I walked up the hill behind our new house this morning on a cloudy Wickenburg day and snapped this two-image composite of it as seen from my elevated vantage point. Click on the image to enlarge.
Bob
Progress Report
We’re back in Arizona this evening. We left California this morning and arrived late afternoon. We stopped at the new build to take care of some business with our contractor. As usual, when we’re away for a couple of weeks, we find that a lot of progress has been made on the new house.
Image: exterior progress as of 10/20/2010. Click to enlarge.
As of late Wednesday evening, the exterior stucco coat is complete and the interior paint primer will be dry tomorrow. On Friday, they will begin painting the exterior while the interior final coat is applied. Next week, the custom cabinets will be installed in the kitchen and both bathrooms.
We will be busying ourselves with shopping for electrical and plumbing fixtures for the rest of this trip. The granite counter tops should be installed in the next couple of weeks. We can’t wait to post photos of some of the completed rooms.
Shopping for Granite
We’re having our house custom built and with all new fixtures and furnishings. I told Verna that she would have the flexibility to select whatever she liked. One of her wishes is to have granite counter tops in the kitchen and both bathrooms.
Our contractor recommended a tile and granite place in Glendale, AZ, so we went there and started the process for the custom granite counter tops. Part of the process is to select the exact slabs of granite to use. To do that, we had to drive a few miles to a place that has a warehouse full of granite slabs.
Verna and I walked up and down aisles and aisles of the huge slabs looking for the right colors and patterns of the natural granite to suit her taste. Finally, we both liked the slabs pictured above and decided to place the order. Click on the image to enlarge.
The next step is our contractor will furnish the specific dimensions and we will select the finish for the edges of the counter tops. We made a lot of progress on the new house during our last trip. We’ll be going back soon to make more progress.
View From the Front Porch
The last day in Arizona on our last trip, I stood on the front porch of the new house and took a series of photos which I later stitched into this panoramic image. This view is looking south toward Wickenburg Way (US Hwy 60), about a quarter mile away. Click on the image to view the full panorama.
Tombstone Territory
One year ago today, we were in Tombstone, AZ. I took this photo of the famous OK Corral and Allen Street.
Other than a few anachronisms, this is pretty much how Allen Street looked in the days when Doc Holliday Wyatt, Virgil and Morgan Earp got into it at the OK Corral, seen on the left. Click on the panorama below for a closer look.
Wyatt Earp, Morgan Earp, Virgil Earp, and Doc Holliday fought Frank McLaury, Tom McLaury, Billy Claiborne, Ike Clanton, and Billy Clanton. Ike Clanton and Billy Claiborne (who later claimed that he had been unarmed, though some reports credit him with shooting one or more times) ran away from the fight, unharmed. Both McLaurys and Billy Clanton were killed; Morgan Earp, Virgil Earp, and Doc Holliday were wounded.
Speedy Construction Project
I responded to a comment left by a reader regarding the progress on our construction to date. It got me thinking about just how much time the project has been underway, so I went to the archives and took a look at the groundbreaking photos and then to the latest ones taken last Saturday.
The composite image below shows the groundbreaking on August 16, 2010 and the state of the project when we left Wickenburg last Saturday, October 9, 2010. That’s just a little under two months and the concrete, framing, drywall, rough electrical and plumbing, windows, doors and insulation are all done. That’s not too shabby.
Click on the image to enlarge.
