Getting Close to Move In

We're just about there. Now looking at March 1 for move in. There's been a few delays with kitchen cabinets lost in shipment, hardwood floor on back order and final electrical dependent on every fixture in the house being installed. And since we're still trying to decide what to put in the dining room (fan, chandelier type, or other) this is a problem. Without cabinets and a bathroom vanity, no sinks and no final plumbing, without flooring no occupancy permit and without every fixture (inside and outside) installed, no final electrical inspection and no change over to time of day billing and cheaper off hour rates.

Cabinets - our choice of wood was alder with a moca glaze. Lots of character in alder which should match the pine logs. I haven't actually seen the finished results. We're picking most of them up this week and plan to install them on the weekend. The missing cabinets are the pantry cupboards which can be added later and by going ahead with the install now the plumbing and counter tops can be finished. Our counter top choice was ceramic tile with a stainless steel edging. The choice of ceramic was primarily based on price and budget priority. At a quarter of the cost of granite or corion, it was a no brainer. I'll post a few snaps when the kitchen is complete.

Tiling on the kitchen floor, entrance and bathroom was completed last week in anticipation of the cabinets/vanity arriving. A wavy edge, terra cotta style was substituted for our first choice, Mexican saltillo. However, a quote of 10.00/sq ft., plus installation for saltillo, quickly ended that debate. Go figure, 2.00 in Sante Fe and 10.00 in Cape Breton. We installed most of the tile ourselves directly onto the cement over pour. Never done it before and it looks great. If you have the time, don't hesitate to do it yourself. It's not that difficult with new construction and you'll save yourself a bundle. Installation costs can run anywhere from 2.00 to 4.00 a sq ft for a 400 sq ft job and that's a major rip off for a 2 day job. Don't know about you, but I don't make 400 bucks a day. The rest of the main floor, including the bedroom and bathroom, is also tile, except for the living room which is engineered hardwood. Some of the best engineered hardwood out there, in my opinion, is made by Homerwood (5/8" thick). We're going with hickory, again for the character that it brings to a log home and of course hardness. The question now remains, to glue or float the hardwood on a not so level cement over pour.

Window trim - We're in the middle of triming out our windows and we stayed with the Kuhn's Bros design of 1 x 4 pine and a heavier 2 x 6 ledge. The 2 x 6 was substitued for the 3 1/2" x 1 3/4" pine used on the exterior when I realized that the window, trim design plans were for a 6 x 8 log and not an 8 x 8 log. More on trim, bottom line it looks great.

More snaps in a few days.