Week 2 ends, Week 3 plans.

Two weeks down, five more to go. Lot of progress this week and hence a long post. No pictures this week as there is not a huge visual difference from last week.

What's been done :

- The plumbing is all roughed in for both the kitchen and bathroom, all we need now is to hook everything up. No major problems or surprises which is always a good thing for remodels

- The electricians showed up and got the electrical and lighting design finished. Electricians are a bit different from all the other trades; they don't where construction clothing, they seem a bit cleaner and don't seem nearly as boisterous. I remember the same impression when I worked construction while in college. They're the programmers of the construction trade and the ones that we need to watch schedule wise. I learned this working with Lance at Apple.

- Armando outlined on the floor where the cabinets and center island will be and this avoided a potential major problem with the island. We changed the design and somewhere along the way the plans ended up with a much smaller island than we envisioned (imagine requirements being changed and not documented). We spotted the problem with floor outline (proof that protyping works) had a small meeting (meetings bloody meetings !!!) and resolved the problem. The resolution cost more money obviously.

- Karen has picked out a medicine cabinet and mirror for the new bathroom which has a lot of mirrors, lights and shelves. I didn't think medicine cabinets could cost this much money but it's nice.

- We've decided on glass tiles for the backsplash and I think these will be very cool....and not terribly expensive.

- We're narrowing in on the choice for the granite countertops. The current favorite is "Blue Pearl".

- Flooring has been nailed down, it's a cherry colored manufactured product. We decided on manufactured wood vs real wood after discovering that dogs running on fake wood do not cause any damage....and it's 1/3 the cost. Better and cheaper, what's not to like.

- And last and certainly very well appreciated, Courtney & Brandon fed us a nice steak dinner with an interesting Argentinian sauce (can't remember the name) and a nice wine (which is probably why I couldn't remember the name of the sauce) last night. Nolan was supposed to demonstrate his newly acquired walking skills, but decided that screaming around the floor at top speed was a better way to go last night. He climbed all over Grandpa for quite a while which was an added bonus to a nice meal.

What happens next week :

- The electricians finish roughing in all the electrical and install the indirect lighting in the ceiling. This will be the first piece of the remodel to go into "production"

- Armando is just about finished with framing the wall so that the TV can be mounted inside the wall. This is a big deal as it will allow us to put the TV into the wall and get all the goddamn wires and boxes out of view. Very cool. This should be finished next week and ready for painting and installation of the TV bracket.

- This TV thing will create another flurry of research and buying as I have to find the proper remote controls. Should be interesting. Of anyone has any thoughts or suggestions, let me know.

- The drywall is supposed to be installed

And....

I'm going to Alaska for two days, which requires a day of travel in each direction so I'm gone for four days.

Karen is moving to Courtney & Brandon's for a few days to watch the little guy while C & B go to Vegas.

Next post will be next weekend....and let's hope the Sharks start to win hockey games by then.