The week in review

There's been lots of things going on this week; I'll try to remember them in order.

The pillars on the front structure are being stripped of their stucco in preparation for the new, smooth finish. The decision was to keep 3 of the existing solid pillars and have the 4th be new to accommodate the drainage from above. It turns out that one of the 4 existing is a bit tippity, so I guess that's the one that goes - hopefully not on it's own.

We had a minor delay on finishing the bluestone steps and landing by the vestibule when Peter and I decided we wanted to have them heated for snow and ice melting. Since they had already been poured, we had to go with electric coils instead of hot water which will be on the driveway. Lee found a company in Ohio that was very responsive and the pads should be here this week. Of course now it is so bitterly cold that even with their cocoons the masons may not be able to lay the bluestone.

The masons were by no means idle; they finished pointing the stone walls to make them look like the existing ones. They did a fabulous job. Then they buried themselves in the new green cocoon which covers the cement terrace that goes around the living room. They prepped the floor there by washing, repairing cracks and covering with the lovely orange flooring (which I learned is actually a waterproofing system). The plan is to start laying the bluestone there onMonday, again I guess depending on weather.

Inside the concentration was on the 2nd and ground floors. In the kitchen, the raising of the beam across the opening to the kitchen area was finished and the wall cut back to the edge of the pantry. Originally the plan was to have a less deep overhang at the entry way to the kitchen, but now that we see it, we are going to keep it all open so the kitchen is actually part of the family room (or breakfast room as Miriam likes to call it), and there is one continuous ceiling.
Now that the wood ceiling is gone, the upper cabinets look a bit odd just floating mid-wall,so we will do something to give them the appearanceof more height. Sheera suggested we mimic the shelving that's at the end of the cabinets, in cherry, on top of the cabinets, with lighting, for displaying my colored glass collection. That's probably the way we'll go.

Lee, Miriam and I spent the Thursday meeting doing the ceiling lighting in all the rooms except the basement. I think we did a good first pass. Peter was out of town, so we have yet to get his input, and of course it will change, but I'm comfortable with most of it. Hopefully this week Miriam and I will meet with a lighting consultant so I can learn more about wall washers, different size recessed cans and how light dispurses.

Lee met with the plumber and an HVAC guy. With the exception of a couple of challenges, hopefully the plumbing will be straight forward and uncomplicated. And the plumber cleared up some toilet issues for me so now I can make my selections. The heating guy, Chris, is extremely up-to-date, knowledgeable, thorough and detail-oriented. He had a few new ideas that make alot of sense. Lee thinks we'll have his proposal sometime this week.

Katelyn and Bill were busy preparing the new closet space in our dressing rooms.

And Mark was working on the back stair landings. Upstairs is opened up now giving a bigger landing and it looks great. Its hard to get a good view on camera. And the door is framed for the guest bathroom and the space for the new pocket door leading to the main house is ready. The downstairs landing is wide open in preparation for a pocket door there as well.

I'm not sure what Katelyn has in her hands, but I'd say watch out below!

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