A Moment to Trim

We've moved onto a seemingly out-of-order project - adding trim to the windows and exterior doors, even though the majority of our rooms are still unfinished.  I don't have a great explanation for why we're tackling this now other than that it's one of those tasks that can be worked on in small increments, we've been mulling over what type of trim to install, and it seemed slightly easier to make decisions on trim than some of the other choices we're in the middle of making (I'm looking at you, master bath tile).  We still need to order - and then install - interior doors so we don't have much to do on that yet but there is no shortage of windows to trim out!  On the last house, we did a simple 1x4 trim with mitered corners on the doors and windows.  We really liked the clean look of that trim but wanted to do something a little more detailed this time around.  So, we're still using the 1x4 trim for the most part but have added a little fillet at the top and bottom and a casing cap up top.  The top and bottom fillet is 1x1/4" and extends 1/4" out from the side casing.  The casing cap is 5/4" x 1 1/2" and extends 1/2" out from the side casing.  We thought about doing something even more elaborate and/or using 1x6 for the top casing but decided instead to stick with the 1x4 all around.  The added elements mean more cutting, nailing, puttying, and eventually caulking but hopefully it'll add a nice detail while still preserving the generally simple, clean lines of the house.

Starting on the mudroom window

And finished with the mudroom window (it did not actually take as long to finish this window as the daylight suggests - we were just a little slow on taking pictures!)

And the pantry window

Getting started on the exterior mudroom door (the lockset will eventually match the oil-rubbed bronze hinges - we just have a temporary set on right now)

Moving along

That looks much better!

Long and short term projects

We're here!  Things have been a bit quiet on the house renovation front lately, due to a very fun vacation for us and then a less-fun surgery for me.  Add in a historic snowstorm in the DC area and suffice it to say, some of the bigger house projects have been put on hold for now.  But, we have finished up a few things, including the rest of the family room and dining room hardwood flooring, which means we're on pause with hardwood installation for a bit until we clear some more space, and we've been working towards making decisions on some design elements, like adding a built-in banquette to the kitchen and figuring out the tile for the master bath.  Choosing - and then finding materials for - these design elements always takes longer than expected but that's the nice thing about living in the house while we do the work.  It might be slightly annoying to live in unfinished space (okay, sometimes it's highly annoying) but at least we don't feel pressure to hurry-up-and-just-pick-something-already because contractors need to keep moving or a schedule must be kept.  All that said, we are looking forward to making some more progress over the next several weeks.  In the meantime, though, we knocked out some tiling in the mudroom and Brian took the bobcat out to play in the snow.  Pictures below!

First up: Snowstorm 2016!  Since I'm on medical rest and have to stay indoors, I took these pictures from the second floor while Brian braved the blizzard.  These are from Saturday, when he cleared the driveway even as the snow was still falling:

This is our driveway, although it's hard to tell the difference between the driveway and the street

Building a snow pile on the front yard

Go bobcat go!

More snow, more piles

This might take awhile...

And from Sunday, getting started on the real clean-up:

Already building a pretty big snow pile in the backyard

That's one way to lift the snow up!

We can see the road...we just need to reach it

Finished for now - the backyard snow pile is bigger than the bobcat!

And the snow pile out front is huge too!

Back to interior projects:

Prepping the mudroom floor for self-leveler

Three bags of self-leveler poured should make a nice base

Forgot to take in progress pictures!  But here are the tiles, laid and grouted.  Just need one more clean-up to get the rest of the grout haze off 

Close-up of the transition to the wood flooring.  It took us awhile to decide how to do this but we ultimately went with a simple grout line.  We'll see how it holds up!

Some additional hardwood flooring pictures - getting started in the dining room

Moving along - this was a pretty easy room to do once we got started since there really weren't any long runs or complicated cuts

We forgot to take "after" photos but the whole room has flooring that looks like this now!