Cabinetry Arrives!

This is the powder room on the main floor, between the den and the kitchen.

Here is the master bathroom cabinetry. The granite installed here is going to be RED. :)

This is the spare bathroom for guests and future children.

And here is a couple shots of our laundry room. Laundry is not typically very exciting, but it's looking so nice, I would live in this house, if only for the laundry room.

The Kitchen

It's hard to believe, but the house is beginning to look like . . . a HOUSE! This is a view of the kitchen as a whole.

Here's a closer look . . .

and another angle . . .

And this is the "kitchen side" of the island. The granite tops are due to arrive at the end of next week.

And this is a little desk nook near the front hallway, where you can throw your keys and mail.

We have wood!

The wood floors began yesterday and they're progressing at a decent speed. Ward says they will have them completed by the end of the week. Then the cabinets go in and once those are complete, the wood guy will come back and sand and finish the wood.

Rift & Quarter Sawed

Here's a close up shot of what the rift & quarter sawed planks look like, which is a little different than typical oak floors. Notice the lack of swirls and circles that you usually see in Oak floors (as in the second image below).

Preparing for the Wood Floor

The wood floor material was delivered two weeks ago. We are doing a Rift & Quarter Sawn Red Oak and doing the family room & kitchen on a 45 degree bias. Since the central air humidifiers have not been installed yet I bought a large console humidifier and I have been monitoring the temp and humidity closely. This unit can really put out the mosture, but you need a good Hygrometer to monitor the humidity and temp levels. I can easily jack up the household humidty to 50%+ which is too high. Peter, the wood flooring contractor, wants me to keep the temperature at 72 degrees and the humidity between 40% and 45% RH. This is a tall order, but I've acheived this. I'm still trying to come to grips with this requirement. I have seen this issue become a major problem at work, with warranty and other excuses! I think the only thing you can do is install wood flooring at the most average condtions; temp and humidity. During the spring, when you shut off the furnace and open the windows the household humidity could jump up to 60% or higher. During the cold months of January and Feburary we will see RH levels of 30% or lower (in order to keep the window frosting to a minimum). That last thing you want is condensation and frost in the attic when it's 0 degrees F outside. I suppose 72 degrees and 40% humidity is the average and that is the best you can do. - Ward

Tile is Complete

Christy, the ceramic tile contractor, has almost finished the ceramic tile. All that remains is the grouting of the floor in the master bath shower. Alison was responsible for the tile design which includes drawings and tile selection. Christy offered a guiding hand for a few details and the result is exactly what I was looking for. I had no idea what the decorative border was like in the master bath. I really like it. It's Frank Lloyd Wrightish. Christy suggested raising the border to eye height, which was the right thing to do. I had Christy put in aluminum edging at all of the door thresholds. This adds a level of duribility and gives it a commercial feel.

Master Bath Ceramic Tile