ICF Home: July 2007 Final Countertops, Cabinets, Flooring

When I look back it's amazing how many final items were completed in July compared to all the other months of construction where maybe two construction details would get done. We were also dealing with several rainy days, but at this point of construction most of our items were inside details that it didn't matter the weather.

Here's a picture of our temporary power outlet that supplied us power for almost a year, it was our lifeline to build our house. It was like losing an old friend that served us well.

On July 18, we finally no longer had to rely on temporary power, but now we had power right at the meter attached to our house. I was crying tears of joy on that day. I finally felt like we were near the end. The same emotion came over me the day (July 30) the portable toilet was taken away. It had been a little over a year since we started this journey, and we were finally seeing the end to our labor mentally and physically.

We finally cut down the tree that was so close to the bay window. We had decided several months earlier to cut it down because it blocked the view from that part of the house and it would be a problem to grow grass in the front yard.

Dave installed all our kitchen cabinets, which was quite a challenge , because of the 45 degree angle in the kitchen, just to get everything to line up like it was supposed to. But, he prevailed and the trim carpenter installed all our trim for the kitchen cabinets. Then, Steve from Counter Act came and installed all our cultured stone countertops in the kitchen, bathrooms, and laundry room. He even came on the weekend to install them. We were very pleased the countertops and his work.

Deanna reclining in the kitchen with our newly installed cabinets, counter tops, and appliances.

The kids bathroom newly installed lights, mirrors, cabinets, countertops, and sinks.

Our air conditioning was turned on officially July 23, right when our flooring was beginning to be installed. Which was perfect timing, it made their work conditions so much more comfortable. We hired Mike Blomberg to do all our flooring, which we had a combination of ceramic tile, laminate, and carpet.

This is looking from kitchen into breakfast nook. We have ceramic tile in the kitchen and laminate in the nook.

This is looking from the living room into the entryway and kitchen. That little step up into the kitchen took alot of extra work and creativity to get the tile work straight, since some of the concrete was damaged behind the door and not perfectly straight. But, Mike was able to work with these issues and do beautiful work. In the middle of the entryway is a medallion that Mike recommended to really set off our entryway. We're glad we took his advice.