update

The first picture shows the sore topic of the week. I noticed a couple of cracks in the concrete counters before we moved them outside for polishing. Then when we moved them Matt let them fall apart. J/k. Thanks everyone for helping to move them! I think we have a solution that will work well.The front room just has a fireplace, a front door and a few baseboards left to do. Thanks to my dad for spending a week here helping me with the counters and the finish trim work! We tried to have some fun at the end of the week by going rafting at westwater. I only dumped him out twice and luckily he survived to tell about it.

The kitchen needs counters, a little trim, a stove(which is in the garage) and a few paint touchups. The concrete counters will be under the window and by the stove and a big butcher block will cover the island. We searched and searched for a good deal on some school house lights and we ended up with these that we like a lot.
Last is the mudroom. We completed the travertine tile and grout which has been sealed. I also installed the dryer. The washer will be installed this week along with some trim and we have to build some type of bench for under the bay window to cover the crawlspace entrance.
Hopefully the Thanksgiving turkey can be cooked in our completed remodel. There is a lot left to do. We will have a lot to be thankful for when we complete this project!

I couldnt wait

I was planning on not posting any pictures until the kitchen was entirely completed but that could be years so here is a sneak peak at the cabinets I just installed and the color we chose for the walls.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

Our 4th anniversary was spent caulking, taping and painting. Sounds romantic right? Then Ryan, Ryan, Rachel and Trevor came up this weekend to have a floor party, it turned out great! The floors are a bamboo engineered wood floor that went together very easily. This week the kitchen cabinets will come and hopefully we can find the perfect color to go in the kitchen. I know you are all dying to see it.

Not a whole lot has happened at the remodel. The past few weeks have been occupied with finals, graduation and drawing the house plans so I can have them engineered in order to get a building permit. Here are a few pictures of what has happened.

A new door was installed and stairs built from the garage to the mudroom. (Those are the free lockers I found in a field in Payson, and no I did not steal them)

Here is a look from the door into the mudroom

This is where the future kitchen will be. It used to be the dining room.

This is a look from the new kitchen into the main living space. We made a larger opening in the wall.

Here is a look into the old kitchen. I think a piano is going here eventually

Lastly, here is a look at the master bdrm closet which has doubled in size. Up to this point in our lives we have never shared a closet. Maybe that will happen in this house and maybe not.

We will be moving closer to the house this week so I plan on making a lot better progress in the near future. I am also waiting to get the plans back from the engineer. Also, we are meeting with the cabinet builder this week so he can get started.

Interior

Inside the beautiful front doors lies a...



beautiful fireplace (you might even be able to see the space ship texture on the ceiling). Then past the fireplace you will dream of cooking in this...



amazing kitchen. Don't worry about spilling mustard because you won't even see it on these countertops and plastic cupboards. Just beyond the kitchen is a dining/office room that leads to the backyard.



The current floor plan has some major drawbacks that don't meet our needs so we have made plans to create the spaces that we want. Demolition is underway so be watching for those pictures to come soon.

Floor Buddy

If any of you are like me tracking dirt into the house is a part of who you are. For me, shoes cover my feet so that my feet stay clean, they don't even protect me from nails. Wife doesn't have the same love of dirt that I do especially just after she cleaned on Saturday morning and then I get home from work and track dirt into the house.

Recently we were introduced to the Floormate spinscrub hardwood floor cleaner and my life couldn't be better. This contraption is a wet scrubbing vacuum for solid surface floors which makes cleaning up dirt and mud much easier. I still haven't tested it to find it's true potential but things like that happen naturally for me. Wife likes it so much that she has been calling it the "Floor Buddy" and I think they are better friends than they would like to admit.

We are looking forward to a garage to store all dirty shoes and clothes. Apparently Carhartt is not allowed indoors, who knew.

Moving

This past Friday of working on the house was spent moving two letterpress machines. It is great fun! The best part is that one of the machines was moved to a temporary location which means I get to move it again. Some of you may not be able to sense the sarcasm because you are not aware of the size and weight of these machines. The first one we acquired almost 3 years ago, it is a 1968 vandercook universal I which comes in at about 1200 LBs. The second press is a 1960's asbern(pictures to come) and it is about 800-1000 Lbs. Then there is the mini table top, which we have had for about two years or so but only weighs about 100 LBs. A few weeks ago I moved up the old guillotine paper cutter which probably weighs about 300 LBs.



This is a picture of us moving the vandercook 3 years ago.

Wife uses the machines to print cards, wedding invitations, art, die-cuts and anything else she can think up. I think I enjoy the process as much or more than her. As soon as the snow melts the barn will be fixed up to house these monsters and hopefully classes and workshops will follow.

Here is the lovely beast that will soon be home. It is a 1600 SF one story home on a .5 acre lot, 3 bdrms, and 2 baths.



There is a small outbuilding that was used as a woodworking shop by the old man that lived there before us. We hope to turn the shop into an art studio as soon as possible.