Tough Wearing Concrete Floor

We continue to make progress on the mudroom and this week we finished up a crucial milestone - the floor.  We want something really, really durable.  We're assuming this will be the primary entrance for the owners.  So while this is the door to come through every time they arrive home, it will also be the one they use to come back up from the beach - with sandy feet and paws!  And sand really takes its toll on a floor.

So, we called Dave from Concrete Prescriptions and asked his advice.  He suggested we acid etch the floor.  It gives a mottled, marbleized look with a high gloss finish.  This is the first time we've tried this approach, so I was really curious to see how it was done.

First step, the entire surface needs to be ground down to remove the top layer of concrete.  This will allow the surface to be more uniform and porous - much better to absorb the acid & dye!  Dave uses a diamond wheel for grinding and quickly had a bucket full of concrete dust that was vacuumed off the surface.



Once the grinding is complete, the area is masked off and he was ready to start!

Here's what it looks like after the acid etch step.  I have to admit, I was a bit underwhelmed.  But Dave assured me the color really comes up during the glazing process.  

But before that, he adds a caramel colored dye.  With an acetone base, it dries quickly and we start to see the mottled effect.  

Dave let the entire floor cure for a few days.  It's important for it to be completely dry, otherwise the final glaze will have a milky appearance.

The unglazed floor is pretty cool looking.  I really like the mottled colors.  That will help give it that marbleized appearance.














And the finished floor looks great!  It's got a nice sheen (all the contractors that start to walk through think that it's still wet!) that adds to the depth of the finish.  It's an urban, industrial kind of look.  And best of all, it's ready to take any kind of abuse the new owners can give it.

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Reclaimed Wood Vanity

For the upstairs hall bathroom, we didn't want to install the typical, boring vanity.  We were looking for something a little more interesting.

Pottery Barn Mason Vanity

So, I was pretty excited when I found this cabinet at the Pottery Barn outlet.  It's the base of a very expensive vanity they make, and while I like the wood base, I wasn't really crazy about the big chunky ceramic top.  So it didn't bother me that it didn't come with the cabinet.  Plus, it made for a major discount!

Instead, we have this sink top that was in the downstairs bathroom.  I really like the clean lines and practicality of it - and thought it would be great if we could reuse it.

So Kyle, from Waterhouse Builders, got to work creating a reclaimed wood vanity top, to support the sink top.  He started with some old timber joists and after cleaning them up a bit, created a 'picture frame' top, to maximize the patina edges.

Old Growth Wood Joists

He biscuited the pieces and then used Kreg screws to really tie it all together. This thing is solid!!!!











Next, it got a light sanding to take off the really rough edges, while leaving the beauty of the saw marks and aged wood.

1st Fit Up

Finally, we're applying 7 coats of polyurethane, to give it a tough protective finish.  Once that's done, it's ready for the top and faucet.  Can't wait to get it installed!  What do you think?

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The Beauty of Hardwood Floors

We were very lucky to have red oak flooring on the first floor of the Beach Cottage.  But after removing several walls and adding a new second story, there was a lot of work to be done to have beautiful hardwood throughout the house.  The first floor was particularly difficult, because the old kitchen floor had to be completely removed and the walls that we eliminated created a challenge of patching old and new.

That's why we were thrilled when the team from Peter's Hardwood floors came to do all the floor work. Thankfully, they were up to the task!  And to make it extra challenging, we didn't have any old flooring left over to mix in where the walls were removed.  So Minh and his team had to weave in the old and new wood to create this seamless floor.  Can you tell where the walls were removed?  Doesn't it look fabulous?

Cutting in the old flooring to weave old with new

There was a wall here…..can you tell????

Sanding the new kitchen floor

Of course the kitchen had to be all new oak.  And the guys did the same great job seamlessly integrating old with new!

Upstairs, they started with this mountain of flooring and quickly installed it throughout the 2nd floor.  Somehow, this new flooring just makes the whole space seem even larger and more unified.

They applied 3 coats of finish to create a tough surface that will last for many years to come.















And the result?  Well, we're just thrilled with how they look!

Living Room & Kitchen

Don't worry…..we're going to redo the stairs!

Master Bedroom

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Buy Local - Sometimes Really Local!

There are so many headlines about the lack of manufacturing in the US, I always find it interesting to see how many of the products we've used are made here in the USA.    As you'll see below, there are some big budget items!  And when you combine that spending with all of the local craftsman we use, it's quickly apparent that the majority of our spending is here in the US - and a lot in Maine.

Don't you love the name and flag stamp?

So let's start with products that come from right here in Maine:

Plum Creek is one of the largest landowners in Maine and has a huge timber management business.  So, much of wood in this house was not only manufactured here, it was grown here as well!




The cement that we used is from Dragon Products Company in Thomaston, Maine

The Martha Stewart kitchen cabinets are made in North Carolina.   They are also certified as part of the KCMA (Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association) Environmental Stewardship Program.

All those new windows - manufactured here in the US.  That cool Cedar Impressions siding?  McPherson, Kansas! 

The white subway tile that we'll use in the bathrooms and kitchen is US made.

The beautiful new Viatera quartz countertops were manufactured in Adairsville, Georgia

The miles of insulation we used - yup, made in the USA

See this mountain of flooring that's getting installed this week?  You guessed it.  Another US product - grown and manufactured in Tennessee!  

All of our new doors come from the US as well.

As you look at the big percentage of products for this house that were manufactured in the US, it makes you realize how big an impact the housing bubble and the subsequent drop in real estate had on our economy.  Obviously, this is just one house.  But think about how few houses have been built/renovated in the last few years and how that impacted US jobs.  Isn't it nice to know that they're all rebounding?  And it kind of makes us proud to be doing our part to help!

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The George Jetson Toilet

I'm really looking forward to getting rid of the blue toilet in the downstairs bathroom.  But I hadn't come up with a concrete plan for what to do in there, once it was gone.  I have a nice wood vanity in the storage facility that would fit and thought a white (aka boring) toilet would be fine.

And then, last week, I got a call from Heather at the local plumbing supply store, telling me they were having a floor sample sale and that I needed to come in right away and take a look.



Well, I can never pass up a big sale, so I was there about 15 minutes later.  And I found this Toto suite with toilet, sink, faucets and towel racks.  Even on sale, it was way above my usual price range (the toilet alone retails for over $900), but I really loved it.  It was the perfect blend of traditional and contemporary, with its curved sleek lines.  And frankly, the toilet made me think of George Jetson.

Now, some of you are probably too young to remember watching the Jetsons.  But they were a staple of my childhood and I always loved the contemporary styling used in the show(of course I thought we'd all have a Rosie the Robot to clean our houses by now).

And as I started doing a little research on Toto, I discovered people are FANATICAL about their Toto toilets.  They love them.  And not just a little bit.  They throw 'burn the plunger' parties when they install them.  Seriously, with guests and food and drink (but they point out that they really don't get to test them until the next day).  Odd idea for a party, but they obviously enjoyed themselves.  And I was so intrigued, I've decided we need to have Toto toilets throughout the house.  I'm curious.  Do you have experience with a Toto toilet?

But this also meant we had to redo the plumbing (to accommodate the pedestal sink) and needed a new tile scheme.  I found this great plank style marble flooring.  With the clean, contemporary lines of the fixtures, I loved the juxtaposition of the new and the old.

We haven't really started this bathroom yet - it's the only one that works and we don't want to decommission it until one of the upstairs bathrooms is in working order.  But I can't wait to get started!

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Beach Cottage: Kitchen Update

There's been lots of progress in the kitchen the last few weeks and I thought it might be time to share a quick peek.  You might remember the floor plan from our previous post. And now, it's starting to become a reality!

The first step was rewiring the space.  That meant tearing all the walls open (but that also provided the opportunity to add more insulation).  We needed all new GFCI electrical outlets as well as lots of lighting.  Lighting comes from multiple sources:  recessed cans, island pendants, under counter lighting and in cabinet lighting.  It's going to be pretty dramatic when we get it all hooked up!.

The next step was flooring.  There were 3 different flooring types in the old kitchen - fir, barn board and plywood - all covered with multiple layers of vinyl.  Obviously, we needed to change that!  We have red oak throughout the rest of the first floor and wanted to seamlessly blend new oak with the old.  The guys did a great job tying it all together.  Once it was in place, we covered it up to keep it safe during the rest of the construction process.

The Starting Point!

Now that the wall has been removed between the living room and kitchen, this space is completely open and it's amazing how light and bright the space is!











The team from Waterhouse Builders quickly got to work.  The giant stainless steel farmhouse sink is looking gorgeous already!

Mike Backman - Waterhouse Builders

Once the upper cabinets were up, they started the exacting work of installing the crown molding.  It's a tricky process, because we're using a complex build up of intricate molding to add lots of definition.   And we're thrilled with how it's coming out!

'Didn't she want the island centered under the lights?'

The next step was countertops.   The countertop pattern was created with a paperless laser system.  The countertops are made of quartz and are difficult to modify on site.  So it's important that the template be completely accurate.  This is the first time we've used quartz and I love that it needs no maintenance and is incredibly scratch resistant.  The color we've used is Wildwood and it's a great blend of brown, cream and black.  What a striking contrast to the white cabinets.

There is a two week wait for fabrication, but this morning they came back to install the countertops.  LOVE them!!

For the island, we wanted to warm up the space, so we're using a butcher block top.  There's something about glowing wood tones in a kitchen that just makes the space seem 'homey'.  We will shape the edges to give it a little more style and had fun playing with placement for the stools!

There's still more to do.  I get to install the beautiful tile backsplash and then the vent hood can be mounted.  Of course everything needs to be painted.  And then finally, the light fixtures will be installed.  

So we've not done yet, but what do you think so far?

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