Theatre Room

Alright, I guess I'll use this blog now to document any home improvements :-) I originally didn't fully finish our Theatre room in the basement.  It's conditioned and all, but I never built the stadium seating or put in proper flooring.  Well, that project starts now...

The seating will actually have a double decker platform for a couch, and then movie seats in front.  I've just started to build out the first step of the platform...

Pressure treated wood used, and sill seal under to buffer any imperfections in the wood.

Put down a barrier so moisture so can't get into the insulation.

Insulation to buffer any sound reverberation since when done, the room will have pretty loud sounds system :-)

And gluing and screwing down the decking...

The house in Fall

I thought I'd follow up with a quick post.  We've been happily living in the new home for several months now, and the kids have managed to make a mess of things :)  We are very happy with how things turned out.  As most projects, a lot of little things have dragged on, but for the most part we are settled.

Here is a quick picture of the house in the fall after most of the leaves have fallen...

That's a Wrap!

Almost anyway :)  We still have small things to do, like install the mailbox :)  But this will be my last blog post.  We move in this week ready or not.  It's been a difficult year.  The hardest year of my life by far, and I'm not exaggerating.  But as they say, it is what it is... time to turn to the next chapter!

Final Pics Before Move In!

Some of the latest shots, still some clean up to do on the windows, etc. but we are about to finally move in!

Cable Service

Now have cable service, and the ethernet lines I ran worked!  The cable guy said "this is one of the best panels I've seen" ;-)

Landscaping Finished

Done, and looks great!

Phone Service

What a relief to hear that dial tone for the first time, I guess I didn't screw up the LV wiring in the house :)

Low Voltage Continued

Completed as much as I can before the cable and phone company show up tomorrow (hopefully) to connect up service.  We'll move our DirecTV when we actually move officially...

Shutters

We actually had shutters installed a couple weeks ago, but they screwed up and put in the wrong size.  These look much better now ;-)

Also a simple irrigation system is being installed for all the new plant beds

And an update on the low voltage wiring closet

Low Voltage Wiring

And I thought I was close to done, hell no! :)  Making good progress on LV wiring, have all 21 faceplates configured and capped now...

And making a big dent in the wiring closet in the basement.  All 21 lines bundle 4 wires (2 coax, 2 cat 5e), and each cat 5e has 4 twisted pair (8 wires).  This shit takes forever!

Landscaping Continued 2

Almost done, just a few more things remaining like the brick cap on the wall, and decorative gravel on the driveway...

Landscaping Continued

Almost there!

Certificate of Occupancy!

2 weeks ago I had the inspector out for a final punch list, and this week he came back and checked everything.  Passed!

I wish this was the end of it, but it's not.  Still a lot of remaining smaller stuff to finish that wasn't critical to the CO.

Landscaping Plants

Seeding with erosion control and plants...

He's Back!

Last year I got quite a surprise when a poisonous copperhead snake was hiding under a big piece of lumber I picked up.

Today, it happened again, although this time he was coiled up under a hose and I actually grabbed him as I went to pick up the hose.  Luckily when I realized it felt squishy I immediately released and backed off, and yep, there he was staring at me.

I must have startled him as much as it startled me, because he didn't start trying to bite right away when I started to pick him up.  This time however, I couldn't let him go with the kids moving in soon, can't have a poisonous snake around!

Mirrors and Fireplace

I hung one of the big mirrors, and the boys' J/J bathroom mirror was installed...

Also fired up the fireplace for the first time and installed the surrounding faceplate trim...