This is our backyard!

View from dining room....notice all the unfinished items and pile of wood flooring.

Part of my kitchen window....it makes me love it here!

Sharing our kitchen ceiling....the dining room is beyond the arch....the casing is on my bathroom floor. DH does great work, just hard with a regular full time job and full time family.

mommyto4boys (make that 6:)

I love your story and your view! Best part is your boys love it there! And, you have a very talented husband!
Thanks for sharing....
Remember...it's the journey and all the memories you are making each day!
Pam

mommyto4boys - hang in there! It looks wonderful and that view and yard are heart stopping. I have been where you are on a much smaller scale. My husband did our complete rehab and addition to almost double our sq ft when our boys were 2 & 6. He too, worked on it after the *real* job, which was also residential work so he never seemed to get a break! We lived with bare hanging bulbs, holes in plaster to run new copper plumbing and original trim on saw horses being stripped The days are long but this process will seem (relatively) short on the other side as you look back. Your boys are living the reality of delayed gratification and that's a wonderful life lesson.

mommyto4boys, Your backyard is amazing and your husband is doing beautiful work. We are not at all handy people so it really amazes me when I see people doing this kind of work themselves. I am sure the satisfaction you get when something gets done is great.

Sorry Duplicate post

This post was edited by akshars_mom on Mon, Sep 16, 13 at 14:21

Thanks for the sweet comments, I'll share with DH and that will give him encouragement to keep going:)

OntarioMom was asking about our laundry area/homework room/my organizing desk/craft storage/everything room in a different post. I told her I would post about the room here. It is meeting our every expectation and then some.

The room is long and narrow, this is looking into the room, towards the left.

Like all the rooms, it is not finished....the cabinets are missing the crown and toe kick, etc. It functions well, nonetheless. This is towards the right side of the room.

The room was supposed to be black and white, with a future red washer and dryer and accessories. There was a miscommunication b/w us and the cabinet maker. He gave us an unbelievable price, so we are just living with it. We hate the white and black tiles, so "someday" we will change. A little disappointed with the colors, etc, but the room functions great. We have a laundry shoot and 6 pull out bins for sorting. Each of the 6 boys have a drawer for clean, flooded clothes that they put away. I hang almost everything that can be hung....all t-shirts, every shirt and pants in the house. So we just need room for shorts in the summer & undergarments in the drawer. This is the shoot open.

The room was supposed to be black and white, with a future red washer and dryer and accessories. There was a miscommunication b/w us and the cabinet maker. He gave us an unbelievable price, so we are just living with it. We hate the white and black tiles, so "someday" we will change. A little disappointed with the colors, etc, but the room functions great. We have a laundry shoot and 6 pull out bins for sorting. Each of the 6 boys have a drawer for clean, flooded clothes that they put away. I hang almost everything that can be hung....all t-shirts, every shirt and pants in the house. So we just need room for shorts in the summer & undergarments in the drawer. This is the shoot open.

Homework, computer, desk area.

Sorting area and some of the drawers for clean clothes. We raised the counter for a nice folding height and used the extra space for deeper drawers.

Looks like they installed the drawers upside down, so I don't know how well they'll work.

Also, usually the drawers are installed under the counter, where the cabinets look to be installed, not above the counter.

I'm sure you can make it work. I hope it works out for you. :)

Thanks for the photos, Mommyto4 boys. That looks like a dream laundry. We will also have a large laundry so I appreciate the ideas. You house is gorgeous!!

We are also owner builders, and have been very slowly rebuilding our home over 20 months now and counting (gut and addition). We have lived in the home the whole time even through winter when we had nothing to heat with except electrical heaters and non-insulated walls as we converted to in floor heat. My DH is taking a leave of absence from work to finish up the house (drywall, insulation, finish plumbing, trim etc). I just hope we will have insulation and heat before next winter. I would show you pictures, but it is just a house of studs with a large family living inside. It sure gives you perspective when you go from a fully finished home to a shack with no amenities.

Good luck, Mommyto4 getting your house done.

Carol

Very clever laundry room - I like how the kids are in charge of their laundry and they each have a place to put it. So well thought out! The benefits of taking the build slow can really bring out the best ideas...

Lawpaw - I think some of the photos are upside down (look at electrical outlets).
Pam

Kitchen cabinets going in - this is where my fire clay sink will sit...I am excited to do dishes and gaze out the window! LOL

Island seating area -

Double oven/fridge area...

Kitchen ceiling...beams will be stained a chestnut color to match the wood floors. The other molding and tongue and groove will be painted (not sure what color yet).

Man Cave aka Game Room aka Gathering Room

Ceiling beams finished...ready for stain...

Spottythecat, Your kitchen is looking great. Again I love you kitchen ceiling.

Meg, Must be exciting to get a finish date. Love your view.

mommyto4boys, very well thought out laundry room.

Zone4newby, Your choice of siding is very pleasant and the columns in the porch look great.

well, I am new to the message board. We are heading into the final phases of our build. Its been a very slow process but we are super excited with how it's coming together.

Septic Field going in:

Fireplace and island (and my 18 month old :) )

Master Shower (and my daughter again)

Backyard and covered patio

Kitchen

This post was edited by mjwkr on Tue, Sep 17, 13 at 10:09

mjwkr - you are very, very close! Exciting! Your daughter is a cutie....love that age!

I really, really like how you used the stone in your kitchen and tied it in with your fireplace.

What kind of wood floors are those? Very pretty...
Pam

Spottythecat,

Seems so close, yet so far away. Sold my last home and have to move in with the in-laws. 2 kids under 4 and a 70lb golden retriever leaving in a basement. Luckily my in-laws are great!

Floors are unfinished white oak. Once all the trim and painting is done they will be stained Jacobean.

mjwkr - your floors sound heavenly! Luckily, your inlaws are great!!! You are a few weeks ahead of us...I am just getting cabinets now...I think floors next week with built in closets...Our "due" date (I always joke to my husband that I am in my 3rd tri-mester!)....Is October 24th....I am in the process of fixing up the house we are in to sell it once we move....I keep thinking that all the work I can do myself will be money saved to go towards fun stuff for the new house!
Pam

mommyto4boys- I love your backyard. Your kids are definitely gonna enjoy that.

Spotty and mjwkr- Those kitchens look like they will be beautiful. They look great already.

I have a roof. Yay!

NickC33 - That IS exciting!

Finally ! it's happening and I get to join you all for the construction phase. With major assistance from Summerfield last year our plans were tweeked and finalised. We close on our construction loan next week, so dirt work will start the week after. Photo shows South/East cnr survey marker of house footprint looking west.

Cabinet installation and trim work is ongoing. Started putting up the cedar for the ceiling of rear porch. Fireplace stone is complete.

Well, we moved in and everything has been great. It is hard to take a picture in the house it is just hard to take a picture of a small room. But here is a video (short, only 15 seconds) walking in the front door to the kitchen.

http://instagram.com/p/cNVdmnt552/

Here is a link that might be useful: House Video

Sweet.reverie-very nice! Glad you stopped back. More pics in your blog?

:-( For whatever reason, your video won't play for me, I just see the porch opening shot.

We are finally joining this group! We purchased our land 5 years ago. Our construction loan process was so unbelievably stressful and long. We were told they had never dealt with anyone who had purchased and/or paid for so much prior to getting a construction loan. We also did a one-time close for construction/mortgage. And, we are retired. We are only borrowing a portion of what it will cost. Just glad that part is over. We closed yesterday.

Now on to the fun stuff. Our pole barn is already built and our driveway installed. Our son-in-law (survey and land engineer and our general contractor for the build) is staking this weekend. We will be helping by holding the tape measures. Footers being installed on Monday!

Hi everyone,

This is my first post on this thread! I wish I had more to contribute but we are at the hurry up and wait stage. We bought a to-be-built spec home from a builder and we are making some changes to the floor plan. It is a 4 bdr 4 bath 5000 sq ft home on a 15000 sq ft lot. We are asking the architect to delete a half wall that separates the kitchen from the family room. We are also adding a pool bath. The plans are at the architect now, then if we approve it goes to the engineer then the City for permitting. The waiting is killing me but I know it will be worth it. I will live vicariously through your progress posts instead! Here is a picture of our lot after they tore down the existing house.

April

We are finally building too!! We bought our land last year and have spent the last 14 months clearing, putting in road, getting electric and burying 500 feet of line, drilling a water well, not to mention finalizing plans, getting a builder, getting a construction loan, and reading everything I can on this site. Whew! Now the fun stuff! We are building a 1900 square foot ranch with a full walkout basement.... nothing fancy, just the basics. We are soon to be retired and wanted a smaller house with lots of land to roam. Lived in town for the past 30 years.... time for some peace and quiet!
This past week has been a whirlwind.... Monday they peeled the sod off, Tuesday they dug the hole, Wednesday they dug the footers, and Thursday they poured them. They plan to pour the basement walls on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Here's how it looks.... we're pretty excited about it!

Our grass is coming in great from planting 2 weeks ago. Got the well drilled, builder contract signed, and permits should be approved next week. Hopefully weather will cooperate and we'll begin construction in a couple of weeks.

Carol--That's so exciting to be breaking ground! Our story is similar; lots of work over the last 2 years preparing the site, moving to the country, and now finally we are close. Look forward to following your build!

Getting railing on the high side of the mammoth porch! Yeah!! Now I can breathe easier when the girls are playing on it. It is welded wire.
Jen

Ah Jennybc I love the welded wire!!! Well done :)

We're still waiting on framing package to show...not sure what the hold up is. We're working on building a shelterhouse in our back "yard" to fill our need for building to be happening. :)

Today they started to put the forms up for the basement walls. They'll finish tomorrow and pour the concrete Wednesday. We will have 9 foot walls, 8 inches thick.
We were surprised to see that they had already dug the hole for the septic tank and put it in!
Loessismore.... your driveway looks alot like ours, what area of the country are you in?

Hardwood in kitchen/dining all complete!

Lower cabinets set and template for countertop to be done on Wednesday!!

Jennybc: I love love your porch and railing substitute!

@ degcds, what brand vanity is that in the bathroom with the brown walls? I think it might be the same vanities we ordered for our master bath. Is yours a 60 inch one?

We now have a basement floor and beams, our main level floor is coming soon.

Meg4440Roberts - Exciting!

Meg--your kitchen looks beautiful!

Carol--we are in the loess hills of western Iowa. Looks like you are moving right along.

Spotty: what size is your game room, and how large are the beams? The proportions look similar to our family room. Thanks!

Thanks Lori and redhdd! The porch is about 8' wide and wraps around the 32x46 house. We wanted something that wouldn't badly block the view at an angle like ballisters do. Anywhere you sit you can see thru at an angle. We love it!