Thursday, November 27, 2008
Monday, September 22, 2008
Windows! Double-paned! Not cracked!
What a concept, right? Non-cracked, double-paned windows that open and shut. Who'd have thought! Now just a few more need to be replaced, then the trim goes back on. No guarantees for 1st housewarming party the 28th, but maybe for the one on 10/12....
PS - Yes, I altered the colors on these pictures a bit, but they look more interesting that way (won't make the judgement of better, though).
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
House is painted
House is painted! Windows arrive Friday (knock wood) and will be installed for the next two weeks. Why 2 weeks, you might ask. Well, it's because of the work required to remove the trim before installing and replacing it afterwards, plus the painting of the window frames (though they do come pre-primed. Housewarming party to happen soon (trying to figure out when - Jewish new year holidays "complicate" things a little bit).
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Progress comes in different forms
Wow - my first posting in 3 months! Well, I've been living here 4 months now, and the outside of the house is about to get painted. So figured this was/is a good a time as any to post some new pictures. Most are of the house in preparation for painting with a few inside pictures. Windows also to be replaced soon.
Same deal as before, click on the above picture, and it will take you to my Flickr.com website, then click on the "berkeleygal77's photostream" link on the right to actually see all the pictures (most recent first, older ones last, including pictures of recent vacation to Montreal and Quebec City, Canada).
Sunday, May 18, 2008
dining room into kitchen
Way outdated (i.e. 1 month old) picture of painting. I live here now, there's furniture! Maybe next posting I'll provide evidence.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Finally...
.... I have my computer fully connected and set up in my new home. I will be taking some more pictures and posting a whole bunch hopefully tonight. :-)
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Sorry for no new posts
I don't know which box my computer is in for now, so haven't been able to post new pictures. Once the computer is discovered and reconnected, I'll post some pix.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Floors!
I... Have... Floors!
What this essentially amounts to is this: to quote a friend "your house is happy again." To quote myself: "my house has its mojo back."
Were it not for the paint fumes and other such smells, I would have laid down on the kitchen floor and read a book or taken a nap.
Monday, April 7, 2008
Friday, April 4, 2008
First cabinet in kitchen
It's the beginning of the end!!! The reason the corner cabinet has no door is because it's getting a glass door. The better to show things off with, my dear.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
OK, now this is a "window"!
There has been a gaping hole where the kitchen window should be for quite some time now. I'm sure some of you have seen the pictures. The window I want/need takes a long time (read 6 weeks) to order/get delivered. So, in the meantime, I have a sheet of plastic less than 1/2 an inch thick to plug the hole. This is proof - gaping holes don't usually reflect the trees from across the street - at least not in my experience.
Friday, March 28, 2008
...and floors after
My floors are sanded and varnished!!! Second coat goes on tomorrow. They're very purty!
SMALL REVISION/COMMENT BY ME: the floors will not always be spit-shine shiny. This is a picture of them while the varnish/finish is wet. HOWEVER, if you want to come over and slide around in socks, I'm game! This is, as far as I can tell, the original douglas fir flooring! From close to 100 years ago! This sort of old flooring put in brand new these days is unaffordable, so I'm glad we could resuscitate the existing floor. All thanks to the sanding/flooring guy Leo and his partner who didn't speak English. Maybe I should learn Chinese? Or do they speak Vietnamese? I didn't hear them, so... the carpenter is Laotian, so that's another one to learn...
spring growth
Seems like the plants are back to growing new leaves on their own, despite many many months of neglect.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Dual Flush Toilet Explanation
In my crude description, this is a dual flush toilet: 2 different flushes/buttons:1 flush for liquids (less water), 1 for solids (more water). Saves water when you don't need to use it, more or less. I've seen them more in Europe.
This is about the one I'm getting.
Plus, EBMUD (local water company/district) will give me a rebate on part of the purchase price.
Live electricity!
Well, at least in one outlet! Enough for some of the alarm system to be installed. More plastering has happened inside and floors to start soon!
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Plastering between the cracks of sheetrock
I like the lighting and composition on this one more than my average "this is new electrical and walls, and..." shot.
Also, I've chosen cabinets, flooring, countertops, and some fixtures. Now, I'm not going to tell you yet what those are - so don't ask. And now I need to pay for the above mentioned items. Plus I'm getting a dual flush toilet for upstairs.
:-)
Sunday, March 9, 2008
drywall! sheetrock! Whatever!
Drywall, sheetrock, whatever you call it, it's up in most of the house! This week, the workers will be plastering the cracks and finishing the drywall.
I have also chosen what color of Marmoleum I want for the floors in the kitchen, pantry, and back hallway. And the granite countertops. I'm pretty close to deciding on the kitchen cabinets. Will I tell you about those options - no! You get to wait until it's all installed. :-) Have also started to think about interior paint colors.
My heating system!!!
This, ladies and gents, is my octopus. Erm.... my heating system. In the attic. I will post titles on the rest of the pictures this afternoon. Eventually, the old and fluffy insulation you see on the floor of the attic will be vacuumed out and new insulation put in - all in time.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
INSULATION!
With all due respect to the Mouseketeers... sing along with me:
I-N-S, U-L-A, T-I-O (draw this one out)-N! I love rigid foam insulation! This means that the sheetrock (or is it sheet rock?) can go up this week.
Plus, my contractor is promising me numbers on the kitchen cabinets by Wednesday evening. So then I can decide. Things are getting going again.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Doorway downstairs
Wall and doorways galore downstairs! I am very excited. Plus, they brought in a tone of sheetrock upstairs, too, and will be installing it next week (pending inspector approval of all the electrical work). :-D
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Beginnings of new wall downstairs!
Fresh wood smells good. Not much more to say than that. Other than this wall will be the barrier between what will for sure be the laundry room and what will eventually be the downstairs master bedroom.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Concrete! Lots of Concrete!
Yesterday, they poured the big concrete slab downstairs. I never thought I'd say this, but concrete is almost beautiful! Next week, they'll start putting in the short "transverse"/cross walls once the concrete has cured a bit.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
To see more pictures...
I have only figured out how to show one picture per blog entry. Therefore, to see more pictures (actually, all the pictures), click on the one "main" picture. This will bring you to my Flickr account. Then click on the "berkeleygal77's photostream" link on the right hand side. Voila!
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
I Love Re-Bar
Concrete Gets Poured Tomorrow for the Slab!!!!
Plus, the inspector didn't want to pass this phase of the work today. So my contractor had to explain to the building department's engineer why there wasn't any sand on top of the plastic layer and how we're putting Zypex (sp?) in the concrete as an additive, and the city engineer signed off on the deal (for this phase). Contractor even quoted the article I gave him on why sand on top of plastic is a BAD idea, and the engineer liked it. So we pour tomorrow. There is now a new access "portal" in the pantry to the attic and the HVAC guy's plans are set, he likes the larger access. There's more new electrical stuff, and a ton of outlets in the kitchen (more than 8 at last count, my contractor knows I like kitchen gadgets). I am excited and nervous.
And, I have exchanged some more emails with the guy who bought the lot next door. He is a nice guy (very involved with big-scale real estate marketing and planning), has a nice modern eco-friendly plan, and won't be starting until I move in (no biggie, his house is modular a la Glide house). Anyways...
More later!
Sunday, February 3, 2008
More pictures soon
Sorry there haven't been any pictures in 8 days. This past week, there has been good progress, but not much that is picture worthy. The ground level was covered in gravel, then in an impermeable plastic layer - in preparation for the concrete slab being poured on Wednesday or Thursday of this week. There has also been a lot of good plumbing and drainage work done as well, but you all don't want to see yet another picture of copper piping inside a wall or PVC piping coming out of one. There is going to be a sump pump installed since the water table is relatively close to the surface (better safe than sorry). I'll also be making a decision on kitchen cabinets by this time next week at the hopefully latest. Also on the kitchen flooring - definitely Marmoleum but still deciding on the color. More later.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
kitchen window out, new window frame in
The old kitchen window frame was rotten and falling into the room on a regular basis, so new wood frame was put in! Also, click on picture above to see house minus Lincoln Logs!
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
The electrician wuz here!
The electrician started working today at the house! Also the plumber! I'm happy with that. If all goes according to plan (knock wood), the I-beams will be removed Thursday and the concrete gets poured next week. Funny story: when I told someone that the 50 foot long I-beams were supporting the house, she looked incredulous and said: "You have IVY supporting the house?" Hehehe. Nope. NO ivy. Sorry.
California coastline
This is what I do when not thinking of the house construction. I went on a drive on Hwy. 1 in California. Very twisty. Frequent turn-outs and parking spots! Good for taking pictures. Not good for those w/car sickness or vertigo (thankfully I have neither). Click on above picture to see more.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
I love the smell of plywood in the morning...
(...rather, in the evening, since I took these pix at night time). My contractor's carpenter has been working on the walls downstairs in preparation for the slab being poured before the end of the month.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Corner concrete detail with new wood
The construction workers have been working on concrete the last couple of days - and in the rain today no less! This is a picture of a corner of poured concrete minus the wood molds. As always, click on the picture above to see more examples!
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Monkey in Morocco
My boyfriend "hired" one of his neighbors, who is an artist, to make me two watercolors/pieces of art for Chanukah to decorate my new home. I gave the artist my photo album from the trip to Morocco (almost 2 years ago), and he made 2 "composite" paintings - and I love them!
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