Final blog entry from Master Dave

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.

The End.

As I sit down to write this a sense of melancholy washes over me. Can it really be over? The months drug on and on as I prayed for patience and good sense. This was a HUGE project that we tackled! As we plop down on the couch that I so sweetly refer to as the big brown turd, we ask ourselves "Was it worth it?" and a firm and joyous answer from both Rog and I is HELL YES! We LOVE our new place and it is exactly what we envisoned.
We were lucky enough to have a couple of really cool and creative contractors to work with. They were always open to my ideas and me horning in on their work. So, Master Dave Bowen and Master Bruce Downs, we salute you! Job well done. They are forever tainted by the naughty things that I say when my filter needs changed. For that I am sorry ;) I love words and I seem to have a lot of them.

So the big reveal. We moved in two and half weeks ago. That pretty much sucked. Don't I have three strapping sons that should be around to help? Nope, they are off on their own adventures; just the way we want it. So it was snowing and cold and lots of hard work. But we got it done. There are still some boxes downstairs and some baseboard that needs painted, but overall we are pretty settled.
I am just going to show you some photos. Cuz I am tired and need a glass of wine on this chilly Friday...

Thats a big honking island. And its AWESOME

The teal cedar treatment turned out beautiful

Dining area. We are going to get a long table for 10 for when my big boys come with their women.

You can see that it is all one living area. The chimney stack shelves are SWEEET

I bought this little dresser for $100 on Craigslist and added the copper sink. You can see the barn door in the mirror.

A better mirror shot of the custom barn doors that the Masters made me.

Sorry to say that we filled in and tiled over the inside planter in the entryway. Love the original brick

The sunroom is just off the living area. It is our favorite spot; and Stan's too!

We can see Pikes Peak, Devil's Head and Castle Rock. Stan sits on the sheep skin and looks for deer and fox. 

I should have added some photos of our master bathroom. It is amazing! Heated tile floor, a big soaking tub, and beautiful tile. Meh. You'll have to stop by and see it.
I hope to embrace some of my free time and set up my studio and get back to my art. Stay tuned.
Cheers.
Julie

The end is near and I can't wait

To say that we have been busy is an understatement. The last weeks have been filled with projects and lots of changes. Things are REALLY ramping up now because we received a contract on our house and will need to move in at the end of March (I'm jumping up and down in my chair as I write this!). Rog and I took a weeks vacation to celebrate a little birthday that I had and also our upcoming anniversary this summer. When we came back there were big changes to the project that made us so dang excited.
The basement bathroom may be completed sometime in 2016. We grouted last weekend and now have a handful of projects to do in there. This is what is looks like as of now:

I will add the shower pics next time.

The kitchen cabinets are in and I LOVE them. The pulls and knobs should be in any day now. One of the surprises was the installed quartzite countertops and subway tile backsplash that look amazing!! The countertops are currently covered with plastic for protection until the painting is finished. 

Range hood will be installed and open rustic shelving on each side needs to be hung.
During the first few weeks of February Master Dave and I worked on the island project together. I knew that I wanted something different using reclaimed wood and a fun color. He played along with my crazy ideas! You have to love a contractor who allows the client to participate in the project:) During the demolition phase Dave & Bruce saved all the cedar planking that was in the master bedroom closet. It sat in a big pile in the garage until we went to work. I decided on a color called Cloudburst from Sherwin Williams. I loved the way it changed thru the process that we came up with. First, I painted all the boards in the garage on one of our sunny and warm days. Then Dave let me use his sander (way better than mine) and I sanded each board to let some of the graining show through the paint. I have used this process before on a pallet table project.

Next, we relocated to the basement because the appliances were delivered and took up the garage space. Dave and I spent some quality time together playing with stains, dark wax, dry brushing and polyurethane. After a few attempts we decided on the process and went to work on each single board. Dave designed and cut the pine boards that were to be used for the 'framing' of the planks.  We then distressed each of those with nails, wire, screws and a hammer. That was FUN! It took me a while to decide on the final design, but I think it looks exactly how I wanted it. Dave is extremely patient to let me process, talk thru things, change my mind and just be creative. I am proud of what we came up with. Up-cycling at its best. Wood=free paint=$14 stain=$15 labor= mine was free:)

The other project that Master Bruce, Master Dave's trusty sidekick and partner, surprised me with was the brick chimney stack. It was this column in the middle of the room that was the original fireplace stack from the basement. Originally, we wanted to removed the plaster drywall to expose the original brick, but that would have been expensive and labor intensive. So we decided on a thin brick overlay. Then I showed Bruce a picture (Pinterest) of some floating shelves that I wanted. I came home to this beautiful creation:

The wood floor was being stained today! It looks beautiful already. The calendar in March is full for Dave and Bruce as we prepare to move down there. Tile in the master bath, carpet, paint, powder room finish, appliance install are all on the list. The heat is on!  On my end there are boxes to pack and things to get rid of, this is a downsize, remember? 

Drywall and texture and flooring, oh my!

Its been a while since I have blogged; however, lots of things have been going on at the house during the busy season of Christmas and  three Ryburn January birthdays. The biggest change that we have seen is the drywall is finished and textured. I know...not exactly what a normal person would be tickled about, but when I can walk in and see the walls finished I do get a little giddy. Small victories in my world! With that in mind, all the electrical is finished and waiting for fixtures and switches.
While all that was under way on the main level, Roger and I decided to keep tackling the basement. The bathroom downstairs was a little rough, but we agreed that this was a project that could wait until we moved in. WELL, one thing has led to another and we have torn the whole room apart. The tub area was stripped down to the studs and insulation removed due to water damaged drywall. Not fun!
We decided to chip off the tile on the flood before we put in the new vanity. Now this little project was NOT pleasurable!! The floor tile was adhered to concrete. Good ole hammers and a air chipper did the trick. We stood back..."The walls look kinda bad, maybe we should just take that off as well." So we did.  We stood back..."The tub walls look kinda bad, maybe we should take that off as well." So we did. Holy toledo! I'm a girl that can do demolition, cut insulation, score and cut tile,  caulk and paint and even run the air nailer and sink drywall screws. I don't have lovely fingernails, but Rog says I'm a keeper.
It is taking shape with new floor tile laid and we started on the over sized subway tile in the tub area. At one point we discussed the rate of our work and thought it could be a 6 dang months before we finished this 'little' project. Then I got a call from the tile fairy letting me know that he was working on our bathroom!! Whaaaaat? The best contractor ever -Master Dave- had to be at the house to supervise drywall guys so he just jumped right in. Such a GREAT surprise and help to us. Check out the pics:

Rog looks like he is crying or praying for it all to end.

The floor tile was small little squares that came up just a couple at a time

This is right before we had the epiphany to take off the shower tile.

New wood-look floor tile was freshly grouted!

Subway tile with a chocolate glass strip-this is a 'in progress' shot.

We added the bead board and set the toilet on my birthday:)

Getting closer each day to a cool new bathroom!! I can't wait to add the green vanity and vessel sink

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Remember how I ended my last blog entry with the words, I LOVE this? Well, not every day is total love. I keep telling myself that its going to get worse before it gets better. 


The Good:

• Progress 
• The cabinets are in and being housed in the warehouse until we are ready. Exciting!
• I chose and ordered  all the drawer pulls and knobs. I never thought THAT would be fun.
• I visited the stone warehouse and picked out a remnant piece for the master bath. There were so many cool pieces of stone to see!
• The pendant lights and an entry light have arrived. Industrial chic coolness.
• I bought all the tile for the entryway and love the petrified wood look. 
• I bought a cool little dresser that we will use for the powder room vanity with a vessel sink. (Dang, I better buy a sink)
• Our house is going to be electrically safe after all the new wiring that has been put in:)
• The creative freedom that Master Dave and Bruce are willing to give me when figuring out issues. Gotta LOVE that. They already can read the 'look' on my face when I am marinating on an idea.

The Bad:

• The continuing horrible electrical stuff that they keep finding. I am not an electrician by ANY means, but even I can see that what was done is BAD stuff. This could surely be listed in the 'good' category as well because it is being addressed.
• I encouraged Roger to meet with Jason, electrician and wiring extraordinaire, to go over the Sonos system stuff. Okay, let's just say that the quote went up from what I wanted...guy stuff.

The Ugly:

• That every single room in the entire house has been touched by this renovation. When I see Bruce heading downstairs with his saw I just need to take a deep breath. 
•  Our house is going back on the market after Christmas. Yay.
• When I have to talk through stuff from the project and my Rog just stares at my face.

You will see that the 'good' list is longer than the others. Bring on the inspectors and drywall. I am thankful for such wonderful craftsmen that I have on my team. Every visit they put up with my snarky comments and snort laugh. 

Bruce, seriously, put down the saw!

More pics next time.

Master Dave: part 8

The Rock: Part Eight

So, as Julie just wrote, she and Rog have been inundated with decisions about things which most of us don’t think about or take for granted—location of lights and switches, which way should the door swing, etc.  We were asking questions to avoid the “oops” moments later. 

For instance:  what are you doing for a vanity mirror? Julie wanted two mirrors, both centered over their respective sinks.  Lighting was going to be two sconces on either side of each mirror.  Following the plan, we would have ended up with room for three and a half sconces in order to maintain the centering and spacing. Solution was to plan on moving the vanities down the wall a bit, and building the wall a few inches longer to accommodate the move, not a big deal at all right now, but virtually impossible later. I think Bruce caught that one, but brainstorming leaves us all exhausted and wondering where the solution came from.

Probably the hardest thing for both Julie and Roger was to deal with the myriad of decisions Jason, our electrician from WER Electric (shameless plug), needed to fully customize each room for their particular needs—a difficult task considering they’ve never lived in the house.  “Is the couch going here…or here? ‘Cause I need to put a floor outlet in, and then there’s the lighting…and did you want one or two switches controlling these lights?  I can separate them, y’know.  Or did you want a remote, I can put it here…”  They both looked over at Bruce and I several times, and we just giggled, and shrugged.

We are officially in the rough-in stage, and we should be done with the framing, but we are not, so each trade can only go so far until we rush over, stick a wall up then sprint to the next place.  There were lots of time-consuming details associated with the structural beams, and have been playing catch up ever since.  I think today, the 15^th, we’ll have all the walls up and done.  The plumbers look to be done having located a new drain for the kitchen and completely new everything in the bathroom.  Jason’s guys have pulled more than 5000 feet of new wire in replacing everything upstairs and adding what I just head counted as 40 recessed cans—I’m probably off b y a few. The mechanical guys have a few details to complete, but…

We’re hoping to call for inspections tomorrow, but it’s snowing like crazy out there, so it’s hard to say who will show up and when.

NOTE: Inspections have been called for today, the 17^th BUT we were looking at the drywall in the bedroom and thought it a good idea to remove it—there were cracks and holes and hey, let’s just start off anew, do a little prep for the drywall sub, etc.  We immediately found the reason for the cracks: whoever installed the bay windows (and I’m going to hunt you down) decided that headers weren’t that important, so they cut part of the original 2 x 12 header at the door and cobbled in a 2 x 6 header across the window.  Then they “forgot” to nail it to a stud, so there’s essentially nothing holding up a five foot section of ceiling and roof except drywall.  And, I guess if you’re going to go to that kind of trouble, you should bury a junction box in the wall by taping it over and pretending it was never there.

We’ll try to fix that this morning, before the inspector shows up—it’s a gray area for the inspector as it’s nothing we’ve touched or done, and therefore not subject to his review, but it’s not right and we all know it. And it’ll give us a chance to dismember the other bird’s nest right next to the framing gaffe.  It’s a big one!

Master Dave: part 7

The Rock: Framing part 1 

The hardest part about the framing requirements based on the design will be coming up this week: lifting each portion of each header up and into the ceiling. The second hardest part was getting them into the house! 
Lumber was delivered on Tuesday: 2 x 4’s were stacked in the garage, and the beam materials were left outside until we hauled them in on Wednesday. With snow looming on the weather reports, we were pressed to get everything inside. When our hard working hand, Mike, called in sick, the two old men looked at each other and said, “Nope.” We commandeered my son, Cameron, and Julie’s youngest, Audie, for some muscle! 
Each beam consists of three individual LVL (laminated veneer lumber). They are all 16” tall by 1 ¾” thick, heavy and unwieldy. Beam one is going in the kitchen and is 24’ long—the three components went in the front door and were leaned against the soon-to-be-removed kitchen wall. The dining room header is 18’ long, and they slid through the garage entry and found a home against the chimney chase. The bedroom beam is 28’ long and presented a problem: in addition to being the longest and heaviest, it had to go through the front bedroom window, in and through the house, out the back door, then back in as it cleared a bathroom wall before the trio found a home. Happily done before noon! 
We started on the middle wall between the kitchen and living room as it’s the only one we have final engineering for. We built temporary walls to support the ceiling and rafters above, then we cut out the kitchen wall. We marked our lines for where the new beam would go and started cutting the joists back. We also cut a hole in the drywall in the entry—we’ll push each LVL up and through before threading it back onto the post in the opposite wall. It’ll be heavier than it will be complicated, and we hope to have them all installed, and all the framing walls in, by the end of next week. We’ll see!