Finishing touches

Dwayne, our electrician, returned to complete some electrical work when my last lighting fixture finally arrived. I had ordered the fixture over the kitchen sink back in August but the producer kept delaying the delivery. When they failed to deliver it by Christmas and only said it might come in January, I cancelled the order. I then ordered another fixture similar to the lights under the catwalk which arrived shortly after the New Year holiday.  Dwayne replaced some lights in the breezeway crawlspace with some low profile fixtures and  installed 3 flat floor receptacles in the great room and another receptacle near the rear entry so the Christmas tree can go there next year.

He installed the over sink fixture in the master bath. We'll need to bump up the wattage in this fixture but it matches the glass tiles in the shower and the color is a perfect match to the paint.
The low voltage lights over the butcher block island in the kitchen area and the chandelier over the dining room table were adjusted to their final heights.
He also explained the mystery of the master bath exhaust fan: it senses when moisture has built up to a threshold so we can leave it in the on position. It will turn itself off when it has done the job. Or, we can  override the sensor by flipping it on twice.

We were warned that checking, loud cracking noises like gunfire, occurs in new houses like ours. We remember hearing it in the Carriage House but, of course, we couldn't see the results under the drywall. It gives the house character, I tell myself.  It seems that more checking occurs in posts than in beams; some cracks are 1/4" wide. Bigger posts, bigger checks. The floor boards haven't checked since they don't contain the pith, but when they shrink and separate a bit the finish seems to crack loudly. Sometimes it's just one gunshot; sometimes it's more like ripping. Character, character, character....

Down the home stretch

New floor registers were installed by Chris who routed out the openings on several of the floor vents to permit the registers to fit correctly.  They sit up about 1/4" so that dust-bunnies and marbles have a harder time rolling into the grates. Chris and Doug also spent time sanding and cleaning dings and imperfections marked by blue tape.

 Young David King stopped by to install the repaired butler pantry doors and swap out the half depth drawers for the kitchen island.  He had to leave before he could finish up the trim and toe-kick boards for the kitchen and bathroom cabinets.  He took with him one of the twin mirrors in the Master Bath so the senior David King can fashion hickory frames for both mirrors.  The Home Depot mirrors had a reddish cherry finish on them that just didn't quite match the hickory cabinets or the oak floor trim.  Senior David is working on a hall tree for the breezeway, so he will be returning for that installation in about 2 weeks.
Doug applied caulk to the edge of the hearth stones where the quarter round floor trim meets.  Scott would have been caulking, but he is recovering from surgery.

Dwayne installed some temporary light fixtures in the kitchen to fill in for the 5 spot light fixtures and a 3 light bar over the kitchen sink--all are on order but not expected until late July.  Dwayne hooked up the Idaho Wood light that hangs over the rear entry and conducted some trouble shooting of a short in the wiring under the catwalk. He also reinstalled the breezeway lights using the oak mounting panels, that Chris cut and Doug finished, to hide the gaps in the drywall around the circular light fixture mounting plate. We at first thought of a round copper plate, but couldn't find any that matched very well.  Most of the other lights in the house have a wooden mounting plate so this solution works better than the copper.

The Dow thermax insulation (4' x 8' x 2") that will be installed on the basement walls were delivered today.  These panels have a aluminum looking overlay on both sides to retard fire, so they can be installed without any drywall covering yet still pass a code inspection. They have an R-value of 13 so even the basement should stay toasty in the winter.
Mike Fedor and Tim Maurer visited the site to talk over the final grading so that Mike can get everything in line with Tim's landscape design.  That work will probably start next week.

Bits and pieces

Scott Fravel (roofer, also the tile guy) 280-5690
Bill Bauer, the bathtub restorer, told us the refinishing will have to wait for some warmer weather—he needs the temperature to be about 50 degrees outside as his mechanical equipment is not located inside his environmentally controlled workshop.
Plumber Jeff
Doug mentioned that in reviewing the interior doors the oak doors are virtually the same price as the pine doors, so he thought we would like the oak better.
I ordered the TFIK2817VA Inglenook Mission Chandelier and two (2) TFIK8802 Inglenook Mission Sconces from TheBrightSpot. They sent me an email coupon for 20 percent off. They have a 30 day return guarantee, so we should be satisfied with the lights or we can return them for a small restocking fee.

 

Loft floor

Electrician Dwayne recommends a pivoting pendant about 8" in diameter to light the sinks. He will work on getting the wire to it without having a box in the loft floor, a better solution. We still might like a wall of desk/bookshelf/something along that wall, but now it's not necessary.

 

loft dormer and new floor

Catwalk with mitered edges looking into bedrooms

The crew finished the floor in the loft. If I stand beside the walnut post and look up I might imagine that I see a little more red in the great room ceiling (eastern white pine) than in the dining room ceiling (southern yellow pine). The dining room/kitchen/catwalk/master bedroom ceiling boards are 1 3/8" and are the floor upstairs. The ceiling has a bevel and the floor is flat. The nails on the edge board will be pegged to cover. Looks great.  If it were maple we could play basketball in the loft! says Jonas. 
Shingling progressed a bit but the rear entry timberframe still has to be built.
HardiePlank    New construction-- Navajo Beige and Booth Bay Blue, Select Cedarmill [Old Construction-- Navajo White and Slate Blue,  Select Cedarmill.]  Now the choices are based on zip code.  We remember Dave the Builder commenting on how difficult this siding was to saw and how many blades he went through; now this crew will use a cutting press like what is used to cut metal flashing.
We have a hanging block for the front entry hanging light (P5595-50)
Dining room chandelier will be Quoizel Inglenook  (TFIK 2817VA)
Buddy and Gambol each caught a vole on their afternoon walk.  Hurray for Panacur .  I think both dogs are going to be regulars.

Cabinets

We visited the kitchen of a client of Bill and Glick's carpentry to see the quality of work we can expect if we hire them.  The kitchen was an update in a 1950's home, cherry, plain and simple but very elegant.  They have all the bells and whistles for using space efficiently as well as the quiet glide and self closing mechanisms.  We noticed this client used knob pulls like ours.  We are very impressed. Next up is a visit to the workshop.  Bill has the measurements.
Considering Idaho Wood Lighting for upstairs. It's a lot like the Cherry Tree pendants we have in the Carriage House kitchen but a bit more rustic.