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.