thankful

how do you like me now?

kitchen plumbing

four days on site two weeks ago was a whirlwind of intense visualization.  rough trades have torn up the pure framing into wires and pipes to bring in water and light.  lighting fixtures are ordered i am clear on the EM plan.  i think.  all copper work is complete for plumbing, yet most of the interior runs are colored PEX, red for hot, blue for cold.  i took pictures of the walls to record the internals of, what will be, behind sheetrock in the end.

dining room

 i'm replacing the three fleetwoods in the living areas.  there, i said it.  these sliding doors are beautiful, but we (the Dream Team) thought the 3000 series screens had the same frames as the glass, with a dedicated track; when in fact it's only the 3070 series, which is roughly double the cost and a bigger rough opening.  when i saw the screen assembly (and track) that comes with the 3000, i felt it would:  1. not last,  and 2. be a bane for occupants traversing through the windows.  this one's gonna hurt.

 exterior paint is Sherwin-Williams Tiki Hut # 7509.  one color for lap, casing and trim.  the earth-tone goes with the green roof and most landscaping.  the painter applied three of my selections to the lap.  the decision across many mainland constituencies was unanimous, of which i confirmed with a blind call-out on site early one morning upon seeing full sun on all three samples.  The Hut starts here.

 for the lanai, the ipe decking is installed and looking great.  i've decided not to finish it with oil or other stain and let it age naturally to a patina silver.  i received many reports from locals about having to sand and stain this very hard wood every six months to one year in order to keep it in top condition.  i'm not in that business.

from here, insulation is stuffed into walls and scaffolding is erected to begin installation of finish ceiling in living area.  painter will lightly sand and oil clear-grade cedar boards.  this will be a dominant feature of the interior space. 






 solid cumaru wood floor has arrived and is acclimating in the garage, where it will remain for several months.  i plan to separate the "pinkish" boards, if there are any, for under the beds.  cumaru is teak from brazil, and is said to have great hardness and durability.   










 i'm busy measuring final take-offs for tile now that i have the actual tiles selected.  the builder will procure dal tile (master bath) through bond, but i will buy the arizona tile (guest baths) in SD and ship to HI.  it's fun and makes me feel like i'm doing something.

my bitchen interior design work

thank you, ppt.

 i arrive sunday for four weekdays, then back on a "mileage run" on the 17th.

crunch time

what a month.

 after a wildly successful trip last month, i've been very active in research and selection of electrical fixtures, lighting, low voltage systems, tile, stone, appliances, wood flooring and various palette combinations for interior and exterior.

 lighting has been the most complicated.  all recessed and most fixtures will be LED type bulbs that are a cooler light tone, emit no heat, and are a low wattage draw so they are very energy-efficient.  the downside is initial capital outlay is higher than standard halogen or fluorescent bulbs (of which there are a few in laundry, garage and closets).  overall, i'm happy with the lighting configuration even though it has gone over budget by about 25%.

 low voltage systems include home theater, home network and security system.  i hired a local firm to do all rough-in and installation of the gear, network plates, and all terminations.  5 speakers in living room and two on lanai.  each bedroom will get an ethernet and CATV port, the office gets a few more.  the local firm will also install a equipment cabinet behind the TV wall to rack the equipment for easy access, re-wire, etc.

 tile has been an anxiety-driven exercise, in design and cost.  tile pricing from the bonding company came in higher than i would get walking in off the street for the same tile at more than one shop.  so, i've been collecting likely sample tiles and getting contractor pricing.  what's fortunate is the material allowance from the contract for tile is pretty high and it will be tough for me to surpass this budget.  selecting tile dominos into having to consider an overall palette per room and whole house interior.  the weight of these decisions begins the "finish" line set of exercises that are aesthetic-driven and frighteningly permanent.

 kitchen and bathroom cabinets were selected months ago, but appliances needed to be selected in order to get the exact cabinet dimensions ordered.  LG refrigerator and GE spacesaver microwave will be built-in to the cabinets, so their selection in advance is required to get exact dimensions.  interestingly, all dishwashers are the same size, so no advance selection necessary.  cooktop and oven to be Thermador built-in.

 the wood flooring has been ordered and will be on site in a few weeks.  the wood needs to acclimate to the humid environment, so it will sit in the garage or other covered area for several months.  if not completely adjusted to the climate, cupping and splitting can occur.  the species is Cumaru, aka brazilian teak.  3/4" solid, 4" wide, no bevel, various lengths.  wood flooring is in all rooms except bathrooms and front entry.  the overall material and install cost came in a lot less than the original bid, so there will be $ leftover to offset other items which go over budget.

 besides small issues that arise day-to-day, most communications i'm getting from my "team" are positive, with little-to-no show stoppers.  it's a pleasure and a curse to be so far away from the action.  i'm looking forward to my next trip three weeks from today.

dried in

 sound

I visited the site late last week for a long weekend.  there has been immense progress over a short amount of time.  windows are in and the house is wrapped in Tyvek.  roof is on the the rooms are all fully-formed spaces.  i arrived early thursday evening when the crew was long gone.  i stepped up through the front door and couldn't move, overwhelmed by the space.  standing still for maybe a minute or more, i could only breath and slowly move my head around as my senses were assaulted by sight, sound, smell and touch.

 Friday was jam-packed with electrical walk-through and fundamental checks of spaces and framing elements.  soffits and coffers look great, even in this skeletal phase.  also met with A/V guy to brainstorm on stereo hardware, cabling and display ideas.  all low voltage rough, panel and finish will be done by A/V company outside of the general contract.

 Saturday was spent giving tours to lots of folks who came by, and just sitting around, enjoying the spaces.  met with landscape architect and went through some ideas and requests.  the majority of earthwork is complete, with maybe some contouring of mounds near the street.

 plumbing fixtures are ordered and most surfaces have been selected, but not ordered.  electrical fixtures and switch plan needs to be selected/finalized.  most coffers will be lit with LED tape, if it fits into budget, as i am astonished by the cost of this light.

 Sunday was a long hike then another great sunset at the house (see video above).  Monday morning finalized a few details with the architect (niches in the showers and half-wall in bath 2) before heading to the airport.

incoming!

windows!

 

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living room!

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views!

office

master

bedroom three

 

 

dining & kitchen

lanai

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backyard!

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other cool stuff!

wood

moving along..

 trusses and soffits..

from kitchen to living

peering into blue lockout

blue room soffit

from living into kitchen (note window sight lines)

 

porte cochere coffer

green room soffit and double-slider window

 master wing and living room exterior shots taken from driveway..

 

 windows have arrived!  i return thursday for electrical walk-through, lighting design session, finish materials discussion, cabinet measurements and interior door confirmations. 

raise high the roof beam, carpenters

since july and throughout august framing has continued and the house is taking shape.  all walls and roof trusses are up and it actually looks like a house.  fortunately, i'm being sent lots of photos, most seen here. windows and door openings show the view planes from and between the rooms.  

seeing the structure in three dimensions has me thinking of new ideas for finishes, lighting applications and use cases.  it's a slippery slope to visualize all the possibilities then account for them, so exercising restraint will be the philosophy this fall. 

i've been selecting plumbing fixtures and browsing lighting fixtures, establishing contact with a local lighting designer.  there is a current electrical mechanical plan we used for permitting, so we will improve upon that with more creative lighting applications.  cabinet drawings are mostly finished for kitchen and all baths, so it's nearly time to get pricing on those. 

looking through living-room window into kitchen ceiling

 i'm super-excited about the expansion of the kitchen island to 8', including an electrical cooktop and convection oven contained therein.  upper cabinets are only against the east wall; all other cabinets are lowers.    

 i revisit the site in around two weeks when i hope to begin out-of-contract processes of landscaping, lighting design and home theater rough.  i found a great-looking front door at summit woodworking that mom-in-law called "very auspicious".  that's a good thing.