House 13
We’ve reached the home stretch of construction! Every time we visit the site there is something new to see. Over the past week, the interior railings have been installed for both sets of stairs. We used 2×2 fir posts for the vertical detail and the carpenter did a great job with the install. In the kitchen, the appliances and quartz countertop have been installed. Next week the butcher block countertop will be added to the island. In the bathrooms, the plumbing fixtures have been installed as well as the glass shower door in the master. Throughout the house the baseboard, trim and door handle installation has all been completed. There’s a lot being done all at once and it’s great to see so much progress. We are scheduled to be finished within a week or two and we will be moving a week or two after that!
House 12
Daily progress continues at the house. The most exciting thing to see was our kitchen cabinets installed! They look great. Plumbing fixtures and the remaining light fixtures will be installed next. We will also see our kitchen countertop installed soon. Other interior work includes baseboard, trim and railing installation. Exterior work includes finishing the siding and building the porch steps and railings. There’s a lot to do, but things are moving quickly now. Every time we visit the site there is something new to see. It’s very exciting!
House 11
The house is looking more and more like home each week. We are a little behind schedule, but it is nice to see daily progress. Siding is still going up, and hopefully will be finished next week. The first floor concrete has had some issues. We are hoping this can all be resolved next week, so we can continue moving forward with construction. The second and third floor hardwood looks great and the tile in the bathrooms is all complete and looking good as well. Lighting fixtures have been installed throughout the house, and plumbing fixtures will be installed soon. The floating bathroom vanities have been installed, and the kitchen cabinet install is up next. Slowly but surely it’s all coming together!
Photos by Jim McCalla
House 10
And then there was drywall! In addition to the mudding, taping and sanding of drywall, the bathroom tile has also been installed. On the exterior, siding has finally begun! There’s a lot happening all at once and it’s quite exciting to see everything coming together. Interior trim was completed this week and interior painting will begin this weekend. If all goes well, painting and siding will be finished within two weeks and the hardwood flooring installation will follow. Stay tuned!
House 09
Progress on the house is moving full steam ahead! It’s amazing how each step makes the house feel more and more like home. On the exterior, the metal roof has been installed and siding will begin soon. On the interior, insulation has been installed and drywall will begin soon. We continue to review and finalize a few remaining interior selections including paint and flooring selections. Regarding paint, we chose a white color to use throughout the house, with a few black accent walls. Regarding flooring, the first floor will be concrete, and the second and third floors will be hardwood. The bathrooms on the second floor will be tile. We chose a black tile for the master bathroom and a gray tile for the hall bathroom. It’s bound to be another exciting few weeks ahead, so check back soon for siding and drywall progress!
House 08
The past month of construction has been pretty slow, but we should see a lot of progress over the next few weeks. On the exterior, roofing and siding will be installed and on the interior, insulation and drywall will be installed. While we wait for the drywall to go up we are reviewing the entire interior to make sure all plumbing, mechanical and electrical items are placed in correct locations. We want to plan for now as well as the future so we need to keep in mind future projects (built in cabinets, wall mounted shelving, etc.) Our white kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities have been ordered and fabricated. We continue to review and finalize other interior selections including floors, doors, door hardware, paint colors, countertops and tile selections. The exterior of the house hasn’t changed much over the past few weeks so we are looking forward to the exterior finishes being installed soon.
House 07
A lot of progress has happened at the house over the past few weeks. The windows and doors have been installed, as well as both sets of stairs. Plumbing, mechanical and electrical rough ins are almost complete. During the next few weeks siding will begin on the exterior and insulation will begin on the interior. Meanwhile, we continue to review and finalize our selections. Plumbing and electrical fixtures have been selected and we also finalized our kitchen design this week. Completion is about three months away and we are starting to get excited about moving in!
Our First City House
Five years ago today we purchased our first city house. The house was originally built in the late nineteenth century and had been renovated by others over the years. The size was perfect – about 1600 square feet. Dining, living, kitchen and powder room on the first floor and three bedrooms and two bathrooms on the second floor. When we bought the house the exterior was yellow and the entire interior was yellow as well. We spent about three months doing minor upgrades throughout the house before moving in. We painted everything – walls, ceilings, baseboards, doors and cabinets. It was a labor of love, for sure! The floors on the first level were in pretty good shape. The floors on the second level were carpeted, so we ripped up the carpet and were excited to find the original hardwood floors underneath. These floors were then refinished and they were one of our favorite things about the house. Another upgrade we loved was removing all closet and cabinet doors. This feature not only opened up the space, but also helped us stay organized. Other changes included replacing hardware, plumbing fixtures, light fixtures, light switches and outlets. Although we are very excited for our new house, we will always love our first city house!
Above: Office/dining room before | Below: Office/dining room after
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Above: Kitchen and living room before | Below: Kitchen and living room after
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Above: Kitchen before | Below: Kitchen after
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Above: Bedrooms before | Below: Bedrooms after
House 06
We went out of town for the holidays and came back to our house being almost completely framed! We’re really excited about the results. There were a few minor framing issues, but overall everything is still running very smoothly at the site. We celebrated our daughter, Willa’s, second birthday last Saturday and a few of our quests were able to check out the house with us. This was extra special because a year ago at Willa’s birthday party was when we acquired the lot. Below are a few shots of the interior. Exterior photos coming soon!
Photos by Jim McCalla