Friday's progress and NEWS!

The builders completed the load-bearing walls along the stairwell on the first floor on Thursday. 
Surprisngly, they were ready on Friday to put up the beams to support the ceiling.
Because the kitchen window is wide but rather short, the cut-out for the window required special support.  The builders also installed two steel beams that will be supported by the wall underneath. 

And here is what the window cut-out looked like when the supports were finished.

The builders also prepared the insulation above the back door.

And here is what the completed first floor skeleton looks like today:

Joern may be deciding what he is going to cook here in our kitchen.

And this is what it looks like when you stand in the pantry area and look through the doorway to the powder room, and into the guest room/ office.

And this is what it looks like when you stand in the dining room and look into the living room.

 But the most amazing picture, this is what our stairwell looks like now:

Hard to believe this was just one week ago:

But the big news is- tomorrow the ceiling is going to be installed!  Here is the steel mesh that will go between the ceiling plates and the poured concrete second floor sub-floor.

I'm not the biggest fan of Mondays, but I can't wait to come home tomorrow!

Tee Hee Hee and Today's Update

I was reading a post on the Decorating and Renovating message board on the Nest today.  The post was about avacado bath fixtures.  It made me laugh because I have a secret adoration of all home things that are avacado.  It must come from having grown up in a house with avacado appliances and sink in the kitchen.  I hate to admit it, because I must be one of 10 million people who feels this way about that fantastically ugly color.  I remember how much my mom hated it. Maybe my feelings about avacado come from deep desire to spite my mother. I don't really know.  Please don't ask me to explain why I love avacado, but would love, in on another planet, to incorporate avacado green into my home.  It just would make me feel good.
Since I am the "Time Queen" right now, I decided, for nostalgia's sake, to Google 1970s avacado house.  I found tons of pictures that made me miss home. One of my new favorite sites that I found, Ugly House Photos contains the most fabulous pictures of homes in all their 1970s hideous glory.
As I perused the photos on my new favorite site, I saw a bunch of pictures from European bathrooms.  And guess what I found?

Check out that fantastic, TANKLESS, avacado toilet!  It looks like the plumber was really right- my exposed tank toilet is truly something out of the 1920s, because clearly, 1970s European toilets were already tankless! 

In other exciting news, the house is moving right along!  Sadly, I am having trouble uploading the one picture from above, showing the now completed walls for the staircase.  Boo!

But, the walls that run up along the staricase are now complete.  I can show a picture from inside the house though- very cool!

And now, we know exactly where the electrical access panel will be located.

The cellar is also becoming compartmentalized.  I walked along the wall and turned to the left, thinking I was walking into Joern's garage.  Then I realized I was lost in my house- I was actually standing in the entertainment room!

The wall between the fitness room and the foyer is also progressing.

And, there is something on top of my garage.  Looks like insulation?  Maybe that will be laid out on top of the garage?  Joern will clarify this next week :)

And the last picture, especially for my Hong Kong readers:

It appears that the excavation for the multi-family homes is complete!

Wow, a lot happened today!

So much has gone on in the past two days.  My post from yesterday actually was Monday's picture. 
I stopped by the house yesterday at 11 am, at which time the builders were working on the load-bearing wall.  My original plan was to stop by the building site yesterday evening, but I was tired, my car seems to be having problems again, and it was pouring.  So, I  wasn't able to get to the house again until today to take pictures.  I was so surprised by what I found today!

Concrete has been poured on the roof of my garage. The electricians laid lots of cable yesterday. The entire exterior of the cellar has been covered with a special tar that serves to fill in any cracks that may occur in the cellar walls, preventing moisture from seeping into the cellar.  And, one of the load-bearing walls is complete!

A better view of the cellar exteiror.  Plus, the cable running over the roof of Joern's garage was also installed yesterday.

Cables for Joern's garage.





The completed load-bearing wall (bordering the staircase and the entertainment room,) and the next one is begun.

The entertainment room new wall!  The front of the wall, forming the border between the entertainment room and the foyer, has also been started.

Seriously, I cannot believe how much changed in such a short time!  I was certain that both load-bearing walls would be completed by the time Joern returned on Sunday, but I never would have guessed that so much would have been completed in one and a half days!  I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!



The garages are now covered!

The ceiling pieces arrived yesterday for the garages.  They came in pre-fabricated sections, which were lowered via crane onto the top of the garages.  Reinforcing steel mesh has been placed on top, and concrete will be poured on top. 

The builders also started on one load bearing wall!  These walls are made out of a different type of brick than the rest of the house.  These bricks are less porous, so that they can take a lot more weight and because there is less need for insulation in these interior walls.  Joern picked up one brick, and said it was super heavy!  Its a good thing that these bricks are only used for two walls, poor guys!