Victory

Last week brought us about 3" of rain in one day. Arizona has this weather pattern referred to as Monsoon Season, typically from June through September, which to me seems to be an oxymoron given how incredibly dry the place is. At any rate, we occasionally get rainstorms in the summer, and this last week brought a huge one that dumped for a day.  In Texas, a good rainstorm will dump 3" in a couple of hours, and is no big deal. Here, it is a big deal because there is granite rock hiding 6-12 inches beneath the dirt, and water has nowhere to go in terms of absorption. So everyone gets a 'pool' somewhere whether they want one or not, and you learn not to tempt fate with a flash flood warning. But, I digress...   The internal work on the house has continued on a steady pace with most of the activity centered on installing the ceramic floor tiles, which comprise about 75% of the house (guest rooms and den/study are carpeted). In theory, ceramic tile makes for a cooler hom...

Progress is at hand! We thought we would be seeing floors being done this week, but alas, the schedule changed suddenly and the cabinet guys showed up! Cabinets tend to change the completion of an empty house, and you can begin to see how rooms start to shape up. There is still a long way to go, and not all of the cabinets are in yet, but what a great start. Jan chose a color palette of browns and grays for the cabinets throughout the house, which is a departure from our previous home adventures; way over on the contemporary scale, rather than more traditional home styles. The down side is this house will have about 60% of the cabinets of the last house, which means we have to continue to downsize 'stuff'. Master Bathroom This bathroom will look much better when the lighted mirrors are installed, and the rest of the cabinets are hung.  Command Center (Builder's term. I have no idea where they came up with this term.) The Command Center is supposedly meant to be the 'he...

This week marked the beginning of the last phase of the build process as most of the focus now is internal to the house. Yeah, Baby, we're gettin' to the good stuff! As you'll see from there pictures, the walls now have the final texture and the first undercoat of paint. Trim is in and caulked, and electrical arrived today to begin putting in switches, outlets and outlet covers. Of course, I'm going to replace 15 of the kitchen and bathroom outlets with cool stuff we just bought that work better, so anyone need 15 outlets? Kitchen Pantry Area Bedroom #3 Wall Plates (really exciting stuff!) Kitchen Area (once again) We have noticed a number of areas where the caulking has dried but left an opening between the wall and trim, or the wall texture simply isn't right (makes me crazy!). But, we've been assured by our building super that they will make a number of passes through the house in the coming weeks and those issues will be corrected as part of their ongoing ...

Greetings, Everyone! The house is finally starting to look like a home! Trim carpenters were in this week adding trim molding, door frames, window sills, shelving and caulking throughout the house.  This house will take some "stuff" management because we have about 50% of the cabinet and shelf space of the previous San Marcos home. That means Jan will have to get rid of half her shoes and clothes (ok, just kidding, that ain't gonna happen!). Unfortunately, any overflow will end up being my stuff. We've also made a decision to rock the inside TV wall in the Living Room, which is going to look fantastic when finished. (Think climbing wall! Yeah, just kidding again.) In addition, the exterior stucco surfaces are finished drying (in 110 degree heat!), so the final color coat is expected to be finished this week. Front Entrance The final color coat goes on all of the stucco this week, facia and eves will get stained, and then finally the roof goes on. The tiles have been o...

Small steps, but moving forward.... Now is when we start hooking up with all of the outside contractors that we'll be using to do some things we thought the builder could supply, but at a much less expensive cost. The list can be endless, but here are some examples: Whole-house water softening system with Reverse Osmosis - 50% of the builder quote with a much better system, Garage floor finish - Custom application at about 60% less than the builder quote, Custom fans and lights purchase and installation - Outside bonded electrician, about 40% less than the builder quote, Garage cooling system - Mini-split at about 50% less than builder quote, Custom ceiling Beams - About 65% less than the builder quote, Custom window blinds - Huge savings over what the builder was offering thru the Design Center, Custom accent wall(s) painting - Not sure what the builder is using for paint, but this is a major area of savings by using an outside painting company. All of the above can be provided by...

We're finally back after a great week of renewed friendships, outstanding wine tastings, great food, and SOME COOL WEATHER chasing wines in Sonoma, CA! Getting off the plane in Phoenix in 100 degree weather after a week of 75 degrees was another bit of a shock, but glad to be home. A big shout-out to our former homies, Carl, Susan, Steve and Pam for a great week of laughs and more wine stories to tell. Outdoor tasting at Blue Farm Winery . If you haven't been there, run, don't walk, for some terrific Chardonnay and Pinot Noirs! While we were gone, our friends at the house have been busy! Our hallway issue was resolved, and reframed correctly, amidst the taping and mudding as they prepare to apply texture (Manhattan Smooth) later this week or next. The opening at the end of this hallway was supposed to be 48", but was framed at 33", which means the new couch Jan just bought for the TV room was going to have to come through a window. NOT! Thankfully, they resolved t...

Alas , we have arrived at the point where tape and mud have now been completed in the house! According to the building super, we are on the last stretch! Except , now they have to reframe a hallway wall opening (about 12") that was framed incorrectly. Why they waited until the hallway is already drywalled, taped and mudded is beyond me; the world of this builder's logic sometimes defies me. In any case, not much more to say at this point other than show some pics. Pool is still a hole in the ground, so not much going on there. Rumor has it that they will be completing the exterior stucco of the house this week, so hopefully that will happen. Maybe the house will be done when we get back! 😂 Extra sand is always a good sign. Third garage tunnel. Front door, study, hall closet view. Portion of the master bedroom with walkout onto the back patio. Kitchen, dining room, and Command Center(?, Builder's name) view from the Great Room. Study off of the front entrance. We're of...