I can't believe it's been two weeks since my last post, especially since so much has happened in the past 14 days. We were thrilled that Chris' parents were able to come and see our progress this weekend. They loved the house, the street, everything! Here's some of the progress we were able to show them:
Lots of tiling...
My brother Kevin and Chris spent all day Saturday tiling the breezeway (soon to be den). We used these awesome porcelain tiles that look like thick wooden planks. Love them and love the look of this room.
Chris and I started grouting on Sunday morning but decided to spend Sunday afternoon visiting with his parents. We'll finish up next weekend.
Looks great though, right?
The tiles on the floor of the master bath are also coming along.
You can see where Kel started the charcoal grout. Looks great with our clawfoot tub. The walls will have white subway tiles and the floor of the shower will be the hexagon mosaic just like the bathroom floor - but all white, no black.
Lots of thought given to the mantel...
I found a mantel surround kit at Lowes on clearance, primed it and then Kel installed it. But, before doing that, Ryan tiled around the fireplace. And, before doing that, I had to pick out the tiles. It was a tough decision, but I narrowed it down to six and then three options.
Black Galaxy won out. Here's what the mantel + tiling looks like pre-grouting. The "hearth" is just for show and has not yet been tiled. But this is about what it will look like.
Before we tile the hearth, we are having the tiles "bullnosed" so we can tile right on top of the hard wood and avoid having rough, unfinished edges. Grossman's Bargain Outlet in Peabody is where we found the money granite tiles (for only $4.99 a sq foot) and they referred me to someone who can do the bullnosing.
LOTS of trimming...
In addition to tiling, Kel spent the last four days trimming the doors and windows. And what a task that has been. We bought 3.5 inch trim from Builder's Supply in Peabody and Kel set up a work station in our dining room.
It's quite a process, but he's doing a great job and it makes the whole house feel that much more finished.
And a good amount of cleaning...
Before Louann and Greg came to visit, Chris wanted to make sure the basement was cleaned. It was covered with insulation, old tools, inches of dust. Really, the most disgusting place you've ever been in. This is due to the fact that the demolition and pulled up floor boards on the first floor created holes through which dust, insulation and any particles could fall through. If you were ever in the basement while someone was doing work, you would leave with some sort of grey dandruff. But not anymore! I brought Chris a surgeon's mask to protect his lungs but it was a bit too late. He coughed up black soot for a day or two.
Floor and stairs related stress...
Since my last post, there has been a TON of drama with the floors and stairs. Suffice to say, don't ever let floor guys install stairs. The floors are installed (though not yet finished and let's not even talk about the weird water/oil stains that are seeping through wood right now) and the stairs have been fixed (by a different contractor after our floor guys walked out mid-project never to return) so crisis is (almost) averted... It will make for a good story some day - and an excellent blog post...one that my husband is in the midst of writing.
That's all for now!
