Interior Painting Underway

The ceiling and woodbeams are stained creating that great stained beam under the stonewall between the gameroom and the kitchen. Interior painting continues next week, though obviously not through Christmas.

The exterior soffit painting was redone this week, a clean up leftover from Hurricane Gustav. Caitlin also came up with the great idea of painting the door to the tool storage area to match the soffit color, it really looks great on the exterior of the house now.

Countertop install was pushed to Monday, but we're still moving along great with getting the house finished.

Driveway Poured

Since the weather in Baton Rouge has gone from freezing last week to mid-70s this week, we weren't sure that concrete pouring was going to be possible. But taking advantage of a small window the past couple of days where it didn't rain and the temperature settled in between the 50s and 60s, they were able to get everything poured. The stone pallets (off in the distance there) were delivered today and will be place on the edges of the driveway and on the walkways shortly.

Look out: countertops are scheduled to be installed on Friday!

SNEAUX DAY!!

You folks aren't going to believe this, but today, December 11, it snowed three inches in Baton Rouge. It was amazing and beautiful and since I was driving to New Orleans in it, I did not make it to the house to take pictures.

It also was too cold to paint. Yes, it's remarkable that the construction of our house could be impacted by a hurricane AND snowfall in the same four month period!

Finishing Begins

With about five weeks to go until the house is finished, the colors of the house are starting to come alive as Caitlin works his magic painting and staining.

The stone wall between the gameroom and kitchen was filled in today and will be grouted tomorrow. The kitchen and bathroom cabinets have been stained and others painted.

And the driveway forms are ready to be poured on Saturday. Check out the slideshow link for more pictures of the finishing.

Closets Built

The closets are built and paint priming has already begun. I'll take more pictures over the weekend and get them posted.

Almost all the cabinets are in, the baseboards are complete and primed and the wood beams in the Game Room have been installed. Also this week we ordered the garage door, all the electrical fixtures (well, almost all) and everything should be in for the plumbing and other installation after the counter tops are installed!

Oh, and we ordered the stools for the bar. It's getting very exciting folks!

Old House Goes Up for Sale

Our old house went up on www.fsbobr.com last night. If you know anyone who needs a house, check out this link: http://www.fsbobr.com/explore.cfm/area04/102053 to see pictures and information on the house. It's a great house, we're just more excited about moving into our new one that Rick hopes to have us in by Christmas.

Home for the holidays indeed. Thank goodness I bought LED Christmas lights after the holidays last year!

Exterior Finishing Almost Complete

From the outside, you'd never know it's a concrete house. A lot of people asked about using ICF and wondered if it would make the house look bulky or odd.

With beautiful architectural stone and a stucco finish, it looks just like a regular house, except on one of the most important pieces of paper, the energy bill.

Robert from R&S Superior Cabinets is also doing a great piece of millwork for that front gable, so stay tuned to see how it develops. On the inside the cabinets are almost done, the doors mostly hung and the trim started last week as well. The house is really coming together. Check out the slideshow for more pictures.

Dry Wall Complete, Cabinet Installation Starts

Robert Shamburger and his son Beau from RS Superior Cabinets were onsite Tuesday afternoon to install the cabinets throughout the house. These beautiful custom cabinets were designed in the craftsman style to complement the rest of the house design. Made of beech, they are a beautiful smooth wood that will take staining very well.

The dry wall is complete as is the exterior finishing, with the exception of the soffits that have to be redone from the damage the Tyvek did in Hurricane Gustav. Apparently heavy paper being wind-whipped at 91 miles an hour causes paint to flake off, I believe Tyvek-blasting is the technical term.

We were given a gift on the exterior finishing in that there was a slight bit of confusion over the color we chose and what was listed on the filing plan of the house from which we chose the color. The result is that on the original paint attempt we got a gray color instead of the green color we wanted. Well, we decided to use the gray color as an accent around the windows and on the boarder on the front. I saw it for the first time yesterday and it looks awesome. Pictures are coming soon, but I need to go take them in the morning as the afternoon sun (at least by the time I get there each day) detracts from the detail and finish.

Things are really rolling along. Cabinets will be finished this week, then doors get installed the house really starts to look finished. Check out the slideshow link for more pictures!

Drywall Almost Complete

The drywall is almost complete and looks great. Our superhero ability to walk through walls has gone away with the drywall installation. Cabinets are on schedule to start installation any day now and the exposed beams will be installed shortly as well. The house is really coming together on the inside!

Checkout the slideshow for additional drywall pictures.

Drywall Started Today

The drywall installation started today. Here's a picture of some in the master bedroom where the ceiling has both a 10 foot and 12 foot height with recessed LED can lights around the perimeter. Today I enjoyed perhaps my last chance to walk through some of the walls (particularly the one between the master closet and the media room), I'm going to miss being able to do that!