Chugging Along!

It is hard to believe it has been a month since I posted last... but then again, I guess not a complete surprise, given our life is testing our resilience right now.  But truly and honestly - building this house has not been the stressful part of life!  And in fact, going to the house, is "our escape," as it is something we all love to do!  

There has been so much progress since my last update!  We are now at the stage of having the siding done, gutters on and tile install is being completed.  We also have doors going in, the covered patio ceiling in, and the concrete will soon be poured in the back. 

This process has been so much fun for us.  I am not to saying everything can be anticipated - and not saying choices are easy, given budgets - but it is so such a great feeling of ownership to be able to make choices -along the way- to ensure this is truly meeting our expectations of it being "our" house for the long haul.  (Because sometimes what you "thought" would be perfect, doesn't quite match up to what you had anticipated, so it's nice to be able to adjust!)

SIDE BAR THOUGHTS:  Joe and I have worked SO hard to get to this place in life.  We both came from middle-class, hard-working families, that instilled in both of us, the strong work ethic to get us where we are today.  I am so thankful for what we have, and never take it for granted.  I think the challenge is how we instill the same character and passion for hard work in our kiddos - and we both feel a strong responsibility to do that.  To us, this house represents a shared place for family & friends.  We knew we needed to remove ourselves from the stress of PDX because we wanted our kids to grow up in a slower-paced "community."  And while there are things we do miss about being in the hubbub of Portland, we feel very confident that we made the right choice... While not perfect, we do love McMinnville.  

Pit Stop...

 

Taking Shape!

Joe and I went on a walk to the house this morning and found some fun updates!  

1. The board & batten siding has started! 😁 
2. The under cover porch tongue & groove boards under the entry has been installed (which turned out really nice!)
3. The drywall has been taped & mudded.

It's starting to take shape and feel like a real HOME!  

Thank you Mike Riddle...  👍 

10/9/2021

Front Porch

Looking from Kitchen to Great Room

Great Room

Covered Patio (back)

Office

Entryway

Drywall and Big Slider!

It was late last night when Samuel asked if we could go check out the house.  Joe had taken Rachel to soccer practice, and I really wasn't up for making the trip - but we went anyway.

... And I am SO glad we did because there had been exciting progress! The big slider window/door had been installed and all the drywall had been delivered (and placed in each room.)  As well, the upstairs room was just about completed with drywall!  

The boys were so excited (which I love to see) and wanted to go into each room one-by-one to check things out.  

We are being very patient, knowing that it will all come together as it should.  And we are enjoying the pitstops to see all the progress.  We have also been able to meet many of the neighbors, so we won't seem like such strangers when we move in, which will be nice.

 

Windows & Insulation

It doesn't always appear that things are happening from the outside, but on the inside -- there has been a lot of great progress! 

The windows went in last week + the fireplace insert.  And today Samuel and I made a trip over and found that the insulation had gone in - plus the the siding had been delivered.  So little-by-little it is all coming together!

And then tonight we decided to stop in and get mom so that we could all take another look.  The sunset was so pretty!  I am going to enjoy those views so very much...

Windows!

Siding was delivered

Insulation!

Fireplace insert

Quite sure his view will not get old...

Yellow Wrap - Check!

We took the kiddos for ice cream to celebrate a successful "first-day-back-to-school" and decided to drive by the house to see if anything had changed.  It had! The house is almost done being wrapped in yellow, which means windows will go in very soon too (they were also delivered to the house.)  

I also love the checklists that are on the walls.  :-)  And I had forgotten to snap a photo of our signatures from last month, behind the fireplace. 

Wires and Garage Concrete!

We saw a spray painted sign late last week: "garage concrete pour on Monday."  I had a 7:00am meeting, but Joe and Rachel headed over to watch some of the action.  Love to have the kiddos be a part of the process and see how things are done.  

The electrical is almost done - wires everywhere!  I am impressed with electricians and all that they have to navigate.  I looked at the box one day and was wondering how on earth it all comes together - so many wires!

Other items: 

• They added the "faux" window on the upper, left side of the house (it was bothering me without the symmetry) 😏 - but we knew it was on the list to get completed.  
• They have almost finished with the roof - added the middle, metal section on Friday.

So many wires!

Upper, left window added (faux)

Slow but Steady!

On 8/12, we walked through the whole house with Mike and worked out the electrical plan.  I think it took us a couple of hours, and felt great to be able to talk through everything.  It's good to brainstorm and put collective ideas together.  And then on 8/13, the electrician made quick progress and had already started placing the boxes and getting most of the can lights placed.

We also took some time this weekend to pick out the fixtures on-line, which was a lot of fun.  Fortunately Joe and I have matching tastes, so it's pretty easy once we get moving!  :-)  The hard part is making sure we keep to the budget!  

They also have the back patio pillars waiting/ready for concrete.  And the inside fireplace has been framed.  Mike did mention that there are some supply issues with the fireplace we wanted, but is coming up with a plan b.  All-in-all, we have done pretty well on the supply side (other than lumber, of course) -- and we are hoping we won't run into too many supply issues as we move forward.

Today, they roofers started adding the metal roofing, which looks great!  I love look of composition mixed with metal.  I also enjoyed chatting about the progress with one of the workers - he said it's definitely more work to put up, but he too thinks it looks really good.  As well, the electrician had made even more progress.

So while this stage feels slow (from the outside) we know there is actually a lot going on!

Metal Roofing Today!

Looking up in the entry-way

Electrical Work

Fireplace

My Favorite View!