WIndows and Fireplace

They cut the windows in the room and they look huge, but I think it is going to be beautiful.

Also, just for giggles and to show the scale, here is a pic of the fireplace IN the house! It will come down in a couple of weeks.

Getting all dried in!

The crew worked through Saturday to make sure that we were as dried in as possible in case of rain. We are still exposed over our closets and bathroom and over part of the kitchen but for the most part protected from any potentional rain.








These pictures really give a good indication as to the scale of the remodel. The fireplace is still up...inside the new roof!!





I went looking for bathroom tile Saturday and fell in love with this. It's a little pricey and I am going to keep looking but everything else I looked at that day paled in comparison. This is porcelain and the border I picked has a triangled pattern with these colors as well as a lighter color that matches my existing bathroom floor and it is travertine. Together...gorgeous!

I also found another granite that I really liked. My first choice was called Cafe Imperial (or Imperial Coffee) but there seems to be some problems with white vaning in the stones right now. Tropical Brown is also a choice. But I found Key West Gold and although it has the word gold in it there really isn't any gold in the pattern...mostly brown, black, tan and white.

BIG BIG BIG House!

Ok so I'm a little taken back at the size of my new house. It is dwarfing the houses on either side of us.

Major Damage Going On

Yesterday was great. They started tearing off the roof on the back and framing up the new roof. It looks HUGE! So right now we are completely exposed. Rain would be detremental to the process at this point. But all the weather reports look good and if we can make it to the weekend without rain, the contractor says we'll be protected by then. Yesterday they got a lot done and were starting earlier today to get a jump on things (7:00am start). (I'll put pics up tonight).

One new piece of drama...Jim has decided to do the bathroom shower after all. So now I'm freaking out a little because I have about 4-5 days to figure out what I'm going to do and design the shower. I guess I won't be playing golf Saturday...again!! I'll be in Houston looking at bathroom tile. I cannot afford to do everything in the bathroom, but I think I have a plan to help it all blend and look updated until I can. I am going to do the shower in a combination of chocolate, taupe, tan and maybe white so that it will be neutral and go with the rest of my bathroom and master bedroom. Then I am going to restain the cabinets a dark chocolate, not quite espresso and paint the walls. I think it will make a world of difference and the shower will not look so out of place. I'll see after I look for tile what the possibilities are. I am excited about doing it but a little overwhelmed at the time frame in which I have to make the decisions.

Oh yeah...one more little piece of drama. Jim didn't get too excited about MY closet getting flooded but yesterday the contractor stepped through the roof in his closet. So now we are going to empty out everything tonight.

Progress...finally!

Last Thursday they actually started doing some framing and Friday the back wall was a skeleton wall...but still a wall. Friday it rained and we knew that there was a chance that we would get some moisture in the house because the slab is at the level of the house and flat (no drainage). Jim noticed a little water at the back door on the rug. Later Friday night when I went into my closet...it was completely flooded. We kept a fan on it all night but Saturday the smell was so bad, we had to rip out the carpet and padding and it still smells...not as bad but still some even after I mopped it and sprayed it with Febreeze.


Today a lot more has been done and I can actually see the size of my closet!! I could literally put a small bed in this closet. Jim still doesn't see the need for it but in time I'm sure he will get it. I initially intended to split the closet down the middle, but thanks to my "keen" contractor, he put the thought out to add most of the space to one side to maximize the square footage. I like the way he thinks!! I don't think I could have gotten away with it, but since it was HIS idea it went over without a scuffle from Jim.



This is the living room. Jim is standing in one of the two picture windows.

AUUGGGHHH!!

Ok...so concrete was poured MONDAY, framing was supposed to start Thursday. I go home at lunch today...nothing! Contractor said materials will be delivered this afternoon and they will be coming out to "chalk" out the framing and then framing will start tomorrow.

How it all began

Last year we, and when I say we, I mean ME, started contemplating remodeling my home. As I continually pestered Jim about the idea, we "happened" upon the money to actually make the dream come true. With a little shuffling of funds and the bonus money we actually had enough to make it happen without financing (it's not over yet...there's still time and a chance to go in debt I'm sure). So with the money in hand I started dreaming...bigger closets, bigger living room, bigger kitchen...all the things that our home lacked. Selling and buying a new home was not really an option for Jim. Our home is almost paid for not to mention the fact that we bought the house way below the market price. So remodeling was my only option.

On March 23 we hired John Russell Construction in Lake Jackson to oversee the remodel. Everyone told me to do it ourselves because we would pay so much more if we hired a general contractor. But with both of us working full-time and vitual idiots when it comes to construction, we felt better turning it over to someone who knew what they were doing and be the same price or possibly cheaper because we wouldn't have to pay to repair our mistakes.

We broke ground on Monday 05/05/08 with the digging and forms being built for the concrete. Although we were ready for concrete on Thursday, bad planning on the part of the sub caused a delay in getting the concrete poured until the following Monday, 04/12/08. We had 200 yards of concrete poured and it looks good so far. Framing is scheduled to start Thursday.