Wood Floors Continued...

The wood floors are completely layed in the Living Room and Kitchen. They still need to be sanded and coated with finish. But they look great and have a lot of character. I even got to help lay out the wood planks, so the seams didn't meet up with the other seams in row above it.

I also glued the planks that were closest to the wall, and used a finishing nail gun to nail them into place. We also got a new refrigerator. Yay! No more living out of a cooler in the backyard. :) Now if only we can get the wood floors sanded, finished, sealed and the kitchen cabinets in.

On a Totally Different Subject...

On Wednesday night, we went out to dinner with Brennan's work. Some of the guys, including Brennan decided to all challenge themselves and eat the hottest Buffalo Wings at the restaurant. Apparently, if you succeed in eating all six of the hottest Buffalo Wings, then you get your name on the wall and a t-shirt saying that you have succeed. Here are some of the pictures of Brennan eating the hottest meal he had ever eaten.

All the guys washed down their flaming Buffalo wings with a glass of cold mild. That is when you know you are a real man. As you can see they also wore gloves.

First Snowfall in the House

Earlier this week we got to experience the first snowfall in our house. The house stayed nice and cozy despite the 20 degree weather outside. We went to sleep Monday night to rain and woke up Tuesday morning to a winter wonderland.

The dogs had a blast playing in the snow too. They loved it.

Wood Floors

The wood floors have begun their production in our house. Brennan and his father started them Sunday morning. We are putting in unfinished Hickory Utility hardwood flooring. Say that fast five times. :) Here is a little peak of what they look like so far.

The floor will look very busy with a lot of character in it. I haven't decide what stain to use yet. I will test three different kinds and see what we like best. Brennan's father is helping us tremendously, with some griping of course. But that is why we love him.

The guys are hard at work, and don't kid yourself, I'm not eating bon bons. I have been scraping and patching the bedroom ceiling upstairs and picking out and painting some kitchen walls to get the feel of the color. :) (Next post)

Unpacking...

The drive from California to Colorado was uneventful, except for one flat tire on the trailer. What a relief. We hit a little snow in Keystone. But my little Madza 3 handled great!

So now we have been unpacking, organizing, and cleaning all the dust out of the house. I have been sneezing like a crazy person. We still don't have a refrigerator, kitchen sink, or kitchen for that matter. We have been camping in out house basically. Its not too bad actually. Just watching dishes in the bathroom sink up stairs, and warming things up on the stove that is in the middle of the kitchen area.

This weekend the wood floors should start going in, thanks to Brennan and his father's help.

I have been testing my paint colors on different walls in the house to see what I pant to paint and wear. I also scraped one of the upstairs bedroom ceilings on my own. Man oh man, do my arms hurt. That was a tough job, not only because its about your head all day, but because the previous owners painted over the cottage cheese ceilings. So that stuff was extra thick. I had to wet it down wait 20 minutes, and then wet it again for it to come off like butter. Next is lightly mudding the ceilings, then texturing. Always got to be doing something to keep things moving. :)

Finally Moving

I'm in California now, finally packing up all my stuff for the drive out to Colorado. Its been about 6 months since Brennan has moved out to Colorado and now I'm finally moving my stuff. The trailer is packed to its its seems with furniture, couches, boxes full of dishes and books and even a motorcycle. I'm praying for the weather to hold out and be decent for our drive through the Rockies. Please no hailing, snow or rain. I know I'm asking a little too much of the Colorado Rockies. Whatever...

Brennan's father is coming out for a month to help with the flooring and the many other things that need to be done to the house. Thank god we have another person to help. :)

Shopping for a Quartz Countertop

While waiting on our new kitchen cabinets from Cabinets-To-Go, I have been shopping around for a kitchen countertop. You have a couple different choices. You can go with Granite, Quartz, Laminate, Solid Surface, Wood or Stainless Steel. You can also go for the new trend of a concrete countertop or a recycled glass countertop. I have been reading and doing some research and they don't have the concrete countertops totally 100% yet for the kitchen. Concrete tends to be porous and must be sealed and even then it can stain and the seal will wear off with use. The recycled glass countertops are really cool, not only in the look of them but also the concept of using recycled glass. However, a couple of the companies that make the recycled glass countertops are mixing them with concrete, making them a porous surface subject to stains. I have also read that some of the glass pieces can pop out if too hot of a pot or plate it set on the surface. The company, Glass Recycled, is making recycled glass countertops with stone or porcelain mixed with an epoxy resin. They are very cool looking and can be quite pricey, even it it is made of recycled materials.

I have decided to go with a Quartz countertop. They are very durable, scratch and heat resistant, and non-porous. They have great durability all around the board. They also have become more expensive than Granite, because of their rising popularity with homeowners. There are many different companies that make Quartz in a range of colors. Some of the companies include: Dupont Zodiaq, Caesarstone, HanStone, Cambria and Silestone. The prices range so its best to pick a color you like and get an estimate. I drew out the plans for our kitchen with measurements and took it with me, the process goes much faster that way. The color that I like the best so far is from Hanstone called Specchio White.

This Quartz stone has a little bit of a blue hint in it when you look at it in person. So it will work perfectly with the "sky blue" scheme I want to go with in the kitchen.

With any countertop make sure you ask if the price for the square footage includes fabrication and installation. Also, you should decided early on what sink you want as well and whether it will be under mounted or top mounted. I will be going with a under mounted sink, as its easier to sweep dirt and food off the countertop right into the sink. There are also different materials you can choose for a sink like Stainless Steel, Silgranit, Composed Granite, Quartz Stone, Porcelain, Cast Iron, and Acrylic. Some of these materials will show scratches and may chip, such as the Stainless Steel and Acrylic. Then you have to remember to buy a faucet and your kitchen countertop can be installed and the holes for the sink and faucet can be drilled.