Double Oak Plantation

Baseboards started

2012-01-23T21:20:00.002-05:00

This is my closet floor baseboards -- INSTALLED -- first room in the house! Can't do much more until door moldings are delivered. We picked a shoe molding that is a little prettier than the standard one you see in every house. Still will need caulking & touch up, but what a nice look - LOVE IT!

The part that ruined Christmas Break

2012-01-07T14:10:00.003-05:00

So much free time over Christmas break and so many plans to get so much work completed -- wasted waiting on this part to the chimney to arrive in the mail (arrived 4 weeks after it was ordered!!!) This tardy "offset" made us have to spend family time together over the holiday instead of working -- it was amazing though... Thank you, "offset" for giving us family time together!!!

Inside the Chimney

2012-01-07T14:05:00.003-05:00

Here I am looking up the chimney -- it is more than 20 feet up there!!! see the steps he installed on the left:
Today he is putting the chimney inside the chimney. Because we have the completely enclosed fireplace, a silver tube runs up the chimney to let out the smoke. Maybe this is how all fireplaces work, but I have never seen inside a chimney before to know!

Here is the hole he has climbed in and out about a hundred times today:

Here he is climbing up to put the chimney together:

Flooring - (sneak peek)

2011-12-21T14:43:00.002-05:00

Here's a sneak peek at our wood flooring. It is oak engineered flooring in 3", 5", and 7" widths. Some distressing is already on the boards so we can live in the house and not worry about a little ding here or there. None is installed yet, but wow what a difference it will make!

Custom Attic doors

2011-12-21T14:40:00.004-05:00

My hubbie completely made these two doors from scratch for our walk-in attic spaces on both sides of the house.

Wood-burning Fireplace is shaping up

2011-12-21T14:38:00.003-05:00

White Marble will be on the wall all the way around and a little hearth piece on the floor.

Preview of Some Bathroom Fixtures

2011-12-21T14:35:00.002-05:00

Here's the sink in the "extra" bathroom and a peek at the toilets we're using throughout.

Day one of grout

2011-11-06T13:29:00.001-05:00

One bathroom is grouted - here's a look at the color. We wanted the grout to kinda blend in since the tile has so much variation in the colors. I think it made the glass tiles look pretty.

Master shower tile progress

2011-10-30T20:40:00.004-04:00

Hey, progress is progress! He said it will be done tonight!
I repeat -- TONIGHT!!!

Master Shower tile update

2011-10-09T21:37:00.002-04:00

A few more days of work and it is coming right along!

Update on Master tub & shower tile

2011-10-01T15:52:00.003-04:00

Master tub, window ledge behind the tub, & shower tile...off to a good start!

Master Bath 1 day of floor tile (before & after)

2011-09-09T20:26:00.002-04:00

Kitchen tile - still photos tour

2011-09-05T11:18:00.001-04:00

Tile is all set in the kitchen...now we need to get some cabinet makers over here to design some cabinets for us! The two white pipes that are sticking up is where my sink will be. There is a "peninsula" countertop there like we had in our charlotte house for those of you that visited us when we lived there.

Left picture is standing in kitchen looking at breakfast nook.
Right picture is standing in breakfast nook looking at kitchen. (You can see a hint of my orange paint in the dining room)

closeup of tile threshold

2011-09-05T11:15:00.000-04:00

This is what my darling hubbie designed for the thresholds for the rooms that have tile. He just took a big 18 inch tile and cut two pieces to separate the rooms.

mud room, "her office" and small bathroom tile tour video

2011-09-05T10:42:00.001-04:00

Side entrance has the mud room, her office has laundry closet and an additional closet (the room with the ceiling fan), and the small bathroom with all the tile finished. We have a LOT to grout!

Kitchen tile tour - video

2011-09-05T10:30:00.000-04:00

This is my first try at video -- I'm curious, how do you guys like seeing the "video" instead of still shots?

Breakfast nook and kitchen tile - progress!

2011-09-01T21:21:00.004-04:00

More progress on the breakfast nook & kitchen tile...

Breakfast nook - tile

2011-08-28T17:19:00.005-04:00

I go off for the day and come home to a tiled breakfast nook...Can't beat that!

Mud room the tile set!

2011-08-20T17:14:00.005-04:00

Today's progress - this is a "locker" area or mud room that is at the side entrance or entry from the garage. Each person will have their own cabinet to hang backpacks, jackets, shoes, or whatever else we don't want to bring to our bedrooms. You can see "her office" to the right -- and the little bathroom is to the right. I thought the 18 inch tiles were too big, but now I think they're about perfect! Every day is one day closer!

First tile set for the big area

2011-08-18T20:34:00.002-04:00

Kitchen, side & back entryway & breakfast nook (all pretty much connected) -- first tile set tonight!

Little bathroom tile (almost done!)

2011-08-18T20:31:00.002-04:00

The pretty mosaic tile floor is covered up by rags.
This shower is pretty much finished with tile...just need grout.

Oh, and that red on the right will end up painted tan like the rest of the walls.

Her office tile floor -- only the grout left to do!

2011-08-18T20:26:00.003-04:00

This room's tile is finished except for the grout and a handfull of tiles inside of two closets that need to be cut and set.

Her Office tile floor started

2011-08-07T13:57:00.005-04:00

I am in love with this tile! Tt is 18" so the size is just right for the room. We had plans to include several sizes of tiles to create a pattern...and bought them all...but the 18" tiles are thicker than the smaller ones so we are just going with the 18 " ones on a diagonal.

Starting shower tile in little bathroom

2011-08-06T18:06:00.003-04:00

Starting on the little bathroom downstairs -- will have the same design as the girl's showers

Younger Daughter's Bathroom - Tile Update

2011-08-06T18:04:00.002-04:00

Floor tile is down -- shower has the same design as the other bath that is almost finished.

Shower Floor

2011-07-25T17:14:00.003-04:00

This is the "extra" bathroom -- all the red stuff will be covered in tile. The red stuff is a painted on rubber type of stuff to help waterproof underneath the tiles - Isn't this a cool shower floor?

One Bathroom almost tiled!

2011-07-25T16:48:00.003-04:00

Oldest Daughter's bathroom has all tile in place except for a few cut ones in the back corner on the right. That little area will be a cabinet for storage of towels, etc.

Front Door (foyer) Tiled "Rug" area

2011-07-11T20:57:00.002-04:00

This area will be covered in hardwood so we designed this tile "rug" area by the front door so we won't have to ever worry about a wet rug on the wood floor. 12 inch tiles on the diagonal with 2 inch mosaic tiles on the border. The 12 inch tiles are cemented in, but the mosaic ones aren't permanently set yet. I'm pretty excited about this project!

2011-07-11T20:51:00.004-04:00

Starting the 6 inch tiles above the glass mosaic in the first bathroom (Left Photo) -- getting up to the glass mosaic in the second bathroom (Right Photo)

Day 3 tile

2011-07-10T15:22:00.004-04:00

Up to the glass mosaic in one kid's shower, and the first triangle of tiles is done on the other kid's. You can see two cutouts of tile on the one that is more finished -- one for a corner shelf and the other for the soap dish...it's got details!!!

Day 2 - Tile

2011-07-09T13:42:00.002-04:00

Update of about 4 more hours put into that shower...just wait till you see what we do this afternoon -- it will be a surprise!

Tile Job - Day 1

2011-07-08T09:49:00.003-04:00

Older daughter's shower...first day of tiling.

Lights at Night

2011-06-29T15:58:00.001-04:00

Here's how it looks with the porch lights on at night...
We have additional flood lights on the corners, but they're not turned on in this picture.

Tile & Wood Samples

2011-06-26T11:55:00.002-04:00

We've decided on this wood & tile. Kitchen will be a pattern with the 18" tiles and some 6" ones from the same line. The showers will have the 2" mosaic on the floors, 6 or 12" ones on the walls, and the little glass tiles as an accent about eye level. The wood is an engineered maple with distress signs so they won't look "too perfect" -- Also took this picture in the kitchen so you could see how the walls look with this flooring.

Power Soon!

2011-06-13T10:02:00.001-04:00

All the lighting is installed.
Outlets and switches all wired.
All electrical panels wired.
Electrical Inspection passed.

Co-op has us scheduled to turn on the power on this WEDNESDAY!!!

Flooring Choices

2011-06-13T09:59:00.001-04:00

Some of the "narrowed down" choices for flooring:

Engineered hardwood for most of the house:

Shaw: Rosedown Hickory: Smokehouse Spice color: 5” planks with LOTS of variation

Two tile choices (bathrooms & kitchen floor)

Marazzi Campione: Armstrong color : up to 20 x 20 tiles

Marazzi Artea Stone: Cappucino color : up to 20 x 20 tiles

Outside Lighting almost finished

2011-06-07T21:19:00.002-04:00

Front of garage will have three of these lights...he is installing the third one as I type.Front porches have 6 new hanging lights installed:

Electrical

2011-06-05T14:05:00.001-04:00

Applied for electrical service this week -- should have power in about 2 weeks (This is my own estimate and is based on no knowledge of how electrical service works!)

Excellent Customer Service

2011-05-16T18:00:00.001-04:00

We have used www.lightoutlet.com for most of our lighting and they have most excellent customer service. They also offer an "Unadvertised" discount. Call instead of placing the order online and you get 10% off of EVERYTHING! Also, free shipping and no tax outside of NY...ask for Michelle Taylor at ext 136 -- she is very friendly and helpful.

More electrical completed

2011-05-11T20:04:00.000-04:00

Nice looking panel!

Some outdoor lighting on back upper patio:

Outdoor Lighting (Side Porch)

2011-05-09T18:46:00.002-04:00

Side porch for entry from driveway. This hanging light will match the lights on the front porches.

Outlets

2011-05-02T17:48:00.001-04:00

Probably no new photos for a while...electrical outlets (recepticals) aren't very photogenic.

Chandeliers

2011-05-01T19:11:00.002-04:00

Foyer light as seen from the ground floor. sorry about the scaffold walkboard on the left.Foyer light as seen from second floor catwalk.
Sconce lighting also installed on the wall for stairwell lighting .

Dining Room oval chandelier:

3 more lights -- HUNG!

2011-05-01T11:38:00.003-04:00

Track lights to spotlight the "locker area" near the garage entrance...each family member will have their own area to store shoes, backpack, sports bag, purse, or coat...instead of a pile by the door!
This light is over the kitchen sink peninsula:
This is the breakfast nook light...notice the view of our current residence out the window:
(the string hanging off the bottom is to help us not bump our heads on it all the time)

Kid Bath Vanity Lights

2011-04-29T20:09:00.001-04:00

Both kids got these lights installed tonight over the area for their bathroom sink. They are from the same line as the master bathroom lighting.

Living room fans & painted medallions

2011-04-29T09:25:00.002-04:00

The ceiling medallions are all painted now and ready for our more fancy lighting locationsliving room ceiling fans as seen from below:
Living room ceiling fans as seen from balcony...they had to be pretty from bel0w and at eye level since the balcony walks right beside them...these were PERFECT and I think they're awesome!

4 more ceiling fans installed

2011-04-27T09:23:00.004-04:00

All bathrooms have one of these exhaust fans...they include a nightlight function & that will be cool so you won't need a nightlight taking up one of your plugs!

Both kids got these white fans for their rooms...maybe Grandma will paint something pretty on the blades for them one day!

Playroom:

His office Fan:

Master Bath and "her office" lighting installed

2011-04-26T16:02:00.003-04:00

Master bath lighting:

Her office got a fan:

Master Fan!

2011-04-24T17:47:00.001-04:00

Master Bedroom fan installed! This is our first lighting we've put up...sure feels good!

Inside wall paint finished

2011-04-20T18:58:00.004-04:00

Garage! -- Can't wait to park here!

From back of house looking at foyer:Older daughter's bedroom:

Younger daughter's room on the left...playroom on right bath in the middle.
Foyer looking into dining room:
Master bedroom looking into master bath
Foyer:

Kitchen:

Bathrooms painted

2011-04-13T21:22:00.001-04:00

All bathrooms have one coat of paint (all match the brown of my bathroom) and the plan is to get the rest of the house painted THIS WEEKEND!!!

Then we'll move on to electrical (outlets & lights)

Room Colors Revealed

2011-04-03T16:32:00.007-04:00

Master

Master Bath (You can see master through the door, don't know why it looks lighter through the door than the above picture...it's somewhere between, Rest of the house is this brown color like the bathroom...but has not been painted yet. Next week or 2)

Dining Room

Younger Daughter's Room

Older Daughter's room

Ceiling Medallion

2011-03-21T20:34:00.003-04:00

I think I have to get one of these for the dining room for around the chandelier!

We bought ours here...quick shipping and a great value!

Testing Paint Colors

2011-03-20T18:21:00.003-04:00

We bought samples of our paint colors and here are the first three that we've tried out.

Her own bedroom in Hearty Hosta:
Her bedroom is Almost Aqua:
My dining room in Georgian Leather -- it dried very dark and doesn't appear peach like this photo shows...

Tile Idea

2011-03-13T10:59:00.003-04:00

This is NOT a picture of my house...this is an idea I found

I think I want to go with a "hopscotch" tile pattern where you use 3 sizes of tile like this picture:

Beginning to Prime the Walls

2011-03-13T10:17:00.003-04:00

My bedroom looking good!
All the Nooks & Crannies get a coat:

Hi Honey!

Taped off for Primer

2011-03-11T19:48:00.003-05:00

Windows, doors, and bathroom fixtures are taped off for priming. Some lights, switches & plugs still need taping, but priming may begin tomorrow.

Here are some photos of the taping:

The 2-day Dumpster

2011-02-13T21:02:00.002-05:00

We had this dumpster delivered Friday -- filled it up Saturday and They'll be here Monday to haul it off...We've pretty much burned the rest in our "burn barrel" or hauled it off to the dump in our truck. This would have been more than a few trips!

Flooring

2011-02-12T20:39:00.002-05:00

I may have fallen in love with this floor...

Drywall with 2 coats of mud applied - tour 2

2011-02-12T11:00:00.004-05:00

Daughter's bathroom: Upstairs on the walkway, daughter's room on the left, her bath in the center, and playroom on the right:

Living room as seen from the kitchen:

And here's a before & after of the living room viewed from the upstairs balcony/walkway:

Drywall with 2 coats of mud applied - tour 1

2011-02-12T10:54:00.004-05:00

Master Bathroom

"Breakfast" Dining area

Side entry & door to garage (guest bath in the middle)

Best looking garage in the county:

In Progress - Drywall

2011-02-12T10:30:00.003-05:00

one of the kid bedrooms...a couple days ago (they've mudded since this photo)

Editorial

2011-02-06T15:40:00.002-05:00

If you've never really struggled through building a house...this is an exciting time. Instead of picking out lumber, pipes, wires, and other boring stuff, (the last 3 years of my life) ... I get to pick things that I will actually see...and use! We started really looking at the tile, hardwoods & countertops recently. Looking for a nice hopscotch pattern tile kitchen floor with white cabinests and a marble countertop. We pretty much have picked a wood floor too, a mixture of 3, 5, & 7 inch wide planks in a distressed maple. Now we just have to make it all work together and look nice.

Master Bathroom Light

2011-02-05T18:10:00.003-05:00

We bought this one today too. Master bath. No pretty catalog picture of it.

Foyer Light

2011-02-05T18:05:00.001-05:00

Needed something significant for our tall foyer. Bought this one -- it is much bigger in person than it looks in this picture...I think it's like 36 inches or so from top to bottom...

Dining room light

2011-02-05T18:03:00.001-05:00

We bought this one today for the dining room -- 6 lights...oval shaped. Ours doesn't have the gold accents you see in this picture.

Breakfast Nook Light

2011-02-05T17:58:00.002-05:00

Bought this today as our light fixture over kitchen "breakfast" table light.

Insulated Garage

2011-02-03T21:24:00.001-05:00

Ready for drywall -- insulated & cleaned out!

Drywall Soon!!!

2011-01-29T20:55:00.001-05:00

I'm going to throw it out there...I think we'll have drywall next week!!! The wait is on to see if it all works out.

Shower floor started in this bathroom too

2011-01-29T20:42:00.003-05:00

I swear this is the last bathroom...you'd think we had seven kids...

Tub # 3 installed & shower "pan" started in Master

2011-01-29T20:39:00.003-05:00

Bathtubs are all in now...and you can see in our shower that dark gray color on the floor is the mortar for our shower floor (started) now.

Bathtub with Backerboard installed

2011-01-29T20:35:00.004-05:00

Drains are in and backerboard is ready for tile on tub # 2 -- Tip: For about $15, he bought a roll of insulation and insulated around all of the bath tubs. This way when you run a hot bath, it will stay hot!

Trimming out the Front Porch

2011-01-29T20:25:00.001-05:00

Last weekend we trimmed out a bunch of the exposed beams across the front porches with hardiboards, much prettier now.

First tub in with Tile Backerboard installed

2011-01-23T17:39:00.000-05:00

One down...

Possible Tile Choice

2011-01-15T20:55:00.000-05:00

Possibly like the Marazzi Jade Ochre tile for the kitchen & Baths

Insulation is DONE - except the blown in stuff.

2011-01-14T17:37:00.002-05:00

View of Kitchen from Living room, the two pipes sticking up are my future kitchen sink on a peninsula counter/cabinet

Living Room :

Inside master bath looking towards potty closet and clothes closet:

Master Bedroom:

YIPPEE!

2011-01-12T22:13:00.000-05:00

Insulation will be installed Friday!

Screened in back porch - Beadboard installed in Ceiling

2011-01-08T16:31:00.002-05:00

Still missing one little piece and the trimmings

Bathroom Floors with Tile Backerboard Installed

2011-01-08T16:27:00.004-05:00

He even let the girls and me help! I didn't even complain about the blister I got from the trowel...

Major Inspection Passed! Framing!

2011-01-01T17:21:00.002-05:00

We passed our framing/plumbing rough in/electrical rough in inspection yesterday. We're starting off the new year getting quotes for insulation and drywall!

Above the door Transoms installed

2010-12-29T21:39:00.002-05:00

This was one of our "custom splurges". We put a transom window above all of the interior doors in the house. Here are a set of three upstairs, and the one over the office & master bedroom downstairs. The downstairs ones look bigger because they are, those are double doors.

Bathrooms before Tile BackerBoard

2010-12-29T21:35:00.004-05:00

Three of our bathrooms, a "before" picture, to show how they looked before the tile backer boards went in. My new camera works great, I took these in pitch black dark out there!

Verbal Update

2010-11-21T19:52:00.002-05:00

I have no picture to update you, but I can tell you that the security system is wired, the rest of the wiring is in the house. He said that he has some loose ends to tie up before insulation and sheetrock. I know we have to order all of those interior transom windows to go above all of the interior doors...they have to be in before the framing inspection, but I am so excited for wiring to be done...what a slow job having to drill all of those holes (not slow for me, I haven't drilled the first one!)

Anyway, when I have something fun to show, I'll add a picture!

Some inside pictures of more electrical work

2010-08-10T15:32:00.002-04:00

New Front of House Photo

2010-08-10T15:29:00.002-04:00

Upstairs Bathroom

2010-07-18T15:39:00.001-04:00

This is my daughter's bathroom upstairs. you can see the plumbing is finished and a lot of teh electrical too, on the far wall, the white box is the top of the laundry chute. JEALOUS!!??!!

Back Porch/Patio Surface Finished

2010-07-18T15:34:00.004-04:00

This surface material is designed for automobile traffic so we are hoping it will stand the test of time for us. This is the upper patio over the screened porch. It is completely shaded in the afternoons so I hope to enjoy that a lot!

First picture is looking out the door of the playroom

This picture is standing on the corner looking back at that door into the playroom...It took all the nerve I had to stand on that scary corner!

This porch will have handrails when completed!!!

Cool Laundry Room

2010-07-18T15:30:00.001-04:00

The laundry room has a chute from the upstairs bathroom. This was a requirement if the kids rooms weren't on the same level as the washer/dryer! Here is a picture looking up the chute from the laundry room.

Also here is the electrical, plumbing, and ductwork for that room.

Second Water Manifold DONE!

2010-07-18T15:15:00.003-04:00

This is the other side of the house (with the kitchen). The plumbing is now finished and the electrical is underway!

Isn't he such a neat & organized man? This manifold supplies two bathrooms, the kitchen, and laundry room. This is a picture of some plumbing and an outlet in the kitchen near the dishwasher.

The Garage/ Cleared Driveway!!!

2010-07-18T15:11:00.003-04:00

Two years ago this month, this little patch of gravel outside the garage was a pile of our "rough in" materials. Last month it was completely cleaned off for the first time in those 2 years...what a lot of work my husband has poured into this house...Also, I think this is the first "finished" shot I've taken of this side of the garage.

Here's a link to the day we had all that stuff delivered July 2008

Some Drain Work

2010-06-27T22:01:00.005-04:00

Some of the drain work & water lines in my daughters' bathrooms.

Some plumbing pictures

2010-06-27T21:54:00.003-04:00

We are using two separate manifolds and hot water heaters on our house. One on the master side, and the other on the kitchen side of the house. This is a picture of the master side of the house manifold. I think this is pretty cool.

Back of House

2010-06-27T21:50:00.002-04:00

Some updating on the back porch. Siding on the edges make it more close to finished!

My Room

2010-05-03T20:53:00.002-04:00

This is what I am calling "her office" space, it is mine to do with it whatever I want. I plan to wrap presents, sew, cry, fold clothes, and hide my truffles in this room!

Back Patio

2010-05-03T20:51:00.002-04:00

This is the upstairs patio ready for the protective coating. All we are waiting for is a week of no rain...It is going to be a long wait!

Some Inside Shots 1

2010-05-03T20:45:00.002-04:00

This is from the dining room looking into the foyer.

HVAC

2010-05-03T20:42:00.002-04:00

Help, our attics are under attack from a giant silver arachnid!!!

Front Porch

2010-05-03T20:39:00.001-04:00

The ceilings on the front porch are getting their beadboard installed.

Some Siding up on the Garage

2010-03-07T14:47:00.001-05:00

I actually had a day of help available so the hubbie and I put up this siding yesterday (and he did some himself this morning). This is the back of the garage

Now, I have homework to do!

Garage ready for siding

2010-02-27T18:10:00.002-05:00

What a difference a month makes! The garage is ready for siding!