Installing the Crown Moulding

Before hanging the crown moulding, Gerry nailed triangle shaped pieces of wood all along the ceiling so he would have a solid backing behind the moulding where ever he nailed it.  When he started to put up the first piece of moulding, we realized he was covering up the wood pieces and now we didn't know where they were located.  I went around and put small pieces of tape below each one to mark the locations.

 

 

 

The moulding is 16-feet long and most of the time Gerry is working by himself, so he used his third-hand tool and he borrowed Greg's third-hand tool, and put tape on the ends of long poles to help hold the moulding in place.

 

 

The master bedroom and the great room have tray ceilings which means double the crown moulding.

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the great room, Gerry put 45-degree angles in the corners to give the tray ceiling more character than just a square. 

All the corners and joints took extra work using a coping method to minimize the visibility of the seams.

 

After the moulding was hung in each room, all the corners, seems, and nail heads were caulked, painter with primer, sanded, then a final coat of paint.  


Master bedroom ceiling:

 



Christmas 2013

Christmas was at our house again this year.  We bought a really nice Christmas tree.  Gerry strung the lights and I decorated it with all my fun ornaments.

 

Gerry built a temporary mantel over the fireplace with a piece of plywood.  I decorated it with misc Christmas items including a Carpenter Santa, complete with a hammer and tape measure, and a doggie stocking for Fred.  His new favorite place is his bed in front of the fireplace.

 

Fred's playing with his toy he got from the Harpers.

 

 

The family came over for a potluck dinner since we still do not have a kitchen.

 

 

 

This is the window between the kitchen and great room. Patti gave me the really cute tree encircled with snowmen. 

 

I hung lighted snowflakes around all three windows in the great room.

Love my big bear from Home Depot!

 

And Santa was up on the chimney!

       (Can't find the picture right now.)

The holidays are over and it's time to pack up the Christmas decorations. 

Finishing the Drywall - Tape and Mud

The next major task was to tape and mud the dry wall.  We hired this out but the finish work was not done well so Gerry spent a few months finishing the work.

 

 

Master bath vanity wall:

 

Gerry's closet (right) and master bedroom entrance--the rounded corners throughout the house took a lot of Gerry's time and patience to finish: 

 

Master bath spa tub area:

 

All the floors are a mess!

 

 

 

Dining room ceiling:

 

Kitchen ceiling with skylights:

 

Tray ceiling in the great room:

 

Great room wall with TV niche and fireplace:

 

 

The Walls Go Up In The Master Bedroom, Bathroom And Kitchen!

What happens after insulation is installed?  Dry wall...yeah!    

Unload the drywall to the driveway:

We moved Fred's sleeping bag outside to get him out of the way and away from the dust:

Then the workers moved the drywall into each of the rooms:

 

Gerry called to tell me that the very first piece of dry wall hung was the ceiling in my closet.

Gerry's closet before the walls are dry walled.  The tray ceiling is done:

 

Next, they hung the ceiling in the master bedroom, master bath, the hallway, and the front bedroom.  Then the walls were hung.  The east side of the house is ready for inspection in the morning.  Once it's signed off, the workers can start the tapping and mudding while other workers continue to hang drywall

Looking into the kitchen from the hallway:

Kitchen wall with the sink--the arched window looks into the great room toward the backyard:

                           

 

Kitchen wall with the stove top under the window and refrigerator to the right:
 

 

Kitchen wall--oven and pantry will be to the right of the door which leads to the dining room:
 

                                      

 

The dining room ceiling:

Looking from the great room to the front door:

 

Cool Dining Room Ceiling.

The dining room ceiling has several angles and the drywall installers did a great job.

 

 

Insulation - A Long Awaited Day!

First, and very important:  get a portable potty for the workers:

Today the insulation was installed throughout the entire house.  I can't believe how fast the guys did all that work in 2200 sq ft.

When I got home late in the evening and walked into the house, it was strangely quiet with the insulation absorbing all the sound.

Now, you can really see the shape and size of the rooms.

Dining room:                                                                   Kitchen:

Front entrance to great room:                                      Great room:

Looking from the great room to the front door:

Siding And Paint On The Roof Peaks At The Front of The House

More angled boards and another round vent at the front of the house.

The boards installed here have an angle on both ends:

The sun came out so I held an umbrella over Gerry while he finished hanging the boards in the small, tight area.   I painted the boards with two coats before they were hung so I only had to paint the final coat laying down.

This would have been a tricky area to transition over the peak of the roof using just one board so we hung a board on each side with a small seam at the peak which cannot be seen unless you are right there on the roof. 

I prepainted these boards with one coat before we hung them which made the painting easier in the long run.

Gerry's putting finish nails on the last piece:

Gerry suspended a board between the two roofs over the porch for me to sit on while painting the right side.

Next, we hung the shingles around the round vent.  Then I painted them.