Insulation Time!!

End of Day 4...

Got the floor fixed and redecked and got all the walls laid out, wall's go up tomorrow.

Framing Starts...

And the first thing we find are rotted floor joists. Its always something.

59 Year Old Beer Can!

We found it inside the wall when we tore it apart.

Old School Bathtub Removal!

And the Remodel begins again...

Demo Day 1

Green Grass, Flowers, Pergola, Almost Done!!

And some pictures of the kitchen and our dining room chairs...

Green, Green Grass....

It's been over a year since we've had a true yard. This week Scott and I installed the sprinkler system and the grass guys came on Wednesday and installed the grass.

It's been along time... but, alot's changed in a short time

Well.. Mom and Dad came to help, AGAIN! Thanks again for all the help. Oh, and Thanks Scott for the welding.

So alots changed since the last post. Dad and I hit the yard on Wednesday and started getting it ready for the sprinkler system and grass. We added alot of dirt in the courtyard to get it up to grade, added a catch basin and drainage in the front yard, used an awesome tiller on dads tractor to get the yard tilled up and leveled.

Scott came over on Friday and helped us get the Pergola started (that's the black steel in the front). Eventually it will have stained wood on the inside of the steel and the steel will be painted black.

Glass in the doors...

We finally got the glass for our doors. We bought the glass and the frames from Crestview doors in Austin, I cut the doors and installed them this weekend. The glass in the doors in reeded so you can't see through it.

Let there be light!!!

FINALLY... we have windows. Kari was soooo happy that she doesn't have to look at plywood any longer. I'll add more pictures from the outside during the daylight.

Side Note... "The Shed"

Kari and I decided that we were out of space in the house and needed some storage so we spent the weekend building a shed. Here's a picture, we'll be adding siding in the furture but at least for the short term we've got a dry place to store things.

Siding Finally Goes On...

Here are the pictures of the siding being installed. More to follow when it's finished.

Stone Installed

Here are some pictures of the stone that we had installed on the front of the house and on the planter box we had built. We used a stone manufactured by Eldorado Stone called "Alderwood"

Siding Starts

We started the siding this week. We are installing 12" x 6' sections of hardie lap siding (without the lap) using a "rainscreen" technique. This technique using furring strips to provide an airspace behind the siding that will allow air to flow behind the siding. This technique is used primarily on wood siding to keep the siding dry on the back and keep it from rotting. We are using 15# felt paper under the furring strips to provide an extra layer of watershed protection between the house and the siding. More picture to follow once we start putting up siding.

Planter Box and Stucco for Rock

Here are some pictures of our planter box. As you can see in original photo at the top of the page there was a brick ledge with a wood fence on top, we changed the design a little and when back with a concrete block planter box which will have some plants to help provide some privacy. My concrete guys also did the scratch coat of stucco on the front of the left side of the house getting ready for the rock that is going on it. More pics of that once I get done. :)

Concrete Countertops

Here are some photos of us in action pouring the concrete countertops in the kitchen. We used Buddy Rhodes brand concrete which is made for this type application. We used standard bone concrete without a color additive.

The Sidewalk

Here are some pictures of the sidewalk and patio in the front of the house. The patio has a rock salt finish and I'm planning to stain it once we finialize the paint colors for the house.

The Kitchen...

Well, we were back at work this weekend! After a few cabinet and cabinet feet fiascos, we finally got all the right parts in this last week. So, we finally got the kitchen started this weekend. After two months of having no kitchen, we are so excited!!!

Sherri and Morris came up to help us again this weekend. Did we mention that we owe them an all expense paid vacation somewhere! Anyhow, we got all the cabinets in place, along with the refigerator, microwave, and stove. While we are still lacking a sink and dishwasher, we are well on our way to a fully functioning kitchen.

While Justin and Morris worked on mounting the new microwave and hooking up the water and gas, Sherri and I worked on cleaning up the house. We even found a use for a defective cabinet. We have a great make shift entrance table!

Janeen, I finally got out the centerpieces that you and Jason gave us for Christmas, they look great! We placed them on our new dining room table, which we received at the end of May. We bought it from our good friends Kelly and Offir. They have a fabulous store, Loft, located in Austin. Check out their website for more fabulous furniture. www.lofthomedecor.com

Hopefully, you will all agree that our house is finally becoming a home! Within the next few weeks we will be decking the countertops and pouring the concrete countertops. That should be the finishing touches on our dream kitchen!