the guv goes green!

On June 8, 2008, while driving back from Gulf Coast beaches, the bride and I were horrified to hear that some dimwit tossed a Molotov cocktail at the governor's mansion and burned it down. Since it was unclear how bad the damage was from news reports, we went straight to the mansion to see the vandalism for our own eyes, and it was not good. Fortunately, there was enough there to save, and finally, after four years and $25 million, the governor's mansion is back open.

A Greek revival structure designed and built by Abner Cook in 1855, the mansion has housed every governor since 1856. Originally built with 11 rooms, 6,000 square feet, and no bathrooms, the mansion was expanded in 1914 to nearly 9,000 square-feet, 25 rooms, and 7 bathrooms. An additional 1,700 square-feet was added to the restored mansion. In addition, the mansion now includes solar on the roof and a geothermal system. The Austin-American Statesman reported today that the geothermal system has 45 wells (the Texas Tribune reported 53 wells at 300 feet deep each).

Say what?!?!! First off: I'm not sure where they could have placed 45 (or 53) wells on that mostly mansion-filled lot. Secondly, that's equivalent to a 45 (or 53) ton HVAC system! Only the debbil would require an HVAC like that!

Given the uncertainty in the number of wells (actually boreholes) drilled for the system (Friends of the Texas Governor's Mansion says 40), I'm not sure what that system looks like. And the folks that put the system in haven't posted details. Nonetheless, it's cool that the guv's palace now has some green features.

jumpin' jack backsplash

A sample of the potential backsplash tile was waiting for us at our door yesterday and: It. Is. Gorgeous. We have a match! It fits with the countertop material perfectly and doesn't look too shabby with the shiny white cabinet material (but of course everything goes with white...).

Here it is with Plan A:

and scale wise:

Yay!

housewerk: the loan, the baseboards, the plans

the loan

Whelp, we decided to go with our current bank with a single-close to 15-year fixed. It locks in the current rate, yet still allows us to refi at our leisure when we're done. We had to think hard about 15 years v. 30 years. A 15-year note has a much higher monthly payment, but we think it would be better to pay off the house in 15 years rather than 30. Since we're starting to get up there in years, this would allow us to pay off the house before we retire (wethinks that's good as well).

Spent a hunk of the weekend putting together the paperwork. The final paperwork package I sent to the banker had 146 pages, and we're still missing probably 20 to 30 pages!

baseboards

The builder sent us a note asking for details about the baseboard detail. In short, this is the look we're going for:

(photo from BUILD LLC)

a wood baseboard flush (in the same plane) with the drywall separated by a gap (called a "reveal" by the cool kids). This is a detail that requires a bit more work in that z-metal (or z-molding) or j-metal (or j-molding) is used to "float" the drywall above the baseboard. Typically (and less expensively) baseboards are plopped on top of the drywall. The builder is nervous about running this up the stairwell (but it really needs to go up the stairwell to maintain the gestalt). He hasn't told us no yet (and he hasn't sent the contract yet either), so we'll see... We have a Plan B if this doesn't work out.

revised (slightly) plans

We had to get "final" plans (in quotes because there are still some details to work out...) to submit with the paperwork to the banker. I love gawking at the plans. It's like that game in the newspaper where you have two similar pictures and you have to identify what is different between the two. The site plan now shows the hardscape from the landscape design, and the architects moved one of the planters away from the house (had to happen because of the gutter). The floor plans are unchanged except for minorish details (for example, the washer and dryer are moved). The big change was in the electrical plan, which now shows the changes we requested and speaker locations. Looking good!

There are still details to be worked out, but I reckon that will all happen when we get started building. We're starting to keep a list of items we want to discuss before different building phases to make sure items are considered before those phases start.

white tile

Since our backsplash choice crashed and splashed, we must find another. Some possible choices...

White snow:

Cegi Technology (available via dal tile via floormall.com for $24.45, sample; here for $15.24):

dot dot dash ($7):

linear broadway white:

white manhattan:

offset white:

white grey empire strips (can buy here for $18.96):

true white:

white carrera ($16.58):

snow white:

random x random ($23.39):

liberty ($26.96 per 0.8826 sq-ft):

We really like the mixed linear of our original choice, so we have a sample of the "white manhattan" above coming. It looks rather perfect in the photos, but like online dating, we need to see the goods in person...

the ice collection

It appears the mythical Ice Collection by Whirlpool is starting to appear!

I need to go check it out in person, but the finish is supposed to evoke frosted glass (which we would like a lot).

The stuff is gorgeous. Simple, minimal lines, cool white. Nice.

Sadly, it doesn't appear that they will make a microwave/oven combo, although they do have a double oven:

that doesn't look that much different than the microwave/oven combo:

In fact, the latter looks better than the Ice version.

mmm airports i love you

to borrow a phrase from underworld...

I love airport architecture, even if it's only half inspired. Airports tend to be futuristic and antiseptic ("Attention travelers: Appendectomy at Gate 12."). One of my faves is the Dulles International Airport, through which I flew this past week on bidness. Designed by Eero Saarinen in 1948, the airport terminal evokes the underbelly of a large airplane wing. Saarinen, who emigrated to the United States when he was 13, also designed the St. Louis Arch, John Deere's headquarters, and the tulip chair [and associated tables]).

All photos by mwah (It always makes the bride nervous when I take photos in airports. She thinks we'll be spending the night with Homeland Security).

I even like music for airports.

stop wining.

We are mild oenophiles (lovers of the vino) and have a minor collection of bottles that would be good to adequately store (presently they are in a kitchen cabinet, against a wall in the living room, and in a box in the master closet; in the old house, there was grape juice stashed in the kitchen and in three of our four closets). Given this, a built-in wine fridge in the new house would be sweet. We've held off spec'ing one because (1) we weren't sure we could afford one, (2) we still have one a friend gave us several years ago (oh yeah, we had wine in that too in the old house), and (3) been a little uncomfortable with having another electric sink (and heat source) in the house. However, it looks like we can afford one (and the one we have is single zone, so where oh where will the white wines go?).

So if we get one (we'll see how things go...), which one? Our old stalwarts, Consumer Reports, does not disappoint (all their reviews are online, for a fee...) and has reviews of under-counter wine refrigerators. The top ranked fridge de vino is the Marvel 6SWC:

 followed by the GE PCR06WAT:

and then the Electrolux EI24WC65GS:

These three are better vintages because they do better than others on energy efficiency with the Marvel a wee bit noisier than the other two. Aesthetically, we marvel at the Miesian lines of the Marvel...