finish line

take it from the ground up

  a quick two-day trip last week made it clear i was at the finish "line".  not completely done by any means, but at the point, the line, where most work being done is for finishes..  ie: things that will be seen or felt throughout.  choices i made months ago start showing up in the form of actual materials and fixtures.  and, everything working's out well so far (fingers crossed).

 all paint colors are final and a single coat of most are up and look acceptable.  wood doors are being stained in the garage and the wood floor is completely down.  i went over closet shelving with the builder and have most details figured out.  bedroom closets will be wood-stained shelves, pantry and utility closets painted.

 cabinets are going into place.  i found this is the only area where i'm afraid/worried seeing them being unpacked and set into place.  it's like i forgot something, or there will be trouble with something not fitting into place.  fortunately, the crew is fantastic and no speed bump seems to slow them down.

tile design is done, tile is on-site, and will be installed this week and next as it goes down on the floor and up on the walls.  i helped the tile guy bring into the house boxes of tile and counted it as a workout because they were f!cking heavy.  we unpacked and they all look great.  the pattern repetition of Dal Steel Structure is a bit disappointing, but the tile guy says he can make it work.

the dryvit is done and the lighter color looks good.  i treated it like a ceiling and deferred to architect and builder for a recommendation from a subset of colors i picked.  it's smooth finish tightens up the exterior lines of the eaves, porte cochere and all corners.

work has started on the replacement fleetwoods.  i lost the buyer for one of the three old doors, so i'm back to storing three beautiful aluminum sliding doors in the garage.  (anyone interested?)  i'm looking forward to seeing and operating the new doors.

  a stopover on oahu to pick guest bath surfaces out of existing remnants of old jobs was wildly successful.  had a great ride up to kailua where fabrication facility is.  found a nice, pre-laminated piece of caesarstone (same quartz as rest of house) in "pebble".  it took about 45 seconds to find.  the rest of the time i played with George, a dog who will lose his hearing way before other dogs his age from the wet saws and CNC machine blasting non-stop.

stone sills in Caesarstone "shitake"

George

balcony in HNL (diamond head at right)

Winner!  Caesarstone "pebble"

the ride back from Kailua

 i don't have a trip planned until the end of march, but i have a bad (or good?) feeling i will need to return before then.

 aloha!