We were all set to head out to the new house and see the progress this morning when we discovered black ice at our current house.
Better safe than sorry – but I really wanted to see the hardwoods all finished!
This is the stain sample I approved earlier this week. Classic. Timeless. I love it.
Painting is inching along…I’m loving the richness of the trim color. So much better than stark white.
This is our builder, Walt. He’s a good guy.
He does not know that I have this blog.
I cannot wait to get rid of all of this plastic and tape! Though I do appreciate the thorough prep work.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, packing continues. I’m trying to stage most of the boxes upstairs in the middle of the house. Consequently, with the furniture against the wall, the dining room looks like a waiting room.
Bu is waiting for us to tell him what is going on.
I always tell clients that it’s that last 10% that just about kills you.
We are there.
The highlight of the week: appliances were installed.
Hello, gorgeous.
The refrigerator and freezer will have panels to match the cabinets.
This wall brings me great joy; however, it may be the most expensive wall in the house. Given that we will be out in the country and that the nearest restaurant is not close, we will be dining in most of the time and this fridge/freezer space will be essential to our survival.
My employees decided to check if the new house was serviceable by grubhub/ubereats/etc. because they frequently take advantage of such services at our current location.
Haha.
I got a real kick out of that. To be fair, they haven’t been to the property yet.
I squealed with delight when I saw the range. I can’t tell you how excited I am to fire up this bad boy.
Switching gears, one of our neighbors generously volunteered to build us a shared mailbox structure. It’s not at all what I would have chosen, but since it’s at the main road, I didn’t have strong feelings about it. The good news is, he ordered extra large mailboxes so packages will fit inside.
Back inside the house, the painters continue to cover things in tape and plastic.
While I know and appreciate that painting is 75% prep, I would like to see something painted the color it is supposed to be.
These closet shelves appear to be the correct color, my beloved limestone.
Fireplace surrounds are primed.
I’m dying to see the dining room painted. It will be a deep burnt orange.
Speaking of the dining room, I had been on the hunt for an antique dining table with many leaves so I could adjust it for up to 12 people. I hit the jackpot this weekend when I stumbled upon this estate sale find.
I snagged this triple pedestal, inlay top, 115″ long, 3 leaf table for $450.
It makes up for the wall of appliances I mentioned earlier.
Miraculously, the 5 piece top and 3 piece base fit in the back of my vehicle. All of these pieces are hanging out in the entry/dining room of our current home for the time being and Bu thinks they are for him.
In other thrilling news, the toilets have been installed!
You have no idea what an ordeal it is to get a decent toilet these days.
I sent Josh an update with pictures at my last site visit on Friday. 3 out 5 pictures were of toilets.
The master vanity is shaping up! Tower has been installed – though still missing crown – and faucets are in.
So glad the trim guys made a masterpiece of the attic stair pulldown that is located in an unfinished storage closet.
Lastly, Josh, Nate and my dad delivered the library built-in tops yesterday. They installed them, with the exception of one that can’t be installed until a gas shutoff is moved.
Have you ever seen such a look of pure joy?
Thank you, Daddy! And thank you, Josh and Nate, for assisting. Can’t wait until these bad boys are painted a deep green.
Hardwoods are being finished this week. We’re in the homestretch!
Dining room through to library and a peek into the kitchen on the right.
Kitchen…and Joshua.
Stairwell up to the studio.
Studio…in need of railing…
Front stairwell in need of a railing upgrade.
Guest bath.
Hall bath. Tile guys are getting all of the floors prepped to start tiling next week!
Master bedroom.
Tile, waiting patiently to be installed. Hardwood floor installation starts Monday, too!
And…garage doors have been installed. They will be painted black to match the other exterior doors, but I am in love.
We are entering the exciting phase when all of the “pretty things” are installed over the next two months. Stay tuned for tile, cabinetry, trim, doors, countertops, appliances, hardware, lighting and plumbing fixtures, and all the other things HGTV leads you to believe can all be installed in three days.
As we approach a very large number of days that this project has been underway, we are *this* close to starting drywall.
I feel like a broken record, saying for the last 8+ weeks that we are close to starting drywall, but we are actually almost there.
The insulation is nearly complete and drywall has been delivered, with drywall guys on standby.
Though the interior has been progressing slower than I would prefer, the exterior has made some big strides.
We’ve also had some visitors who came by to check out the property…
Lorelei was not terribly impressed with the raw interior, but enjoyed walking the grounds. She decided the yard was good for playing and that she will come back for many more visits.
Since Lorelei’s visit, the dirt pile has disappeared and the yard is completely graded.
Try to envision the hedged courtyard with a fire pit and herb garden that will be here in the future. Likely Phase 271.
Look how smooth and lovely the side yard is!
Also of note, the classical columns for the front porch arrived! They weigh a casual couple of tons each.
Funny/not funny story: The column company tried to deliver these to our builder’s office, which is in an office building in a busy part of town. They called and said, “We’re here!” and our builder, who was at our property, said “So am I! and I don’t see you…” And that’s when they realized the billing and shipping addresses had gotten mixed up.
I’m glad I wasn’t there for that.
The driveway is complete! It is now a breeze to pull up and park by the front door, which I intend to use frequently.
Lastly, the exterior painting is almost done. They will have to come back to paint the porches and garage doors, but the yellow is history!
We have a site meeting in a few hours. Wish us luck and hope that drywall is starting…
Just kidding, we have a long way to go until it’s time for furniture.
We had a big inspection last week for the rough plumbing, HVAC, and framing. The inspector was cranky and came up with a list of things (several of which the builder and I have never heard of before) that need to be fixed before he’ll pass us. Still working on getting that completed.
In the meantime, we are bursting at the seams with insulation.
Progress continues on the exterior:
I am loving the paint color!
The black doors and shutters will add some much needed definition.
Less exciting but extremely necessary, they are putting in the septic system. I am not sure what all this entails and I don’t think I want to know. All I know is that the ugly orange fencing is gone and the open yard feels a million times better.
So much more open from the porch!
This will soon be a lovely, grassy field.
The cellar door is in! Getting close to being able to secure the house.
Perhaps most exciting of all in the last week, I selected our soapstone slabs for the kitchen and butler’s pantry. I am absolutely obsessed with them.
If you need me, I’ll be staring at pictures of my slabs.
It has been another week dedicated to electrical wiring, plumbing piping, and HVAC ducting.
Are you still there?
Just thrilling.
They used the template provided by the tub manufacturer to cut out the tub deck.
Unfortunately, they did not consult me on placement before they did this and the cutout is too close to the windows. But that is easily fixed.
Though I’m glad we will have adequate ventilation in the house, I cannot wait until it’s time for drywall and all of the ducts and returns are out of sight.
I’m sure it’s all very efficiently run, but this ceiling looks like a hot mess to me.
Meanwhile, outside, part 1 of 27 of the electrical to the house has been inspected and approved so John has filled in a section of the ditch wide enough for a vehicle to pass over. He also started spreading gravel up the rest of the driveway while I was there. It was exciting to see the beginnings of the circle drive!
We’ve also been working hard on finalizing orders this week as raw materials seem to be skyrocketing in price.
We’ve been trying to pick our spots and make some trade-offs to stay in budget. The herringbone brick floor in the mudroom and the heated floors in the master bath are on the chopping block. My dear husband offered to start driving for Uber Eats so we don’t have to give up these features. I’m sure he’ll have no problem squeezing that in between working a full-time job, getting his MBA, and building a house.
We decided on #1 red oak instead of select, which has no knots and less tone variation from board to board. Josh and I agreed that we’d like a little more character in our hardwood floors and this was a good area to save some money. This showroom sample has no stain on it so it’s much lighter than our floors, which will be stained dark walnut.
Though the hardwoods will likely be installed in the next month, they will not be stained until the very end of the build, so it will be a while before we get to see the full effect.
Our builder and I had a long meeting yesterday to finalize exterior trim, siding, columns, and garage doors, as well as interior trim, doors, transoms, stair parts, and miscellaneous millwork.
As I was double-checking the door quote today, Bu decided to make himself a little napping Bu-rrito in the house plans. He stayed like this for over an hour. I’ll take it as a sign that he’s excited about the new house.
Our moat is working well and keeping delivery trucks at bay. (sigh.)
They were trying to deliver our exterior doors in this picture, but unfortunately our plywood bridge here was not going to cut it.
It is strictly a pedestrian bridge. A very small pedestrian bridge, for very small pedestrians.
I safely crossed the bridge several times; however, I will be very relieved once the electrical has been inspected and approved, and the ditch can be filled in. I am hoping this will happen tomorrow.
Somehow, these bricks showed up for the chimneys…
Inside, there has been progress on the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems (MEP). At our site meeting, I walked through with the builder and the electrician to verify placements.
The electrical foreman’s name is “Country”. Now, when our builder told us the electrician “Country” was coming, I had in my mind that this man would look something like Blake Shelton. “Country” is neither tall nor cowboy-like. No, in fact, he is a stout, hispanic man who is about my height, which, for the record, is 5′ 4 1/2″.
Because I had very detailed electrical layouts for him, which I assume made his job easier, we are now best friends.
Now taking suggestions on what my construction nickname should be.
“Country” and his crew have been busy wiring the upstairs.
(This is my husband Josh in the picture. Not “Country”.)
The HVAC guys have most of the ducting in place.
And we have some plumbing! These are drain lines for the mater bath sinks.
Kath has hot and cold supply lines in the guest bath! She’ll be tickled.
These nooks in the mancave and studio came in handy for all of the HVAC.
Just a few more pieces of plumbing to put in. (yikes!)
I give them an A+ for organization.
And they finally remembered to frame in the basement access!
I took a class in Phenomenology in graduate school and for some reason this photo reminds me of a spa we studied in Japan. It was all about a sensory experience with light, touch, and sound.
OK, time to end the interior tour.
Out front, our baby volunteer trees are starting to grow. Just another 50 years or so until they’re as tall as the others.
We are in the not so sexy stage called “rough in”. It is during this stage that they put in the guts of the house, which are critical for it to function, but not the most photogenic.
The electricians were placing all of the housings for lighting and putting in switch and outlet boxes. My electrical plan was so detailed that the electrician only had 3 questions for me. Not bad for several hundred components, if I do say so myself.
It is always my goal to leave absolutely NO room for interpretation when it comes to electrical plans. I’ve seen far too many switches *centered* on large walls across from the entrance to a room.
Not in my house.
Electrical panels boxes, easily accessible in the garage.
Slightly more exciting than the electrical, they’ve built the tub deck for the master tub.
I’m hoping they will enlarge the opening for the tub or the cat will be the only household member able to use it.
They’ve started on the roof as well…which will be super handy once they have it complete.
Handy because we arrived yesterday to check on things just in time for a torrential downpour. Conveniently, they had just dug the ditch for the electrical lines, which runs right across the middle of the property, between the house and the driveway and all the way around to the back of the garage.
We put Barry’s truck in 4 wheel drive and hoped for the best.
On the bright side, I got some good wide angle shots of the house as we slid through the mud all the way around the house.
The electrical ditch basically had the effect of a moat. So, now we know what that’s like in case we ever want one.
For now I think we’ll stick with fences to secure the perimeter.
Speaking of, my dad and Josh have almost finished the fence. It’s looking mighty fine!
Well things have improved slightly in the last week.
They have corrected the bulk of the framing issues and are tackling the final items.
The dining room chimney is FINALLY underway. I have asked about this 147 times because it’s such a critical element to the look of this side of the house.
Speaking of chimneys, they have framed out the fireplace walls inside – woohoo! This is in the dining room on the other side of the wall we were just looking at.
This is in the living room.
You’ll notice, we are missing the chimney here. A chimney had been built, but upon inspection of the measurements, it was not the right size.
The chimney is being rebuilt.
That’s all I will say about that.
Some good news: we can now walk down the basement stairs somewhat safely.
More good news: they’re almost finished moving the dirt for the driveway so we’ll actually be able to park in the garage.
There is still a lot of dirt to move. Our chia pet dirt pile is thriving in the backyard.
Meanwhile, in the front yard, Josh, my dad, and my brother-in-law were getting our 4 rail fence started.
I think the only reason they agreed to do this work themselves was so they could rent a skid steer.
If 2020 were a fence…
Don’t worry, they got it straightened out and set in concrete.
Looking much better!
Still a long way to go…
The guys also worked along our easement road, digging ditches to help with the water runoff issue so that there will be a road left by the time we’re ready to move in.
I’ve been recruited to help with the fence project next weekend. Please send help.
Some things have happened at the property this week. Let me fill you in:
I noticed last weekend that we had a rather significant framing issue upstairs. Not a structural one, thankfully. In fact, the house is built like a tank, with more lumber and hurricane ties than you can imagine. No, the issue was regarding measurements. I realized the issue when I walked into the master bath and the vanity wing wall was partially obscuring one of the windows. Per my plans, this should not have been the case.
I started investigating. Come to find out that the guest room had been framed over a foot too deep(!), thus throwing off every wall upstairs east to west. Mostly notably, the master bedroom was 10 square feet too small as a result. No bueno.
I did my best not to have a “come apart” (as they call it here in the south) and started documenting everything for the builder. I was particularly wound up over this because my plans are not only to scale but also dimensioned. I can forgive an inch here or there and realize there may have to be an occasional adjustment, but variations of more than a foot simply will not do.
Good news: I noticed this while still in the framing stage and not as we were trying to move in furniture.
Bad news: I was the one that caught this.
Good news: It can be fixed and our builder is on it.
Bad news: Nearly every wall in the main part of the upstairs has to be moved.
Good news: We will not be charged for this.
Bad news: It will delay us about a week.
I had two 2-3 hour site meetings with the builder this week to go through everything and mark what needs to be corrected.
I should have brought snacks.
OK, now onto the next critical item: the kitchen cabinet color.
It is well-documented that I am my own worst client. While I can be incredibly decisive with selections and decisions for my clients’ spaces, the same cannot be said for my personal spaces.
I have painted this poor door sample with 5 different colors and then my own custom blends of these colors to get the color just right. Let me just say that neutrals are complicated because they can take on various undertones depending on what time of day it is and what kind of light is hitting them. My struggle was that I liked some better in natural daylight and the others better at night with incandescent light. In the daylight some were taking on a fleshy undertone (which I am absolutely allergic to) and at night the others took on a green cast.
My cabinet guy will be delighted when I tell him he has to paint match a 50/50 blend of 2 colors, one of which is at 75%. Here is the winning combination:
This is the same color on the whole door. See how different it looks in light and shadow?!
While the cabinet color took an inordinate amount of time, it took me about 45 seconds to make the call on the roof material.
Back to regularly scheduled programming and progress photos:
They put on the underlayment for the roof and some of the flashing.
They started on the dining room chimney.
They have done some more digging around the garage, though there is still a bit to do.
Josh and my dad laid out where the 4 rail fence will go along our shared property line.
They have their work cut out for them as they put in this fence next weekend.
Primm & Property 