More steel and a kitchen emerges...

It has been far too long since our last post. Far Too Long. Why, you may ask, have Karen & Brett neglected their Home Renovation Blog? This is a valid question. First, Brett's computer was under the weather. Since it holds all our pictures, that made updating the blog challenging. Once it was back in action, we were plagued with construction issues that mired us down, which prevented us from wanting to write about our project. Blah blah blah... enough excuses! Let's blog. 

The interior stairwell work has been extensive. It is not an easy task erecting steel stairs from nothing. Step one is to piece together all the steel stringers that were made offsite. Then, they make the landings or giant steel rectangles. That's what this guy is doing here.

After finishing the first set of steel stairs, they worked on the second stairwell. It was no easy feat. These guys worked long hours on hot days.

But after several weeks of arduous toiling, the stairs are in place with temporary treads. Railings are coming this week. But in the meantime, we have usable stairs. Sure beats schleping up makeshift ladders. And it's awfully nice walking up our future stairs.

Another exciting moment was the delivery of our kitchen cabinets. At long last... my dream kitchen! Unfortunately, the installation has been less than idyllic. While they are just as we had expected, they are not what our contractor had anticipated. A couple inches longer here... a few inches deeper there... sigh, our kitchen has not been easy to construct. Our main floor has looked like the above pictures for two weeks. Due to the extra cabinetry lengths, the knee walls were in the wrong locations. So, those had to come out. A couple of inches may not seem like much, but when it comes to construction, it's the difference between right and redo.

While the stairs were being installed inside, a few other steel guys were putting in the spiral stairs to the roof. Now don't go getting any crazy ideas... we aren't putting in a roof deck or anything fancy like that. This is just a stairwell to the roof for easy access to the air conditioners and to the skylight. 

Isn't this a cool photo? This is the tiling in the master shower. Brett picked out all the design aspects, including tiles, flooring, counters, sinks, paint, light fixtures. There isn't much more to show right now, but there will be...

And we have doors! Door trim too. I never knew I'd geek out over doors. Life sure is exciting.

The welding moves indoors... and more!

What a difference a week makes. Not only am I back from my trip to Canada refreshed, but I returned to many changes on the home front. I confess: I deeply missed watching the progress over those five days.

They patio guys finished installing the bricks from the front sidewalk, alongside the building and into the back courtyard. On one side of each brick, there is raised wording: Purington Paver. We really liked that aspect of the bricks, so when they were installed, the guys would occasionally make the wording visible.

The brick was laid in several inches of gravel substrate and topped by a layer of sand. After that, they were tamped into place with a gyrating Zamboni type machine that emitted earsplitting noise. Then, the bricks were cleaned with green acid. The only thing left is to add one last layer of sand to complete the patio.

Quite a bit of time and energy have been put into this back patio and stairwell. It is a relief to see it all come together. We are already planning how we're going to use the space and where we'll place outdoor furniture and a grill. 

Once the guys were done with the back stairwell, they moved their metalworking indoors to another set of stairs. Would you believe that this giant steel box is for our stairwell?

It is the landing for the first set of stairs and hovers above the kitchen counter. Yikes!

The stringers were installed also. We picked the wood and stain for the treads in order for the stairs to become functional. Right now, we are using the outdoor stairs to visit the second floor. 

Nothing reads hotter than welding. My pyro husband wants to try his hand at this.

The kitchen cabinets arrived! This was the first aspect of the home we designed. After extensive research and much window shopping, we created exactly what we wanted for ourselves and the space. We couldn't have done it without our friends at CulinaBlu (www.culinablu.com). Joyce was amazing to work with; she gave us her expertise and insight while also showing patience as we figured out what we actually wanted. These cabinets were custom made in Germany and delivered right to our home. 

All of the tile flooring was placed and grouted. They moved onto the tub, laying the white subway tiles.

Last but not least... the hardwood flooring is being installed. Brett and I spent a copious amount of time researching different options, debating every element: pre-finished vs. unfinished, oak vs. "exotic" woods, deep brown stains vs. light bleached colors, 3" vs. 5" width. Ultimately, we selected a beautiful carbonized stranded bamboo. The cocoa browns sate Brett, while the honey tones resonate for me. The various hues play well with the exposed brick, as shown in our future bedroom.

We were drawn to this flooring when we first started our research, but felt we needed to explore more. And at the end, we returned to this style. Lucky for us, it is especially durable too. It is pre-finished which has added some extra headaches; since it won't be sanded at the end of construction, our army of workers need to be mindful not to hurt it. Fingers crossed!