11 May 2020 Light at the end of the tunnel! – stopthefud

Wow- a lot of progress this past month. So busy I have not had time to update the blog. But finally I have some time so I will show you what we have been doing.

Mid March we were still working on the driveway.

Rain has been a big problem. You cant pour concrete in the rain. So Jeff Copeman has been doing sections in between rain as best he can. Here he has the forms laid out for the section leading to the workshop and then halfway down the driveway. Slow going!

We have all the utilities crossing the driveway at the entrance, so these had to be marked for when they dig this portion out. The driveway apron has to be dug deeper as they will be laying in 7 inches of concrete here.

Aside from this work we are doing various indoor things. Measuring toilet rough-ins to make sure the toilets will fit, measuring the HVAC outlets for the floor vent covers, measuring the stairways to determine size of stairway skirts, treads and risers.

Coleman Nurseries is starting to plant trees. The first to go in were four river birches we are installing on the right side of the driveway.

They were starting to bud so Randy wanted to get them in the ground. The grading is mostly done on that side so this was OK. There still needs to be some grading on the left side so I didnt want anything planted there at this time.

It will be nice to have a driveway. To get to the house means slogging through this mud.

In early April we had the living room wood stove delivered. It is a NEO 2.5. Very nice model.

It is sitting on a black granite surround. Looks very nice there.

They finally got to the driveway apron. Ah- we will soon be able to walk on actual pavement up to the house!

That is Jeff Copeman on the left. He and his crew have done a great job on all the concrete in the house- starting with the basement slab oh so long ago!

I installed the vent cover for the rangehood. And we got all the floor vent covers for the HVAC vents and started to install these.

And finally by the first week of April the driveway was finished!

While this was completing, Dayna wanted to repaint the master bath walls (already and we havent even moved in!). So I did that- from a flat white to a flat gray. Looks good.

And then a key moment arrived- the mailbox!

It was great to finally get the mailbox in, and we got rid of the dumpster. It is really starting to look like a house.

Grading on the left side of the house was completed by Terry Hicks, so Coleman Nursery was able to start planting on that side. We had three river birches going there, so these were installed first.

That weekend Dayna and I went up to Richmond to check out a granite countertop supplier. We actually have settled on a quartz product.

We can get the same stuff at Home Depot for much cheaper. They contract out to the same company but get a much better price.. This will look good with the maple hardwood flooring and the dark walnut cabinetry in the kitchen.

Yes, in spite of the Coronavirus, the building community remains active. We have not had any slowdown in the building of our house- except for delays caused by rain, of which there have been many.

Another big milestone in early April the hardwood flooring arrived!

It is prefinished Mirage maple hardwood. The model is Element Hudson in 3 1/4 inch planks. Very good quality wood from a Canadian company. Dayna really wanted the prefinished wood because it has that hard aluminum oxide coating that is impossible to get with wood finished on-site. Our previous house at Ashleigh Road had such wood and it lasted for 20 years without any need for refinishing. It looked just as good when we sold the house as when we got it installed.

We hired Hampton Roads Flooring Solutions to install the floor.

Alot of wood! While this was going on, I had my workshop delivered by Packrat.

There were sporadic showers in the morning so I called the movers and told them to wait until the afternoon. Sure enough the rain subsided enough that we could move stuff into the house without getting soaked.

It was pretty quick work getting everything moved in. For awhile there it looked like it all wouldnt fit, but after doing some preliminary arranging it looks like it will work out. It will be good to start woodworking again after 2 years!!

At about the same time my workshop tools were delivered, they delivered the outside deck substrate material

These are 30 X 48 composite panels 1 inch thick that are screwed to the deck joists. I will then be cementing porcelain tiles to this. I thought this would be an interesting alternative to your typical composite plank decking material. We shall see.

On top of all this, I got my VW truck delivered. Out of storage after 2 years it is finally home.

The guy who stored it would start it up every month just to keep the engine in shape. He said it was starting hard and recommended a carb overhaul, so I put that on my small list of things to do

Meanwhile the flooring guys were making good progress.

What a difference flooring makes! Wow, I feel I could almost move in. Just a couple cabinets to make and boom, we will have a certificate of occupancy. Well- it will take a little time, but we will get there.

A key is getting my workshop in shape. I have been organizing it and it is getting to the point of being very useable.

I have pretty much all the tools I need except for a lathe which is sometime in the future.

One of the first things I built were wood storage racks.

I designed these racks to be able to store wood horizontally and vertically. The shop has a great ceiling height so I can easily store 12 ft long pieces of wood vertically to save on space.

I continue working in the Master bath with installation of a towel warmer rack and clothes hangar rods in the master bath closets.

I tested the under tile floor warmer in the master bath. Works like a charm! Nothing like warm tile under foot on a cold winters day.

They completed all the hardwood install except for the entrance foyer. We need another 90 sq ft of wood so this will be completed later.

It all turned out very well. Dayna and I are really pleased with the look.

While they were finishing up the hardwood flooring, I was starting to work on the deck.

The panels are not that heavy, maybe 30 pounds a piece. Alot easier than hauling long planks of composite decking. The trick is to fit them so that the ends fall on joists. Unfortunately Scott OBrian did not strictly space the joists at 1 foot, due to location of deck support beams, so in some cases the ends of the panels didnt fall on joists and I have to install blocking for the panels to rest on.

Coleman came and did the final landscaping- installation of trees, bushes, mulch and sod. Wow- the place was transformed in one week.

We didnt originally want any grass, but unfortunately along the right side of the house there is alot of water flowing from the front to the back and mulch would have just washed away. Sod is a very effective erosion control so we elected to sod this entire slope. It is only about 4000 square feet, so not that much to mow!

Grading and landscaping are for the most part done. We need to look at a sprinkler system for the grass, as the summers here in Williamsburg can be hot and dry. I will probably install some drip irrigation on other parts of the property as well, but we want to minimize water usage to the extent possible.

I completed the chop saw/storage bench on the one side of the workshop.

So the workshop is now fully operational. I will start making cabinets next weekend (hopefully).

Oh, and I did overhaul the VW carburator. Runs great, although something is going on with the choke because it takes a while to start when cold.

I took it for a spin to the Ace hardware store. I must say the old car sure does attract attention. Not often you see a full bed VW Type 2 pickup!

I hope to be updating this blog more often, but I am getting pretty busy, going every Friday, Saturday and Sunday to work on the house. When will we be able to move in? I tell everyone- in a couple months. Ive been saying this for a couple months already. Haha.

Like Loading...

Related

See the article here:
11 May 2020 Light at the end of the tunnel! - stopthefud