Sunday, July 22, 2007

Progress, beautiful progress

Boring, boring, boring, but there really has been a lot accomplished, agreed, or ordered in the past six days. Progress is a great feeling. This won't be the most exciting post for those who aren't building or renovating a home.

Windows
As of Friday, the final great room slider was installed and all the windows and exterior doors (minus the front door) are now in. The wood grain looks great although I am surprised at how much sunlight the tint keeps out of the house. It's not a bad thing...just a surprise when you see them installed.
Master bath windows (freestanding tub to be installed underneath) :)

We agreed the drywall returns and sills for the window openings, which was a point of concern earlier in the building process. Somehow everything seems to have worked out now....? (Keeping my fingers crossed that it stays this way)

Insulation
With the exception of the built in tub/shower areas, all insulation has been sprayed on exterior walls and door openings. Due to an oversight, Mr. Big's wine cave was mistakenly not 100% insulated and this has now been corrected (Mr. Big's sigh of relief was momentous).

Dining room insulation completed and doors installed

Framing
A number of little bits and bobs that needed final framing were done, including a wall that will define our sitting area on the second floor. It was very exciting to see this finally take shape. All of the major walls and details are now in.

Electrical
We spent two hours today walking through the placement of every single light fixture, outlet, keypad, fan, fire alarm and pretty much anything else that you can think of to ensure everything is in the right place. I'm pretty embarrassed to say that we only got through one floor of the house. (We're finishing Tuesday night so don't expect any riviting posts that night)

One of the "motherboards" (as I call them) about 4 weeks ago. They scare me. Honestly, how will we ever control anything with that many wires?

We are blessed with a very patient and helpful electrician who has great ideas. While also a good friend, it sure feels good to know that we always have someone on site looking out for our best interests and making sure everything is correct.

Roof
Before starting this project, I had never even heard of a soffit. (Please tell me I am not alone here...) Well, apparently ours is 75% complete. Not quite sure what it is that I'm looking for but Mr. Big assures me that it is there.

Drywall
Our drywall was delivered on island and should be on site on Monday or Tuesday. They will likely start putting it up later this week. It will take approximately four days for the sheetrock and another 10 days to mud and detail the walls. This puppy is going to look like a house real soon!

Floor tiles
I'll entertain you all soon with some good floor-tile-tales, but for now, we're pretty excited because they have been shipped from Miami. We could have our first floor in 3 weeks from now (keep your fingers crossed).

Building approval
We finally received building approval for our outside gazebo and garage. The gazebo construction will start in the next week after a long wait. And it's a pretty good thing that we got the garage approval seeing as though it's already built. (Please, please do not let anyone from planning ever find this post...)

So there's a healthy update for everyone. There's a bit more in the works, but I need to keep some cards for future posts. :)

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