Moving the Fridge

We moved the fridge over to the area where it will eventually go. The plumbing for the ice maker still needs to be done but it clears up the other side of the room and lets us think about the cabinet we're going to build around the fridge. Because there used to be a wall where it is going, there is a 5 inch gap in the floor that was hard to get over.

Kitchen Wall Color

Here is the color we are trying out in the kitchen for the walls. We'll see what we end up doing for the stove and cabinet colors so it may change.

Kitchen Drywall Sanding Complete! Time to Spray Texture.

So it got a little dusty everywhere with all the sanding. We spent all night vacuuming and cleaning the dust.

Then it was time to tape off all the doors and windows so we could spray the texture throughout the kitchen so the walls would match the rest of the house. Once all the walls are dry, we can paint around with our wall color we are trying out and finish painting the ceiling.

White Christmas

So Christmas Day wasn't exactly white but we did have some frost that stuck around throughout the day - much different looking than the day before when I mowed the lawn.

Removing Kitchen Floor

The linoleum on the kitchen floor will eventually be ripped up and we will refinish the fir floors. However, the back of the house used to be much smaller so half the kitchen has plywood underneath. We went to the ReStore yesterday and bought some more old fir flooring - 110 square feet - to start the process of laying new flooring. We ripped up a small section by the back door to see where the floor ended and plywood began. As you can see, there are many layers of paint on the floor that will need to be sanded off.

Copper Plating

All of the old door hardware was copper plated. It has worn off, so we decided to re-plate it all. Here is a trial of one piece mid-plating.

Volt the Shoulder Cat

Volt loves to be up on your shoulders. He is getting more affectionate - almost too much. This morning he cuddled in bed and laid under the covers. He also loves to play with moving feet under the sheets.

Lawn Update - Dec. 24th!

So our lawn is looking great - better than ever almost! We mowed today and pulled up some of the vegetable garden. We've had frost nearly every morning but no snow.

Volt

So we have a new addition to our household - a cat named Volt! He is about 1.5 years and is adapting to the construction surroundings. He likes to hang out behind the downstairs toilet but is getting more and more used to Poppy. He has only been in the house for three days and is doing quite well. We'll post better pictures once we get them.

Christmas Tree

We decided to get a tree this year. We weren't going to but when we saw them for $10 we decided to be festive. The tree is a noble fir and is 7 feet, not that you'd know it from looking. Next year we need to go bigger, maybe 9-10 feet will fit the room better.

Boxing in the Beams

We have been working on boxing in the beams in the kitchen and just finished the first one this weekend. The work is started on the second but there is still a long way to go. The first picture is of the drawing of the beam with the trim around it to see what it will look like. We are using MDF around the beam because it is painted and a ways off the floor and wont be seen too close up. We are still waiting to finish the ceiling prior to putting up the crown molding that will ease the beam into the ceiling but you still can get the idea of what it is going to look like.

This picture shows some of the fiberboard blocking that was placed on the dimensional beams to pad them out to the right width and height. The second beam will have the padding on both sides like this one but it will not have the padding on the bottom because it is 1" lower.

Although a 16 foot trim piece would have worked perfectly I decided to use two 8 foot pieces just because it would be easier for just me to put up. A 45 degree scarf joint is in the middle where they meet and should hide it well once it is sanded and painted.


In this picture the boxing around the beam is complete but all of the nail holes have to still be filled and the joint between the two eight foot sections sanded down. You can see the space at the top that will be covered by the crown molding once the ceiling is done getting sanded and painted.

Gingerbread House

We took a break from the housework last weekend to decorate some cookies and put together gingerbread houses with some of Kristen's former dental hygiene classmates.

These cookies are from a Williams and Sonoma cutter that lets you put in whatever words you want.









Kali and Jennifer working hard on their gingerbread houses and cookies.


The finished product. Kristen and I made three houses but we figured that it was way too dusty at home to have them out. So, we left them at Kali's. It worked out well because she ended up with a small little village of houses as decoration. (Plus Poppy likes to hunt around the house for hidden food and this would have been a goldmine for her)

Baby Hat

I made a hat for Shawn and Amanda's baby Eliza who is due in April and now that they opened it up, I can post a picture.

Electrical

We have been running all the electrical for the kitchen - lots of work fitting wires through little ceiling spaces. Hopefully we're all done until the cabinets are in place and we figure out where to put all the outlets.

Making a Pantry

One of my major renovation goals was to create more storage space with a big walk-in pantry. We decided to do this by making the office smaller and using some of that space for a pantry, some for our fridge. Stuart framed us out a wall and Marianne spent countless hours with the joint compound and sheet rock giving us a permanent wall.

Christmas Lights at Night

Here is a shot of the lights at night, as requested.

Beams in Kitchen

First, you rip out the ceiling
Then comes the cabinets that are up to the ceiling


Then, the wood is measured
and cut

and you have the supportive beams. They will get boxed and finished in the future.

Cooking on hot stones

On Stuart and Marianne's last day of helping us with the remodel, we went out to the Diamond Knot Brewery where the food comes raw and you cook it on a hot stone slab. We had a great time and appreciate all the help that we got ffrom Tyler's parents.

The New Doorway - Kitchen/Dining Room

The old doorway is filled in and the new doorway is awaiting door trim and French doors.

Cutting and moving the bathroom door

We are making the downstairs bathroom smaller but wanted to keep all the original door trim. So, the easiest way to do this was to keep the door as one unit, cut it out, then make the new doorway. This cut the size of the bathroom in half but it is still big enough for our clawfoot tub. All these photos were taken from the same spot.

Christmas Lighting

We decided the escape the indoor work and do a little fun stuff outside so we put up some Christmas lights.