Author: Joel (Page 1 of 22)

We went to the house this morning, in the cold and rain, to assemble our new kayak rack. This is located under the porch, next to the shed we installed last weekend. Right now we only have two paddle boards (plus the row boat that is stored elsewhere), but we will probably get more boats later.

Here is the assembled rack with our two paddleboards, that double as sit-on kayaks.

While we were there, I took pictures of the recent progress.

Here is the railing on the deck. They have finished the railing on the main level, but are still working on the railing on the stairs. There will also, eventually, be railings on the porch (the screens are not good enough to keep kids from falling off the porch).

In the front of the house, the front stoop was installed. This is a single piece of blue mist granite from a quarry in Vermont. The ground level will be raised to cover the bottom inch of the stoop, and there will be a walkway, using blue mist pavers, that goes past the breezeway towards the driveway. The final front door is still not installed, to avoid damaging it during construction.

Inside, they have been installing the interior doors. Here is the guest bathroom door (the frame has not been added yet).

And here is the pocket door to the closet at the top of the stairs (second floor). Doors on the first floor are rift cut oak with a cherry frame. The doors on the second floor just painted wood.

The tiles in both bathrooms (master and second floor) have now been installed. Here is the master bathroom floor.

And here is the second floor bathroom. The wall has a window and a mirror (not installed yet).

The painters were working on the second floor when we came by, which is why there are lights and tarps.

The electricians have also been working. Here is the latest view of the utility room electrical panel.

Finally, the most exciting change is the installation of the kitchen and dining room cabinets. I previously posted a view of the oven / fridge (west) wall. Here is a view of the north wall. The main sink will be in the lower area on the left. The dining room table is on the right side.

And finally, here is a one minute video of three days of work installing those cabinets.

Sent by the builder at the end of the day, Friday.

The architect is on site today meeting with the tile installer to plan the placement. Here is the adjusted placement of tiles in the master bathroom. The goal is to ensure that there is no small tile sliver near the door.

Here is a picture of the tiles being installed.

Upstairs, the tiles placement was adjusted or confirmed as well. Here is the placement diagram.

As a bonus picture, here is the game room ceiling after plastering (this is a newer picture than the one I first posted).

Here is the latest schedule. There are things missing but this includes the highlights.

• Week of May 25:
  • Continue working on the deck railing
  • Plaster the game room walls and ceiling
  • Start installing the kitchen, pantry and bathroom cabinets
  • Second floor painting starts this weekend
  • Bathroom tile installation has started
  • Install the front stoop
  • Install the HVAC screen panels
• Week of June 1:
  • Finish the deck railing
  • Lightning protection system installation
• Week of June 8:
  • Finish up site (landscaping) work in the back yard
• Week of June 15:
  • Install the septic system

There is no change in the occupancy permit date, but we will know better at the end of June where things stand.

Current estimated occupancy permit date: July 31, 2026 (no change).

We had our weekly Wednesday meeting at the building site and we had to park a ways away because there were so many vehicles. This was because we had so many crews working at the same time.

In the game room, they were plastering. This is the only remaining room that needs plastering and painting and the work was delayed so they could construct and then finish the ceiling beams. In this picture they are working on plastering the ceiling in between the beams (which have been protected with plastic while they work).

Meanwhile, in the master bathroom, the tiling crew has started working. The first step was to install the shower and here you can see the preparation for installing the shower base (which comes next). Tiling should proceed uninterrupted until they have finished both the master bathroom and the upstairs bathroom. (The guest half-bath is not tiled.)

In the kitchen a different crew was starting the installation of the kitchen cabinets. Fortunately, we got delivery of the kitchen range yesterday since it is needed to properly space the cabinets. The construction camera is facing the kitchen and I will see if we get any good footage when I visit the house this weekend.

Outside, we have a crew working on installing the railing on the deck. I was told that the deck should be finished and safe to use in mid-June should we want to hold an outdoor party.

Things are still on schedule. There was a small delay in getting the shields that will be installed between the deck and the air compressors (mix up in shipping), and the front stoop does not show up until tomorrow, but nothing that impacts the end date. I will have a better schedule update tonight or tomorrow.

Daphne here. Yeah not getting the panels doesn’t impact the end date, but it impacts the planting of the backyard a lot. I have plants that are desperate to get in the ground. Originally I was told I could do it in March. Then April. Then May. Now it is June. I hope some of the plants in my fridge are still alive. We will see. I might have to reorder some next year. Yesterday some plants I needed came into stock finally and I ordered, as thought I was supposed to be able to plant by the 8th. Maybe not.

At least the plants I’m growing from seed are still small maybe even too small. Sadly some have not sprouted, but most have. You never know with cold stratification. I put many of them in the fridge in January as they need 2-3 months in there. It turned out to be more like 4-5. I also seeded some out in the garden in late fall. And like the refrigerated ones, some sprouted and some didn’t. It will be a difficult process trying to plant what is growing in the heat of the summer. I wonder how much will have to be redone again next year.

This Saturday was a workday at the house. Daphne planted 102 woodland phlox and watered the the previously installed seeds, roots and plants. Meanwhile, Joel and Ben assembled the new shed that is now installed under the porch and used to hold both boating supplies and smaller gardening supplies.

Here are some pictures of the shed assembly process. The third one is the finished product.

While we were assembling the shed, I noticed that our house has already been invaded by critters. A bird has built a nest in the northeast corner under the porch. That cable, by the way, leads to one of the security cameras.

Earlier in the week, the exterior crew was working on finishing the deck. They are not done yet, but have been making good progress. The first picture is the step from the front yard up to the deck. The second picture is from the side where you can see that the stairs are done but they are still working on the railing.

Inside the house they continue to do finishing work. The first picture is the front bedroom, which now has a window frame (not yet painted), a closet door and a drop down ladder leading to the tiny attic.

And here is the southwest corner of the second floor family room where you can see the cabinets for the kitchenette lines up waiting for installation.

Monday we plan on returning to the house to go boating.

We did not meet this week. The architect is on vacation and the ceiling of the game room is being sprayed again, so going in the house is off limit for a few days. However, the builder did send me a schedule update.

• Week of May 18:
  • Install screen panels around HVAC units (maybe)
  • Finish installing and spraying the game room beams
  • Start bathroom tile installation
• Week of May 25:
  • Finish the deck, including the railing
  • Plaster the game room walls and ceiling
  • Start installing the kitchen, pantry and bathroom cabinets
• Week of June 1:
  • Lightning protection system installation
  • Install the front stoop (this was delayed a few weeks)
• Week of June 8:
  • Finish up site (landscaping) work

Things remain on the this schedule for now, but past behavior is no guarantee of future performance. Also, in the estimated occupancy date, I added the word “permit” since it will take us a week (or two) to actually move into the house once we get that permit.

Current estimated occupancy permit date: July 31, 2026 (no change).

We went to the house on Saturday, only to find that the painters were busy. One person was painting the garage trim and touching up the base of the downspouts. Another crew was painting the outside basement wall under the living room to match the siding color. A third crew was working in the game room putting a sealing coat on the beams.

Here is the game room ceiling right now.

Upstairs, they have starting installing the doors and window trim. Here is the guest room closet.

And here is the closet door and window frame in the front bedroom.

The cabinets have all been moved so they they are approximately where they will be positioned. Here is the kitchen.

And here is the pantry. The large box on the left is actually the top section of the cabinets on the right.

In this picture taken from the wetlands, you can see the painters working on the concrete wall under the living room.

There has also been progress on the deck as you can see in this picture.

Meanwhile, we were pulling invasive plants from the back yard, and watering the plants they we have added.

After working for a few hours, it was time to relax by the water and eat lunch.

Tomorrow we go boating on the river.

We had our weekly meeting at the house (a day early). Yesterday the cabinets arrived. They are all still in boxes, although we opened some boxes to inspect them.

Here is a cabinet for the main part of the kitchen. Most of the kitchen and dining room cabinets are natural wood.

Here is a cabinet for the dish washing area or the west side of the pantry (they are the same color).

Here is a cabinet for the east side of the pantry, opened for inspection. These cabinets are lighter to avoid the pantry from being too dark.

And here is a cabinet for the upstairs kitchenette.

Work continues on the game room beams. In this picture you can see that the main beam is in place along with two side beams (the decorative beams look nicer – that’s how you can tell).

Outside, the construction crew was getting ready to finish the deck. Meanwhile, the electrical crew was back to install all the lights in the house. Here is a picture of the light next to the garage door.

And here is the south side of the deck, with two lights.

I also saw that some of the exterior outlet covers were now in place. Here you can see two on deck next the garage. These outlets are used for plugging in the toaster and coffee maker during bagel brunches (they are on separate circuits).

The biggest design decision today revolved around the need for a post under the banister for the stairs to the second floor. The banister, and the post, would both stick out into the hallway because code requires the banister to extend over the bottom-most stair. Besides discussing material (we want wood) and geometric shape, one idea under consideration is to actually extend the living room wall an extra 8 inches so the bottom stair and banister would not stick out into the hall. Decision to be made soon.

That said we also reviewed the plans for the screen on the porch, and the tile layout for both the downstairs and upstairs bathrooms. There are additional upcoming decisions about how to handle the threshold between the master bathroom tile floor and the luxury vinyl tile in the hallway. Having a slightly raised threshold would hide any gap caused by temperature variations, at the expense of having a slightly raised threshold. Decision to be made soon.

Finally, I have a new phone (Pixel 10 Pro), which means I now have a much better phone camera to use for pictures. Here is an updated picture of the river front behind the house with the new camera. It helps that it is a sunny day.

Late last week they poured concrete that will serve as the foundation for the front stoop, which is a single piece of blue mist granite from Vermont.

They also poured concrete for the base of the step that will go up to the deck.

Separately, they painted the base of the downspouts as you can see in the following photo.

Inside progress is slow. They are getting ready to install the beams in the game room, but they have not installed them yet.

Meanwhile, we spent 3 hours pulling invasive plants and watering the new plants we put in earlier. This will be a never ending task.