Monday, July 01, 2002

We are really making tracks now. The first floor walls are up and the second floor is en route. It's so amazing. The foundation didn't really look like much, but once the first floor got added, we could start to see our plans coming to life. Here's our 9 foot ceilings, here's our family room window seat ... wow!

We also got 15 minutes of fame in the form of a Lawrence Eagle-Tribune article. Read it for yourself.

Friday, July 05, 2002

Had a delightful 4th of July trip out to say hello to the house. Couldn't believe Shep was out there in the baking sun, hauling 2x4s around and who knows what else. Walking into the house, with the first-floor framing nearly done, was a relevation. The family room is stunning -- so beautiful! The two triple windows at front and back will let the light pour in, and boy did we make the right decision with those high ceilings. It's going to be a wonderful room.

We're going to take a trip up to Lynnfield to look at a house with slate-look shingles, which Shep thinks would look really nice on our house. We're at a T-intersection and have a sort of hip-roof style, so the shingles will be pretty visible to people driving down the street. At the same time, though, I never noticed a roof shingle in my life until this came up, so I don't really know how much it matters. We'll check it out though and decide.

I've settled on Sanijet for the tub, and just need to select the model. Sanijet has "pipeless" assembly, meaning there are no pipes to harbor standing water and build up bacteria. They do a pretty good job on their Website describing how disgusting and bacteria-laden the pipes in other brands of whirlpool tubs are -- I was sold pretty quick on the ability to clean all wettable surfaces! You can even use bath salts and things in a Sanijet tub, which most other brands can't allow because of build-up in the pipes.

UPDATE 2006: I get e-mail all the time from people who have found this reference to Sanijet and want to know how we like the tub. I finally decided to post my "review" here so I don't have to keep answering all those e-mails! So, three years later, here's how we like the tub: We really like it. It's held up great, no problems with it at all (and these days, more often than not, I take a bath with our toddler, who pushes all the buttons endlessly, over and over, so it gets plenty of use). It's very comfortable to sit in and I like the digital temperature readout -- helps me make sure I get it just hot enough but not too hot. I also like the memory button so I can just hit that and get the exact jet settings I like. I can't compare the jet action to a "regular Jacuzzi" because I've never owned a Jacuzzi, but I have the four-jet model and it has the jets off to the side -- it does seem like a very indirect massage. Nice and bubbly but not that powerful -- there's no water shooting at your back, like in jacuzzis I've been in at hotels. If you want a really strong massage, you might want the six-jet model (maybe that one's more direct, I don't know). I like that I can pop the jet thingies out and clean them -- it's nice knowing that dirty water is not circulating around in the system. I stayed in a (very nice) hotel once where the jacuzzi shot dirty water out of the jets when we turned it on -- so disgusting that I never forgot it; it's half the reason we got the Sanijet. Just seems so much cleaner. So, we'd certainly recommend it to anyone.

Thursday, July 18, 2002

Whew, finally posting again! Have been running around like crazy getting ready for the sale of our current home in North Andover. We're having an Open House on Sunday (July 21) and removing all evidence of dog habitation is a bit of a challenge. Not that Kodi and Maddie are to blame for every spot on the carpet or divot in the walls, but they get credit for most of them.

We have been watching the framing go up in delight. The roof is framed now, so we're told -- we'll go out Saturday to peek. We saw the second floor roughed out last week and that was great. The view out to the back from the second floor is of the treetops practically, because of the slope of the land. Nothing but trees, as far as the eye can see. Now THAT'S nice! Of course the ground under those trees appears to be infested with poison ivy, as we found out the hard way after marching around back there.

They did finally stake the property lines -- that's why we were tramping around in the woods, being exposed to poisonous plants. 1.2 acres is bigger than I'd realized -- it's a pretty good little walk back into the woods! I'm going to get out there with a machete or a WeedWhacker or some kind of sharp instrument and make a little trail next spring, and hopefully not lose a limb in the process.

P.S. I was publishing this notebook via Blogger until now, but after a series of errors and glitches and system-down issues, I'm officially abandoning the service. I'm pretty technically adept and know the problems aren't on my end. I enjoyed trying it out, but at some point, if you know how to use HTML and FTP to publish your writing, a buggy system like Blogger is more trouble than it's worth. It's a shame though.

Sunday, July 28, 2002

Things are really rolling along. Anderson windows are mostly in place. The arched windows in the upstairs hall and master bedroom are really stunning. Plywood is on the roof. This week they'll start the farmer's porch and deck.

We're considering having the attic floored with plywood, since it's not much use otherwise. Also spent some time this weekend figuring out how the doorless entry shower in the master bath might work. It looks like there's enough space -- we'll make a little "L" out of the entry so water doesn't splash out. Have to order the tub soon too.

Open House for our current home went very well; lots of interest our first week on the market, although no offers yet.

Wednesday, July 31, 2002

Have made major progress with bath-related things! Went to the plumbing supply place and locked up decisions on our faucets and sinks. Went with the "base package" (thank God there's a base package) on just about everything. It's really nice -- the double-bowl stainless steel kitchen sink we liked best in the entire showroom turned out the be the one in the base package.

Also settled on the Sanijet tub and ordered it, so it's on its way here from Texas as we speak. Had a last-minute flurry of activity around the whirlpool, and nearly ordered an Ultrabath, which is an air-tub that is supposedly hygenic like the Sanijet, but in the end we went with the Sanijet. It costs more but uses real water jets instead of air and has all the bells and whistles -- programmable massage modes etc. Woooo!

While I indulged in my dream tub, Bill worked on his dream master bath shower. The plumbing guy went through all of the body spray options, and even got me interested by the time he was done -- they're pretty neat. Shep did some research meanwhile and found a glass-block "shower system" that comes pretty much assembled, with a walk-in design. It's not as fancy or custom as building the whole thing up from scratch but is a heck of a lot less expensive -- sign us up! You can see a link to it here.

Sunday, August 4, 2002

Had a great visit to the site yesterday -- sun was shining, windows are in, roof is on, porch is on the way. It all feels like it's coming together. We needed to decide where to "break" the deck -- it's two levels, and they're ready to build, so we need to figure out where the steps go between the levels. Bill and I stared at the back of the house for a while but we're not very visionary that way. I tend to picture the upper deck, right off the sliders, being a bit bigger. That's where the grill will go, and presumably a table and chairs. The lower deck can have a couple of chaise lounges maybe, I don't know.

So we estimated a good spot for the break between the two levels, but we're flexible if Shep has a different suggestion. He has a lot more vision about how something will look than we do!

We are pretty much deciding to go with cement siding. We had never heard of it two weeks ago, but after the builder suggested we look into it, and doing some research, we're leaning toward it. It looks exactly like wood -- another house in the neighborhood has it, and even if you walk up and knock on it, it still looks and sounds like wood -- but is much easier to maintain. It's warrantied for 50 years and won't need to be painted for a decade or more. The siding itself is less expensive than cedar but is a more difficult installation, so the price probably ends up being around the same. It's not having to spend $5,000 to paint every 5 years that will make it worthwhile in the long run.

Apparently "This Old House" used cement siding on a house they did in Massachusetts and had a lot of good things to say about it -- that's kind of what tipped us in favor. If they used it and liked it, then that's probably a good sign.

We have a blue, blue roof! It looks fantastic! We were a teeny bit nervous about how it would come out, but it's dynamite. Since we're on a T-intersection, it's nice to have something dramatic as people come down the street toward our house.

Saturday, August 10, 2002

We have a deck! It looks incredible. It's HUGE. I'll post pictures later this week.

Had a minor crisis with the closet inside the front door -- although there's room for it on the plans, in real-life when they started to lay it out, it's awfully tiny. So small that Mike, our framer, thought we should either get rid of it altogether, or shift the entrance to the dining room down a bit to make more room for the closet. That was a tough choice -- we already lost one of the foyer closets because we ended up with extra risers in the stairs, due to the decision to go with 9-foot ceilings. (There's that domino effect at work.) If we didn't keep that closet, guests would have nowhere to put their coats. On the other hand, we wanted a big, open foyer, not one dominated by a huge closet. And shifting the dining room opening would ruin that wall for furniture -- we wouldn't be able to put the china cabinet or server on that wall.

We ended up with a compromise -- we'll shift the dining room door down by six inches, which gives us just enough room for a small closet in the foyer, but hopefully leaves enough room in the dining room for the server to go against that wall.

The tub for the guest bath upstairs is here. Eagerly waiting for our Sanijet tub to arrive!

The upgraded Anderson slider is in, leading to the deck. It's really nice.

Wednesday, August 14, 2002

Major decision-making today. We met Shep and Pat McAuliffe, our "kitchen guy", up at the house. It's not time to pick actual materials yet -- granite vs. Corian, etc. -- although that's coming soon. This visit was to "rough out" what the kitchen would look like (and the vanities in the baths, and the built-ins in the living room).

Bill and I had been thinking about this for a while and so we had the kitchen layout sketched out in short order: Refrigerator by the sliders to the deck, the sink under the kitchen window, a cooktop on the other wall, and a combination microwave and wall oven on the far end. Eight-foot island with a dishwasher and trash cabinets underneath, plus an overhang for stools on the other side.

The thing that threw us for a loop was that once the island was in, there's not really room for a kitchen table. Well, you could squeeze in a little one, but it would have to be tiny. Something with four chairs around would be really hard to get around.

We thought about making the island smaller -- two stools for seating there, plus the kitchen table -- but what changed our minds was the ability to do something else entirely with the space freed up if we didn't have a table. Shep typically puts a coat closet and pantry closet in that breakfast nook area. We decided to have the standard coat closet, and next to it a pantry cabinet matching the rest of the cabinetry in the kitchen, to tie it all together. Plus we still get the 8-foot island. So if you want to sit down, sit at the island -- that's OK, right? It's counter height, not bar height, so should be OK for kids too.

We talked about the built-ins in the family room for a while too. Our TV is a problem -- 35", deep and heavy -- so when you put it in a built-in and add pocket doors etc. it becomes a major focal point in the room. As in, everything else looks tiny next to this huge TV cabinet. Bill is a little bummed about locking ourselves in to that size TV -- he has dreams of a flat-screen plasma who-knows-what someday -- but I definitely don't want the cabinet to get any bigger. That size TV is more than sufficient.

Finally, feeling that we hadn't spent quite enough on the deck yet (ugh), we decided to go with the PVC-type railing that never needs to be painted and will always be nice and white. Shep was a little suspicious at first since he obviously doesn't want to put low-grade materials on the house, and he examined and rejected a couple of brands that weren't made strong enough. He then found a brand he really liked and priced it out for us. We have mixed feelings about this -- we definitely wanted to go with that kind of railing if we could afford it, but it's an expense with no return value. We'll get back in resale whatever we put into the master bath, but no one will care about deck railings. Still, not having to paint or stain all those balusters will be nice. You can learn more about the railings at the Fiberon Web site.

Last update -- that master bath is something else. This is what happens when you order things off the Internet. I knew roughly what the dimensions of the tub would look like, or thought I did, but that thing is HUGE. Could not BELIEVE it when I saw it. And same with Bill's shower. It is enormous. It is embarrassing to have those two things in the bathroom.

Although the glass blocks for the shower are really cool -- they fit together like a little kit. Can't wait to see what it looks like when it's done.

Tuesday, August 20, 2002

Appliance Day! We met Shep and Karen up at C&K Appliance in Andover. We had been dreading this and looking forward to this in equal measure. The goal was to get in and get out without completely destroying the budget. I'd say we pretty much achieved that, although we were an easy mark for one thing that all by itself ate up most of the allowance for appliances we got from Shep.

GE makes this thing I call a "magic-evil" oven. Everyone has the same expression on their face when they hear about it -- a sort of puzzled, suspicious, disbelief mixed with interest. Can it really do what it claims? This thing is NOT a microwave (although it does that too). And it's NOT a convection oven.

It's a new technology that cooks with halogen light. Which means it cooks just like an ordinary oven, but at light speed. The first example they always show you is a roast chicken -- put in a 3-pound chicken, spin the dial, and the display tells you your chicken will be ready in 20 minutes. I don't roast chickens so I asked about other things. Pork chops? Put two inch-thick chops in there and they'll be browned and ready to eat in 8 minutes. Baked potatoes? Put 'em in for 12 minutes and they come out perfect, crispy skin, just like they would if you'd baked them in the oven for an hour at 500 degrees. See -- you have that suspicious look on your face. I'm not kidding, this is why I call it a magic-evil oven. No preheating either by the way. And the reviews I read include experienced cooks swearing the food is oven-quality.

Check it out at the GE Web site: Advantium.

After the financial debacle with the GE Advantium, we figured we'd better go easy on everything else. So we got a pretty basic dishwasher, "real" oven, range hood and fridge (although going stainless steel with the appliances bumped up the prices a bit). The most basic KitchenAid 35" range was wonderful -- we didn't go outside the budget on it but absolutely fell in love with it. Five burners, one with 14,000 BTU, really nice look to it (this is the one thing we didn't go stainless on). Whew!

Oh, and we sold our current house. It's under agreement, anyway -- P&S will be signed Sept. 4 if all goes well. Close will be Oct. 18 -- so we GOTTA get the new house finished by then, or we'll all end up at Bill's mother's house. Not that I'd mind the homecooked meals every night after work, and we're lucky we'd have a good place to stay like that -- but we want to move once and be done with it! Are you hearing this Shep?! :-)

Thursday, August 22, 2002

After the big spending on Appliance Day (see next entry), it was a relief to go up to the house today and just point at things with the electrician. Although of course every time we pointed and said "recessed light" that cost us some change -- and we were doing a lot of pointing. Why do all these rooms need so much light?! Isn't that why we put in windows? We're going to need two shopping carts at Home Depot to lug all these stupid light fixtures around in.

Anyway, we flew through the house with the electrician. He knew what he was doing and pretty much showed us how he'd do it, and then if we felt differently we could say so. That was fine -- we had no idea what we were doing. A couple times he'd say, "OK, so I'll put the switch here," and we'd say, "OK," and there'd be a long, long pause, and finally he'd say, very politely, "... and what would you like that switch to do??" Then we'd say, "OH! Uh, let's do a box light in here," and so on.

We realized we'll probably need to do a floor plug in the family room, because the furniture will be grouped more or less in the middle of the room, and if we'd like a lamp or phone in that grouping, we'll need an outlet. The whole idea of a floor plug makes me very, very nervous -- imagine a hole in my new carpet! Covered by a brass plate or not, it's still a hole -- but I don't see how we can get around it. Unless we want a battery powered lamp, or to duct-tape a cord to the floor! So, we took a stab at where we think a BIG couch will be, and had Bill's mom go up and look too, and we think the spot we're choosing is "safe" -- that is, will always be covered by furniture.

Our deck and porch railings are in! The vinyl stuff is OK. We're a little disconcerted because if you walked up and touched it, I don't think you'd guess it was much more expensive than wood. It feels LESS expensive than wood, actually. But it was pricey stuff! On the other hand, it looks sharp, and nice and white, and should stay that way indefinitely. No way would it look that good in wood, because after the first couple years we'd be overdue on staining it, and Bill would find a million reasons to put THAT three-weekend job off, and at least this way, all the pain is financial and suffered up front. So that's how we're looking at that.

Tomorrow we meet with Pat up at the cabinet place in Newburyport and make some BIG choices about cabinets and countertops. Oh boy. Have been trying to prepare for this for months and am still waffling on colors and styles. Wish us luck.

Monday, August 26, 2002

OK, who would have thought a kitchen cabinet could have that much detail to it? Beveled this, beveled that, arch top, slab, frameless, dovetail -- absolutely mind-boggling! We spent a couple (rushed) hours at B&G Cabinets in Newburyport, getting a little cabinet education. We were rushed because early in our discussion we discovered there's a six-week lead time on cabinets. And the countertops can't be measured and installed until the cabinets are in -- so about eight weeks total. Very interesting since we're supposed to be moving in less than seven weeks. !!!

So you can imagine there was a frantic call to the builder, assurances that we can move in with "temporary" countertops if need be, and then we were back to choosing cabinets, now in a rush because we clearly needed to get them ordered right away.

Fortunately we were somewhat prepared. I spent the last six months reading kitchen and bath magazines and that was really helpful. We had flagged a bunch of pictures that appealed to us, and over time our preferences became clear -- very light, almost blond cabinetry, or, on the opposite end of the spectrum, very dark, cherry or mahoghany looks. I tended to gravitate toward very clean, Shaker-style doors -- but not what you'd consider "modern." Sort of the modern edge of traditional, if that makes any sense.

It also helped that we had a tile sample from Home Expo to hold against the various doors, and that we'd already selected stainless steel appliances.

The tile we'd chosen is hard to describe but it's not white or anything like it -- I will never again have a white floor in my lifetime. If you've seen our kitchen floor now you understand. So that ruled out the cherry cabinets pretty quick (not to mention the expense) -- with a darker floor we were really setting ourselves up for very light cabinets.

I'll skip ahead past two hours of decision-making -- we selected natural red birch cabinets, 35% gloss, with really nice but inexpensive stainless steel knobs, arch top on the upper cabinets, inch-and-a-quarter-overlay, slab drawers, and very little beveling/detail. Can't WAIT to see what we created here!

It was really like "Designing for the Sexes" -- Bill liked the "autumn" stain on the red birch but it wasn't light enough for me. Then I liked the Shaker-style door but he thought it was a bit too modern, so we went with the arch top. For the master bath we had a picture from a "Bathroom Ideas" book of a beautiful dark, dark reddish cabinet with a cream-colored top, so Pat helped us create an affordable version of it. For the other two baths we went really basic -- at that point I didn't care if they put in particleboard, as long as we didn't have to go any farther over our allowance.

What a whirlwind! We're both really pleased with everything, although a little bit nervous about how unexpectedly fast we had to pull it together. We didn't get to countertops at all, so that's coming next week, and that won't be such a rush.

Friday, August 30, 2002

Although we're a few weeks from the house being ready for light fixtures, we decided to get a jump on those this weekend and went to Home Depot Friday night, list in hand. Long list -- we needed bathroom vanity lights, outdoor lights, a slew of box lights for the ceilings, island lights, and two chandeliers.

Light fixture tip #1: Make a list and bring it with you. Saves much trauma later. Light fixture tip #2: Bring a marker and masking tape, and mark the location of each light as it goes in the cart. It seems obvious at first which one goes where, but after you get three or four you start to say, "Was this for the hall or the bedroom?" and then you're in trouble. You'd have to label them anyway for the builder so this gets it out of the way in one step. We felt smug with our marker and tape in hand, ready to label away. Not much luck at Home Depot though -- picked up a couple brass fixtures for the front porch and some very cheap box lights for the master bedroom closets, but that's all. Hated the chandeliers.

Tomorrow we'll look at the Purple Building (Light and Leisure?) and see what they've got.