The Light at the End of the Tunnel
Over the last couple weeks there has been lots of progress but we are poised for even more over the next 2 weeks. The tile work has been completed in all bathrooms and the shower doors are being fabricated. The finish electrical work is close to completion and the low voltage work(lighting control programming, network, and audio) should start next week. The shop is complete except for the reconfigurable electrical work. (In the shop, the wires are going to be run in a special conduit on the surface of the wall. This will allow me to reconfigure 110V or 220V outlets as needed.) The desk surfaces in my office and Susan's project room have been installed. The final sign that the end is near is that the landscaping has begun.
The tile work in the master bath proved to be very time consuming. The individual tiles were quite small and not completely regular. At one point, the tile setter said he had made 800 miter cuts and had more to go. The end result was even better than I hoped and the finished look is almost like bamboo.
The office is also almost done. The cabinet bases are in as is the desktop. (The desktop is the same Richlite material use for the pool cabinets.) Our cabinetmaker has designed a really neat system for wire management where all the power outlets and cables are behind a false wall under the desktop. This is a vast improvement over my current office where the cables form a rat's nest under the desk.
I've never thought of plumbing as art but I think the equipment for the solar / radiant heating system qualifies. It will eventually be encased in insulation so I have to enjoy looking at it now. The subcontractor assures me he'll leave me with a manual and will label all the valves. The system requires some pretty sophisticated hardware since the solar system delivers pre-heated water for both the radiant system and domestic hot water supply. In some cases, this will need to be cooled by mixing in cold water and in other cases it will need extra heating to reach the target temperature.
The landscaping has started in several areas but work on the uppermost garden won't be able to start until all the subcontractors are done since that area is used for truck parking. In Susan's Oakland garden, I used individual drip heads for specific plants. In the Boonville garden, our contractor is using drip tubing with built in drip emitters. This is far easier to set up and (I think) less prone to failure. All the irrigation and lighting work has to be complete before any plants go in so we are still a couple weeks away from seeing any green.
We had our first furniture delivery today. The living room sectional sofa was built in LA and was being trucked up. We called the trucker and had him pick up a bunch of stuff we bought in the bay area and 2 new chairs stored at our house. Included in this deliver was the table for the covered patio made from recycled teak timbers. The two furniture movers carried it in from the truck without breaking a sweat. Susan and I then tried to move it but it was too heavy for us.
Finally, when I walked into the house I saw that someone had left a burning cigarette on the new kitchen cabinets. It had left an ugly burn mark and I was about to go ballistic. Our contractor evidently saw my blood pressure peaking from across the room and strolled over and picked up the plastic gag. He said that the painter likes to do this to freak people out.
Finished shop walls
The tile work in the master bath proved to be very time consuming. The individual tiles were quite small and not completely regular. At one point, the tile setter said he had made 800 miter cuts and had more to go. The end result was even better than I hoped and the finished look is almost like bamboo.
Master bath tub
Master bath shower
Pool bath shower
The office is also almost done. The cabinet bases are in as is the desktop. (The desktop is the same Richlite material use for the pool cabinets.) Our cabinetmaker has designed a really neat system for wire management where all the power outlets and cables are behind a false wall under the desktop. This is a vast improvement over my current office where the cables form a rat's nest under the desk.
Office with built in shelves
Richlite desktop with Eucalyptus cabinets
I've never thought of plumbing as art but I think the equipment for the solar / radiant heating system qualifies. It will eventually be encased in insulation so I have to enjoy looking at it now. The subcontractor assures me he'll leave me with a manual and will label all the valves. The system requires some pretty sophisticated hardware since the solar system delivers pre-heated water for both the radiant system and domestic hot water supply. In some cases, this will need to be cooled by mixing in cold water and in other cases it will need extra heating to reach the target temperature.
Main solar heating plumbing
Radiant heat and domestic hot water plumbing
The landscaping has started in several areas but work on the uppermost garden won't be able to start until all the subcontractors are done since that area is used for truck parking. In Susan's Oakland garden, I used individual drip heads for specific plants. In the Boonville garden, our contractor is using drip tubing with built in drip emitters. This is far easier to set up and (I think) less prone to failure. All the irrigation and lighting work has to be complete before any plants go in so we are still a couple weeks away from seeing any green.
Prepping the garden by one of the guest bedrooms
Stockpiled drip equipment
We had our first furniture delivery today. The living room sectional sofa was built in LA and was being trucked up. We called the trucker and had him pick up a bunch of stuff we bought in the bay area and 2 new chairs stored at our house. Included in this deliver was the table for the covered patio made from recycled teak timbers. The two furniture movers carried it in from the truck without breaking a sweat. Susan and I then tried to move it but it was too heavy for us.
Recycled teak table for the covered patio
Finally, when I walked into the house I saw that someone had left a burning cigarette on the new kitchen cabinets. It had left an ugly burn mark and I was about to go ballistic. Our contractor evidently saw my blood pressure peaking from across the room and strolled over and picked up the plastic gag. He said that the painter likes to do this to freak people out.
Fake cigarette and burn spot
posted by Jim Barstow at
11:03 PM
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