DAY 32 - Shades of Gray

Happy Hump Day, loyal friends,

Yesterday was fun. Matt stopped by with small sample cans of the three shades of gray we are considering for the master suite. We painted a swatch of each color, let that initial coat dry, then I painted a second coat a few hours later to get the true effect of how the colors would look on the walls.

The painted swatches are shown below. On the far left is Polar Star. In the middle is Gravity. On the right is Moondance.

We are going with Polar Star (left) for the master suite. It is actually less flat than it photographs, but it's just the right amount of gray to compliment the rest of the design of the master suite.

Surprisingly, we decided we liked Moondance (right) as the color for the primary walls in the rest of the house. We were really struggling with what to do for the main rooms, and had recently decided that we didn't want any more beige or yellow tones. Seeing Moondance on the wall and noticing just the right amount of silver and blue tones, we though it would be perfect for the rest of the house, especially since we're doing stainless steel appliances in the kitchen (catching those silver tones in the paint) and slate blue accent walls in the main rooms (picking up the blue shades).

I love it when we kill two birds with one stone.

The center color, Gravity, looked a little too much like primer. A whole room of that color could be kind of depressing.

Erik is back today working on the bathroom floor to get it ready for the tile guy. Matt said the pocket doors are on order, so they may be put up this week a well. It's all good news!

Polar Star (master suite) on left. Moondance (rest of house) on right.

Same colors, different angle.

DAY 31 - Texturizing the Master Suite Walls

Happy Monday, readers,

It's sunny, it's 70, and to kick of Week 7 of Remodeling 1070, it's all about TEXTURE.

Day 31 started with a quick visit from the sheet rock team to do some touch up and sanding before the next team arrived to spray the textured coat on the walls and ceilings. You can see some photos of the texture - and the requisite pile of debris - below.

Matt also stopped by this morning to lay out the next steps. The tile guy will be next up to bat to grade the shower floor and start setting the tile for the shower floor, walls and shower bench. He also does the glass block, so that will get done in conjunction with the shower, which should be very soon.

Matt also took our paint chips with him so he can get samples of the three colors we are considering for the master suite. He wants to paint some swatches on the actual walls to give us an idea of what the various shades will look like so we can make our final choice.

We are inching ever closer to moving back into the master suite!!

DAY 29 - The Master Suite Has Walls

Hello readers,

It's Day 30 of Remodeling 1070, and all is quiet as the first coat dries on the new hung sheet rock in the master suite. Yes, you read that correctly: the master suite has walls!! Day 29 was a real visual treat watching two separate teams hang, float and tape the drywall. I still smile from ear to ear thinking about how quickly and efficiently the teams worked, and how much of a visual difference having these rough, unfinished walls makes after 6 weeks of looking at an essentially gutted space. The transformation is a beauty to behold.

But let me get back to the work teams. The team hanging the drywall arrived around 8:00 a.m. yesterday, and we did a very brief walk-through with Matt, the general contractor. By 8:10 a.m., the team was standing on overturned buckets and using construction stilts to hang drywall. By 9:05 a.m., they had their truck packed and the team was gone. AMAZING. I was able to peek in the rooms and watch, and it was like a Cirque du Soleil construction act. You had one guy in the center measuring and cutting drywall, which he then handed to two men who would deliver the drywall to different parts of the room, where other men would hold the drywall in place while still other men on construction stilts would screw the sheets into place. I couldn't help but imagine how much more productive the entire world would be if we all had such a well-oiled system in place.

After about an hour to let the dust settle - I Swiffered twice yesterday - the next team showed up to float and tape, and they did so with the same spot-on efficiency of the first team. They had the first round done in just under 90 minutes. Coat one is still drying, so I am sitting here waiting for them to return a bit later today to apply coat #2, which will then have the weekend to set before the sanding and smoothing gets done on Monday.

Exciting stuff, readers. Now we can really see the shape and contour of the new master suite. The space is terrific, and we are more anxious than ever to get this set of rooms completed so we can move back into that space and start enjoying it. I think each of the master closets is as big as the original master bathroom used to be!

Enjoy the photos below. I tried to put them in an order that shows the progression of yesterday's work.

The drywall hanging ninjas. And no, I did not try on the stilts. I trip in flip flops.

I can almost imagine the team leader instruction: "Okay, you, get on the bucket. You cut. You measure. Bob, stilts. Let's MOVE IT!"
Drywalled second master closet (left) and master bath (right).
Drywalled master bedroom and first master closet.
Ceilings, with drywall. I need a moment . . .
This may seem like an odd photo, but it's actually significant in that this is now a wall where the original entrance into the master bedroom used to be. That will actually be the wall between the new master suite and the renovated second bathroom.
Part of the master bathroom, floated and taped.
Master bedroom and first master closet, floated and taped.
Master bedroom wall between den and master bedroom, and yes, floated and taped.,
You know I can't resist the obligatory debris photo.

DAY 28 - INSULATION . . .

. . . or as I like to call it, Day 28: One Step Closer to Walls . . .

Today's wake up call was the sight and sound of a truck full of insulation being delivered and installed. I left this morning at 9:00 a.m. for an interview. When I returned at 11:00 a.m. - from a great interview, I might add - I came home to the fully insulated master bedroom suite you see pictured below:

The newly insulated master bedroom wall. This wall backs up against the den/family room.

You have no idea how exciting it is to see insulated ceilings. These cool nights have produced quite a chilly draft in the back half of the house.
The insulated master bathroom, complete with framing for the glass blocks.

DAYS 26 & 27 - Framing Finished & Drywall Delivered

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

It's Week 6 of Remodeling 1070, and what a week it's already been. All the master suite framing was completed on Monday (Day 26), and yesterday, I woke up to the low rumbling sounds of the large truck picture below. The drywall has been delivered, and as promised, the master suite will have walls by the end of this week!

The insulation guy are here today. One non-negotiable part of this whole project is the insulation. Since all these walls and ceilings are being redone, it just makes perfect sense to boost the insulation and make this house more energy-efficient.

I will follow up with another post and update you on the insulation installation (repeat that quickly 20 times). For now, enjoy the drywall photos. It was a near religious experience seeing that truck in front of the house . . .

DAY 25 - The End of Week 5

Hello friends,

The end of Week 5 is almost here. We will have a brief visit today from the plumbing team. They need to move one pipe so we can frame out the rest of the glass block. Yes, friends, the 6-day weeks at Remodeling 1070 are officially here.

This was a great week of progress overall. After today's visit from the plumbing team, we will start Week 6 with the last of the glass block framing and some clean up. Then . . . feel free to insert drum roll here . . . the next team will start on Tuesday to drop off the sheet rock, install the insulation and, I shake as I type this . . . hang the new sheet rock. YES, WE WILL HAVE WALLS & CEILINGS in the master suite by the middle of Week 6.

Below are two photos from the end of Week 5. I just couldn't finish out a week of blogging without posting a pic of the Best. Debris. Pile. Yet.

This is the framing for part of the glass block that will run along the outside walls of the second master closet and master bathroom. The outside is framed as well where the two existing windows have been removed. Once the plumbers move the pipe today, the rest of that framing will get done early next week.

And the debris pile . . . there are just no words for this fabulousness.

DAY 23 - More Framing and Plumbing

Hello friends,

It's been another productive week here at Remodeling 1070. We're just one day away from finishing up Week 5. How time flies . . .

The photos below are from the end of Day 23. A lot got accomplished this week:

• All the underlying electric work is done. All switches, outlets and fixture bases are live and ready to be connected once we get to that point.
• The basic plumbing is done, including the shower valves & piping and the repositioned toilet. The water feed for the toilet needs to be moved to accommodate the glass block design, but other than that, the plumbing is also ready for the next steps once the shower, sinks and toilet get put in place.
• Framing of the walls is done, including the framing for the new entrance door to the master suite and the wall that closes the master off from the existing hallway.
• The existing window is the second master closet has been removed as has the existing window in the master bath. These are being prepped for the framing that will support the double row of glass blocks that will run along the outside wall of the closet and two outside walls of the master bath.

In fact, Erik, the man doing all the framing, is back today to start the support framing for the glass block. Tomorrow, Matt, our GC, will be back with the guy who will be doing all the sheet rock for Remodeling 1070. They will do a walk through of the space, and they will hang the sheet rock next week!

On the left side of this photo, you can see the frame for what will be the new entrance to the master suite. You can actually push the paneling on the back side of the frame and look clear through the den and out the kitchen window.

Here, you are standing in the master bedroom facing the main master closet (left) and the new framing for the wall that will separate the master bedroom from the second bathroom. A good chunk of the hallway you see through the framing will be absorbed into the second bathroom.
This used to be the window in the bedroom adjacent to the master - the room that is now the second master closet. The window is gone, and it will be replaced partially by brick and partially with a double row of glass block. It is being framed today for the glass block.
The plywood on the left side of the photo used to be the bathroom window. It too has been removed and will be reframed - part of it will become shower stall and the other part will be bricked and framed for the continuation of the double row of glass block.

The other exciting part of this photo is the installation of the shower piping and valves on the right, including the pipe on the ceiling beam that will feed the rain shower fixture.

One Month Down . . .

Hello readers,

I hope everyone is having a terrific weekend. As we roll into Sunday, we are gearing up for another busy week here at Remodeling 1070. It's difficult to believe that this past week ended the first full month of renovation work, and what a full week it was.

We ended Day 20 on Friday with sunrise to sundown activity with electricians, framers and a clean up crew on hand. At this point, the master suite has been reframed to accommodate our design updates and our decision to go with pocket doors on the bathroom and closet. All the debris is gone, all the flooring and carpeting is gone and the entire master suite is now wired. The electrician needs to return Monday for about an hour to finish up one connection, and then we move on to the next level: Installation. We should finally start to see the mechanicals and drywall going up next week in addition to the new bedroom door being cut into the wall and the old bedroom entrance being sealed off.

Here are some updated photos for your viewing pleasure. I should have a lot more photos throughout next week as the installation gets under way. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Plans for the pocket doors, as drawn on the back wall of the master bedroom.

The reframed doorway of the first master closet. The frame was shifted to the left to accommodate the pocket door, which will slide into the right side of the wall.
The reframed doorway of the second master closet, shifted to the right so the pocket door can slide into the left side of the wall.
The removal of the carpet was a big moment. One of the changes that is most exciting about Remodeling 1070 is the replacement of all carpeting with wood floors.

Day 17 - Catch Up and Reframe

Hello friends,

It's difficult to believe we are now in Week 4 of Remodeling 1070. Time flies when your house is draped in plastic . . .

We met with our general contractor, Matt, last night to review the progress and discuss a few details and changes before moving forward this week. As a result of that conversation, we've made the following updates to the master suite:

• The master bath and both master closets will have pocket doors to help maximize space and eliminate doors swinging open into any of the rooms.
• The placement of the exterior door off the master suite leading to the deck/pool is being reworked. It definitely won't fit where we originally planned, so we're back to the drawing board on that detail.
• We changed the shower to a 5' x 5' configuration with a built in shower seat. The shower will still be an open space with no shower door/curtain. The floor of the shower will be recessed about an inch below the bathroom floor and graded to facilitate drainage without the needs for any sort of curb or door to block water splashing. The shower seat will be on the only exterior wall of the shower, which will be a half wall between the shower and the toilet. The lower part of the seat will be made of the same tile as the shower, with the back of the seat made of the same glass block as the bathroom windows.
• The bathroom will have wall-to-wall double vanity with cabinets below and ceiling height cabinets on the outside ends of both sinks (essentially, the vanity wall will look like a wide letter H). This will give ample storage without the need to add any freestanding cabinets in the room - again, maximizing space.

We walked through the space with Matt and indicated where we want all the electrical outlets and light switches. So . . .

. . . Today, the framer will be back to make the adjustments necessary to accommodate the pocket doors and a few of the other changes. Another crew will be here to clean out the piles of debris so that the electrician can come tomorrow and get everything wired.

That's where things stand with Remodeling 1070. Coming Soon (hopefully) - photos of drywall being hung!