7829

CO

2007-07-20T14:04:00.000-04:00

WE GOT THE CO!!!

pause

2007-07-19T10:37:00.001-04:00

Well...After much tossing and turning, I've decided not to move this weekend. It's just feeling a bit rushed. I want to wait until the driveway has been poured, the yard has been leveled and seeded, and I have blinds & curtains up. They're still doing the final inspection today. Then we'll start moving little things that we can live without for 3 weeks...like books, pictures, decorative stuff, winter clothes, random furniture, etc. I've waited a year. What's 3 more weeks?

HVAC!

2007-07-18T10:13:00.003-04:00

Just got a call from my builder. We passed the HVAC and plumbing inspections. Woo hoo!

WATER!

2007-07-18T09:22:00.001-04:00

If you walk into my house and turn on the faucet, WATER COMES OUT! They're finishing paint touchups, hanging towel bars and toilet paper holders, and painting the garage. And the floor guy is coming to do the final coat sometime this afternoon. My cabinets were finished yesterday...and THEY'RE AWESOME! I'll try to post some pictures tomorrow...won't be able to get in today due to the floors. They're doing the plumbing and HVAC inspections today, then the final one tomorrow. I just want to know if I'll be moving this weekend or not...

POWER!

2007-07-17T09:54:00.000-04:00

WE PASSED THE ELECTRICAL INSPECTION!!!

Now we just have plumbing, HVAC, and CO...

outside work

2007-07-12T09:51:00.000-04:00

Quite a bit of activity going on around the old construction site this morning. First, the well-drillers are finishing up. We have to let it sit for 48 hours after they finish drilling...then we can get the water tested. I'm not terribly optimistic. They were only able to get around 3 gallons a minute. Grrrr....

The septic tank is going in...they should have that wrapped up this afternoon.

Appliances were delivered:

And the carpet upstairs. It's nothing fancy (I couldn't afford anything fancy since I blew my budget plus some on the hardwoods...).

bath time

2007-07-09T19:50:00.001-04:00

Before:

After:

oooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...

varnish

2007-07-05T09:12:00.001-04:00

They've spent the last two days finishing my floors. They still have to do a final coat, but that won't happen until appliances are in, carpet is installed, etc. The floor has darkened considerably since it was first installed a month ago. I can't wait until it really turns...

Here's the banister and newel post. The handrail will be stained to match the front door and the exposed beams. The appliances and my bathtub are scheduled to be delivered today. I'll keep you posted...

***UPDATE: Just called to check on the status of the appliances. No one seems to know what's going on with them. Long story short...they aren't being delivered today. The bathtub, however, should be here this afternoon.

progress

2007-06-28T10:00:00.001-04:00

They put the doors on my cabinets yesterday. The shop didn't have the crown or light rail ready yesterday, so they'll make another trip out in a few days. And before I hear any lip about the hood not matching anything (cough-Michael-cough), the furniture island will be painted white to match the hood and the beadboard. In the meantime, enjoy...

Oooohhhhh...

Ahhhhhhh...

Granite closeup:

Breakfast area, beadboarded and painted:

My red dining room that took 5 coats of paint:

The built-in bench at my back door. There will be a row of 6 big hooks in the top section to hang coats and such on (I designed this myself):

Did I mention that the toilets are in? If we ever get water, they'll be usable. In the meantime, I guess we'll have to be content with the porta-johnburt in the yard...

hood

2007-06-26T14:54:00.001-04:00

OK...the hood has been finished and will be installed tomorrow, as will the cabinet doors and the laminate top for the - ahem - "upstairs refreshment area." The island won't be built for another week or so. I can't put it in until I move, or the inspectors won't give us a CO (some nonsense about islands having electric outlets).

I hear my granite was installed today. I can't wait to get home and inspect!

lit - almost

2007-06-22T09:12:00.001-04:00

Slowly but surely...it's coming along! Here's my screened porch (without the screen on it yet). The tile is down (but not grouted), and the ceiling fan is up (but not electrified yet!).

Here's my foyer...painted, light fixture up, beams stained.

Sconce in the hall going up the stairs:

Hannah's leafy light:

Living room painted, with light up and junk on the floor:

Next week should be big. Gresham the hot granite guy is coming either today or Monday to put my countertops in. My marble bathroom tops will go in either Monday or Tuesday. The plumber will be there Tuesday to hook everything up. The hardwood floor guy will be there the last half of the week finishing the floors and laying carpet. My bathtub is delivered the following Monday. The appliances are being delivered sometime at the first of the week. If I just had water, I'd be ready to move in 2 weeks from today!

hookup

2007-06-20T09:23:00.001-04:00

Look what I saw when I came out this morning! CP&L is putting in the power hookup! At least I'll have lights in the house. No water...but lights.

Still no progress on the water situation. Since we discovered that the town of HS has no jurisdiction (even though that's my mailing address), it's been a finger-pointing contest between the town of FV (keep in mind that I'm neither in their city limit NOR in their ETJ) and W county. H county (supplier of said water) will hook me on if I get permission from someone in W county. W county says they have no problem, I just need permission from the town of FV. FV says they can't give permission because W county won't allow it. Bunch of jerks.

I'm beginning to understand why people shoot up government offices...

***UPDATE: Fred found out that the subdivision going in that adjoins our land across the road from the new house has H County water. He called his accountant, who is the developer. H County is providing the water...HS gave him no runaround. Wouldn't you know it...THAT side of the road is in HS, while MY side is in FV. Fred is calling the mayor of FV right now to see if we can't get this resolved...

******ANOTHER UPDATE: Fred called the mayor of FV. His response? Screw you and dig a well. Grrrrrrr...

**********THE SAGA CONTINUES: We found out that the septic drain fields from the houses that back up to me DO run down the lower end of my land. My builder is meeting a special inspector from W County this morning. She will determine if it's a health issue that will prevent me from having a well. If it is (and there's a good chance it might be) then they may give us permission to get on the H County system. Check back daily for updates...

**************WHY NOT..: A gentleman from W County came out and looked at my land this morning. He seems to think that the town of FV has no jurisdiction. Interesting...

inspectors

2007-06-19T09:26:00.001-04:00

My friends Kelli (who is also one of my favorite Yankee imports and well on her way to becoming a naturalized Southerner) and Karen came to visit yesterday. Well...they came to see the house. I was honored that she drove to the other end of the world for a quick visit. Kelli did pretty well climbing around in 3" heels. I don't even own a pair of 3" heels. Ahhh...city folks.

stained

2007-06-17T21:42:00.001-04:00

So my bookcases have been installed (all except the doors!). Javier did a wonderful job! I am compelled to go over there twice a day just to look at them. I also took a better shot of my finished front doors. They will be installed sometime this week after the foyer is painted. I'm trying so hard to be patient...but I'm ready to live here!

painting and painting

2007-06-15T09:14:00.001-04:00

So it's finally beginning to look like a house. They're doing it one color at a time...and we have six colors throughout the house. They started painting with Hannah's room...so she had a nice birthday surprise when she got home Wednesday:

The next color they picked up was the neutral I picked for the theater room and the guest rooms and laundry room. My reason for picking this? It'll go with pretty much anything (since I don't really have furniture or accessories for all these extra rooms!). I really like this color...it's in the historical color palette:

Camilo and Raul have been busy in my kitchen! Here's the stove wall. The middle there with no wall cabinets is where the cooktop will be. There will be a painted decorative hood over it. Then the microwave and wall oven will be in the tall cabinet, with plenty of room for cookie sheets and trays above:

Here's the opposite wall. The dishwasher is the farthest left, then the sink, trash rollout, refrigerator, and pantry. I can't wait for you to see the tall skinny pantry doors. They're a neat detail!

All my bathroom cabinets are white. Here's the master bath double vanity. This bathroom was meant for custom cabinets. The factory stuff wouldn't have fit here. Note the drawer stack on the right. It is the smallest drawer stack in the history of the world (I think it's a 4" drawer). Mr. Carl said that if I ever get married, I should make my husband have that side. The drawer is only wide enough for a comb and small razor. : )

Last but not least, I thought you'd like to see this little sketch that one of the painters left. It made me laugh. Bonus points to anyone who can guess which wall it's on...

front doors

2007-06-13T09:48:00.000-04:00

They stained my front doors. And my cabinet boxes are going in today. I'm so excited!

Also...my builder just called and told me that the house that's entirely too close to the back of my lot is putting in a 6' privacy fence. Now I don't have to pay for one!

cabinets in progress

2007-06-11T10:53:00.000-04:00

My cabinet doors are finished...they just won't be installed for a few weeks. We put the boxes in, then wait until painting is done, granite is in, and plumbing is finished. Then we come back and put the doors on. That eliminates the chance of the doors getting dinged.

In other news, Javier built my bookcases. They will go on either side of the fireplace, and the one on the left will house the TV. They will be stained cinnamon, like my kitchen cabinets, and sit on a base cabinet with 3 0r 4 doors. Ooooh.....

more trim

2007-06-07T12:16:00.001-04:00

Well...after much measuring, remeasuring, and taking a field trip to a $500,000.00 house to see exactly what I wanted, my dining room wainscoting is finished. I can't wait for you all to see it in person...it's so beautiful!

The garage floor was supposed to be poured yesterday...and for some reason it didn't happen. I guess I need to call my builder. I leave you with a quote of the day (this was actually heard on site): "I just can't figure it out...I've cut this molding twice and it's still too short!"

tile, trim, and big honkin' doors

2007-06-04T08:52:00.000-04:00

Jefry and Jony (who are our finishers at work) laid tile over the weekend. They just have half a bathroom and my shower left to do...then it has to be grouted...then we'll be ready for cabinets! Tomorrow is the date that I have to sign off on paint colors, so I'll probably worry over it all day (I'm mostly decided...it's just that fear of commitment thing). In other news, the crown molding is mostly finished:

And the upstairs windows have been trimmed:

Daddy and I also brought my doors to work today to be finished. We felt a bit like Samson lugging those huge doors around. I think they're doing the porch sometime this week. We'll see.

The "drop-dead date" (the date set by my dad in the come-to-Jesus meeting) is June 30. Today is June 4th. Anyone want to start a pool on when I'll be in the house???

floored

2007-05-31T09:56:00.001-04:00

The hardwood floors were installed yesterday. Your eyes aren't deceiving you...that's Brazilian Cherry. By the time it's finished, it should be right much darker (since we all know how UV rays darken cherry). Now we have to get the tile in and the painting done, and we'll be ready for cabinets!

doors

2007-05-25T09:19:00.000-04:00

The interior doors have been hung and they've started on the trim. I'm a little excited about these doors...the style is what you see in old houses! They also did all the trim around the doors, and today they'll start on the baseboards and the window casings. PROGRESS!!!

guts

2007-05-24T10:39:00.001-04:00

We're finally building my cabinets...well...the guts of my cabinets, anyway. The interior doors were delivered today, so they will be installed and the door and window trim should be done in a few days. My flooring is being delivered tomorrow, and it will be laid on Tuesday. Then, as soon as the tile is done, my cabinets can be installed! I really need to commit to my paint colors. Hannah has had hers picked out for weeks now.

seamless

2007-05-04T09:19:00.000-04:00

They've started finishing the sheetrock! My OCD went into full swing yesterday. I was compelled to go around and break the clumps of joint compound out of all the electrical and data boxes. It took a while to get that stuff out from under my fingernails.

I also got to go on a field trip during work yesterday. Mr. Carl let me tag along while he measured for my cabinets. We have a little more room than the plan showed, so we've modified the cabinets a bit. They're going to look great...I can't wait for you all to see! Lead time for the shop is around 4 weeks. And if my house is ready for cabinets in 4 weeks, I will personally do the dance of joy on the landing of the stairs.

And last but not least - the front of the house. I've been told that Rick, the vinyl siding guy, will be completely finished by Monday. Hmmm. I don't know if I should believe that or not. The brick masons were supposed to come today and start building my steps and the half-columns on the porch...but I have a sneaking suspicion that there's too much chance of rain. Yet another task that can be put off a while...

piles-o-crap

2007-04-24T09:31:00.000-04:00

So this is what gets left behind after an army of Mexicans shows up and sheetrocks your whole house in a day. There are several of these piles around the house. I can't wait until my builder gets back from vacation and makes them clean it up. I don't want my house looking like the redneck house down the road with all the junk in the yard. I really need to get paint colors finalized and get my tile picked out.

On to some rooms you may not have seen yet...

Here's the kitchen (I'm standing in the breakfast area). The pantry, refrigerator, sink, and dishwasher will go down the wall on the left. On the right, there's counter space, the cooktop (which is directly across from the sink) and the built-in oven and microwave. There's a kitchen layout picture somewhere on this blog. You can look it up if you feel led.

Since I seem to take pictures of this wall a lot I thought you'd like to see it with some sheetrock on it...

My foyer looks A LOT different with actual walls! I suppose it's time to figure out how to bring the doors to work so they can be finished...

Here's my bedroom...or as good of a shot as I can get. There's one more window down from the single one that you can't see.

tight

2007-04-18T09:02:00.000-04:00

So the insulation isn't pink. I figure it won't matter once there's sheetrock in there. On to the pictures:

inside the garage:

the living room:

OK - if you've seen one insulated room you've seen them all. Here's the rough-in for the theater room wet bar that the plumber forgot to do the first time he came:

riddle me this....

2007-04-16T23:08:00.000-04:00

Q: What's pink and fluffy and itchy all over???

A: Insulation that's going in tomorrow!

(for those of you keeping track, this means that we passed the framing inspection today!)

***And to my dear friend Michael...I was so overwhelmed with the ugliness of the house before, I forgot to take a picture. I'm hoping that the siding and everything will be finished this week...so I'll post a pic then. - C

busy signal

2007-04-10T11:30:00.000-04:00

I had Fred call my builder this morning. You know, one of those "come to Jesus"- type conversations. Hopefully the pace will be picked up. 'Cause you sure don't want to have a second "come to Jesus" - type conversation with Fred...

the latest hold up

2007-04-04T14:43:00.000-04:00

They've gotten nearly all of the siding on. They started putting the shingles in the A-frame over the garage last week...and something didn't look right. I hated the way my house was looking. "Why didn't it look like the drawing from the plan?" I asked. "Why does it look so blah?" I asked. "I hate the way it looks, and I'm gonna be stuck living in this thing until either Jesus comes back or calls me home!" I thought. So I pulled out the drawing. My builder hadn't put the watershed on that divides the 2 floors and provides the frame for the shingles. He said that he didn't think I'd care either way. Hmmm. No wonder it looked like crap.

The vinyl siding guy is pulling everything off that front part today. The watershed will be built sometime in the next week. And I'm not the one paying to fix it.

fire in the hole!

2007-03-29T09:22:00.000-04:00

Check it out! If they ever insulate and put drywall up and paint and finish the wiring and paint and do the trim out and turn the power on and hook up the gas, we'll have a fire place!

And there's the chimney vent thingy. Oh...and this is the only side of the house that's finished (with the siding and roof and all). The guy was supposed to finish the siding today...but it's raining. I predict it'll be sometime next week before he gets back over there. Which will make the framing inspection sometime the next week. Which means that I'll be lucky to be in this house by Christmas 2008. (do I sound a bit weary? 'cause I'm a bit weary...)

zip

2007-03-19T10:58:00.002-04:00

Nothing got done over the weekend. In the workers' defense...it was raining. I was a bit disappointed when I got home yesterday and found the house the same as it was before.

Hmmm.....

metallic

2007-03-06T09:17:00.000-05:00

Well they finally started my roof! Behold...the roof on my screened porch (that's as far as they got today). You can't tell in the picture...but it's a nice metallic chocolate color. I can't wait to see the whole house done! Oh - I also found out that if you have a metal roof, you get a $500 tax credit every year. Something to keep in mind for 2007.

And they delivered my front door. They'll install it long enough to get the framing inspection...then I'm gonna see if they'll finish it at work. It'll be a cinnamon color. Fred is already freaking out about someone breaking through it. I say let 'em. There's a 9mm hollow point waiting for them on the other side.

be"side" myself

2007-02-27T09:18:00.000-05:00

They started putting the siding on yesterday...I was glad to see that the color I picked from a 2" x 2" sample looks good on a whole house.

Oh - and my front door came in. Pics of that to follow when they get it installed...

Hopefully the framing inspection will be done by the end of the week. (I'm hopeful...but not really expecting it...) That's all for now. I leave you with a shot of my crawlspace:

FIRE!

2007-02-15T10:26:00.000-05:00

OK...I picked out gas logs and the hearth & surround for my fireplace today. No...these aren't them...I just needed a picture to post. I'm excited about being able to flip a switch and have fire...without the mess of actual wood (ie Fred and Shirley's den), or the fear of burning my eyebrows off while turning on the old gas logs (ie Fred and Shirley's kitchen).

Rough-Ins

2007-02-07T19:33:00.000-05:00

The plumbing, electrical, and HVAC rough-ins were finished today. Here are the results:

Duct work above the theater room:

Box with protruding wires:

Hannah's bathtub - I promise I'll make her use it:

OH - my favorite part! Kitchen design has been done (these are only the interesting walls):

drip

2007-01-31T14:20:00.000-05:00

I just shelled out big bucks for master bathroom faucets and shower hardware...and that's not even with the clawfoot tub paraphernalia. These are the ones that I selected...only they'll be in the oil-rubbed bronze finish. I wanted something that had the feel of the old-style faucets...and wouldn't you know it...Home Depot doesn't carry anything like that. I fear I'm the physical embodiment of "champagne taste and a beer budget."

deciding...

2007-01-25T21:01:00.000-05:00

Check it out...the windows are in! They've also got the front porch mostly framed...so you can really get a sense of what my house will look like from the road. We met with the plumber and electrician today for a pre-rough-in walk-through. I continue to be amazed at how many little decisions go into building a house! ANYWAY...we got all the light switches marked...as evidenced here:

We also went around and marked where all the electrical outlets will go:

The theater room with the wall moved...more space for seating!

Raisin' the Roof

2007-01-19T10:05:00.000-05:00

The roof is almost finished! The front of the house looks like it's blindfolded. Just a few more sheets of whatever they're covering it with, then they wrap the house in the black paper stuff, then windows can go in! As you can see, they're already waiting in the garage:

This room will eventually be the theater room...Can't you just see a 60" TV down there?!?

Going Up

2007-01-07T22:20:00.000-05:00

Here's a shot from my landing. Nice upstairs, huh?

Oh wait...there IS something up there...

Some of the water that came in during the rainstorm Friday night. I had to get John to drill holes in the floor to let the inch or so of water drain out. Everyone pray that the water didn't sit in there long enough to make my floors squeak!

halfway house

2007-01-05T08:59:00.000-05:00

The downstairs is completely framed and they've begun on the upstairs! The steps were built yesterday, so I can stand on top of my house and feel like the king of the world. The lone window over the garage is where the home theater will be (eventually...). I was gonna take a few more pictures, but it was raining and I don't want to have frizzy hair for the rest of the day...

Y'all come see...and you can watch me trip over boards and knock my head on stuff. Apparently it's entertaining.

insurance

2007-01-04T13:33:00.000-05:00

I spent this morning on the phone with my insurance agent. You're looking at the proud owner of a Homeowners Policy. I had no idea how many different facets of home-ownership there are. I have this feeling that I'll be finding more and more as I go along...

Framed - almost

2006-12-27T20:42:00.000-05:00

Framing has begun! Hannah's wing has been done...we're still waiting on the other half of the downstairs. On Tuesday, I welcomed my first houseguests; Erin, Andrew, Burt, & Laura.

The dining room and hallway to Hannah's room:

Hannah's room closeup:

preparations

2006-12-17T22:34:00.000-05:00

So framing is scheduled to start tomorrow. But before that happens, there are a few things we needed to do...

Thanks to Mike, Dave, and Rachael for scheduling my pretreat (and being flexible!). They appear to have done a fine job (not that I'd know anything about termite prevention...)

Look - Dave and Mike tracks!

Daddy and John finished clearing the front of the lot. Looks like I'll have a nice view from the front porch...

Hmmm...a pole. But this isn't just ANY old pole. It's the temporary power pole. That means men with power tools can come and build my house...so it's an exciting sight!

Last but not least...my cute little neighbors. They always bleat "hello" when I pull up in the driveway. I may borrow them from time to time in an effort to avoid mowing the grass...

even

2006-12-15T13:56:00.000-05:00

I just got off the phone with my builder. The dirt in my crawlspace has been leveled, and my favorite pest-control service is out there doing the pre-treat now. Framing will begin on Monday!

Daddy bought me two baby pecan trees to plant (and I think he's planting them today) and he and John have cleared even more of the scrubby trees at the front. I'll have a nice view from my front porch.

Hopefully there will be something nice to take a picture of by the end of next week...

How Firm a Foundation

2006-12-05T18:59:00.000-05:00

The foundation is halfway complete! Here's where the screened porch will be...

The back wall, along the patio...

The side of the house that my bedroom is on...

Hopefully they'll finish up in the next day or so. I think framing is next...

Speedy Delivery

2006-11-30T22:17:00.000-05:00

Brick and block were delivered today. Hopefully the masons will show up soon...

Footings

2006-11-29T09:00:00.000-05:00

The moat was installed yesterday. OK...so it's the concrete for the footings...but it looks like a moat, right? We experienced our first overages...it took 12.5 square feet more of concrete than we'd planned. It was still wet when I got home, and I fought the urge to put my initials in every block. I think I'll wait until they pour the garage floor for that.

Daddy also hauled a load of gravel over and made me a respectable driveway. It's so much easier to get in and out of the lot now. Having a quarry in the back 40 and a dump truck sure came in handy!

Holes in the Ground

2006-11-28T09:01:00.000-05:00

When I got home from work yesterday I was excited to find large square holes in my land. Construction has begun! You can tell by the brand new permit box and not-quite-so-new porta-john that are sitting by the driveway. Nothing says "Construction Area" like a bright blue porta-john...

On to the exciting stuff...the footings! Here is the one that is under Hannah's room:

And here's a shot from where the kitchen and living room will be (I think):

I think my dad is also planning to clear some of the scrubby trees from the front so I can have a scenic view of the pasture and pond across the road (and a slightly larger front yard).

Next Step: inspection and concrete

Permit

2006-11-21T15:13:00.000-05:00

See that? That's my official building permit number! After 11 weeks and 6 plan reviews and re-reviews, we have a permit. I also had to write the first of what will be many checks to my builder. That part wasn't so fun.

Next step: Digging and pouring the footings

sketchy

2006-10-16T10:06:00.000-04:00

OK...since there's been some interest in the floor plan and the county changes the requirements for the permits every time we go up there (translation: no permit yet), here's the original floorplan...but we've made a few changes since this plan...and a sketch of what it will look like (only the columns on the front porch will be a different style)

blank canvas

2006-10-04T12:45:00.000-04:00

Behold...my land. 1.2 acres and the site of my future home. If you squint your eyes just right you can see the stakes marking the footprint of the house. Now if we can just get the permits back, we'll be able to get going. Hopefully they will begin digging the footings next week. Now don't get grumpy...but I'm only going to update this thing when something interesting happens, and we've been waiting for permits for 6 weeks, if that's any indicator.

Stay tuned...