Whew. With the house complete, we've paid some attention to other topics, like taxes. And, we've continued to enjoy the house.
As we've held a few dinner parties, we've adapted our cleaning routines to the new finishes. And that brought an insight, voiced by Laura.
Since we've got the same number of dogs, but a little more space, you can stretch the time between sweeping a bit because the dust bunny density is lower.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Dash Unpacks
After Sunday morning breakfast, Laura was getting discouraged. She'd been unpacking for over a day and a half, and there was still more. Here we were in the biggest room in the house, surrounded by piles of boxes and packing paper.
Dash sensed Laura's mood, and within a minute, happily began helping. This video captures his evident joy.
What the clip missed is even more impressive. Before I was able to start shooting, Dash had already pulled out one of the blue cannisters - you see it on the counter about half way through this clip, in the upper right of the frame.
Dash sensed Laura's mood, and within a minute, happily began helping. This video captures his evident joy.
What the clip missed is even more impressive. Before I was able to start shooting, Dash had already pulled out one of the blue cannisters - you see it on the counter about half way through this clip, in the upper right of the frame.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Last Night of the Remodel
Tonight's the last night to refer to "the remodel." Tomorrow, we move back in, and it again becomes "home."
The cleaners left about 7 tonight. It was a great time to take a tour of the space, and to get a sense of the lighting. Enjoy.
The cleaners left about 7 tonight. It was a great time to take a tour of the space, and to get a sense of the lighting. Enjoy.
Birthing Pains
The contractions have started. The final inspection Tuesday flagged a few needed corrections, seen here.This morning, these final touches are going in. Cleaners come this afternoon. And the movers come tomorrow. We expect to get the final inspection cleared on Monday.
Our voice lines were switched over this morning, with less than 3h offline. Internet will switch over later today. Hmm. Guess that means the next entry will come either from an internet cafe, or from the new home!
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Scheduled Moves!
We're scheduled for our big move back to our home on Friday, January 23! Wooo hooo!
Dash, Bell, and Riley were disinterested to learn that another dog is moving next week... ol' Barney Bush will be relocating to Texas earlier in the week. Hopefully he will resist the temptation to bite one more voter before he leaves town!
So until Obama (finally) gets the dog he's promised his daughters... it looks like the Whitehouse will be a canine-free zone for a few months.
The newspaper this morning reported that Obama feels it's been harder to pick the breed of his dog - then it was to pick his nominee for Secretary of Commerce! With good reason - his choice will be the ambassador for dogs all over the country. Reportedly - the Obamas were leaning towards a Portuguese Water Dog . But then the Labradoodle lobbyists threatened a fillibuster.
Bell told me this morning - the answer is obvious. Dogs are pack animals. Obama needs to get one of each - preferably from a rescue organization. And maybe even a third dog as a backup. THEN his cabinet will have some worthy advisors who understand the value of a good nap in the afternoon and how world peace is possible if we just all learn to share our squeaky toys.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
...Engines to Speed!
In our last Bat-blog (wink), we left the Bat-cave with power available. Tonight, we used that new superpower for good - we cooked dinner for the first time in the remodel.
Nope, we're not moved back in just yet. But we decided to have some fun. We cooked a take-and-bake pizza in the new oven!
While that was baking, we also ran the washer. We wanted to use something sturdy. Since this remodel is all about the dogs, Laura figured out we should use their crate liners for the first load. Honestly, it was quieter than the fan on the new range. Laura had to go check twice to be sure it was running.
After dinner, with the fan on the range off, the dogs finally noticed the bumping of the washer drum. And we got some video of their reactions to the appliances that will share their tack room.
And, yes, Bell really does enjoy hearing herself bark that much.
Nope, we're not moved back in just yet. But we decided to have some fun. We cooked a take-and-bake pizza in the new oven!
While that was baking, we also ran the washer. We wanted to use something sturdy. Since this remodel is all about the dogs, Laura figured out we should use their crate liners for the first load. Honestly, it was quieter than the fan on the new range. Laura had to go check twice to be sure it was running.
After dinner, with the fan on the range off, the dogs finally noticed the bumping of the washer drum. And we got some video of their reactions to the appliances that will share their tack room.
And, yes, Bell really does enjoy hearing herself bark that much.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Turbines to Power...
The meter is off the temporary pole and onto the house...
...which means we now get to start testing appliances. Ooooo! We're so looking forward to the large capacity washer and dryer!
...which means we now get to start testing appliances. Ooooo! We're so looking forward to the large capacity washer and dryer!
Monday, January 5, 2009
The Twelfth Day of Christmas
...my true love gave to me,
and a tray ceiling in the living room:
Laura likes to highlight my insistence on the garage doors. She didn't draw many distinctions between styles. I was picky. This remodel makes the garage much more prominent, so I wanted them to be attractive and pleasant. As we'd drive around town and I found models I liked, I'd insist on pausing, discussing the design, and often taking pictures. When the rendering of the design showed horizontal panels, I made sure to note to the Hammerschmidt team that verticals were needed. This was one selection that I didn't mind reconfirming earlier in the project.
Now, I've always enjoyed the scale of the living room. Initially, Laura had been thinking to shrink it, and use the recovered space for, say, a formal dining room. I held out for keeping its size, and was able to win Laura over to that position.
We both had doubts about the tray ceiling. The idea started early, in the "wish list" stage of planning with the Hammerschmidt team 2-1/2 years ago. With scissor trusses being used to raise the ceiling in the great room, bringing a grander scale to the living room was suggested. It stayed as an option until right before groundbreak 8 months ago. We're now very happy we included this in the plans.
As the living room returned to its new form, we traded ideas on furnishing and decorating it. A chief intent is to virtually fill the west wall (left of the picture) with bookcases. About the time the sheetrock came into the living room, I had a realization. With bookcases and the tray ceiling, the room would have a sense of a home library - something I've longed for but we did not specifically plan for, thinking it was beyond this project. Wow, what a great feeling to unexpectedly find something beyond your dreams.
Just like Christmas at its best, huh?
| ||||||||
| 10 foot plus high ceilings | a 9 light chandelier | 8 matching lighting fixtures | ||||||
 |  |  | ||||||
| 7 Doggie Paws (in their tack room) | a 6 burner gas range | 5 Doggie Tiles (in their tack room) | ||||||
 |  |  | ||||||
| a 4 leaf clover entry | a 3 rod towel rack | 2 master bath sinks | ||||||
 |  |  | ||||||
and a tray ceiling in the living room:
Laura likes to highlight my insistence on the garage doors. She didn't draw many distinctions between styles. I was picky. This remodel makes the garage much more prominent, so I wanted them to be attractive and pleasant. As we'd drive around town and I found models I liked, I'd insist on pausing, discussing the design, and often taking pictures. When the rendering of the design showed horizontal panels, I made sure to note to the Hammerschmidt team that verticals were needed. This was one selection that I didn't mind reconfirming earlier in the project.Now, I've always enjoyed the scale of the living room. Initially, Laura had been thinking to shrink it, and use the recovered space for, say, a formal dining room. I held out for keeping its size, and was able to win Laura over to that position.
We both had doubts about the tray ceiling. The idea started early, in the "wish list" stage of planning with the Hammerschmidt team 2-1/2 years ago. With scissor trusses being used to raise the ceiling in the great room, bringing a grander scale to the living room was suggested. It stayed as an option until right before groundbreak 8 months ago. We're now very happy we included this in the plans.
As the living room returned to its new form, we traded ideas on furnishing and decorating it. A chief intent is to virtually fill the west wall (left of the picture) with bookcases. About the time the sheetrock came into the living room, I had a realization. With bookcases and the tray ceiling, the room would have a sense of a home library - something I've longed for but we did not specifically plan for, thinking it was beyond this project. Wow, what a great feeling to unexpectedly find something beyond your dreams.
Just like Christmas at its best, huh?
Sunday, January 4, 2009
The Eleventh Day of Christmas
...my true love gave to me, 11 network outlets
and a telecom wiring closet
OK. I'll admit to being a reformed tech head. And I'll admit that since we got DSL, I've dreamed of having network jacks as easily available as telephone jacks in every room. With every bloomin' wall open in the house, this was my chance.
The telecom panel and the wall jacks were absolute musts from the get go. With jacks most everywhere, I knew I wanted the panel to nearly eliminate the need to crawl around in the attic or crawlspace for debugging. And with this many wires, we had to get the BIG panel. It takes up half a side wall in a clothes closet.
Laura still has to stop and think why there's a network and cable jack over the living room mantle (in case we wall mount a flat panel TV there, which she's refusing to consider yet). And as for the one in the Tack room, all I can claim is it's there to be ready for a future, unexpected need. At least I didn't go fully overboard - the bathrooms and closets are devoid of these jacks. You gotta have some place to get away from information overload, don't you?
| 10 foot plus high ceilings | a 9 light chandelier | 8 matching lighting fixtures | ||
| | | ||
| 7 Doggie Paws (in their tack room) | a 6 burner gas range | 5 Doggie Tiles (in their tack room) | ||
| | | ||
| a 4 leaf clover entry | a 3 rod towel rack | 2 master bath sinks | ||
| | |
and a telecom wiring closet
OK. I'll admit to being a reformed tech head. And I'll admit that since we got DSL, I've dreamed of having network jacks as easily available as telephone jacks in every room. With every bloomin' wall open in the house, this was my chance.The telecom panel and the wall jacks were absolute musts from the get go. With jacks most everywhere, I knew I wanted the panel to nearly eliminate the need to crawl around in the attic or crawlspace for debugging. And with this many wires, we had to get the BIG panel. It takes up half a side wall in a clothes closet.
Laura still has to stop and think why there's a network and cable jack over the living room mantle (in case we wall mount a flat panel TV there, which she's refusing to consider yet). And as for the one in the Tack room, all I can claim is it's there to be ready for a future, unexpected need. At least I didn't go fully overboard - the bathrooms and closets are devoid of these jacks. You gotta have some place to get away from information overload, don't you?
Saturday, January 3, 2009
The Tenth Day of Christmas
...my true love gave to me,
...and one driveway made of paving stones
High ceilings were "found" gifts. During the design process, John Hammerschmidt let us know that scissor trusses were priced the same as flat-ceiling trusses. This made high ceilings cost effective as an alternative. We used that option for the great room. But the first impact is at the entry.
Also during the design process, John's team suggested a vaulted ceiling for the entry. We agreed to it, and it's turned out beautifully. The composite picture doesn't do it justice. There's an immediate sensation of spaciousness. It's going to be fun figuring out how to decorate this space to compliment the structure.
The three rod towel rack was a find. When we laid out the floor plan for the master bath, we overlooked this detail. We have a short wall of about 22" between the tile of the shower and the molding for the closet door. Laura wasn't ready to hang towels over the glass partition. Luckily, some online hunting turned up this model at Pottery Barn. We bought the other sizes of this family at our local store, and ordered this model online.
And our Saturday visit brought a treat even beyond these. When we swung by the house, the lights were on for the first time in 8 months! (Even better, somebody will soon be home!)
| 10 foot plus high ceilings | a 9 light chandelier | 8 matching lighting fixtures | ||
| | | ||
| 7 Doggie Paws (in their tack room) | a 6 burner gas range | 5 Doggie Tiles (in their tack room) | ||
| | | ||
| a 4 leaf clover entry | a 3 rod towel rack | 2 master bath sinks | ||
| | |
High ceilings were "found" gifts. During the design process, John Hammerschmidt let us know that scissor trusses were priced the same as flat-ceiling trusses. This made high ceilings cost effective as an alternative. We used that option for the great room. But the first impact is at the entry.
Also during the design process, John's team suggested a vaulted ceiling for the entry. We agreed to it, and it's turned out beautifully. The composite picture doesn't do it justice. There's an immediate sensation of spaciousness. It's going to be fun figuring out how to decorate this space to compliment the structure.
The three rod towel rack was a find. When we laid out the floor plan for the master bath, we overlooked this detail. We have a short wall of about 22" between the tile of the shower and the molding for the closet door. Laura wasn't ready to hang towels over the glass partition. Luckily, some online hunting turned up this model at Pottery Barn. We bought the other sizes of this family at our local store, and ordered this model online.
And our Saturday visit brought a treat even beyond these. When we swung by the house, the lights were on for the first time in 8 months! (Even better, somebody will soon be home!)
Friday, January 2, 2009
The Ninth Day of Christmas
...my true love gave to me,
...and one driveway made of paving stones
The chandelier was a find. At Lynn Hammerschmidt's suggestion, we looked for ideas at a lighting store here in town. A 5 light, one level version of this fixture was on display. We got the info, and since the Hammerschmidt team works with this store regularly, they kindly loaned us manufacturer's catalogs to check out more.
In the catalog, we found two more versions, both bigger. To figure out which one was right for the semi-vaulted ceiling in the great room, Lynn kindly mocked up a version out of a discarded box. Now, mind, she seemed to enjoy it, mentioning that it was like an arts-and-crafts project from grade school.
The mock up made a big difference. We immediately picked this bigger fixture. And when it got hung earlier this month (boy, was it only in the past week?) it fit perfectly. Just like the rest of the house.
| a 9 light chandelier | 8 matching lighting fixtures | |||
| | |||
| 7 Doggie Paws (in their tack room) | a 6 burner gas range | 5 Doggie Tiles (in their tack room) | ||
| | | ||
| a 4 leaf clover entry | 3 doggie leash hooks (for their tack room) | 2 master bath sinks | ||
|  | |
The chandelier was a find. At Lynn Hammerschmidt's suggestion, we looked for ideas at a lighting store here in town. A 5 light, one level version of this fixture was on display. We got the info, and since the Hammerschmidt team works with this store regularly, they kindly loaned us manufacturer's catalogs to check out more.
In the catalog, we found two more versions, both bigger. To figure out which one was right for the semi-vaulted ceiling in the great room, Lynn kindly mocked up a version out of a discarded box. Now, mind, she seemed to enjoy it, mentioning that it was like an arts-and-crafts project from grade school.
The mock up made a big difference. We immediately picked this bigger fixture. And when it got hung earlier this month (boy, was it only in the past week?) it fit perfectly. Just like the rest of the house.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
The Eighth Day of Christmas
...my true love gave to me, 8 matching lighting fixtures
and a Doggie Door into their own space.
Did you pick up the new items hidden in the list?
We stretched for something that touched on "8." We have 8 of these carriage-style fixtures around the outside of the house. Only a couple more remain to be hung.
Now, the 4 leaf clover in the wood of the entry is easy to pick up. It went in this week and is the first darn thing you see inside the front door. We knew we wanted an impact piece on the entry floor, with an intent to reference Irish heritage. Early in the project, John Hammerschmidt showed us some ideas from his wood flooring sub for corner knots. Two weeks ago, the time came to start this element.
The flooring sub brought in the corners, and on the fly, we worked out this design. By shaping it this way, the grain flows into the house from the door to the living room AND across the foyer from the hall to the great room. The intent was to put a subtle reference to Irish heritage right up front. Not only are there four corners with knots to evoke a 4 leaf clover, but the central piece is surrounded by a walnut stripe shaped like St. Brigid's Cross.
There are lots more touches we can cover, and only a few more days left on this theme. And, we're getting more finishes applied each working day. Hope you get to see the stone mantle that just went into the great room.
| Seven Doggie Paws (in their tack room) | a 6 burner gas range | Five Doggie Tiles (in their tack room) | ||
| | | ||
| a 4 leaf clover entry | 3 doggie leash hooks (for their tack room) | 2 master bath sinks | ||
| | |
Did you pick up the new items hidden in the list?
We stretched for something that touched on "8." We have 8 of these carriage-style fixtures around the outside of the house. Only a couple more remain to be hung.
Now, the 4 leaf clover in the wood of the entry is easy to pick up. It went in this week and is the first darn thing you see inside the front door. We knew we wanted an impact piece on the entry floor, with an intent to reference Irish heritage. Early in the project, John Hammerschmidt showed us some ideas from his wood flooring sub for corner knots. Two weeks ago, the time came to start this element.The flooring sub brought in the corners, and on the fly, we worked out this design. By shaping it this way, the grain flows into the house from the door to the living room AND across the foyer from the hall to the great room. The intent was to put a subtle reference to Irish heritage right up front. Not only are there four corners with knots to evoke a 4 leaf clover, but the central piece is surrounded by a walnut stripe shaped like St. Brigid's Cross.
There are lots more touches we can cover, and only a few more days left on this theme. And, we're getting more finishes applied each working day. Hope you get to see the stone mantle that just went into the great room.
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