Sunday, November 10, 2013

House Building Journal - Part 16

I began writing this when we were just one month away from the arrival of family coming to celebrate our son's wedding. Even though we hadn't set a move-in date we were fairly confident that we would be occupying the new house in plenty of time. Well, of course that didn't happen. Now it is a month after Ian and Emily's wedding and there is so much to tell.

Fortunately the wedding was in a gorgeous location just an hour or so south of here so having the place in show condition was not necessary and not possible. We did need to sleep about a dozen people at different times over the long weekend so freeing up the cabin was a must and having enough room for the grandchildren to run around was going to be essential.

By mid August, the hardwood floors were down but still the tile had to be laid before the sanding and staining could begin.

Frits hadn't intended to lay all the tile himself but in the end he did every bit of it. Well, actually, I did seal the grout. Big deal! There were curved edges in several places and lots of transitions to wood. Time consuming and back-breaking work.
The kitchen cabinets were being built off site but until all the floors were finished, installation had to be delayed.
September 6, exactly a month from mandatory move in day, the kitchen looked like this:

A few years back I might have been panicked but you know, these days it is much easier to go with the flow. There are some real benefits to growing older, not just Medicare.

Back in June I had ordered a new couch, chairs, dining table and a bed, planning on 10 weeks of delivery time. As promised the furniture arrived on schedule. How often does that happen? We were able to pile most of it into the study except for the huge couch that had to sit, shrouded, right in the middle of everything. Not knowing if any of it was going to work in the space, I hardly dared look at it. The appliances were stacked in the garage fully crated so I couldn't even peek at them.

By the end of September, Frits' work days had extended into nights. The kitchen cabinets and counter tops were complete, the electricians were back to install outlets and lights, the painters were applying the final coats and our trusty workers, Ernie, Matt and Alan were as reliable as ever. There was still no railing around the open staircase - shudder, no appliances installed and no running water. Did I mention that Frits was the plumber as well?

The rough plumbing had been done earlier but now all the lines to the sinks, toilets, showers etc had to be run if we were to take occupancy. Most important was to finish the lower level bathroom as that would be where Sarah, Jason and the boys would be staying.

I was making mad dashes to Burlington to pick up plumbing parts as well as buying new china, pots and pans, small appliances, towel rails and on and on. Even though we had our own things in the cabin I was going to leave that equipped for guests.

Now just a week to go and it looked impossible. Would we make it? You will have to wait for the next blog to find out. I am just too exhausted remembering it!