Closing Date

There was a little delay in closing. We had lots of snow on Monday forcing the title company to close, which delayed all their closings. So we closed Wednesday instead. There is still a minimal punch list of things that need to be finalized, but we are getting anxious to move in...so we closed.

Here are some pics once we closed, but before we started moving in.

Master bathroom...

Basement...

New House - Mantle

The mantle was installed on Wednesday and I think it looks awesome. Not much else new to report as they are really getting things wrapped up.

Appliances were delivered today, but are not installed yet. We are still on track to close on Tuesday, but unless we get some decent weather this weekend, that could get delayed as we still have siding that has to be completed.

New House - Moving Very Quickly

Things are moving very quickly this week. In fact tonight I decided to swing by after work and as I was pulling up, the cleaners were arriving. A crew of 3 people who explained they we're there to do the "final" cleaning. I actually laughed because the house is an absolute mess...but I guess that is what they would clean up. It will be so nice to walk in to a house that's been cleaned top to bottom.

I didn't take too many pictures, but here are a few from earlier this week. Media/bonus room that finally has lights.

Long, white island (we changed the color slightly at the last minute and I'm so glad we did).

Master bathroom counters.

Living room, with carpet, but no mantle yet.

Kitchen cabinets with handles and backsplash, but no appliances (they are supposed to be delivered tomorrow).

Our contractor told us tonight, we'll likely be closing on Tuesday. Unfortunately, Steve has a game Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday next week and late practice on Wednesday and Thursday - so looks like it will be a very slow week of moving. We're just hoping to be in to watch the Super Bowl :)

New House

As of today all the lights have been installed in the house, which is very cool to see. And makes it much easier to go to the house after hours to check things out. I did however notice that they have the pendant over the dining table and the panoramic light over the island - backwards.

Below is a picture of the lights installed on the front of the garage along with a little bit of the brickwork.

Finally they have the spindles installed, that still need to be painted white. Also, a picture from upstairs looking at the stairway light and large window facing south (hoping to get a lot of sunlight there).

The closet doors are on in the kids bedrooms... and the right picture is of the basement bathroom.

The final two pictures here are of the fireplaces. The left is on the main floor and has glass tile surround, while the right is in the basement with just a basic ceramic tile.

New House - Front Siding

Siding is almost complete, but apparently the shipment was missing one pallet, so the crew ran just a bit short on one side. They are hoping to have it by next Monday, and for how quickly they move, will probably have it done within a couple hours. They were hard at work all weekend and on Sunday night our neighbor texted us to say they were still working outside, under a heated tent, at around 10:00 pm. They placed a tent over the area for brickwork and then keep it heated so the brick dries properly and doesn't immediately freeze. Last night they were still working at 9:30 pm when we drove by on our way home from Steve's basketball game in Moose Lake. I wish I would have gotten some pictures of that because they had big spotlights out in the front yard.

Here is one from Sunday afternoon that was taken while I was driving and from a distance. I need to be better about stopping to snap some better photos.

The pillars on the front porch will have brick around the bottom and they will be painted white. I went today to try and get pictures on my lunch hour and of course the sun was shining directly on me, so none of those pics turned out either. The brickwork is looking very nice though.

New House - Cabinets

Almost all of the cabinets were installed yesterday. Another fun stage to seeing all the choices come together. Then today the floors in the kitchen and dining were installed. They seem to be moving very quickly and it's very difficult to get good pictures because they don't have working lights in the house yet and most days I don't get over there until after dark.

 

Here is a picture looking at one wall of the kitchen cabinets. Door to the right is going into the pantry and center structure is only part of the installed island. A dishwasher will go on the other end and sink will be in the middle. The gas range and microwave will be centered under the raised cabinet. Also, you can't tell from this picture of the island is a very dark, almost black, stain. Cabinets were all custom made by Hermantown Millwork. The white is painted maple and the other cabinets throughout the house are stained alder.

 

 

 

Here is a picture of the dining room with the flooring in. It was pretty dark out so the picture is the best I could get with a spotlight on. You can also see the newel post has been painted white and the trim has been sprayed. The floor is very dusty in the picture, but it's a wood looking laminate, which they told us is very durable. The color is dark and more specifically called bourbon hickory. I absolutely love the flooring!

 

 

Next is a picture of the master bathroom cabinet. This was also custom made by Hermantown Millwork and was the darkest stain we chose of all the cabinets (except the island). It's difficult to see in the picture, but in the center is a vanity to have a little stool at.

 

 

And the first coat of stain on the basement ledge...

 

 

Still looking at a close date the week of January 20th. We're really hoping for the temps to stay above zero for the move.

 

New House - Misc Update

We've had some more progress over the last few days and we are getting much closer to our move-in date. At this point our general contractor is expecting the week of January 20th, although I don't see how that's possible. I will keep my fingers crossed.

They have started the stairway and the newel post and handrail has been installed. The newel post is stained to match the flooring.

The master bath shower has been tiled part way up and the glass accent tile has been set. It's got a little more white in it than I had thought, but I still really like it. These are the 2 tiled shelves.

This is looking down the hallway from the master bedroom. Paint color is a very light gray/aqua (Sherwin Williams - Sea Salt). Our new bedroom furniture is pretty dark and the room is not large, so I think it will be nice to have a light paint color. First door on the left is the mudroom and then a 1/2 bath just down the hall.

Last picture is in the basement. They've placed the wood ledge on that will sit along the windows. I didn't even realize this was in the plans, but am so happy it is. They are going to stain it to match the upstairs handrail.

 

 

This past weekend I started to have a little anxiety about the island counter choice. So, Steve and I headed to the local stone yard and ended up changing our choice. We had pay a restocking fee and an upcharge for the color, but I think it will be worth it. I'd rather change it now then be unhappy once it's installed. Whew!

New House - Siding

This week the siding has begun which is a very exciting next step. Seems like we've been waiting for this part forever, but with all the snow we got and then the extreme drop in temperatures - it kept getting delayed. Siding was definitely one of the things I worried about for color because it really is kind of the cover of the book.

 

 

The siding color is 'Castlemore' which is a very dark gray. However, when the sun is shining directly on the house it looks a little more dark brown. We decided the stonework will be a mix of gray and browns so it should pull together nicely.