It’s one week until we move into our new house - just about three months later than we VERY optimistically had hoped. It took a little over ten months from the time we broke ground until we’re ready to move in - and that’s fairly typical of new houses. We just got very eager initially but soon settled down to reality.
Here are some pictures I took today: This first picture is of the front porch. The rails were added this week. We still need to clean off the front porch, but I think it still looks really good.
This next picture is of the fireplace and the balcony. If you notice the shelves on either side of the fireplace - those were some of THE most time-consuming and laborious things in the house. The cabinets are still not finished, and they began installing them the first of July. Hint: Don’t ever use Kabinart to make and install your cabinets. The final product looks good, but there are still things that aren’t right about it. We’ve spent a lot of time and energy and money undoing some of the mistakes. The installer’s name is Kevin - so we’ve dubbed all the cabinets with their assorted issues as “KevinArt.” I love the floors - they’re cherry, and they’re still very shiny from the three coats of polyurethane that were put on them this past week. Also notice the fireplace - which I’ve shown here before - RT built the fireplace, and it is beautiful.
This next picture is of the kitchen and cabinets. I tried to get the granite to show up well, but you really can’t tell much about it. I LOVE the granite we chose for the kitchen. It is a pattern called “Juperano Gaviota.” Notice that the cabinets are still not completed. Oh - did I already mention that?
Ron and I had a good day. We installed 25 doorknobs on the inside. RT got to the point where he could install one in less than four minutes. Of course that was with me anticipating which tool he needed and having it ready as soon as he needed it and then helping him hold the various pieces of the doorknob still as he drilled holes and put in screws. Still - that was pretty incredible timing. One more doorknob to install tomorrow, and we’re done with that particular chore.We really enjoyed our late afternoon. After finishing the doorknobs (except the one we have to buy tomorrow), we planted over 120 bulbs (tulips, jonquils, dutch iris and others) that we’ll enjoy in early spring. We also planted two flats of pansies that we’ll enjoy between now and next spring. It was so nice to do something with no pressure to complete it. Tomorrow we will plant a lot of irises and lilies that two ladies in our church gave us.
We are really looking forward to moving in next week.
Jobs that will be done this coming week: Tomorrow RT will cut and install the shoe molding throughout the house. I will finish up the towel racks, toilet paper racks and door stops. On Monday, the glass for the shower will be installed, the final work on the alarm system will be completed, the final touch-up painting will be done.
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October 13th, 2007 at 9:48 pm
You done good!
Beautiful.
October 14th, 2007 at 5:36 am
I LOVE your house! Gorgeous. It has been lots of fun seeing it through the various stages (starting with the different house plans that you were considering) and now to the completion.
So, now that you know how to do it, are you going to hire out for others
!!
October 14th, 2007 at 7:41 am
Oh Carol, it is absolutely beautiful! I know you and RT are going to love living there and having your family visit.
It has been so much fun watching the progress and hearing about all the stuff that goes with building a house!
Don’t you think you should have the family reunion????
TMS: I absolutely would LOVE to have the family reunion! Do you think everyone would be willing to travel to Tennessee for it? Between RT and I and our kids - we have plenty of extra bedrooms for overnighters.
October 15th, 2007 at 4:34 pm
the red “eye” looks weird other than that your blog is very feminine and soothing.
February 9th, 2008 at 1:37 pm
We met with Kabinart today. Was leaning toward them because of the price and being local. What specific problems have you found with the cabinets?
Thanks
TMS: The biggest problem was that it took so long to get everything installed and the installation guy (who is a wonderful person) kept doing things that made no sense.. The salesman/designer measured incorrectly in the master bathroom, and so had to replace one cabinet. The installer had just left a big gap there. Then the installer put a bathroom cabinet that was supposed to be a “stand alone” looking cabinet” up against the wall - cut out the molding and screwed it into the wall. We had to go back and spend a lot of time and effort getting the cabinet unattached from the wall - repairing the wall and re-placing the molding - repainting, etc. RT and I didn’t think that bathroom would ever look right, but now the cabinet looks great - but only because WE spent hours undoing what the installer had done. We didn’t insist that kabinart reinstall the bathroom cabinet because we figured it would extend the job another few weeks and at that point we just didn’t have the confidence that it would be done right. Then the cabinets on either side of the fireplace - the installer made them where there was a 12-18 inch gap at the top. It looked absurd. We had to tell him that no, the cabinets were supposed to go to the top of the space - as they were in the drawings. The fireplace cabinets were tricky because the fireplace is a rock fireplace - so there wasn’t an even surface to put the cabinets against. So Kevin had to work with that, too. Even today, the filler panels on either side of the fireplace cabinets are not completely right. It used to drive me nuts - but it doesn’t bother RT so I’ve decided to let it go. We’d go over everything with Kevin, and then we’d come home to find it done wrong. The quality of the cabinets is wonderful, the salesman/designer was good, and the installer was a very personable and capable guy. However, he worked by himself and was extremely slow and simply did things that didn’t make sense. Fortunately, we weren’t in a hurry for them to be finished - and so the long delays didn’t cause us any problems - it was just irritating. The installation stretched out over MONTHS. Well, and they still have to come back to fix the pull-out trash cans in the kitchen. Kevin didn’t install them correctly. I don’t think they could possibly have made any money at all on our job. We had them do all our cabinets - kitchen, all bathrooms (5), laundry room, media room and on either side of the fireplace. So it was a big job. Craig, the designer, did a great job, except I think some of the cabinets were not as deep as they could have been. If you decide to use them, be VERY SPECIFIC about everything from beginning to end. Maybe we just assumed that the installer would do everything right - and so the mix-ups were frustrating.
February 12th, 2008 at 3:17 am
February 13th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
Thanks for your help. Your home looks beautiful and thanks for the advice