We have officially finished installing the hardwood floors! Here is a pic of the foyer.



This is the middle bedroom.



Stacey Burkholder came to help Ryan install the kitchen cabinets yesterday.



We still have a lot to do with the cabinets, but we're very pleased with how it's coming along. Thanks to Leslie's renderings, we had an accurate picture of what to expect and knew we'd love the design prior to the installation!



Remember those potatoes we planted in big black bags and placed inside the horse feeder this spring? We had hopes of adding compost and growing full bags of potatoes this year. We never got around to adding the compost and the weeds took over the bed. Yesterday just for fun, Ashton and I went to see if the plants survived by some small chance, and we were shocked to find quite a few potatoes while checking 2 of the 10 bags. This is a growing method we will be certain to use properly next year!

Other updates

I found a handful of photos I never added to the blog. We had a nice visit a few weekends ago from Uncle Dave Heath and family to trim out the electrical. It's so much easier to work now without fighting over extension cords and a shop light.



They brought baby Avery with them and we had a lot of fun with her. In this photo, Marissa (Jenny's sister) is wearing Avery in a Moby Wrap.



This is the fireplace surround Ryan built.



Cabinetry has arrived and installation will begin tomorrow. There are 27 cabinets, but this includes the three bathrooms and the laundry room.



We chose simple shaker style cabinets from Classic Kitchens in Harrisonburg. Leslie has been amazing with the entire kitchen design process. I can't wait to see the kitchen come together!

It's all about the shower pan

Ryan claims for the number of hours I've spent on the tile professionals forums researching how to properly build and waterproof a shower, we should have just paid someone to do this one. He might be right. Today was the day we decided to stop reading and just right in. The first step was to install Durock on the walls (at least the bottom walls).



Next, we had to tape and flashcoat the joints with thinset.



The subfloor was covered with tar paper and metal lath.



After a layer of thinset, Ryan installed a sloped mud pan using topping mix and sand. It will need to dry for a few days.



By the end of the evening, the boys had settled into their chairs for a rest.

Flooring Progress

It's been a while since an update. Our camera is currently MIA with a lot of our pictures on the card. I took pics today with another camera so I could update. This is the porcelain tile in the middle bathroom.




There is also porcelain tile in the laundry room.



This is the tile in the boys' bathroom. Ashton chose this one.



This is the BR-111 Solid Amendoim flooring. We're very pleased with how it's installing.



This photo shows the flooring around the fireplace.

Doors and Floors

Our garage door was installed this week.



Ryan is working on installing and trimming the interior doors. This one is the boys' bedroom.



Our hardwood floors arrived this week. We chose solid Amendoim (a Brazilian hardwood) from BR-111. We were able to find it online at a great price and have it shipped directly to us. We cannot begin installation for at least a couple weeks since the wood has to acclimate to our temperature/humidity. The HVAC sub cannot come to finish up the system until the middle of next week. After the HVAC is up and running, we have to wait one more week to install the wood. The hardwood will be installed in the foyer, living room, dining room, kitchen, hallway, and middle bedroom.



The excavator started on our final grade this past week. We can't believe how different everything looks. Quinn had a lot of fun watching Matt on the big trucks.



This is a view of the front of the house. We hope to install a circle driveway in front so guests will have parking and also be directed to the front door. We're in the midst of trying to decide on a paint color.

Trim!

This week we have been working on the interior trim. We wanted to do something different than the typical standard trim, so Ryan came up with these ideas. I love what he has done and it's so fun to see the house come alive like this! This photo was taken in the living room; I didn't even know the kids had the camera.



This photo shows a bit more of the design he came up with for the crown moulding in the main living area. Most of the trim is already primed except for the small piece above the windows. It will all be painted some shade of white eventually.



This is the dining room with trim complete: crown, windows, and base.



This is the master bedroom.



The boys had a bit of fun while the excavator went to run an errand! Tonight he started the final grade and preparation for the driveway.

In Living Color

These photos show the primer, which was tinted with our actual colors. They should give a good idea of the final colors. We're very pleased with all of them. They didn't all photograph accurately.

This is the middle bedroom. The color is Sherwin Williams Underseas (SW 6214).



This is the main living area. The main color throughout the house is Benjamin Moore's Revere Pewter (HC-172). The accent color is Kingsport Grey (HC-86).



This is the Master Bedroom. The main color is BM Elemental (AF-400) and the accent wall is BM Middlebury Brown (HC-68).



The Master Bathroom is BM Middlebury Brown (HC-68).



The boys' bedroom is BM James River Gray (AC-23) with one accent wall in Middlebury Brown (HC-68) and their bathroom and closet is BM Smoke (2122-40).