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!