Random pieces from today….

Another big day at “the ranch” with lighting and plumbing going in. Loads of painting going on also.

One thing that Mike did that made a HUGE difference was to remove the iron fence that was outside the main windows overlooking the rear yard. Here is the gate in it’s new location.

Now if feels much more spacious!

He started working on the faux wood beams for the Great Room and did a mock up of the size. The stain will be darker.

Lighting was really getting going today too! Ceiling fans were also installed.

These pendants are the ones we will use for our island

 

Yes, the master bedroom has a gold ceiling.

Be sure to put your sunglasses on to see the laundry room! It is a bright coral color. I think it will look great when the lighting and table are in place.

(I don’t know why spots are showing up on my camera lens sometimes!) It is a solid color, I promise.

Bob painted miles of crown molding today!

Ben’s Gray bedroom. The trim is painted a darker gray now and I will get a better picture tomorrow!

I was super excited to see the faucets going in place. This faucet is the Delta Touch 20 where you can touch it anywhere on the handle or spout to make the water stop or start!

Tomorrow the cabinet folks come and will put the doors and drawers and make it really look like a kitchen! The electricians will continue to install light fixtures and the appliances too.

Counting the days now!

Granite Installation

Man, it is almost here!

This week has been a busy week at the house with painting, granite counter tops, appliances finally arriving that are not scratched! We still think our general contractor, Mike McAllister, is the best!

We were excited when the granite arrived on Thursday.

 

Utterly gorgeous! They scheduled 6 men to bring it inside and maneuver it into place. Underneath the window sills and the appliance garages were a challenge, but they figured it out. Mike Fox, the owner of Fox Tops All, was present during the first part of the installation.  Casey spent the entire day working on seams, faucet cut outs, and sink installation.  He was patient and really wanted my opinions on the faucet placement.

Claude Morgan, our cabinet maker, included several bump out locations to give long runs of cabinets more interest. For example, in the picture above you can see the slight bump out in the front of the cooktop. We also used a large ogee edge which turned out beautifully and will really enhance that bump out look. On the island we have the bump out on all four corners.

The picture above is my desk area and the window overlooks the front yard. See all the gorgeous color in the granite?

I had the granite fabricator make Jeff’s Christmas present! The lazy susan is made from the granite we used in our kitchen and was some of the extra left over.

 

Cabinets are in and Granite is underway!

Whoopee! Things are really hopping this week! Yesterday the cabinets were installed. Got the base cabinets and uppers installed. The doors and drawers will be next. Can’t wait to see them. The color is so pretty. Tomorrow the appliances are scheduled to be delivered.

Aren’t they gorgeous? We love the way the color turned out. We have a bit of tweaking to do to finish up the cabinetry, and Claude and Lori Morgan of Morgan’s Cabinets have done a fantastic job! They look awesome with the floors too, don’t they?

You can see the guys starting the granite template process. Casey and Chris worked very hard creating a custom template so the granite will fit perfectly in the space.

After the templates were created, we all headed up to Fox Tops in Mooresville. Fox Tops is the fabricator we have used several times in the past and they always do an excellent job. They also sell remnants, so if you are looking for a smaller piece at a good price, check them out! Elaine is just super to work with and very competitively priced. Call her at 704-799-7007.

It took four pieces of granite and lots of patience to figure out how lay out the pattern and avoid the big green spot on the lower left corner of the first picture.

Casey and Chris were very careful and professional in determining the layout for cutting the seams and making sure that they will flow smoothly. Because the granite we chose shows quite a bit of movement and flow in the pattern, it is especially important to make sure the pattern flows across the seams.

After we completed the templating process, Elaine and Casey gave me a tour of the fabrication plant. It was really amazing. Computers run some of the equipment and they have a water recycling system that is very environmentally friendly!   Plus, it enabled their fabrication plant to continue operating when we had a severe drought and there were water restrictions in place. Many other fabrication facilities were unable to operate. They also save a significant amount of money by recycling the water because they use so much to cool the blades during the process.

Here is the tool that cuts the large pieces of granite and the crane that moves the cut pieces to the next area. The piece with the word YUKON on itis the blade. The horizontal cutting surface has stones in it that actually sharpen the blade as it is used. Elaine is in the picture with the crane. Hi Elaine!

Suction cups are used (near Casey’s hand) to hold the cut stone and move it to the next area.

This area is where the hole for the sinks are cut and edge profiles are created. I understand that it will take 9  hours to do the large ogee edge we selected for our granite edging. Whew!

Elaine will send me some pictures of our granite going through the process and I can’t wait to see them!

Below is a picture of the water recycling system.

Holes will be drilled for the water faucet, filtered water dispenser, and soap dispensers.  Some holes are drilled at the shop and some are drilled at the site. I provided the sinks and faucets for them to review and we discussed placement.

Casey is the shop manager and will actually be doing most of the cutting and also the installation on Friday!

Thanks Elaine, Casey and Chris for all your hard work! We are going to have an amazing kitchen thanks to you and Fox Tops!

The Great Room is finally a GREAT big room!

Last night Jeff and I stopped by and saw that the roof was supported and that all the temporary supports had been removed. It was so exciting to see the space at last!

The electrical had begun in the kitchen and there were a few questions we had about it. Tomorrow we’ll be discussing the decorative beam placement in the vaulted area because the original plan interferes with the lighting.