Construction update

Lots of people on the job site these days -- cabinets, brick, exterior trim, stain and paint, rock work, tile. The front doors are installed, though the stained glass for the front door will probably be another couple of months out. Most of the cabinets are in place. Upstairs trim has been stained. Most of the tile has been laid except for the mud room and the showers on the main level and basement.

Construction Update

Haven't done one of these in a while and a couple of siblings from out of state have expressed interest, so here are a few recent photos. Things are really starting to come together now and it's exciting to see the final product take shape.

Windows

The windows and sunroom doors have been installed. Most of the plumbing, HVAC, and rough electrical is in place as well.

Construction upate

It's been about a month since the last construction update--sorry about that, the two of you who are actually following this. To compensate, I've included lots of photos in this post.

Almost all of the framing is complete now. All that remains is some blocking and furring out of the basement ceiling. Dean Peterson, our contractor, told me that the protective covering they put over the roof could actually hold up fine for at least a year, even under severe weather--so I'm thinking we'll save some money and skip the shingles. (Just kidding, Moll.) HVAC (heating/ventilication/air conditioning) is mostly done. Plumbing has started and the fireplaces are almost in. Tomorrow, windows should arrive, and we'll have our walkthrough with the electrician and the lighting specialist.

Rear view, the north side: 

Here you can see all the rooflines coming together where the master bathroom (above the porch) meets the angle in the hallway connecting the main part of the house to the garage. I've included a photo of some of the truss work (below). This door will have a doggy door cut out of it so the dogs can go outside to pee. (Yeah, right.)

View from the west. The windows you see on the main level are in the guest bedroom--where you'll get to stay if you visit us!

Molly wanted a big front porch so we can sit and enjoy the entertainment provided by our crazy kids and neighbors.

View from the front entry:

Dining room:

My office. I'm planning to put a saltwater aquarium against this wall. No, really.

What Sketchup tells me it should look like some day. (Shhh.. don't tell Molly about the charcoal ceiling. She says I can't have it. Dean says we'll send her on vacation for a day and paint it while she's gone.)

The hallway from my office to the main part of the house:

Some crazy truss work here where the hallway angles to connect the main part of the house with the garage and meets the sloped roof of the master bathroom:

The kids' playroom. You can see the loft that will go above the master closet. The door opening on the right is to the hallway that leads to my office over the garage.

Looking into Molly's craft/laundry room from the kids' playroom:

Views from the master bedroom:

View of the main level from the kitchen area. In the far corners you see the music room on the left and the guest bedroom on the right.

The HVAC mechanical room in the basement. The Bryant air system will control heating, cooling, and humidity.

Basement family room. You can see the large steel beam that supports the wide span of the main floor.

Similar steel beam supporting the second floor. The floor joists butt into this beam, but lie on top of the beam supporting the main floor because our builder was concerned about squeaking noises that could come from the joists rubbing against the beam. With the high traffic of the main floor area we decided to play it safe and run the beam under the floor joists.

Construction update

Today they installed the trusses on the main part of the house. I was pretty amazed by the way they attached four at a time to the crane and then nailed them all down at once. There were some fairly strong winds, so the guys had to fight with the trusses twisting around in the air. Watching them walk around on the walls while doing this freaks me out. 

What my kids wish they could wear to church

What we hope it will look like

In case you're interested in what the final product is supposed to look like, here's a computer rendering. Our architect is Jared Connors, the guy who did the rendering is Greg Mildenhall, and our contractor is Dean Peterson of DeMar Construction.