This week was a mix of progress and frustration.

The slat railing was installed this week. They started with the balcony hand rail which ended up looking great. They welded a piece of steel which was fastened to both walls and then an ash wall piece was installed on the small wall section below the balcony area. Then they attached the slats to the supports, with the top piece being routed out to completely hide the metal support piece. The result is an immensely strong handrail that looks fantastic.

The slat wall feature was also installed. Despite the team grousing about “hidden fasteners” the end result spoke for itself with the illusion of slats emerging from the ceiling and disappearing into the bench. There is worry about the wood twisting and warping over time but it is wood and likely do that that – the real question is how long is the timeline for that warping? For an airtight house with temperature and environmental control, I am hoping that process happens very slowly, if at all.

But the damp Vermont summer has had one profoundly problematic effect which we didn’t expect. The problem was that the doors, which were once hung and fitted to exact sizes, have absorbed moisture in the garage (which is a dry garage but very humid due to this summer’s wet weather). I don’t think any of the doors fit anymore so the builder has installed a dehumidifier in the house to see if a less-humid environment fixes the issue.

We have a date of late September to get the granite countertops so we are using that as a pivotal date in the schedule. It will allow the plumbing, tiling, and many other aspects to conclude once they are installed. It triggered us to start the appliance delivery process which should arrive the week before the countertops. Unfortunately, now the glass for the bathrooms is a gating factor since they expect them to take five weeks to complete and deliver – a week AFTER the countertops are installed.

The summer porch has been mostly completed with the floors sanded and finished this past week. They are going to put one more coat on it next week and then they are going to block it off so its not ruined by work shoes or tools.

This week, the hope is that the last remaining pieces of baseboard are installed, caulked and painted. Then the electrical outlets and lights get installed and a fair number of rooms can be sealed off until move-in. That would include the extra room, H’s room, main bedroom, library and heated storage. There are some details to complete on the slats like removing the dowels that hide the screw holes and finishing them. Hopefully we see the door issues solved as well as installing the door hardware.

The office desk is underway and should complete this week. Except for a few details, the mudroom should finish this week. They can install the butcherblock countertop in the pantry because that arrived last week. We also have the ash wall that is to be installed as you enter from the breezeway.

Getting all of these things sorted out and completed will be important this week because I suspect that one or two sofas will be delivered soon including a large sectional for the main living space. We ordered it back in May expecting us to be fully in the house by the end of August so, since that isn’t happening, we’ll just have to work around it. With the pandemic getting worse, I want to get everything on site as fast as possible.