This House Has Guts

While we were on a fabulous vacation out west (pictures here), the house got some guts.  The plumber, electrician, and HVAC (heating and cooling) subs were able to get in and rough-in all of the connections.  Thanks to our friends Kevin and Alison for taking these great pictures and keeping us up to speed while we were away.

Solar tube in the kids' bath surrounded by insulated air ducts.  The A/C vents will be in the ceiling because (a) there's more room for them there than under the second story floor, and (b) cool air sinks and hot air rises so cooling will be more efficient with the vents in the ceiling.

Plumbing rough-in for the master vanity (which will have two sinks).  How cool to be able to use spray paint to write reminders on your office floor!

Plumbing rough-in for the kids' bath and the installed bath (right).  The bath and wall surround are made of Vikrell, a new material from Kohler.  We're giving it a shot because it got great reviews on strength and durability and it saved us a couple hundred bucks over a cast iron tub and much more over a tiled wall.  And, of course, we will be installing low-flow shower heads (1.5 gallons per minute) and toilets (1.28 gallons per flush) to reduce water consumption.  If I had my way, we would have composting toilets, but Arlington County hasn't deemed them acceptable...yet.

Rough-in for the master toilet and installed master shower.  We used a Kohler Vikrell shower stall here too.  The name of the line is Sterling.

Rough-in for recessed lights in the family room.  We realized one row of lights was too close to the kitchen so they'll have to be moved further into the family room [crosses fingers for cheap change order].

Within the next week or so, the house should be ready for its drywall.  The kitchen cabinets arrived yesterday and just about all the finishes are on site now.  Once the drywall is up, the floors will go in and the cabinets and vanities will be installed.  Rolling right along!