and the progress continues

This is the new view from the front door into the living room!

Yes, that's a wall in the back and lights on in the front room! That angled bit of framing is where the chimmney for the furnace is installed. The entertainment unit for the TV and stereo will be in front of that. I've always wanted to put the TV in the corner because of how we tend to put the couch and chairs, but until now it wasn't really feasible.

The downstairs bathroom is getting prepped for the installation of the vinyl flooring. All the plumbing has been roughed in and I think it's getting installed next week. The upstairs will take a bit longer because the tile still has to be put down first.

Speaking - er writing - of tile, here it is. The big square tile on the sample to the left and the angled pebbles on the right sample are the ones that will be used in the upstairs bathroom. The shower will be done in a contrasting color and the angled pebbles will be used as an accent stripe. We're going to have the floor heated and I think we can even put that on a timer so it's nice and toasty in the mornings.

The floor upstairs is being sanded today. The scorch marks are gone and where the brick hearth was is now completely done over with the wood flooring that was saved from the bathroom tear out. Where the hearth was is where the flat mantle/electric heater is eventually going to go.

The other good news is our bank, Wells Fargo, got the paperwork and cut the first check for 30% of the money for the repairs. We also had the bank's inspector out this week for the halfway inspection. As soon as we submit the receipts for the money used so far, and with the inspector's report, we'll get the next 30%. To get the last chunk 'o money we have to supply receipts for the second 30%'s use and get a final inspection when the rebuild is complete. I think we're meeting tomorrow in town to go over all the expenses up to now. It'll be good to recoup some of our out of pocket expenses.

More Progress is Made

I took this mainly to show how far the soot/smoke from the fire travelled. This is the wall on the other side of the bathroom. The moulding has been removed which has made the smoke damage that much more obvious. Fortunately the floors are going to be refinished and the walls sealed and painted.

Soon this view of my work room won't be available - at least as soon as the wall goes up. The entire downstairs sub-floor is now level. it used to be a step down into this space and a step up between the dining room and living room. Not anymore! Unfortunately muscle memory is still expecting the various levels so I'm constantly scuffing my shoes when I'm walking from one room to the next. But the floor contractor will be happy so it's all good.

The drain hole for the claw foot tub has been drilled and you can see it's quite a ways from the original drain (the black thing closer to the wall). We decided to move it over almost a foot to make it easier to get around the tub. We toyed with the idea of raising the tub a foot, but decided against it.

Speaking of raising things - Tim finally found out about his "throne". Apparently he marched back downstairs and shook our builder's hand for finally giving him a raised toilet - apparently it's a guy thing.

As the blue tape says this is the linoleum we're going to use in the downstairs bathroom, mudroom and my work area. I think it'll look great with the blue/green/gray paint I'm going to use. A gray color won't impact the colors of my fiber and is also very easy on the eyes and I'm going to be spending a lot of time in this room so the more comfortable it is the better.