Day 99: Chicken Wire and Paper

The inspectors are coming! The inspectors are coming! Now that the paper and chicken wire has been added to the house and garage, as well as insulation inside the house, next step comes Monday morning. The inspectors return to give a firm go for the next stage: Stucco and walls!



View from the back.



The garage is looking good! And big.



Side of the house.



And yes -- finally, the bottom kitchen cabinets are back. Looking good with the new floor.



And the dream is finally happening: A dishwasher! Nope, it's not hooked up yet. But that's coming soon...



... as is the new fridge, which will be delivered this weekend. As an aside, I happened to see online on Friday night that our new fridge was on sale for $1869. We paid $2089. A quick trip to Sears on Saturday, and we got the $230 or so refunded to us. (Every bit counts.) Of course, we spent that (and then some) the following day at Lowe's. But hey, it was a small victory! And I don't feel as bad now about the huge chunk of change we applied to the fridge.

Especially considering I just spent another $1400 on drywall for the garage. Man, that's a lot of money. Sigh.

OK, snap out of it, Mike... more info: These are the brand new cabinets that we just bought from IKEA, to complement the ones we first installed on the other side of the kitchen in 2004. The one exception is the cabinet above the fridge, which formerly was one of three that made up the bench in the kitchen nook. (The other two are eventually heading to Evan's room, to form a smaller bench.)



And one more view of the kitchen, from the stove.

(Postscript: We passed the inspection, and next step: drywall inside, stucco outside!)

Day 95: The Kitchen and Family Room Become One

Finally, we can see and imagine what our new kitchen/family area will look like. With the back door and window long gone, it's all coming together. Above, looking into the kitchen from the family room.



Another shot, looking straight on into the family room.



Our new $1000 floor! Yeah, we spent much more than we thought on this. (Ugh. That's the case with nearly everything.) Luckily, it looks good and instantly looks as if it belongs in the house.



More of the floor.



The new master bedroom gets insulation.



Insulation in the family room as well.



Now, here's looking into the family room from the kitchen.



And one more shot of the kitchen/family room divide...

Day 88: Something New's Cooking in the Kitchen

$200 later, the IKEA cabinet installer has removed our bottom kitchen cabinets. The contractor workers then came in and removed our old, plain kitchen tile.



It was nice while it lasted, but our cute bench -- a 2005 project that barely lasted more than a year, sniff -- is gone. One of the bench cabinets will be resurrected as an above-the-fridge cabinet, while the other two are headed for Evan's room.



And here's how the tile will be laid out. It's currently sitting in the garage. Turns out we needed a lot more than we thought. We bought 40 of those color tiles initially -- but we wound up needing at least 200. Pricy!



Work progresses on the master bathroom, as concrete stuff is applied to the walls, in prep for the travertine tiles.



Another shot from the bathroom. We like the little indentations for soap and shampoo -- we didn't ask for it, but it's nice that they did it.

Day 83: The French Doors Arrive -- And Bugs in the Bathroom!

The French doors are in, and look good -- although they still need to be painted/treated and get door knobs. Job foreman Paco says the doors were difficult to install -- the holes they left for the doors weren't big enough, so he had to do some trimming to get them in.

Also, bcause we're having the doors swing out onto the patio (rather than the normal way, which is to have them swing inside), the doors technically are backward. The bigger seam between the doors is on the inside (although there's still one on the outside as well.) We decided to have the doors swing out because the rooms are already so tiny, we didn't want to be limited design-wise with what we do inside the rooms.


The side


French door upclose


View of the French doors from the family room


View of the French doors from the new bedroom


Latsest bathtub shot -- the tub was slightly longer than the room allowed, which means the wood framing had to be cut in a spot to accomodate it. Not sure how that's going to work, but we'll see.


But with that water now sitting there for a few weeks, it's getting pretty gross -- and has claimed the lives of several bugs.


The ants appreciate the tub, though -- they've been enjoying the water,


Now, the insulation waits to be installed.


View of the garage from the family room.


And a shot under the house, where the AC unit has been extended.

So contractor Menny says we'll start to move at lightning speed after our next inspection, which was supposed to take place on Friday. Did we pass? I haven't heard... but with no fire sprinker system yet installed, I'd be surprised if it did.

I brought home the new kitchen tile on Friday, and Maria plans to bring home the new bathroom tile early next week. We still need to pick up insulation for the garage; a backsplash and countertop for the kitchen; and a new garage door. What a pricy list!

Day 80: The Garage Gets Windows, and the Inspector Gets Nicer

Not much has changed in the extension, although the insulation is now there and ready to be installed. The extension itself is ready for the next phase (drywall, tile and flooring) except for two things: A water test to make sure the pipes don't leak, and fire sprinklers.

Yup, Glendale's bizarr-o fire sprinklers rule -- which the inspector claims has been around for 14 years -- means we have to have 'em installed, despite the small size of the house. And why sprinklers are required for the garage is beyond me.

Contractor Menny also informed me the other day that the electrician sent him a whopping bill for much more than expected -- yes, we asked for a few extras, but not nearly as much as he's charging. We'll see what happens there.

We were also told by Menny that changing our mind and sticking with the three-window format in the front of the house will cost a lot more. Unlike simply going with one window on the left and one on the right, the three/three means six windows all together, and a lot more framing. So we may wind up with just one large window on the left and right after all. (On the bright side -- no pun intended -- it should allow more light into the living room and Evan's room.)



As you can see, the windows have been installed in the garage. Our job foreman was extra proud -- the windows are thicker, since he knows we'll be using the garage as a workspace, as is the door.



The side door, as seen below, also includes a window, he says, since we probably want more light in the garage. We didn't ask for it, but what the hell. He seemed more proud. He also noted that the doors were more expensive -- but again, since we didn't ask for 'em, we're not going to pay extra for 'em. And if anyone tries to make us, we'll raise hell.



Today, the roofers were adding the roof to the garage. Luckily, we're getting this done before the rains start. Next up, however, we've got to figure out the front garage door situation. I was hoping to find one online, but have come up empty. Guess we'll be going through Home Depot or Lowes. We're looking at doors with a little bit of insulation, which cost a bit more -- but will help shield the garage a bit more from the elements.

Meanwhile, we've worked out our kitchen plan (for the most part). The IKEA kitchen installer will stop by on Monday and -- for $200 -- temporarily remove our bottom kitchen cabinets. That way, the workers can come in and take out the old tile. We're also purchasing new, much nicer kitchen tile, which they'll then install. The following Monday, our IKEA guy is back, ready to re-install the existing cabinets, plus the new ones (which will surround the new refrigerator, where the bench now sits). The new fridge also comes in two weeks, putting the final touches on the room. (Well, we still have to order the countertop as well. But that's the last thing.)

At the same time the contractor installs the kitchen tile, he'll also be installing the bathroom tile. It's coming along!

Day 74: The Addition Gets Its Own Windows, and Electricity in the Garage

Not much new to report, other than this: The windows in the house addition have been installed; now all we need is the French doors to be installed as well. Also, electricity has been added to the garage: One outlet on each wall, as well as one on the roof (for the garage door opener). Two lights will be installed in the roof as well, and a motion detector light at the front center of the garage.



The new bathroom window.



The family room window, from the outside.



The family room window, from the inside.



The master bedroom window, from the inside.



The fuse box, the master bedroom window and the bathroom window, from the outside.



The garage, now with electricity!



From the inside, looking to the left.

Day 73: The Windows, Revealed!

Work has slowed down on the main house... so let's take a look at some of our new windows! They're nice -- double-paned. On the outside, a new vinyl cover has been placed over the existing wood frame. On the inside, the wood windowsill remains.



First, here are the new addition windows, waiting to be installed.




New crank window for Evan's bedroom. We had to go with the crank in order to meet fire code, since the window otherwise wouldn't be wide enough for someone to get out in case of fire. Of course, in a fire I'm not sure taking the time to crank open a window is the way to go...



Here's the view of Evan's room's new window from the inside.



Here's one of the side door windows, from the inside.



The new kitchen window.



The new window (also crank) in our current bedroom (which eventually becomes the guest bedroom).



And the side window in the kitchen -- which, like the old window, doesn't open. It provides nice views of the distant mountains...



Meanwhile, the latest garage shot. The electricians are there today, adding outlets.