NOVEMBER 2004
Well, we didn't get enough done last month to have a Halloween grand opening party,
so we're hoping for a New Year's Party to finally show off the house to ya'll in person.
Don's back to work nearly full-time and Don Sr. the lead builder on a Habitat for Humanity
house that's just starting construction in Oroville, so he's not available as much either.
Basically, we're pretty much unpacked and comfortable now so the house has become
more like your run-of-the-mill live in home improvement project.We've still got to do all the paint, tile and cabinets for the master bath, finish the metal
ceiling in the hall and office, finish the metal and wood veneer details, and deal with the
exposed concrete floor, which we've decided to go ahead and carpet (except for the office
and back family room/laundry. We'll also finally have the glass window walls in by mid-month.
There's actually a lot more than that to finish, but those are the goals for November.
11.03.04 The Day After. Welcome to another 4 years in Hell, may God have mercy
on our souls. I'll leave my sign up until it falls apart.
The two existing trees are turning a brilliant red and look awesome in front of the
red details of the house. Also, note the new red pots and plantings. The shrubs
in the patio planters are evergreens, but also have a perfect purple-red/olive green
mix to match the house.
11.04.04 – The living room ceiling is complete. Except for the missing wood veneer on
beam by the metal piping (and carpet) this area is done!
11.10.04 – The Jackson Glass crew returns to install the aluminum framework for
the master bedroom and office window walls. We originally planned for sliding glass
doors but it was just to costly. We've opted instead for a fixed wall in the bedroom
and a partition wall in the office. This changes our floorplan slightly in that you'll
have to go through the office to get to the bedroom.
Bob and Adrian assemble horizontal and vertical sections into a single unit that will
be moved into place.
We were going to have the window walls split into two vertical sections, but decided
it would be more interesting to split the walls into smaller rectaliner sections. Once
the frames are in place, the sections will be measured for glass. We're going with
a white laminate glass for privacy and a clean modern look. We considered different
texture/pattern films and special textured glass, but this will match the cabinet doors
in the bedroom and was relatively affordable.
11.17.04 – Bob & Adrian return to install the glass sections. While Bob cuts aluminum
trims, Adrian installs the black rubber gaskets.
Bob uses a suction handle to lift the glass into place. The bedroom wall with four
panels in.
... and fini! The open door way goes through the office and to the master bedroom.
The exposed wood beam and post (painted white) will soon be wrapped in the
dark wood veneer.
Here's the front door, raised entry foyer, and master bedroom glass wall. In the lower
right corner you can see the planter wall, which still needs it's wood paneling as well.
11.21.04 – Mom & Dad shows up to help get the house ready for the big family
Thanksgiving. Mom cleans windows while Dad works on the planter.
Dad also gets most of the ceiling beam covered in the wood laminate. It's time for
the temporary bathroom counter to be replaced by the real thing. The temp one was
a section of desk counter salvaged from the library. This new wood counter is
actually a section of one of the main entry doors that were in the library. We cut it
down and resurfaced it with a heavy coat of clear varathane.
Click here to see the original door in the library.
11.23.04 – The old counter is removed and the light fixture is adjusted to the right
to fit in the pre-cut hole of the new 48" x 63" mirror. The 8' x 8.5' bathroom already
felt larger because of the 10' – 9' high sloped ceiling, but this huge mirror amplifies
the room size far more than I expected. Not only does it make the room feel wider,
but it makes it seem much higher. Without the mirror, you never saw yourself in
relation to the high ceiling, but now when you stand in front of the mirror you feel
tiny.
A look at the new counter. We painted the edge green to match the walls.
11.27.04 – Don Sr. installs the wood veneer over the beam at the base of the dormer
back wall. This is directly above the entry way and one of the last unfinished areas
of the main room. Getting it covered makes a huge difference.
These are the back walls of the entry foyer. With the ceiling done, the gooseneck
wall-washer lights are now working. This is one of your first views when you walk
in the front door. The dining room is to the left and the office (glass wall) is on the
right. The hall in the middle leads to the bathroom and back room. The goosenecks
are placed to light up large paintings or other art that will eventually be hanging on
the two blue walls and possibly the back concrete wall as well.Check back soon for more...
Also visit Don's portfolio site: www.designbutton.com
