More Decisions

While the concrete floors are at a standstill, we are frantically trying to make some final decisions on other finishes. This bathroom is a bit too "busy", but we're going to do a similar tile gradient for the tub surround in the boys' bathroom. This is 3/4" x 3/4" glass tile from Hakatai.com. (Matt gets an excellent trade discount!) We are going to use the white blend that is shown on the floor here for the boys' bathroom floor and then the gradient tiles starting at the tub and going up will have more white than shown here. The darkest blue at the top perfectly matches the cabinetry we got at Ikea.

We are also narrowing in on tile for our master shower and the kitchen backsplash. (I'll post those once a decision has been reached.) Unfortunately, we were hoping to know what color our concrete floors would be before selecting countertop colors in the kitchen and master bath....we may just have to make a blind choice.

Another option

Roy, from Milwaukee, shared these photos of his living room with us. I think the floors look beautiful! He explained the process a bit in the comments section of my previous post. (In brief: The surface of the concrete is ground down to expose the aggregate, an epoxy is placed to fill in voids, and a high gloss sealer is the final step.) While we're still pursuing a stained look at the moment, it's nice to have this option in our back pocket. Thanks again for sharing, Roy!

Floor Frustrations

Well, by now we were supposed to have beautiful stained concrete floors in a rich brown color. Our floors are still grey. For some reason, the stain isn't taking and even though it looks perfect when the acid stain is rinsed off, the buffer, which is the next step in the process, removes all the color. We (the stainer and us) have no idea why this is happening. There were no additives placed in the concrete, so we're at a loss. We may try looking at some water based dyes or think about just polishing our concrete as it is. I've been noticing many homes with polished concrete that is unstained in Dwell recently, so I don't think it will be the end of the world if that's the route we have to choose.

If anyone has experience with this type of problem, I would love suggestions!

Ikea Wardrobe

For the disgruntled blog reader who couldn't fathom a house without a built-in closet in the bedroom, this is what we purchased yesterday. It's a 5' wide, 7'9" tall wardrobe from Ikea, which can be completely customized with drawers, shoe racks, shelving, etc.

Along with the wardrobe, we also came home with the cabinetry for the boy's bathroom, all the hardware for the kitchen and bathroom cabinetry, and all sorts of odds and ends - from towel racks to toilet paper holders.

So much to do in so little time...

So on we go. We are absolutely out of our condo on Feb. 2, but at a meeting with our contractor this Friday, he didn't think that was going to be a feasible deadline. I guess we may just be moving into a lot of dust because we'll have no choice!

This weekend the concrete floors are getting stained and sealed. We met with Tom Cranley on Thursday night and he showed us a sample of the stain on the shower floor. This photo looks like a toxic dump because the process involed an acid reaction with the concrete. We were very pleased with the brown/rust color that resulted - I just forgot to take a photo. Anyway, it's a 3 day process, so we won't really get a good look at it until Tuesday.

A little "oops" - we forgot to have an outlet placed in the concrete for the kitchen island as required by code. Tim was able to cut a section of the concrete in a place that will be covered by the island and another section under the kitchen cabinets and then slide some conduit beneath the slab. This was a little nerve-wracking, considering that the slab is dense with radiant floor tubing.
Wiring is nearing completion in most of the house...this is the back wall of the kitchen where the sink and cabinetry will be located.

This is the plumbing/electrical for the master bath...2 sinks.

Details

There's not been a huge amount of visible progress this week, but a lot is going on. The heat is on and the plumber and electrician have been hard at work. The exterior masonry is done (with the exception of a little correction that unfortunately is going to be difficult - no fault of the mason's - he's been wonderful) We found these door handles on-line and ordered a set to see how they feel - Matt was thrilled with them, and we'll be ordering them for the whole house this weekend. We will have two of these vessel sinks in the master bath. They arrived this week and seem huge, but have been assured by several sets of eyes that they'll fit in just fine. I like the simple lines of them and think they will look great with the faucet we selected so, so long ago.

The technical stuff

This is the utility room as it looks this weekend. The water heater is very large because it is dual purposed. It heats both the floors and the domestic hot water. The system is much more complicated than that, though, and we've relied on the expertise of our HVAC system designer, John, at Air Care in Beaver Dam, WI. The house is zoned in several areas with both in-floor heat and forced air, and after living in a very drafty house for the past 3 years, we're excited to feel the difference!
A new challenge: Snow! We're waiting for the front door design to be completed and fabricated by our good friend, Vic, down in San Antonio. His family has been constructing doors for centuries. So, until then, we have a fancy plywood door screwed to the house. No keys necessary, just a cordless drill! We were surprised to find a bathtub upstairs yesterday! This is the boys' tub, and will be rotated to fit against that back wall. The plumber has been very busy and most of the lines are in and waiting for fixtures.

This week we anticipate the completion of the stone on the exterior, the radiant floor heat should be turned on, and the electrician will arrive.