Visitors

Ryan, Sarah and Addisyn stopped by last weekend to check on our progress. I am pretty sure Addisyn gave us a thumbs up.

Underground Passed!!!

Underground passed and is being filled back in at this very minute. Wires still need to be pulled through pipe, then Austin Energy will connect us, hoping to alarm on asap. Official move in dates are Jan 10 & 11- got a solid contract on the old house on Saturday- so we are crossing our fingers its a go this time.

Electricity is on its way.

Oscar and helper continue to work on the electrical service. A whole lotta digging was going on, I am promised it will be ready for inspection tomorrow and I think they will make it since it is a nice sunny day. Note: Oscar (light gray shirt) is from Costa Rica and has a lovely accent.

Locks!!!

Back door lever and deadbolt installed. Baby steps to the finish line.

Brick Me Happy!

Brick entry was installed and looks fantastic. Special thanks to Dad Robins for schelpping said bricks up from San Antonio and to Mom as well for unloading assistance.

Light Fantastical

Sea urchin light sconce installed in Master Bedroom. I love it.

Duct, Duct, Duct, Duct....Goose!!

The exposed air duct in the living room was finally completed and I am pleasantly surprised by how nice it looked. By the way the A/C people were dragging their feet to do it, I was convinced they had no idea what they were doing, but for once something had turned out better that I expected. Now if they could find it in their hearts to deliver the last 2 return air grilles I might cry.

The Wall.

Trim carpenter Steve made a wall for our penninsula of cabinets, it is a beautiful wall. We also got the refrigerator delivered and cozy, cubby made for it as well. Almost all drawers/doors installed as well. Note: The cabinets are white, the blue is a protective coating for the super glossy finish.

It's a Cabinet Party!!!!

Big thanks to Mom, Dad, Michelle, Ric and James who braved the worst weather Thanksgiving weekend and helped us assemble the daunting number of Ikea cabinets throughout the house. The professional installers wanted 4-5 business days and our fearless team assembled everything in one afternoon- Suck it installers.

Tile Finished

After much prodding the tile is finally finished. It looks good and is ready for use.

Floors Finished

With much help from our good friend Andy Rihn we successfully finished the floors. We will put one final top coat on before we move in, but all in all it was a lot of scrubbing and scraping but went off without any major glitches, imagine that, hallelujah!!

Yikes!!!

yikes I fell in a hole- but have managed to climb my way out. Many updates to come.

park it here.

Got the driveway and back steps poured without incident. I was hoping that one of the chickens would wander over and stamp our concrete with chicken prints- but no such luck. tile is progressing on the inside, Robert is moving along nicely and should be finished up by Friday, cross your fingers.

Paint, Paint & More paint

Painters are finishing up today. All looks good and i am excited to get the floors polished and cabinets in. Carport got it's roof framing too, we just have to get the door on it. Last week brought more visitors- Rod, Karl and Heather stopped by for a whirlwind tour on Wednesday and Friday Ted and Erin stopped by but we forgot the photo- so we will have to catch them again. More pictures to come!!!

Lots to Report

Well it has been a busy week with lots to report. Drywall is finished and looking good- window sills and misc. trim was all put in as well. Big props to Ryan who came and trimmed the tree by our power pole- we were told we could save 2-1/2 weeks for getting our electrical service if we trimmed our own trees- so Ryan, once again came to the rescue- big thanks. we patiently wait for the service for the whole block and several new power poles, including the 2 flanking our lot, to be installed. All that has to be done before we can be hooked up- apparently our part of town has "been seriously neglected for years". Worst case it could take 2 months, holy cow!!- i have been told they give very long lead times to cover their butts- we are crossing our fingers for sooner.
Gas line got put in yesterday without incident, thank you powers that be and we got tapped into the city sewer today, they had to dig up the street and close off our whole block. The guys on the crew were quite the characters and happily posed for my photos.
We also got the steel up for the carport- hopefully we will get the roof structure framed this weekend.
So we have had lots of activity this week and hope to keep us the progress- painters are supposed to start Monday!!!! we picked the middle color in photo 2- for the outside, all white on the inside for now.
Oh I almost forgot- i found out wednesday, that I have finally passed all of the 9 tests and fulfilled all the required work hours to become an official licensed architect!!! Baxter and I howled with excitement for a good 15 min.

drywall finished!!

photos to come. steel fabricator is getting started on the carport. Lots of action in the utility department- however nothing to show for it yet. We are at the mercy of the city of austin- for both our sewer and electrical hook-ups- yikes. I am waiting patiently, I have to remind myself every day- patience is a virtue. Almost got fined for over excavating next to the power pole- in our endless search for the sewer connection- so quick like bunnies we filled in the hole- which the city will have to dig back up so they can realize there is no tap, again, and put one in. The sun is out today, hooray.

Tape, float, sand, repeat....

They have starting taping and floating the drywall and after much persuasion and pointing I think I have the drywallers in line with all the details. You would think I asked them to walk on their hands and make monkey noises by the looks I got. I wonder if they eat the same thing every day and drive the same exact route because they only like to do things one way and thats it- don't ever change it or they act like they will die. Baxter even had to get in there and show them a thing or two.
We also got in the crazy "Stealth Acoustics" speakers they tape and float around them and they flush out with the drywall and you never see them, Patrick peed his pants for these- well not literally- this time.

More visitors!!!

I am a couple of days behind- but we had several more visitors come by this weekend. Saturday my sister Sarah and her beau Daniel stopped by. I am always amazed at Daniels freakish height- 6'6" (if I remember correctly)- so I made him pose as a scale figure at the big front door, thankfully he obliged and I didn't have to lock him in the port-a-potty. On Sunday, Patrick's sister and her husband John came with their entourage, next time they will have to pose as scale figures too.

10-4 Good Buddy I'm outta here!!

A little different news as I just can't contain myself...10-4-07- at 9:34pm My newest nephew arrived Beckham Robins Blunt at a healthy 7 pounds 11oz, 20-1/2". All are doing well and I am back off to the hospital to squeeze that little baby.

Look what the easterly winds blew in!

A special visitor joined us today- one of my very best friends in the whole wide world, Alex, from Chicago was in town and graced our presence on site Thursday. She gave a 2 thumbs up and made me laugh so much I almost released all of my stress.
We are still installing all of the trimless door frames- this is new for me and Keith the trim carpenter so we have had a few little bumps along the way- but i think we are on our way now. Doors finally arrived too and are being installed as we type/read.
Drywallers resume on Monday to tape and float!!

Commence to Start the Drywall!!!!

Wow- more progress. They started hanging the drywall today and are zipping right along. I am happy as several of the details I endlessly fretted about are coming to life with the drywall. The light is also reflecting nicely- the office/hall gets perfect daylight! They said they would be done hanging the drywall tomorrow and the the tape and floaters come in. All in all we should be done with drywall next friday. Then tile, then paint. Off to order cabinets, etc. from IKEA.

Making Progress!!!!

Several exciting things to report. We are connected to the city sewer and awaiting a Monday inspection. We are also connected for water as well. Lots of trenches and the front yard is a mess- but it is good progress. Metal guys are 90% done- we only lack the parapet cap for the rest of the house- but the dark grey metal is pretty much done and it looks super fantastic. Drywall is being delivered at this very moment and is scheduled to start Saturday or Monday! Will paint exterior once parapet cap is installed!!