Sub-Contractors

With a number of trades in and out of our project now for the last nine months, the value of a good sub has become abundantly clear.  It’s amazing that so many installers don’t really value what they are creating or feel responsibility for getting it done on time. 

The older themes of journeyman or craftsmen doesn’t seem to be a part of so many trades these days, at least in this part of the country. 

So, when a sub comes in, asks a lot of questions, checks and rechecks what they need to do, and then delivers on time, it’s truly a breath of fresh air. We have been lucky enough to get a few of them, and they will be the ones we look to for the next project.  That’s exactly it, their performance is passed on via word of mouth, or as a  direct reference for the next project.  How can that not be important?! 

Perhaps the tract housing mentality has permeated so many trades, that only super high-end projects get subs of the caliber I’m speaking of.

Painting

Mike and his crew are just about finished with the interior painting.  The superb job the drywallers did is evident in how good the ceilings and walls are coming out after a coat of primer and multiple coats of the final paint color.  We went with all off-whites for now - we may add some accents, but it’s not critical at the moment. 

The off-white of choice is Navajo White (more on the yellow or warm side).  It’s a bit different approach than what we’ve typically done (usually there is more contrast from one color to the next), but this time around we are trying out a more monochromatic color theme.  

Once we move in and experience the spaces in all the various lighting conditions, there will be some fine tuning and an effort to introduce some nice accent walls.

Lighting

Rob and his crew (CEI Electric) have been putting in some long hours to get the final lighting wrapped up.  It’s very cool to finally see the house lit up at night! 

The fixtures in the bathrooms are our favorites - they are such small sconces, but they put out an amazing amount of nice diffuse light.

Kitchen - HenryBuilt

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It’s Christmas time in May!  The Henrybuilt cabinets were delivered yesterday -- we met the truck and couldn’t wait to see everything.  All the cabinets arrived triple wrapped and undamaged - as far as we could tell.

What fun!  Eric and Mark worked on the installation of the cabinets today and made some great headway.  Another day on the island, and it will nearly be complete (with the exception of the countertops).

The quality of these cabinets is amazing. This was not really a surprise because we had been to the showroom and checked them out.   HenryBuilt’s attention to detail is top notch.  From the precision of the joinery to the quality of the plywood panels, it all has a very solid and beautiful feel. We are very happy with how the kitchen is turning out!

Flatwork

Benjamin’s crew has been working on site grading and building forms for the last few days, and yesterday, the colored concrete was poured for the patios and walks.  Finishing this part of the project really ties the house to the site and highlights the indoor/outdoor feel at the sliding doors.  We went with a medium warm grey for the integral color on the concrete.  The photo above shows the wet concrete.  However, after some curing for a couple days, it’s settling into a medium gray. 

For some privacy, we are doing a small garden wall at the front patio.  This will be done as a separate pour.  The city sidewalk and garage apron (sloped ramp) will be a third pour done next week.

Check out the saw cut pattern that was added a day after the pour in the photo sequence above.

Exterior Lighting

Rob has the major exterior electrical wrapped up - the connection to the Xcel service is complete and all the exterior light fixtures and outlets are in!  We went for subtle exterior fixtures made of brushed aluminum.   

To keep the wires from the alley away from our house, we connected the main feed to the garage and via conduit underground, brought it into the basement.  As part of the installation, Rob also included conduit for a photovoltaic panel array on the roof - this allows us the option of solar if we have any “extra” money at the end of the project.

IKEA Closets

The IKEA closets have been a bit of a challenge on both ends - from the purchase process to getting the correct rough openings.  In the end, it’s probably still worth it, as the doors on these things are still superior to what we could get for the price point with a totally custom closet system.

Things to keep in mind:  How the baseboard will interface with the base of the wardrobe system, how to treat the last bit of space used for “rough opening”, and pull options.  To my knowledge, the system completely forgoes any sort of finger pulls, so we need to install additional hardware for ease of operation.

Built-in Shelving

Jeff and his crew are moving right along with the finish work.  We’ve been refining and simplifying the design of the built-in along the living room wall for the last few weeks.  It started out as a fairly involved design with big sliding doors and a fair amount of complexity.  However, with some feedback and a desire to keep it simple, we are down to one upper “cubbie” shelf, and a simple lower section for storage and entertainment components.

Jeff is building it all out of MDF and it will be painted.  The tall section will also do double duty as a cover for the duct run upstairs.  Click on the image above for installation images.

Garage Siding

Jerry’s crew from CO Metal Source have finished up the Galvalume metal siding on the garage.  They did a very good job on the trim and working with the installation of the metal panels with hidden fasteners.  The Galvalume has a nice warm color, however the corrugation is fairly industrial.  We might look into using some of the green screen ideas of the landscape as a way to soften some of the garage surfaces...

Tile goes in

Eli has been working on the tile install for the last few days.  We’ve had to make some adjustments to get the optimal placement of “whole” tiles, but it’s coming together fairly well. 

Tile can be unforgiving when it comes to anything out of plumb or not level!  The grout will camouflage some things, but not all.