Nov 15 Stair handrails and final chapter

Finally! The handrails were finished on Nov 15 - it's a long story.... painters didn't stain properly and the rails were too dark, so the guy who did the handrails basically had to remake them as it would've been too labour intensive to try to sand the rails and re-stain. The stain had soaked in too much.

We moved all our belongings on Oct 27 but had to store them in the laneway home as the house wasn't finished - painters still busy and the house had to be cleaned. We moved in on Oct 30 to an incomplete home - no handrails, floor transitions had to be installed, touch-up painting had to be done, some missing door handles, bathroom accessories had to be installed, etc... Then had to move our stuff out of the lwh - lots of heavy lifting. We had to delay the return of our containers until Nov 5. The main kitchen cabinets were replaced for the third time on Nov 19.

It's now Dec 10, and the touch-up painting was finally finished 2 days ago - the painter came in the evenings for a week after another job. We're still waiting for the bug screens for the windows, one door handle, the carport gate, a massive rock in the back lane to be removed, and also garbage in the back yard. 

The lwh was finally finished today - it took forever for the finishing touches to be done - painting, electrical, plumbing, replacing all the closet doors that had been incorrectly measured. 

So that's all folks. We're just about ready for Christmas, and not a moment too soon. Thanks for reading my blog.

Oct 23 Railings, more fences, painting

Oct 20 First coat of stain on the stairs

 Oct 23 Range hood venting installed.

 Second coat of stain on the stairs

 Entry door stained - there are a lot of dents!

 Bi-fold doors all painted and drying.

 The cedar fence on the west side of the house was finally installed.

All the railings were installed. This is the basement suite entry.

 Back porch railings

 Grates by the window wells for safety.

 Garage door finally installed.

 All the railings.

 And a double gate. All the protective tape was removed from the windows and the windows were washed.

Oct 17-19 Finishing, painting & kitchen cabinets revisited

Oct 17 The shower glass was installed this evening. The shower head and controls will be changed as it's not what we ordered - we'll be getting a rain showerhead and sleeker controls.

 The finisher's been busy the past 2 days installing the baseboards.

Oct 19 Today he built the fireplace mantle - I was explaining what I wanted over the phone to D who explained to the finisher, but he still didn't finish it exactly the way we wanted (i.e. just straight side posts, no trim at the bottom, but as it's all going to be painted white, we'll just live with it).

 He finished the window sill going down to the basement.

 The floor person has set up the stairs for staining.

Today the kitchen cabinet installer returned to replace all the main kitchen doors and replace the pantry with a narrower one. He also had a lot of touch-ups to do. It took him and a helper the whole day.

Oct 12-13 More lighting, posts, gutters, stair finishing

Oct 12 Granite around the fireplace in the living room

 Dining room hanging light installed. We'll need to ask the electrician to move it 12" towards the window as it's too close to the kitchen.

 Hanging pendants over the island and the hood fan installed.

 Ensuite lighting - the hole will have to be repaired.

 Second bathroom vanity lights.

 Detailing around the stairs. He was busy for 2 days. The painter has a lot of painting to do!

 Oct 13 The finishing detail was added to the posts, all to be painted black. They also installed all the downpipes from the gutters, just in time for the first heavy rainfall of the season.

Oct 11 More landscaping, tiling & mirrors

We now have a lovely green lawn.

 And space for a vegetable garden

 Bathroom mirrors were installed. Here's the powder room.

 The ensuite

 Shower glass installed.

 Granite laid in the back and front.

Oct 6-9 Exterior, flooring & baseboards

Oct 6 Some self-levelling cement applied.

 Preparing for the carport gate.

 The two front posts were installed. The finisher will dress up the posts.

 The framers also installed the back porch stairs.

 Oct 7 & 8 Main floor engineered hardwood installation. It should be finished tomorrow.

 Oct 8 Today the finisher installed the baseboards in the basement and LWH.