The Loft Floor

This is a direct continuation of last week's pictures - the mudroom bathroom. Andy and Chris cut and installed the slate this week. This is the first half of the room done.The rest of the tiles are in place, with the grout yet to be done.
The grout is done but not totally cleaned up in this picture, and the rest of the mudroom floor has been primed for the mortar and wonderboard. We would like to install the tile in the rest of the room this coming week.
Andy routering (yes, Russell, I know that's not a word) one of the panels for the kitchen. We chose a Bosch router that has a fixed and a plunge base. It is a wonderful machine to use. Stable, smooth, and reliable. We're glad to have a project that required its purchase. :)
The current view of the kitchen, as seen from the loft. It's a mess, I know. The only excuse is lack of time - we'll make things orderly later. This is propped up in place so the plumber can see where things will be installed. Based on this mock-up, he should be able to drill holes in the floor and our cabinets, run the pex needed, and do all the rest he has to do. We are using 3/4" birch plywood for most of the carcasses, but anywhere a wall will be visible we will use 3/4" cherry ply. The faces and doors will be cherry hardwood. Since the countertop will be a very heavy concrete slab, we chose to double up the verticals wherever possible. We want the load of the top distributed evenly around a solid base.

Karen working on the bathroom vanities. She experimented with some sanding and some stain, but I think we'll end up painting these. The stain of the floor is a very rich color, and the room will probably look best without too many contrasting grain patterns.
The loft is the most empty room in the house right now, so Chris brought some work up there during the week, too.
Snowing in the house again? Mindy was sanding the floor to prepare for the tung oil, and the flash on the camera does funny things with the sawdust in the air. Eli enjoys his window seat.See? Mindy is still sanding. In the winter months, the sunlight will shine well into the house, but it looks beautiful all year round. The well-lit south wall is one of our favorite features of the house.
The loft as seen from the living room. Nice straight rails, and it feels good to have the room closed off up there. We haven't heard for sure if we'll need to install electric outlets along the loft walls. We should find out this week when the electrical inspection takes place.
Two coats of tung oil are down on the floor at this point. It makes for a warm, inviting surface.
Even with just a few dim bulbs on in the house, the windows really light up. When one light is on, we'll be able to walk around the entire upstairs part of the house - with no walls, everything carries between the rooms. Light, sound... yes, I think it will always be a noisy, happy house.
This view hasn't changed too much. The doors are painted, the rear latch is installed... but that's about it. The grey cube is the Osburn woodstove we picked out, and the blue monolith is the refrigerator. These two things are too heavy to move very often, and they would just be in the way if we brought them inside. They'll be ok out here for a little bit, but we'll be glad to get them in and put them to use.