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| Since no one else has started this tread, I figure I would.
Can't believe how fast this year is going by. Can't tell it February in the Chicagoland area by our weather, it was 56 yesterday. Hopefully the nice weather will continue the rest of the winter. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| We just got our design back from the architect so we are going through it to make sure everything makes sense and we aren't missing something. Hoping to have bids back by mid February |
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| We have closed escrow on our lot and have started drafting our floor plans! |
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- Posted by beaglesdoitbetter (My Page) on Thu, Feb 2, 12 at 1:03
| This is my last time posting in this thread I think- the house is pretty much done. We should be closing sometime in Feb but probably not moving in until April because we're away for the winter. Once we move in and get some furniture, I'll post the final/final pics :) In the meantime... The kitchen:
Library ladder is in the conservatory. I think I would prefer to have the white door painted blue here- the white doesn't seem to go:
Dining room is done. Not sure I like the yellow- I think I will have the bottom faux finished to match the ceiling in a gray and get rid of the yellow after moving in!: Great room done: Gathering room. I hate the marble cabinet knobs, I'm going to replace them. Maybe w/ glass knobs, not sure? Any suggestions? Dog shower faucet added & wall-mount dryer hung: Front door handle on:
And inside of front door handle: Upstairs laundry door: Master bath sconces- they need their crystals put on!:
Window seat needs cushions- any thoughts on what color to use? Gray? Blue? More pics here |
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| Love your kitchen beaglesdoitbetter, wasn't sure how it would turn out with the blue but it really looks nice As far as the window seat cushions, I would think maybe a blue to go along with the wash bowl, but it might be too much |
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| Beagles it just turned of amazing! I love the idea of the old style glass knobs on those cabinets. For the window seat cushion I would go with bright white. For some reason white towels in baths just seem so clean and cheery so a white cushion seems like it would be fitting. It would pull together the white on the casings and the white in the countertops. As for agentslim and mcakeshop I am sure you are super excited to be starting the process! Can't wait to see how your projects come together! |
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| framing with some roof done: |
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| Hi Fellow HomeBuilders! It's been so long that I hope that I can remember how to post pics! We began building in May 2012 and it's been slowly going along. Our builder had said 12-14 months and it will be every minute of the 14 and probably more. The timberframe porches have really slowed them down and we're STILL not under permanent roof yet. Plumbing is all roughed in, electrical mostly done, central vac roughed in, alarm folks were there today and the cultured stone has begun to go up. We're built into the hillside with a walkout basement and 10' deep wrap around porch in the rear. View of the front:
View of the rear of the home:
Another rear view.... final porch rafters for the timberframe going up....
Interior view of Kitchen:
Den and Fireplace (french doors covered with wood since they're working out on the back porch):
Hoorah! Cultured stone going up... they started on the wall which leads into our mechanical room service entrance:
And finally if you aren't totally bored: here's a link to latest construction time lapse slideshow on the blog. We've been taking photos from the same basic positions and he's putting them into a slideshow. The hope is that we'll eventually have a fun 2 minute quick time lapse of the house from empty land to house! Lots of fun to do and something you new builders might want to consider! |
Here is a link that might be useful: time lapse of the house construction May-January
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- Posted by cbusmomof3 (My Page) on Fri, Feb 3, 12 at 9:30
| gbsim- What a great kitchen window and I'm absolutely coveting the french doors to the back porch on either side of the fireplace! |
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| Thanks momof3! Good luck to cakeshop and agentslim, I remember that anxious feeling before the first bit of ground was turned! Nadine, looking great!!! Beagles... WOW! Last time I was here you were still in the stud/beginning Sheetrock stage. Awesome details and I'm pea green looking at your beautiful cabinetry. I've been cutting cabinets left and right or we'd need to both go back to work! I think it's a fair guess that your favorite color is blue! :) enjoy and post more after the furniture is in! |
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Interior walls are up  Back elevation  |
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- Posted by MichelleDT (My Page) on Sat, Feb 4, 12 at 1:18
| We have the 3rd architect review of the plan Monday. We have selected our major appliances (I have been researching and attending demos since December), stone and stucco. We hope to break ground in March. |
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| Hi everyone! We are brand new to posting here, but have been reading and following since October 2011. We are super excited to have finally broke ground last week!! Unfortunately, our builder discovered a huge drainage issue that will require a lot more fill and a sup pump to correct! Thankfully it was discovered now and not at the end of the build!! We are building a Frank Betz Highland Place with a modified 2nd floor, added third bay garage, and with 10 ft ceilings down and 9ft up (per neighborhood covenants). I'd like to add a few pics of the mod floor plan and our beginning of the process to the lot with cleared plot, but I don't know how! This week we should have great weather for finishing the fill and maybe even begin the footings!! Thanks to all who post here! |
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| Here's hoping it works! [IMG]http://i1248.photobucket.com/albums/hh499/aucorley/Dream House% 202012/1stfloorFrankBetzHighlandPlace.jpg[/IMG] 1st Floor Highland Place by Betz [IMG]http://i1248.photobucket.com/albums/hh499/aucorley/Dream House% 202012/2ndfloorfinalrevisionFeb2012.jpg[/IMG] 2nd Floor Final Revision [IMG]http://i1248.photobucket.com/albums/hh499/aucorley/Dream House% 202012/WeFINALLYbrokeground2-1-12.jpg[/IMG] We FINALLY broke ground!!! |
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- Posted by joyce_6333 (My Page) on Mon, Feb 6, 12 at 8:54
| Aucorley: Love your floor plan, and wish you well on your new build. We also had huge drainage issues when we started, and like you felt fortunate that it was discovered right away so it could be corrected. The day after excavation, we went to the lot, and this is what we discovered. We have a massive drainage system now that drains into a large pond, and a nice dry basement. |
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| Wow...glad I'm not alone in the drainage problems!! We figured it out shortly before the holidays. Once we figured out the game plan, we broke ground last week!. The muddy mess...
Making progress...
And, my oldest celebrating the progress :)
Hopefully I'll have more exciting pics soon! |
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| Good to know we aren't alone on the drainage and didn't just pick a bad spot to build! Congrats to your progress Andi K and Joyce!!! Every little step matters and I felt the same joy your son did Andi to see ground moving!!! Can anyone give me a quick tip on posting pics to my message posts??? Thanks again for the support everyone!! |
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| aucorley - congrats to you as well! Look like we'll be on a similar schedule. We are hoping to be in before school starts in the fall...we'll see! As for you pics, it looks like you already have them in photobucket. You just need to copy/paste the code under the photo...the one in the "HTML Code" field. If you click in there, it will highlight the entire text. Then just copy that, and paste it into your message. When you preview it, you'll see it. hth... |
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- Posted by happyafwife (My Page) on Tue, Feb 7, 12 at 18:00
| I have loved seeing all the houses in this thread (and on this board) and I'm so excited to finally be able to join in on this post. My husband retired from the military last year (after 24 long years) and we have settled down at long last! The dream home we are building is just a production builder home with lots of upgrades but it is something we've dreamed about (and promised our kids with every move) for years...and we have walls! Framing started last week (right before the blizzard hit Colorado, of course) so we no longer have a hole in the ground.
It looks really, really small, though...is that normal? I keep thinking there must be some mistake and they forgot a room or something! |
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- Posted by elizabethtontnbuild (My Page) on Tue, Feb 7, 12 at 19:22
| Excited!! We are nearly dried in - windows arrive this Friday (Marvin Integrity. We started in mid November .. this mild winter has really kept things moving along. Hopefully we will be in by end of May/early June. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Pictures of house build
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| I finally get to post some pics here! We began the design process July 2011..that took until October. If I remember right, concrete was poured 2nd week of November 2011. We had a 3 week delay waiting for floor joists before we could continue onto framing the 2nd floor, but it's all gone well since then. These pictures are from last week: The front: the back: And a close up of the shingles I've fallen in love with!! Who'd have thought I would be so excited that the SHINGLES turned out the colors I wanted? They were more tan/brown than gray. Whew. It's so hard to tell from the samples, and the pictures online varied so much. They are Certainteed Weathered Wood: That last window upstairs will go in as soon as they get the sheetrock lifted into there. Soffit/fascia is all done, and siding is going on this week. Electrician should finish this week, so I'm PRAYING for sheetrock next week sometime. We sold our home and are residing with my husbands parents until the new house is done. Him, me, and 2 kids (5 and 8)..we have 3 bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs. It works, but I can't WAIT to be organized again. If all goes PERFECT, we could be in the end of March. The new house is about 3700sf, 5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms. About twice the size of the house we just moved out of. |
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| Love seeing everyones progress! Beagles..you house is stunning, I love the kitchen. We are being told we are two weeks from being done, but not sure we believe him given the work that still needs to be done. Here our are latest pics.
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| Mel Great looking kitchen! But whoaaaa....i can not believe they did not protect your wood floors! Our build is......stalled due to permit issues with the lot we want. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Home building blog
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| Mel - I was thinking the same thing about your unprotected wood floor! I would get your contractor to clean it and put down a protective covering. Our builder tried to lay our wood floor last, but unfortunately we had to put the stone on our fireplace after the floor was down. They put plywood down in that area as well as covering all the wood flooring with heavy paper. With all that - we still had some scratches. |
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| Downsy & lzerarc, I have been totally a wreck over the floors this week and had a hissy fit with the builder yesterday when we went out to see the house. He assured me the floors were all good and that all the heavy equipment is on protected areas. They are handscaped so I think he feels we will not notice if they are damage. We took pictures so if there is damange he can't claim the floors were protect properly. We didnt use the builders floor vendor and went with a custom floor guy, who said he will come out and inspect them when they are finished and let us know any damange. I am also not happy with the condition of the clean-up...it's a mess in that house. The only good news is that my builder pays for a cleaning team when they are finished. I am at the stage where I just want them finished and out of my house! He does great work but is very messing and disorganzied and its driving my crazy. |
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- Posted by cbusmomof3 (My Page) on Thu, Feb 9, 12 at 15:08
| Beagles-I don't know how I missed your pictures but WOWZER! Your kitchen is stunning and I'm not even a blue person! Mel-I love the warmth of your kitchen cabinets and floors. I'm glad you took pictures in case they are damaged. Andi-Absolutely picturesque! Happy- I have a really hard time with judging things spatially too. Sometimes I think my house looks obnoxiously huge and other times I think the rooms look tiny. Everyone else-Looking great and can't wait to see more progress pics. We are moving along and have passed our electrical, plumbing, and HVAC inspections. Next is structural. They applied the scratch coat of stucco (so not the real color) and applied the stone and the brick eyebrows. I couldn't remember what I had selected so I sighed a big sigh of relief when I saw them and still liked what I had chosen.
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| Shingles done, doors and windows in. Most of the interior framing is just about complete |
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| Here it is...
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| We are a week from possession! Carpet was going down today and next week is mostly inspections. Here's a peek: My dream kitchen:  Source: dejongdreamhouse.blogspot.com via Jen on Pinterest Cork floors:  Source: dejongdreamhouse.blogspot.com via Jen on Pinterest Back of kitchen. Ignore the outlets sticking out. Those are being replace tomorrow with angled ones that don't show.  Source: dejongdreamhouse.blogspot.com via Jen on Pinterest Close up of backsplash: Solistone Mardi Gras glass tile in Carrollton with non-sanded snow white grout  Source: dejongdreamhouse.blogspot.com via Jen on Pinterest Outer Island with raised dishwasher:  Source: dejongdreamhouse.blogspot.com via Jen on Pinterest Baking area:  Source: dejongdreamhouse.blogspot.com via Jen on Pinterest Lowered baking center with marble slab:  Source: dejongdreamhouse.blogspot.com via Jen on Pinterest Command center:  Source: dejongdreamhouse.blogspot.com via Jen on Pinterest Pantry with sensor light. It's 9'x9'10". We'll have custom shelving put in this summer after I have a better idea of how I want to use it.  Source: dejongdreamhouse.blogspot.com via Jen on Pinterest ET2 Fizz Pendant lights:  Source: dejongdreamhouse.blogspot.com via Jen on Pinterest Foyer:  Source: dejongdreamhouse.blogspot.com via Jen on Pinterest Great room:  Source: dejongdreamhouse.blogspot.com via Jen on Pinterest Stair lights:  Source: dejongdreamhouse.blogspot.com via Jen on Pinterest you can see many more pictures on our blog. Half the master closet (the other side is nearly identical:  Source: dejongdreamhouse.blogspot.com via Susan on Pinterest Tile (foyer, mudroom, in-law bath, powder room, master bath)  Source: dejongdreamhouse.blogspot.com via Jen on Pinterest Upstairs laundry:  Source: dejongdreamhouse.blogspot.com via Jen on Pinterest LVT (son's bath and laundry room)  Source: dejongdreamhouse.blogspot.com via Jen on Pinterest |
Here is a link that might be useful: de Jong Dream House
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| Everyone is coming along so nicely!! I haven't had time to post pics yet as I'm getting ready to leave town for two weeks. So I've had to do three weeks of building work for the builder in a week! Mel, how long is your island with the three pendants over it? Thanks! |
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| Beagle, how wide is your linen tower? Thanks! |
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| We just started about 3 weeks ago and this is where we are. We have a large 2 car garage on one side of our house, and a smaller one car garage on the lower slope side. We are also putting a storm shelter in under the front porch since we live in tornado alley. Last year our area was devastated by tornadoes on April 27th. We were fortunate that day, but ended up losing our house to lightning on July 10th, 2011. We are starting over. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Rebuilding
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| Let's try this again. Large garage side:
Front of house:
Storm shelter area:
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| Babs711 The island is 82x x 54 with the granite. It was suppose to be 76 X 48, but the base was built including the overhang by mistake. We are keeping it and increasing the granite budget. I will post pictures next weekend after the granite is installed. Mel |
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Trusses are going up!  |
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| We are close to getting dried in.
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- Posted by beaglesdoitbetter (My Page) on Mon, Feb 13, 12 at 19:47
| lnia the linen tower is 30 inches. |
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| We broke ground a few weeks ago and progress has been slow. I have pictures, floor plans and other details on the website below. https://sites.google.com/site/normandreamhome/home |
Here is a link that might be useful: House
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| We're dried in! Bricks and roughs over the next week or so. It's been about 8 weeks to this point for 2,300 sf and full walkout basement.
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Front door is in  Great room- windows and doors are installed throughout the house  Next step is roofing and then electrical--- still getting bids on plumbers and drywallers! Let the fun begin |
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- Posted by MichelleDT (My Page) on Fri, Feb 24, 12 at 15:14
| Wow - such great progress for everyone. @Beagles - BEAUTIFUL! @gbsim - great views and house! @Mel0569 - your kitchen is going to be wonderful. @ICFGreen - LOVE it all! We just finalized stone and roofing. Coronado Pro-Ledge in Dakota Brown and metal standing seam roof in dark bronze. Windows out for bid which we are holding on our breath on as it is a contemporary home with lot and lots of windows. The architect told me again today that I should start looking at the elevation for windows to compromise on. NOT until I see the bids. We submit next week for preliminary design review approval and should know by 3/15 if we can move forward with construction drawings. M |
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| ICF Green...where did you get your closet systems? |
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cant come soon enough!!! 
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