Tile and Porches

Here are a few more photos I took yesterday morning.  Dave has grouted all the tile in the entry, ground floor bath, mud room and half-bath, at the stove pad, and in the master bath upstairs.  This finishes off these floors — and eliminates one more item on the to-do list.  I had a choice here: sharply contrasting grout to make the tile "pop", or grout close to the color of the tile for a more even look.  I chose the latter in the bathrooms, but a slight "pop" for the entry and stove pad.

In a small house, the space needed for a hinged door (the "swing") can eat up a lot of territory.  Pocket doors, which are recessed into the wall, save that valuable space.  We have used them in the mud room for the half-bath, and at both entrances to the master bath on the second floor.

In the ground floor bath, morning sun pours
in through the exterior door.  Free heat!

A darker tile was selected for the entry...

...and then the same tile was used for the stove pad,
which is tucked into the "L" in the masonry wall.

Pocket doors will be used for the half-bath (above),
and for the master bath upstairs.

On the second floor, the toilet has been set in the master bathroom, and the bedroom doors have been hung.  Two pocket doors separating the bath from the bedrooms remain to be installed.

A toilet now occupies a corner of the master bathroom.

Both passage doors have been installed for
the two upstairs bedrooms.

Meanwhile, porches have finally taken shape on the northwest side of the house!  After months with the roof propped up by temporary supports, we now have a service porch — which provides quick access from the garage, just steps away — and a screened-porch-to-be facing the lake.  Screening will wait until spring.  

The north elevation, with porches wrapping around the corner.

The service porch is narrow, but adequate.

The garage's service door is just a few steps from
the "back" entrance to the house.

The screened porch has its own access door from the house.
It will provide a good place to eat or hang out in warm weather.

Still more photos tomorrow! •••