Moving time!

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We just got word from our builder that the inspection went fine and we can start moving in!
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Almost ready for move-in!

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Again, sorry for the lack of updates, but we are getting close to the end and there are not a lot of drastic changes going on.
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I think we should have the fire department inspection today for the sprinkler system and other assorted items. If all goes well, I think we should have the county inspection tomorrow and we may be moving in this weekend!
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We have run into a few glitches along the way - a bench seat with a drawer that won't open after the countertop was installed, washer and dryer that are too deep for the space available, a dishwasher and microwave that were damaged during transit, etc. We are just making some calls to get these items resolved.
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The recessed lights are pretty dim throughout most of the house. I was the one who purchased the trims and bulbs, so this one was on me. I'll need to address this after we move in as time allows. The lights work, so let's just get the inspections finished and deal with it later.
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Tile guy finished installing the tile yesterday but has some final cleanup work to do in the next couple days. The guy doing our wiring for speakers, satellite TV, etc., should be here Thursday to finish up a lot of his work. Painters should be here Thursday as well, I think, for most of the final remaining painting items as well.
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AT&T should have our phone hooked up this week. Dish Network should be here Sunday the 5th for their installation. Softcom should be here for wireless broadband installation on August 15th along with the alarm company for their finish work.
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We are getting close!
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Countertops are in

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Just a couple photos of the countertops after installation. Master bath (above), kitchen and laundry (below) are shown. One small section of kitchen countertop (right-center portion of photo) still needs to be installed, I'm not sure why it wasn't before.
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Now it's time for plumbing fixtures!
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Electricity hooked up

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A quick visit to the house over the weekend showed that SMUD finally hooked up power to the house. There was a new digital electric meter on the side of the house with a reading of 00000 (not sure how many zeros, but you get the idea). When our builder returns from vacation next week he should be able to turn on the main and have power. Means we'll have water, too!
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We picked up the sinks for the master bath and half-bath late last week and dropped them off at the house. I think countertops should be going in as early as today and we wanted the sinks there so they can do the cutouts correctly.
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The painters had obviously visited as well - the fireplace mantel/surround, baseboards and windowsills had all been painted.
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Nothing too exciting at the moment

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Sorry for the lack of posts - our builder is on vacation for another couple weeks and we are just waiting for a few things to get done.
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I think some of the countertops should be installed this week (laminate ones in the laundry area) with the Corian ones in the kitchen and bathrooms slated for next week.
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All the baseboards have been installed but need painting.
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Flooring is finished - we were just waiting for the half bath to be buttoned up.
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We are still waiting for about 20±ft of the driveway to be paved. The county requires that any portion of the driveway in county right-of-way needs to be paved.
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SMUD has pulled the power cables through the buried conduit but they have not been hooked up to the house and no meter has been installed yet.
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I have Dish Network and the alarm guys set to come out at the end of the month for installation. I still need to schedule the phone company and a local internet provider for wireless high-speed internet. No DSL or cable internet available out there, unfortunately.
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Flooring is in!

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As these two pictures show, the flooring is in. All that remains is the trimwork around the edges, etc. Sheet vinyl in the laundry and 2 bathrooms is also in, but I need to get a better photo than the ones I have.
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The tile around the fireplace is also finished - we just need to get the mantel installed.
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The rear yard fence is almost finished, all that awaits is the gates.
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The following photos show the finished driveway. We had a loop put in near the front door around a landscaping mound and the septic tank (where the wood crates are). The septic tank location semi-dictated the size and location of the loop, but we think it turned out well. We also widened the driveway, especially near the garage (parking and turn-around space). We are waiting for the portion of the driveway in the county right-of-way to be paved; should be any day now.
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Flooring installation starts tomorrow

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Again, sorry for the infrequent updates. We are waiting for subcontractors to get product in or get finished with their work. We are also currently staying in Davis (with my wife's parents) which is convenient for us at the moment but not very close to our new house. I think we will spend the rest of the week with my parents in Galt then stay in Davis again for a while. Not sure how long we are going to need to keep this up....
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Flooring installation starts tomorrow. Not sure how long that takes, but I think they are going to start with the bathroom areas so our contractor can put in toilets, etc.
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The tile guy should be done with everything but the kitchen backsplash by the end of today. Backsplash has to wait until countertops are in, and we are not exactly sure when those will be installed.
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If we do not have power by today we will need to postpone the alarm finish installation, as it was set for tomorrow morning.
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The fencing guys were off finishing another project yesterday (and maybe today?), but I think the fence should be complete by the end of the week.
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I also think that our driveway should be going in today. I'll have to make a call and see how that stands as well.
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Fence going in

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The back yard fence is going in - they have drilled all the holes and are assembling the fence and setting the posts. It was getting dark tonight when I got there, so no good photos to share.

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I went out the next morning (6/22) and got one on the way to work. They got most of the back portion of the fence installed on 6/21.
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The guy doing the grading work has put in a couple decorative "mounds" to break up the flat front yard area. We'll plant some trees and smaller plant life on them when we have water available.
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All the crown molding is installed (had to finish a couple areas after cabinetry was finished). The glass block shower is in, too. I think he might have gone a little higher than I would have anticipated, but it will keep the splashed water inside the shower, I guess.
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Fencing to start in a couple days, power soon?

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Sorry for the infrequent posting - we are temporarily staying with relatives on a very slow (21.6k) dial-up connection and have been very busy with selling our house, working, and keeping up with stuff for the new place.
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Tile is going in slowly but surely, with part of the master shower tiled in a day or so ago.
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The ditch in the front yard for power and phone has been backfilled. We should have power and water in the next couple days now, I think!
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The backhoe operator also dug a few tree holes for us along the driveway and in the back yard. We should get some trees in them before too long.
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We have a local guy coming in to do some touch-up grading, clean up the backyard area, and work on the driveway. He will get going tomorrow and start with the back yard, as the fencing guys ahould start on Thursday with putting in the back yard fence. Be nice to get that in soon so we can start looking at back yard layout, etc.
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We are also looking at getting a lawn tractor/mower for the significant yard we are going to have to keep under control.
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I am sure there is stuff I am forgetting, but that's a taste of what's going on right now.
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Tile and kitchen cabinets going in

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Kitchen cabinets are going in! We got a blue island for a little splash of color.
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The tile work in our son's shower/bath area is in, but needs to be grouted. The accent tiles are from http://www.sreeve.com/index.html - my wife has loved Sherri Reeve's work for years and we wanted to incorporate it into the house somewhere. Things are moving along!.
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Cabinets going in and front porch railing on

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You can see that our front porch railing has been installed by our builder. He used Trex, not wood, so there should be a lot less maintenance over the years.
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http://www.trex.com/default.asp
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I got the mailbox installed today as well.
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Most of the cabinets have been set into place, including these in the dining room (buffet with frosted glass uppers).
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The kitchen cabinets are the only ones not in place yet (below). I think those will be put in on Monday. We need to get the door hardware over the weekend so they can install it next week.
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And we have a screen fence....

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Dad and I put together the screen fence I had planned for the area to house the main AC unit and garbage/recycling cans. Took several hours this afternoon to get the panels cut shorter and attach all the hardware, etc.
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We did not finish putting in the mailbox. I did not drive the base into the ground straight enough (hit some gravels/cobbles? from roadway construction, I think) to get it to work. We are either going to have to straighten the base (remove and redrive) or find a workaround. I think I'd rather remove it and try to redrive it straighter.
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The local power company did get the power poles set today. Hopefully we can have power soon!
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Cabinets delivered - installation ???

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And we have LOTS of cabinets. 3 rows of them taking up a good-sized chunk of our garage, in fact. I think I heard that there are over 150 boxes with cabinets/parts in our garage.
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Reminds me of the closing scene in "Raiders of the Lost Ark".
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House is painted!

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Finally a painted house! Still some touch-up work to do later, but it is, for the most part, painted.
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They put on the remainder of the exterior lights today (in areas that were awaiting painting). In this photo the paint and stucco look like a pretty good match, which it is. Sometimes they look a bit different - all depends on the lighting due to the difference in texture and "shine" between stucco and paint. The color came out just as we'd hoped.
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Home wiring being organized

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Well, phone and data connections are getting closer to being finished. Here is a shot of where we stand so far. I'm going to have to figure out where everything is going! Looks like he's doing a great job labelling everything, so it shouldn't be too difficult to follow. I think we still need a router in here somewhere....
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The water heaters have also been installed.
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http://tinyurl.com/2g8ze8
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And we are going to have to read the manual to figure out how to work this thing (heating and air conditioning control), I think. Actually, it is probably pretty easy to use once you start playing with it. Looks nice, though, and turns a nice blue (backlight) when you are making adjustments.
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http://tinyurl.com/263xad
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Back side of the house coming together

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OK, lots of things going on right now, which is good! The two back patio fans and all the lights have been installed, as have the downspouts.
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The two AC units have been installed as well.
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All the lights have been installed in the garage. The fire sprinkler system shutoff valve and pressure gauge is in the white box on the far wall.
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Central vacuum toe kick plates have been hooked up. Now we just need the cabinets. They are holding us up at the moment, unfortunately. I do need to do a lot of cleanup work this weekend to get rid of the garbage in the garage and clear out room for the cabinets to be stored and our belongings to wait for the move-in date.
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And last (but certainly not least) is the hope of electricity coming soon! SMUD has marked the power pole locations and called USA (Underground Service Alert) to check for utilities in the area. After the power pole is installed the phone company will use it for their service as well.
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Some green showing up

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Only major change yesterday was some of the house starting to turn green. Stucco color coat is going on, and they should be done in the next day or two. Painting comes next (for the siding), but it has been breezy here over the past couple days and that will need to die down first.
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The AC units should be going in this week as well. After painting is done, then the outside lights/electric plugs go on and the exterior is pretty much complete. I think he is going to install the water heaters this week, too.
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Moving along

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Can light covers are on (above) along with smoke detectors and most light fixtures (Master Bathroom below). One exception is the family room ceiling fan (above) - installation in progress....
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You can also see the sprinkler cover in the photo above (little white dome) - not bad at all.
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Also installed are most of the switches. Below is a light switch and fan control in a bathroom. Things are moving along - I expect that stucco color coat and exterior painting should be done soon. We are now looking at tile, tile, and more tile for the bathroom shower areas and the kitchen.
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Propane tank and concrete

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Our propane tank got installed today. It is next to the pump/water tank behind the garage.
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We brought over all the interior lighting fixtures this evening so they can start being installed tomorrow.
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Our builder also placed the last of the concrete today. Here is a shot of the sidewalk around the back of the house. You can see baling going on in the background. He's baling in what will soon be our backyard! Need to follow up on getting fencing quotes for the backyard fence.
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This is the other (last) concrete slab placed today. This is where the main AC unit and garbage cans will hide, so we are putting in a screen fence to shelter them from view. I need to cut those posts down to size and trim the vinyl fence panels to shorter lengths for the height fence we want.
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Garage doors on, interior painting almost done

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We didn't know the garage doors had arrived - the openers were installed, too! The doors are insulated and roll pretty easily.
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We went to Lowes today and got some vinyl fencing for around the location for the main AC unit (and probable garbage can location). I think the fencing will be installed on Tuesday during the last concrete pour.
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Sounds like our builder is getting tired of placing concrete and doing the concrete finish work (he's had knee surgery recently).
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We also picked up the doorbell and chime. OK, so we're cheezy - we got the one that plays like 65 different tunes. Sue us. :-)
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We are trying to find out who we want to install the vinyl back yard fencing.
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Interior painting is just about done. The main color for the interior is the tan "Sandcastle" color to the left and right and on the ceiling. This is the dining room area, where we wanted something a little bolder. Several other rooms are various colors as well, including all the bathrooms. Most of the crown molding has been painted (as it has been here). Windowsills have not been painted yet.
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Cabinets are to be delivered June 1 with installation to begin June 7. Our builder wants the light fixtures/fans there by Tuesday night so he can start installing them Wednesday morning.
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Painting soon, and more concrete on the way!

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A little morning sunshine on the front of the house.
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Painters were here today doing preparation work for painting, inside and out. Sounds like they are planning to be done by early next week. I think the stucco color coat should be finished soon, too.
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They excavated out the utility line for power and telephone today - well, most of the way. This trench makes a beeline for the wood post in the first picture after the turn (above). SMUD changed the power pole location so instead of a straight shot east to the road from the garage, we have to trench diagonally across the property to the SE corner. You can also see a small formed box to the left of the trench. It's going to be the location of the post lamp.
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They also excavated out the lines for water and propane from their respective tanks to the house. This trench is for the propane line. The propane tank is not installed yet - it will probably be located right where I am standing. The trench for the water line is just to the left of the water tank. That will also be the trench for electricity to the pump.
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The forms were set for some of the sidewalks around the house. this one will run along the front with some flower beds on either side of the entrance. Around the rest of the house it will be flush against the house foundation. I think they plan to get the front (east) and south sides finished tomorrow, along with a portion of the back patio along the garage. I think they will have much of the back (west) finished by Friday, with the north side done next week.
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New sliders, Sun Tunnels and shelves in

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Here is 1/2 the shelving in the master closet - my side. The closest bay (right side of photo) - on each of our sides - will be left open for our chest of drawers to be put in. My wife's side has more hanging space and fewer shelves. I have the feeling she will soon be taking over some of mine....
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Our builder got the sliding doors installed between the family and living room areas - we wanted the glass doors so the rooms wouldn't feel so "closed off" even when the doors were shut.
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The Velux 22" Sun Tunnel Skylights were also installed, well, the bottom portion anyways as the roof domes had been on for a while. This is the one in our son's bathroom. There is also one in the master closet.
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http://www.veluxusa.com/products/sunTunnels/TGF/
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We met with the tile guy today, ends up he went to the same church I did when I was a child. I knew he looked familiar. He still attends the same church. Anyways, we discussed some ideas with him and need to go look at tile to pick out what we want in the shower areas and as a backsplash in the kitchen.
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Doors are in, shelving in progress

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Looks a little nicer with the real front door installed.
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Most of the windowsills are now on - the inside is really starting to come together. You can see the temporary door is still sitting there next to the doorway.
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Some of the shelving in the closets has been installed as well. This is what the non-master bedrooms have in the closets. Lots of space for "stuff". Master closet and pantry are due up on Monday, I think.
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Better video link

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Someone pointed me in the direction of sendspace.com where you can upload large files for free. Here is the video the way it was meant to be seen:
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http://www.sendspace.com/file/75dkkg
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Trim going on and lights bulbs galore

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You can see that doors are being distributed throughout the house; several have been installed and others are going up today. Windowsills are also being installed. Crown molding will follow before too long, I think.
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This looks much better - septic system is covered and you can see the front of the house again. Wouldn't be surprised to see a little settlement in the area, as compaction usually isn't a strong point when backfilling these things. Shouldn't be a problem where it is located, though.
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Stopped by Home Depot this morning and bought the trim kits for all the recessed can lights in the house. They were low on supply, so they ordered what I needed and they should be in soon. Stopped by Lowes on the way home and bought a pole light for the front yard, floodlight fixtures for the house, and LOTS of light bulbs (incandescents and compact fluorescents). As Lowes only had about a dozen on hand, I need to go check Home Depot again to see if they have enough (23) 4-pin fluorescent lights for all the cans that require them. I want to get the same brand for all lights of a similar type, if possible, to match intensity and color ratings. I also need to swap out a ceiling fan. I thought we would like a certain fan in the den, but after looking at it again and giving it some thought, I want to put in something different instead.
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Materials delivered and a video for you

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Behind the empty boxes are stacks of crown molding, baseboard trim, windowsills, and doors. Door hardware is in the box to the left. Not sure if that is all of it though.
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I have put together a video of house construction (time-lapse type) based on camera shots from a window in my sister's house next door. Unfortunately, uploading to Google Video leads to the resolution being compromised as they downscale it severely. It looks pretty bad (compared to the original), but here it is nonetheless:
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http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4324399734433243583
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If I come up with a better way for you to see it in a higher resolution, I'll post it.
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We went out and bought just about all our exterior lights and all the ceiling fans today. That stuff adds up FAST!
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Stucco moving along

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The scratch coat is now being covered by the brown coat, soon to be followed by the color coat. Sounds like a Dr. Suess stucco book. :)
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The house doors have been delivered but we are not quite ready for them yet, so I think they will sit in the garage for a couple days.
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Garage doors got ordered yesterday. Not sure how long they take to get delivered, but it will be nice to get all the doors installed and be able to lock the place up.
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The painter needs to put the prep coat and we need to get the walls textured.
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I wonder if we should put crown molding in the high-ceilinged areas where the dormer windows are. I think it would look good. I'll have to talk with my wife about it.
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First coat of stucco is on

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The stucco guys have been hard at work and the first coat of stucco is on. They were back out there this morning for the next coat, I think.
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Front (east) and garage (north) sides of the house have siding; south and west sides have stucco.
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I'm pretty sure our builder should be back from vacation today. I'll try to check in with him later today.
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