will be elated if that happens this week! Guess we'll have to wait until Friday to find out! So, until then, sit tight- and be sure to check back over the weekend to see what gets posted!