The Master Bath Takes Shape

The stone was also delivered for the Master Bath.

The floor of the shower is a single piece of Cosmic Black Wave. The same material is on the bath countertop and goes up the wall on either side of what will be a mirror. The stone rocks! What you can't see is that it has texture. Instead of being smooth it has some waviness. I like it more than I thought I would. Now a back-story....

I got a call a couple of weeks ago that the stone I had chosen was not available. They had stone, but it wasn't in sizes to allow installation without seams. It could be found, but would put the time-line to completion in jeopardy. But I loved the stone chosen, it was called "Black Wave". So, Jeff Troch as Design Surfaces says they have a similar stone in stock called "Cosmic Black Wave". I could come out and see it to decide if it would work. Well, scrambling around between work meetings, 2 trips to Raleigh, and the above is the result. I think I might like this stone better. But, it's one of those decisions that without each piece side-by-side, I don't have a clue.

Outlook: Showers Expected

The master bath and shower begin to take shape. A few weeks ago I showed the massive skylight going in above the shower. Now that the walls are going in you can get the whole view.

The framing at the top defines the entire bathroom space, with the framing at the bottom showing where the shower will be. On the left wall will be bathroom cabinets/mirror/sinks/lights. The doorway in the middle will be to the toilet (left as you walk in) and linen closet (right as you walk in).

On the wall in the shower space you see some plumbing rough-ins. The top one will be a shower head, and the 2 below will be controls for the shower heads; one for the "normal" shower head and the other for the rain head.

The walls around the shower will be glass. I think. We're still negotiating with vendors on price and as you know, this may change the design.

For what it is worth: this week the Triangle has seen 4"+ of rain and winds gusting to near 40 mph because of Tropical Storm Ida. I would not be using the rain head this week.....

Skylight, Sky Bright

Here's a view of the skylight above the master shower. That is the skylight, not just a hole. The skylight is clear so the clouds, or voyeurs, can be seen plainly.

The pipe will one day accommodate the rain head. On a cloudy day you can shower in the rain.......

Two floors become one

I really like this shot because it shows the relationship between both floors. On this floor is the closet on the left, bathroom/shower behind that and then utility closet on the right with the stairwell coming up to it.

In front of me is the loft opening to the second floor. I love the way you can see the entire space.

The windows are set to come in this week, as are the stairs up to the roof. Following that will be the roof-structure which will finally dry the place in. Southern thunderstorms drive me crazy knowing the rain is soaking my new (old) floors.

Framing: The Design Takes Shape

David's framing work is moving along. It's excellent. It's exciting.

I'm standing here on the second floor near where the bathroom will be looking toward the front of the building. Above you see the suspended hallway; the stairwell up will be to the left of this photo, and the open loft cutout to the right.

The framing header that is going across the photo is a steel I beam with wood in the middle to frame against. The beam is attached to the walls with anchors that are bolted in.

The woodpile to the right is material to be reused.

Below is another view but now from the 3rd floor (same back wall but now opposite corner). Here David is walking across the hallway; stairs will be to his left. Stairs up to this floor is the opening below his feet. Notice above, a framing structure where he is beginning to frame the opening to the rooftop. I think it's gonna be real cool having stairs stacked. The view from the top clear to the bottom will be very excellent.

Note, the new floor joist you see were required because the old stairwell used to come up here. So, the need to frame that opening, and non-code framing from before required completely new framing to go in. Every other joist will have another attached to it making the floors more rigid.