This week saw a lot of detail work completed in the areas of plumbing, subflooring and roughing in of interior walls. All of the plumbing lines are installed under the house back to the drain from all of the toilets and sinks (with the exception of the master shower that has to have concrete removed to run the lines). All of the subflooring has been installed in the whole house where the hardwood will be laid. The only remaining sections that need prepping and subflooring are the laundry room, utility room, mudroom and master shower that will need a different type of insulation sheeting and subflooring for tile.
All of the interior walls are roughed in. I, now, have to remember to walk thru the doorways instead of just walking — wherever — when I go thru the house. It is a little disconcerting, considering in has been an “open-concept” since November, but it is also making everything feel “real” for the first time, too. I can actually “see” where each room starts and stops and, although it is still just studs and I can see through everything, my mind is now, visually, adding those walls. It is really, finally, coming together.
A set of solid wood, glass pane, french doors (24″ each) that were original to the house are being re-purposed and used for the powder room entry at the end of the main hallway. The doors will be stripped, sanded and refinished and the glass will be frosted for privacy.
I wish I could *dazzle* you with photos but, with the laptop still on the fritz due to the “puppy-incident,” photos will be forthcoming as soon as all of the technology is back in working order…
We also planted 21 lombardy poplars along the back pasture fence line to act as a screen / wind break, as these trees are fast-growers. I have 3 trees left and want to plant them on the left side of the pasture between our property and the property next door. I have a magnolia that is coming soon and want to find the perfect place for it (there is already on in the front/side yard). I also want to add a couple of crape myrtles, too, but I need to clear some of the scrub-brush and shrubs that are overgrown before getting to that point.
I am also planning to clear out and till a large section of area in the upper, front yard between the circular drive and the street in the section of yard that is currently just grass, trees, bushes, scrub-brush, shrubs and misc. plant materials now. There are two large trees that frame a section that I am using to create a butterfly/hummingbird/bee garden. I have several of my bulbs and bushes already, and more ordered and on the way. The design is planned and will take into consideration the two-tiered step-down of the yard in that area with the plan for the larger blue, red and yellow butterfly bushes to flank both sides of the beds on the edges around each of the circles of the beds. The climbing hummingbird vines will be staked on posts in the back on each side.
Image via Wikipedia
The rest of the bed will be filled with english lavender, purple coneflowers, black-eyed susans, old-fashioned daylilies, presidents & yellow cannas, giant hybrid delphinium, mixed hybrid lilies, eye of the tiger irises, old fashion lilacs, stella d’oro daylilies, double hollyhocks, and purple rooster monarda. There will be a large birdbath in the middle for water, as well as two sandy, moist gravel areas on each end for the butterflies to take their “mud-baths” in, which is how they prefer to get their water.
The four birdfeeders are doing a “booming-business” and I will be adding at least 2-4 more once I get a section of scrub-brush cut back directly across from the dining room french doors on the side yard. The yard is always filled with such beautiful songs…
This coming week we plan on working on the outside of the house, if the weather cooperates…
© The Dilapidated Farmhouse 2012
