Let there be Light . . .

Today Kenny was able to hook up our first switched lights in the house. The basement circuits are connected to the breaker panel so we now have lights and power in the basement. He also hooked up the GFI outlet for our whirlpool tub in the Master Bedroom and the breaker for one of the furnaces. I gave a tour to a group of 21 college students this morning (I'll post pictures as soon as I get them). Above, the Master Bedroom is primed and ready for paint, and below is the first ceiling light in the basement!
The breaker panel - only 30-something more breakers to go!

 

Primed and Ready for Paint . . .

Today Kenny spent the day working on ductwork and electrical while I cleaned, and cleaned, and . . . finally I was able to prime the kitchen wall and get it ready to paint. We had a huge mess to clean up after the drywallers finished - there was a thick layer of drywall dust on every surface in the house. For 3 days during this past week, I spent the afternoons mopping the walls and ceilings. Then today, I shop vac'd the windows and washed the caked-on dust off of the windows. Then it was time to cut in the primer around the ductwork and in the corners. Then it was time to prime the rest of the wall (see finished wall below). Tomorrow I'm giving a tour to a group of 21 Interior Design students and a faculty member from the College of Mount St. Joseph here in Cincinnati. After that, I'll be doing more priming and Kenny will be hooking up outlets on the main floor and working on the breaker box in the garage. I need to paint the kitchen and dining room walls so that cabinets can be installed next weekend.

 

Grandma and Kaden looking out the Great Room window. . .

Kaila's Room
Cellulose Insulation in the attic - R-50 (about 15-18" deep)
Our 120 gallon solar hot water heater. . .

One more coat to go . . .

Today Kenny and I worked on ductwork in the basement and finished almost all of the supply runs. Once the drywallers finish one last coat of mud on the ceiling at the east end of the basement, we'll be able to start the return ductwork. The drywallers also have to finish up one more coat of mud upstairs, but I've included some pics here of how the house looks today. Below is a view of the dining room window wall. . .

A view of the upstairs loft office . . .
The kitchen wall . . .
The dining room north wall . . .

The main supply trunk in the basement . . .

Supply take offs going up to the dining room and great room upstairs . . . The main entry hall . . .
A view of the kitchen, dining, and great room . . .

Drywall

The basement drywall is now complete and we have moved all of our stuff down there. Now we wait for the hangers to come and hang the first floor. Once the first floor is hung, the mudders will come and start putting on each coat of mud to both the first and second floors. We are again fighting against the weather, only this time it's not rain, but cold and snow. It's not too bad, since the house stays about 40 degrees during the day. The basement stays even warmer most days. The drywallers were delayed last week since we had some snow and they couldn't get out of their driveway. . . . We are supposed to get more significant snow this week, so who knows what will get done. Kenny is having a pow-wow with the drywall company owner regarding the crew, their habits, and our concrete floor that will remain exposed. He is letting them know that they are no longer permitted to work in the house when one of us is not there, since we found beer cans in the attic (no, the attic is not being drywalled), and they can't seem to understand that the first floor concrete must remain protected and clean. There's also the issue of the kid's disappearing snack food and our tools. Apparently the crew thinks that whatever they find on site must belong to them, so they help themselves to it. We're so happy that they are the last hired contractors on the inside!

I went tile shopping yesterday and purchased most of the bathroom tiles. We already had most of it that we bought at auction, but we purchased some more accent tiles that should be in next week. I could post some drawings to show you my plan, but I think I'll just let it be a surprise!

Here are some pics I took today when Kenny and I cleaned out the first floor and took everything to the basement. The goal is to begin painting as soon as the drywall is finished - perhaps midweek next week???? Enjoy.

Above - looking down the basement stairs. Below - the west wall of the basement.

Below - the dining room side of the stair wall.

 

Some Drywall

Well even though it's been slow, there has been some progress on the drywall. The basement is mostly hung, taped and mudded with one coat; the second floor is completely hung, but no tape or mud, and the only room on the first floor that is hung is the great room. Below you can see a view of the great room . . .

Another view of the great room . . .
The loft office . . .
A view looking upstairs to the second floor. (Yes, we took the stairs out. We didn't like how they looked, so we are going to make our own. More on that later . . . )