WEEK 35: Starting to Chug Along!

As we write this, we are vacationing in Kirkland, WA. (Wait! Can a retired couple actually 'vacation'? Isn't retirement vacation? Just wondering'...)

We also just returned from a great 3 days of wine tasting with friends in Walla Walla, visiting with some old (not chronologically old!) Walla Walla friends as time permitted. Terrific time, terrific friends, terrific wine!

But I digress, back to the house... Progress on the house has picked up as pieces and parts are starting to come together, and the puzzle is starting to look homier. I sort of jumped over Week 34 since nothing new was happening with the build, but here we are again!

Front Walkway

The front walkway has actually turned out better than we had originally thought, based on the landscape design. We weren't exactly sure how the paver design was going to play out, but it turned out just fine.

Front Door

The white PVC are water lines for the drips that will go into decorative pots on either side of the door; the perspective is a little off given how the picture is framed. There will also be a drain line from each pot so we won't see water marks on the pavers. Lastly, the front door shown here is a builder door which will be replaced by a finished glass door model in charcoal grey.

Driveway

The paver design carries through from the front walkway around the driveway perimeter and back along the left side of the garage all the way to the backyard. A fair amount of pavers in the end, but the design carries a nice flow. We considered doing the driveway in pavers as well, but I don't think they stand up as well as concrete, in the long run, in terms of maintenance. And I'm all about little to no maintenance on this house! (The dirt on the garage door is gratis of the monsoon rains, and the door gets a new paint job in a darker color.)

Pool Views

After a few weeks of inactivity, we're finally seeing some movement on the pool. We were told that the last big monsoon rain we had (which filled the pool up with about 2'-3' of water) slowed progress since they had to let the dirt completely dry out. After listening to that excuse for 3 weeks, we made some pointed phone calls to Ronda Pools management and things appear to have gotten back on track.

Plumbing is almost done. The new way of cleaning pools is with pop-up heads that are located on the bottom of the pool, steps, and Baja bench. They pop-up, rotate with water pressure, and basically push everything to the long suction filter at the end of the pool. No more Polaris Pool Boy walking the pool floor with a long hose attached. In the end, a lot more expensive that a Polaris unit, but from our research and discussions with other neighbors, the technology works well. The extra bonus is that it is guaranteed for the life of the pool.

Baja bench pop-up heads as detailed above. The bench will accommodate 3 water chaise lounges for those that just want to "be seen", rather than being in the water. The plumbers also need to install the gas lines for the flaming pots that will sit next to the waterfall on the other side. Ya gotta just love PVC!

Pantry Area

Moving back inside, the missing drawers and door on the cabinets have finally arrived. Pictured here is the pantry area directly behind the kitchen wall. We kind of like the "no pantry doors" look, which translates in Jan's language as "don't leave a messy room". These cabinets are now waiting for the quartz countertops.

Command Center

Yeah, that funky builder's term for "small office". This area is situated at the end of the pantry area and other than a work area for our computers, I would have loved to turn this into a wine room. Unfortunately, I didn't have that option. (Maybe in the future 😏)

Kitchen

This is a bit difficult to see in this pic, but the cabinetry and wall will provide the underlying platform for an 11' x 5' quartz waterfall island. Seating for 4-6 barstools will be on the front side of the island. Hopefully once the countertops are installed, we'll start to see the appliances begin to appear! (We are pretty fortunate because our appliances were ordered before appliances started becoming scarce. Some of our neighbors haven't been so lucky.)

Bathrooms