Whitney in Saint Augustine, FL 24 entries to date 28 forum posts to date
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Posted to VilanoBeachCasa-de-Suenos by Whitney in Saint Augustine, FL
on 4/22/2008 9:45:52 PM
We are making steady but slow progress, as we are doing a lot of the finish work ourselves. More light fixtures and outlets going in, upstairs railings complete, more tiling, and touchup painting complete. We have moved on to working on the stairs. Skirtboards in. We will be tiling the risers with travertine, and use maple treads. I hope it looks good. The A/C compressor concrete pad has been built and poured. It still needs stucco to finish. I am patiently awaiting our cabinets, which is holding everything else up.
We will be moving on to the finish grade and sprinkler system soon. I have to paint all of the doors before they are installed this weekend. I am sick of painting.
I installed the in-wall coffee maker in our bedroom. I will post more once there appears to be more progress. There is sooo much left to do. Lots of loose ends to tie up.
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| Dining Room |
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| Guest Room |
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| Master BR Coffeemaker |
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| Railings...still need to fill and stain the screw holes on the posts |
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Posted to VilanoBeachCasa-de-Suenos by Whitney in Saint Augustine, FL
on 3/31/2008 8:44:44 PM
Dirk had a great friend come to town this weekend, and they worked on installing the handrails. We stained the wood for weeks. Once again, we underestimated how this would be. Drilled the holes, and inserted the balusters. Over 200 linear feet of railings. We went with Dekorator powder coated aluminum due to the proximity to the ocean. We didn't want the look of vinyl even though it would hold up the best.
I was only able to work on the master bath tile on Friday before I succumbed to a severe cold. I was able to do light duty and install electrical outlets and some lighting fixtures before my fever kicked in. We have been burning at both ends, so it was a matter of time...
Culvert was delivered Friday, and the Lift station should be ready this week. We are working on the irrigation plans now. At this stage we anticipate our overall project to be by 2%. The unexpected area we ran into problems in the very beginning was underestimating our lumber costs. We went over by 25% due to a poor takeoff. We had to get creative over the course of the project to bring other areas into reach. With some areas coming in way under budget, it all seems to be working out. I will let you know once we get our CO, so I won't hold my breath!
No time to take a lot of pics...
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| One section of the railing |
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| guest Bath |
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| hallway wall sconce |
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Posted to VilanoBeachCasa-de-Suenos by Whitney in Saint Augustine, FL
on 3/23/2008 7:12:34 PM
Our stucco guy completed the house on Friday. They did an outstanding job. Super smooth, and minimal expansion joints. I like the color, but was expecting it to be more ivory. It turned out to have a yellowish pink tone, but I still love it.
I got tired of painting, so the touch up will have to wait a while. I began tiling the guest bath, and then moved on to my shower.
I am an amateur tiler, so the travertine gave me a run for my money. It is not forgiving at all. My fingertips have no feeling left, and I barely escaped decapitation....I will spare you the details. I used a tumbled stone in the guest bath, with sea glass accents. I still have to fill in the cracks, but I don't have a glass cutter. I used 1/4" HardieBacker on the guest floor. It is soooo much easier than cement board.
I will be grouting once I finish all three bathrooms. I ran out of tumbled stone (three short), and the store I bought it from is an hour away.
Instead of buying expensive bullnose travertine for the master shower, I cut the edges on a 45 degree angle to make a bevel. It looks great. Just lightly buff the edges to give it a finished look.
Tiling tip: Flexbond mortar does not seem to wash off. I wore gloves, but I got it on my elbows and forearms. I guess it will be long sleeve shirts for the next week. And ladies....it doesn't help the whole smooth skin thing!
I am not looking forward to tiling the rest of the house.
Dirk painted the handrails all weekend, and began working on the gutters. We put up the garage light fixtures just so we could see what they would look like. They look so small! I may have to buy bigger ones, but this is the least of my problems right now.
Happy Easter!
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| Aparently my tiling skills are better than my math! |
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| Back Porch |
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| Chimney |
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| West side of house
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| Northwest corner
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| Guest Bath travertine floor
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| Master Shower begins
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| Hilarious!! You can barely see them:) |
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Posted to VilanoBeachCasa-de-Suenos by Whitney in Saint Augustine, FL
on 3/11/2008 8:21:37 PM
Although we are making progress, it sure feels slow! The drywall is complete, and we have begun priming and painting. I underestimated the time needed to do the painting, so it will probably take a full week and a half to paint the inside. I am finished with the priming, ceiling paint, and a couple of rooms. I am spraying most of the house, with my husband backrolling to give it a more finished look. My sprayer finally kicked the bucket after a few years, so we invested in another one. I love that darn thing! I am a renegade when it comes to color. My family is not always keen on my vibrant choices, but is suits me just fine. My husband could care less if I paint it neon green. So much for feedback!
The stucco is progressing as well. The scratch kote is almost finished. We ran into a major setback when the rain hit, and it was evident we didn't have the slope on the upstairs porches we needed. A few calls, a couple hundred bucks, and a week later, we are back in business. We halted the stucco work until we could come up with a solution that didn't break the bank, but satiated my need to not dream about water infiltration. Thank goodness we had extra Seal-a-Flex put down. It should be fine now.
Cabinets are going to be about another 8 weeks to complete and be delivered. Garage door is in, but the door opener couldn't support the weight of our oversized door. I couldn't even lift it without leaning into it! Home Depot came through again with their clearance appliances. I got a front loader dryer by LG for $297. Originally $800. This completes our appliance package.
I am out of town next weekend on business, so my husband will have to go it alone with the painting of the trim. I think he will survive.
If only it would stop raining!!!!!
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| Taped and ready |
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| Primer complete |
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| Ok, so not my most attractive moment! |
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| Living Room Started |
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| Our Green Office |
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| Garage Door Arrives |
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| Stucco Resumes |
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Posted to VilanoBeachCasa-de-Suenos by Whitney in Saint Augustine, FL
on 2/21/2008 9:02:43 PM
We passed our MEP rough, and finished the insulation. We chose closed cell foam for the roof, and spray-in cellulose for the exterior upper walls/soundproofing. Wow, what a difference in the sound level already. It left quite a mess everywhere, so I just finished vacuuming to get ready for drywall.
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| I stained 22 boards for our porch ceiling. Now I have to polyurethane them. |
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Posted to VilanoBeachCasa-de-Suenos by Whitney in Saint Augustine, FL
on 1/30/2008 7:06:22 PM
Not much progress since our last post. Having full time jobs makes it difficult to complete projects during the week.
Dirk started firring out the garage (manually), I think his head is still ringing. I completed priming the doors. We also spent a day cleaning up the site. It is hard to believe it can get so messy!
I found our wood floors last weekend. Yipee! What a great find. It was a close-out from a company going out of business. $3.80sf. Was $9.75. Carpet $3sy.
I purchased our tankless water heater from wamhomecenter.com. I got a Takagi for a fraction of the cost.
The stucco goes on this week. HVAC on Saturday. The windows and doors are almost complete as well.
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| Windows and Doors |
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| First layer Stucco Mesh |
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Posted to VilanoBeachCasa-de-Suenos by Whitney in Saint Augustine, FL
on 1/21/2008 8:46:52 PM
Wow! It has been three weeks since my last post!
Subtle progress, however, the roof is finally on, which makes a huge difference. They still have the finishing touches to the ridges, and of course the flat roof to the garage. They are using Seal-a-Flex on the porch decks and garage to prevent leaking. The house wrap went on last week without event. Minor detail...my roofer called me at my office today to tell me the sub for the house wrap used a straight blade to cut the wrap, and severed all of the work they had done to seal the decking!! He was really stand up when I called him. I hated to complain, but he cost us about $400. Unfortunately, that was about all of his profit on the job. The roofers are repairing the damage today. We hope to have that done by Friday.
I was worried the roofers were going to be difficult from all of the horror stories I have heard ( post hurricane season, all roofers in Florida are considered questionable). They rock! Super timely, fast work, and really nice outcome. They even upgraded my shingles to 50 year for no extra cost ( Im sure I had aleady paid for these...ha, ha).
I spent the weekend sanding doors, and painting Hardie fascha and soffit boards with my airless spray gun (too many to count). Dirk studded the garage for electrical and drywall.
Home Depot had a sale on Behr paint this weekend, so amidst the chaos, I had to pick colors for all of the rooms. $20 off 5 gallons, $5 off 1 gallon. In additional I used my 10% off competitors coupon for the rest.
Electrical phase 2 completed this weekend. This is a family job, so it is taking a little longer. No problem! It is a mutually beneficial relationship. Discount cost, and friends make money on the side. I was most concerned this would cause stress, but so far no hassles, and I am super pleased with the work. We have gotten all of the little caveats I have requested.
Plumbing...I have been told by many that I have the best in the business. My senses don't agree, however, I am a reasonable gal. Always late. Don't listen to a darn thing I stay, and very spensive!!! We shall see about this costly venture. I will let you know if it was worth the hassle. By the way, NEVER request work after the fact...no matter how small. Plumbers love change orders.
Here are a few pics to date.
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| Fireplace installed |
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Posted to VilanoBeachCasa-de-Suenos by Whitney in Saint Augustine, FL
on 12/26/2007 6:18:53 PM
We spent the weekend in Michigan (Burrrrrr!!!) and returned last night to a second floor. The framers worked all weekend including Christmas. They had to stop because a neighbor complained about the noise....rightly so! Anyway, We were nervous about being gone for such a critical phase. I only found two areas that need addressing so far (more support under the upstairs landing and a window opening that we changed never made it to the framer. It pays to not make many change orders or you are asking for trouble when you break ground.
It is starting to look like a house. Staying mostly on budget. We learned how to make our own closet built-ins from Dirk's Sister and Brother-in-law that have this killer woodworking shop while we were in Michigan. I wish they lived closer.
Here are some pics of the progress. We have some cleaning up to do....
Whit
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| Northwest Corner |
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| My Closet! |
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| A view of our current home from the balcony. See why we needed more space?!!! |
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Posted to VilanoBeachCasa-de-Suenos by Whitney in Saint Augustine, FL
on 12/22/2007 6:55:02 AM
The Framer showed up the very next day after our concrete sub was complete. The floor trusses and lumber package was delivered, and the workers had part of the trusses up within an hour. These guys work super fast. They plan on working thru the weekend, and taking off on Monday and Tuesday.
We purchased our Trusses from Manning Building Supply, but we ended up getting our lumber from Home Depot. Manning, or anyone for that matter, couldn't touch thier price (20% difference). The downside was we had to have the entire package delivered at one time to get that price. My framer wanted the downstairs first, then upper. He balked a little, but was in agreement that the savings was worth it. HD didn't have many of the fasteners, so we got those from Manning. He also warned us that HD often doesn't deliver fast, and has many backorders. We solved that by OKing him to order anything from Manning that didn't show up from HD, but call us first.
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! We wish everyone good health and happiness for the new year.
Whitney
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Posted to VilanoBeachCasa-de-Suenos by Whitney in Saint Augustine, FL
on 12/11/2007 5:28:00 PM
The foundation is complete, and now the first floor block is going up. It is going faster than I had anticipated. I looks more spacious now. I was worried before the foundation was poured that it looked cramped. I won't be thinking that when I tile!
Our Mason is awesome. He has been more than professional, and very timely. He was patient during the unexpected road paving by the county, and inspector mishaps.
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| Courtyard and Garage |
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| Garage view |
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| Front porch |
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| Front porch Northeast corner, closeup |
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| Inspector Kitty again! |
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Posted to VilanoBeachCasa-de-Suenos by Whitney in Saint Augustine, FL
on 12/8/2007 6:34:12 AM
We had an inspection for the foundation to be poured, and we didn't pass! Unfortunately, there was some miscommuncation (no way!) with the inspector. We had the Eupher box for the ground rod, he just didn't see it. We also didn't have a copy of the truss plans in our box (oops), so no dice. Minor detail, but it goes to show, it helps to be there when your inspector comes, which would have avoided the one day delay because everything was there. No major problem. We will press on.
Here are some pics of our progress so far. We haven't decided what we are going to do for the courtyard flooring, but we are thinking pavers at this time.
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| Northeast Corner Closeup |
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| Northeast corner |
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Posted to VilanoBeachCasa-de-Suenos by Whitney in Saint Augustine, FL
on 12/5/2007 6:28:48 PM
We passed our initial plumbing inspection. All of the trenches filled and dirt compacted. Exciting stuff, I know!
Pest control in the morning to spray prior to the foundation. Foundation should be done by the end of the week, then block begins! Minor adjustments to the piping due to miscommunication (again), but we are back on track. I picked out paint colors last night, and decided on a finish for the bathroom cabinets. Received a few more items from my favorite place...ebay. Built in coffee maker and speaker selector for the audio system arrived. Super deal on the built in. Dirk purchased the AC unit from an online company out of Baltimore called hvac-webdirect.com for $2965. We found a local AC company willing to install our unit and ductwork (and warranty his work) for a fabulous price. We decided on a 14 seer variable speed Rheem. Total cost for unit and install was $6500 for a 2 1/2 ton unit.
I ordered the floor and roof trusses today. They are running ahead of schedule, so I waited to ordered until this week.
The front door is the next item to pick out. I just can't decide. Oh, well. That can wait. My next order of business is to design my closet system before I am too swamped to think about. I decided I could build it more solid and for a much better price than California Closets and the like, as I found out they are particle board! This just means it will have to be solid white instead of a natural wood, as I will only have time to use my paint sprayer versus stain. Now, to find the time.....!!!
Whit
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Posted to VilanoBeachCasa-de-Suenos by Whitney in Saint Augustine, FL
on 11/27/2007 7:16:38 PM
Stemwall Dirt Delivered and graded on Monday. Hubby dug the trench for the main electrical conduit. I got lucky and dug the mini-trench for my wall fountain in the courtyard. I had my first injury...fell in one of the trenches and landed on my duff after bouncing off the bricks. Missed impailing myself on the rebar. It wasn't my most attractive moment! Minor scrapes, but I think I should live.
Temporary power connected today. Water turned on last week. Dirk purchased fireplace equipment, speaker cable today. I finished making the guest bathroom mirror and frame. I am not a big fan of painting, but I had better get used to it. My recessed medicine cabinets for the master were delivered today. Nice! I have an appointment with the kitchen desinger tomorrow to look at bathroom vanities.
Went to Home Depot Sunday to pick up the final travertine (sadly, they were sold out) but I stumbled upon a Silestone promotion that was ending today. $37 sf installed. I was able to also get the bathrooms at that price. Super!
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| 20 trips later... |
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| Almost there! |
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| Ginger lounging on the couch |
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Posted to VilanoBeachCasa-de-Suenos by Whitney in Saint Augustine, FL
on 11/21/2007 5:40:27 PM
November 21
We had our stemwall started today. All went well. We are going to have a pretty steep grade for the driveway. Due to Thanksgiving, fill dirt won't be here until Monday. We will need lots of it! Plumber and electrician will be here Tuesday, then we can button up the remaining stemwall. Sure does look smaller in person:)
Purchased our Travertine tile for the bathrooms. Framed the Guest bathroom mirror. Purchased the speakers for the audio system. Shopped for counters. Bought some interior doors. Dirk spec'd out the fireplace parts and garage door. Went to bed!!!
Happy Thanksgiving to all . I am on call, so I will be working but will get to spend time with my family this weekend. Wishing everyone a safe holiday.
Whitney
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| Inspector Kitty! (Oscar) |
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| Blocks Delivered |
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| Northeast Corner |
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Posted to VilanoBeachCasa-de-Suenos by Whitney in Saint Augustine, FL
on 11/15/2007 5:21:57 PM
Although not a big inspection, it was exciting to pass our inspection for our footers. We had a setback at the beginning of the week. Our final foundation plan had omited the fireplace footers...minor detail!!!
My smart husband noticed it as soon as the trenches for the footers were dug. We now have our fireplace "squeezed" in. It was a close call due to our footprint being so close to the setback. It was a reality check for me to never be too cautious, and inspect everyone's work no matter how professional and nice they are. I am glad that is behind us.
We set up accounts with the local suppliers. Getting a credit line was a laborious as our mortgage loan!
til next week!
Whitney
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Posted to VilanoBeachCasa-de-Suenos by Whitney in Saint Augustine, FL
on 11/8/2007 8:15:09 PM
After our insurance debacle, we finally have broken ground. Yeah! Rebar placed. Footers on Friday. 4K worth of dirt later, we will be 9 feet above sea level. We are overbudget in dirt, but not by much. I got our temporary electrical permit today, and all of the essential pre-construction things such as roll-offs and Port-a-let.
Finalized the cabinets and counter design for both kitchen and bath. That was more complicated than I anticipated.
Disappointingly found out we do not qualify for the contractor's energy rebate ( you have to sell the house to get the rebate), just the homeownersrebates etc. BUMMER!
We have purchased and cataloged all appliances, hardware, and plumbing fixtures, except for the bathtubs due to space. I did this to avoid the stress of purchasing along the way.
Found an awesome drywall sub. Should save some money in the process, also.
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