AZ Desert Home

[Hank]

It's a frustrating lull period. The roof tiles have to stay "stacked" for a couple of weeks, for the house to settle, before the stucco can be applied, and then the roof is installed after the stucco.

Drywall crew has been finishing up inside. I didn't know I was getting wall texturing until they came and got me to pick out one. They'll be done today.

The builder and I have been driving around to various subs and supply places; we've ordered the kitchen and bathroom cabinets, I've gone and picked out the granite for the kitchen counters and the cultured marble for the bath/shower surrounds and vanity tops. Today we're due to go to the valley so I can pick the ceramic tile for all of the floors.

Not very exciting, but here is a piece of the granite countertop they gave me to carry around to make color comparisons (with the floor tile, etc). For $600, I upgraded the thickness from 3/4" to 9/8". The total kitchen counter space is 78 sq. ft., but this includes the sink and cooktop.

[TimSullivan]

Hank, you are a brave man picking out the counter top and cultured marble. It took us three months of looking to find the "perfect" tile for the floors and counter top. If I had looked at tile much more, I think I would have given up.

Kitchen sounds great and you should have plenty of counter space and room to work. We have 50 square feet of counter and an island that gives us another 28 square feet. Never thought that I would like the big island but it is as handy.

We are looking at four inches of snow tonight. I spent the after noon filling the firewood box in the basement. If the snow does not stop I have enough inside to last two weeks. It is going to get down in the teens this week too. Just wanted you to know what your missing.

Keep us posted.

[TimSullivan]

Hank, you are a brave man picking out the counter top and cultured marble. It took us three months of looking to find the "perfect" tile for the floors and counter top. If I had looked at tile much more, I think I would have given up.

Kitchen sounds great and you should have plenty of counter space and room to work. We have 50 square feet of counter and an island that gives us another 28 square feet. Never thought that I would like the big island but it is as handy.

We are looking at four inches of snow tonight. I spent the afternoon filling the firewood box in the basement. If the snow does not stop I have enough inside to last two weeks. It is going to get down in the teens this week too. Just wanted you to know what your missing.

Keep us posted.

[Hank]

<font color="purple"> Hank, you are a brave man picking out the counter top and cultured marble </font color>

Not so brave as you would imagine [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Alice is 100% into these choices, and vetoes, via the wonders of digital photography and email attachments.

[Hank]

<font color="purple"> We have 50 square feet of counter and an island that gives us another 28 square feet. </font color>

We also have an island. If you deduct the sink and cooktop from the total, that leaves us with 69 sq ft of working granite counter surface. Some of this is an auxiliary cabinet/counter area with a drop-down desk area, with filing cabinet-type cabinets, next to the desk. Pix will follow as they intall this stuff.

[TimSullivan]

The drop down desk area is something we probably should have done. Hindsite is always 20-20.

[Hank]

Finally, the stucco crew has surfaced, to finish up their part of the outside.

The painters are working inside; they did the garage last Friday, and start the remainder of the inside tomorrow.

[Hank]

The stucco crew finished their first coat today, which has to cure for a week before the final elastomeric color coat.

This poor guy had to not only mix the stuff, but wheelbarrow it to the site and then sling it up to the scaffolding for the appliers, using just a shovel to raise it, shovel-after-shovel, all day long. I would think they could have found a more efficient way to raise it, but maybe not for a single house. He landed most of his tosses, and when the guy on the scaffolding was standing on a bucket (to reach the gables), he actually tossed it to his hod (if this is the correct term)??

[Argee]

A mason tender (laborer, grunt) whatever you want to call it, is one of toughest jobs there is. I've seen them on block basements and crawl spaces where the terrain wasn't conducive to the operation of a wheelbarrow, run, [img]/forums/images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] while carrying a 5-gallon bucket full of mortar in each hand to keep masons supplied. If your in to physical fitness, then mason tending is the job for you. [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img]

[Hank]

Garage doors are hung....a place to park the new toys. The garage has full electrical service now, and the painters will finish up inside the house tomorrow, clearing the way for the remainder of the interior stuff.