illini- Assuming they aren't 3 way switches, you can take the plate off, unscrew the switch, flip it around, screw it back in, and put the plate back on. A very easy fix. If they are 3 ways, then whether the light is off or on depends on what the other switch is doing. So down won't always be off.

Yes they are 3 way but even try I to correct them at the other location it won't correct. I think one location has them correct and the other doesn't such that both locations can never be correct at the same time.

This post was edited by illinigirl on Sat, Jun 28, 14 at 20:40

JDez-we lost by 1 and our season is complete. Very close evenly matched teams all week. Good luck, that is incredibly long for the boys. You are gonna be one tired cookie come Monday.

Illini-I think if they are off then both could be in the down position but when you turn the light on one of them will always be wrong. It drove me nuts at our last house (the stairwell light) as I always wanted the main one at the top to be in the correct position for the light but it wasn't always if someone flipped the one at the bottom of the stairs. I would often flip them both then to make it 'right'. It was futile but it made me feel better. ;)

Oops, I already posted this. 3 way switches will always have one going the wrong way.

This post was edited by amberm145 on Sat, Jun 28, 14 at 23:09

lol I just checked the three ways I have in my current home. One is always wrong too. I think I'm just used to it where in the new house I'm not used to the switches at all yet! I have a number of 4gangs in the new house so there will be a lot of learning to do. Not to mention that I have some lights controlled by switches in 3 different locations (island pendants, great room cans, lower level hall lights).

Anyways quick update: driveway poured yesterday. Appliances to be delivered Monday. wheee. appliances are FUN!

JDEZ, what is your rough move in date/time frame?

illinigirl, we have quite a few 3-way switches. We had them in our last house. Hopefully, you'll get used to them. :-) I told DH I was going to put small labels on each of our switches until we get used to which goes to which thing. Most areas have three switches. However, I do have a 5-run and a 4-run. We have the decora light paddles. DH said Nooooo. That's for old people who can't remember things. Duh, that's us!!

Just now getting my plate covers in the mail, UPS and FedEx. They are coming in piecemeal from Amazon. That would be a good drone delivery item!
These covers are sold at Lowe's but my electrical contractor swore up and down that he couldn't find them. So I ordered them from Amazon... a little cheaper. Hoosier, alas- I have only one 4 "gang". Bunches of the 3 gangs though.
Found one of the electricians putting the wrong plate covers on the baseboards and stopped him. We have wood baseboard plates stained to match the baseboards and he was using brown plastic plates. So I am finding I really need to be around during the weekdays. Missed my dishwasher delivery once already... I suspect they can't find the house:-) Even with GPS, it is hard to locate because it practically sits on a dam, and maps show a road across the dam where there is none.

Tile is coming along, and I wanted to wait until this was finished to show it- but we need some pics, so here is my (very) dirty herringbone foyer entry. One of my favorite things in the house.

From the front to the back door-

Line of sight from the new driveway goes through the arch (speakeasy door is open and in the way in the pic)... through the double front door, down the herringbone all the way to the outdoor fireplace. With doors opened, the sight line goes all the way through to the back.

Musicgal, beautiful! Absolutely gorgeous from the line of sight. I showed DH your driveway and asked if we could do that stamping since yours is so attractive. He said we could ask the concrete guy. But, DD said it would cost much more than we budgeted. We have a very long driveway. So, not gonna happen. Besides, we weren't doing a concrete drive in the first place when we started building and then changed our mind. So, I'll be happy with just getting a concrete driveway. :-)

Hoosier- we really debated the complete stamping of the driveway, but since we unfortunately were forced by the lot and the back view to have a front facing garage- we decided to try to make our snippet of concrete as nice as possible.
One of the options we tossed around that might work dollarwise is only stamping the skirt of the drive... the part that goes in from the street to the drive. That is done a lot around here in high end subdivisions and it is a very nice look without too much additional cost. The guys have to pour a skirt anyway... here's a pic of one.

Musicgal-beautiful! Your home has so many details that make it your own, looks cozy and draws you in....sly like a fox. ;)

I have a couple of 4 gang and yes I do still flip flip flip sometimes to find the right one!!! All in due time. :)

Illini-I have that same thing where we had a new 3 way done in the old house and I kept telling dh it was wrong all the while not realizing others we had from the start were like that with one that was always in the opposite direction of the light! Ohhhh appliances-that IS fun! Tagging on to kitchen talk, one of my FAV things is that my knives and cutting boards are both in the same drawer bank by the sink and trash. Super easy point of use!

We have been in 5 weeks and today, finally, we have spent the afternoon sitting outside on the covered porch relaxing-enjoying the summer breeze. Heavenly....

We will be back at it tomorrow, but I will take today for all it has been. :D

musicgal - I'm going to contact your trim carpenter. But I want to tell him who referred me! Will he know who you are if I say "musicgal from gardenweb gave me your number..." or you could email me privately with your name so I could tell him :) thx!

Carson- I emailed you my secret name;-) It won't come as a complete shock to him. I told him that people like his work on GW. He doesn't have an email... very old school.

This post was edited by musicgal on Sun, Jun 29, 14 at 21:28

Illini - We don't have a move in date yet. We were supposed to move in sometime in May but that didn't happen....lol.

Baseball is over this year. Here is a pic of DS. I thought he was blowing me a kiss BUT.....no, he said he was whistling.

Hi, all. Sorry I've been MIA. I didn't realize it had been so long! Everyone's progress is amazing, and I just don't feel like I have anything to contribute. Don't read on unless you want to hear a rant. I'm feeling a bit down in the dumps- in fact, I'm outright frumpy :(

There isn't a whole lot going on, just a little bit here and there. The good stuff: our doors and windows are in, for the most part. Stairs for the upstairs were installed so we finally got to see the second level. Some of the inside stuff is framed in (closets and kitchen island) so the layout is starting to piece together. They poured the concrete for our porch, front stoop and garage.

But it seems like every time they come out to do something, they damage something else. Two windows are busted, another is scratched, door frames are gouged because they forced something through, both doors are dented, one of the sets of stairs was dropped and busted, etc etc. Oh, and there's trash and cigarette butts everywhere. My builder came in and posted signs about trash and no smoking, and per OHSHA regulations we are not allowed on the property without an escort until we sign, so I'm sure we're just not supposed to see it until everything's shiny and prettied up... but we ARE seeing it and it just seems so sad and broken. No one's bothered to sweep up the glass, they just walk through it, and there's a dead mouse as you walk in the front door. They are going to fix all of that before we sign, I know, but... I mean, wouldn't it be better to just take care of the stuff now rather than have to repair/replace it later?

It doesn't help that none of the work they said would be completed in the last two weeks (house completely dried in, plumbing and electric started so we could do our first walk-through, all the stairs installed, then drywall started) has even been started. Sigh.

Lady Browncoat, I feel your pain! I have been MIA too, for way longer than I realized (a month???), because nothing has been happening on the house and it is so depressing I had to think about other things. We were stuck after drywall for five weeks because of the painters' scheduling. WTH??!!!! We watched our July 1st deadline drift away, and now we may not even close in July at all. Wah!!!! I know it'll happen someday, but hubby is a teacher starting August 11th, so we REALLY want to move during summer.

I have read through EVERY post, and looked at EVERY gorgeous picture, and it is so exciting that so many of you are close to finishing at the same time.
Just a few comments I made as I went along, although I'd love to comment on everything:

Musicgal, I LOVE your secret doorways. IâÂÂm sure the grandkids will just adore your house. Is that lazy gray in your master bathroom? I did lazy gray in the master as well, and it is much darker and grayer than I was anticipating. It does look very blue in your pic! How are the solar tubes in your drop zone? I have a dark laundry room and hallway and IâÂÂm very seriously thinking of adding some after closing.
JDez, love that heated/cooled storage room. So nice. Here in Florida we donâÂÂt have basements, which I am used to growing up in Michigan. My next house I build I am definitely doing that. :-) Hopefully not for at least a decade though. â¦

Robyn, I LOVE that Brazilian White for your counter top. So amazing. I would ditch any backsplash in a heartbeat for that. It will be the center piece of your kitchen. What a great find.

And for us.... FINALLY some things happening, but with a comedy of errors as well, of course. They painted the boy's room pink and the girl's room apple green. They messed up the order of cabinets on the peninsula, the master bath countertop has the wrong finish, ect. ect. Oh, and whoever did the plumbing for the master vanity put it so close to the doorway that it actually doesn't inside the vanity and must be moved over!!! More time wasted ....I must laugh or I will cry!!!! Um, actually I've gained almost five pounds in the last month so I must be eating my feelings!! :-)

BUT, we do have some paint done, some trim done, some doors installed, and the kitchen started .....

one more...

last one, for now . ...

Just heard through the grapevine that our interior doors are being installed right now. Woohoo!!! Can't wait to get off work and check that out.

JDez- what a cute little guy! And yay for the doors- you really start to feel your spaces when they go in.

ladybrowncoat- I know a lot about how you feel. Brick guys broke a window and I've found my alder doors flapping in the wind ar times. Wouldn't mind so much if they didn't have big glass panes:-/

It is easy to get depressed when you don't see any progress OR they break things- two steps forward, one step back. Skyangel, I am with you in the stress eating arena. Happily, I am back on the program now- though it's easy to say yes to comfort food when nothing seems to be going right.

We broke ground last July, and it's been a long haul. So, don't get too discouraged; we are all in the same boat- at the mercy of our contractor's schedules. Skyangel, the kitchen is really taking shape nicely. What a mixup with the paint in your kids' rooms!

That paint you asked about in the master bath that reads blueish... that is Morning Fog. Pulls blue bigtime in there because of the skylight. The lazy gray and the solatubes get along splendidly though. The effect is a coolish gray that I can put back and white photos of the family up against and have a great crisp look.

I'm finding that the errors we talk about.... well, some of them can be caught in time, and some just need a redo. I would say to watch your counter guys like a HAWK... or have someone hawklike watch them:-)

Lady and sky-not sure I ever posted it because I was so upset and nothing ever remedied it. Here are a couple of pics. I already had the decoration and strategically placed it to hide the ugly damage that no one claimed...kitchen window no less. For some reason I had this crazy idea that a new house would be perfect, pristine....not is that a laugh. It's good yes but I had to overlook things I never imagined would happen.

Cyber hugs...

My solution:

To something the opposite of lovely....see the chip in the window? :(

J-my boys would have been mortified at the thought that I could mistake them blowing me a kiss on the field, lol. That is awesome.

Skyangel-yay for pics and it looks great. Coming right along. Just keep at it. Read your cabinet woes, sounds like there is a solution{{gwi:807}} that will work nicely. :)

Two words....scratch coat! Woot woot!

This post was edited by Autumn.4 on Mon, Jun 30, 14 at 20:42

LadyB - I hope they make everything right very soon so that you'll feel better. Hang in there girl. It will all work out.

Skyangel - you hang in there too. You've made it this far without going off the deep end. Breathe in, breathe out.

Musicgal - beautiful floors. You started in July? I guess I shouldn't be complaining then...lol.

Autumn4 - I love your little sign. My front entry is pretty banged up. I'm hoping that a solid stain will hide it all. It's bad enough to have a chip in your new window, even worse that it's one you will be looking at often. I like your attitude though if it matches the saying on your flower sign.

Our doors are in. The door company sent one door that was not the right size. So, we have to order another one. Our guys mixed up two of the doors so that one door opens in to a closet and another opens against a wall where I am planning to put furniture. They said they will fix it though.

Now, on to the important stuff....Look at this cabinet pull. This is what I want! BUT, these are just under and right at $11 a piece everywhere I have found them. So, if any of you come across this baby and find them priced cheaper, please let me know.

Autumn4 - cross posting...Yay!! Finally hapnin' for ya! What's up with the posts at the entry? Did you have to wait for the thaw on those also?

EDIT: I almost forgot, I also received my pendant lights this afternoon from Etsy. LOVE LOVE LOVE them. And we got all of our door hardware too. LOVE LOVE LOVE them too.

This post was edited by JDez on Mon, Jun 30, 14 at 21:17

Try to stay focused on the positive, don't always succeed but at the end of the day life is pretty darn good, chipped window(and kids fiberglass shower) and all. What are ya going to do? It's not a perfect world.

Oh-those posts are to ensure that I stick around gardenweb for another YEAR... The cement there has a hairline crack in it that has grown a bit. Columns are on order but we aren't even sure we are going to put them in yet. Cement guy will stand behind his work but we don't want to have to tear out the columns if he is going to have to re-pour. I will keep an eye out for those pulls...they look familiar... Yay on the doors, hopefully a quick fix to give them a switcharoo.

Dh is outside covering up his work with tarps. Storm on its way. Geesh.

Keeps raining here too. Today and tomorrow are the only sunny days in the forecast. Bummer on the columns. I don't blame you for waiting.

EDIT: Ok, I have got to know...what happened to the kids fiberglass shower, Autumn.4?

This post was edited by JDez on Tue, Jul 1, 14 at 8:21

ladybrowncoat- I'm sorry, that sound so frustrating! Hope they get everything cleaned up and repaired good as new for you.

Autumn I know what you mean about everything being perfect forever- I wish! I have thought a couple of times the house is too nice to live in, lol. Like a cake too pretty to cut. But yes, life is life (with boys no less) and we will all get that first scratch on our floors, that first dent in the walls, etc. Although I don't know which is more frustrating- our own family doing it or someone else like your kitchen window trim. I'm glad you are enjoying your kitchen layout. :)

Not much to report on my end- appliances delivered but not all installed yet. They sent me a floor model dishwasher by mistake and I don't know what they are going to do about that. We ordered appliances back in FEBRUARY. Not acceptable. Still having major headaches over landscaping. We have like 1.8 acres and the house is set back probably 2/3 from the road and there are no wooded areas in the front of the house and we don't want all of that to be manicured/irrigated lawn so we are trying to figure out how to have some (around a half acre) of manicured lawn, and then some left in a natural (which is sort of prairie/tall grassy when left undisturbed) and still have it look good.

JDez, is that the Cliffside Artisan pull? The 3" is $8.53 at the atgstores (Lowe's) website, and I think you can get volume pricing.

This house completion may actually happen! Things are finally starting to fall in place.

These may not be the prettiest pictures, but they sure were a welcome sight to us today. Our excavator is here and digging the septic and going to finish our grading today.

Look at all these drainage pipes DH bought and laid out. We need major dirt for all the dips in the area between the house and pole barn. We are having a walkway poured from the back patio to pole barn, so need it level.

Gutter people are installing the correct downspouts this afternoon. HVAC is scheduled to finish up tomorrow. Electricians are scheduled to finish up Thursday and next Monday. Plumbing scheduled to finish next Tuesday. Carpet (in bedrooms) scheduled for next Weds. Colored concrete (walkway from garage to front porch and back patio) being poured next Weds. or Thursday. And, hopefully, cleaning people next Thursday or Friday. And, if we pass all the inspections, maybe we can start moving in on Saturday, July 12!!!!

Our driveway and the walkway from back patio to pole barn will be poured mid week of the 14th. So, we would probably like to move as much as possible over the 12th weekend and beginning of that week since we won't be able to drive on the driveway for a week.

We think we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

Hoosier- those big machines always look beautiful to me! Means something is getting done-

illini- Appliances. I've missed two deliveries because the drivers couldn't get me on the phone out in LackaCellaService, Tx. Best Buy rescheduled for.... the Fourth of July!?!?!? âÂÂâÂÂâ Huh? Slow deep breaths- in and out:)

illigirl, I am interested in your landscaping dilemma as well. We are on two acres, probably half an acre is woods in the back and to the right side. I was thinking of doing manicured lawn in the front lawn but just that will bust our budget. We are looking into various low growing natural ground covers for the backyard. Grass does not do well with excessive shade with a lot of trees. We need it to be drought resistant, somewhat soft underfoot, easy to mow, ect. And it is proving to be somewhat difficult! Have you come up with any natural grasses you like?

Hoosierbred, wow the end is in sight! So much to do still but sounds like itâÂÂll all get done. Awesome.

Musicgal, wow, that is a long journey. I guess I wonâÂÂt complain . . . yet. ;-) I did a sample of Morning Fog, and you are right it reads really light blue. We did one lower on the chip, Serious Gray, for the master closet and it looks awesome. I wanted gray with a hint of blue, and it was so hard to find one. I thought it was lazy gray, but in our bathroom (with no electric yet) it reads very gray, no blue. Maybe lights will help?

Autumn4, So did a trade nick the window and nobody claimed responsibility? Seems like builder would fix it, surely? I have two kids and I have no illusions the house will be perfect for more than say, an hour, but I do think itâÂÂs different when we break it, versus the builderâÂÂs people. I do love your décor, though. :) And the exterior of your house. Great color.

Thanks for the support on the cabinet issues. The KD has never heard of the solution of using the drawer fronts as filler overlays, so she said she would âÂÂthink on itâÂÂ. It seems like a logical and not to difficult solution to me, so IâÂÂm still crossing my fingers itâÂÂll work out.

JDez, thanks, I am trying to breathe deep! Have you shown your pendants from Etsy yet? I would love to see pics. I have bought a few things from there for my sonâÂÂs room, but maybe I should be looking for more house stuff there too!

We are going to order tile for the bathrooms today. Just got quotes on labor extras and yikes. Apparently changing from ceramic to porcelain is an upgrade, using 20" by 20" tiles instead of 18" by 18" is an upgrade, and doing a running bond pattern on shower walls and diamond on the floors is more too.... However, I love them and it'll be worth it. So I tell myself. Installation scheduled for July 16th.

speaking of, is it okay to do a running bond/brick joint pattern on the shower walls but diamond/diagonal on the floor? It would be a bit cheaper to do the running bond on the floor too. I am so exhausted from choice-overload that I have no idea!

Link to July 2014

Oh, thanks for starting the July thread. Oops. I forgot it was July!!! :-)