CMR Update 3/20: Hello Light!

20 days and counting until the projected finish on the CMR!  I'm fervently hoping that this pans out - but I think that the jury is still in deliberations.  I can't tell whether we're on schedule or off schedule.  Perhaps we'll know better this week.  Still, it was nice to get over to the CMR on Sunday for our weekly walk through.

The front porch beam that holds up the front porch roof has been installed.  No more sticky-outy-ugly wooden support structure! 

New porch beam!!

We have the house numbers all ready to be affixed to the new beam after the exterior is painted.  We selected a Neutra font - very mid-century (of course). We opted for nice big 6" numbers so that they were easily read from the street.  I give a "dislike" to all houses where I cannot easily see the street number.  I hate slowing down to a crawl trying feverishly to pick out the house number I am searching for.

tres cool Neutra house numbers

Pool or a Pond?  We have a pond.  GC Paul says this is because the dirt was repacked too tightly at the time it was replaced against the side of the house.  This falls under the category of "good things about lots of rain at the tail end of construction."  None of that pesky waiting until long after your contractor has left to discover that your basement floods or the water runs directly from your gutters in to your brand new kitchen.

smallish pond

And in the most exciting "visual news" category since they set the CMR up on steel beams and dug out her underbelly - - -we got LIGHT!  As you can see the actual windows haven't been installed - - but we were SO jazzed to see how much light even a polyurethane covered hole was bringing to our new space.  And keep in mind that yesterday was cloudy and rainy.  Just imagine real sun, through real clear windows....ahhhhh!

standing in the corner of the rumpus room looking toward the pool room

Let there be light in the rumpus room!

Standing in the Wii room looking toward the pool room.  Love that???

Standing in the pool room looking up at the light.

The view of the sunshine from George the Younger's doorway.

I thought it looked like a theater before.  This ladder scaffolding makes it look even more so.

Did I mention all the rain?  Behold the plastic tent constructed in the atrium
 to provide cover so they can finish the skylights

The back door is no longer operational!  (And a shout out to Foreman Luke who saved the old ridged glass from the door.  Thanks!!)

And the new back door is already here ready for installation.  In other fabulous news, after weeks of searching at door stores, hardware stores and the internet, after much frustration/confusion over deadbolts and door knobs versus mortise locks, after realizing that unless you want a door handle the size of a crow bar on the front of your door - - we finally found the perfect hardware for our three exterior doors.  Who'd have thunk that just getting a cool exterior door KNOB was such a challenge?  And yet - - look up exterior entrance sets on the internet.  See big handles on the exterior, but door knobs on the interior?  Of course you do.  See cool door KNOBS on the exterior?  Nope you don't.  Dear Door Hardware People:  Just because I want a door knob outside doesn't mean I want  chrome one that I can buy at Home Depot for $30.  Increase your selection.  Thanks.  The Homeowner.

New soon-to-be-installed back door.

Much of the house remains a carpentry shop with BIG He-man saws.  This is carpentry shop #1 in the living room....

This is carpentry shop #2 in the garage.

I'm glad that they are both there.  Means that someone is working hard enough to require two!  In other news, we got some painting done this week in the bathrooms and we made some forward progress on "Stainpocalypse 2011."  We met with many interested and professional parties to see if we would be able to move from brown to honey on the stuff that was already stained AND to ensure that we got more honey on the new stuff.  This makes the last October's selection of the polished concrete floors look simple in comparison.  But, I know that we will get there.

So we move on to week T minus 3 of construction....Is that the music from Jaws I hear???  I think if I cover my ears and stomp my feet I won't be able to hear it.