Crossing things off The List

After 48 hours with my parents in town, and the work Matt and I did earlier in the week to get ready, we've made a significant dent on the list. (Please remember that this list is only what needs to be done to get Matt's mom moved in, and NOT to get the whole addition complete!)

- final coat of sealer on concrete (happening at the end of this week) 
- lay rosin paper over basement floor (for delivery of trim)
- varnish trim (will be delivered, mostly already cut into the right width strips, next Tuesday)
 Lots of head way on this - see photos below.
- install one more door and hardware upstairs
- install wood floors on upper level and...
-  ...down stairs to main level
- make and install extension jambs for windows
Seven of nine are built, and in various stages of being varnished.  
- install trim on windows, doors, base and down the stairs
- install trim in laundry room
- hang laundry room pocket door (maybe not necessary before move-in)
- install bathroom sink
- install sink hardware
- install toilet
- install bathtub hardware
- caulk the bathtub
- build bathroom shelves
- install bathroom mirror (which, as Matt's pointing out, is more like design/buy/build/install bathroom mirror)
- install closet rod
- build doors for the low closet (Maybe. We may just hang fabric on a tension rod.)
- remove window and... neat photos on this one, too!
- ...finish opening between old and new
- install laundry sink
- install washer and dryer (set to be delivered on Tuesday)
- install handrail

I really do get to help sometimes! It's just a few pieces, but earlier this week Matt and I started sanding and varnishing the fine-grade birch plywood that will be the trim. Here I'm working on the stair stringers.

Then my mom came and kicked the production into high gear. Every time I walked out there I felt like I was in a bakery with shelves and shelves of things on cooling racks, or rising and waiting for the ovens. Because Mom works well in production mode, she's got everything for Barb's spaces triple coated as well as as much more as she could spread out at one time, so this is a big boost.

Yay! Plumbing fixtures!! This is the same sink we put in when we remodeled our old bathroom four years ago. I like it because it keeps the floor open, has quite a bit of "storage" surface, and a really practical towel bar.

And the water works!!!

Matt and my Dad also got the hardware for the bathtub installed. The blue protective liner is still on most of the tub, and it's not caulked yet.

In Barb's bedroom we have lots of boxes of cherry flooring acclimating and waiting to be laid down. The orangey stuff is the underlayment, and he and I have most of that bedroom done, but still need to clean the subfloor in the front room before it's ready to go in there.

But this was probably the most exciting thing, if only because of what it symbolizes. Notice there's no window?? This was the weekend that we went from two parts of the house to...one!!!

There is now no more separation between the old and the new! (Well, except for a large ottoman that fits between the desk and the couch to keep a certain determined Bulgarian from prematurely exploring his new territory! But I moved it for the photo.)

We're optimistically looking at a move-in date of roughly three weeks from now, assuming we don't encounter any major snags along the way. After over a year of working on this project, it's hard to believe that we've almost achieved our goal!