Thursday, May 31, 2007

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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Sunday, May 27, 2007

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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Thursday, May 24, 2007

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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Tuesday, May 22, 2007

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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Sunday, May 20, 2007

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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Tuesday, May 15, 2007

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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Saturday, May 12, 2007

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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Tuesday, May 08, 2007

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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Tuesday, May 01, 2007

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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