Contractor Speak " It will be done in 7 days, no matter how long it takes"??

So we've had a couple of set backs but are still making progress. 

Our quartz order had a minor snafu and half of our order arrived a week later than planned.  That snafu delayed the installation of the master bath sink. We've  used the guest bathroom/guest bedroom/office since we've moved in on April 1st.  

Once the quartz was installed, we were able to get the tile sub-contractor out for installation of the backsplash.  In my opinion the backsplash looks better than I imagined it would. 

Then I received my shipment of door handles and drawer pulls - all 3 of them!  I thought I'd gotten 75 pieces for a great deal but in reality the web site was mis-leading and the $60+ cost was only for 3 pulls!!  Mike and I went on-line and he found a very nice alternative which goes very well with our rustic theme.  The pulls are cast iron, bronze in color and really bring attention to the knots and imperfections in the birch wood.  I am much happier with them than I would have been with the stainless originally ordered.

Now we are waiting for some re-work on the backsplash.  Stan, our tile expert extraordinaire, says the original grout was too "soupy" and it needs to be re-grouted and then sealed.  So that is to come. 

We were able, after about 4 trips back to the glass company, to get the seeded glass in the kitchen cabinets.

They have framed the sunroom and the carpenters framed the walls with about sixty

 

2 by 6 studs.  I can now see where my 3 huge picture windows will be going and I am VERY happy with the sunroom.

March 27th

 

 

Progress!  We now have cabinets and appliances installed!!  Countertops will be delivered and installed on Wednesday and plumber is due on Thursday to hook up the sinks in both bathrooms and the kitchen.  Also Thursday and Friday the new backsplash tile will be installed.  ACRA has ordered the replacement parts which were damaged in shipping for a couple of drawers.  We are hopeful that they will arrive the week of April 3rd so that the cabinet installer can complete the crown molding, glass inserts & drawer pulls.  And HVAC guy will be out probably last to install the range hood over the gas range.

 



 

 

Sink side of kitchen

Range/microwave side of kitchen

My new fridge & freezer!!

 

 



I got a GREAT deal on drawer pulls on www.HomeClick.com!!!  Did you know if you install 42 inch high cabinets you have to have 12 inch pulls or the doors will warp?  I didn't but we needed 35  twelve inch pulls and 15 6 inch pulls.   The cost at Home Depot and Lowe's ( up to $10 per pull ) was super scary and they didn't have any 12" pulls in stock.  Home Click had pulls that match the handles on the fridge/freezer and range and I got 75 pulls for under $60!!!!  It pays to shop around.

Drawer pulls I bought for kitchen & both bathrooms

I'll post new pictures at the end of the tile work!  Can't wait to get this project completed!!!!

Getting There Slowly...

So we are about 2 months behind schedule now on our house construction.  A full 4 weeks is due to one major change we made to the project.  We chose to have ditra underlayment installed over our concrete slab foundation.  Once all the old flooring was removed, we found some significant stress cracks and didn't want that to ruin the beautiful tile floors we were putting down.  Our ditra is commercial grade at 5/8 inch and we could drive a car over it without damaging the tile.  It should be good enough to last us the rest of our lives!  In addition to the ditra, we chose a new grout called Fusion.  It never stains or discolors - again good for the rest of our lives.

Aren't my new tile floors beautiful??

We have been painting as we have access.  Our first paint run looked like this below.  Then add to it the extra 6 gallons we bought for the living room and sunroom.  To date we have finalized painting in guest room, office, great room and hallways.  The south facing wall in the great room can't be painted until the large slider is removed once the sunroom is closed in.  The master bedroom has yet to have the ducting for HVAC into the sunroom and will be the last space we paint.

Our first paint run...

We have been gathering some furniture.  Mike found a beautiful Ethan Allen sofa for our sunroom at a local consignment shop.  I purchased new southwest design fabric to recover the 1980's Miami Vice pastel plaid that is currently on it.  And as we are going Mexican/rustic for our "theme", we've been going up to Tucson to check out import shops.  So far we've bought a queen size guest bed,  a dark stained alder dining table with mesquite inserts, a split rail fence & old wagon wheel chair for the office, coffee table and end tables for living room which nearly match our dining table.  I ordered a couch and two side chairs from Macy's in a mocha linen fabric and those are being made for us right now.  Everything is piling up in the garage until we can move them into place.

Dining table with Ethan Allen sofa behind

Mike had a meeting with our contractors yesterday.  First there was the "Bambi in the headlights" look when he asked if they'd be finished by April 1st.  We knew they would not but it was good for him to complain since originally they'd told us they'd only take 2 months and be finished by February 15th.   So Mike and Kim went thru what needed to be completed, got together some tentative dates which she was to firm up last night, and today she will give him a written schedule plan with resource allocation.  She told him the new finish date is 4/15/17.  We are moving in 3/31. 

For us to live there during the sunroom construction, the contractor will be sealing off the Master bedroom area & the great room.  So when we want to go to the kitchen, we will walk outside thru the courtyard and enter the kitchen thru the garage.  Should be a fun 2 weeks, right?  I'm not too upset because we knew they were behind schedule.  And it's not like I didn't camp out there for 6 weeks last fall.  At least this time I'll have a bed in the guest room, the office will be set up with WIFI/cable from Cox, and a truly functional kitchen.  and I won't be doing demo and tear out work every day - just watching the crew do it for me!  Hooray!!

This week they are going to start on the sunroom with the concrete prep.  They should be cutting existing patio to frame out new walls and add in the rebar for the additional concrete pour to level the floors with living room & master bedroom.   It will require 5 Pima County inspections prior to completion.

Cabinets have been on site for about 10 days and will be installed the 20th & 21st.  This Thursday I am having  the Blue Star range delivered but not connected.  I want the range there so that when they measure for quartz they can get it sized right up to the range.  Then 23rd is install the Blue Star and the fridge, freezer & microwave will be delivered and installed.  Quartz will be installed around the 29th and then backsplash will be added (this has been sub-contracted) so that the last appliance, the range hood, can go up on April 6th.  I see light at the end of the tunnel.

 

Rustic birch cabinets on new tile floors

 

Final Kitchen Decision Pending

Well, I was a little premature on my kitchen information in the previous posting.     We needed to get the kitchen details finalized.   Earlier I had requested bids from 3 different companies but almost had a heart attack when I saw the projected costs.   I was torn between wood finish and painted finish cabinets until we saw the two final bids for each option.  We will be working with our contractor to install the new kitchen and purchasing appliances from a local appliance store who will install them.

Our cabinets are going to be a rustic birch in a Fawn natural finish.  Our floors will be a terra cotta color tile.  Quartz countertops will be Bradford with cream, yellow, terra cotta and slate gray.  Wall color will be a nice creamy taupe chosen from the color in the sample.  The wall color could change once we see the actual color/pattern when installed.  And I still have no idea what the backsplash will be and that is the final decision.

Cabinet sample

Floor tile/counter top/paint chip

 

 

 

The appliances are different than we originally planned.  We were going to install GE Profile slate gray but Mike has asked for the Electrolux/Frigidaire side by side full fridge and full freezer.  They only comes in stainless so that changed the appliance plans.  I know they look large but each side is only 18.5 cubic feet.

Floor sample for our new fridge/freezer

 

 

I wanted a gas range ever since I saw cousin Terry's Blue Star in her new kitchen.  I've enjoyed cooking on it when we visit so that is my splurge.   The kitchen drywall and gas line should be installed this coming week.   Water line for freezer needs to also be moved into the correct location.

My 36" Blue Star gar range

 

Hopefully construction progress will continue at the current pace.  Mike is on site every day and that eliminates questions and decision delays.  He is keeping us on time & budget and doing a great job!!

 

Demo is ongoing at new house

We had a quiet trip to Cancun December 10th to 17th with Rick & Carol.  It is strange being so far away from them after being 2 hours away for over 12 years. We took a ferry ride one day and were very sad to see the changes to Isla Mujeres, which have happened in just the past couple of years.  When we stayed there before it was a sleepy little island with no traffic.  Now it was packed and is looking more and more like Cozumel - too many tourists!!!  We had considered going there next fall for an extended stay but have cancelled those plans.

Since our return, the house has been our total focus.   Mike is on site daily to oversee the crews working there and has begun to clear out some of the landscaping.  We spent Christmas Eve making two trips to the dump/landfill to throw out some of our overgrown shrubs and trees.

Last week all of the popcorn ceilings were taken down and the existing tile flooring jack hammered up.  The a grinder and sander smoothed out the mastic which the jack hammer did not remove.  This week the 2 layers of lino in the kitchen were scraped up and electrical pulled in for ceiling fans in every room.  Next week the new electrical runs for the kitchen will be pulled in and I'll have more holes in my walls and ceilings.



Living room with no popcorn ceiling or floor covering, just concrete pad



Yesterday Mike measured out and marked the placement of our cabinets and appliances in the new kitchen.  I was finally able to picture it in my mind.  We are getting Holace style KraftMaid cabinets in a painted mushroom (light taupe) finish.  The left side of the kitchen with the sink will have all glass upper doors and the right side with my new 36 inch Blue Star gas range will have standard wood doors.  We will be installing a nice stainless 36 inch range hood and side by side stand alone fridge and freezer so I'll have over 18 cubic feet of fridge and freezer both!!

 

This is the range side of the kitchen.  Higher blue stripe is where bottom of range hood will be placed

 

 

Our homeowner's association approved plans for our sunroom addition so we are now just waiting for Pima County to issue our permit.  Once we have the permit the footer for the exterior wall can be poured.  I am impatient to move in but I want it done right as this will be my forever home.  Excited!!



Desert Living

I don't know about you but I always thought living in the desert would be like the Sahara - all sand.  I just cannot get over all the wildlife and vegetation here in Green Valley.  Frankly, I haven't seen this many butterflies since I was a little girl hanging out in Grandma Burnett's garden.  We have a huge butterfly bush in the front yard and there might be up to 10 different species on it at any one time.

There is a roadrunner who passes through our back yard occasionally.  We think he is the cause of the disappearance of the lizard that was living in our new house's utility room.  And I think that darn roadrunner also goes up the hill in front of our house to stir up the quail.  We have about 30 quail who wander through daily as well.  The largest male stands guard while all the others help themselves to the bird seed our neighbors set out.  Those quail quarrel and chatter like nobody's business.  They are VERY noisy birds.  I miss watching them.

 

We've settled quite well into our rental in Tubac AZ, an artist colony south of Green Valley.  We planned to spend the winter here and it has worked out well since the house will be under construction for the winter months.  I really didn't want to live through  another remodel.

We have been doing little projects at the house, mostly painting.  It was great to find out that our local Ace Hardware has a record of all of the approved paint colors for our homeowner's association.  I made the mistake of buying dark walnut stain instead of the paint we actually needed for our beams after we removed the horrid metal security screen door on the front porch.  Hopefully our new kitchen window will be delivered this week as well.

Now it is time to head off to Mexico for a little vacation with Rick & Carol.  Can't wait to dip my toes in the ocean!


 

 



Destruction in Progress

So we have been camping out in our new house since September 20th and we have been very busy.  Our furniture consists of a card table and 2 folding chairs from WalMart and a small table for MIke's office space.  We did splurge on two twin XL beds which will be going into our guest room.  We figured they would be easier to store for the construction period through next spring rather than a king size mattress.

Week one , all the carpeting was removed, along with the padding and tack strips.  We are convinced the person who handled the original carpet installation was paid by the tack as they must have been shot into the concrete about every 3 inches in both bedrooms, closets and the home office.  That was trip one to the dump.

Next we tackled the kitchen.  All cabinets and appliances have been removed.  The 30 year old fridge is working quite well in the garage.  The cabinets are stacked and will be donated to Local charity White Elephant as they just require either painting or refinishing...all hardware was saved too.  We have the sink and one cabinet left in the kitchen was we needed someplace to set the microwave and prepare our few meals we don't eat out.  Those will be removed when we move down to Tubac on November 1st for our winter rental.  No way am I staying in the house while all the work is done!!

The "fun" started when we began to take down the soffit in the kitchen.  We've done it before and thought it would be a piece of cake.  Famous last words!!  What a nightmare.  The soffit was framed with 1/2 inch plywood covered by wallboard.  The 2 x 4 studs were buried behind all of that so every part of the soffit was a pain in the butt to take down.  After much pounding and sawing, it finally was all down...trip two to the dump.

Then we decided to take out the kitchen archway and expand the doorway into the living/dining room.  That was also a fun experience as it was built never, never, never  crack or split.  It took us 6 hours to demo that archway.  Third trip to the dump.

Right now we are patching holes in the walls and weeding.  We are hoping for some rainfall before we tackle the back yard.  Front yard is weeded and ready for our desert landscape expert, Kathy, to come out in November to design what we want - something very simple and full of cactus.  We will not have a drip system and want low maintenance for when we travel away from home each summer.

Sundays are our day of rest.  We've started going to the movies most Sundays and then stop for dinner at the Arizona Family Restaurant.  Sunday specials are roasted turkey dinner just like Thanksgiving, which is our favorite.  They also have leg of lamb or prime rib specials as well.  And since football season is in full swing, we always ask for a  booth away from the bar.  Some of those Cardinal fans get quite loud!

We are enjoying the slow pace of life here in Green Valley.  It is quiet and all of our neighbors that we've met are very nice.  Everyone looks out for each other and they have all been welcoming to us.  We even were invited to play Texas Hold 'em Poker in a league.  Buy in to the game is a dollar and I won!!!  Yep, got me $9.  They say the size of the game will increase when the snowbirds from Seattle arrive so I think we'll be going a couple times a month once things settle in.