What a difference a week makes

We went by the house today for the first time since before Christmas and were so surprised by how much had been done.  With it being a holiday week we really didn't expect to notice much difference, but we were so wrong.  There was so much that looked different.

The siding has started to be put on, the front and wrap-around porch decking was done and the roof for those were almost completed.

The screen porch was roofed and almost done being framed out.

All of the windows will be in by this afternoon and a lot of the exterior doors are already in.

Little framing things that needed to be corrected had been including the closet in the playroom that was added and the vaulted ceilings for the office.

The stairs are also done which meant the kids got to go up and check out their bedrooms for the first time!

Hudson's room will be the one closest to the Master and although it has a walk-in closet, it is the smallest closet of the three.  We are going to let the girls choose which rooms they want and of course they both decided on the same one.  When I pointed out the nice things about the other room they both wanted the second one.  Figures.  I told them we still have plenty of time to decide.  Both rooms are about the same size and with large closets.  They are just facing different ways and the closets are shaped a little differently.

The girls walked around taking pictures the entire time and were fascinated by the little things like the bathtubs.  I'm loving how they are getting to watch and experience this process with us and I know that since this will be the house they will grow up in, it will be fun memories for all of us.

Sawdust = Sand

This has been a great week at the house. Lots going on and and lots being accomplished.

The framers are finishing up and the roof shingles are almost completely done now.  The wrap-around porch is framed and the decking is almost done, too.  Once all that is finished the framing for the screened porch, the roof over the porch, and the added features on the front elevation will be done.  Then I feel like the front of the house will really take shape and look how it will instead of just a big triangle right now.

Yesterday I met the our builder and the person who is helping plan out all of the exterior building materials to try to start on a plan for the exterior.  We had a vague idea of how it would look, but wanted some of their input, too.  We are going to be using a mix of stone, shake, and siding to go for the craftsman style look we love.

We color coded all of the materials on a set of plans so I could show Robby later that night and we could easily make changes (which we already have since this pictures was taken yesterday), but overall I think the front elevation is going to look great.

The kids were SO good for the hour and 1/2 we were there.  I have learned my lesson with muddy shoes and now I know to put them in rain boots that can be easily hosed off anytime we are going to be out there for a longer period of time.  They discovered all of the sawdust that was lying around and to them, that was the construction site equivalent of sand at the beach.  They scooped it, spread it and played in the sawdust/mud almost the entire time.

At one point I lost sight of them so I ran off to find where they had gone. Harper had asked to use my phone to take a picture and when I found them they had made their way into the house (on the new stairs from the garage that I didn't know were there yet).  Later when I was looking through pictures on my phone I saw that they had taken pictures of each other in front of the staircase that is waiting to be installed.  I loved it!  They are just as excited about this whole process as we are!

Photo courtesy of Harper 

Photo courtesy of Handley

Rain, Rain Go AWAY!

The past two weeks have been filled with the most rain we have seen in what feels like all year.  Of course, right when we need the weather to cooperate, it rained for about a week and 1/2 straight.  There might be a few hours of no rain one day here or there, but it has finally dried up this past week and we were so very grateful.  This week the framers finished up most of the second story and got most of the roof started, too.

Late last week I got to walk through the house for the second time and being able to see the rooms layed out and how things will flow with the layout of the house made me so excited.

playroom

foyer

living room

Today I climbed the ladder with Robby to see the second story for the first time. I am beyond excited about the kids bedrooms, our big laundry room/linen closet, and our master.

Although it was raining today, it looks like the rest of next week will be sunny so we're hoping the framing will be complete!

Seeing a Second Story

We took advantage of the Thanksgiving sales to buy lots of stuff for the house.  Robby found a great deal on TV's we wanted and then on Black Friday we bought all of our kitchen appliances.  There were so great deals to be had so we got a few ceiling fans, too!  Bit by bit we are getting things done.

On Monday after Christmas break I drove by to check out the house and the first floor was totally framed.  Our third garage may look HUGE and that's because it is over-sized to fit our boat when we need to have it at our house.  The front elevation of the house and the roof lines actually make it look good.  Right now it looks like the garages totally take over the house, but Robby promises me once the second story and front porch get on it will look more proportional.

It has been raining for the past two days and there is no end in sight.  From the looks of it, the rain could continue through the weekend.  That isn't stopping the framers who are ready to get this job done.  They've been working in the rain and today the second story was going up.

Things have been so wet and muddy so I haven't really gotten up to the house to check out things up close, but seeing a second story from afar is exciting! As long as we are making progress I'm happy.

Starting to Frame

The end of last week brought lots of changes at the house.  they got all the roof completely off and the carport area that is becoming the front of our house was taken down too.  Everything was totally opened up.  

Then, it turns out that it was going to be really involved to raise the current ceiling height a few feet and what would have to be done to make it done right was going to take the framers longer than if they just started from scratch.  SO, they agreed to take down the walls and start new for no additional cost.  It meant they would get things done sooner and be more efficient, which was fine with us.  

It was so weird to drive up yesterday and just see the foundation with the fireplace remaining and the new exterior walls going up. I loved getting to walk around and see all of the rooms marked and trying to picture what it will look like when there are really walls there.

While we were there yesterday our neighbor from across the street stopped by to tell us the kids were welcome to come over and play on their play-set anytime we were over here.  The girls jumped at that opportunity and had fun while Robby and I went over things.  Hudson was snoozing away in the car, but I know he will love having somewhere safe to play, too.  

Since this week is Thanksgiving Break for the kids, I won't be over there everyday to check on the progress like I normally do.  It's also supposed to rain a good bit over the next few days, so we'll be anxious to see what is done when we stop by later this week!

Lumber

Hooray for lumber!  

Yesterday a load of lumber was delivered to the house and today when I went by after lunch I was amazed by what had been done in just a few short hours.  The roof was almost completely off in preparation to start the framing inside and a lot of the windows we plan to reuse had been taken out.  It looked so open and I am SO very happy to see this progress!  I can't wait to see what happens the rest of the week! 

Making Their Mark

This week we had to wait on the weather to cooperate, but in the end we have a garage slab! The grading of the garage area was completed along with the back filling of the garage.

Then we had to wait for the temperatures to warm up a little so the concrete slab for our garage could be poured. It was so cold this week!  They finally got to it today and although the weather was a little overcast and misty at times, they worked around it and got it done.  I met Robby at there this morning to see what was happening and we saw the big concrete trucks arrive.

Hudson was so excited about the BIG trucks.

I got an idea then that I would love to have the kids hand prints in the concrete so I tried to time going over there after school.  When I went back it was still to wet to do hand prints so we went on to Handley's ballet class and then back after she danced.  The concrete workers were in the final steps to get it prepared, but they were so kind when I asked about putting the kids hand prints on it.  Most everywhere was to set up already, but they showed me the best place to do it so we gave it a whirl.

They were excited to make their mark on our new garage floor.  Handley went first and did great, Harper was next and hers looked perfect, too.  Then it was time for Hudson and he smashed his fingers altogether so it looked like a big blob.  One of the guys there smoothed that area out for me so we could try again.  And that is when Hudson decided that he wasn't interested in playing along anymore.  I offered him lollipops, his paci, popsicles...basically anything I could think of to bribe him to do his hand print, but he wanted none of it.  You should have seen me wrestling an uncooperative and unwilling two-year-old to get his hand into the cement.  I'm sure the guys there working were laughing at me and my muddy, cement covered shoes may never be the same.  BUT, I got my sweet little hand prints and that is all I cared about.  His isn't perfect, but I just know we will love having these hand prints on our garage floor years from now when the kids are all grown-up and I will remember what an effort I went to do get them.

For the record, tomorrow I will be putting all of our rain boots in the car for the duration of the rest of the building so that we can avoid the messy muddy shoe problem we ran into tonight.

Slow Moving

If there is one thing I've learned so far about this process...it's that it is slow moving.  Robby says I'm going to drive myself crazy by going back daily (or twice daily in some cases) but when I pass right by the street we will be living on every day it's hard not to swing by and check out progress.  So much of what is happening right now is dependent on the weather so that plays a big factor in what gets done day-to-day.  I love seeing what happens each day, but will love it even more when I see walls and can actually walk through the house instead of just imagining what will be there.

This past week the concrete walls for the garage were poured and the black waterproofing was painted on the backside.

While these not-so-fun things are taking place, I'm thinking more and more about the interior of the house including awesome furniture pieces like this one that will be in it.

This hutch came from my great-great-grandmother's house on my Dad's side of the family.  It's been at my parents' house and I always told them I would love it some day.  They offered to let us go ahead and have it so we can bring it back at Christmas along with another piece of furniture I am getting.  I am just so excited! I love things with history and I also love mixing old with new and rustic with elegance.  Kind of like old farm house meets a crystal chandelier.  My mom got all of her stuff cleaned out of it last week and send me this picture of it.  She was commenting that the funny thing is that nowadays people pay to have furniture look distressed and this piece actually is distressed after the years and years of use.  I can't wait to have it in our new house!

Footers

The past few weeks things have been happening, but nothing too picture worthy.  The final demo has been done, the septic system was installed and completed and our footers were poured this week.  We're hoping the weather cooperates so that the garage walls and foundation can be completed this week and then the framing will start right after that!  Then the real fun begins. :-)

Grading

This week was all about the grading.  These huge pipes were installed with rip-rap for drainage control since we were moving around so much dirt and taking out the current drainage system that was there.

The garage was also cut in to the hill where it will be and the grading for that is completely done now and ready for the foundation and septic system next week!

 

And, there is something about seeing this sign out front that makes things feel very official.

More Demo

The demo on the inside is almost completely done now.  They are still working on the ceilings in the kitchen area, but all of the walls are out now, bathrooms are gone, cabinets removed and it's basically just a shell of a house.  

Kitchen completely gone

The outside demo started on Friday while we were there and the kids couldn't believe it when they saw two guys going at the brick with sledgehammers. When a huge chunk of the brink fell they all giggled and the huge mess it made.  We're leaving most of the brick on the exterior and will probably paint it, depend on what exterior siding and cedar shake color we decide on.  However, this section had to be removed because this is where the new living room, garage and mudroom foundation will be poured (which is supposed to happen later this week!).  

The surveyor was out there this week and staked where the garage would be so the grading could be completed so Robby and I discussed driveway paths and how we think that should go...exciting stuff!