Plumbing Installations & Bath Finishes…

At my own personal home the bathroom counters were recently installed which allowed most of the plumbing work to be completed.  Below are a couple notes and explanations of what was used on my own personal home and note that many of these products are used on many of our other projects.

Not the most glamorous photo, I know, but we are in the middle of construction, ok?  Above you can see that the counter-top, sink, faucet & toilet have been set.  The faucet is a Hansgrohe unit that is EPA “Water Sense” certified to ensure responsible water usage at each of the bath areas (this same faucet is used at the master bathroom too, pics of that later).  The toilets that have been used in the home (and seen above) are the Sterling “Dual Flush” units that allow the user to select different flush setting depending on, er… um… “the business” completed at that moment.  Depending on which publication you read, the water savings can be anywhere from 3000-5000 gallons of water saved every year per user.  That is a huge number especially considering that this number is only the water usage and not the power, infrastructure and other costs of treating that waste water.  This is a very, very simple upgrade that can be completed ($100-$150 per toilet) that can have a large impact.  We will also recieve LEED credits for the use of some of these fixtures which will help us in reaching our goal of “Gold” for our completed home.

Here you can see the same cherry cabinet, chrome faucet & floor tile as we have used in the other parts of the home.  I like keeping the material selections to a minimum through out the home as I believe it imparts a clean, simple aesthetic to the project.  The counter-top in both the bathrooms is a different material from the kitchen (granite).  It is a limestone material named “Jura Grey” which relates really well to the tile, has a natural feel and offers a really unique look.  Note that limestone is softer than granite and so use should probably be restricted to bathroom or other lower use areas.  We have had marble (another softer stone) in bathrooms before and it held up well.  I am sure that this limestone will be fine as well.

Many of the other finishes will be occuring this week and then we will have the inspections (bank, city, etc…), the final energy audit and the final inspection for the LEED certification.

More interior finishes…

The interior finishes continue with the counters being installed, some electrical work, plumbing (mentioned in another post) and some miscellaneous carpentry work.  Here are the photos with some quick descriptions.  Note that we generally label our rooms by activity and not the traditional names.  So, the Dining Room might be the “Dine” area and the Living Room might just be labeled “Live”.  Traditionally each of these activities were actual rooms, but more modern designs only offer spaces/areas for these activities and many times these may even be in the same room.  Yes, we still use the traditional “Kitchen” tag for that space, but the others may appear a bit different than you normally see.

Here is a shot of the kitchen.  The granite tops were installed and then the upper cabinets set on top of that material.  The island is nice and big, which I do not think the installers appreciated carrying in.  Big “props” to Olympia Stone for the good work they do for me on every project including this one.  You can also see the temporary support (2×4) that had to be used.  The island was so long that we had trouble finding a slab of stone large enough for it…  so we had to make a couple small changes to the cabinets to get it to work out.  In the end, the island was shortened by 1/2″ to fit the stone slab.  The 2×4 support is needed as there is a nice, deep overhang area for island seating at the back side of the island.

Above is another shot of the island counter and the outer work surface area.  You can see the sink in the island and the cooktop (cut out) on the outer perimeter.  We chose the granite counter material as we wanted something with a natural feel and have had good experiences with granite in our last two kitchens.  While there are some other excellent (and “greener”) choices, we felt that the look and feel of granite was best for the kitchen area of our home.

Above is a shot of the bench seat area where the main table will be.  This “Dine” area is in the same room as the kitchen & hearth (fireplace) area for one large, informal living space. We are having this table custom made to fit the space and work with these built ins.

We also had the tops of the bench installed on hinges so that there can be storage underneath.  We will not use this for everyday items but a little extra storage never hurt, right?

 Above is the fireplace area which is near the kitchen and just across from the “Dine” area as well.  This fireplace area also has a small built-in off to the side that will house some AV (audio visual) equipment for the in celing speakers and a small TV for the area.  It is painted white so it blends in with the surrounding walls.  The fireplace hearth and surround will be a pigmented concrete material that I will be making myself.  Check back to see how it turns out.   What you see now is the cutout for the hearth and the “box” of the fireplace that is exposed.  This will all be covered by the finish material here in a couple more days.

One half level up from the kitchen is the Living Room (Live) area.  Also in this “Live” area is a small “Play” area that will be for our daughter.  You can see this space off to the right through the opening.  The idea is to have several spaces throughout the home so that there can be several activities going on at the same time but not occuring in the same room.  We feel this is especially important as our daughter gets older.

Above is a better view of that “Play” space as seen from the “Live” area.  We had some inexpensive (painted) built-in units completed for this area so that we can easily store our daughters books and toys.  As she gets older, this space could turn into a game area, reading area or just a cozy spot off the side of the Living Room.  Note you can also see the kitchen a half flight of stairs down.

 Above is a photo looking up the half flight of stairs to the bedroom areas above.  You can see that the steel hand railings are also installed.  These rails are simple, steel tubing that have been clear coated and help lend a contemporary but natural feel to the space.  The steel material is/will be used in some of our furniture throughout our home so it will all “tie together” once it is complete.

Up next to be completed is the hardwood floor finish, appliances, final coat for the wall paints and all the details.

Experimenting on the wood floors…

The interior painting at my own personal home wrapped up this week – or at least the first trip & steps.  This next week will be busy with the mechanical trades coming back to complete their finishes, installation of counter-tops, hookups for the audio/visual installations, trim out of the security package, install the water treatment systems and lots of other stuff.  As I said, a very busy week…

My wife and I choose to install white oak hardwood flooring in the home since the lot is so wooded and has a natural feel.  We wanted that natural, organic feel to continue into the home and, as a bonus, white oak is also helpful in camouflaging any dog hair from our golden retriever! (note - don’t think we are dirty people, ok?  We vacuum every day but that dog sheds a bunch!)  Further, hardwood floors and dogs do not always mix, as many of you probably know, so we wanted to look into other options for our hardwoods beyond just the typical urethane coat.  Enter “Rubio Monocoat” – a hardwood product that is an oil finish, leaves the natural grain & feel of the wood exposed and is supposed to be easy to repair (should an 80lbs golden cause some damage).  So, I know, long story, but the point is that we put hardwoods in our bathroom and I wanted to get the finish applied before the toilet was set and to just test out the finish in a smaller area.  The other hardwood floors will be completed after all the traffic and work is completed this week.  Here are the pics and some quick descriptions of how it is applied:

This is the master bathroom floor just after I pulled all the protective cardboard and painter’s tape from the surface.  These are “unfinished” hardwoods that still have some rough spots, marks from the manufacturing process (planer marks – the dark areas you see) and general dirt and staining from the several weeks of construction that has occurred on top of them.

So the first step was to sand all of the hardwoods.  I used multiple grains of sandpaper and ended with 120 grit (per the manufacturer recommendations).  Here you can see that process complete.  All the planer marks have been removed, stains are gone and the rough areas smoothed out.  The beautiful white oak is exposed and ready for the next step.  Side note – I much prefer white oak to the red oak that you see mostly used in flooring and furniture.  The grain is tigher, the wood is “whiter” (imagine that given the name) and the material is more consisent in color.  Ok, all done with wood talk time…

Above is a larger shot after the sanding is complete.  You can also see that the area has been completely cleaned, vacuumed and then “tacked” off.  “Tacking” the floor involves using some mineral spirits on a rag and effectively “damp mopping” the entire surface to remove any dust.  It is extremely important to do this properly (and with mineral spirits) so you do not open the grain of the wood after all that sanding.  If you use water during this step you will open the grain and cause more work for yourself and the stain/finish will not take in a uniform fashion.  The different areas of the floor that appear darker (above) are the areas where the mineral spirits have not completely evaporated back out of the wood.  After the tacked areas dryed out (30 minutes?) the area is ready for the application of the finish.

Here is a shot of the Rubio product after I applied it on top of the wood (but not yet removed the excess).  It goes on kind of like a liquid car wax and is applied in the same circular fashion too.  The manufacturer suggests using a floor buffing machine to do this work and I foolishly thought because it was only 160sqft that there was no need…  um, wrong.  I’m sore today for the record.  Rent the floor buffer, trust me, regardless of how small any area you plan on doing.  You can read more about the application and steps if you are interested on the Rubio website but basically, you put it on, let it set for 10 minutes and then remove it with clean rags.  At that point you are done with the application but it still has to dry out and should not be walked on for 24-36 hours.  I have not included any finish shots because it was still wet when I left and the attemped photos turned out horrible due to that.  I will post some in the future but if you can not wait, check out their site to get an idea of the final appearance.  It really is quite unique and looks very natural – not like wood with a normal urethane finish.

In addition to looking great, this is a no VOC product that will ensure that my family and I will have good indoor air quality.  Basically, no toxic chemicals off gas as this product cures, which is most important to me as a builder and homeowner.  Secondly, this product will also qualify for some LEED-H credits which will be helpful in reaching my goal for the “gold level” of green certification.  Lastly, I think this product will be a good match for my family’s lifestyle,  helps further our aesthetic goals and be a unique product to try out for our future clients homes.  I will try and remember to follow up with some info on how this floor system performs after a couple months of wear & tear.

The good stuff…

If you have been reading for a while you know that I have been building my own personal home.  I have been using my own project as an opportunity for current and future clients to see how our building process works, the care we take in material selections and the attention to detail.  Click here if you want to see all these posts together.  The home is in the Indianapolis area, has a modern/contemporary aesthetic and is using green construction materials and methods.  We are targeting a LEED “Gold” rating for the finished project and are also enrolled in the Energy Star program.

So, the work continues and we are getting through some of the interior finishes…  the good stuff, right?  Below are some shots of the installations and how it is all coming together.

Above is a shot of the kitchen and the window that has finally been installed (it had been missing for 6+ weeks due to an ordering error).  The upper cabinets of the kitchen are not yet set as one of them will rest on the counter top and so I want that material in first.  The large island, seen on the left, is where the kitchen sink will be along with space for 4-5 islands stools (on the back side).  Over the island is a drywall bulkhead that will have some accent color applied as the painters continue their work.  This feature helps give some dimension and differentiation of the space in a larger room.  Also, in the background, you can see the doors to the pantry area that are currently closed.  Another post on that later…

Above is a look from the living room back at the stairs and the kitchen area which is a 1/2 level down from this room.  On the left side of this picture you can see some built-ins that will be painted.  These built-ins are in the “Play” area that is off the living room - space for a small table, chairs, books, and some toys.  In this shot you can also see all the drywall touch-ups that have been completed (see all the yellow-ish spots on the walls and ceilings?).  This is the “1st punch” on the drywall and is done right after trim.  There will be one or two more punch trips to get the drywall correct, but this is important to complete at this time as the ceilings and trims will be painted shortly.

The tile installers got all the floors and walls completed too.  This is an Italian porcelain tile that RDG has been using for some time.  The porcelain products have come a long, long way in the last 5-8 years and now you can barely tell the difference between these products and natural stone.   Plus, the porcelain is non-porous, easier to install, better to maintenance and more cost effective.  You can also see the niche that was placed in the wall – which will be the space for soap, shampoo and other shower stuff.  At the bottom of that niche, a natural stone threshold is installed to provide a smooth, continuous base – you can’t tell the difference between it and the tile, right?  See what I mean about how good these porcelain products look?

Above is a shot of the front entry area where you can see the same tile product installed on the floor.  Note the tile size is different since the space is bigger and called for a slightly larger scale.  However, this is the same collection of tile as I typically like to use the same materials throughout a project.  I believe that by keeping the palette of materials consistent it lends a clean, uncluttered aesthetic to a project.  You can also see (to the left of the door) that we installed a tile base in this entry area.  This is more of a commercial detail but we used it in our home since this entry will have daily, and heavy, traffic from a dog, 2 year old and a couple adults…  We think cleaning and mopping it will be easier with the tile base and I like the look too.  It may sound crazy, but I think that being intentional about things like this is what makes daily life easier.

In next are the painters who will spend a little over a week working on the interior trims and 1st coating the walls.  Then come counter tops, electrical fixtures and plumbing finishes. More updates soon.

Intentional Design…

If you have been reading about my personal home project for a while, you have probably read the posts on LEED-H, Energy Star, energy efficiency, insulation and lots of other energy related discussions.  While I continue to think high efficiency should be built into any project, I also believe that intentional design is sorely lacking in many projects that have been constructed in recent times.  So, in the future, I am going to try doing a better job of integrating this idea into my blog posts.  Look up “intentional design” and I don’t think it will come up on any Google or Wiki search – not that the idea is new – I just do not know how else to categorize the idea.  But the ideology, at its core, is to understand how the people living, working and existing inside the structure, respond to the architecture surrounding them.  Too often, the major focus of architecture transforms into grandeur, expensive materials and beautiful spaces…  I have certainly had, and enjoyed, that experience (being awed by the architecture of a space I visit) but I am not sure that these ideas should dominate the project goals of what is being constructed.

(Please note this is not a photo from one of our projects)  How many 2 story great rooms have  you seen in homes today?  And how many people actually use these spaces?  Not many, I promise you, since the scale of the space is proportionally in conflict with what most people find comfortable.  Impressive?  Maybe…  although usually not, and generally just a waste of square footage since you don’t use them on a daily basis.  This is just an example of how Intentional Design can look at how you actually live, consider what you find comfortable and what fits your life…  not just what the trends of the day say you should design, build or include in your project.

Thus, I believe, the idea of “Intentional Design” should start showing up in projects in the form of every day life…  and making that life easier.  Is life here in the USA that hard?  No, I think not and current world events would only further prove that we are a blessed/fortunate/prosperous people (depending on your world view).  However, I do believe that simple things can make every day life easier and more enjoyable.  Something as simple as making sure window placement allows a mother to look out on the yard to see the kids playing outside.  Or, it can be the mechanical details in the design, such as ensuring that the kitchen area is properly laid out for the lifestyle of the client that will be occupying the space.

Sound easy?  It sure does but consider where you work, live or play.  I bet there are dozens of things that you would change about each of those spaces if given the opportunity.  And while Intentional Design will not solve all design issues, thinking about them, considering solutions for them and discussing them during the design development phases of the project will ensure that the proper consideration is given.  I will attempt to point out examples of this in my own home and as I continue to post on this blog.  However, the bigger issue here is that if you have a project of your own, now or in the future, make sure you link up with a good contractor or designer to consider these issues of intentional design for yourself.

Ok, done with the discussion on design theory – and on to real world examples.  Promise.  More updates soon.