week 19: cabs, doors, tile prep, millwork & exterior painting

It was a very busy week! Many tradesmen were working hard: cabinet installer, finish carpenters, tile setter and painters.

Alex of Crestwood Inc. installed most of the wood cabinets. He’ll get to the last wood cabinet in the kitchen next week.




Dana and Darren of Guillory Construction started the finish carpentry. They installed and cased all the interior doors, installed jamb extensions at the windows, installed and trimmed the medicine cabinet, trimmed the stair cabs, and started finish work on the stairs. And, they hid the water shut off behind a nice cabinet door. Dana used marine-grade plywood to conceal the rough finish of the existing concrete foundation wall at the stairs. Ingenious!










Yuri the tilesetter of Art Touch Construction executed the prep work this week. He mudset the shower pan, installed wonderboard at the shower and floated the bath floor. Yuri even laid the wall tile.









The painters from Aspen Painting LLC continued their work on the exterior. Vitaly, Pablo and Pancho prepped the porch, spackled the house in a few areas where the siding was a bit worn, painted the eaves, porch ceiling, upper shingles and lower siding. They are now hand rolling and brushing the trim and window casings. We can’t wait to see the finished product!















Another triumph was the relocation of our phone service connection. The original service came in off an alley, crossed over three neighbors' properties and attached to a neighbor's garage before entering our house at the back. I contacted Qwest and explained the situation. They came out, surveyed the conditions and decided that the service connection was indeed not ideal. Qwest then relocated the phone service connection off of the main street at the front of the house. It was a very smooth, quick and easy process. We were without phone and internet for only a few hours during the transition. A big 'thank you' to Linda Dodge at Qwest for all her assistance. Wow! We also appreciate Seth of Integrated Technologies for stopping by on short notice to connect and activate the phone lines within the house.






I was very excited to get our washer and dryer back in action this week. They had been sequestered to the storage room during the construction for the past month. Our neighbors had graciously allowed us to wash our clothes at their place. With our washer and dryer moved back to the laundry room, I now can do laundry in our own house. Yay!

Tune in next time for the tile install and accent paint!

week 18: painting

Pete and Dave from Classic Sash & Door fixed the old wood casements and double hung windows on the main floor. After a hundred years, they needed a little TLC to become fully operational. Pete did a wonderful job. Like Pete said, “The windows are now a thing of beauty!”

Shiloh from Classic Sash & Door installed one last screen and replaced some window hardware.

Nick and his team from Diamond Drywall came out and laboriously sanded, sponged, sanded again and did touch-up work. They then masked, prepped for priming and primed the interior walls and ceiling. It was a very long and hot day for Nick and his family, and we are very thankful for all their hard work!

Alex from Custom Side, Inc. finished installing the exterior light blocks and apron trim and replacing the ragged siding.

Vitaly and his team from Aspen Painting, LLC finished the prep work. Pablo, Pancho and Juan caulked the seams and taped the windows and roof during record temperatures. They continued the prep work on the house and garage as it was too hot to paint. They finished painting the screens, storms and interior walls and ceilings. With color on the walls, the spaces have really come alive! Fabulous!

Tune in next time for the installation of cabinets and interior doors, tile prep, finish carpentry and exterior painting!

week 17: exterior paint prep

Vitaly and his crew from Aspen Painting, LLC arrived Saturday morning to begin the exterior paint prep. First, they power washed the house, garage and back deck. Then they spot scraped, sanded and primed for six days. They also primed all the screens and storms and the railings. To beat the heat, they started at dawn and sometimes worked until the end of the day. Thanks Vitaly, Pablo, Pancho and Juan!

It was interesting to see the different colors the house had been painted over the years. There seems to be 10-12 layers. Among the colors were khaki, a couple of whites and yellows, mint, rose, peach and even black (on the sashes).




Peter and Alex of Custom Side, Inc. reviewed the exterior siding and trim work that was required before painting. Alex started replacing the old, broken, misaligned siding and siding with holes. He replaced to bottom course and flashed it where necessary. With the siding scraped, sanded, primed and caulked, the exterior painting will start next week.

Nick and his team from Diamond Drywall returned to sand and mud a second time. They are making sure to get a smooth, Level 5 finish on the drywall. The interior will be primed next week, and Vitaly’s paint crew will begin the interior painting.



ecohaus verified flooring types, layouts and measurements for the install in three weeks. Jeremy of Classic Sash & Door finished installing the exterior door and window casing. Peter of Classic Sash & Door assessed the work needed on the old double hung and casement windows. Next week he'll swing by to fix all the old windows.

Tim and Adam of Stereotypes also helped us order all the AV equipment. Thanks guys!

Tune in next time for exterior AND interior painting, weather permitting!

week 16: sheetrock

We really appreciate Nick and his team from Diamond Drywall working overtime in order to finish hanging the sheetrock. I can’t stress how much more real the spaces feel with the drywall up. Wow!

Nick and his team returned the next day to start the taping and mudding process. Each step needs to dry. They are taking the proper time and care to make sure the final finish is smooth.

Tune in next time for the exterior paint prep!

week 15: wine cellar prep

With all the exterior doors and windows installed, the security company wired all the doors and windows. Jeff did an excellent job in making our home secure.

Erik our contractor of Ostmo Construction installed the vapor barrier himself for the wine cellar. As he had to snake it in and out of the joists (all four walls and the ceiling), it was a pretty big task. Such personalized service!









The sheetrock arrived one morning, and installation began soon after (check back next week for all the excitement). Note to self: need to keep in mind the sizes of door and window openings, stair well configurations and hand and guardrail locations (and remove-ability) as well as the timing and scheduling of deliveries. With a little pre-planning, bringing in larger items like sheetrock, cabinetry, and ultimately furniture, can be made a little easier. The Knez delivery team were almost unable to get the 12’-0” drywall into the basement. Whew! I’m glad they were able to work some magic!

The stainless steel cabinets for the wet bar arrived as well. We cannot wait to see them fully installed and operational! For now, they are nicely shrink-wrapped and tucked to the side like Christmas presents.

Tune in next time for sheetrock installation!

weeks 13 & 14: pre-sheetrock inspection & insulation

This week the different trades were still gearing up for the presheet-rock inspection. Everything had to be done and in order so that the inspector would approve the project for insulation. He will also need to approve the insulation once it’s installed.

Minh and Ron of Anctil Heating and Cooling were here late to make sure all the ceiling and wall fans and dryer duct were properly vented. To economize space, we used one inline fan unit to vent both the bath and laundry and hid the exhaust under the deck. Usually, this type of fan is used in an attic, but it worked perfectly for our situation.

We also wanted to vent the AV Room to prevent heat build-up by the electronic equipment. Unfortunately, we could not determine where to place the exhaust because of the tight configuration. Originally we hoped to vent this fan through the utility chimney, but there was not enough space to fit another sleeve (the water heater vents here as well). Minh solved the problem by running the vent the opposite direction and exhausting the AV Room fan under the front porch. Thanks Minh. You rock!



Chad from Crestwood Inc. came by to fine-tune the cabinetry design. He looked at the style of the existing built-ins and determined what details would look nice for the new cabinetry. Chad had the shop drawings prepped the following week. We can’t wait for the real thing!

Daniel and Bob of Premier Plus Construction Inc. blocked out the bath and laundry sinks, the water turn offs and medicine cabinet, removed more dirt, cut out the old stray piping, framed in the kitchen drain and cleaned the entire job site. They had everything looking pretty tidy for the inspector. And a happy inspector is what we all want!




The pre-sheetrock inspection went smoothly. The inspector pointed out some missing fireblocking and a slightly drippy faucet, and had us secure some loose gas piping (so that it would not get damaged during construction). The plumbing and water service had already passed inspection, and were not a concern this round. The framing, electrical and HVAC easily passed as did the stairs, which had been a concern of mine from the beginning. Daniil of Anctil Plumbing took care of the faucet right away. Daniel and Bob of Premier Plus Construction Inc. installed the fireblocking. Erik our contractor of Ostmo Construction cleaned up the ceiling and foamed the holes in the ceiling joists. Now we were ready to insulate.

Phil and his team from Knez Insulation Company LLC insulated the basement in half a day. Besides insulating the exterior walls and wine cellar, we insulated the laundry, bath, furnace room and basement ceiling for sound. That way any noise from the main floor will not travel between floors or from the laundry and bathroom.




Aaron of Portland Metro Electric stopped by to make a couple of adjustments.

Dana, the finish craftsman from Guillory Construction, installed the exterior doors. Little did he know that he would also need to frame in one of the doors on the hottest day of the year. Thanks Dana!




The inspector came by and approved the insulation. Now we can rock! Sheetrock, that is.

Tune in next time for the wine cellar prep!