Moving In!

Well, we are moving into the addition!  Our contractor finished up the inside stuff yesterday and we started to move in some of the furniture!  Can't wait to get home tonight and do some more.

Here is Libby's room, all finished out.  We have moved in one of her dressers, her night stand and the head board for her "big girl" bed.

Here is our toy room / bonus room.  I was giving Denise a hard time last night about now needing a home office and she stated that this room would be perfect for that.  But, we need to get the toys out of the way.

Here is the new hallway, completely finished

And, over the last couple of weeks, we have been changing over to laminate flooring over all of our vinyl.

Here is our original hallway, all completed.

The laundry room / back entrance

Our kitchen, which was posted before

And the main bathroom

We also did our front door area, but I have been having troubles getting that photo to upload.

EDIT:  Here is our front door entrance!

And here is the outside of the house, just about completed.  We are just waiting on gutters, the excavator to come back and move the dirt around and slope it and to close off the crawl space.

Ahhh, such relief knowing it is complete!

Troy, Denise, Libby and Lucas

I Think We Are In The Home Stretch

Yes, I think I can officially say that.......

Last Thursday night, Denise, the kids and myself got the laminate flooring laid down in the new addition.  Sorry, no pictures as we put paper over it right away to protect it somewhat from construction traffic.  Over the weekend, our contractor was able to get the addition pretty much trimmed out and ready to go for carpeting......  Which went in today!!!!!  Here are the two rooms courtesy of Denise:

Libby's room with carpet and trim

The toy room / bonus room with carpet and trim.  You can also see the "Powdered Maize" color on the walls.

Electrical also showed up this morning, so we now have outlets and lights finished out!

Our contractor still has to get the closet doors on and trim out the windows (there was a mix up with the lumber yard as they were to send finished jams for the windows, but sent unfinished).  The hallway also needs baseboard.  HVAC is also supposed to come back and double check all of their work.

Our contractor will also have to come back and fix the ceiling in our basement that had to be tore out for running of the duct work.

On the exterior, they got the front sided and are supposed to be working on the other two sides today.  The seamless gutter people are supposed to show up this week, as is the excavator to move the rest of the dirt around and / or out.

Over the weekend, Denise and I were able to finish off the rest of the laminate flooring in the house and give it that "finished" look!  We are loving it!

We just may be all moved in by Labor Day Weekend!  Which will be a good thing because once we get past that weekend, we only have three or four weekends open between then and New Years!

Can't wait to have this project over!

Troy, Denise, Libby and Lucas

A Little Closer

No new pictures for you today as it was too dark in the addition last night when I finished up.  But, the toy room did get painted and the flooring is down in the hallway.  Our contractor got the insulation blown into the attic and the soffits on!

Today, the excavator is supposed to come out and get the yard put back together and then hall away any dirt that isn't used.  Our contractor is either going to side or start on hanging the closets and entry doors and trimming the inside.  He plans on working Saturday and Sunday, as do Denise and I.  The carpet installer is going to show up Monday and the electrician and the HVAC guys are to show up early next week to finish their work.

Fingers crossed, by this time next week, we will be complete!

Troy, Denise, Libby and Lucas

Painting

A little more progress was made last night on the addition.  Painting went very quickly as there is no floor covering or trim work to worry about.

Denise got Libby's new bedroom painted in the afternoon, a light purple color.

After I got home last night from work, I attacked the hallway and got that painted in Bleached Wheat.

Up next will be to paint the toyroom/bonus room in a Powdered Maize (light yellow).

Also, I hope to start on laying the laminate flooring for the hallway tonight.  We will see how the kiddos do with allowing me to do that though.  Painting last night became somewhat of a problem as they didn't like the two chairs blocking their way into the addition.  Our contractor, Bill, is blowing the insulation in the attic today and then will start on the trim and doors tomorrow and work on that through the weekend.  We also have to get the light fixtures hung and get the electrician back to get everything finalized.  The carpet layer will be there on Monday to put the carpet in the two rooms and then all the interior stuff should be ready.  Outside, gutters, siding, soffets and landscaping need to be completed and the crawl space closed off. 

We are starting to feel good about things!

Troy, Denise, Libby and Lucas

The Addition Is Open

Here is a picture Denise took this morning from home!  The hallway to the new addition is now open!

Getting Closer

Well, we aren't quite in the home stretch, but we are getting close!

Drywall and taping has been completed, as has the primer coat of paint.  That means Denise and I can get in there starting Wednesday to put color on the walls.  Carpet has been ordered and we are hoping to line up an install early next week with that.  HVAC has been completed and is working.  Trim and doors have been ordered and siding/gutters still have to go on, but that will happen as we are working on the inside stuff.  The excavator is suppose to come out on Friday and do his thing and take away the left over dirt, so we will have some grass seed to get down and watered.  We are hoping we can be moving Libby and the toys in by Labor Day Weekend.

Here are the most recent pictures I have. 

Looking in Libby's room from the hallway

Looking at Libby's room from the window.   The closet is now drywalled.

 The toy room / bonus room from the hallway.

On the laminate flooring front, we have gotten the laundry room and the front entry area done.  All that is left is the hallway in the addition and then the one strip to tie the two hallways, family room and kitchen areas together.  We are still trying to decide if we want to go this route in the master bath or not.  That bathroom just seems to stay a little more humid than the rest of the house and we are not sure how well the laminate would like that.

In other news, we had to make the trek last weekend to Rolette, ND, for Denise's grandma on her dad's side (Danielson) funeral.  She was 90 and lived a great life, only really being sick here at the end.  I guess if I can live a great 90 years and only be sick the last three months, I would take it!

After seven and a half hours and almost 400 miles we arrived in Rolette.

The funniest part of the trip was the motel in Rolette.  It was a little, 10 room, local motel and laundromat.  When I called to make the reservation, I thought it was odd that they would tell you the room number right on the phone.  Well, we got there, the office was locked up (it was 4:30 in the afternoon on Thursday), so we went to the room number given, and sure enough, the room was unlocked, two keys on the TV and a note telling us how much we owed.  When it came time to check out on Friday, the office was still locked up (it was 10:00 in the morning), so we just left a check on the nightstand with the keys and closed the door.  Turns out the owners of the motel have other jobs, but have an "older" couple "manage" the motel when they are not there, but the "managers" aren't always there either.

After the funeral, we loaded the up the car and headed to Edinburg, ND, to meet up with Denise's mom's (Kertz) brothers and their families.  Glad we did that as it took two and a half hours off our trip home.  Since we got to Edinburg while everyone was still at work, we decided to hit city park and let the kids blow off some steam.  Now, this town has the classic city park look to it.  One block near the center of town that is just dedicated to a park.  Trees, playground equipment, grill pits, tables, just classic.  Libby and Lucas had fun.

Saturday rolled around and after lunch, we made the four + hour trek back to Garfield.  All in all, it was nearly 800 miles and 14 hours of butt time in the car.  Libby and Lucas did fairly well, sleeping most of the trip.  Although on the way home, Libby wanted to ride in Grandpa Curt's pickup.  Luckily, we couldn't catch him on the Interstate, probably because we were about an hour ahead of them, but she didn't know that as she could see a camper in front of us!

Well, that is about all from here for now.  I will post more once we get some "finishes" completed!

Troy, Denise, Libby and Lucas

A Slow Down

Well, I guess things didn't move quite as fast last week as we had hoped.....

The HVAC guys got in there on Tuesday and cut in for the vents and cold air returns.  But they didn't run any duct work as they need to move a couple of water lines in our basement for the new feeds.  They are waiting on that until all the drywall work is done as to not pull drywall dust into our house and to not leave us with air conditioning.  They figure they can get it done in one day.

Electrical did get in and was inspected and approved!  So we are done with that until final hookup/inspection.

Our contractor, Bill, spent the weekend getting the walls insulated and the poly up on the walls and the ceiling.  Hopefully that means drywall will be starting today?

Here is a look down the hallway from Libby's new room towards where the addition will enter the family room/kitchen area.  We are not going to cut the hole out until the drywall is complete.

Here is a look at the smaller of the two rooms, what we will use as a "toy room".

And here is a look at what will become Libby's new room.

On the floor front, Denise and I got the laundry/utility room completed and took care of some "gaps" that were visible.  It is amazing that it takes one just as long to do a doorway as it does the rest of the room, I guess we haven't figured out the doorway "trick" yet.  Trying to cut the boards just right to eliminate any visible gaps and getting the boards to lock together can be troublesome.  So, all we have left now is Denise's bathroom and out little entry area by our front door.  We could probably pound both of those out in weekend if two little helpers would let us work.  Once the addition is done, we will be able to finish the strip we have left in our family room/kitchen area and down the hallway.  Hopefully by the time our cruise rolls around, all of this will be done.
Troy, Denise, Libby and Lucas

Tuesday Morning

A quick update on the addition here!  Electrical got done yesterday and is supposed to be inspected today!!!  Shingles and windows were installed and HVAC is supposed to be installed today.  Once that is completed, Bill can start with the insulating and drywall.  We are definitely moving along!

Troy, Denise, Libby and Lucas

PROGRESS!!!!!

Alright, now we are getting somewhere!

Bill and Crew started on our addition Saturday around 3:00, once all the rain got out of the area.  By the time the next rain storm moved in around 7:00, the crew of three had insulated the crawl space and got the floor joists up.  Then the rain.......

Sunday morning rolled around and Bill and only one of his crew were hitting it at 9:00.  By noon, they had this much completed:

After a brief lunch break, they kept right at it and it is now closed in.  Today, they will get the shingles on and the windows in.  Then they will be done until electrical and HVAC get their work done, which we are hoping will be completed by Thursday.

Here is what the smaller room is like.  It will serve as a "toy room" for us, but could be an office or a small bedroom.  It will end up being 8 1/4 feet by 10 3/4 feet and have a closet.

This would be Libby's new bedroom.  It will measure 10 3/4 feet by 13 3/4 feet and plus some closet space.

And this is looking in the hallway window towards Libby's room.

While this was all going on, Denise and I attacked the flooring in the bathroom, along with two little "helpers".  Here is the finished project, minus a couple of pieces of baseboard!

I hope to take a day off this week so that while the kiddos are at daycare, I can get the utility room done.  Then it will just be the master bath and the entry way left.  Oh yeah, we will have the new hallway to do and finish up the edge between the kitchen and family room, which we can't finish until the new entry into the new addition is cut.  But it is PROGRESS!!!!

Denise and I did have some fun on Saturday night as we headed to Theatre Le'Homme Deiu to see "Power Balladz"!  It was basically an 80s rock show with comedy thrown in.  It was AWESOME, I would definitely go again.  The show was written by Minnesota natives and has been shown in New York and Las Vegas, among other stops.  From the sounds of it, the three main singers (actors, cast) are constant, but they get local talent to play in the band.  The five members of the band here in Alexandria were from a musical school in the Twin Cities, as I found out from the mom of one of the members sitting next to me.  They had to take a week off from classes for this show, and Monday was going to be back to reality for her son.  If you get a chance to see this show, I would highly recommend it if you are an 80s rock music fan!

Troy, Denise, Libby and Lucas!

Construction Update

Well, not much got done on the outside construction this weekend, and I don't think much will get done today.  We woke up this morning to a Severe Thunderstorm Watch, and since then have had a Severe Thunderstorm Warning, a Tornado Warning, a Flood Advisory and a Heat Advisory.  Let's just throw in Hurricane and a Blizzard and get all our bases covered.

Denise and I were able to work on our floors this weekend though.  We got the kitchen and hallway just about done as we only have about a 5 inch strip left to put down.  But first we have to get all the finishing pieces in their proper places.  Let's just say the kids didn't allow that to happen on Sunday.  Most of the baseboard is back on and the quarter round is up in the kitchen except for the center island.  All that will be left then are the utility room and main bath.

Denise leaves for work in Denver today (comes home Wednesday), so it will just be Lucas and I at home since Libby will be staying with Grandpa Curt and Grandma Rosemary.  Maybe I can get a little done on it this week?  We will see.

Troy, Denise, Libby and Lucas