Friday, September 30, 2016
Wednesday, September 28, 2016
Week 9
This past week was has been quite stressful. I actually wasn't at the farm till Sunday and don't think John really made it over much either. Downtown CR was preparing for flooding, second highest on record. We sandbagged most of the day Saturday. Right now the damage looks relatively minimal, but I'll still be out of my office till next Monday.
As for the house, we have wall!! The first of the framing crews has arrived, laid out the floor plates and lines, and has started building walls. The floor trusses have also arrived and are awaiting installation.
It's very very exciting to see it take more shape. Daily will be a new look and feel to the house.
As for the house, we have wall!! The first of the framing crews has arrived, laid out the floor plates and lines, and has started building walls. The floor trusses have also arrived and are awaiting installation.
It's very very exciting to see it take more shape. Daily will be a new look and feel to the house.
One last change we made while working on windows was raising these windows up a bit. Now looking through the game room window openings, I'm so glad that we did!
Hopefully I'm able to post more picture daily. However, I'm still trying to figure out the Blogger app, it really doesn't like my droid phone.
Sunday, September 25, 2016
I'm back...
Weeks 6 - 7 - 8
Well let's see where we left off.. oh - lumber anticipated to arrive around the 9th. Let's just say there hasn't been a whole lot to report as lumber didn't arrive till around the 19th.
That said, important work has been completed... or mostly completed. Namely, backfilling. From my perspective it does look closer to the finish grade, but as John has tried to explain very kindly several times; this is very important, even if I can't perceive the progress. We've added tile, tile, and more tile. John has made sure that Trevor's 'extra' tile was increased so that we will never experience a wet basement (remind Kathryn to thank him later as her room is in a critical spot). All of the septic connections were also made (exciting stuff!).
Well let's see where we left off.. oh - lumber anticipated to arrive around the 9th. Let's just say there hasn't been a whole lot to report as lumber didn't arrive till around the 19th.
That said, important work has been completed... or mostly completed. Namely, backfilling. From my perspective it does look closer to the finish grade, but as John has tried to explain very kindly several times; this is very important, even if I can't perceive the progress. We've added tile, tile, and more tile. John has made sure that Trevor's 'extra' tile was increased so that we will never experience a wet basement (remind Kathryn to thank him later as her room is in a critical spot). All of the septic connections were also made (exciting stuff!).
This is from the end of week 5
Planning with our builder, Trevor Parks
Week 6 - John inspecting the tile
Isn't tile so exciting???
Sorry I don't have more tile pictures.
On to more fun, John fixing the driver after heavy rains.
If you would like to know what John wants for Christmas, a paved driveway is near the top of his list.
Kathryn, David, and I watched from the Mule. Kathryn was very excited to hold the flags.
Backfill!!!
More backfill!
Too better appreciate the difference, this is a picture from week 5.
Here is the similar angle at the end of week 8. Progress.
Look for the week 9 update coming soon...unless we float away first!
Funny story
So the weekend of week 6 John headed to the farm with the Kobota backhoe to drain some water away from the foundation. The kids, always interested in machines, took a wagon ride down to watch dad...
Here is John trying to create a path through the pile of dirt to drain the water
Not quite reaching far enough, John crawls the Kobota back further
This is where it gets interesting
Since there's 2 steering wheels, I went to help too.
Kathryn was very concern! David thought it was pretty cool, but also cried when sister did.
Of course John crawled it back out. Just wish I would have got a selfie!
Oh about that wagon ride, it's a long way around pulling 55 pounds of kids. Next time I want to ride!
Sunday, September 4, 2016
Week 5
Week 5
This week started out with a huge milestone, CONCRETE! And not just any concrete, the basement floor! On Tuesday there was scattered thunderstorms, so they weighted to pour on Wednesday.
Thursday and Friday were spent tiling (adding even more drain tile around the house) and starting back filling.
On Thursday John and I meet with Tom at Electrical Concepts to discuss our Lutron bid and home automation. It was an incredibly informative and helpful to meeting to discuss how we will be using the main areas. While automation is really cool, we'll be sticking with a much more manageable and practical level.
On Sunday, John and I hunkered down and had a marathon home planning session. David slept most of the day and Kathryn had a Daniel the Tiger marathon on PBS. We are now set with our window, door, and Lutron blind selection. We also have rough sketches of the fireplaces and wet bar to hand back over to Trevor and Monica (cabinet designer).
With Monday and holiday (Labor Day), work started in earnest on Tuesday with more backfilling. Rain is in the forecast so lumber should arrive on Thursday or Friday!
This week started out with a huge milestone, CONCRETE! And not just any concrete, the basement floor! On Tuesday there was scattered thunderstorms, so they weighted to pour on Wednesday.
Thursday and Friday were spent tiling (adding even more drain tile around the house) and starting back filling.
On Thursday John and I meet with Tom at Electrical Concepts to discuss our Lutron bid and home automation. It was an incredibly informative and helpful to meeting to discuss how we will be using the main areas. While automation is really cool, we'll be sticking with a much more manageable and practical level.
On Sunday, John and I hunkered down and had a marathon home planning session. David slept most of the day and Kathryn had a Daniel the Tiger marathon on PBS. We are now set with our window, door, and Lutron blind selection. We also have rough sketches of the fireplaces and wet bar to hand back over to Trevor and Monica (cabinet designer).
With Monday and holiday (Labor Day), work started in earnest on Tuesday with more backfilling. Rain is in the forecast so lumber should arrive on Thursday or Friday!
Week 4
Week 4 Update! (Still 4 days over due - sorry)
At the start of the week we started with a walk thru with Trevor. With just the foundation, honestly it feels so small. I wanted Trevor to remeasure a bedroom because 15' just looked like 7'. Trevor said it just the optics at this stage.
Over the course of this week the plumbers will be laying lines through the basement floor, stubbing for in floor electrical outlets, then grading the floor. After they grade the floor, foam will be laid, radiant tubing, and final preps for the concrete.
In the basement, most of the floor will have radiant heat since it will be only polished concrete. All bedrooms will have carpet and no radiant. The radiant heat is not for temperature control, just comfort under foot.
Our homework items are to finish windows and doors as well as fireplace selections.
At the start of the week we started with a walk thru with Trevor. With just the foundation, honestly it feels so small. I wanted Trevor to remeasure a bedroom because 15' just looked like 7'. Trevor said it just the optics at this stage.
Over the course of this week the plumbers will be laying lines through the basement floor, stubbing for in floor electrical outlets, then grading the floor. After they grade the floor, foam will be laid, radiant tubing, and final preps for the concrete.
Week 3
Okay - so this should actually be recap of week 4, but I'm catching up!
Week 3 -
At the start of the week our homework items are to finish the window and door selections because framing is to start in 2 weeks (week 5)! It's expected in 4-6 weeks after framing starts we'll have the roof.
On August 20th we hosted the Searfoss Clan (Deb's family) for a grill out and afternoon on the ATV's. It was beautiful weather. Sorry no family pictures here!
On Monday, Trevor and I meet at Suburban Lumber to continue discussing the window bids. We have bids from Pella, Marvin, and Weathershield. Prior to receiving bids, I'm a pretty staunch Pella fan and Trevor is a big fan of Weathershields. It looks like Marvin may be a meeting in a middle for Trevor and I, but also a very budget friendly option. Pella (with all integrated blinds and roller screens) was $35K more than the Marvin bid. Marvin has either retractable blinds or screens, just not both in the same window.
Above left is the siding (blue) with exterior window color choices. At right is hinge and hardware choices. We have literally talked about each window every time we meet. Lots of details to pick from and specify. John and I still need to finalize what to do with patio doors. While also at Suburban, Tom with Electrical Concepts stopped by to discuss Lutron blinds.
Week 3 -
At the start of the week our homework items are to finish the window and door selections because framing is to start in 2 weeks (week 5)! It's expected in 4-6 weeks after framing starts we'll have the roof.
On August 20th we hosted the Searfoss Clan (Deb's family) for a grill out and afternoon on the ATV's. It was beautiful weather. Sorry no family pictures here!
On Monday, Trevor and I meet at Suburban Lumber to continue discussing the window bids. We have bids from Pella, Marvin, and Weathershield. Prior to receiving bids, I'm a pretty staunch Pella fan and Trevor is a big fan of Weathershields. It looks like Marvin may be a meeting in a middle for Trevor and I, but also a very budget friendly option. Pella (with all integrated blinds and roller screens) was $35K more than the Marvin bid. Marvin has either retractable blinds or screens, just not both in the same window.
Above left is the siding (blue) with exterior window color choices. At right is hinge and hardware choices. We have literally talked about each window every time we meet. Lots of details to pick from and specify. John and I still need to finalize what to do with patio doors. While also at Suburban, Tom with Electrical Concepts stopped by to discuss Lutron blinds.
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