Author: Christy

Big change in the kitchen this week! Three days of tile installation yielded this:

We went back and forth about whether to tile all the way up the wall on the window side. I’m so happy we decided to go for it.

Today, the floors got the first of many coats in the refinishing process.

In the front yard, we got plants! First, Laramee laid them out so we could see where they would go and make any changes we wanted.

Today, the guys put them all in the ground.

We’re choosing not to over-plant so it looks a little sparse right now. But all of the plants are either native or drought tolerant and many are fast growing, so it should be a lovely, water wise garden in no time.

Laramee planted these guys in the shape of the Big Dipper. I wonder if anyone will notice. (I didn’t, but I love that he did it!)

We also have lights which right now look a little too shiny for our liking. But they will soon oxidize and have plants growing around them, so they’ll be less prominent. There are also two lights up-lighting the oaks and another that will up-light the yet-to-be-planted Palo Verde tree. The effect is lovely.

The backyard is moving along, too. They installed a broken concrete stepping stone path.

And a small pond for rain collection.

The border for the lawn is in place and the soil is amended and ready for sod. Hopefully they’ll do the planting and sodding next week.

We decided to put off the demolition of the wall for a couple of months until things settle down at work for Bruce. We want the fence to be built before demolition, and it’ll probably be March or April before he has time to build it.

This week saw the kitchen go from an empty room to this:

Here are some shots of the process. The soapstone guy, Tom, cut and fabricated the stone in our driveway.

Next week Tom will be back to drill holes for the plumbing fixtures and oil the soapstone which will turn it black and bring out the green striations.

The yards are coming along nicely as well. They finished the last of the rock pathways.

Then they put down landscape fabric.

And finally the decomposed granite.

The compaction took most of the day Friday.

They put bumps in two places just for added bike riding fun.

And we are now ready for planting, which should happen this week since we walked through Laramee’s nursery and picked out plants this morning.

In the backyard, they finished the trenching and laid down the new sprinkler system. Friday it looked like this.

But by the time they left on Saturday, it looked like this.

Next up back here is a little grading, hardscape (boulders, stepping stones, etc.) and lawn.

Big changes in the kitchen this week with the cabinet install Monday and Tuesday. Here are some pictures of the process. I am thrilled with how they came out!

Up next: soapstone counters start today!

Week 4 brought the end of the extreme dustiness in the kitchen (and the rest of the house). Yay! The floors were repaired, sanded and then covered up to be refinished in a few weeks when everything else is done. The painter came in Thursday, Friday and Saturday to primer and paint. The breakfast nook is repainted to match the kitchen color, and the kitchen is ready for cabinet installation which, barring any problems, starts tomorrow. Here’s how we’re looking today.

One big development is that they took down the plastic separating the kitchen from the rest of the house. For some reason it made me very happy to have my hallway back.

In the yards, there was a lot of digging this week as the guys take out the old sprinkler system and get ready for a new one.

They also did a lot of work on the dry stream bed. Here’s where it starts — to catch the rain from the downspout at the front of the house.

Bruce is, as I write this, building a wooden bridge where the path crosses over the stream. The stream then winds around the palm tree.

And empties into first a large pool and then a small one (via an underground pipe) if there is overflow.

In the backyard, they outlined the area that will have lawn and started working on the sprinkler system.

And we met with the City historical inspector about tearing down the wall. They won’t let us tear down the part that appears to be original (and is connected to the house) but the part that’s obviously new construction is OK to go. So, goodbye wall; hello, 15 feet of extra space! Bruce has his work cut out for him building a new fence.