Julie and Roger Build Their
Dream Home….
…or, How We Transformed the House on the Rock While
Celebrating Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, President’s Day,
Julie’s birthday and Dave’s birthday.
Since Julie got her final two cents in the blogosphere, I
guess I get one more shot at it if she’ll let me.
The last blog entries for both of us were months ago, and
the subsequent passing of those months represent the majority of the finishing
details for the Rock Street house. The
house became a home, albeit slowly as different trades came and went, all
putting their respective stamps on what was a job to them, a project for us and
a home for the Ryburns. For some, it was
apparent theirs was a labor of love, for others just a couple of hours on a
Monday or a Thursday. Julie was on site frequently with a big smile and an
attaboy for everyone, so it was tough to not be invested in the final look and
feel of the house.
The floors finished, walls painted and lighting installed,
we focused on so many details: the bathroom tile; the kitchen backsplash; the
garage entry, a sort of a hall tree with a re-purposed bench from the
structural beams in the ceiling and an open floor grate for dirty and snowy
shoes; the barn doors in the powder bath; the pantry doors off the kitchen;
Julie’s desk in the master suite. We
worked off a long list for the final weeks, and slowly whittled it down to a
few items.
The end of the Ryburn house project was announced and punctuated
by moving boxes mysteriously showing up at odd times. Bruce and I were slowly invited to leave as
boxes showed up in the entry, then the living room. Dishes and silverware in the kitchen cabinets
pointed us to the road, as did the coffee pot and toaster on the counter. The garage, once overwhelmed with our tools
and various bits of lumber, appliances and cabinets, gave way to boxes, bikes
and…well, stuff, and not our stuff.
There came a day when, instead of throwing the door open at 7 am, we
adjusted our start time to 8 am, and then knocked and stood at the door to be
invited in. When the final dumpster
left, we knew the end was near.
And then, the final death knell: they changed the
combination on the front door! Be gone,
construction people! Take your hammers
and saws, your smelly paints, your brushes and sponges and move along! With the final inspections passed and
recorded, the attic full of fresh insulation, the ducts vacuumed and the drains
cleaned, the mantel of occupation was formally passed.
It was a great project for us in so many ways, and we would
be remiss in not identifying some of the great people who worked on the
project. Jim and his guys on the
flooring; Jason and Dom handling the electrical, audio and visual; Larry and
Sean on the plumbing; Leigh’s painting crew; Rebecca and Betsy’s designs. And a final thank you to Julie and Roger for
the opportunity to play with their house, and the many of their friends and
family we met during the course of the project.
For rent: two aging carpenters. Housebroken…kind of. Looking for residential projects. Must have coffee a 10 am. Prefer enthusiastic homeowners. Will work for food.
