Moving in and having hardwood flooring installed at the same time - Part 1

If you can afford to have the flooring you want installed by the builder, do it!!  We couldn't.  The flooring we wanted would have been double the price we paid through Home Depot. 

We closed on September 21 and began bringing some of our things over the following weekend.  Our son & DIL had to be out of their apartment by October 15...that meant his apartment thoroughly empty and thorough clean.  Also, they had a function 100 miles away the weekend of October 15, so they really had to be done by October 12.

I will go into that in another post.

Even though we ordered the measuring and flooring and paid for it all before we closed, the flooring would not be delivered until a 1 1/2 weeks AFTER we closed.  Then, the material has to acclimate to our home for 3 days.  

The install date was now October 3.  With my husband, son, DIL and I all working full time jobs, this was going to be crazy. We had to get our heavy furniture moved by a moving company on October 1.

We didn't want it this way and were told by Home Depot that the install could start September 26, however that was not to be.

So, the wood is delivered September 30 and the movers delivered our heavy furniture October 1.  Here we go:

The sofa is one I am borrowing from my son until ours comes in!!

The wood and pad and trim is everywhere in boxes.  I knew when the wood installers arrived on Monday, October 3, they would NOT be happy.  The original plan was that our house would be empty if the flooring was installed the week of September 26.

I was so excited about the wood, I started making pictures.  I could not believe we were having real hard wood floors and not laminate wood.

 Larry chose a complimenting floor for his office and game room.

However, for the rest of the house, I made the choice of Hickory Chestnut.  It is hand-scraped and distressed.  Some parts of my home look like a 100 year old home that has been upgraded.  That was what I wanted!!

 You can really see the hand-scrapping here.  Absolutely awesome!!

 I could not believe I was having real wood installed....and planks at that.  Laminate wood flooring was so easy to take care of.  However, when you have beveled planks, that is another story.  You do NOT want any liquids getting down in between the blanks, so no more Swifter for these floors.  A good vacuum and a gentle mop with a little of the proper cleaning product....I still have to research the proper cleaning product.

Stay tuned for Part 2.

Have an awesome Friday.

Closing on our Cottage - September 21, 2011

Here it is, 6 weeks later, and I am just posting on our closing week.  It has been both crazy and fun.  There are so many things I have to tell you.

First, the mosaic in the kitchen was completely redone a couple of days prior to closing.  We had to wait for a new one to come in.  It is now centered...Yeah!!!

The big day of the closing went off without a hitch.  We closed, we met with our builder and received our keys.

We went to the Water District office to get the water changed into our name.  We ate lunch.  We went to the Homeowners' Association office to get tags for the gate.

I know we did other things, however, I just cannot remember.  It was an exciting day.

Larry and I went back to our new house in the early evening.  The sun was setting and it was a beautiful day.

Our new cottage:

We had brought a couple of boxes over and I wanted to set out just one thing to know this house was ours.

I chose my lovely Asian man and woman that I hold very dearly to my heart.  Larry's mother gave me this set in the 80's.

Although they will not stay in the kitchen, that is where I put them to put my mark on my cottage.

Please don't mind the carpet in the kitchen.  All of the carpet has been replaced now with hardwood floors :)

One last look as we walk out of our new cottage......

Let the fun begin!!!

Until next time......

All done except for touchups - Update on my Cottage

As you can see from my blog's header, the landscape is in.  Closing is only 10 days away now.


Only touch-up and a few minor things need to be done.


Here we go:

The landscaping is in.  I finally have a magnolia tree...on the left.  We still get two oak trees.

The front door hardware is just beautiful.

The front door is so pretty.  I have had several comments already from neighbors and even our builder thought it was so pretty.

Carpet is in all over the house.  Everywhere you see carpet, hardwood flooring will be installed!!

The is a major chip right here at the column...between the carpet and the tile.  Also, the floor was not floated, so the foyer tile is not even.  I wish we had paid extra for floating and I was warned about this.

I am very upset about the tile work done on the little wall here.  Also, the tile around the tub.  Last, I didn't even think about a top border for the tile.  It looks unfinished.  That will change as soon as possible.