Sticks and stones

The family room floor is nearly tiled!

The wiring for the radiant heat system lurks beneath the family room floor, and creates a cozy trail to the master bedroom.

The new handrails are coming along beautifully.

Stairs two

The new oak handrails.

We'll probably stain the handrails to a shade lighter than the cork flooring.

My new office desk ships next month, which will be planted where this photo was taken.

Also in happy news: the satellite internet is installed and operational! We are trying a new high-speed "next generation" based group called Exede. At the time of writing, which is during a moderate west coast rainshower, the connection is 18.5Mbps/2.6Mbps. Once I move in, my work-from-home experience will be AWESOME!

Devilish details

It's said the devil (or god) is in the details. The last few days has been chockablock with details. Details include:

• The travertine tile purchased from Home Depot was returned, and our lovable contractor tracked down the precise make to the existing tile.
• Granite has been sourced that perfectly matches the existing island in the kitchen, which is needed around the cooktop.
• The leaking roof over the master bedroom has been reshingled; perfect timing since it's now raining.
• Push plates arrived today, which are a hopeful match to the current door handle. 
• Exede satellite Internet service ordered, and will be installed on Friday.
• Solar array installer returning to inspect the upgrades, and revise his quote on Monday.
• Starting the laborious task of changing my address with every organization, system, and tree in the universe.
• The new stairs and handrails in the entryway are coming together beautifully. Presently, the main wood support posts are being installed, and next the handrails. The new stairs and existing oak flooring in the living room will be stained darkly to match the cork flooring's color.
• Radiant heat wire and another thermostat ordered for the master bathroom and the family room heating systems.
• Move-in day might be down to a week or two!

Loki & the loft + roof, roof

Loki modeling on the finished cork flooring at the top of the stairs.

Loki illustrating the spaciousness of the loft/office area.

Loki from another perspective with the upstairs bathroom door in the background. The office windows face the driveway and hillside behind the house.

Shingles going up!

This process will be triple the fun when the rest of the house is re-shingled.

All done!

The storm before the calm

My office

Upstairs guest bedroom #2 (aka unwanted guest room)

Guest bedroom #3 (aka storage)

Living room

Repairing the roof over the master bedroom (view from my office)

View of the roof work from outside.

Cork it!

Amazing how much difference proper flooring makes to the feel of a room.

For the master bedroom (pictured) and other bedrooms, we went with a burnished straw plank cork.

The master guest suite is nearly finished.

Sitting area in the guest suite.

The handrails had to be removed. Our current contractor felt the existing railing was poorly constructed, and not nearly impressive enough for the entryway. Another tiny detail: the door handle was replace with a model that spares my knuckles when I open the front door.