Another Day, Another Adventure

Hey guys! Sorry I'm getting this out so late, but the hubby is very fond of distracting me of late, so instead of posting like we all know I should, we end up staring at each other on Skype with nothing to say. Fun, I know, but I digress.

Today, I met with the builder and the realtor. We discussed the staircase, and how we want a banister, and no sheet rock walls. Of course, for whatever reason that wall was meant to be load-bearing, so during out meeting, the builder mentioned that there would have to be a two foot section of wall to hold up a beam for the roof. I, of course, discussed this with Kevin, and we bounced a few ideas around before giving him a call to ask a few more questions--like, for example, maybe making that section of wall look a little like a column instead of a wall. Kirby said he'd have to take a second look and make sure that could be done or if that section of wall is even really needed. Fingers crossed, everyone.

Another thing to touch on...looks like we may not be able to fit a wood-burning fireplace vent/pipe thingie without sacrificing a sizable portion of the upstairs closet space. This is sad, as we both grew up in houses that had wood fireplaces. Once again, the builder said he would take a second look once the roof is up (this is the problem, I guess?), and see if he could possibly bend the vent back slightly so it goes outside the house instead of going up through it. Failing that, it looks like we'll be getting a B-vent gas fireplace.

But enough rambling, I know you only came here for the pictures! They've framed up most of the roof now, and they've even started on the front of the second story. Could all the framing possibly be up by the end of tomorrow? We shall see.

 

The Green Skeleton on the Corner

Framing for the roof started going up today. Things are really starting to take shape...there's only one problem. It's missing it's face!

What I mean to say is that the front of the house isn't done yet. They framed the porch, and most of the roof that isn't above the second story, but the framing for the front of the second floor isn't done yet. My only guess is that they don't want to touch it until we get the stairs figured out. It'll be interesting to see what it looks like this time tomorrow, or for that matter on Wednesday. 

Here are the pictures... As you can tell, it's a fitting sight for Halloween. A skeleton. A green one. On the corner. ;-)

The Drama of Building a House

Wow they've done so much the past couple of days! Sorry I'm just now posting on it, but I'm afraid I lost track of time yesterday. They were working from fairly early yesterday til sunset and completed the first floor framing and started on the floor joists for the second story. As you can see here, they were putting the plywood on the sides of the house when I took these pictures. I left around 5:30 this morning before they started up again, so I got to see yesterday's finished product, which I don't have a picture of since it was still dark. So yeah, right now, we have a big, green house with no windows and some wood bared to the elements for the weekend.

As soon as I left work this afternoon, I gave the hubbs a call to check in only to find out there was a huge SNAFU with our staircase design...basically a huge misunderstanding where we thought one thing and the builder thought another. I'm supposed to meet with him and the realtor on Tuesday to try and figure out what exactly we will do. See, the trouble kind of started when I saw this in the foyer of the house the day before yesterday:

Yeah, I know it's really not that good of a picture for what I'm trying to show, but see the interior wall there on the left of the half turret? It totally looked further forward than it was supposed to be, for one, and secondly, it's a full, floor-to-ceiling wall. I, of course, asked if it was supposed to be a full wall, and the builder said yes, and I asked if that could be changed, and he didn't seem fazed and told me he'd let me know. I called Kevin and then Kevin called Kirby, and then today, we found out it's all supposed to be a half-wall of sheet rock... It really seemed like a mess at first, but bless his heart, Kirby made sure to tell the contractors the leave the stairway alone until we've got it completely figured out on Tuesday. Thankfully, it's mostly cleared up and we just need to talk about whether to keep the half-wall and more modern look or ditch that idea and go for traditional wood banister and ballisters.

Now that I'm sure I've bored you nearly to death, I'll get on with the best part--pictures!

So here's the 270 degree view that I'm sure you're used to seeing by now:

See what I meant about big and green? Haha! And now, I have something a little bit different. I have done some detail shots in the past but there really wasn't much to take pictures of, so now you finally get to see something other than, well, ground and concrete. You've already seen the first one, which will be our front door and foyer, with the weird wall for the staircase on the left and the dining room on the right. The second one is looking in through the garage, and the last two were taken standing in the back yard. The first of those is sort of looking at the back bay window/back porch and the second is looking into the... I guess you could just call it a great room for now until there's more of an obvious definition between the three areas.

  

So now comes the weekend, which means nothing happens to the house until at least Monday. I'm hoping to see them finishing framing the exterior walls and front porch--the stairway shouldn't affect that at all. Regardless, I'm looking forward to see how quickly they can get a roof on this thing. At this rate we'll be done well before closing!

Framing: Part 3

 

I decided to swing by around 4:15 this afternoon on my way to meet with Christine. They were still working, but judging from what it looked like when I got back at around 6, they were just finishing up. The whole first floor is completely framed.

Meanwhile,  I had a nice talk with Kirby and Christine about what details we will be putting into the house. You know, brick, stone, windows, etc. Kevin and I had already chosen the details we knew about going in, but there were other things like the door and granite that we had to Facetime in order to come to a mutual decision. It was fun. If you're curious, we're going with Olde Edmond from Acme for the brick and most likely Moss Builders from Oklahoma Stone for the rock. The rest of it...well, you'll get to see that as it all progresses. :-)

Until next time!

Framework Parts 1 and 2

Another update that contains 2 days of info! On Friday they brought in a bunch of lumber so I made sure to snaps pic before leaving town for the weekend. No activity Monday, but yesterday they were beginning the framing when I left. I got home after dark so I apologize for the one horrible picture. I took the rest this morning but as you can see they'd already added more and were hard at work when I headed out.

I meet with the building company this afternoon to officially pick out brick, rock, windows, and stucco/siding. I'll let you know how that goes and post pictures of today's work by tomorrow afternoon!

Marble...er...Concrete Slab

Okay, so it's been over a week since I posted, and they've done two days of work on the house since my last post. I know that sounds pathetic for a Dec 31st close date, but I'm told it's still in the realm of possibility. The thing is, they have to schedule with the contractors. If it rains or is too cold or whatever that schedule gets mucked up. Anywho, the work they've done (that I've seen) is from yesterday and the day before. I don't have any pictures from Tuesday, but they basically brought in this gigantic pile of dirt on Monday (I guess that qualifies as work, doesn't it?) and used almost the whole thing to fill in the foundation to make it nice and packed down and flat. My guess is it'll probably not be as annoying to go in and fix plumbing if that is ever needed. Anywho...

Yesterday the concrete guys were here before I woke up actually pouring the concrete. When I left they were spreading/smoothing it to get it perfect. When I came by at lunch time, there was a guy buffing it out I guess to keep in nice and smooth as it dried. When I left after lunch to go back to lunch, there were literally three guys standing around watching the cement set. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure there was some kind of purpose to it, but that was just too funny not to mention. I got home after dark (late sim), so I took these pictures this morning before I went to work. It was still wet, as you can see, but when I got home it was about half white, which I'm assuming means "dry."

So I guess the next step once the concrete is done setting (it's only like six inches, surely it can't take that long, right?) is to start framing up the house. I'm really excited for this prospect, because it'll give us that third dimension. I guess I need to start picking out brick and stone...

Oh yeah, in other news! We got word at the beginning of this week that hubby will be finishing up his training in December and will be here to (hopefully) close on the house with me and move right in! I'm so excited he'll be here soon!

Nothing to Report

No activity at all since last Tuesday. Granted, it did rain on Wednesday and Friday but its been completely dry side Sunday. I'm beginning to think I should have just gotten a six month lease at an apartment because there's no way this is going to be done before the end of the year.

In other news, the house across the street got a driveway and sidewalk today. I think it'll be done in the next two weeks.