7/13/25

We both arrived on Friday afternoon. We fixed the plumbing issue, installed Edison light bulbs in bathroom vanity lights, installed doors and door knobs in the 1st bedroom/closet and 2nd bedroom/closet, and started installing the dishwasher. 

On Saturday, we finished the dishwasher, moved some stuff out into the storage shed, taped/prepped/painted trim and baseboards in the hallways/1st bathroom/3rd bedroom and laundry room cabinets and doorways, cleaned up paper and drop cloths, and began installing the hot water heater.

Sunday, Rick worked on the hot water heater, and I taped and prepped for painting the kitchen nook and living room. We ran into some problems with the hot water heater but believe that they now may be resolved. We painted and cleaned up the paper and drop cloths. I also hoed some weeds, ran the dishwasher, and installed the 3rd bedroom closet door/knob.

It's starting to get close. We have at least 3 more weekends of work, possibly more, before it's ready to move in. Then there's lots of exterior work to do. Next weekend will likely focus on the laundry room: replacing back door, replacing window, putting trim around window (inside and outside), replacing flooring, painting walls, installing baseboards, installing ceiling light, some electrical work, and more work on the cabinets. I'm not sure all of that will get completed in a weekend. 

Some other remaining projects before move-in: ceiling fans up in living room & 3 bedrooms (3 have been purchased), remaining doors/door knobs installed, install mirror in 1st bathroom, sidewalks with ramps poured at front and back doors (we will hire this done and will begin getting it lined up this week), insulation blown into attic, touch ups on paint/baseboards/etc.

New dishwasher installed

1st bathroom and doorway ready for painting

North-south hallway ready for paint (closest areas painted last week)

3rd bedroom closet

East-west hallway and front door ready for paint

3rd bedroom

3rd bedroom looking toward laundry room and into hallway

Kitchen looking south into hallway

Looking toward front door and hallway from living room

The new door knobs

3rd bedroom looking toward hallway

Laundry room cabinets and doorway prepped for paint

1st coat in hallway and on front door

1st coat on laundry room cabinets

Finished hallway/door

Finished hallway

Looking down front hallway toward 3rd bedroom from front door

1st bathroom trim and doorway finished (mirror waiting)

Starting the hot water heater installation

Completed 3rd bedroom looking into hallway

Kitchen nook prepped for paint

             Living room ready for paint

1st coat

Living room

Living room

Kitchen nook finished

Living room finished

Living room 

3rd bedroom closet door/knob installed

Hot water heater installed and working. It was leaking initially (not from the connections but from factory installed pipe). Rick spent some time on the phone with customer service to confirm that it could be tightened, and that appears to have worked. We shut off the water to it and will re-check it next week. 

7/6/25

 Rick was able to go on Wednesday this week, and I arrived Friday morning. He finished the flooring in the closet of the 2nd bathroom, installed both shower doors, put up the over-toilet cabinet in the 2nd bathroom, put down baseboards in the 2nd bathroom and bedroom, finished trimming out the pocket door in the 2nd bathroom, installed the vanity/sink/faucet in the 1st bathroom. We put in the 2nd bathroom toilet, 2nd bathroom mirror, vanity lights in both bathrooms on Friday and then enjoyed burgers, peanut buster bars, and an evening fireworks show at the Jones' house. 

Saturday, Rick worked on finishing up the closets in the 3 bedrooms, putting up the remaining trim around the kitchen cabinets, caulking the baseboards and trim, and removing the doors from the laundry room cabinets. I hoed a lot of weeds in the yard, removed everything from the laundry room cabinets, sanded the inside and fronts of the cabinets, and worked on organizing and vacuuming up saw dust. 

Sunday, we cleared out the 1st and 2nd bedrooms, vacuumed the floors/windows/baseboards/lower walls, taped the floors and walls around the baseboard and trim, put on 2 coats of paint, and removed all of the tape and paper before leaving.

The bedrooms are now essentially finished except for putting up the ceiling fans and putting the already painted doors back on. The remaining projects include: finish painting the trim & baseboards in the hallway/1st bathroom/3rd bedroom/living room/some in the kitchen, install hot water heater, install ceiling fan in living room, paint touch-ups, install dishwasher (arrives on Monday), install stove, finish painting cabinets in laundry room, paint walls in laundry room, replace floor in laundry room, replace window in laundry room, replace back door, do some re-wiring in the laundry room, light installed in laundry room, and sidewalks done. We're also going to have to figure out a plumbing problem (outside the house).

Painted doors waiting to be put back on when the trim is painted

Mirror in 2nd bathroom

Shower doors installed in 2nd bathroom

Shower doors and vanity lights installed in 1st bathroom

Vanity light, cabinet, and toilet in place in 2nd bathroom

Landreigh and Tori on the 4th

Devon and family

Doors off laundry room cabinets and cabinets cleaned out

2nd bathroom closet finished (except short one piece of baseboard on the back)

1st bedroom closet finished (left side)

1st bedroom closet finished (right side)

3rd bedroom closet finished

Laundry room cabinets sanded

Taping around trim in 2nd bathroom for painting

2nd bedroom

2nd bedroom and hallway

Hallway at 1st/2nd bedrooms

2nd bedroom/1st coat of paint

1st bedroom

1st bedroom

Hallway looking into 2nd bedroom

Test coat of paint on laundry room cabinets

1st bedroom

1st bedroom

2nd bedroom trim painted

1st bedroom trim painted

1st bedroom trim painted