Sooooo close!

The first fire in the woodstove. Mind you it stunk like crazy and we had to open all the windows and doors because the smoke alarms were going off, but it sure was pretty! I am hoping to have a couple more fires in it before we move in to get rid of the smell some more.

Ron got the pump installed in the sewer tank (force main for those of you wondering why we have a pump). He also was able to get the asphalt down over the sewer line and he had a little left over so he made a really nice parking spot for his truck in the back alley.

We also got the top caps put on the retaining wall, and I must say it looks very nice. We have a few left over so I think he is going to do something in the back yard with them for the veggie garden.

So this week he has been working on the driveway and getting it all framed up and ready to pour Friday. It is suppose to be somewhat nice Friday, although it will cold so he will have to use blankets on the concrete, but none the less, we are hoping to call for final inspection on Monday! YEAH!

Oh yeah, the plumber is all done so we have faucets, toilets and the "cuzzi" tub can actually be filled now.

I will work on getting some more pictures soon. My mom is coming tomorrow to help clean the place and Aunt Cherie is coming Friday so that we can tackle the Roman Shades! YIPPEE!

Windows done!

Well I was able to finish up all the window cleaning! YEAH! I was so excited to have all the windows done! I was also able to start dusting the walls and all the trim work and vacuum once again. Ron also got the rest of the gravel spread out and he will start forming up the driveway this coming Saturday and hopefully pour it on Monday.

We helped the builder place the woodstove on the beautiful granite hearth today and he will hook the pipe up tomorrow. So with any luck we will light a fire in it this weekend to start burning off the "new woodstove smell"! We will have to see if the builder is okay with this, there is probably some stupid rule about no burning in the woodstove until final acceptance. Who knows! Also the plumber was there today starting to install the rest of the plumbing fixtures and Bart was installing the towel racks and toilet paper holders.

I just want to say thanks again to all who have pitched in and helped us on this project!

a few more...

Messy kitchen...
Messy living room, woodstove awaiting install. The hearth turned out really nice!
Stairs...

more

Master bedroom...notice the cornice?
Master bath, "cuzzi" tub...notice the cornice?
Master bath shower...
Tracey's room/aka den...notice the cornices?

Can you tell I am proud of the cornices? HEHE!

More pictures

Lorenzo placing a corner block, soaking wet, of course it rained most of the day for them.


Hallway...
Trevor's room...notice the cornice?
Guest bedroom/office...again notice the cornice?
Guest /main bathroom...

This week/weekend has been very busy and Ron has made huge progress on the retaining wall. The carpet, vinyl, and formica has been installed along with the range and microwave. The plumber will be in on Tuesday to put in the toilets and the "cuzzi" tub (as Trevor calls it).

Ron took 2 days off this week to work on the wall. The blocks that we used are 80 pounders, and believe it or not I can pack them around but I am not very fast and was slowing Ron down substanitally. So we decided it was beneficial to hire a few guys from work to help pack the 400+ blocks instead of me today. Thank you guys soooooo much! Ron had the first course done by this morning and a few more rows that I helped him with but the guys were able to just hammer it out today, it looks great!

My WONDERFUL friend Jen came over today and cleaned half the windows! They look awesome and I hope she does know how greatful I am. While she was doing that I was running around vacuuming the carpet, vinyl and trying to get all the cabinetry cleaned out with the shop vac. Things are really starting to sparkle in the house. Tomorrow we will be back at the house working on more cleaning and Ron and Trevor will be working on the top caps on the retaining wall and spreading the rest of the gravel and compacting it.

I will try to get some more/better pictures of the wall tomorrow, but when we finished today it was dark and the pictures wern't turning out very good.

Sewer is in

Well after 2 full weekends working on the sewer system the tank and pipe is in! The first weekend was spent setting the tank and hooking the tank to the house. Then Ron started down the alley installing the sewer line toward the manhole. All went well the first weekend.

The second weekend was little more interesting. This is the part where he had to cut the asphalt and put the pipe in the middle of the road. He made sure to give everyone in the neighborhood warning (letter on doorstep) that there would be possible delays getting in and out of their homes. All but one was understanding a cooperative, she was ranting and raving at Ron about how she was delayed and it was rediculous she didn't receive warning, which she did. The sad part was is that the longest she had to wait was about 90 seconds, yes, 90 seconds. I felt bad that someone would get so worked up over something like that. Maybe I just have a different point of view being in construction, but geesh, settle down! Oh well, the rest of the neighbors were great.

Ron, his dad and a guy from work were the ones working on the line. They were crusing right along Saturday and looked as though they would even finish that night until the hit a water line! Yikes! It was unmarked, eventhough Ron had called to have everything located. So we didn't have to pay to repair it, but it delayed them enough that they didn't finish until Sunday around noon. The utility guy was apologetic and got it fixed within a couple hours so not a huge deal, it could have been a lot worse, but still a bit of a bummer. The other lucky thing is it was only a 3/4" copper line and not a main or anything like that! Phew!

So now we are just waiting for the pump to come in and then the elctrician will come in and wire that and then the plumber can come in and finish his work!

The carpet guys are at the house today installing the carpet, I can't wait to see it.

Tom and Cherie also came up this weekend and helped me make and install all the cornices. In my opinon they look awesome and give the house a very taylored look. I of course have no photos as I keep forgetting the camera. Sorry, I will have some soon. The next project for Cherie and I will be to start making the Roman shades, yippee! I am looking forward to them being done but not looking forward to doing them.

The next major project for the house is the retaining wall. The blocks are being delivered tomorrow and Ron will start on it right away. Then once that is complete (hopefully in a few days) he will get the driveway formed up and then pour it within a few days after that. I will keep everyone posted.