Driveway prep

With the rough grading done, here’s a view from the rear of our property along the road that borders the backyard. This gives an idea of the terrain, and part of our new neighborhood.

The driveway is now prepped for paving next week. The grading defined the edges, and today 2 loads of rock were spread to the street leaving room for 2” blacktop. The concrete sideway at the front of the driveway and the apron to the road will be done tomorrow.

Rough grading

The end is in sight as the rough grading process began today. The first point of attack was at the rear to reduce the height of the berme, and leaving the swale the required depth for rain water runoff. The hump of dirt in the back yard will be reduced and distributed around the house.

The front of the house has a few shallow trenches needed. One carries the wiring from the house out to the post light at the front corner of the driveway. The other is needed along the front of the stamped walkway for water runoff from the downspouts.

Taa-daa! By the end of the day the hump is gone; the dirt is graded to all sides of the house, and the driveway is defined for more stone and paving. The back has a gentle slope to the swale. The front sidewalk is prepped for concrete and completion. The rough grading is done.

Countertop and more Trim

We have been excitedly awaiting the delivery of our kitchen countertop. We were fortunate that there were no seams needed to achieve the piece to the left of the gas range, and the piece to the right over the sink and dishwasher. The backsplash is being caulked with a clear finish. This one piece is about 560 pounds; quartz weighs 20 pounds per square foot.

The oak mantel is stained and installed on the left side of our living room area. The granite surround and hearth (which is very dusty) is a dark green product named Ubatuba.

More of the second floor doors and trim are now installed. The oak, bull-nose edging around the top edge of the loft and balcony is finished.

Stone, porch and trim work

The stone crew was back this week and finished the front of the house around the porch, and also around the garage. Now the exterior is complete, and the rough grading will be able to start soon.

Another part to complete prior to rough grading is the screened porch that is off our dining room. The Trex-like finish along the sides to the ground will allow the grading to be done along the back of the house as well.

The trim man started today to install the interior doors and closet treatments, casings, and baseboards. The first completed area was the loft which has 2 closets and a mirrored-slider closet.

Kitchen cabinets

The kitchen cabinets arrived this week, and the carpenters began by installing the wall units first. Each one of the 42” cabinets need to be the right distance above the floor. They use an adjustable support tray to hold the cabinet in place to assure the proper height.

Then the sides of the cabinets are clamped together for a tight fit and flush alignment. These are the cabinets to the right of the kitchen sink. The left one has a glass door and will be lighted. There are similar ones to the left of the sink area.

Once all the cabinets are in place on the wall and the floor, it’s time for the crown moldings along the top. The floor cabinets on the right with the shorter cabinets above are our home office area, and remains true to the lines of the overall kitchen area.

Painting & Staining

For more than the last week, the painting/staining team has been on site. Once they covered all the windows, doors, and floors with protective coverings, the ability to take pictures of the painting process was not possible due to poor lighting and reflections. However, once we finalized on the stain choice they quickly started by staining the living room stairway.

The staining begins with a spray process and then a wipe down. After that a first coat of polyurethane, then light sanding, a seal coat, and one and possibly two more poly coats. The result is a smooth, rich final look.

All of our trim, doors, moldings, fireplace mantel, and exterior doors are hardwood oak or pine, and will be stained; so there is a lot to do.

Stamped concrete

The footings are set and it’s a perfect day to spread concrete. Stamped concrete starts with a color treatment added to the concrete directly in the mixer. That gives us a base color through and through.
The team works quickly to pour our porch, walkway, and rear patio so they can control the setting process and work the surface nice and smooth. When the surface is smooth they spread on the accent color, which starts as a powder.

Stamped concrete is exactly that. The team dons snowshoe-like foot paddles and lays down the design pads – our design is called Caesar stone which ends up looking like a huge piece of slate. Then they stamp with the pads to set in the design.

Hardwood floors

The flooring team just finished laying down our hardwood floors. These are ¾” thick, solid hardwood. The color is called gunstock. The first part of the task is laying out pieces so that they will overlap properly from line to line. They are installed with a “super” staple gun that uses staples about 2” long.

The hardwood will cover the entire first floor except for our carpeted bedroom and the vinyl floor in the bathroom. Evan is admiring the results near our gas fireplace, that is in our living room.