Wood floor

We will have wood floors in all areas except the basement and bedrooms. 

They began installing the floors yesterday - they will come back after the painters have finished the walls and sand and stain. 

Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas!

So we're building our house, celebrating the holidays, what could go wrong?  Well, this is a photo of our car after it got transferred to the second tow truck on its way to Newberg from the Santiam Pass.  We were on our way to a winemaker dinner that I was supposed to do near Bend, and it died close to the summit of the pass with no cell phone reception.  The engine got so hot it melted some components, and is beyond fixing.  After 208,000 miles we have no complaints, but the timing certainly puts a focus on our remaining budget items.

Back to the building site, and the drywall hangers have been busy!  I know we keep saying this, but it's really starting to look like we imagined it!

looking down the hallway toward the bedrooms.

We also spent much of the holiday season selecting colors, carpets, etc.

Back to the house.  The angle and light are funny, but that's me on the stilts.  The cold weather slows drying, so this has taken more time than expected.  Besides, I kind of like walking around in the stilts.

Looking toward the kitchen end of the great room.  We are doing very smooth walls and ceiling, and they are looking great.

Who knew there were so many whites?  Color selection seemed daunting, but once we got to it we had little trouble agreeing on things.  We also got some great advice later from Karen at Miller Paints, and that gave us the confidence to move forward.

We had been looking at a very tasteful quartz countertop, but at the last minute we got talked into looking at granite.  So glad we did!  We walked through the slab warehouse and chose this beauty - much more interesting and colorful than the quartz, and it works great with the walnut that Dysthe is holding up from the cabinets.  Curiously, Nordic White is not very white and is from Brazil.  Go figure.  

 

 

That pretty much sums up the past month.  January means painting, cabinet installation, floors, counters, appliances, carpets, and probably a lot more things that I'm forgetting right now.  We are still trying to stay ahead of the details, like getting the drawer pulls to the cabinet maker this week.  Still officially tracking to move in by the end of March.  Happy New Year!

December, Part 1

December started off with some more cement, this time in the garage.

We also poured a 4 inch thick hearth, which apparently got done just in time for the fireplace installers.  We settled on a gas fireplace because we didn't want the smoke and figured that this would get a lot more use than a wood burning one.

This is what the hearth looks like once we removed all of the forms.  We are still waiting to see if it cracks as it dries.  This end of the great room is starting to take shape!

The siding started going on, and the house continues to look more real as they go.

The siding is pretty basic, board and batten.  Works for a house in the country, though.

One thing about building on the top of a hill is that it can be the windiest place around.  There was a big windstorm in early December and I stopped by to see how things were doing.  You can see the branches on the ground, and the trees they came from are over a hundred feet from the house.  Fortunately we decided to have the closest tree cut down, so we will sleep easier when this happens after we move in.

The electricians have been busy.  These are some of the lights in the great room...

It seems like this piscture was taken just a few days after the last one, but the insulation guys have certainly been at it!

As Christmas grew closer we decided to add a little cheer.  The stockings were hung from the "chimney" with care!  We hope everyone has had a wonderful holiday season, and we promise to send more updates soon.  Cheers!