Week 26: Beginning Some Finishing Touches

The dry months are behind us, and this past week saw the beginning of some serious fall rainstorms.  This photo shows the inside of our new outdoor sump, a key component of our new drainage system.  The interior pipes are marked #1 and #2 to indicate the two separate electric pumps installed in the sump.  The pumps do not operate at the same time.  We alternate them on a two or three month operating cycle.  The big news is that our drainage system is now fully operational, and for the first time since we bought the house in 2006, our basement is bone dry following a major rainstorm.



Our kitchen cabinets are now fully installed, and we love them!  In this photo you can also see that lighting fixtures have begun to be installed. 




This photo shows the cabinets on the west and north walls of the kitchen.  The open space in the north wall cabinet is for a countertop microwave oven.  On the north wall, we especially love the wainscoting that our cabinet maker designed and built.




These Craftsman blocks and special molding are all creations of our cabinet maker and add interest and beauty to the new cabinets.



This close-up shows the crown molding and other upper design features that have been incorporated into the cabinets.



This photo of the cabinets above the gas range shows that the two center cabinets have been extended out from the plane of the cabinets on either side, creating a more three-dimensional look to the entire installation.  This was another idea generated by our cabinet maker.



The two center cabinets, which are above the sink, also protrude behind the plane of the cabinets on either side, accentuating a three-dimensional look.



The vanity and medicine cabinets have also been installed in the upstairs bathroom.  The material for these cabinets is the same quarter sawn oak that has been used for the kitchen cabinets.  The entire design of the vanity and medicine cabinets came from the cabinet maker.




This shot shows the inside of the medicine cabinets, each of which has three glass shelves.




The tubular skylights are in.  This photo shows the trim surrounding the fully installed skylight.  We have a total of four tubular skylights on the second floor.




This shot shows the finished walk-in shower in the upstairs bathroom, the newly-installed schoolhouse light fixture, and the tubular skylight that helps illuminate the inside of the shower.




This shot shows the new Craftsman chandelier that has been installed in our dining room.




This is a new wall sconce that we found in a lighting store in Burlington.  It will light up the first floor stair landing.




A close-up of the new stair landing wall sconce




This is a similar wall sconce that was on the staircase of the old house and has been recycled to this location in our new library.




The new fan light in our bedroom.  We reported last week that the wood covering the windows in the east wall was protecting the windows from construction activities on the scaffolding on the east side of the house.  When we returned to Bellingham we discovered that there is no glass in these two windows, which tells us that the original windows were either defective or broken.  We'll find out more during next week's site meeting.



We have tried to recycle as many materials from the old house as possible.  The door shown in this photo will be the door to the new furnace room on the second floor.  Previously, it was the door to the BP's office on the first floor. 



On Monday of this week, Comcast arrived and installed voice telephone service (which is required for the elevator) plus a modem (the black box in the lower part of the picture), which will be used for Internet service.  The Comcast cable will also bring us TV service.  To accommodate the substantial rewiring that we've done in the house for TV, data, and telephone communications, the electricians have installed this very large new panel box.  At the moment, we just have telephone service.  TV and Internet service will be added when we move back into the house.




This is how the house and garage looked from the rear at the end of the week.  All of the siding is on and painted, except for the upper part of the gable where shingles need to be installed and painted.  The garage door also needs to be painted.




A shot of the rear of the house from a slightly different angle.  It shows the contrasting color of the bellybands and corner boards.  The thing that's been holding up the shingling of the upper gable is the arrival of an oval vent that will be installed in the center of the gable.  The delivery of two ovals--one for the front and one for the rear of the house--was several weeks overdue.



The delivery delays are now behind us; the ovals have arrived, and the upper gables can now be shingled!

A view of the west and north elevations at the end of the week.  The west siding and soffits have been completely installed and painted.  Siding is now underway on the north elevation.



This view shows the east and north elevations.  Siding and soffits have been installed and painted on the east side.




Our new Craftsman house numbers have arrived and have been installed on a specially crafted block.  If we are installing house numbers, we know that we are finally getting close to the finish line!



Week 25: The Week That Was!





This is not a further metamorphosis of 2644 South Park.  We have included this photo of our home in Berkeley to show that we spent this week in California moving our California residence from Berkeley to Davis.  The Delancey Street Foundation moving truck (one of two that moved us) is in our driveway.  This photo was taken Friday morning.

Unloading at our Davis condominium on Friday afternoon.  It was a complicated day for us.  Sad to be leaving Berkeley after all these years, happy and excited to be living in the same city as Amy and her family, and frustrated by all the cool stuff that we knew was going on in Bellingham but could not witness firsthand.  Of the remaining pictures in this week's blog, most were taken by our daughter, Susan: a few were taken by our designer and friend, Luther Allen--we will indicate those that Luther took.  Our grateful thanks to both Susan and Luther for making this week's photo blog possible.



Both weather (the fall's first big rain) and some family emergencies that have temporarily reduced the crew, have slowed the pace of installing siding and soffits.  But we are almost there.  All of the west and east elevations are done.  All but the very top of the south elevation is done, and the north elevation, shown in this photo, remains to be done.  Our granddaughters, Maya and Zoe, assess the progress.



A closer look at the ratchet device used on the scaffolding rig.  When walking planks are laid on the steps, this ratchet device can be raised or lowered like a car jack.  A very efficient way to safely work at the higher elevations.



On the first floor, all of the hardwood floors are in, including places that did not have oak floors before.  This photo shows the new select white oak floor in the downstairs bathroom--a touch of elegance that was sorely missing before.



This photo shows the completed tile work on our walk-in shower.



The inside south wall of the walk-in shower--this photo shows one of three niches built into the shower by the tile crew.



This photo shows the shower floor and the interesting tile pattern around the lower perimeter of the shower walls.



The tile crew also installed this new hearth in front of the fireplace.  The hearth uses tile that the BB and the BP found in a Seattle tile showroom, and the design is based on a tile floor that, quite by happenstance, the BB and the BP discovered in a tile showroom in Berkeley.  We love the Craftsman look of this design.



Luther took this photo, which shows off the rich colors of the hearth tile.



Luther also took this photo, which shows the preparation of the entry pad.  The tile that will be installed in this area will be the same as that of the hearth.  The design will be similar, although slightly modified to adapt to the different shape of the entry pad.



At first glance this photo is not terribly exciting.  But in fact this is an enormously important design feature of our remodeled home.  The black rectangle in this photo is the inside of the mail chute.  We will have a box or basket of some kind on the floor under the chute so that when we're visiting California, daily mail will be deposited in the house and we won't need to trouble Susan with daily collections.



The BP got very excited about this photo, having mistakenly concluded that it was a stained glass window of remarkably colorful design.  The BB reminded him that it was just the sun shining through painter's tape applied to the outside of the window to protect the glass while the siding was being painted.  The BP does not disagree with the BB's factual explanation, but he's still lobbying for retention of the colorful window.



Of all weeks for us to be away in California, this was one of the most difficult for us, because we missed pretty much all of the activity associated with installation of our kitchen and bathroom cabinets.  Thanks to Susan and Luther, however, we do have an excellent photo account of the activity.  This photo shows the base and upper cabinets on the west wall of the kitchen.  A slide-in gas range will go in the space where you see the broom in this photo.



Luther took this photo showing the cabinets on the east wall of the kitchen.  Our cabinet maker, Eric Fulbright, stops briefly to chat with Luther.  The cabinets are quarter-sawn oak, a material that Eric especially enjoys working with.  The basic design of the cabinets was the BB's and BP's, but Eric added a number of amazing Craftsman touches that make the cabinets truly unique and splendid.



This photo shows the cabinets on the east wall as well as the wainscoting and cabinets on the north wall.  A microwave oven will go in the lower cavity on the north wall.  In the upper cavity there are doors yet to be installed.  The wainscoting was a Fulbright touch.  Another Fulbright touch on the upper cabinets on both the east and west walls was that the smaller center cabinets stick out a couple of inches from the rest of the upper cabinets, creating an interesting break in the sight line along the face of the upper cabinets.



Another shot of the east wall cabinets that shows the space that will be occupied by the dishwasher and the larger space that will be occupied by our new refrigerator.  The frame around the refrigerator was another Fulbright touch.  Further Fulbright touches include crown molding, Craftsman dentils running along the upper edges of the base cabinets, and baseboards all to match the cabinetry.



This photo shows the vanity and medicine cabinets installed in the upstairs bathroom by Eric.  The vanity will have two basins, and each medicine cabinet will have glass shelves and a beveled mirror on the door.  The design of the vanity and medicine cabinets was Eric's.  We saw this in his portfolio and knew immediately that it was exactly what we wanted in our new bathroom.



Nothing finishes off a new remodel like getting the interior trim installed.  This photo shows the materials that have arrived for the 8" baseboards and 5" window and door trim flat stock.



Luther took this photo of Kevin installing baseboards in the master closet.



This photo shows the 8" flat stock baseboards installed in the BB's office.  Upstairs, where we have carpet, the baseboards will consist solely of this flat stock.  On the first floor, where we have oak floors, there will be added at the base of the flat stock, a specially milled shoe molding, which will match exactly the shoe molding originally installed in the house in 1925.



This photo shows the window trim.  The trim in this photo is complete except for a specially milled band molding that will wrap around the outer edges of the flat trim and will match exactly the band molding on the doors and windows installed in 1925.  This band molding will be installed throughout the house.



Another photo of the window trim, this one looking at the window in the BP's office.



Marty and his son were at work this week and made wonderful progress on the elevator.  The BB and BP are tossing a coin to see who gets to be the first one to push a call button.

This photo shows the elevator stop on the second floor.  The outer door to the elevator has been installed.



Luther took this photo showing the pulley assembly and steel cable (which the elevator people call the "rope" ) fully installed.



Luther also took this picture looking down to the bottom of the elevator shaft.  The only missing piece at this point is the elevator cab itself, which we anticipate will be installed some time next week.



This photo, taken in the master bedroom, shows the pocket door to the bedroom being prepared for installation of a full-length mirror.  You will note that there is plywood covering the window on the east wall.  This does not mean the windows are broken.  Plywood was put up over the windows to protect them from breakage while the siding on that side of the house was being installed.  The BP is NOT lobbying to retain the plywood feature.



Luther took this shot of the south elevation, showing the darker contrasting color that has been applied to the lower bellyband.



Susan took this shot of the garage, which has been fully painted.  The rich brown color of the garage door will also be the color of the two rear doors of the main house.  The blue trim around the glazing is an interesting Halloweenish touch, but it's only temporary--done to protect the glazing while the brown paint was being applied.  That's it for this week.  We return to Bellingham at the end of next week.