Serious, tangible progress!!

Monday’s house meeting offered a couple of really noticeable changes. Right off the bat, the entryway.

Check it out! The front door is now on the right side – this is the old door placed in the new location. 6 weeks from now (or s0) this will be replaced with a snazzy new modern door. You may be wondering why there is a big rectangle cut out of what will be the front wall; sadly, this is the only place where we can put the PG&E electrical meter and meet city and utility codes. We are in zen acceptance mode about this and crossing our fingers that we can come up with a really slick way to camouflage it once the front is further along.

And – the inside! I shot this from a few steps up the staircase. That’s the back of Mike Caruso and the profile of the electrician, Donovan. All that gravel is floor that used to be outside and is now inside. Standing in that space was so exciting; this entry is so much roomier and inviting, even in its incomplete state. Oh, see that gray metal box Donovan is working on? That’s the meter we have to install in the rectangular space. Lovely. From the interior perspective, most of the area that Donovan is sitting in will one day be a coat closet.

Pretty grand, no? This is the view from the largest step, the one that is where the turn in the stair occurs. I really wish I had taken a “before” photo from this vantage point, but after searching through my archives it appears I didn’t.

Moving upstairs, some serious deck removal is underway. Most of our friends and family know we had some leaky deck issues (resulting in gushers in our master bedroom ceiling), so this work is designed to eliminate that problem for good!

On this side, all the tile is gone, as is the lame-o insufficient membrane, which turned out to be interior shower pan lining (hmmm…. and we wonder why we had leaks!)

And on this side, two brave souls stand on temporary plywood planks as they remove all the sub flooring.

How’s this for sad: the temporary deck railing is way better looking than the one that used to be there! Just think how amazing this will be when the real McCoy is installed. And yes, the day was that clear, that is Sutro Tower and Twin Peaks in the background, and this is a view worthy of a new deck and slick new windows.

And, while this doesn’t really qualify as significant progress, it was fun to be reminded of what the master bath windows will offer – green and light!

The post on the left is where the window will start (the left of that will be wall) – the opening is placed right over the bathtub.

A slightly different perspective, looking towards the master bedroom sliding door.

The next couple of weeks should be interesting. A few big milestones could be met: all rough-in inspections passed and the start of drywall. During all this, Josh and I will be on (a much needed) vacation for a week in the tropics. I know expectations can be dangerous, but it sure would be nice to come back to some walls all closed up.