We have a real front door!

Our old front door was in bad shape.  The wood was rotted, the handle and lock the bank installed didn't work correctly, and due to the hole at the bottom we had bugs and weather inside instead as well as outside.  Now, we have a new door!  After looking around for quite some time, we decided to go with an iron door from Tuscan Iron Entries.  We designed a larger, double door and removed the windows on the top and sides.  My favorite part is you can open the glass from the inside while the door stays shut!

Old door from the inside

Old door from the outside

No door!

New door from the inside

New door from the outside

Tankless water heaters

Our first water heater died about a year ago, and we finally lost the second one this weekend.  Jeff is in the process of finishing up the installation of them.  Hopefully this weekend so we have water!

Why go with a tankless water heater?
The general premise behind a tankless water heater is to only heat water "on demand" as it is needed. This eliminates the need for a storage tank and dramatically increases energy efficiency. Almost every major shortcoming of a conventional water heater is addressed by a tankless system.

Custom stairs

We pulled up the carpet on the stairs and replaced with hardwoods to match our floors and they look so much better!  Eventually we will pull up all the carpet upstairs, too.

Old stairs

Sinks! Sinks and running water!

The sinks and faucets have been installed!  It has been a whole seven months since we have had running water in the kitchen, or anything in the kitchen for that matter.  Jeff hooked up the water and we made our first meal on the stove/in the oven today!  So nice to be able to cook again!

Main sink with pull-out spray faucet

Island prep sink with articulate faucet

The Silestone is here!

They began installing our counter tops today!  They are going to have to take some pieces back to the shop, but we should have completed counters very soon.  We decided to go with Silestone in White Zeus Extreme.  Can't wait to have a functioning kitchen again!

Here are some reasons we chose to go with Silestone...

• Silestone® is the only counter top with built-in Microban® antimicrobial product protection to safely fight the growth of odor-causing bacteria 24/7 for the life of the product. As a result, Silestone is easier to clean and stays cleaner in between cleanings.
• The quartz in Silestone makes it naturally scratch-resistant. Only three other natural minerals - diamond, sapphire and topaz - are harder than quartz. Quartz is a seven on Mohs Hardness Scale (diamond is a 10).  
• Because it is non-porous, Silestone does not need to be sealed. Granite, marble and limestone, on the other hand, must be sealed on installation and resealed regularly to prevent staining. Silestone is a maintenance-free star compared to solid surfaces that may require rigorous maintenance to clean up tough stains, scratches and scorch marks.

View www.silestoneusa.com for more information!

Cabinet time

The cabinets are coming along and it is starting to look like a real kitchen!  Can't wait to see it when it is complete.

The floors are finally done!

After several weekends of laying hardwood floors they are finally done!