SO, WHAT’S THE LATEST?

The latest is that we have the spraying done on the outside of the basement walls, to waterproof them.  We got that done yesterday.   They spray the foundation with a “tar” - for lack of a better word - and then put a foam board on top of that.  We chose to do that because we’re near water and there’s so much clay in the soil that this was the way to make sure we wouldn’t have any problems with the basement.  It’s really, really nice because it has a 15 year warranty on it.

IS IT A PRETTY SIMPLE PROCESS?

I’d say the whole process took about 4 ½ hours.  Obviously they are professionals and they were totally prepared.  They had already measured, so they knew how much material to bring.  They had everything ready to go.  First, they had to “parch” the outside of the walls, which means they take something like mortar on the outside of the walls, so that there are no porous surfaces, and then they spray this black stuff all over it to seal it.  The spray that they spray on is self-contained in their truck.  It was really interesting to watch. Then they stick those foam panels on, to help the water drain down to the French drains and pull it away from the house.   Once the French drains are finished - which they’re working on this afternoon - they we’ll be able to backfill the dirt up to the side of the house.  That will really be nice, because we won’t have to keep going through the basement and climbing up a ladder every time we want to go into the house.

HOW’S THE FRAMING COMING ALONG?

This weekend, we’ll be framing the second floor, and hopefully, the floor of the second floor as well.  The only thing that we still don’t have framed is the front of the house.  We have both sides of the house framed, all the way up to the corners, and the back is framed.  So, now they’re working on framing the walls for the second floor.  Then the materials for the sub floor needs to come in.  That’s supposed to come in on Friday.

HAVE YOU BUILT STAIRS YET?

No.  We’re using ladders for now.  One ladder goes from the basement/garage to the first floor.  Then we will have another ladder going from the first floor to the loft area, where the children’s rooms will be.

WHAT’S THE LATEST WORD ON YOUR WINDOWS AND DOORS?

Windows should be delivered next week.  They’re going to call me next Tuesday to let me know what day they’ll be delivered.

We’re not doing a big front door that is on the plans.  We’re doing a smaller front door, because when we had to move the house on the property, we made the realization that it’s silly to have people walk all the way around the side of the home to come in.  So we’re going to use the side door as our main door.   The plan calls for a big front door with sidelights, but we’re not going to do the sidelights, because there’s enough light coming in from the big huge windows.   We’re going to have a conversation about this, this evening, so John can get everything re-drawn up, to get the front of the house framed.

IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE’S JUST ONE THING AFTER ANOTHER TO THINK THROUGH.

There is, but I really like it because I don’t think it would be quite as easy to change things if we had to go through a contractor.  We were having a conversation about a bathroom door or closet door, or something, and I said, “I think we should move it over, just a little tiny bit.”  And John said, “Oh, we can do that.  Not a problem.”   I really like that part of this - little changes that aren’t structural issues.   For instance, one thing we’re looking at - the door from the master bedroom to the master bath - I’d like it to be a pocket door.  We don’t know if that’s possible, but we’re looking at it, and if we can change it, we will.  I can change little things as we go along, and John’s very flexible.

WHAT’S THE STATUS OF YOUR CABINETS?

Next week, I’m going to make my final decisions on the cabinets.  We’ve already put our deposit down, but I have to decide on things like door handles and hinges and the color of the stain.

HOW ABOUT COUNTERTOPS?

We decided to stay away from laminate.   I’m thinking maybe granite, but I’m not sure.  We did get a quote for marble and it was almost as expensive as the cabinets themselves, so we’re not going that route.   There’s got to be something that’s more “middle of the road.”  One thing for sure is, I do know that I want rounded edges. 

IS THIS STILL FUN?

Yes, because we haven’t come to any more roadblocks lately.  The less road blocks, the more fun I’m going to have with this.