We wanted our house to look “cottage-y” so of course we had to have some cedar shakes on the dormers. They finished the front last Friday and we’re more than pleased with the results!

So Shakey!

They look great but don’t tell anyone that they’re FAKE! Some of the houses in our hood have real cedar shakes and they look so pretty, but the fake kind that come in strips are made from that durable Hardiboard material. Chris installed them in a random pattern and if you didn’t know it, you’d think they were real. Well, maybe not, but it’s pretty close.

We’ll also have them on the two small dormers in the back of the house but the area over the window is so small they’l hardly show up at all. Since we plan to paint the shakes a slightly darker green than the body of the house, they’ll show up nicely.

Chris’ crew also finished installing all the windows and framing them. Plus the siding is almost completely done! It’s looking so cute now!

So this is the view from the Pink House porch by the end of the week.

Ta Da!

The tech wiring guy, the floor guy and the cabinet/granite guy all came at the same time Friday morning, but between Jim, our builders Gary & GT and little ol’ me, we got everything discussed and covered. I talked to the floor guy since that was the easiest. “Um, put some pretty wood here on…the…floor?” Actually there was a bit  more to it, but I managed to convey our plan. the next big things now are the metal roof, and THEN THEY CAN PAINT THE EXTERIOR! YAY!!! I need to lie down. Until next week. 🙂

We saw some real progress last week at the Green House. The plumbers began doing what they do and it was way over my head. Here are few pics of preliminary plumbing work.

Oh my beloved soaking tub! How I have missed thee.

And this scary monster is upstairs next to the potty room. This blue and red spider is the mega brain of the system. He and Mr. Water Heater share this little area.

Plumbing is kinda boring to me, but hey, it’s one step closer to finishing so that’s good. Now on to something really fun…WINDOWS!

The sitting area in our master bedroom. A very cute view of the Pink House from here.

Taken from the back porch looking at my kitchen sink window.

For those who know me well, you’ll understand that I have used great restraint to refrain making a joke about the Russel “Do It” Center. I’ll leave my many friends with unclean minds to make their own.

Only one of our kitties enjoys the construction process. Tony is master of all he surveys. We’re thinking of getting him a little kitty tool belt.

Dis my house!

Rowdy, however is constantly looking for places to hide from the big scary men with the loud tools.

I should be safe in this linen closet!

The exterior of the house is starting to look friendlier with the windows installed. The small dormers in the back remind me of eyes.

I see you!

And as of last Friday this is how the front looked.

Sa-Weet! 🙂

Place. 🙂

Did I scare you! Sorry. We got a fireplace and chimney this week! Yay! The Acme Brick crew came out and it took three days to finish the whole thing. Jim wanted an ISOKERN fireplace and I had to look that one up. It’s a brick material fireplace that contains lava rock. It comes in pieces and they put it together on site. It reminded me of playing with Legos. Verrrrry heavy Legos. Here are the pictures of the process.

This gentleman had a nice smile…and muscles. Sorry Jim, you have nice muscles too.

As the bricks went up and up I started to get nervous watching the scaffolding rise with so much weight on it.

Waaaaaaaaaahhhhh!!!!

Toward the end, a little guy was on the roof stacking the heavy pieces by himself. I took this picture, but then went inside the Pink House. I couldn’t watch any more.

Cray Cray!

When they finished it was fun to see how this side of the house was going to look. I love the three little graduated windows that follow the stair well. I’ll use these to keep a close eye on my neighbor Irl. You really gotta watch that guy!

The final day, they put the brick inside the fireplace. I had a choice of herringbone and I think most people like that, but I thought the subway pattern was a little more old-fashioned. What do you think?

I love these high windows on either side. Since this wall looks out on to my neighbors carport we put them higher so we wouldn’t be looking at their cars and boat. Mind you, Martha and Irl have two lovely cars and a cute boat, but I much preferred to view the sky and trees instead.  Call me crazy. Plus you just can’t have too many surveillance windows to keep tabs on “you know who.”

Finally I was happy to get front steps this week. They have a slightly steep rise, but nothing too uncomfortable. It couldn’t be helped since there was precious little room for them. They actually touch the sidewalk.

So this is what my casa looks like as of the close of the week. We are so happy how it’s turning out. If you’re walking by please feel free to go inside and poke around. There’s a broom and trash can if you’re in the mood. 🙂

The framers were only here one day last week, but I do have a couple of new additions to our house that made me pretty happy. I had a wild idea to put an arch between the kitchen and dining room but was unsure how big of a deal this would be. Often changes or additions are impossible after framing has begun, but Chris created this in about 20 minutes at a nominal extra cost. I think it’s going to make a nice feature and will look great after the drywall goes up.

So, this view is from me standing in the dining room looking into the kitchen.  There is a pantry on the left and my kitchen sink window on the right wall. There will be an island in the center just under the archway. It’s hard to visualize with just a bunch of studs but maybe you get the picture.

As of this moment, ACME brick is installing our fireplace and Chris and his crew are installing my front steps. Needless to say, I’m a happy girl today. New pictures to follow tomorrow. 🙂

A lot of stuff happened to our house this week. The framers worked on the dormers and back porch and it was fun to see the house take shape.

Ten ft. back porch with hipped roof.

The back is almost cuter than the front. I love the little dormers.

Tongue & groove underneath. GROOVY!

Michael & his crew came back to pour the foundation for the wood-burning fireplace.

Up goes the frame for the carport.

And this is how the front looked at the close of the work day.

Jim and I are very happy about the progress this week. The only grumbles in the Burlingame home came from two kitties who are upset that my blog has been taken over with construction updates. Mulder and Rowdy miss being the focus of the KITTYBUNNYCHICKEN, so here are two cute pictures of them.

Mulder’s favorite position. He’s such a weirdo!

Princess Rowdy always finds the softest spots in the house for her plump little bod.

Stay tuned for house and kitty updates! I’m having way too much fun. 🙂

To the East Side! (I love that song). So this was the progress on our casa as of last Friday.

I put some chairs on the porch and Jim & I had a glass of wine while we admired the view.

Not too shabby.

Today is Thursday and they’ve begun to frame the upstairs.

Master bed/bath, sitting room, laundry room and storage will be up here.

They’ve put in some rough stairs so I can climb to the top and imagine our view from the top.

No complaints!

The framing for the new house began this week. This is the most fun part so far because I can see it really take shape. There’s a new crew working now and some of them are quite familiar to me. I mentioned that Michael (the guy who made the piers and retaining wall) is a quiet reserved person. He’s very focused on his work and not prone to chit chat.

THIS guy–Not so much. 🙂

I’ve known Chris for over 12 years. He framed my yellow house way back in 2007 and he built a carport/storage shed & fence for the pink house in 2014. Chris is talkative, funny and can tell a naughty joke or two. I like his company and we’ve developed a good rapport over the years. He explains things when I’m confused (often) and he has great patience with me hanging around, taking pictures and asking questions. I was stunned at how fast the crew installed the sub-floor on Wednesday.

View from the back of the lot

From this vantage point you can see our yellow house and our pink house. (this one will be green)

Then yesterday they began FRAMING!!!

Yay!

Today I might get porches! After nearly 18 months of planning, roadblocks and glitches, the Green House is finally happening. I’m a very happy camper.

Drive by and say howdy. I’ll be perched on the Pink House porch watching the show. 🙂