The contractors from Alpine Construction were there early this morning, waiting for the cement truck to show up. It finally arrived around 11 AM and they poured the cement for the sidewalk.

Daniel Mendoza's landscapers graded the back yard and cleaned up some more debris including an old brick walkway.

The electricians from CB Electric Co. installed all the remaining fixtures that we had on hand. These included the dining room chandelier, breakfast nook light, master bathroom vanity lights, and back patio fan.

They were also there to pull the electric cable through a conduit between the city's underground service and the main panel. But before they could do that, Brad had to call an inspector to do a mandrel test. Basically they pull an object through the conduit to make sure there are no obstructions. Here's a picture of the mandrel for checking our 3" conduit.

After the inspector gave his okay, the electricians pulled the very large and VERY heavy cable through the conduit. Actually, I also helped, as did Brad, one of the landscapers, and the city inspector. It took six of us (and some liquid soap borrowed from a neighbor) to get the set of three cables pulled through the conduit. Here's a picture of Ekrem standing by the main panel with the three cables sticking out on the lower left.

Back at home, I ordered three pendant lights for the kitchen island from LightingUniverse.com. We chose a model from Besa Lighting called Mimi in the Garnet color.

There was a lot of activity at the job site today. We met with Brad early this morning to mark the spots for the tub spout and valves in the master bathroom.

Mendoza Landscaping was grading the front and back yards and clearing debris.

Alpine Construction removed the old concrete, drilled holes to insert dowels at the joints, and put down a layer of base rock.

Dana finished installing the cabinet doors and drawer fronts in the kitchen.

And Leo drilled the holes for the tub spout.

This evening we found some nice looking mirrors on Costco.com, so we ordered three of them for the master bathroom vanity.

Today the landscapers finished up the pavers by the side door to the garage. Here's how the driveway looks.

Dana was at the job site again. He installed cabinet doors and toe kicks. Here's a picture of the master bathroom.

And a picture of bath #2.


In my meeting with Brad today, he gave me an outline of what's happening over the next couple of weeks:

• Leo from Marblus will be coming tomorrow to drill the holes in the master tub deck.
• The plumbers will be back on Monday or Tuesday to install the remaining fixtures.
• Standards of Excellence will be installing the appliances onTuesday, 5/29.
• Floors to Go will be installing the carpets on Wednesday, 5/30.

Tomorrow we're supposed to meet with Brad before Leo show up, to mark the spots of the master tub spout and valves.

Alpine Construction was at the job site early this morning. When I arrived, they had already cut the sidewalk in preparation for its removal and replacement.

The landscapers were busy finishing the walkway. Here they are compacting the pavers. First they swept fine sand over the surface, then they tamped the pavers using a plate compactor.

Dana was also there. He and his son carried all the 7' tall master closet cabinets up to the second floor and set them into place.

CB Showers called early this morning to say they were going to be installing a new glass door today, to replace the chipped one in the guest bath. About an hour later, Brad called to confirm the height for the mirror in bath #2. He'll have CB Showers cut it about 1" below the level of the lamp shades that are above the vanity.

When I arrived at the job site, the landscapers were starting to lay out the pavers for the walkway.

As for the driveway, they stopped just short of the sidewalk, because they're waiting for the concrete to be replaced.

Brad was inside the house taping masking paper to the floor -- like carpet runners -- to protect the newly finished wood.

Dana was down in the basement (where it was much cooler!), installing drawer fronts and cabinet doors. We caught up with him putting the finishing touches on the stack of drawers in the craftroom. That's Brad on the left and Dana on the right.

Brad wanted to go pick up the last toilet and the vanity (both for the powder room) so we used his truck and drove back to our house to get the items. With the help of the landscapers, we unloaded his truck and moved the heavy vanity into the power room.

Earlier, Brad had said Mike Rorie from Floors To Go was scheduled to install the carpets on Thursday. But after Brad finished describing all the things that need to happen before Thursday, he decided to call Mike and reschedule the carpet installation for a later date.

Here are some pictures of Dana's handiwork:

Laundry Room

Craftroom

Understair Cabinet (in the Craftroom)

Mudroom

I had to reschedule my meeting with CB Showers to Friday morning because the wood floor installers were still working on the varnish.

I never made it out to the job site today, so I don't have any updates on the driveway and walkway or the wood floor.

We did receive another package this afternoon. All of the towel bars, we had ordered on April 25th, arrived in one large box.

I stopped by the job site late this afternoon to see if any work had been done. The driveway and walkway don't look like they've been touched since yesterday afternoon, so I don't think the landscapers were working today.

The hardwood floor, however, has had a coat of varnish applied to it. Brad was right, the clear coat really makes the floors "pop." The walnut floor looks stunning!

Here's a picture of the living room.

Hmmm... the hallway has lots of dusty foot prints. I don't know if this is normal (it looks like a crowd of people went through the house...).