Landscape Design From Afar

Side Yard - facing south.

Side Yard - along fence, facing south.


Rear Yard - 15 feet wide, facing north.

Rear Yard - 15 feet wide, facing south.

I found a super nice and talented landscape designer/architect to work on my landscape design. We are having some technical difficulties with e-mail, so here my attempt to show her the "before" status of my yard. I don't necessarily have a green thumb or irrigation, so we are going the xeriscape route.

Marble Tile Flooring

Day 1 - Fiberock and Tile Arrangement.

Day 2 - Set, Grouted and Done.

Stacked Subway Tile

Day 1 - Set the Tile

Day 2 - Grouted and Beautiful!

Tales from the Tub

Here's a stock image of my bath vanity. I chose a different sink. Mine is white and modern. I like the combination of a stark white modern sink and the traditional, yet clean lines of the vanity.

Each day, I find myself learning more and more. The guys at the office laugh because I have added so many new words to my vocabulary. Some new things I've learned include:

1. Vinyl grout doesn't have to be sealed. Sanded grout does.
2. For a natural stone floor (marble), at a minimum you want your floor joists 16" O.C. and 3/4" plywood backing. Don't forget the backer board.
3. If you can't get all of your tile from the same lot, lay it out first.
4. Staggering is good.
5. Shop during the week and be patient. Activity at the stores are slower, so it is easier to find a manager. While waiting at the Expo Design Center, I read O at Home, Dwell and Domino. I didn't have to buy the magazines (saving $15) and got a 10% discount on my bath vanity.

Update

One of my work projects is dying a slow painful death. If you asked me two weeks ago, I would have told you that it was dead. It gained some legs and a new spin last week. When I completed my thesis defense, I remember being glad that I would never have to do that again. Yet today's meeting was eerily reminiscent of that day, with one exception - two more people on the jury. But I digress, ....

The paint is on order and the tile is going up as we speak. It looks fabulous. I'm sure there is more stuff going on, but I was already emotionally spent for the day and didn't look for more. Pictures to follow.

My Walk-in Closet

It doesn't compare to the closets in suburban homes (and the one I had as a teenager), but relative to the closets built in the 1920's...this one is huge! The rods and shelves are in. I'm keeping it simple, no fancy California Closets just yet.

Paint Update

Inspiration Picture

Yes, this is my life. After many test quarts and some free professional advice, I decided on some wonderful colors from Farrow & Ball.

• Borrowed Light for the Walls
• Pointing for the Ceilings
• Strong White for the Trim and Doors
  

Doors^3

Living Area

Status - New Garage Doors!

More deliveries, more visits to my neighbor to make sure that we stay in his good graces. So far, so good.

The bedroom and closet doors are hung and the baseboard is partially up. The biggest change is the installation of the garage doors. It is sort of dark without the row of windows on the top, but I have to remember that the power is not on and that windows cost an extra $250.

Dana took a look at my paint samples and likes Farrow & Ball's Borrowed Light. She thought Cake Stand Blue was too light and the other color was too dark. Her other recommendation was to paint the ceiling in the alcove the same color as the walls.

Just Say No to Popcorn

Wall texture. Decisions, decisions. There are those that believe that orange peel is dated, but when a smooth texture costs $250 more per room, you get over it. They sprayed the walls and ceiling this morning. The walls are a light orange peel and the ceiling is knock down. They were going to do the concrete block too, but I decided that I like them just the way they are.

They also finished, more or less, the balcony.

My New Old House

From the Wall Street Journal, The New Old House. This is stuff white people like.

Le Tour de Grandes Box

I picked out the tile for the bathroom shower and agonized over the grout color. I decided to use 3x6 white subway tile, stacked in columns, and 1/16 inch grout lines with light-grey acid resistant non-sanded grout. Yes, I had help figuring that out.

Choosing the flooring was a little different. I went to the Orange Big Box to check out light fixtures and found some marble tile on clearance for $2.99/SF. Considering that the only other floor tile I like is $9.89/SF, I was ecstatic. Now the bad part - since it is on clearance, I had to go to FOUR Big Box stores to try to find enough. I'll measure in the morning and confirm.

The good news is that I picked out most of the light fixtures and kept within my budget! The Blue Big Box has nice light fixtures at a great price. This galvanized outdoor light fixture will go outside the french doors and is less than $20.

Look Up

Passed the above ceiling inspection, so today's all about tape & mud.

Garage

Living Area

Status

Men on Stilts

They're hanging drywall. Lots of people are walking around on stilts today. I guess that's what you get when you have 9-foot ceilings.

Money Grows on Trees

One of the fees the City charges is $350 fee for the Street Tree Trust Fund. I just now noticed that I was assessed and paid this fee. The only problem with this is that I already have a tree - a nice large oak tree. Since I'm looking for any additional funds I can get, I drafted a letter requesting the refund.

We have drywall

Another early morning, another early delivery. I heard the truck "beep, beep, beep" around 5:15 AM. This time it was 7,000 lbs of drywall and associated supplies. The truck and crane came as close as they could and the guys hauled it the rest of the way. Good thing they had their morning coffee.

Success in the Trenches

The insulation inspection passed Friday. Monday will be another early morning as the drywall delivery is scheduled for 6 AM!

Looks like we're done with the hard part of the plumbing. Phase one was to dig the trench. Phase two is laying down the pipe. Now all they have to do is cover it up.

Why was I surprised to see remnants of clay pipe?

Digging a hole to China

When Michael and Scott were building their garage apartment, it looked like they had to dig a hole to China to find their sanitary sewer line. Little did I know that it we would have the same issue.

Leaf is pointing to the watermark.

They found the pipe.

Baby pipe? I think it was the line that brought power to my old garage.

Keeping Cool

I went for a run this morning (it's freaking hot) and when I came back there was a truck in the driveway. I wandered over to the back and a guy was walking on stilts, jamming to his ipod and stapling away. The insulation inspection is scheduled for tomorrow. Here's the finished product.

Garage

Living Area

Above the Closet

More Inspections

The electrician worked half-days this weekend and it paid off. The electrical rough-in as well as framing passed inspection today.

The Perils of Painting

8 AM: Electrical, Aluminum and Painting Crews arrive and get started.

Noon: Aluminum soffits in. Exterior painting done.

Great job guys!

Shades of Blue

Sonata

Slate Blue

Paint color options for the interior. My third option is Martha Stewart's Cake Stand Blue, but their website doesn't let me save images. Argh!

Change Order #1

I tried to be a good owner and not change my mind, but it was going to happen sooner or later. I outlined my furniture with chalk on the floor and realized that the dining table and chairs did not fit! So, we (the contractor) chopped approximately 16" off the island. This messes with the kitchen layout a little because the plumbing was already in for the sink. Long story short, the dishwasher is moving to the left of the sink. Not a biggie, but it was something that would have bothered me in the long run. Everyone should do a home improvement project like this...whew!

Before - use the blue junction box as a reference

After

Sparky 4th

The siding is more or less done. The painters are supposed to come this weekend. I debated picking a different color, but since that meant I would have to repaint the front house in the not too distant future, we decided to stick with what I have now: Benjamin Moore 1536 Northern Cliff for the exterior and 1611 Gray Tint for the trim.

Buzzing Along....

Two walls covered up. Two more to go.

Siding going up on the east wall. It scary just hanging off to take this picture! Love how they are using the tree as a tool belt.

Hot torched balcony floor.

The electrician just left. He set some wires and the blue plastic junction boxes. OUC guy is coming tomorrow at 9 AM to let us know where they want the panel.

Pre-Construction Photo from Above

This aerial image is courtesy of our local property appraiser. Flown in 2007, you can see the roofline of my former garage aka the wood shed on my survey.

Permit

The siding is now up on the west and south sides. The aluminum is also partially in around the soffits and fascias, but it is hard to see in photos. FYI - soffit and fascia are two new words that were added to my vocabulary this year.

I went out on the balcony this weekend to climb up the ladder and check out the roof - but I decided it that the roof looked fine from the ground!

Inspection wise, so far, so good. Keeping my fingers crossed.