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| In like a lion, or in some cases, a polar bear? I know some of you are still digging out! For those that are making some progress during this miserable winter, let's see some pictures to give the others hope! |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| Well, we closed on the lot/construction loan back in December..but with absolutely unrelenting rain, just now got the dirt work done. We're just waiting on forms to be set/plumbing to be done. We'll get 4 days of solid sunshine, and there are still standing water puddles on the lot. Then we'll get an inch or two of rain..and start all over. So we've started covering the lot with huge tarps before rains. Raining again today, but we covered it yesterday. Supposed to get 3-4 days of good weather after today, so hopefully we'll get the forms set and plumbing run! I've got pictures of the dirt work and lot, but just not on this computer. Here is the front elevation and floor plan (original floor plan, before we made a few changes).
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| Relentless snow here. We've made a little bit of progress-we've got a roof and windows! Here's to spring!
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| We've had heat for over a week but it took until today for the garage and greenhouse dirt floors to thaw enough so they could pour cement. The siding is done. The dry walling is done. They are supposed to put floors in this week. I'll go out and take some pictures sometime this week too. I've got my fingers crossed and am hoping we will be moving into our new house in April. We own the house we are living in now and plan to rent it after we move out, so I won't ber under the same kind of pressure during this move that I have been under during past moves. Good thing. With all of the decisions to be made, I haven't even thought about packing. |
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| Rain and snow are limiting progress outside, however the interior is getting close. Flooring and trim are going down now. Temporary power is getting put in tomorrow along with a start on exterior final grading. Some of the interior walls will be repainted once touch ups are complete.
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Here is a link that might be useful: blog
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| We finally got my gf's house done or pretty close. After 12 months planning and budgeting and 12 months construction she is in and starting to relax and enjoy it. Still have a few details in the master bath to complete and grading in the spring but she is in and almost all unpacked ! Whewwww! And she didnt kill me after all I put her through !ie tough site, budget issues, steep drive, cable rail that needed to be done instead of spindles etc. Hope you enjoy
[IMG]http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/ae7/DesignDirective/Hackworth% 20lakehouse/DSC_0437.jpg[/IMG]
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| Everybody's build looks like it's coming along. I have to take some interior pictures yet. Right now, I'm mired in paint color decisions. Hawkgt, do you mind sharing your kitchen paint color? I'm looking for something similar for our dining room. Bigkahuna, do you mind sharing your neutral paint colors? We're trying to figure out a good all over neutral paint color. Thanks! |
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| Bruno, Wall color is Sherwin Williams:Wool Skein Good luck with that paint thing...it drives many crazy |
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| Well, I think this counts as some progress: builder applied for septic permit & is pulling together the exterior selections to take to our Architectural Review Board. We were in SC last week for 5 packed days of meeting with suppliers & some of the subs. It was a wonderful trip and we got so much accomplished, but we are so exhausted. I'll tell one story on myself - we were at our lot with the builder and the foundation guy to see if we liked where the house was going to be placed. DH & the guys were going through all kinds of scenarios when it became pretty obvious to me from their discussions that the house needed to be mirrored right to left. Now, I had been adamant when we were drawing up the plans that the garage needed to be on the LHS so that visitors drove past the front of the house before they pulled into the drive for the auxiliary parking (we're on a dead end street so there is only one way for visitors to approach). Theoretically, from a big picture design perspective, I was right. However, DH had spent months with the topos trying to figure out how to make it work. Standing on the lot, reality met theory & the "ideal" lost that round. I looked at DH & said, "It obviously needs to me mirrored. You were right & I was wrong. I don't have any problem with flipping it." The builder just looked at me and said, "Can I give your phone number to my wife?" We had a good laugh & the foundation guy made the same request. LOL!!!! The problem is that I worked & reworked that plan so many times, done simulations & just walked through it in my head that I'm afraid I will be disoriented when I walk through it for the first few times. Oh, well, my head will adjust. Jo Ann P.S. to the architects - yes, we should have had the architect help us find the lot to build the house the way we want, etc., etc., etc., but that's another area in which reality intruded. Found the only lot for resale in a tiny neighborhood that suited us & saw that it would accommodate a walkout basement so we went with it. |
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- Posted by buckheadhillbilly (My Page) on Tue, Mar 2, 10 at 17:10
 I'm with you, drjoann, getting a permit to move a driveway easement and getting a septic permit seem like huge progress. Our plans have been submitted for permitting and hopefully we'll have a permit by mid-April. Maybe next month we'll have pictures of a hole in the dirt to post! |
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- Posted by flgargoyle (My Page) on Tue, Mar 2, 10 at 17:17
| Jo Ann- Congratulations on getting started! I know you were worried about ledge on your lot- does it look like it's going to be OK? Looking forward to the first pictures. |
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| The kitchen is Benjamin Moore Cushing Green HC-125. We have received a lot of compliments on this color choice. We knew we would have a hard time with color choices so we worked with a interior decorator who works at the Benjamin Moore store. In the past we used her services for decorating and just paid a flat rate fee. Since we were buying all our paint through this store her help in picking out colors was free. We were very pleased with the entire experience and saved us a lot of uncertainty if we had picked the colors by our self. |
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- Posted by home4shore (My Page) on Tue, Mar 2, 10 at 20:51
| First floor framing started today! |
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- Posted by crescent50 (My Page) on Tue, Mar 2, 10 at 21:18
| Great progress everyone... here's hoping for a dry and mild spring to get things moving! Bigkahuna- the house turned out beautiful! Do you mind sharing details about the kitchen lighting if you have it? |
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| Crescent, Thanks so much. I believe the lights in the kitchen and dining are all Minka Lavery..not sure of model name...bought off ebay...so check there. You can get some good prices as well. Good Luck |
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| Well, thought I would post some pictures of the lot and dirt work (that just took 2 months to complete!). Here is the undisturbed lot (behind the tree) and then the dirt work completed.
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- Posted by elizabethtontnbuild (My Page) on Wed, Mar 3, 10 at 14:13
| You are all making such good progress! It is exciting. We have bought our land in Elizabethton TN, but we are still in the budgeting and planning stages for the build. Bigkahuna - your gf house is very similar to the exterior design we have - except we will be 2600 sq ft on main. Could you share the exterior finishes you used, plus we love the columns and cable on the deck - were they custom built? Was this a traditional build or ICF's/SIPs - we are trying to have as tight a building envelope as possible. Thanks everyone on this forum - we are reading as much of it as humanly possible for ideas!!! Sue and Chris |
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- Posted by crescent50 (My Page) on Wed, Mar 3, 10 at 15:57
| thanks kahuna- I was able to find them and send the picture along to a local light guy that I am using. I like the how the finish is a mix of a few different metals so it can "go" with lots of things. enjoy the new house- I picture lots of beautiful nights enjoying the view from that gorgeous deck! |
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| Sue & Chris, The cable rail is a combo of peices from different suppliers who had best prices. The turnbuckles are from unicorn stainless http://www.highlandrigging.com/shoppingcart.html?/cgi-bin/unicorn/Cata logMgr.pl?cartID=b-4376&SearchField=partnumber&SearchFor=S0791&templat e=Htx/s0791-00.htx&displayNumber=25 5/32" 316 Stainless cable was from here I believe..Best price I could find http://www.qualitychainandcable.com/ecom/product/15/11/ Siding is vinyl shakes from GP, but Quality edge and certainteed also have great siding..just have to find the one that has colors and style you like best. Stone is cultured stone local manufacturer. All trim is trex trim cellular pvc. You can find many like it just look for best price..Azek, Kleer, Koma, Versatex, fypon etc. Deck is Ipe from ABS Wood, Intermitten metal support posts are 1/2" x 2" aluminum with holes predrilled, powder coated. Windows are Windsor Legend cellular pcv line. Hope that helps Thanks Crescent..will enjoy the views as much as possible they are I think the best on the lake..or darn close. |
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| Bigkahuna: You outdid yourself for your girlfriend. That is a very beautiful house. The kitchen is very similar to what I would like; the flooring, the cabinetry, the island style. What variety of wood covers the kitchen and main living area? Is it stained? I would like to have a dark hardwood floor with contrasting lighter cabinets, as you have here. Where did you obtain the kitchen cabinetry? Is it custom? That is an outstanding house. |
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| MD, Thank you very much. I have been pretty pleased with how it turned out. There are always a few things that her personal taste or budget don't allow or you might do a different way, but it went pretty well and with the driveway and a bit of landscaping this spring /summer it should start to really shape up. The floor is Bellawood Brazilian Cherry 3/4"x5" prefinished( no stain)from Lumber liquidators. The kitchen cabinets were custom made by a small shop just south of Columbus. Hope this helps. Good luck with all your choices and build. It's a daunting process for many! Thanks again for the compliments. |
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| Sue and Chris. I forgot to answer the wall type. It is stick framed using 2x6 10'-4" walls. We used nuwool blown in cellulose insulation in walls and ceilings. So far her bills have been pretty reasonable giving it faces the wind blowing across the lake, the high ceilings , all the large windows /doors and exposed basement walls. I prefer this method personally unless the plan is very simple. SIPs and ICF's I have found to be high priced if the plan is anything but simple. The extra costs are hard to justify in my opinion over the method we used. I prefer the flexibilty of stick frame in changing, adding window sizes and or locations in the field if desired. The other methods make that much harder. Dont forget houses can get too tight. Good Luck |
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| Bigkahuna: I believe you wrote that this house and one other were owner-builder projects, i.e., no general contractor involved. The construction cost (excluding land) of the first was about $115 per square foot. What was the cost per square foot on this one? I may act as GC on my Ohio project, and I would be very happy to build a similar house. |
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| BigKahuna, I have to say that this exactly looks like my dream kitchen. I love the cabinets, hardwood floor and the tall ceilings and the lighting too. Your taste is so sophisticated and this looks like a very high end home. I have to ask you about the hardwood floors. Does it make the room look darker when there is not enough sunlight. We are planning to build a house in the suburbs of Detroit, MI and it is pretty dreary weather here for the most part. We will have two story ceiling only in the family room and foyer and there are lots of windows in the family room. But I am scared that the darkwood will make the house look darker given our very cloudy days for the most part of the year. Also, how high are the ceilings in your GF's house? I am going to show your house to my builder and say that this is my dream house:) What are the appliances in the kitchen? I'll start a new thread pretty soon showing the model home my builder has in his website and asking for suggestions to polish it a little better. Thanks Vidyaram |
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| Hawkgt, I loved your house too. It is coming together very well. What is the paint color in your foyer? The coiffered ceilings are so nice and so is the bathroom. What stain do you have in the bathroom? Bigkahuna, One more question. What is the style of the cabinets? I am still learning the difference between shaker style cabinets and other cabinets. Thanks in advance Vidyaram |
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| Md the cost /sf was a bit higher but its not an easy number to compare as this house has a stair up to a 12x16 finished bonus room and a stair down both wider than the other house which only goes down. This house has an unfinished 16'x 33'attic (trusses) over a 3 car garage and a plywood floor down and 6 windows and 2 dormers in that unfinished area that the other doesnt have. This house has 10'4" basement walk out ceilings and some very tall concrete walls /foundations due to the steep lot slope to get to solid bearing vs 9' on the other. There is additional gravel fill under the slab due to sloping lot. The front wall of the foundation is actually 15' tall with a ledge supporting 24" deep floor trusses that allowed the grade to be raised in front to reduce drop in steep driveway a few feet. It also has a partially finished basement..ie walls all framed for 2 bedrooms/bath and closets and drywalled with plumbing for bath and wet bar but not sanded painted or trimmed..no ceiling finish yet( all for tax and budget reasons. It also has more windows in the lower level than the smaller partial walkout on the other on. The ceilings in main space are 16' and start at 10'4 vs thhe 9' walls on other house. The exterior trim on this is all celluar pvc the other used aluminum . both have vinyl soffit and shake siding. The appliances are also a bit higher end( although bought through ebay at great prices) The grade and nature of the lot makes many things more expensive. It also has 960 sf of covered porchs with ipe decking and cable rail. The other has a 16x20 covered deck at grade. So its hard to get an accurate $/sf. they are different animals so to speak. The floors dont darken the room that much that I have noticed but the walls take on a greenish tone at night as opposed to tan/taupe during the day. Cabinets are not really any style. she chose what she liked from his samples and modified the profile a bit. I liked the inset shaker doors but it wasnt her taste. Oven is GE monogram zet1...( gets good reviews in the appliance forums and nice features) Speedcook is ge Advantium...she loves this for its speed and ease and great tasting foods..again see rave reviews in appliance forum. Cooktop and rangehood are thermador 6 burner. Refridge is Viking. DW is Kenmore elite or pro I forget. I suggest the appliance forum to see feedback on all your selections.Great resource.Keep in mind they bought extensively( lights/fans/plumbing fixtures/ hardware/towel bars etc/ decking railingmany appliances on ebay or various websites at great prices and we built two at once and got some better pricing on some trades. Lower building material costs didnt hurt either. Hope this helps |
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| Thanks Bigkahuna for the information! That kitchen is to die for. Love that thermador cooktop and the hood! One more question about the hardwood floor. You said that you used bella wood. How is the quality of the wood holding up? I see so many posts bashing up lumber liquidators and their prices seem so nice for my budget. My builder will be installing them. I saw a lot of complaints on the web about their installation. If my builder does the installation, how would it be holding up for a family with 2 young children? I would like to order through ebay too. But I don't know to trust which seller? I know it will be against the forum rules to give names. Is there any other way, you would be kind enough to give some trusted ebay sellers names? I am sorry for asking you so many questions. I am new to this forum and fell in love with your girl friend's house. Is there a link to see your house too? |
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| Vidyaram, The wood floors so far as I can see have been fine. they both got the same thing and so they are in only a few months but I believe some family members used them in previous houses. They new the installer from those jobs and have had decent luck. I have no other experience with them.Ebay I dont have specific names. I just knew what I was shopping for ie ge monogram advantium 240v. Searched it on ebay every day or so and sorted by newest listings to keep on top of latest ones. They come up every 1-2 weeks it seems. Be sure you know the model numbers you want so you dont get older versionsof the various items so that you dont get models that may not be as highly rated. Older versions had louder fans for instance in the GE Monogram ovens for instance. The newer ones are better rated. As for trust. We just had to rely on the feedback ratings. In most cases these guys had thousands of transactions and 99% positive feedback or better and they fight to protect them. Thats more than you find at most local stores I have found. So that is something you have to look at and decide your risk comfort. Ebay is also on your side and credit card companies etc. Like I said..I research things alot online and have not found anywhere that you can find the type of feedback you can on appliances and other things here. Use the search function if you are looking for a specific brand or model such as the advantium and see all the feedback that comes up. You dont get that same user feedback from your sales reps thats for sure. You also find owners here have nothing to gain from positive or negative feedback like a sales rep will. I now send all my clients here to research things and not just take my word for things. Let them become better and smarter consumers. They appreciate my guidance and help to do so. Good Luck |
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| The foyer is Benjamin Moore Hillsborough Beige (1033). The kitchen and bathroom cabinets are made by Legacy and the color is cabernet. The kitchen cabinets are Cherry and the bathroom vanities are maple. I built the coffered ceiling myself and it was quite a project. Everyone was really intrigued while I built them and in the end they are the first thing people compliment us on when they see the house. I planned it all out during framing and added ties between the joists where the beam ran parallel and in between joists. The whole project took me 3.5 days and cost ~$700 in materials buying them through my contractor at his price. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Blog with pics of progress
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| Hawkgt: Your coffered ceiling looks very nice. Where did you learn to do that job? |
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| Bigkahuna: You have changed my mind about ebay shopping. Hearing all the horror stories about things not getting delievered had me worried earlier. But I am going to be a little more open in checking ebay stores with a top rated seller. Hawkgt: Thanks for posting the link to your blog! It is amazinf how you did the coffered seiling yourself. It has turned out great! |
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| First time poster here! After 10 months of construction, I've just found this forum. Lots of good info here and I wish I would have found this place earlier. We're about 6 weeks from completion on our place. We have a great builder and its really been a smooth process. Floors will be sanded/stained this week and final painting will begin soon after.
The driveway's being scooped out now, and the retaiing wall work starts soon: |
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| cpuryear: Very nice! I love the dark window frames against the light walls, and the shapes and proportions that quote from -- am I right? -- familiar French and English architecture. Yet it is very contemporary, too. Is it architect designed? |
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| Yes, architect designed. We describe the style as "modern tudor". The exterior painting isn't finished just yet. The hardi-plank siding will be just a slight bit lighter grey, to help offset the windows.
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- Posted by marthaelena (My Page) on Mon, Mar 8, 10 at 13:12
| cpuryear I love the (partially) Tudor abstraction. |
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| I always enjoy seeing everyone's building progress. We MIGHT have progress soon. As many of you know we've been in turmoil and limbo for many months Every house we looked at we found ourselves comaparing to that house but we weren't able to get financing (as well as several other buyers) so we kept looking. I know several people here suggested going the flood insu rance route but when prices it was $5,000 per year. Yes, we were told a little less originally but that was through our current insurance. he has since taken it off the market due to no oneo being able to get financing. He's filed a LOMA with FEMA but it could take months and we are ready to move on... so we kept looking. THEN, 2 weeks ago the owner who is also a custom home builder called to ask if we wanted him to build us our home. Once that happened it was like a light went on and things are moving along. Found 5 acres and are working on house plans. I should have something to post here any day and I look forward to everyones help and advice on the plan and the build. We felt a connection to the home and owners from the first so feel it was God's plan to lead us to this place and with this builder. That's our March progress!!! Happy Monday, Sunny |
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- Posted by adellabedella (My Page) on Mon, Mar 8, 10 at 17:02
| We've been living in our house for a month. Last week, the ground was finally dry enough to get it graded and then have the sod rolled out. The landscapers are working on the front flower beds and I'm doing the rest. Of course, it's raining again today, but we enjoyed having a lawn for a change and spent a majority of the weekend outside. Here is the sunset we enjoyed this weekend from my back corner yard.
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| We are about eight weeks from completion. We have been labeled as the high maintenance customers, but hey, this will probably be the only time we ever build and want to make sure we don't regret anything (or regret as little as possible). We are finalizing our flooring choices, picking out appliances, garage doors, and lighting. We should end up around $2k over budget which is important considering we just ate a ton of money selling our current house. It's a lot of fun watching everyone's houses go up!
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| Glad to see most are making good progress. We finally got about a week of sun and finished our stone on the house. The roof is about 95 Percent complete. We passed our electrical, plumbing and structural inspections and just started to insulate today(cellulose). The building inspector said our house had the best framing he had ever seen. Our vacuum(hide a hose) also got installed since last month. Progress seems slow but we've had 10 to 20 people working most every day. For the most part my new pictures aren't that interesting(lots of wiring and plumbing) but I'm posting one of the front entry(no door yet). bigkahuna,
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| ramor, Beautiful stone!!! Wow!! I think the front of your home is gorgeous!! How big will it be? |
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- Posted by elizabethtontnbuild (My Page) on Tue, Mar 9, 10 at 16:57
| Ramor, Just love your stonework - would you share what type of stone it is, as well as the trim? Plus what windows did you go with?? Many thanks |
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| Adella, Great sunset..looking forward to seeing the house with that view. Cpuryear thats an interesting interpretation on the tudor. Cant wait to see more pics and the finished home. Spokane. Thats gonna be a long 8 weeks isnt it ? Sorry just teasing enjoy the stretch run. Ramor, Thanks for the compliment. Im loving your stone as well. The texture and pulled stones look great. It looks like stone columns to match the window trim? Very nice has an old world charm. Cant wait to see the rest of it. Enjoy the ride! |
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| We have been making lots of progress, shooting for April 1 at least with the upstairs and main floor. But I have hesitated to post pics because everyone's homes are so gorgeous and ours will be very modest in comparison... however comma I have to share the rails on the back porch. I love it :-)
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Here is a link that might be useful: Our Home Page
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| Target move in date is April 10. We won't be able to do grading outside and some final exterior trimwork by then and the stone won't be done, but we should be able to move in. Kitchen cabinets are being installed this week and basic window trim is about done. Some of the more detailed trimwork will happen starting next week. It's gone quite well overall (over budget of course) doing our own GC. We're trying to pick carpet, which has been surprisingly difficult.
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- Posted by stayn2busy (My Page) on Tue, Mar 9, 10 at 22:58
| gopintos, please don't hesitate to post pics of your beautiful home! I've enjoyed watching the progress. Love the transparent railing.,,, perfect for that awesome view. Don't worry....not everyone here is building a McMansion...me included...just a simple empty nester, out in the country, and like yourself, free & clear! I love your porch fans, what brand if you don't mind sharing. |
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| Thanks for the compliments on the stone. I can kind of take credit since I picked it and found the source, but I have to give most of the credit to my builder, he is truly one of a kind. I hope noone here feels reluctant to post pictures of their new builds because some houses are larger or more expensive. I love seeing all the pictures and can appreciate even the smallest homes that are well built and thought out. Anyway, thanks for the compliment twotogo and elizabethtontnbuild. The stone is an Arkansas Stone from Schwartz stone in Arkansas. We paid $160 per ton deliverd(about 300 miles). |
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| Awe, thank you very much. It has been quite a trip, and I have loved it. For the most part, it has been pretty stress free. Most things went well and went on budget except for electrical and that has been a bit frustrating and making things tight here at the end but I won't go there now :-) Anyways..... the fans, I will post a closer picture. They are not for everyone's taste, however it is a John Marshall design and I think their thing is they make many different themed fans. These are called Stallion Spirt. The upper deck has a neat fan also. It has some sailboat canvas for the blades. I kind of went ceiling fan crazy. There are just so many neat ones. And neat lights too, my kitchen looks like the lighting department at the Home Depot. And I discovered I really love sconces too...(hmmm might have something to do with why electrical went over budget? that and 5 miles of wire, no joke) But hoping the kitchen lights look better once the island goes in. I have never had a kitchen that has had enough lights, and I think I have fixed that now :-) Anyways, here are the fans
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Here is a link that might be useful: Our Build in Pictures
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| Ramor: Your facade looks great; elegant design and striking materials. |
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| We're trying hard to be in by the end of the month but don't know if we'll make it. Still need final plumbing, hardware install, tile backsplash, touch up painting, wood floors finished, carpet, landscaping.
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| Well, it looks like we are within a week or two of getting the building permit!! |
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- Posted by crescent50 (My Page) on Sat, Mar 13, 10 at 8:33
| mitri- your house is coming along great & looks beautiful! Do you mind sharing the details about your fan and your faucet? We are making these decisions now and I love the look of yours. GL as you finish up & can't wait to see more pictures. Thanks. |
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| Thanks Crescent! The faucets and soap dispensers are Danze Opulence. The smaller faucet on the left side of the main sink is a Danze Melrose bar faucet. We're going to use it for filtered drinking water. The ceiling fan is Hunter Georgetown from Lowe's. Thanks again for the kind words, and good luck to you too! |
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| big kahuna - is the FP wood burning and if so how is the TV fairing? i like the freelanced pantry.. does she like the shelving units? were they more affordable than built in shelves? the deck rails.. wow cool.. I like the clear ones but know i would hate cleaning them but thee seem invisible too, how do they price overall compared to the wood spindles or clear? |
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- Posted by crescent50 (My Page) on Tue, Mar 16, 10 at 8:44
| thanks mitri-hope you make it in by the end of the month! |
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| Crazyone, Thanks, The FP is gas, ventless( 99%) efficient. She didn't want to mess with wood /mess. It was also less $ than vented. No chimney /flue etc needed. She loves the shelves..with plastic shelf liners. Likes flexiblity and ability to move them out. Cost was about $75-$95 at Sam's, Lowes etc Its 6'x10'I believe so 4 racks. Never priced built ins. Rails again werent priced against spindles but Im sure cheaper for them. Cable rails are more but it depends on the design and layout. I had all the individual turnbuckles at all thos columns. Some designs can cut those down alot. They were about $15/each on ebay staore. Cable was about $.60/lf. We also had alumninum mid posts made and powder coated (Not cheap) But the look was important and the clear view with no cleaning glass. It has a bit of a nautical feel that I also like for lakefront designs. Railing cap is IPE. |
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| kahuna- interesting FP.. DH loves building and cleaning the real wood so we are good on that and i love watching it.. my concern was for TV since windows are on either side but will look into that later. yes your cables are very nautical.. the design is lovely. I wasn't something to look nice on the ranch wrap around but not heavy looking wood if I could avoid.. but also not the high end price of the glass.. and really can it ever be no clean? :-) |
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| Crazyone, Now if you are doing a woodburning FP you might look at this one.. http://www.renaissancefireplaces.com/en/renaissance-rumford-1000 I have yet to price it and Im sure its a bit expensive but has some great features and Im guessing really heats well as Rumford styles are known for. They have some great demo videos on the site. Good Luck |
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- Posted by kateskouros (My Page) on Wed, Mar 17, 10 at 0:17
| i'm here! first of all, it's so exciting to see everyone's progress! it's given me hope that we too will catch up and finally begin to move beyond a snail's pace. as you all probably know, the north atlantic region was hit hard this winter and we saw the kind of snow that only comes around every ten or fifteen years. i think our total was somewhere over 42" which is a major big deal for NJ. of course it took quite a while for it all to melt ...and then came the rain. moving around the exterior of the build is impossible since it's more like quicksand than mud; one of my legs was swallowed up just below the knee so even though our stone has arrived it's still at the warehouse. as we move into april i'm not holding up a lot of hope we'll see it go up anytime soon since we are still expecting our spring rain. i don't think the nor'easter we just went through counts. one (sort of) good thing to come from it was it took down TWO of our 100' trees at the root that were slated to go down anyway. we are incredibly lucky (not to mention grateful) they fell AWAY from the house! the storm also did us the favor of taking down a multitude of branches from the very tops of the remainder of trees that we would have had to address. so we're looking at recent weather as simple spring cleaning. so: our glorious trim is up and (almost) finished and as of today we are finally insulated and 'ROCKED! it's nice to see all the spaces and to be able to experience the "flow" of the house. i need to do some last minute additions to the electrical and the plumber needs to come back and change out the standard drains he installed earlier to kerdi system drains. i've made my toilet selections (big fun!) and everything is moving; still slowly, but surely! i need to show you all the rear of the house but as mentioned, it's impossible to move around out there. it was a gorgeous spring day today and if the weather remains cooperative i will post back again. send good vibes for sun, please... continued good luck to everyone!
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| Our architectural review board gave approval to proceed over the weekend. The builder plans to clear the lot this week & excavate next week. WOOT!!!!!! Thanks for all the support over the past (nearly) two years time. We're getting there. Jo Ann |
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| I love your house kateskouros. Looks like you are at a similar stage to my build. I haven't ordered any toilets yet but I did order a couple of whirlpool tubs yesterday. I really like the way your upstairs windows are cased and look forward to seeing more pics, especially after you get the stone work completed. |
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| Kateskourous...Sweeeeeeeeeeet house. Thats gonna be fantastic. Cant wait to see more... That damn mud will dry up soon I'm sure! Jo Ann it's about damn time! Get thing moving... Just kidding glad to hear progress is being made. Let the fun begin! |
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| We are just in the planning stages of our build! We haven't even touched the land yet, but here it is...
17.4 acres, primarily wooded except a slight clearing (how convenient) where our house will be. We're so excited...and of course a bit overwhelmed! Luckily there is not too much snow left, so we can start clearing soon. |
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| Kate - thanks for posting the pix. The Nichiha looks wonderful! We're going to have similar trim under two window sets in our front, so it is good to see how nice something similar looks. I just wanted to say that I think your actual house looks much better than the rendering you posted from the architect what seems like ages ago. Your house just looks so much more "homey", in such a good way, than those early glimpses of what it would be. DH & I have often observed that the artistic renderings one sees on a plan mill site usually look so much better than the photos of the house when it is actually built. With bigkahuna's girlfriend's house, there is a very different effect going from the rendering to the photo of the house, above. Its like "reality" becomes hyper-reality which is even better because the shadows are real and the trees and the lake in the distance. It feels like what was in the 3D rendering is what was actually built, but it is even better. Enough quirky observations. So glad to see the progress being made by everyone in spite of the horrendous weather this winter. |
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- Posted by kateskouros (My Page) on Wed, Mar 17, 10 at 14:15
| thanks everyone for the nice comments. i have to say i'm thrilled with the nichiha and a little proud of myself for sticking to my guns about using it. both our architect along with the builder were pushing for hardi and somewhere along the way my husband even sided with them. -not that hardi isn't a great application but i knew as soon as the nichiha samples came in it would be perfect for this house. funny how as soon as it started going up all the boys were standing around patting themselves on the back for making such a great choice in materials. it was hilarious! now they're all recommending it to other clients. what is it with these guys?? but anyway, i do know what you mean drjoann. while large, i would like to think the house has a very welcoming feel to it. thanks again for compliments. i can't wait to see pics of your build; it's very exciting in the beginning. enjoy it before heading into the "tired and emotionally drained" phase! bigkahuna: i could stare at glimpses of your lakefront home all day. so please post more pics! |
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- Posted by blondie859111 (My Page) on Thu, Mar 18, 10 at 0:27
| Slow going as we are doing most of the work ourselves. Finished the Advantec on roof and hired out the metal roof. Husband built chimney and applied cobblestone. french door in, windows almost all in. Interior partitions done. But, what color to make this house? Any Ideas? |
Here is a link that might be useful: House Progress
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| Hello Everyone! We are in the "waiting for prices from builder and hoping it is in our price range" stage. I am so emotionally invested at this point that I will be crushed if it doesn't work out. All of the houses shown here look wonderful! Congratulations to all and here's to a productive Spring! Kate, I love the look of that Nichiha, but I am concerned because there is not even a distributor in our state (there is one from a neighboring state that is covering us). Need to do some checking on that. Sounds like your installer had no experience with it but seemed to do fine installing it? drjoann, I am very interesed in your comments. I too have noticed that the renderings often look so great and then when I look at the photos the house doesn't look very good - sort of plain and uninspiring. It has worried me! I am looking at a 2D drawing of our design at this point, so I am hoping that mine would look much better in real life like you mentioned about kate's and bigkahuna's girlfriend's houses. Interesting observations! pps7, I really love the look of your house - can't wait to see it progress. |
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- Posted by kateskouros (My Page) on Thu, Mar 18, 10 at 15:59
| polkadots: the builder had never heard of it. the guys were so thrilled with it when they finally began installing. they said it's much easier to work with than the other products since it doesn't bend at all, so less breakage. it really is beautiful in person! |
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| Very first picture of something actually, physically being done:
Builder sent this from his cell phone with the message "And it begins ....." Yeehaw! |
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| Jo Ann.... I can almost smell the fresh dirt being moved! Good luck and enjoy the ride! |
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- Posted by flgargoyle (My Page) on Fri, Mar 19, 10 at 16:20
| Congrats, Jo Ann! You finally are under way. I hope you'll keep the pictures coming. Everybody is looking good, making progress despite the crummy weather. Spring is right around the corner (tomorrow, actually) and the weather seems to be finally cooperating, at least for some. |
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| I had a mild panic attack, this AM, when I realized that something irrevocable was actually happening. At work, we have a phrase "Paralysis by Analysis" & as a project manager I've often had to tell the designers, "This is it; we have to cut metal if we ever want to fly." Well, I've finally had to let go of all of the pieces of paper and simulations and say, "This is it; they have to move dirt & pour concrete if we ever want to live in this house." Last Sunday, when we heard that we had Architectural Review Board approval, I bought a battle of bubbly, but we haven't popped it, yet. Tonight's the night. I'm gonna cut loose in more ways than one. ;^> |
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- Posted by kateskouros (My Page) on Fri, Mar 19, 10 at 22:52
| congratulations drjoann! since we're living on site i personally loathe when the 'dozers start moving dirt around. that's when the snakes move into our garage. ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww! |
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| KATE!!!! From one Jersey Girl (Elizabeth -> Hoboken -> East Hill Englewood -> Houston, TX) to another .... thank you. I was so nostalgic when I saw the sandy soil in the pictures when you first broke ground. I've lived with Gulf Coast gumbo (a type of soil) for 20 years and now I'm going to red dirt. I think that I'm going to put terra cotta colored porcelain tile in the mudroom just to hide the red dirt of the Upstate. ;^) Jo Ann P.S. Love the wallpaper for your laundry room. I'm going to do my laundry room in the colors of those white towns on the Greek coast ... cobalt blue, turquoise sea and white ... aaahhhhhh. P.P.S. - I asked on the Kitchen Forum, but can you please tell me where you got that 48" Capital at that price point? Boy, that is the way to go. What a deal, I tells ya! |
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- Posted by kateskouros (My Page) on Sat, Mar 20, 10 at 0:14
| sorry, i didn't see you posted back to me about the range. i bought all the appliances from the same store so i'm sure that helped. i took possession of most of them several months ago (actually about a year ago!) to avoid any further price increases. the warranty doesn't go into effect until install though. here is the info. if you want to email me i'll forward my quote sheet. michelabelle@yahoo.com Top Line Appliance Center (i went through the roselle store) |
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| All of your homes look great. We met with the builder last night for final plans so will get started soon. Gopintos - can I ask where you got your stallion spirit fan? I did a search and can't find it. My daughter is a barrel racer and would LOVE that fan. I even looked on ebay. Anyway. everyone batten down the hatches. We're fixin to get some back weather in Texas. Sunny |
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| Kate - thanks for the info. There is no Capital distributor in the Carolinas, so if I want one, I guess it will have to come from ATL or up north. - Jo Ann |
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| Congrats to everyone on their progress!! Sunnny - I can't find the fan on ebay anymore either, but I did find it on Bob Villa's site. http://www.bobvila.com/SmartBuys/Outdoor_Ceiling_Fans-Fans-Lighting-1. html I didn't look anymore so you might be able to find it elsewhere also. It is a John Marshall fan. I posted in another thread, I have taken a bath in my new house :-) We moved our bed so my husband said that makes it official, we have moved in. It isnt 100% complete, but it is finished enough. I wanted to be able to get everything out of the rental and have time to get that cleaned back up. I thought I kept a sort of tidy home, but when you move, you see what kind of slobs you really are :-) anyways, we have one completely working bathroom. Kitchen has f&f working, the microwave isnt hooked up but using a countertop one that goes elsewhere later. I dont cook alot anyways but wanted to try to do better. I bought one of these nuwave oven things and tried it last night and I think I am going to like it. Okay so anyways, we have a new old address again. It is great to be back home. We have been gone for over a year and it feels almost like we never left, like we have always lived in this house. It will probably take another month to finish the inside, and the outside.... who knows when we will get around to everything but I figure we have the rest of our lives to work on it. Thanks for all the great ideas and advice. I have spent countless hours on here, and it made all the difference for our new home. I have lots of decorating to do now, even though I have little style and little budget left, but here are a few shots I took just because I had to take some pictures. I have bought a few pieces, probably plenty but I am afraid to put anything on the nice new walls :-P Master Bedroom One of the Guest Bedrooms (with our niece and granddaughters in mind) Main floor Bathroom |
Here is a link that might be useful: Our Home Page
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| Gapintos, I love the tub in your master bath. I've never seen anything like it. Congratulations to all who are starting their builds and to all the lucky people who just moved into their new homes! I'm still 6 weeks away. My wood floors were down as of Friday and will be sanded, stained and finished next week. The tiler has all of my bathroom floors tiled, but not grouted. My cabinets and appliances are sitting in the garage. So close but yet so far. Hopefully this week there will be something pretty finished to take pictures of. |
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- Posted by marthaelena (My Page) on Wed, Mar 24, 10 at 10:52
| bigkahuna, Do you have a picture of the exterior deck stairs showing the cable rail? If you do, could you please post it? Thanks I love the Ipe (I knew it as guayacan - when little). I used it many years ago for a kitchen countertop; it's a very heavy and dense wood and I am pretty sure your girfriend will love the color when it ages. |
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| One of our neighbors sent this picture to us from this morning. Apparently, some of the "rogue" turkeys who live in our neighborhood are really enjoying the insects and grubs being turned up by the earth moving equipment. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Can't wait until T-day?
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- Posted by flgargoyle (My Page) on Fri, Mar 26, 10 at 15:26
| Wow! That's pretty cool. I can't wait to see what crawls out of the woods up at our place. The neighbor said bears are seen from time to time(!) We have a big hollow tree with a number of BIG holes about 15-20 feet off the ground- I'm curious as to what lives in there. Other than birds and squirrels, the only wildlife we've seen at our place was..... a box turtle. |
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| I know there are deer and critters that can eat our little doggies. YIKES! Proximity to Paris Mtn provides refuge for lots of wildlife. OTOH, I heard from neighbors that some of them are feeding the "wild" turkeys so the flock has gotten pretty big. An abandoned pet peacock was trying to muscle in with the turkeys but they were less than impressed with him. Poor guy. Hey, there's a llama ranch up your direction which is within cycling distance of me w/o crossing the highway. I hope they will let me come and pet the llamas. I LOVE llamas! They're so Zen - they walk around humming "OM". (Can't have a herd of llamas because of restrictions on livestock and can't have one as a "pet" because they emotionally need to be part of a herd.) |
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- Posted by nutherokie (My Page) on Fri, Mar 26, 10 at 21:30
Well, on March 1, we had half a slab that had been sitting since mid-January. The weather finally broke March 2, and on March 4, they installed the steel above-ground tornado shelter- aka-DH's closet. By March 25, first Fire Rock fireplace was being installed and framing almost finished!  
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- Posted by blondie859111 (My Page) on Sat, Mar 27, 10 at 9:33
| bigkahuna beautiful house. i have question about your walk in closet lighting. i was told to comply with code the lighting had to be completely closed, no chandeliers or open lighting. how did you get around that? |
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| Great post. I loved reading about everyone's progress. Bigkahuna, I love the decking, that wood is gorgeous! I've mostly been hanging out in the kitchen and bath forums. Our siding is going up and interior walls are being prepared for paint. I'll post pics when I get a chance. |
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| After nearly six months of slogging through the mud, we finally poured the roof on our earth sheltered house March 8. Framing starts next week. I hope, I hope. :o)
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- Posted by kateskouros (My Page) on Sun, Mar 28, 10 at 2:31
| joann: stay away from the turkeys! seriously, those guys are NASTY. stupid, but really fierce! there was a flock congregating in the middle of the road i was driving and i had to wait a good TEN MINUTES for them to take their party to the side. i thought about getting out to herd them out of the way but then remembered others' warnings. so annoying. they wouldn't budge and i didn't want to get turkey guts all over my fender. (!) |
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| After lurking around here for almost two years, I can finally say we are starting our new house! In December of '07, we decided to build. Getting our property ready to build on was a challenge, to say the least. My husband's dad and aunt owned land that was inherited by his grandparents. We decided to buy my father-in-law's half of this property. My husband and his grandparents were extremely close, so this whole process has been very sentimental for him. Anyway, when his grandmother passed away in 2000, his dad and aunt did absolutely nothing with her home and property. The house finally deteriorated to the point where it was beyond repair, so it had to be torn down. His grandfather was a hoarder, but hoarded things like old cars, tires, equipment, small outbuildings--you name it, he dragged it home and dumped it. We took it upon ourselves to clean everything up by ourselves and it took about a year and a half of weekends to demolish the house and have all the junk hauled off. It was a huge, frustrating mess. People thought we were crazy for taking on the job. Finally, the property was ready to build on and turned out beautiful. We still needed to have it surveyed and split in half, so we hired a surveyor. Turns out, the last time the property was surveyed (in 1942), it was done wrong. The surveyor could not get the boundaries to line up correctly with our neighbors, and it took him 4 months to figure everything out. In the meantime, we drew up our house plans and found a builder. Finally, everything was done, the property was split and put in our name, and we were ready to build. We went ahead and paid to have all the dirt work done so the pad could settle for a few weeks. We were literally 2 days away from starting the house when we found out we were in the planning zone for our nearest big city (Fort Worth, Tx). We were 10-15 miles outside the Ft. Worth city limits, and not even in the same county, but we were in their planning district. As such, we had to follow the rules of the Ft. Worth zoning commission, who required us to plat the property and dedicate the first 30 feet of our entire piece of property for future expansion of the road. Essentially, we had to give them a total of a quarter of an acre! Had my husband's family acted upon a exemption clause a few years ago, we would not have had to do this. However, their procrastination and laziness got the best of them and the clause expired. Back to the surveyors office! It took him another month to plat the property and we submitted it to the city offices. They took another month and a half to approve it. Two weeks ago, everything was finally signed, stamped, and filed. Our dirt pad has settled VERY WELL by now! While all this was going on, our lumber estimate decreased by over $7000, the fabulous framer and foundation guy who were previously unavailable are now available and scheduled, so I have to believe that the timing just wasn't right back then. Everything happens for a reason, no? Anyway, our builder delivered our temporary electric pole yesterday, we're meeting with the bank this week, and we couldn't be happier for everything to finally begin! Our builder says we will be moved in by the time school starts in late August, if not a few weeks earlier. SO EXCITED!! |
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| Martaelena, Sorry I didnt see your post before... There is no stair down from the deck. I had originally designed it with a spiral stairs down. However she decided with a bar a few doors down on the lake she didnt want possible drunks stumbling up the stairs or the lost security she felt with it. It was laso cheaper to exclude. Several others in the area did the same so she followed their lead. Oh well. It would have looked great ! Blondie, Not sure if it makes a difference since there is an island in the room and the size of the room. I didnt worry about it in this case since we didnt have isnpections in the rural area. Sherwhy, Thanks..The deck is Ipe if you are not familiar with it. They have a ton of info on porch and deck forum if you are interested. |
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| Look what these guys went and did to our lot, yesterday!
Our neighbor sent us this picture along with some others of very impressive equipment. |
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- Posted by flgargoyle (My Page) on Wed, Mar 31, 10 at 16:31
| That's a thing of beauty, Jo Ann! |
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| Thanks, Jay. That is some red dirt we've got. I plan to tile the mudroom & screened porch with porcelain tile that looks like red saltillo out self-defense. LOL! Jo Ann |
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| Jo Ann, You better get out there and keep an eye on them...doesn't look like they can keep things straight. Looks like just a bunch of corners. Glad to see your getting things started..good luck |
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| bigkahuna - ummmmm .... one of the reasons I've never posted a plan (besides the fact that DH doesn't want me to - don't ask) is that there are a "few" corners. I knew I'd get an earful about how expensive it would be to build. Well, we're OK with what it is costing us and the window seat in the guest BR and the half octagons that are the breakfast banquette and my Master BR sitting area are so damned cute that it is worth it. ;^D Love the Ipe on your GF's deck & hope you keep us abreast of how it holds up. We're doing Ipe on our modestly sized rear deck. Trex would have been an upcharge and now, we'll have beautiful wood. Managed to work natural stone veneer rather than manufactured into the budget, as well, by removing heaps of it from places that only the turkeys (wild ones, not our neighbors) would see it. LOL! Thanks for the good wishes - Jo Ann |
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| Just kidding about the corners.. Although they do add cost, sometimes they are required to get the look and feel you want. The Ipe should last about 50 years so I'm not worried. You do have to treat it to keep its best look but thats life with natural materials. Look into Woodrich for that. They seem to have a nice product. We need to get my GF some ordered and get it treated this spring. She prefers the rich deep brown look. |
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