deck build

i'm keeping this quick because i am so tired, the bed is calling. basically- we got a big start on building the deck this weekend. the final result will be 16' x 16' and it's going to rock! 

not on topic, but i'm so happy to see our lorapetalum by the back fence blooming! this means hopefully, they will grow like crazy this summer... i was out early yesterday morning to get some yummy light. 

another early morning shot from yesterday... our footings are full of water. 

me being a dork taking a shot of the anchor bolts...once again, i like the warm spring light in this photo.

help arrives! sadie came with JB to assist... and do her best to keep boone from trying to play with her. 

despite the border collie in boone, he is not much for heavy lifting... 

good thing these handsome men are!

andrew came to help, too. 

i left the house and returned 4 hours later to this... they seriously knocked out some work. 

boone: site superintendent. 

where we started today...

at the end of the day, boone was happy to have somewhere new to rest his paws.

where we finished up... robby got a lot done today. i tried to help but i was so sore from helping to move all the lumber from the front of the house to the back that i wasn't much good. (read: wimpy)

the view from the back door looking out... we can't wait for the deck to be done!

in other news: we are approaching our 1 year anniversary of owning the house. so stay tuned for a little slideshow of everything we've done so far. and trust atlantic bank has officially become my favorite bank of all time... they gave us an extension on the construction loan terms so we aren't in critical-there's-no-more-time-left mode. once the deck is done, all we have to do is the other bathroom renovation. i say that like we're not gutting the whole thing... but hopefully it will go smoothly. either way- we have an extra 30 days so there is a chance we'll get it done. 

progress update

i know i'm totally slack about posting on here. i'd be surprised if anyone even still checks this... but just in case you do, here are some new photos to show the latest + greatest. 

here's the latest view of the kitchen. we finally got hardware a month or so ago... i will never underestimate the awesomeness of cabinet hardware ever again. 

a blurry family photo in the kitchen commemorating passing our final plumbing inspection!

the office is FINALLY set up! for my birthday i got stuff from IKEA to get my home work space finished. i'm still working on organizing, and we're missing doors for the cabinet in the corner there (and i need to throw out some of my models from grad school...) but it's so nice to have a real room to work! 

now we move on the bathroom. still not completely finished, but we're using it! the shower is awesome and wonderful and it is just so nice to have it. (the color is wonky in these two photos, sorry about that).

weird little detail shot of the shower... robby did a great job with the tile. 

daylight shots: more accurate color. 

the cabinets are from IKEA. we've learned that they have discontinued this line, and we are missing the 3 drawers that go in the smaller cabinet. we're not sure what we're going to do yet. we have the drawer fronts, so most likely we will have a cabinet maker build the drawers... which could be a pricey venture. so we're stalling. 

we reworked the closet and this is looking from the bathroom towards the bedroom and the other way around.

here's the closet re-do. it is MUUUUUCH nicer, much more organized, and way better. (thank goodness for IKEA!) oh, but we are missing that bottom right door... for the first time in our IKEA purchasing history we were shorted a hinge!? of all that we have put together, we really can't complain. we'll get back down there soon to get it... 

we decided to make a little custom piece to fill in the rest of the space in the bathroom- open storage for towels with space underneath for a laundry basket. we'll paint it white (eventually) to match the cabinets. 

now, we head back outside where we had to put up the soffit vent and boards last weekend. thank goodness for the gorgeous weather. my mom was here to do the rare documentation of me and robby working together. it's fun for all!

mom actually chipped in to help us cut some of the sheets of plywood... she's so helpful in so many ways!

the assistant (me) does a lot of "patient" waiting... 

... waiting with a sheet of plywood up on the ladder. no big deal. 

safety is always first on our job sites. great shot, mom!

last piece... 

mom holding the ladder for robby while i take photos. 

boone checking out the action. look at those whiskers!

job finished... the plan is to stain the plywood to match the fir back door. if we don't like it, we can always paint it. for now, though, we can pass final building inspection with this. (we hope)

you know we have to do it... 

whoa- this was an old school style marathon post. i hope somebody reads this!?!

this made me laugh...

... and it felt appropriate for this blog. enjoy:

Stuff White People Like: Renovations

tile update

we've come VERY close to having a fully functioning master bath, but we're not quite there yet. still waiting on a piece of solid surface for the shower niche and then robby can finish the last tiny bit of tile and grout the last two walls. we did get the toilet, faucet and shower trim this week. pics tell it all the best... and we've now moved on to BIG pics... so you can see it all more clearly. 

we start off with some of boone enjoying the shower ... sorry, but he's cute, so i have to post these. 

robby getting his grout on...

fixtures in! the trim for the shower (the handle to turn the water on) is not the right one. it will get fixed eventually... 

although the shower trim isn't what i would pick out, i decided it created a cool reflection worth a photo to get a little fish eye view of the shower...

we're getting close to calling the final inspection. then we'll still have to finish built ins and paint. and then start the renovation of the existing bath and the deck. the work never ends... but we're making fun progress.