Great Strides on House Renovations

The contractor and crew (2 guys today) were here again at 7:30 this morning and got right to work. The excavator showed up about a half hour later and started digging away. So now we have a beautiful hole in the back of our house all ready for the footers to be put in for the new addition. It was quite fascinating to watch the backhoe operator do his thing. What finesse! The arm and bucket seemed like an extension of his own arm. The first thing he did was push over the old yew to make way to get to the back lawn. It went over just like a matchstick. Then he "patted" the dirt down level with the scoop. Then he very gently removed our rose bushes and loaded it on the trailer behind Lynn's big old Co-op E3 tractor so we could save the bushes to replant later. As I said, it was fascinating to watch. It didn't take him long to get the hole, all nice and squared up, done.

We made the final decision on where the stove island is going to go in the kitchen area. The contractor laid out some wood on the floor to indicate where it would go, so I could decide the final placement in relation to the sink and fridge. He also needed to know so he could put the overhead pot lights in -- one over each side counter and one over the stove. Also had to decide how the countertop would go in in relation to the window in the dining area. All kinds of details.

We also made a quick change to the size of the open porch section of the new addition, which meant the contractor had to  make a change in the trusses, which fortunately had not been built yet. The hard wood flooring will be delivered tomorrow and the installation will begin on that.

I ordered the handles for the cabinets (37 of them!). We looked at them at Munson's in Oneonta but I told Bob (the guy who helped us design our kitchen) that I had found them cheaper at Lowe's. So he called me yesterday and was able to get me an even lower price, so that will save us almost $16. (hey, every little bit helps...) It pays to ask!!

The only thing we have left to purchase is the vinyl for the floor in the new addition and I think we are going to wait on that until the addition is all framed in, and then we will have someone come out and measure, etc.

Things are progressing quickly. I am so very happy with the work they are doing and very impressed with their progress!