The Devil is in the Details

So I'm finally understanding the meaning of this phrase as we go through the list of final items that need to be completed on the house. Wow...there are a lot of details! At this point, we have all of the tile and stone flooring done, and only the mudroom left to grout. The fireplace facade is done...yes, Ryan and I discovered our inner masons and went to town! The finish electrical and finish plumbing is actually really finished now...I think! And we have working lights, working heat, and working plumbing! We sent the porta-potty packing! I'm sure there are other things that we've checked off the list that I just can't think of right now...so here are some photos of recent accomplishments!

Brody (in an outfit he picked out himself - yes, even the pink sunglasses) helped Ryan lay the slate floor tiles in the mudroom.


And then acted more like his mother and took a break!


I think they did a pretty good job! The floor is finished now, just don't have a picture yet. As long as I can grout it well, I think it will be my favorite floor in the house.


The plumbers came back and installed all of the fixtures...this is Bro's bathroom. Apparently he told his class yesterday that he has his very own bathroom at the new house with his very own big, big tub. I'm hoping he isn't confusing my big, big tub for his...I love him to pieces, but I will fight him for it!!

Ryan, with his plumber hat on, installed all the toilets.

Master bathroom sink & faucet.

Master bath view from the bedroom.

My big, big tub!

Kitchen sink and faucet. It's an interesting little faucet. It came with the sink and is very nice, but it's not very intuitive to use. Pretty to look at though.

Kitchen sink and faucet from a different view - I love this sink.

Kitchen from a distance...the only thing missing now is the island...and window trim...and the toe kick on the cabinets. OK so a few things are missing!

OK...so here is the fireplace. Ryan worked his tail off on this and it came out amazing. I actually did help with this and so I like to say that we did it together even though it is really Ryan who deserves most of the credit. It was so hard and so fun - like a giant puzzle to put together.

This is pre-stone with only the scratch coat on.

Setting the first piece - no going back now!

Seriously slow going...

Setting the keystone and trim stones!

Halfway!!

And after I fast forward through a lot of cursing...Ryan sets the last piece! This was just before midnight on Tuesday night. There was no sleeping until it was done!

Close up of the puzzle!

View from the kitchen.

A very happy Ryan pointing to the last piece in place. Whew! This came out even better than I pictured it. I can't wait to sit in front of the fire in the (hopefully) near future and admire this major accomplishment. It took a few days and had a pretty big learning curve, but I'm so happy now that we did it ourselves.