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Tags: trim bathrooms cabinets glitches floor delay
Published : 8 months, 3 weeks ago (Wed, 29 Oct 2008 13:08:43 PDT)
Searched: delay
http://onmeadmountain.livejournal.com/24491.html 0 links
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Here are the pictures of the flooring options, as addressed in the last post.
The likely delay is looking a lot shorter than it was yesterday. This just in: the flooring we originally picked *is* available in a version with a different installation procedure, if we want to stick with something that would look exactly like what we had picked out originally. The flooring guy says we wouldn't see the difference, and both methods work equally well over radiant flooring. That flooring could be here Monday. The 2nd option, the handscraped version of the original wood, could be here Wednesday.
Option 2, the alternative manufacturer's choices, could also be here next week -- precise date dependent on color, since different colors are in stock in different places, but all are readily available somewhere.
Option 3 arose in the process of looking at options last night: we hadn't seen or heard of it before, but we ran across a finish called "wire brushed" which seems quite attractive in pictures.
Unfortunately there is none locally available to look at that we've found so far, and the primary manufacturer is the same as Option 1, so we could have the same problems with acquiring any -- so it may be that option 3 really isn't a viable option at all.
Option 1: the wood we had originally settled on.
Color impression: darker than we had originally thought we'd pick -- more brown than honey toned -- but a very natural-looking color, maybe like oak that's darkened over decades of use.
Pros: It's what we had originally picked, so obviously we liked it; it has a nice surface texture with very low gloss.
Cons: Extremely poor customer service just in getting it; who knows what we'd end up with if we had actual problems post-installation that required exercising the 25-year warranty it theoretically carries.
Other observations: We're not sure whether we'd like the 'handscraped' effect or not; hard to tell from the small sample we have in hand. Small 'dimples' in the grain readily visible in angled light that highlights how smooth other wood surfaces are by comparison. Lengths range from 12"-48."
Multiple distributors' pics arrayed for comparison (the rightmost one is closest to the color/graining we observed in our sample):
 
Option #2:
Color impression: multiple appealing colors available, from a more butterscotchy "honey" tone to "suede" to a deeper color (they call it "rich oak"). The last of the 3 is the most similar to the first wood.
Pros: very large, well-established manufacturer; local shop does lots of business with local rep and would be able to get quick and reliable service with any problems. Teflon coating and some other proprietary coating supposedly make it more scratch-resistant than its competitors, and flooring shop guy is impressed with the quality of flooring from this manufacturer in particular.
Cons: somewhat glossier than option #1 in direct light, though not horridly so.
Other observations: "Microbevel" shape to edges/plank ends is more pronounced than in option #1; makes each individual board stand out more, but is minor enough in depth to probably not affect ease of cleaning. Lengths range from 15"-42".
As before, multiple distributors' pics arrayed for comparison purposes. Color 1, Honeytone:
 
Color 2, Suede (neither of these really accurately reflect the color of the sample I have on hand, which is a warmer brown, but closer to the tone shown here than either of the other 2 colors are)
 
Color 3, Rich Oak:
 
It's been another whirlwind day overall, but a much better one, aside from the fact that now Don has come down with the virus Connor and I had earlier in the week. (So far Kailyn has escaped, and we're hoping it'll stay that way, but I'm not counting on it.) In addition to more promising news on the flooring, it turns out that everyone with enough expertise to weigh in universally agrees that there's no reason not to go ahead and install the cabinetry without waiting for the floors -- and thus avoid the domino-effect delays that would result from delaying the cabinetry. Multiple people commented, in fact, that they'd think it's preferable to install the wood flooring later rather than sooner, so that the numerous people at work on countertops, plumbing, etc. don't risk scuffing up the new floors. The cabinetry installation will therefore proceed as scheduled on Friday and/or Saturday, and the countertop people can come install the kitchen and utility room countertops on Monday as planned. Once that's done, we can start installing the actual kitchen appliances. I'm extremely relieved that we're able to go ahead with everything else while waiting on the flooring to get settled.
The window seats upstairs will go ahead and go in on Friday/Saturday as well, since we determined that there's no need for them to wait for flooring installation either, which will provide the first comfortably cozy seating areas available in the house in progress. I plan to stock them immediately with some nice pillows, blankets, and snacks, so we'll have a good place to go curl up while out at the house. I want to get some cushions made for the seats to make them even more comfortable, but portable pillows will do in the meantime.
We were supposed to be having wall tile installed in the main floor bathrooms today, and Jeremy the head tiling guy picked me up and took me out to the site to go over what we had in mind. I'm very glad we did, because as it turned out he was planning to tile the entire master bathroom, whereas I had planned to tile only specific parts of that bathroom, but despite hammering several details out, we ultimately determined that the tile should not actually be installed today. It'll be far easier to install the tile once the trim is in around the windows and doors and along the floor. (We did debate at length whether the wood trim used in the rest of the house should be used in the bathroom, or whether it'd be better to go with a ceramic quarter-round transition strip, but given that we have 2 windows and 2 doors in that bathroom, the tile guy felt that it'd look a lot better to use the wood baseboard to pull it all together.) I was concerned about getting the wall tile done quickly so that we could go ahead and install the toilets, but Jeremy assures me that it's no problem at all for us to go ahead and do that, and his team can simply turn off the water to them, unbolt them, and set them aside when they're ready to tile behind them -- all we'll need supply-wise extra to make that work will be 2 extra wax rings, which will run about $1 apiece.
The delay in installing wall tile may actually work to our advantage, since Don and I will now have the opportunity to arrange our little decorative tiles along the countertop to determine a) spacing (whether we want the decorative tiles separated by 2 plain tiles or 3) and b) preferred arrangement of which leaves go where, if any. I'm amused by our instructions to write it on the wall as we get it figured out. I know it'll get covered up by the tile as they install it, but *not* writing on the wall is something my mom ingrained pretty firmly in us as we were growing up, and it definitely wouldn't have occurred to me to do it that way!
The downstairs tile is nearly finished, and the grout was being done when I left this afternoon. I'm glad I was on hand, again, because it turned out that the downstairs closet wasn't included in their tiling diagram, and so they had left it out. They have enough leftover tile to install the closet floor as well, though, they said, provided it was ok with me to use a straight-tile pattern rather than hopscotch, which I assured them it was. They'll go ahead and add that either this afternoon or when they come back tomorrow to finish the tilework.
Pictures of tile to follow soon.
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