Adding to Your Home Without Losing Your Mind, Marriage, or Life Savings

My new decorating blog!

2010-05-20T20:11:00.004-04:00

Since our home addition is pretty much done (with the exception of a few punchlist items which I will post about later), I decided to start a new blog about our house generally and how we are personalizing it to make it our own. Hopefully it's our "forever house" so we want it to always feel that way.

Check out Houseography!

House Tour!

2010-05-11T15:26:00.003-04:00

Just as I thought we could live with some unfinished projects in our house, we sign on to be featured in the annual Tuckahoe Elementary House Tour on May 22nd. This is an annual home tour in Arlington which generally focuses on renovated homes so people can get ideas on how to renovate their own homes. We are honored to have been asked to be on the tour! Here is more information on the tour and on how to get tickets: http://tuckahoetour.org/

After reading some other house blogs out there, I am now inspired to get back into blogging about our house projects (which have been pushed forward due to the house tour). We still have some fairly major interior projects to work on but generally we are shifting our focus into the backyard which is bordering on disaster in areas. Our dog, Angus, is not helping our progress since he enjoys eating and digging at the mulch!

Lots more posts and pictures to come, so stay tuned!

Finishing the new basement!

2010-03-16T19:37:00.005-04:00

Well, after the sump pump project started being discussed, we decided to go ahead and finish the rest of our new basement so that it now includes a fully finished bathroom, a legal bedroom (with egress window), and playroom. This had been in our original plans but we decided not to do it when we did the rest of the addition because we weren't entirely sure what we wanted and we wanted to cut some costs.

The whole project took about 3 weeks despite continuous snowfall (very unusual for here), and we used Jim Cole again. We were fortunate to get him at a slow point so we feel we got a lot for our money.

We chose the same quality of finishes as we used upstairs but chose carpet instead of hardwood because of moisture issues. Although I have heard that you can use carpet or laminate in basements, we also really wanted the warmth of carpet. We chose a subfloor called DRIcore to use under the carpet. It's a great product which we learned about from some neighbors who used it in their basement. It is basically plywood pieces that lock together and which have some plastic feet-type pieces on the bottom - thus keeping the wood off the concrete. It's much warmer and provides a space for air underneath.

Eventually we will install some built-in bookshelves and a wall-mounted TV, but that is all for the next few months. Right now, the kids are really enjoying the play room (our son started crawling the same week we finished the project) and the extra guest room has already come in handy several times!

I'll post more information over the next few weeks, as well as some finished pictures.

Oh the dust!

2010-02-02T19:56:00.004-05:00

We have now been back in our house for 6 months and are still thrilled with the results. I still think it has been a great investment. The last week has made us thankful that we did not live in our house during the construction!

A few days before Christmas, we got almost 2 feet of snow, and then on Christmas Day it was 50 degrees and it rained - a lot! We had water in the OLD part of our basement. Our new basement was dry (except for where the water from the old basement dribbled in) because of a drain system and sump pump installed when we did the addition. This has been an on-and-off problem for several years although we have never identified the exact cause - probably coming through the floor. So, when talking to Jim Cole, our builder, about some small outstanding items to fix, we asked him about the floor. He suggested a drain system which involved jack-hammering a trench along 2 walls of our old basement, putting in a sump pump, and piping it to the outside. We basically hired him on the spot (again) to fix that. Our thinking was that if we are going to finish the new part of our basement, then we don't ever want to have to worry about water leaking in.

The project has taken a little over a week, and is pretty much done except for hooking up the pump. I feel peace of mind already! Hopefully we won't have to make any more long-distance emergency phone calls to our neighbors for fear of our basement being flooded!

Once again, we confirmed that we made the right decision to move out during the renovation. Even this small project has created such a crazy amount of dust in our house (despite loads of plastic barriers), that we are anxious for it to be finished.

I'll post pictures shortly, along with some final pictures of the renovation (not sure if I did that ever).

Architect and Builder Recommendations

2010-01-08T09:05:00.002-05:00

There have been several requests for the contact information for our architect and builder. We whole-heartedly recommend both (either together or separately).

Kaye Orr, AIA
703-941-5929

Jim Cole
703-598-7111
website

Feel free to contact me with questions.

DIY - Wood Stove Hood

2009-09-30T21:04:00.007-04:00

When I looked back at my idea book, nearly every kitchen in there had a wood stove hood with a built-in fan/ventilator. I loved the look but when I explored the price with my cabinet company, it was more than I wanted to spend. I considered giving up on the idea but ultimately decided that my husband, Jim, is hand enough so maybe he could build it. He agreed to give it a shot and our builder agreed to help install it and poke through the wall to the outside. I found a bunch of pictures of what I wanted and Jim built it out of 1/2" plywood. The angles gave him some serious headaches but he did a great job!

We color matched the cabinet paint at our local Benjamin Moore store and it blends nicely with the cabinets. We get a lot of complimnts on it and we saved about $1000 doing it this way!

For those who are wondering, that's a pot-filler over the stove. I love it!

Lighting Choices

2009-09-29T21:47:00.005-04:00

For some reason when you are just visiting a house, lighting doesn't seem to be a big issue - unless it's really bad. If you don't notice it then it's working well. This is different from noticing a particular fixture because it's interesting. The light should set the mood for the room or area. Dimmers should be installed in areas where you may want to reduce the harshness of the light. Besides the obvious dining room example, in your master bedroom, you probably want some recessed lights on dimmers because as you are getting ready to go to bed, you don't need them on full blast but when you are trying to match your black and navy socks then you probably want as much as light as you can get!

I searched high and low for different lights to match the different rooms in our house. I stumbled on these through various web retailers (often on clearance) as well as outlet stores and big box home stores. For example, I found some Restoration Hardware sconces for our master bathroom but did not like the coordinating pieces but did find a Murray Feiss overhead light which worked perfectly with the sconces and which I love!

In our kitchen, I worked really hard to find the ideal pendant lights. Although some people may think they are too large to be called pendants, I chose some large school house style lights which really fit with the era of our home, as well as the casual elegant style that I strive for througout our home.

The most important thing is to pick what you love. Don't settle even under the time pressure of building a house or adding on. If you don't find what you are picturing, then keep looking until the right thing hits you. Be sure you leave yourself lots of time to make your decisions, but in general, you know what you're going to need even when you are only laying the foundation. So, make a list and start checking things off once you find them. This also gives you more to shop for bargains!

Window Treatments - Shades, Drapes, etc.

2009-09-25T20:38:00.002-04:00

As much as we are enjoying all of the wonderful light in our house, we've realized the importance of window treatments. In hindsight, it would probably have been a good idea to have the master bathroom shades up before we moved in but live and learn!

I suggest looking for window treatments pretty much anywhere that sells them. For drapes and panels, I love the look of Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware but not the price. Instead I scour JC Penney, Target, Wal-Mart, Lowes, Home Depot, Sears, etc. to find what I need but get the look I want. Generally these places are much less expensive than the others but without sacrificing quality in many cases. Some things are better quality than others. No one will guess that you got those great drapes at Lowes! Lined drapes generally look more expensive because they hang better. You can always lined unlined drapes if you get a deal. It's not hard or expensive.

For shades, we really like the cordless cellular shades from Lowes. They have 2 types - Levelor and their own brand which they sell under several names. The Levelor type are cut to size in about 5 minutes which is very handy. Both are very reasonably priced.

A month goes by...

2009-09-02T18:14:00.002-04:00

A month goes by in a blink! Especially August. We spent a couple of weeks away and the rest of the time unpacking and getting settled. We've got a lot of window treatments and only a few boxes left to unpack.

We're really pleased with the final product. We still have some minor punchlist items to complete but those will be done over the course of the next few weeks. The only somewhat major thing is that the fireplace frame was bent so the front needs to be replaced. We're going to tile and finish the mantle ourselves in the next month or so.

Kaye and Jim did beautiful work for us and we are so thankful to them. We would highly recommend them so please call them if you are looking for an architect or general contractor in the Northern Virginia area.

Final pics posted at the left in the construction pictures. Before and after pictures coming soon.

We're home!

2009-08-07T13:15:00.002-04:00

Well, after a brief delay of 5 days, we are back in our house. The major hiccup was that we had to be out of our rental on the 31st but we were lucky enough to have good friends heading out of town for the weekend, so we borrowed their house (it may never be the same).

We moved in on Monday and have been working like crazy ever since. My parents were here to help us unpack and settle in. My father is a master of hanging curtain rods, shades, pictures, and many, many other things. My mom was a huge help with cleaning, unpacking, cooking, and distracting both kids at key moments. We certainly wouldn't be this far along in the unpacking process without their help.

Although we are moved in, we have had more than our fair share of plumbing issues including poor water pressure which won't allow the tankless hot water heater to kick on. I'll also be happy when the plumber gets our dryer hooked up on Monday - it's hard having 2 kids and no washer and dryer! Needless to say, the plumber was not my favorite person this week.

Hopefully we'll be very settled in by the end of the weekend. I'll have more on punch lists in the coming weeks!

So close, yet...

2009-07-27T20:47:00.003-04:00

Although we had been planning for about 2 months to move back to our house on Wednesday, we are now delayed until Monday. Unfortunately we have to be out of our rental on Friday so we have to send our stuff to storage for the weekend and we have to go stay at some friends' house in Alexandria. It's a bummer and a pain but there's not much we can do. Although we should probably have seen this coming, it was very disappointing to get the news from our builder only 4 days before our move date. All-in-all, 4 days delay isn't all that bad but it does require a lot of extra work, and a little bit of scrambling, on our parts. Hopefully it all works out as planned.

On the bright side, the new floors looks great and the finishing is coming along. The final coat of poly goes on tomorrow morning and then a flurry of work should begin on Wednesday including the driveway and digging the trench for the new larger water line which was required by the County for houses with 3 or more bathrooms. The plumbing and electrical fixtures will be set later this week and the stairs from the driveway to the backyard will be completed as well. We're hoping that the house will be essentially finished when we move in on Mondy and that there will be very few things left to do after Monday. We hope.

Rain!!

2009-07-23T22:34:00.003-04:00

I can finally say "Thank goodness it's raining!" Now that we have the sod down in the backyard, the rain is a huge help with watering. We should be good until Saturday now. We're only 5 days (and one huge yard sale) away from moving back in. The hardwood floors will be sanded tomorrow and the staining and poly will go on later tomorrow, Saturday, and Sunday. They have to sit for 24 hours after that so no one will be able to go into the house until some time on Monday. Then on Tuesday it will be all systems go to get the house ready for us to move in on Wednesday!

The home stretch...

2009-07-21T21:12:00.004-04:00

Just 7 days until we move back in and it's full steam ahead at our house. Although some things seem to be taking forever (master bathroom tile and painting), generally we are pleased with the progress. The new railings are up on the back porch and they look really good. I'm so glad our architect convinced me not to do wood because it would look to heavy and would detract from the house. The railing also matches the original railings on our house perfectly.

So far, I am happy with the interior paint color choices. We opted for a no VOC paint (Duron Genesis) in an eggshell finish on the walls and semi-gloss on the woodwork. With 2 kids, I need washability!

The floors will be sanded and one coat of varnish will go on Friday and then the rest will be done over the weekend and be finished as early as possible on Sunday. On Monday, the floors will be covered with paper and everyone will be on their best behavior while they finish electrical, plumbing and painting.

The countertops go in tomorrow. I finally decided on Absolute Black granite with a honed finish. I loved the look of soapstone but the maintenance is a killer and there is a high risk of staining. The granite I found at International Marble in Arlington has something like 30 coats of sealer on it and supposedly you never have to seal it again. They gave me a great price and are also doing our bathroom vanity with a sink at a great price. Needless to say I am really excited about tomorrow's installation!! I'll post pictures when they're done.

Loads of new pictures posted on the left.

Kitchen! Railings! Patio!

2009-07-13T11:19:00.005-04:00

Well, 17 days and counting until we move back into the house and things are really moving now. I feel like the progress is really tangible on a daily basis. I haven't felt this way since framing. The most major change right now is that the kitchen cabinets are in. They are made by Kingswood Kitchens and were ordered through Bergman Custom Casework in Queenbsury, NY. They are absolutely beautiful - I am thrilled with results! We made the decision to do a lot of drawers instead of lower cabinets. There are a few lower cabinets but we tried to minimize them since I hate how things always get stuck in the back! We are ordering our countertops this week and hopefully they will be ready to install next week before the floors are finished. We are opting for honed Absolute Black granite with a permanent sealer. More on that decision later...

The stair railings have also been installed and they look really great. We opted not to have a railing on the side of the stairs coming into the kitchen because it's only 2 steps and it keeps it more open. The code allows for this because there is a continuous railing on the other side and it's less than a certain height so there is limited risk of falls. You can see it in the pictures in the Construction album.

We also opted to get the landscaping in the backyard started. We are using a local family-owned landscaping business, Hambletons, which we have used before for small projects and spring yard clean-up. The patio will probably be finished in the next day or so, and then the sod will go down. We'll have to see if we can borrow a neighbor's hose to water it until our water is back on in a week or so. Let's hope we get some decent thunderstorms - but of course after the wettest spring in years, the forecast does not have any rain in it!

Hardwood Floors!

2009-07-05T14:38:00.004-04:00

After a brief delay due to high humidity, our hardwood floors started going down on Friday. They finished the upstairs in one day, including the patches in the old part of the house. They look really good. It's amazing how well the old and new parts can be patched. They will look perfect when they are stained.

Our cabinets get delivered tomorrow morning and will likely go in this week. I am still trying to make a final decision on countertops. After going to one place that I did not like and another that I did, I did some more research and may go to a third place in Fairfax to see if they have the ideal countertop - basically a dark/black counter which isn't shiny and doesn't show fingerprints. I'm down to deciding between honed Absolute Black and Cambrian Black antiqued. I have not seen the latter so I am on a quest to see it tomorrow in person. I'll have to make some calls to see whether any of the local granite showrooms have it. I want to be sure to get my granite from a reputable place because the finishes vary greatly. I have found that for the same type stone, some installers recommend maintenance (sealing) every 6 months and others tell you that the stone never has to be sealed. Obviously, I want the least amount of maintenance with the best look. I'll have to figure it out in the next week or so.

I have chosen most of the paint colors for the house with the exception of the master bedroom. I have ordered a pillow sham for the duvet cover that I like. If it looks good in person, then I'll base my final paint decision on that.

Outside, landscaping will begin later this week. We're meeting with the landscaper tomorrow morning to decide on a final layout for the patio and the planting areas. I am going to have a lot of planting to do ths fall but at least I'll be enjoying our new house while I do it!

Lots of Exterior Progress!

2009-07-01T09:06:00.005-04:00

We have made a lot of progress on the exterior. Our new front portico is on and looks really good. I'll be happy to be able to stand out of the rain as I fumble with my keys and keep 2 kids under control! It took about 2 days to build but it changes the entire look of the house. This is a good lesson for those putting down wood floors - be sure your house is very dry or you may have problems later.

The siding is also completed and is being caulked today. I am really pleased with how it turned out. I have posted new pictures in the Construction Pictures album on the left.

Inside, the hardwood floors should have been put down today but it's too humid. Although I am disappointed, we don't want the floors to buckle. They are going to get the air conditioning up and running today so the house can dry out and hopefully they can go down next week. It's a setback but hopefully we'll be able to make up the time by getting things done on the outside and things not related to the floors. Either way, we're moving 4 weeks from today!

Drywall!

2009-06-20T10:32:00.003-04:00

At long last we are in the drywall stage. It's a huge relief because it feels like we are at the top of the mountain. Hopefully the downhill won't take as long as the climb! So far, it looks great. Several people told us that it would feel smaller once the drywall is in but I think it feels bigger to me. Probably because the walls are now white and not busy - covered with wires, pipes, etc. They started on Thursday afternoon and will probably finish on Monday or Tuesday. They are working today (Saturday) on the master bedroom and bathroom. I have not had a chance to take pictures upstairs but there are pictures of the family room and kitchen posted in the Construction Pictures on the left.

We are moving back into the house in approximately 6 weeks. We're hoping it won't be too much like camping when we do get back in there! We figure that it's worth it to live with a little mess to avoid another month of rent in our rental. Also, we are feeling the squeeze of having 2 kids in our little rental house.

This week I have to figure out the countertops - either Silestone or honed (dull) black granite. I think the price will be close to the same but I have some concerns about the maintenance of granite which I want to discuss with the installer.

I am also looking at paint colors. We are repainting everything in the house except for our exisiting upstairs hall bath. I have a general idea of what we want but need to buy some samples and put them on the walls. It's definitely better than picking from a tiny color sample.

More pictures to come later this weekend!

Insulation and.... Drywall!

2009-06-15T19:53:00.003-04:00

We have completed our mechanical inspections and will start insulation tomorrow. That will probably take 2 days and we'll get our insulation/close-in inspection on Wednesday. Our builder will be stocking drywall on Wednesday so they can begin on Thursday!! Needless to say, we're incredibly excited about drywall because it feels like the top of a peak and then we're just on the downhill! Drywall will take about a week according to our builder.

After drywall comes the floors which will probably take several days since there is a lot of patching and matching to do. The floors aren't finished until after the painting and trimwork is done though. We have picked out tile for our master bathroom and laundry room. The rest of the house will be hardwood to match our existing floors.

On the outside, a considerable amount of work has been done on grading the backyard and installing drain pipes for the gutters (not yet installed). We have also had a drywell dug which we are now wondering if it's not deep enough since the water doesn't drain. Keep in mind though, we have clay soil so the bottom of the drywell is like a rock! Our contractor added a drainage ditch behind the garage to help handle some of the drywell run-off. Hopefully all of this will help the water issues in our yard although I don't think it will be entirely well-drained even after all this. There are just too many places for the water to come from and flow into our yard.

Finishing up mechanicals!

2009-06-12T14:23:00.004-04:00

We are in the final days of finishing up our mechanicals. In fact, we had our inspections today and we're all systems go for insulation and drywall next week. The siding is almost finished and the roofs over the back and side doors are on. The blog came in handy because I posted pictures of the roofs, our architect looked at the and then called our builder to tell him to take off the fascia boards on the front! They definitely look better without it.

We also had our new security system installed. We were very disappointed in the customer service we received from Brink's (whichwe have used for 7 years) so we called Slomin's based on some recommendations from friends. So far we have been very pleased with the service and are getting a better monthly monitoring rate. Unfortunately, in our area a security system is somewhat of a necessity. It's great to be able to have them run the wires around the time the mechanicals are finishing up so that you can limit the amount of work they have to do later on.

Since the exterior is almost done, we are considering our landscaping options. It would be great to have g We have to satisfy county codes concerning stormwater management. We are working with Hambleton's Landscaping service, our architect, and our contractor to satisfy the requirements. Our down spouts are going to be redirected to the road (where possible) and to a new drywell in the backyard. We have already dug the drywell but it has been completely filled with water ever since so it may not be big enough!! Fortunately we dug it during the rainiest time so we can see the worst case scenario. We are also going to install a rain barrel on the back of our garage to catch the garage run-off (which is also the wettest corner of our yard).

Be sure to check out the pictures of the progress!

Lots of Mechanical Progress & Siding

2009-06-01T08:30:00.005-04:00

This week we have made a lot of progress on the mechanicals. Electrical, plumbing and HVAC are all 80-90% done. Jim C. is pushing everyone to be done by the end of this week so that we can get a mechanical inspection done. After that insulation starts and then we do a final close-in inspection, then... DRYWALL!!!

We did a very helpful walk-through with the electrician on Saturday afternoon. We talked about switch locations and cleared up several things which we had questions about. We purchased bathroom fans, ceiling fans, and other light fixtures over the past few weeks, so the electrician knows exactly what he is dealing with. One major question remains over where the kitchen island will be located exactly, so Jim C. is going to build a mock island so it can be located perfectly and the lights can be centered over it.

The siding will also be going up this week and will hopefully be mostly done by the end of the week. They started the siding on the garage before the monsoon weather hit and now they will continue it this week.

Also, since drywall is not far off, paint is not far off either so I am busily trying to pick some possible colors and get some larger color samples. Fortunately our rental house has wonderful natural light and white walls so it's easy to get a good idea for colors without even leaving the living room (good because we have a newborn baby boy!).

More to come on landscaping issues... We have about 9 weeks left until we move back in so let's hope the house is liveable!!!

On the menu for this week...

2009-05-25T21:38:00.002-04:00

Well, another week of rain ahead but fortunately most of the work that needs to be done is inside stuff. Plumbing is underway and HVAC will likely start this week as well. Electrical will be the last trade when the other two are done or close to done.

Siding has started on the garage but only a few pieces. I am really happy with my color choice. It looks great with the brick and the sandtone trim.

We have about 10 weeks left until we move back in. I think we're both a little skeptical that the house will be substantially done in 10 weeks but we're hopeful.

Window trim and finishing up framing

2009-05-12T22:51:00.004-04:00

The exterior window trim is going up this week in preparation for siding later this week or early next week. There are some other exterior details which need to be dealt with before siding so I am thinking that will more likely happen next week. The plumbing starts Thursday or Friday this week, followed by electrical and HVAC. Our contractor does not like to have multiple subs in at the same time if he can help it. It makes it harder to control the work being done. He also likes to have framing either complete or nearly complete before any mechanical subs start their work. He believes that it's better to have the framers out of the way of the way so the mechanical stuff goes more quickly.

The remaining masonry work has also been completed including the new garage which looks fantastic now with windows and the roof. The door will be ordered soon and the siding will go on there first so we can use the garage again to store our stuff (and get it out of our poor neighbor's garage!). Jim Cole thinks it looks like a little cottage! I'm glad that it looks good since it will be a focal point of our new backyard.

We have also been considering how to deal with the run-off in the backyard. The increased roof area and decreased drainage area pose a major problem. Most houses on our street have these same issues so we aren't alone. The main solution seems to be a drywell in the dampest corner of the yard. That will probably be the solution for us as well. The drywell will be located in the back corner of our yard in front of the garage. We are also going to install a rain barrel behind the garage to catch the gutter water from the garage roof so we can use that for watering plants in the yard.

More demolition, brick work, and framing...

2009-05-06T09:05:00.006-04:00

Lots going on at the house these days. The old stairs have been removed giving us a much clearer view of the space between the living room and new family room. The picture on the right was taken from the back of the house looking towards the front.). It's going to be great and it makes even our smallish living room feel huge! They will fill in the holes in the floor where the stairs were either today or tomorrow.

Work is also continuing on the brick foundation around the garage, as well as some brick repair on the front steps and around our second screen porch door (which replaced a rather useless window). There are pictures of both the new doors and the brick garage foundation in the construction pictures on the left. I am so glad that we are doing the brick foundation on the garage. It looks really striking and the garage will be very front and center in our new small backyard! The garage windows were the windows that were taken from the back of our old upstairs.

The workers are also doing what Jim Cole calls "punch list framing" which is where they work from the top to the bottom of the house getting all of the last bits of framing done and fixing things that were off by a little before. They are also installing the pocket door tracks which need to go in before drywall. Fortunately this work has not been affected by the rain because with the new roof, the house is dry.

Jim is also picking up our new basement windows today. We had replaced our old basement windows not long after we moved in because they were rotten and had termite damage. They were not Andersen so the new windows are also not Andersen, but (of course) the old company that made them is now out of business). The original installer (WindowsPlus) was able to find a similar window for us which should work fine. They are not right next to the existing windows so even if they are a little different, it won't be noticeable. They will also have the much darker brown trim which blends well with the brick. The only exception is our egress window which is Andersen and matches the other windows in the house.

We are a little past the half-way mark for construction (we started about on about January 22nd) which is hard to believe. The next steps is plumbing, HVAC, and electrical which will probably start either Friday or Monday. The plan is to start drywall in about 4 weeks, then floors (hardwood and tile), and then finish work. So far, we are still on track for moving back in the house in July even if it means that it's not completely done.

Windows and Doors and STAIRS!

2009-05-01T21:09:00.008-04:00

There has been a lot of progress in the past couple of days. We have now have all of the windows installed (except the basement windows which are not from Andersen). Everything looks great and we are pleased with the choices so far. The door hardware looks really good and was well worth the additional cost. I highly recommend doing that to anyone ordering Andersen doors. The new doors to the screen porch have not yet been installed. The major push behind getting the windows in was to get the house ready for siding next week.

Perhaps even more exciting for me (9 months pregnant) is that we have stairs from the basement to the attic. I can now easily walk around on the new part of the second floor which makes the whole thing seem more real. We can also walk freely between the old and new parts of the house.

Work has also continued on the brick foundation. The door from the driveway has a brick foundation about 1/3 of the way up the sides (see the construction picture slideshow on the left side of the page). The garage now also has windows and the brick foundation on the garage has also begun. The brick needs to be completed before the siding can go on the garage.

There were a lot of workers on the site today but it was refreshing to see a flurry of activity after so many days of rain in the past month. Hopefully May will be a little drier!

Painting already?

2009-04-28T08:55:00.007-04:00

We were pretty surprised when our contractor called on Sunday to see if we had picked out a trim color - especially since we don't even have siding or windows up yet! Turns out, Jim wanted to get the high parts of the trim painted (soffits and fascia mostly) while he still had temporary scaffolding up and before the pre-painted HardiPlank goes up next week. Obviously he wants to avoid any drips on the new siding which seems like a pretty good idea to me considering the warranty on the siding! I thought this was a good tip to pass along to other people considering an addition (or just residing) because it may save you some time and money later.

Fortunately we did know the color that we wanted because we wanted to match the exterior color of our Andersen sandtone windows. The salesman, James, at The WindowSmith was able to give the color match information to Jim so he could get the paint and the trim was painted yesterday! You can see that the color is more muted and gray than our existing trim color, which will all be painted later on.

Windows are going in today and tomorrow, and hopefully the stairs tomorrow or Thursday. Of course the forecast is rain for the rest of the week so hopefully lots of progress is made today!