Sorry for the type of build. LOL

At the rate I'm going, I could probably host this thread for the next 5 years LOL. (Or COL - Cry Out Loud) We hope to break ground sometime in 2010- maybe...

Our progress is slow since we are doing it, for the most part, ourselves as we have the money so I don't update here every month.

Our siding is finished except for the front porch. We have about 2 hours of caulking left to do. My son and I have started painting the siding so the multicolored part in the front is now painted. :-) We had the schematic done for our electrical wiring and we are finishing the fixes we need to do before the wire is pulled. My husband and I are buying the wire and breakers today. Wire should be at least started this month if not completed.

Brutuses, your posts have been such a help to me when I've been a little discouraged with our speed. I have watched your house take shape and now you are almost done and it is so beautiful! I know ours will be the same way. I'll watch and help it take shape and I will think it's beautiful also.

To everyone else - your posts have been so helpful to me in making more informed and wise decisions. Our house is going to be so much better because of the unselfish sharing of the members here, for which I am truly thankful.

Here are a couple of pictures of our siding.

How did it get to be June already????

On May 14th we and our bank signed all the paperwork necessary to allow us to take over as GC on our house after we fired our original builder in early February. (It took our bank 3 months to finally agree to the proposal we made to them in February.)

Since taking over as GC we have been dealing with fixing the many many things that our original builder half-completed (or completed in a half-assed manner!) and are FINALLY approaching actually being able to insulate and then sheet-rock.

Back in January - just before we finally got fed up and fired Builder - he had told us he would be having the insulation put in the the next day and that sheet-rock would be in by the end of the following week. Thank heavens we did not let him proceed. I nixed letting him start the insulation because I knew there were still several electrical boxes missing and that they had to go in before insulation and sheetrock.

He wasn't happy when I insisted that the electrical rough be completed and approved by our third-party inspector before any insulation was installed but that was just one of about a thousand fights we had. The house is outside of city limits and there are no required inspections except for septic. Fortunately tho I had put into our contract that everything was to be done to City of Austin code requirements and that we could insist on a third party inspection at any time. Further, if inspector found items that did not meet code, builder was required to correct them.

Well, while doing a very careful assessment of the house's status two weeks ago, we discovered that Builder had cut a PVC drain pipe (for an upstairs toilet) that runs across the ceiling of our dining room and then never repaired the cut!!!! He cut the pipe after an engineer we hired because the upstairs floors felt entirely too bouncy, required him to install additional floor/ceiling joists to meet code.

The thing is that we had already had the plumbing inspected and pressure tested and approved and probably would not have thought to have it inspected again. And the gap was nearly impossible to see because both sides of the cut drain-pipe butted practically right up against the new I-joist which, by the way, is made of OSB.

DH just happened to look up one day while standing in the ONE spot on the floor below where you can see that the pipe was not continuous!

So, if we hadn't fired Builder and he had gone ahead with insulation and sheetrock as he planned, the first indication we would have had of the problem would have been after someone flushed the upstairs toilet for the first time! Heck, with low flow toilets it might actually have taken several flushes before enough waste water would have seeped thru the insulation and sheetrock to be visible on the dining room ceiling below! Meantime that OSB I-joist would have been being soaked as well... which, as everybody knows is NOT good for OSB.

Anyway, over the past few weeks we have repaired, replaced, or totally redone a total of seventy-two "little" things like the above. Actually, most of the items were not quite so egregious but each one cost time/effort/money... nearly $5K thus far. And at least sixty of the items were things that I had been bringing to Builder's attention repeatedly over the ten months he worked on our house and that he had been promising to fix but never quite getting around to doing! It would have been a whole lot cheaper for him to have fixed some of these problems while he had the proper subcontractors on site but Builder was notorious for just covering OVER problems rather than fixing them. Now, we of course have to pay a subcontractor's travel time to come out fix anything we can't take care of ourselves... which can easily turn what should be a $10 job into a $100 job.

I have tons of pictures that I will probably one day be sharing with a jury - but nothing pretty to share with you all just yet. Knock wood tho - I think we are finally ready to move on so hopefully there will be real progress pictures to share by next month.

flgar, good you can take over my 6 year run!! LOL You have to laugh or else you'd be crying all the time. It's like it will never end and I'm 99.9% there. Ugh!!

I'm hanging in there with the long-timers. In April, I said we were "almost in" and needed to be out of the apartment May 1.

Well, on April 27 I was moving pots of hostas back down the hill, and my right foot went down the hill ahead of the rest of me. My left foot stayed put, and I sat on it. Hard. Five hours later: The surgeon used 2 plates and 9 screws to put Humpty Dumpty together again.

So I've been on a walker or in a wheel chair ever since. My DH tells people he's amazed at what I'd do to get out of helping move. One more week of "no weight whatsoever" on the ankle, after which I hope to be allowed to start back to normal.

We moved from the apartment to our DD & DSIL's lower level. They cook for us and we babysit for them and we each think we're getting the best end of the deal.

Oh, yes, the house: First HVAC/Electrical inspection: failed. All things fixed -- we thought. Second HVAC/El inspection: Failed. One little thing that we misinterpreted, which was fixed today. Third time's a charm, we hope. Then final inspection, and who knows what he'll find. So as soon as we fix those things, maybe we can move in.

No pictures as the computer with my camera program isn't hooked to the internet here. Maybe next month

Hope everyone else's luck is better than ours.

Arlene

Well, we are moving right along. I havent taken any recent pics but will do so tmrw when I meet with the trim men. A rough in electrical, plumbing and drywall done. Deck is on. Paint on the walls. Waiting for the house to dry out enough for the hardwood to be installed. Trim men are supposed to start Monday (once I decide which one to go with). We are just struggling to stay sane with the 3 kids in the apartment. We should be in before the end of the summer, (I just waiting for a diaster....)

Bevangel...do you know the story of Job? Hats off to you for your perseverance. Count your lucky stars that DH spotted that pipe! In the long run, you WILL have a beautiful house to live in.
Kcthatsme...don't dispair. Some of us have been at this longer than others. We're on the "pay as you go plan", as well.
Someone once suggested that each monthly update include your starting date. We broke ground Oct. 29, 2007, so we are going on 20 months now. BUT...cause for celebration: we passed our final inspection today (once we submit the results of the water testing)! We still need gutters installed...the guys were supposed to be here Monday, then Tuesday, then Wednesday, and now of course, tomorrow. It's been a rainy spring, and DH is hot to get those gutters up so that his cistern will fill for his garden. I tell everyone that as soon as our gutters go up, count on no more rain for a couple of weeks. Here's a couple of pics of the exterior, including ipe deck and screened porch:
{{gwi:1462404}}From Exterior

{{gwi:1462406}}From Exterior

Range, hood, and refrigerator installed (all appliances Energy Star where possible), completed backsplash, soapstone countertops, black walnut cabinets milled from trees cut on our property:
{{gwi:1462407}}From Kitchen

Dining area, looking into the living room, LED recessed lights, deck to the left and screened porch beyond the living room:
{{gwi:1462409}}From Lighting

Jotul woodstove installation this week:
{{gwi:1462411}}From Stonework and Fireplace

Final projects still outstanding...enclose outdoor shower, install the REAL outdoor wall sconces which had to be reordered after the wrong fixtures were delivered, and gutters, followed by rain to fill the cistern for DH's garden. Here's a picture of his strawberries:
{{gwi:1462412}}From Garden

We hope to move in mid-June. Our GC told us that we would be in by "late summer" last year. Pretty likely.

ooowww hostagrams... you're only suposed to "break a leg" when going on-stage, not while trying to complete and move into your new home! Hope it is mending nicely. Suggest you tell DH that if he continues to give you a hard time, you will gladly break HIS leg and thereby give HIM an excuse to get out of helping with the rest of the move. ;-) Just kidding.

After 8 months, we are finally done! We ended up going 10% over our original budget.

Front

Back Side

Cook Top

Beverage Center in island

Dining Room

Great Room

Closet

Bathroom Sink

Staircase in Foyer

Fisherking-- I LOVE YOUR HOUSE! We are in the permit stage and while i have picked our kitchen, floors, etc... i would love to see your lighting in the bedrooms (did you do high hats or celing fans?) also would love to see your spare bathrooms. My taste is similiar- traditional!

Our ceiling in the kitchen will be 10 feet, cabinets will be 8 feet, hood will be 9 feet.. would love to get some other ideas for 10 foot ceiling..

fisherking, congratulations, your home is absolutely beautiful inside and out. Please post more interior photo's when you can. Great job!!

What do you do about insurance when the build takes more than a year? My builder's risk policy expires on Monday. I've already had one 3-month extension and the agent says I can't have another one. She won't write a homeowner's policy because I'm not moving into the house. Any suggestions? Does anyone know of a company that I can call ASAP?

Eastgate if you can email me: eventhecatisaboy@yahoo.com

Wow - so many people are getting very close to finished! And, what with the economy, not nearly as many newbies seem to be joining in the monthly "how is your build coming along." I recall when there were at least 25 or 30 folks posting their progress on these threads every month. Now it is down to just a few of us. Maybe we should set up a "last man standing pool" to be won by the LAST person to finish and move in... sort of a consolation prize. LOL!

Brutuses - I've been following your posts for at least a year now. You must be ecstatic to be finishing up the final details. I do hope you will post a final round of pictures as your house is chock full of some very lovely details. We all want to see it in its finished glory.

Fisherkings, Your home is absolutely beautiful AND you finished in only 8 months and only 10% over budget. Congratulations on a job well done! The rest of us are terribly jealous you know.

Coffeehaus, Your home is coming along so nicely too. Looks like you'll be ready to move in very very soon. I love the screened porch and the ipe deck and your red metal roof. I know you are going to be so happy to get moved in and get settled. DIYing on a "pay as you go basis" has to be the ultimate test of both a person's character and the strength of a marriage. DH and I investigated DIY - even took a 6 week long class on building your own home - but then decided that we just didn't have the time to GC it ourselves what with both of us having full time jobs. If we had only known!

BTW, I do know the story of Job - I just never ever had any desire to BE him. In fact, one of my favorites sayings has always been "NEVER EVER pray for patience b/c the good Lord just might send you opportunities to learn it!" LOL! As for perseverance, believe me, I have DREAMED many times about just taking all our savings out of the bank, packing a couple of bags and buying one-way tickets for DH and me to some south sea island somewhere.

Eastgate, I wish I had an answer for your question. When we fired our builder in February, the first thing DH and I did was go right out and purchase a builder's risk policy in our own names. Our agent didn't seem to have any problems with selling us one even though, by that time, the house was 10 months along and we hadn't even been qualified by our bank to GC it ourselves. I've heard it said that, for the right premium, an insurance company will sell you a policy covering anything you have an insurable interest in. So maybe the problem is just that they don't want to give you another extension. Have you asked about buying a new policy?

Suzienj, when do you anticipate breaking ground?

i would love to break ground tomorrow... as we are renting a very very small place... but the township/builder estimates we'll have permits by early September (wouldn't it be nice if they surprise us and its sooner!!!)

Thanks for the positive feedback guys. Here are a couple more interior pictures. The walls and tile grout turned out much lighter than I expected. Susie, we went with fans in the master.

Master Bedroom

Fisherking- thanks for the pics- absolutly BEAUTIFUL---- great job!

Fisherking, thanks so much for the additional photo's. Everything is so pretty. Great job.

Looking good everyone!!!

Fisherking - thanks for sharing your pictures. Beautiful home - inside and out!!!

We are in (actually about 2 months ago), but just recently got the exterior painted. Still haven't gotten the driveway or landscaping in. We haven't had rain in weeks, but now that we're finally ready to go it will probably rain for a month!

Hi, thepond is building!!!

I applaud your photos, you are my inspiration, hope for an end to all of this.

This is actually a remodel, the basement is still down there. But the whole main floor is a complete new build, except for 2 1/2 exterior walls. All interior walls, sheetrock, floor, roof was removed, mostly by us.

We broke ground in April, today most interior walls were framed, this is where it is now:

Hi everyone, we made a lot of progress at the beginning of May but things have been a little slow lately because we bottlenecked waiting for the insulation to be put in. The ductwork has been started and some soffits have been installed. The basement is being prepped for the floor to be poured and the dirt has finally been backfilled around the foundation except for where the geothermal pipes are going to come out. Windows will be ordered next week. The window color has been a hard decision because none of the window colors matched our color scheme for the house. I think we are going with a gray that will blend in more than the white.

-Dan

We are still framing but they are doing a great job and are out there every day during the week unless it is raining. I am happy with our progress so far. (Here goes me trying to post a pic, if it doesn't work I'll keep trying.)

Front of house in framing process

3 car garage

DH back patio-stamped concrete

We have shutters.

Front window

side window

wow brutuses! Real working shutters with shutter dogs and everything... beeeeuuutifull!

Beautiful house!! I think you had giallo ornamental in the kitchen -we are selecting that as well. Congrats!!

bevangel, thanks so much. DH is so proud of his handy work. It will be so nice not having to worry about plywood when the hurricane warnings come.

Susie, we have the GO in our kitchen and love it. I think the best thing about it is it hides crumbs. I heard one person on another forum expressing her unhappiness because her counter hid crumbs. Me, I like that. It's bad enough I'll be swiffering the floors 3 times a day because it won't hide stuff. If the counters have a crumb I don't see, I won't lose any sleep.

Hi all! I tend to lurk more than post. Every month I think about taking the time to post an update, and just never get to it. Right now it's a one-man show - DH is my plumber, electrician, and master carpenter. Problem is that he is a Master Carpenter and is doing a wonderful job, but it is taking time.

We have 4 big items that need to get finished - the back porch decking and railing (12+ ft above grade, so has to get done), finish the wood floors, install staircase railing, and kitchen cabinets. Then DH will have to finish all electrical and most of the plumbing and we're crossing our fingers that we'll get the CO. All of this within the next 4 weeks.

While the FEMA mobile home has been a godsend, I am soooo ready to move into the house! The county continues to be uncooperative. We have $15K coming from insurance if the county will write a letter saying that our foundation meets the elevation req'ts. The county won't write the letter until we get the CO. Because we knew that we had the money coming, we had adjusted our loan accordingly. It's a pain to increase our loan because part of our loan is through SBA, we would have to get yet another subordination agreement to adjust the loan amount. So I'm off to the bank to get a short term loan to get the money to finish the house. That'll make 6 loans - 1 conventional, 1 SBA, 2 against my retirement, 1 with my car as collateral, and 1 for the remainder of the $15K that is unsecured. (I was too embarrassed to post on the "how far over budget" thread!)

Sorry for the disjointed post - I'm trying to post at the same time as putting an uncooperative 3-yr old to bed. Now I remember why I never post!

I will post pics of the staircase sometime later this week.

the spring rain was the worst i think we've had in years and put us at a virtual standstill that lasted most of march and april and even into early may. we've dried out somewhat although we had two nights of thunderstorms last week. all things considered, i think we're back on track. as you can see by the pics, we'll have a LOT of grading to do in the front (all the cinder blocking will be covered with dirt as will the back. the side will be covered with stone, as we will have a walk out basement. it's tough to get a head-on shot of the front since the temporary house we're living in sits only about 50 ft. from the new structure.
you can get a decent look at the covered porch and outdoor fireplace in the rear elevation as well as a nice long shot from the far rear of the lot, across one of our streams. fingers crossed we have a good, productive summer!
everyone's builds are coming along so well, i think we'll have a lot of great completions to view in the coming months. best of luck to everyone!

{{gwi:1462457}}

{{gwi:1462459}}

{{gwi:1462461}}

{{gwi:1462463}}

{{gwi:1462465}}

Carterinms - I so admire your tenacity in dealing with banks, insurance, FEMA and your county. I can't imagine having to keep up with the details of SIX different loans! Does your county think that before you finish all the details necessary to get your CO, your foundation is somehow going to magically drop down so that it no longer meets flood elevation requirements??? What a crock!

Kates - I love the design of your house and the setting is divine! Looks like you'll soon be "dried in" to where it won't much matter if it rains or doesen't. Of course THEN the excessive rains will stop but, if your luck is like mine, you'll get day after day after day of 100 degree weather with 98% humidity and not a breath of a breeze so that working inside the house is utterly miserable. LOL!

Ah the trials and tribulations...

Our build is moving along. Had a lot of progress in May, shingles are complete, outside carpentry details complete, basement & garage floors poured, windows & doors installed, geothermal coils installed, front yard smoothed out, rough heating & cooling completed, tubs & showers are set also!!! Whew...been a busy month!!!

Geothermal coils being installed.

Front of house w/garage.

Front view of house.

Back view.

Shamrocks,
Your house is looking marvelous! I was hoping you would post this month. You've made great progress! Your property is so much like mine, and your house style is very similar as well. Since I won't be building for another 7 years, I am living vicariously through your build. Can't wait to see your progress next month. I'll try to upload a picture of our property. We have 5 acres with 247 feet of water front. This is actually closer to the water than where the actual house will sit, but you get the idea.

The county refuses to give up any ounce of control or leverage. They say that they are concerned that people will modify the foundation after they write the letter saying that the house meets the elevation requirements - either by changing flood vents or adding enclosures. But the county still has all the cards since they have yet to issue the CO. Their other argument is that the flood insurance requires the letter AND the CO, even though it clearly says OR. Oh well, I'm so tired of dealing with those idiots, we're just gritting our teeth until (if?) we get our CO.

Here's the staircase DH built from scratch. He applied the second coat of waterlox today - tomorrow he switches to the satin finish. The treads are red oak, the risers, wainscoting, and trim is walnut, and the newel post is walnut with birds eye maple panels. The floor is pine, and the front door is Mahogany. Are we missing any wood species? There's still some trim to go on the piece along the wall and the newel isn't complete. DH is going to continue the walnut wainscoting through the entire entry way.

visions_of_texas, Thank you, we have a huge deadline as a motivator....SCHOOL!!! Don't think we're gonna make it though, so we'll be renting a house, as our new house is an hour away from our current one. Oh well!!!

247 feet of waterfront, now I'm jealous!!! We only have 35 feet, it's a pie-shaped lot, but we gain the view from both surrounding neighbors & since our assoc. doesn't allow fences, it'll stay that way!!!

I'm dealing with the sticker shocks and more decisions post move-in. Yes, they continue after you think you are done and moved in!!...trying to do some window coverings and our master closet - ouch! I didn't worry about all of our huge beautiful windows back in July when picking them out, but boy is this stuff expensive!!

EVERYONE: lookin' great and so nice to hear all the updates/see pictures.

Brutuses: the shutters are beautiful - you should post a 'big picture' view so I can see them with the rest of your architecture (okay, that's just my request, but I would love to see it!!).

dcolilla: I love your 'steps' into the house for the kids :) it's coming along!

kateskouros: I think these might be the first pictures I've seen of you home!!! GORGEOUS. It's just lovely.

We're done, see my "I think I'm done" thread.
Just waiting for the grass to grow and a replacement for a damaged interior door.

Hi Gang

Seems like forever since I have posted :-) Been busy talking to contractors, talking to subs, talking to all kinds of people, waiting on bids, comparing bids, etc.

We have had alot of rain, so nothing has progressed on finishing up the demolation on the old house, although for the most part it is done.

Can't build the pond, too wet. Now getting mixed signals on the geothermal in the pond vs geo well. Mixed signals on the radiant flooring, so reevaluating that. Then got different info on solar heating and radiant floors, so the one thing that I just knew I was sure of, the geothermal in the pond with radiant flooring, is all up in the air again.

Which that makes the flooring up in the air, etc

So anyways, had a couple of bids come in, higher than I was expecting, but I wasn't totally shocked, but since it didn't include everything, some big ticket things, when you add all that up, they seem a little pricey for this area.

So I many end up being my own contractor. Ha. And you know what? I think I could do it. Have almost talked to every single sub I need anyways. This board is great for research. I have found a couple other great sources, so I really feel like I could do it.

But, there is one more fella I am waiting on, and I think he is gonna be pretty reasonable.

In the meantime, I couldn't help myself. I have been buying a few things. Made me feel better. Made me feel like I was making progress. And I feel like I got some good deals, so I am happy regardless if I should have waited :-)

I have one more revision coming, and then I think we are blue print ready. My bids have been ballparks and not actual bids, but my changes arent that major, so I think it will be close. But I had to go ahead and try to get some feelers out there, to see if I was on the right track with my square footage and the design.

Anyways, gonna catch up on posts now :-)
ttyl

Thanks Mairin, here you go.

{{gwi:1462478}}

Thanks for sharing brutuses - I LOVE IT!!!! Such a nice touch to your lovely home. They really 'pop' and make a beautiful statement. :)

Wow! Everyone's homes looks wonderful!

Brutuses your shutters add the right touch. I love them! Your home is perfect! All of your hardwork and love for it truly shows! Congrats!

Thanks for the lovely compliments. They mean a lot to us. Looks like before week's end I'm going to have concrete poured. I've waited for that to happen so the outside will actually look like it's finished. Of course now I need to look at the unlandscaped front yard till fall. Can't plant anything in the middle of summer down here, not if you want it to live. I'll post photo's if the weather holds up and it gets poured. Yay!!!!

Wow all of your homes look so nice. We are at the basement stage and having some problems already. Our contractor did not install the form a drain correctly and the bleeders disconnected under the poured concrete. Then to top it off the block company drove over our new footings and smashed them plus our form a drain. It has to be completely re-done before we can move forward. I hope everyone else is having a wonderful month!! I know we can get over this hump. Has anyone else had bad luck so early in their build?

Countertops are in! Now it's just moulding and little finish details like that. Of course, this does not count the mud/weed mess outside. Hopefully some landscaping can happen in the next couple of weeks. We had a major tornado in April and so everyone's focus has been on clean up of that.

I'll post better pics when everything is done.

Emerald pearl granite

a better shot of the sparkle :)

Hi all.

I've really enjoyed this progress thread over the last few months. Beautiful homes, everybody!

Here's us as of this week...

Exterior

Heart Pine Floors

We are in the main part of the framing stage. There have been a few issues here and there, but everything is moving much faster than I expected. We've poured the foundation and gotten to this point in two weeks.

{{gwi:1462493}}

Katieob, I was wondering if the speakers in the room you posted are the kind that are hidden completely by drywall? We were considering something similar, but didn't know anybody who had done it, and weren't sure about sound quality. If you are doing those type of speakers, could you please tell me how you decided to go with them, and what the sound quality is like?

Thanks!