28 April 2016

Tim, Kaleb, and Matt continued preping and priming the basement door trim and walls.  Sean came by first thing to inspect recent work and talk about next steps.  Sonny and Brandon used my planer to make stock for the doorway thresholds throughout the house. We’re planning to make those thresholds from the rough cut maple lumber that Toby Rheaume created for me back in September 2010 out of the triple maple tree that we took down next to the driveway.  Unfortunately (or not… depends on your perspective) there is quite a bit of color variation in the wood.  The Sonny and Brandon camp think that may make the lumber unsuitable for thresholds; the Doug camp thinks the color variation adds beaucoup character to the wood.  The Chree camp thinks we should try a dark stain, so guess what we’re going to do?  After the maple was planed and cut into lengths, Sonny and Brandon went back to installing baseboards, finishing the upper hallway and half bath.  Tom finished grouting the entry hall, foyer, wine cellar nook, cedar closet, and master bath floor (all of which look gorgeous).  Tom also reinstalled the master bath shower floor tiles; hopefully third time’s a charm.  Ron Highter, from Highter Custom Building & Cabinetry, came by right after lunch to scope out the custom cabinets we want him to build.  Those include: an enclosure for the living room television; a cabinet above the wood bin to house the router and DVR, plus some shelves above that cabinet; a writing surface, drawer, and shelves in the kitchen; and a cabinet below the glass knick knack shelves in the upper hallway.  In amongst all those goings-on, Chree and I put the second coat of polyurethane on the second side of the first batch of interior doors.  I also spent a couple of hours attending the three COMCAST technicians who were fixing (for the second time this week) the telephone system at Kate’s house.  Oh, and the Orkin guy stopped by for his bimonthly visit.