Category Archives: Great Room

Week 42: Tile, Trimwork, Stairs, Septic, and Rental House Issues

Posted in Cabinetry, Dining Room, Entry, Flooring, Great Room, Great Room, Kitchen, Laundry Room, Millwork, Moving Homes, Mudroom, Mudroom Bathroom, Permits, Powder Bathroom, Septic System, Tile by

Rental House

This week seems to have gone by so quickly!   One of the major things that happened this week is that we received an email from the property manager from the house we’re renting a couple miles from the build.  He said that the owners of the house want to move back into the house and we need to move out at the END OF APRIL!!!  Matt was anticipating for the house to be finished at the END OF MAY!!  Seriously?  How does this happen to us?  Our 10-month lease ended in January and since then our contract switched over to month-to-month leasing.  And the contract states that we or the owner can terminate the lease with a 20 day notice.  We actually met the owner about 6 months ago when they were visiting from China getting baby gear out of their garage.  Back then he said that we should stay and rent the house for years!  And in January when I told the property manager that we were extending our stay past the 10-month term he said to stay until August.  Now they want to move back from China though?  Something must have changed with his Microsoft job.  Ugh.  And the property manager has no idea either – this totally blindsided him as well.

So now for the first time in the entire build, schedule matters.  Prior to this, Joel and I honestly didn’t care if it took longer to build, we just wanted it done right.  I mean, what’s a couple extra months in the end if it turns out great?  The boys have made some good friends in the neighborhood we’re renting in and it’s so close to the build, that it’s convenient to pop over and check things out.  Now getting done with the build at the end of May when we need to move out at the end of April seems WAY too long though.  Where are we going to live for those 4 weeks?!?  So I did what any person in my situation would do.  Ask our builder Matt, “what’s really going to be left to do after the last week of April?”  I explained our situation and wanted to see if there was any way we could speed things up a little and maybe move in sooner than later.  He took a couple days and was able to push a few things…and now we’ll be moving into the new house the first week of May!  Can you believe that?!?  The first week of May!!!  That means that we’re only between homes for a week.  A week, I can live with.  Can you say, “hello mom & dad?”  They live about 45 minutes away from us without traffic so the commute just to get the boys to school and us to work is going to be horrific.  But the boys love staying there and it’ll be so nice just to move with only having to pack our clothes.  The rest of our stuff can move into the garage of the new house until we get there a week later to unpack.  Although Matt will have the inside of the house finished, we’re not expecting the outside to be completed – we’ll likely still need the deck, driveway and landscaping.  The inside is good enough for me though!

For our final hail mary, we’re still trying to see if we can extend our lease another week so we can move straight from the rental into the new house, but we haven’t heard back from the owner and they’re not returning the emails that the property manager has sent (which has been 4 of them now).  Cross our fingers 😉  At least mom & dad’s is a good back up plan.

New House

Besides the rental house issues, things have been moving along at the house quite well.  There’s so many little details that took place in the house this week. The tile and hardwoods have been completed and that’s all of the flooring until the carpet is scheduled to be installed in the last week of April (just before we move in!).  The stairs were even installed this week and they look fantastic.  It took a few different tries to get the right stain color for the treads, but I think they turned out great.  On Thursday evening, Cameron and I went to check out the house and Matt was there covering the stairs to protect them from all the workers’…and we ended up helping and covering them for him.  Um, don’t say that I never lifted a finger to build the house, ha!

The trim sub consultant keeps on trucking – there’s so much that we’re having them do for us.  Besides installing all of the door moulding and baseboards throughout the house, there were two major accomplishments this week – creating the fireplace surround and starting on the interior transom windows.  First things first the fireplace looks amazing!  Monday morning Matt and I walked through what I wanted the design of the fireplace to be and he made it all happen!  I love how it sits on top of the bench/hearth we have, and that the mantle is so deep.  In our old house there would barely be enough room for Christmas stockings, let alone any other decor.  This one is sure to fit whatever I want to decorate with!

On Saturday, Joel and I went out to check out the progress and one of the trim guys was there working on the interior transom windows.  We weren’t quite sure if we were going to order these or have them built on-site, and now that we went with the latter, I couldn’t have imagined the ordered ones turning out so well.  The first side of the transoms have been installed, then they’ll need to be painted on both sides and glass added.  Then the other side of the transom trim can be added.  It looks so good for them finally to be filled in with moulding though!  All these little details are really making the house come together.

And did you notice that the oval windows in the great room in the last picture now have trim as well?  These were measured for and custom made by a different company and then installed this week.  The same goes true for the arched windows in the dining room and in the entry.

Besides all of the trimwork, they also added some more detail on the cabinetry.  Matt pointed out that if we added crown all the way around the kitchen hood (like I wanted) that the crown would basically touch the other pieces of crown in the coiffured ceiling.  So that’s out of the question…so that’s a bummer.  But I still think it looks good as is without it – definitely my favorite feature in the kitchen, and it’s pretty fun that I got to design it!  Feet were also added to a few cabinets throughout the house – which I also had custom designed based on some pictures of kitchens that I liked on Houzz.

Tile work also continued this week.  Although choosing and shopping for tile was my absolute least favorite thing to do for the entire build, I love seeing it all installed.  Most of our selections were pretty basic, but even seeing white subway tile instead of drywall is fun.  On top of that, the tile my mom and I chose for the backsplash behind the range arrived and I brought that out to the house.  On Wednesday, I met the tiling sub onsite to go through the layout with him.  Originally, we were going to have a different border that had a dark gray bardglio marble liner and then a white chair rail that matches the subway tile backsplash.  Unfortunately though, the bardiglio came in and looked too blue to really coordinate with the beautiful mosaic tile.  So we ended up using a carrara marble chair rail.  We needed it this week though so there wasn’t any time to special order in the profile of the moulding that I wanted.  Luckily, good ol’ Home Depot carries one that will work perfectly.  Not so perfectly is that you have to find the marble in gray and white.  And when you see them at the stores, about 80% of them look white with brown veining.  Ick.  I’m not kidding you – to find the 12 pieces that we needed to frame the backsplash, my mom and I went to 6 different Home Depot stores!  Unreal.  But now that we have them,  I love them and totally worth the drive time to find them. Plus at $6 each, they were about 7 times cheaper than the ones that I wanted to order in!  Score!!!  I hope it gets installed back behind the range soon – I can’t wait to see it on the wall!

The painters were also in the house this week.  They’ve set up a Dexter kill room, er, um, a “spray booth” in the downstairs storage room .  That room was ALWAYS creepy with the concrete floors and unfinished walls and ceilings but this tops it.  I can’t wait for electrical finishes to finally put some lights in this space.  It’s beyond creepy and way too dark in there now.

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The painters have set up a spray booth in the storage room downstairs where they can paint doors and whatever else they have. I’m steering clear of this space though until they take down all of the plastic. A little too Dexter-esque for my liking.

And one of my favorite doors was also installed this week!  We have a dutch pocket door between the mudroom and the hallway.  This way we can just pull out the bottom half of the door to keep our dog Bella in the mudroom during the day.  No baby gates needed here!  Isn’t it fantastic?  It’ll be so nice instead of shutting the entire door on her while we’re gone during the day – I hate doing that now in our rental house.

Also, the septic installation began this week.  After getting the septic notice on the title recorded with King County and submitted to the health department, the septic stub-out was released and they were ready to do the install right away.  By Saturday, they had the tank set in the ground.  While Joel and I checked out the progress inside the house, we laid out a blanket and the boys ate their Subway lunch by having a picnic on top of the rock pile.  Little do they know that that’ll eventually be part of the septic drainfield!

Week 33: Drywall Taping, Tile Selections & Paint Colors

Posted in Doors, Drywall, Great Room, Great Room, Insulation, Office, Paint, Tile by

Drywall Taping & Mudding

This week, Matt had subs out there taping and mudding the drywall.  The house feels like a total disaster zone – there’s drywall mud EVERYWHERE.  So happy there’s all that paper down – can’t wait for that to get balled up and thrown away!  My mom and I were out there on Wednesday morning to drop some stuff off with Matt and after both of us putting our hands in wet drywall mud we were ready to head out of there.

Tile Selections

While the guys at the house were taping & mudding the drywall, my mom and I were busy running around Seattle picking out tile…for the 4th time!  We’ve really been struggling with the tile for the house.  Matt has us working with a design firm which has a rep who meets us to write things down when we make selections at the stores, and then sends us a quote.  This rep woman has been 100% atrocious to work with though.  In person she’s fine – she doesn’t really give us much advice and really just watches me flip through racks of tile sample boards and waits for me to pick things out.  Every once in a while she finds something that’s a contender…a bit helpful.  Tile is one of the things in the house that I really don’t care to spend extra money on.  We got an initial bid from the rep to create our budget and I want to stick to that as much as possible.  The major problem now is that every time I meet with this woman in the stores she says that things are “definitely within my budget” then when she gets back to her computer and sends me an updated quote based on our selections it’s over-budget….EVERY TIME!  It’s been beyond frustrating.  So instead of taking one day to pick things out, we’ve met with her 4 different times.  And it’s super annoying because I have to take time off work and drive all the way up to Everett to the large CFM store to meet with her.  Luckily I have my mom as a partner in crime because I honestly don’t know how I would have done it without her.  My mom started calling her the “tile queen” and after last week when things were still over-budget, we said, “off with her head”!  😉

On Wednesday this week I took another day off work to re-select tile with my mom and the tile rep.  But before we met up with the tile queen, my mom and I headed to Georgetown on our own to find a tile design to be the inset backsplash detail behind the range in the kitchen.  We had a lot of fun shopping around at Ambiante and seeing all of the beautiful tile.  It was such a relaxing break to look for tile on our own and just work with the awesome sales associate at the store.

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Our favorite at the store is this Divinity Tile in their Artemis pattern. The darker tile is Carrera Velato Honed Marble and the lighter whiter tile is White Thassos Polished Marble. All of the little white tiles are cut and placed by hand, the larger ones are cut precisely using a water jet and at $135 per square foot, we’ll be buying just a little bit for a feature behind the range.  They had two sample boards at Ambiante which is why there’s a line going through the middle of the two boards.  If we end up going with this one, it’ll be continuous without any break.

After leaving Ambiante, we met up with the tile queen in Redmond to make some more changes to the other tile in the house (our 4th time trying to pick out tile within our budget with her).  After this meeting, this was the first time that when she said “this tile is more cost efficient” that she was right, and we were able to reduce some tiling costs.  I really hope this is the last time that I have to work with her!  Below are a few of the selections that we made.

Paint Colors & Sheen

On Sunday, my mom, dad, aunt, uncle, and little cousin came out to look at the house.  It was fun to get to show them around and give them a “during construction” tour.  My mom’s sees the house quite frequently because she’s always running errands with me, but my dad hadn’t seen it since we had bare studs – inside and out!  It’s been months!!  And I’m not sure if my aunt and uncle had ever seen it.

The main reason that we were there was to look at paint sheens and colors.  We settled on a satin finish that really looks more flat/satin than glossy/satin at all, which I like.  The paint color was a lot harder to settle on though…and I still don’t think we’ve 100% chosen a color!  For the ceiling, I used the cabinetry color which is Benjamin Moore’s Decorator’s White, so that choice was pretty easy.  But choosing an all-over color for the house seemed a lot harder to do.  I started the day thinking that I really would like Farrow & Ball’s Cornforth White (but at 50% because the color at 100% saturation was too dark for me).  But after putting one of the master tile floor pieces next to the tile I wasn’t so sure about my color choice.  To make matters worse, we don’t have a sample of what our main countertop choice looks like (Absolute White Quartzite), so we were only looking at pictures on my phone to jog our memory.  And after looking at the pictures we’re thinking that it looks pretty good with the Cornforth White (yay!), but that means maybe we need to re-select the master bath flooring tile.  Ugh!!  My mom and I are going to need to take a trip to the visit our slabs up in Woodinville with our paint and master bath tile to really figure this one out.

Other Updates

Besides all of the tile drama, and the drywall mudding, blown-in insulation was added in in the attic and the front door for the mudroom was installed!  The dutch door looks fantastic!!  And it’ll look even better once the siding is completed around it.

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The mudroom door turned out fantastic – I love the X detail on the door and how it’s mirrored in the garage doors. And the dutch door will be really fun when the boys are outside playing. Too bad all that paper is covering up the glass on the door.

Week 25: Windows, Garage Slab, & Thanksgiving

Posted in Concrete Work, Exterior Design, Great Room, Windows by

Not much happened on the house week – we’re still waiting for the siding subcontractor to finish his last job which I guess is taking longer than expected.  In the meantime, the final three windows arrived and look fantastic!  The window above the entry door, as well as two oval windows (main house gable and one in the great room) were installed.  With those finally in, now the heat will have a better chance of staying in the house.

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By the end of the week, here’s what the house looked like…all the windows were in!

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Two of the three missing windows that were installed was the oval in this main gable and the arched window above the entry door.

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I think the entry turned out fantastic!  I can’t wait to see what it looks like when the paper is removed from the entry door glass.  I think it doesn’t come off until the end though – right now it’s protecting the glass and already tapes the glass off for when it’s painted.

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The 2nd oval window was added to the great room too…can’t wait to take the protective paper off those french doors too!

Besides that, Matt had the garage slab reinforced and poured this week.  Not much besides that happened though – it was Thanksgiving on Thursday so really there was only 3 working days.

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Rebar was placed prior to last week ending to get ready for the pour on Monday.

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The garage slab was poured this week…looks great!

Joel and I took the boys to the Bay Area for Thanksgiving which we hadn’t done before – visiting relatives.  We had a lot of fun, and it was a much needed little vacation for the boys.

A little wine tasting in Sonoma is the family's tradition in lieu of black friday! I'll take that any day!!

A little wine tasting in Sonoma is the family’s tradition in lieu of Black Friday! I’ll take that any day!!

This was what the yard looked like the day we returned from California...just a teeny bit chillier than Sonoma County!

This was what the yard looked like the day we returned from California…just a teeny bit chillier than Sonoma County!

Week 22: HVAC, Electrical & Windows

Posted in Electrical, Great Room, HVAC, Kitchen, Windows by

The HVAC was worked on for the house this week which included setting up the furnaces which will back up the heat pump.  The furnace for the downstairs was placed in the HVAC room downstairs by the boys’ playroom, and it was most efficient to put the furnace for the main level in the attic of the garage.  Besides installing both of those, it looks like the vents have all been placed and all 4 of the cold air returns were also installed (two on each level of the home).

It was most efficient to put the upstairs furnace in the attic.

It was most efficient to put the upstairs furnace in the attic.

The downstairs furnace is located in the HVAC room.

The downstairs furnace is located in the HVAC room.

Electrical work began this week and was laid out based on our walk thru last week.  On Sunday, Joel and I went to check things out…and confirm light switch locations.  A few of them were in the wrong spots, but for the most part things were in the correct locations.

The electrical sub (Modern Wiring) started on the house this week.

The electrical sub (Modern Wiring) started on the house this week.

And even more fun (and with a bigger impact) was that the majority of the windows were delivered and quite a bit of them were installed!  I think they look great, and love the grid layout we chose.  I can’t wait to see all of them installed.  It’ll end up being a couple weeks for all of them to get here.  The windows with the arched tops all have a bit longer lead time than the rectangular ones.

Some of the windows were installed in the front of the house this week.

Some of the windows were installed in the front of the house this week.

Although we're still missing the french doors and the oval windows, the back wall of the great room is starting to take shape.

Although we’re still missing the french doors and the oval windows, the back wall of the great room is starting to take shape.

I love how the windows turned out in the staircase.

I love how the windows turned out in the staircase.

The windows in the informal dining area in the kitchen look amazing! It's too bad that the construction film makes it so we can't see outside anymore. At least that'll protect the glass until construction is finished though.

The windows in the informal dining area in the kitchen look amazing! It’s too bad that the construction film makes it so we can’t see outside anymore. At least that’ll protect the glass until construction is finished though.

Here's what the windows look like from the outside of the house. These ones are above the kitchen sink area.

Here’s what the windows look like from the outside of the house. These ones are above the kitchen sink area.

Besides all of the things happening at the house, my mom and I also went to Canyon Creek Cabinetry on Thursday to figure out all of the cabinets for the house.  We did our initial walk thru a couple of weeks ago.  After that, they drafted up the initial design for the cabinets…but of course I had markups and things that I wanted changed.  So we met up with Andy at Canyon Creek to discuss all of the changes.  He’s going to revise the drawings (and the cost estimate) – hopefully we’ll get those this next week.  Then they’ll be finalized!

Week 21: Electrical Walk Thru, HVAC & Plumbing Progress

Posted in Electrical, Great Room, HVAC, Private Well, Roofing by

I took the day off work on Monday, and my mom and I went to the house at 7:30 am to do the electrical walk thru with Matt and the electrical rep.  Over the weekend I drew up my initial thoughts including locations for overhead lights, wall sconces, light switches, TV’s, internet, and locations that I knew I wanted an outlet.  That gave us a good starting off point, but we made quite a few changes including adding can lights and additional light switches.  From that meeting I had more homework to do – figure out exactly where I want to have bathroom sconces – that means first figuring out bathroom mirrors.  Ugh!  After wrapping up the electrical walk thru we went to look at more finishes like tile and counter tops…which we still haven’t figured all of that out exactly.  More on that another day 😉

Before our electrical walk thru on Monday, I drew up my initial electrical plan for the house

Before our electrical walk thru on Monday, I drew up my initial electrical plan for the house

The HVAC also started this week and the plumbing continued to be installed.  Among other things, the fireplace was installed which was exciting to see!  And the majority of the ductwork was run – including locations that will need soffits in the lower level.  I absolutely despise soffits, but I think ours will be in locations that won’t be too noticeable – mainly limited to storage rooms and the boys’ playroom.  We settled on going with heat pumps for heating & cooling with a furnace for backup.  And we actually decided to have two of these systems for the house – one for upstairs and one for downstairs.  Since it’s always cooler in basements, we didn’t want that temperature regulated by the upstairs temp.  This way, we can keep it nice and toasty down there for the boys.

HVAC started this week!

HVAC started this week!

Lots of parts & pieces :)

Lots of parts & pieces 🙂

I loved seeing the fireplace installed this week...it looks awesome (even if it is all covered up still).

I loved seeing the fireplace installed this week…it looks awesome (even if it is all covered up still).

And our little well house got it's roof on Monday!

And our little well house got it’s roof on Monday!

And it was also Spencer’s 5th birthday on Friday and Halloween on Saturday!  We had lots of fun celebrating with trick or treating at my work on Thursday, a family night out on Friday, and a Halloween Party at my sister’s on Saturday!

Had to sneak this pic in - Spencer was Dr. Forman, and Cameron dressed up as the paleontologist from Jurassic World.

Had to sneak this pic in – Spencer was Dr. Forman, and Cameron dressed up as the paleontologist from Jurassic World.

Pretty Spooky!

Pretty Spooky!  We should have made it a haunted house for the neighborhood…wouldn’t that have been fun?!

Week 17: Framing Continues and Interior Selections – Flooring, Counters & Some Tile

Posted in Countertops, Decor, Exterior Design, Framing, Great Room, Kitchen, Laundry Room, Mudroom, Tile by

This week they focused on more framing on the house.  The gable on the front of the garage was completed and the roof sheathing was finished up.  They also framed both of the shed dormers above the laundry room and the master closet.  It’s looking pretty good, and it’s exciting to see what it feels like with a ‘roof’.  I was out there earlier in the week talking with Matt about locations for blocking for things like towel rings and millwork.  There’s so many details – and things you normally don’t have to think about – like which side you like the toilet paper holder located on.

The front of the house is getting pretty far along. The gable is up in above the garage and the roof line is finished above the laundry room shed dormer.

The front of the house is getting pretty far along. The gable is up in above the garage and the roof line is finished above the laundry room shed dormer.

The gable above the garage was worked on this week. I think it turned out great!

The gable above the garage was worked on this week. I think it turned out great!

Here's the progress made on the back of the house.

Here’s the progress made on the back of the house – the sheathing is all finished!

The view of the back of the kitchen windows.

The view of the back of the kitchen windows.

Here's what the back of the house looks like from right underneath it.

Here’s what the back of the house looks like from right underneath it.

Here's a panoramic of the back of the house.

Here’s a panoramic of the back of the house.

The shed dormer was put in laundry room this week.

The shed dormer was built to finish up the laundry room roof this week.

This wall will eventually have our stove centered between the doors. The opening on the right leads to the butler's pantry & dining room. And the opening on the left leads to the pantry, laundry & mudroom.

This wall will eventually have our stove centered between the doors. The opening on the right leads to the butler’s pantry & dining room. And the opening on the left leads to the pantry, laundry & mudroom.

This is a view from the kitchen into the great room. The opening on the left will be a pass-through with cabinetry in front of it.

This is a view from the kitchen into the great room. The opening on the left will be a pass-through with cabinetry in front of it.

Spencer came with us today to check out the progress on the house. He said that the house is built, it just needs a 'couple more things'!

Spencer came with us today to check out the progress on the house. He said that the house is built, it just needs a ‘couple more things’!

There's Joel - checking out the kitchen!

There’s Joel – checking out the kitchen!

Here's a view of the kitchen windows. Joel and I can't decide if we want built-in benches here and where to add them in the space.

Here’s a view of the kitchen windows. Joel and I can’t decide if we want built-in benches here and where to add them in the space.

The great room looks really good - although the ceiling is too high, so we decided this week that we're going to drop that down.

The great room looks really good – although the ceiling is too high, so we decided this week that we’re going to drop that down.

On Saturday, we scheduled our first trip to pick out some of the finishes.  My mom and I went up to Everett to CFM which has a lot of selections to choose from.  We spent a couple hours with the designer (Jodi) and really didn’t get a whole lot picked out.  We settled white oak floors finished on site.  That’ll be the main floor covering for the upstairs and downstairs.  Because the downstairs is a slab on grade we had to go with an engineered hardwood.  But we can actually get engineered wood that can be finished onsite so we can have it exactly match the upstairs – love that!  I’m pretty sure that we’ll go with a hardwood stain that’ll be pretty close (maybe a touch lighter) than natural white oak, but since it’ll be finished onsite we’ll get to choose the stain color after it’s installed.

Here's an example of the color of white oak that we'll have. Since we're having it finished onsite it won't really exactly look like this, but it at least gives us an idea of what the finish will ultimately look like.

Here’s an example of the color of white oak that we’ll have. Since we’re having it finished onsite it won’t really exactly look like this, but it at least gives us an idea of what the finish will ultimately look like.

Other than that, we decided on the type of carpet (which was a super soft one from Shaw), but haven’t chosen the color yet.  Jodi is going to get us a bigger carpet samples in the colors we like so that we don’t have to choose from mini carpet squares – and even that we’ll wait until after the hardwood stain has been chosen and we can see the carpet in our house.  It was so difficult to really see the true color of the carpet samples anyhow, so I’m glad we’ll get to choose once we’re more finished with the house.  We tried to pick out some of our tile, but Jodi was bummed that we didn’t have our counters picked out yet since that really determines the backsplash and floor tile colors.  We looked at a bunch of tiles while we were there, but it was difficult to find exactly what we were looking for.  And it’s surprising how fast 2 hours speeds by!

So, after a couple hours with Jodi, my mom and I went on our own.  First we headed to United Tile just down the street where we actually found the floor tile that we’re going to use in the mudroom.  We ended up going with the Crossville Buenos Aires Mood Porcelain in the color Pilar.  It will be a 12×24 tile – laid at a brick pattern.  And we might end up putting some tile around the border of the room – same tile, just a different size.  We’ll see!

We chose this tile for the mudroom flooring. The flooring in the background is the hardwood that we're going to have.

We chose this tile for the mudroom flooring. The flooring in the background is the hardwood that we’re going to have.

Then we headed down to Georgetown in Seattle to look at slabs for countertops.  We now realize that it’s a priority for us to pick those out before we choose any of the other tile, so we were on a mission.  The first place we went to was META and we found the perfect slab for Joel’s bar downstairs.  It’s a Fantasy Brown Quartzite with a Leathered finish.  The bar cabinets are going to be gray, with a wood bar top, so this is the perfect blend of gray/white/brown to tie everything together.

Joel's bar countertop for downstairs.

Joel’s bar countertop for downstairs.

We found it at META Marble & Granite in Seattle - it's called Fantasy Brown Quartzite with a leathered finish.

We found it at META Marble & Granite in Seattle – it’s called Fantasy Brown Quartzite with a leathered finish.

We went to so many places – MSI, Oregon Tile & Marble, Pental, Daltile and META and didn’t find any that we liked for the rest of the house!  Last year when we were looking at slabs for my mom’s kitchen I found this quartzite and totally loved it!  I should have just bought it back then, but hindsight’s 20/20 I guess.  We couldn’t find any gray/white quartzite that I liked in Seattle.

Last year we found this amazing Silver Storm Quartzite...should have just bought it back then!

Last year we found this amazing Silver Storm Quartzite…should have just bought it back then!

Next we headed to Kent to check out a couple of places we knew about. And we ended up finding this quartzite at Cosmos.  It’s just ok – I don’t think I’m a big fan of how splotchy/spotted it looks.  I like the colors, but the patterning of the stone isn’t something I’d be happy with in the long run.

This slab of

This slab of “New Super White” Quartzite had the right colors – but was too splotchy and not quite right.

After passing on the stone at Cosmos, we checked out Marble & Granite Specialties and found this one.  LOVE!!!  Isn’t it great?  Gray/white, simple, clean – exactly what we were looking for.  The problem though – M&GS is a fabricator and they own the slab.  That means that if we want these slabs, then we have to use them to fabricate them (cut & install the slabs).  And that means we can’t use Jodi’s fabricator – and since Matt’s never used them before we really have no clue if they do a quality job or not.  Such a bummer.  We have a call into Jodi so see if she could find it elsewhere for us.  Cross our fingers.  If she can’t find it, we’ll have to choose if we want to wait to find something different that Jodi can get and install for us, or if we want to take a chance and have the other people fabricate it.

This Absolute White Quartzite is perfect! Hopefully Jodi can find it for us so we can use her fabricators.

This Absolute White Quartzite is great! Hopefully Jodi can find it for us so we can use her fabricators.

Week 13: Trusses are Up & Barge Board Design

Posted in Dining Room, Entry, Exterior Design, Framing, Great Room, Laundry Room by

They really focused on getting the trusses up this week, and unfortunately it’s going a bit slower than expected.  The framers had committed to another job (before taking ours) so they only had a couple of people out there Monday-Wednesday and then nobody worked on Thursday or Friday.  Matt’s expecting that next week it’s going to be pretty slow out there next week too.  Luckily the other job is a pretty small remodel, so it should only take about 10 days to complete.  Nevertheless, that still leaves not too much progress happening on our project, but they did get a lot more of the trusses up!

By Wednesday I think they had all of the trusses up and in place.

By Wednesday I think they had the majority of the trusses up and in place – it looks like they’re still missing some over the mudroom.

Another view from the other side of the front of the house.

Another view from the other side of the front of the house.

The entry started to take shape this week - the doorway and the big dining room window on the right will eventually both have arched tops. I'm loving the oval window up top though!

The entry started to take shape this week – the doorway and the big dining room window on the right will eventually both have arched tops. I’m loving the oval window up top in the bump out though!

Here's a view of the dining room ceiling and you can see that we added in a 10" tray ceiling into the truss design.

Here’s a view of the dining room ceiling and you can see that we added in a 10″ tray ceiling into the truss design.

A view of the trusses from below.

Another view of the trusses from below in the dining room.  Here you can really see the tray ceiling.

This is the ceiling in the laundry room. I went round and round with Matt on the best look for the ceiling in here - I never really liked what the architect came up with, but I'm super happy on what the builder and I designed.

This is the ceiling in the laundry room. I went round and round with Matt on the best look for the ceiling in here – I never really liked what the architect came up with, but I’m super happy on what Matt & landed on.  The ceiling will be sloped and will be raised up in the area where the window is located.

For the main roof that runs side to side, the trusses were so tall, they couldn't fit in on the truck (and be able to fit in a standard driving lane). So the top of the trusses come separate and will eventually be installed.

For the main roof trusses that run from over the main massing of the house, the trusses were so tall they couldn’t fit on the truck (and be able to fit in a standard driving lane). So the top of the trusses come separate and will eventually be installed.

The trusses are up in the great room!

The trusses are up in the great room!

Another view of the trusses from underneath. Love the blue skies!

Another view of the trusses from underneath. Love the blue skies!

On Wednesday during the day Matt called to ask what shaped ends I wanted on the barge boards…the what?  It’s basically the ends of each of the gables, and the tails at the bottom can be cut at whatever angle I wanted.  Most of the homes in the Pacific Northwest have a craftsman look and feel so the barge boards end up being cut with a straight vertical edge to them.

Here's a home that was recently for sale in our area - typical northwest style. Do you see the white trim at the ends of the gables? Those are the barge boards.

Here’s a home that was recently for sale in our area – typical northwest style. Do you see the white trim at the ends of the gables? Those are the barge boards.

In the close up you can see that the ends are cut vertically.

In the close up you can see that the ends are cut vertically.

Matt says that ALL of the homes around here that have been built recently have them cut vertically.  Of course, I HAVE to be different though.  I know it looks just fine, but really I’m not a fan.  I think that it screams craftsman and I’m tired of that look – like he said – ALL homes around here are like that.  The homes that I really like the look of have the ends cut at a right angle (90-degrees for all of you who don’t remember that from geometry class).

Here's another house built on Lake Washington. Do you see the ends of the gable on top of the house - that's the shape I want, 90 degrees. So maybe not ALL homes around here have vertical ends, do they!

Here’s another house built on Lake Washington. Do you see the ends of the gable on top of the house?  That’s the shape I want, 90 degrees. So maybe not ALL homes around here have vertical ends, do they!

So, the first ones went up and our house and I think they look great.  I can’t wait to see how they look on the front of the house!

After installing just a few of the barge boards, I can already tell I made the right decision. Love 'em!

After installing just a few of the barge boards, I can already tell I made the right decision. Love ’em!

Week 12: Framing Continues, Trusses Delivered & Fireplace Shopping

Posted in Framing, Great Room, Master Bathroom, Master Bedroom by

This week Matt’s subs worked on more framing of the main level of the house.  The garage was started, more walls were put up around the house and by the end of the week, the trusses were delivered!

The garage framing started this week. We're going to enjoy finally being able to park our cars in the garage and having a space for all of the boys' toys in the extra bay.

The garage framing started this week. We’re going to enjoy finally being able to park our cars in the garage and having a space for all of the boys’ toys in the extra bay.

This will be our staircase, which is located just behind the fireplace in the great room.

This will be our staircase, which is located just behind the fireplace in the great room.

The walls are now all up it the master bedroom. Joel and I think it's the perfect size.

The walls are now all up it the master bedroom. Joel and I think it’s the perfect size.

Here's our master bath. Underneath the big window we'll have our vintage clawfoot tub.

Here’s our master bath. Underneath the big window we’ll have our vintage clawfoot tub.

It was neat to see how they constructed the main focal wall in the great room - first on the ground and then they raise it up.

It was neat to see how they constructed the main focal wall in the great room – first on the ground and then they raise it up.

Before the trusses could go on, they braced all of the walls in the house. Now it's so difficult to walk through the house - like a giant spider web of 2x4's.

Before the trusses could go on, they braced all of the walls in the house. Now it’s so difficult to walk through the house – like a giant spider web of 2×4’s.

By Friday, two truckloads of trusses were up on the roof! Next week they'll work on standing them upright and in place.

By Friday, two truckloads of trusses were up on the roof! Next week they’ll work on standing them upright and in place.

The great room wall is finally up!

The great room wall is finally up!

Here's what the house looks like from the backyard - really the only view you can see that it's two stories.

Here’s what the house looks like from the backyard – really the only view you can see that it’s two stories.

Another view of the back of the house.

Another view of the back of the house.

Here you can see what the house looks like from the other end of the house and you can finally see where the windows are going to be on the side of the garage. I still haven't decided if we'll keep those or not.

Here you can see what the house looks like from the other end of the house and you can see where the windows are going to be on the side of the garage. I still haven’t decided if we’ll keep those or not.

Besides all of the work on the house, Matt sent us to pick out a fireplace for the great room.  For the fireplace, I really just want something simple and easy looking.  No fancy arches, iron work, flames, etc.  Just a simple gas fireplace.  Joel and I totally agree on this too – we don’t really use the fireplace, but it’s just something nice to look at and brings in the traditional feel that we want in the great room.  That said, my mom and I went up to Monroe Fireplace which was recommended to us by the builder, but it was a total disappointment.  They only had ONE fireplace that was super simple.  The others all felt like they belonged in a cabin.  And to top it off, the majority of their fireplaces were at the Evergreen State Fair on display!  And honestly, the proportions weren’t great on the one fireplace they had either – it wasn’t very tall.  And I was looking for something more square.

We had some more shopping to do in Kirkland, stopped for lunch, and  then checked out Fireside Home Solutions in Bellevue.  Their showroom was WAY bigger than the one in Monroe and they had three different fireplaces that met what I was looking for!  We ended up choosing the least expensive of the three since the fireplace really isn’t a high priority for us.

We ended up choosing this Heat-n-Glo Slimline. Much better dimensions for our space, very simple and clean looking too.

We ended up choosing this Heat-n-Glo Slimline. Much better dimensions for our space, very simple and clean looking too.

Week 11: Framing the Main Level Begins

Posted in Entry, Exterior Design, Framing, Great Room, Kitchen, Master Bedroom, Office by

This week they started to build the walls for our main level, which was fantastic because now you can see our home start to take shape from the street.  And we’re able to really walk through the space and see how it’s all coming together.  There’s still a lot more framing to do on the first floor, but below are some in progress photos which show pretty much what some of the spaces will end up feeling like.

By the end of the week, there was a TON of progress on the main level!

By the end of the week, there was a TON of progress on the main level!

Our entry!! The top window will end up being arched, and we're also having them start the side windows lower - so those will increase in height.

Our entry!! The top window will end up being arched, and we’re also having them start the side windows lower – so those will increase in height.

This is what the office windows look like from the outside. It faces the street at the front of the house.

This is what the office windows look like from the outside. It faces the street at the front of the house.  We’ll have vaulted ceilings in here.

This will be the eating area in the kitchen. Joel and I love all of the windows, and how much light it will let into the kitchen.

This will be the eating area in the kitchen. Joel and I love all of the windows, and how much light it will let into the kitchen.

This is also in the kitchen - our sink will be centered underneath the three windows and that door opening will lead outside to the deck.

This is also in the kitchen – our sink will be centered underneath the three windows and that door opening will lead outside to the deck.

These are the windows and door to the deck in our master bath. We love the view!

These are the windows and door to the deck in our master bath. We love the view!

Still framing in progress! Lots to do next week for sure. This will end up being the back wall of the great room where we'll have a set of french doors.

Still framing in progress! Lots to do next week for sure. This will end up being the back wall of the great room where we’ll have a set of french doors.

Throughout the build, we’ve been having the cutest deer family visit us!  There’s definitely a male, female, and I think three (maybe four) little baby deer.  So cute!!

The daddy deer!

The daddy deer!

The cute couple hanging out in our backyard!

The cute couple hanging out in our backyard!

Design Changes

Our only design hiccup this week was that the dining room windows were sized to be 11-feet tall at the height of the curve, but the architect spec’d that the ceiling height in the dining room also be 11-feet!  Eeek, that can’t happen!  So I spent a few hours Tuesday night fixing it and coming up with the plan below.  I ended up having to adjust both the dining room and the entry windows to make it all work. But I think it’ll turn out great!  And bonus, we were able to get rid of the vaulted ceiling in our foyer which I was never a huge fan of anyways!

I changed the entry and dining windows this week to work with the 11' ceiling height.

I changed the entry and dining windows this week to work with the 11′ ceiling height.