River House Diary

We had the formal turning over of the house keys ceremony yesterday. We received a lot of nice parting gifts but this one was our favorite. Every once in a while we would receive a credit for something in the contract we decided not to do. Of course, the credits always went towards covering my overages much to Pete’s chagrin. He kept telling TAB he wanted his credits in “dead American presidents.” And he finally got his wish! Dead presidents refund; personal collection

We walked-through the the house earlier today with Andy and Jane and created a punch list of small items that need to be finished or corrected. Overall, we are extremely pleased with how the house turned out. Master bath; personal collection

The no-see-um railings I love so much caused us to flunk the county inspection required to receive our certificate of occupancy. The fabricators were at River House correcting what turned out to be a minor issue due to a wrong measurement. And we received our certificate late yesterday. That sets off a chain of events — bank makes the final payment to our builder, our builder’s risk insurance policy gets converted to a homeowner’s policy. All that activity made Pete very happy. It means we are closer to getting our hands on the keys to the house. But for me, I got happy seeing so many pretty plants. Front foundation landscape; personal collection

No-see-ums aren’t always insects. Sometimes they are porch railings. Our builder designed these railings to impede the view of the river as little as possible. They were fabricated by American Marine & Fabricators in New Bern. The railings were powder coated RAL 5009 Azure Blue and the cables are stainless steel. Screen porch railings; personal collection

As a cost savings measure we chose to go with a stucco foundation instead of one faced with brick or stone. I very much wanted to use tabby concrete , but apparently it is a lost art as our builder couldn’t Locate any cement contractors that knew how to make and apply it. We chose the Driftwood color for the final finish coat of stucco and it was applied last week while the hardwood floors were being stained. Foundation stucco applied Saturday; personal collection

Our kitchen appliances were installed earlier this week. It’s starting to look like a kitchen now. The Thermador columns without their skins look like something my brother’s custom refrigeration company would make. Refrigerator, freezer and wine chiller; personal collection I very much wanted the microwave above the double ovens but the cabinet designer was having none of it. I imagine for safety reasons. Wall ovens; personal collection Microwave and dishwasher in the island; personal collection

Yesterday installers from SCREENEZE positioned the screening for our rear porch. It’s amazing to me the screens require no other support than shown here. We’d have an unobstructed view of the river if we didn’t need railing as required by code for safety. Screening for the rear porch; personal collection

The painters finished up Monday and all the protective plastic is gone so we had a chance to see how the master bathroom was coming together. We love how all the tile works together to evoke sand and shells of the coast in a calm, tranquil spa retreat. Master bath shower; personal collection Master bath vanity; personal collection

Zuniga Interiors recommended the tongue-and-groove ceilings in the kitchen and foyer and the great room ceiling beams be stained a light wood like Hallmark Floors Balboa Oak . And it is beautiful. But the yellow pine wood our builder used on the ceilings didn't look anything like that when stained with several different Minwax colors. So on to Plan B -- evoking the feel of an old southern porch with white trim and haint blue ceilings. Great room ceiling; personal collection The tongue-and-groove ceilings are stained with one coat of Minwax Simply White. We planned to stain the beams the same, but the wood absorbed the stain very unevenly. So we ended up painting them a custom Sherwin Williams blend to match Magnolia Home True White, which is what we used on all the trim in the house. The ceiling is Sherwin Williams 9054 Little Boy Blu but just 30 percent of the color.

The concrete crew worked Saturday afternoon to prepare the driveway for its concrete pour. Driveway before concrete pour; personal collection

I wanted a traditional mantel but it wasn’t to be and I am so glad I didn’t get one. I love the tile surround and the espresso stained chunky mantel. Finished fireplace; personal collection

I could not find a Minwax stain that looked like Hallmark Floors Balboa Oak on yellow pine wood for the tongue-and-groove ceilings in the foyer and kitchen and beams in the great room. We decided to whitewash the wood instead, using one coat of Minwax’s Simply White. The ceiling in the great room will be painted 50 percent of Sherwin Williams 9054, Little Boy Blu, hopefully evoking old southern porch ceilings. Kitchen ceiling; personal collection

Billowy Breeze — don’t you just love the names of paint colors. It’s Sherwin Williams 9055. Zuniga Interiors wanted us to paint only one wall two paint chips darker than this color as a feature wall, but we decided to paint the entire bedroom instead. Billowy Breeze; courtesy of Sherwin Williams This is how one coat looks on the walls of our master bedroom. Master bedroom wall color; personal collection

We changed our minds about the stain for the hardwood floors and went from Minwax Copper Brown to Minwax Sawyer. We’re looking for a medium brown with enough contrast from Espresso — the dark stain of the kitchen island, great room shelves and fireplace mantel — and no red, gold or orange undertone. They put one coat of stain on the floor before the appliances and plumbing fixtures are installed. One coat of Minwax Sawyer stain in half bath; personal collection

How not to make friends with your neighbors! Duke Progress Energy was digging a trench to bury the power line from the pole to the house and severed our neighbor’s irrigation system. Damaged irrigation pipe; personal collection

Since the lot slopes down to the river the screen porch steps are more complicated than the steps to the front porch. We decided to have a landing instead of a straight flight and have the steps from the landing to the ground descend parallel to the porch. That way, if we add a patio later, the steps won’t end in the middle of the patio, splitting it in two. Screen porch steps; personal collection From the screen porch; personal collection

We met with the landscaper Friday. That’s good news and bad news. The good news is thinking about landscaping means we’re near the end of the construction process. The bad news is the slope of the lot means there will be more costs associated with landscaping that are not in the contract. We’ve pretty much decided we need a retaining wall and the landscaper agreed. And we might as well build it now while we’re a construction zone rather tear things up later. So our mission Monday was to decide on pavers for the front walk and back patio and material to use to build a retaining wall. Belgard was recommended as they pretty much own the market down here. We learned we’re pretty open style wise, though everyone is suggesting Cambridge or Dublin Cobble based on the style of our house, but we think Savannah is the color. Belgard Dublin Cobble in Savannah; personal collection It’s more tan than I expected but has a bit of blue in the stone. It wasn’t the color I thought we’d choose...

They built the steps to the front porch yesterday. This is when choosing a brick clad foundation instead of stucco would have made deciding how to design the steps much easier. I’m not convinced I like the simple wood steps but will wait and see. Front steps; personal collection

Neither the county or the water company, who owns the sewer line, knew exactly where it was, which made tapping into It an interesting proposition. Our contractor was afraid it was so far under the road, digging to it may collapse the road — something none of us wanted! But they finally found it and were able to successfully connect our sewer collection box to the main line. The water company that provides sewer service to our community is privately owned and they have been “interesting” to deal with — not knowing where the sewer main was located or even its size were just additional examples of their casual attitude toward customer service. Digging for the sewer main; personal collection

The painters spent last week prepping the interior for paint. I can't wait to see what it will look after they are finished. Now, if I could only decide on the stain color for the tongue-and-groove ceilings. Kitchen prepped for paint; personal collection Great room prepped for paint; personal collection