Putting on a Pretty Face

After seeing nothing but concrete and framing for so long, it feels good to watch the house finally take shape. On Friday the painter started putting the exterior paint and trim on the house and today the masons began installing the stone, with the brick to follow in a few days.

The driveway should be poured next week when the masons are done (or done with the section near the garage anyway). Apparently the price of concrete goes up on November 1 by $5/sf due to the need for a "winter mix". We should definitely get the driveway in by that time and are hoping to have the sidewalk poured, but at least the largest remaining concrete expense will be covered.

The blown-in cellulose is in, except for the attic/ceiling space, which will be done right at the end so that the drywall has time to properly cure. The GC says this will give the ceiling plenty of time dry, which should keep it from sagging. Sounds good to me.

The plumbing nightmare continues. We still have no selections, nor do we know the price of anything except the initial Kohler request. I keep asking, as does the GC, but still nothing. Who needs plumbing anyway?

However, we do have the geothermal wells and pumps in now! It's an open loop system so we have one well in the front and one in the back, but it can also be used for irrigation and is non-potable! With the geothermal system, as soon as we have permanent power we can start heating the house. I'm so happy we went with the geothermal. I hope it really delivers the projected savings.

What else? I picked out the countertops last week. I picked out granite for the kitchen and master bath. The guest bath has a gorgeous travertine, which is more fragile than the granite but since the space won't be used as much as the "lived in" rooms, I'm hoping it will hold up well. In the kids' bath we put in quartz since I fully expect them to leave toothpaste squeezed on the counter and myriad other staining materials. And, hey, the countertops were only $56 over budget!!!

I ordered the last of the lights this week (Yea, holding out for another sale actually worked!) and am so excited to think about how this is all coming together. Check out the photos and tell me what you think.