House Project

Detail with an important function

Dan Sawatzky — Fri, 24 May 2013 05:30:57 +0000

I was doing a delivery to the WhistlePunk Hollow project for most of the day but while I was gone lots of people were busy in the house. Sarah, Becke and big Matt were busy painting various places. The exciting news was that today the first of the doors got their first coats of paint. Janis is in charge of this part of the project as she gives them the detailed attention they deserve.

Downstairs the finish carpenters were busy. Jesse worked on baseboard trim while Brent worked on a new project - the mudroom bench and coatrack. It is going to be a spectacular feature that will serve our family well for years to come. It will feature a ten foot long bench with a built in coatrack on the wall behind. A sturdy shelf above will hold all the accessories.

Underneath the bench there is plenty of room under the bench for our shoes and boots.

The sturdy brackets for the shelf feature Janis' beloved butterflies of course.

By tomorrow night the bench area should be almost complete. I can hardly wait to see it done!

-grampa dan

Sew?

Dan Sawatzky — Wed, 22 May 2013 05:34:20 +0000

The work continued late into the evening hours today. Houses don't build themselves. I did the fidly work first, tiling about half the stairs. Then it was on to Janis' large sewing room. I've learned the easiest way for me to tile is to do the big area first, then come back the next day and first cut then lay the edges to fit perfectly. There were 150 full size tiles on this floor. There will be plenty of room for Janis to do her quilting in this room.

Tile by tile we get closer each day to moving in. No firm date yet but it will be soon!

-grampa dan

Upstairs floor done

Dan Sawatzky — Tue, 21 May 2013 05:29:34 +0000

Today I spent putting down the last of the upstairs floor. Laminate flooring goes down quickly but is exacting work. The room certainly changed in a hurry! Now the Boughen boys can finish the trim and Becke and her crew can finish the blending of the colors. The electricians can also put in the LED lighting to finish things off before Becke moves her things in.

Photographs don't do this room justice. It just makes everyone who sees it smile.

-grampa dan

Small details

Dan Sawatzky — Mon, 20 May 2013 03:52:37 +0000

Not every part of the house construction is glamorous but every bit requires thought and attention to detail. Some of the more mudane bits seem to require the most thought and planning. The flooring in the upstairs hallway at the top of the stairs is laminated cork. This has to transition to ceramic tile down the stairs. The stair noses presented a big dilema as we didn't care for the cheap looking standard fare. After some research we located a stair nosing (actually a tile countertop trim) that would work perfectly. The laminate flooring needed to be custom sawn at the edge to make it work and that was today's task. Small square tiles will go into the front of the metal molding when I do the tiling down the stairs. The same molding will be used all down the stairs.

I had previously laid the laminate flooring over the arched bridge some weeks ago and now at last it was time to extend it through the upper hallway and then into the last room upstairs (tomorrow). After doing little for the last four days it felt good to get my hands to the tools once more. In about two hours the job was done.

It is the small details throughout the house that make it so special.

-grampa dan

Peacock room

Dan Sawatzky — Thu, 16 May 2013 07:05:17 +0000

Becke has always loved wild colors. For her room upstairs in the new house she has pulled out the stops. Inspired by a peacock feather she has designed the colors for her room. It is pretty wild. With the hand troweled sloped plaster ceilings and high wainscot it looks like no other room I've ever seen.

By late next week the room will be complete. Stay tuned...

-grampa dan

Waterworks details

Dan Sawatzky — Tue, 14 May 2013 04:45:33 +0000

Today, Shawn from Richard's Plumbing spent the day in the new house hooking up the sinks and taps. He 's a great guy who pays attention to the little details, like how the pipes under the sink are tucked close to the wall in order to not take up valuable storage space. The taps we chose are simple, yet elegant and single handle design for ease of use.

The big sink is in the mudroom bathroom. It's the extra deep sink that will get heavy duty use including washing our small dogs. The spray head also is attached to a hose that pulls out for spraying. I still have to do the tile back splash around this area.

The main bathroom features a six foot long tub that is extra deep. It will be a great place to soak. The taps are the same simple, elegant style.

The ensuite shower is a pure delight. It features three separately controlled shower heads. I gave it a spin tonight and this is a shower where one gets wet all over at the same time. Measuring four feet wide by eight feet long and with a nine foot ceiling this shower feels nice and roomy too. :)

I'm loving this house already!

-grampa dan

Floor progress

Dan Sawatzky — Mon, 13 May 2013 05:13:57 +0000

Today I mamaged to finish tiling the last of the closets, the stair risers and the floor of the mudroom bathroom. That finishes the small floor areas of the house. This means the pace of tiling will pick up from here.

The LED lights under the handrails light up the stairs perfectly by themselves (without shining in our eyes) and will serve as a night light when we have company.

The trim in Phoebe's playroom is now finished and ready for final paint. The adjustable shelves are ready for paint as well.

With the upstairs bathroom tile in place I can now finish the laminated floor in the upstairs area. Once that is done I'll be tiling the large areas of the downstairs. It is all coming together quickly now. Stay tuned for more progress...

-grampa dan

Splish splash.

Dan Sawatzky — Fri, 10 May 2013 05:18:21 +0000

The new house is a careful balance between practicality and fun. In the bathroom and ensuite we considered many options for the surrounds. Janis isn't fond of the maintenance tile would involve. The high cost of a one piece solid surface defeated that option. In the end we opted for a 100% acrylic splash with as few seams as possible. It's plain but the easiest to maintain. We'll keep the fancy for other parts of the rooms. The bath splash crew was in the house the last few days installing the massive sheets of acrylic. One of the installers will be back tomorrow to finish.

The ensuite the shower is eight feet long and four feet wide. The floor is sloped gently to the drain in the middle and there will be no shower door. The reason is simple. Like the rest of our house these areas are designed to be wheelchair friendly. I put in plenty of sturdy backing in both the tub and ensuite shower areas in case we need grab bars in the future as well. The truth is that Janis and I aren't getting younger. While we may never have the need for wheelchairs we don't want such a need to force us from our home in future years. It will never be easier than now to plan for such an eventuality.

On Monday the plumbers arrive for the final install of the toilets and taps. Everything is coming together.

Soon...

-grampa dan

Laundry room - check!

Dan Sawatzky — Thu, 09 May 2013 05:15:12 +0000

As the crew finishes the painting of each room I move in as soon as the paint hardens to lay down the tile. Today the upstairs bathroom was started and the laundry room was finished.

The stack of boxed tiles get smaller each day while the finished floor grows in size. We are counting the days until we move...

-grampa dan

One room at a time.

Dan Sawatzky — Sun, 05 May 2013 04:26:34 +0000

The house is at the stage where progress is done in bits and pieces. The Boughens are busy putting up trim, starting on the upper floor. They'll finish off one room at a time and then work their way through the bottom floor. In Phoebe's play room the trim is almost complete and looking great.

The massive shelving unit, designed to dsplay all the wonderful things Phoebe creates, is ready to have the adjustable shelves installed. Final paint will finish things off nicely.

Downstairs I've been busy laying tile. The ensuite tile is finished. Other tile work is underway through the house. The main bathroom is now ready for grout.

Final painting continues one room at a time and then I'll follow along with the tile. We can hardly wait to get into the house for real very soon.

-grampa dan