Oh, What a Week Can Bring!

Simply amazing this week!  So much fun to drop by whenever we could find the time, because each visit brought us such visual progress. It truly looks like a house now, with all of the rooms framed/defined.  It has been fun to walk through the areas with the kiddos, as we can all visualize things now.  This morning, the trusses for the second level went up (it's all one level, with the exception of a bonus room over the garage.)

Here is the original design concept - though we did make some minor changes to this version:

Floors and Walls!

Such visible progress this week!  We all really enjoyed visiting the lot tonight after swim practice!  We know every step along the way takes time, and that it's hard to always appreciate them because they aren’t so “visible” - but it sure was fun to see the floors go in - and the walls go up over the last couple of days!  

It sure feels REAL right about now... 💗

"Gold" Lumber and Cherries!

MIKE'S FRIDAY SNIPPETS - 6-18-21

Accomplished

• Underfloor plumbing done
• Underfloor HVAC mostly done
• Inspections passed
• Framers are starting to deck the floor this weekend
• Approved the concrete/asphalt plan

Next

• Framing will be full speed ahead barring any material or labor issues. 
• We will get started on the driveway and other gravel areas asap.

To-Do

• Working on cabinet drawing revisions

It almost makes me nervous to have the lumber sitting out here!  Right now, it feels just like GOLD!  :-) 

The cherries are SO good!

Lumber = Gold right now!

Floor Joists and Best Pots

Progress continues!  Floor joists are now in...  and the system that Mike uses, gives us confidence that we will not be hearing floor creaks and have any bows in the floors (which makes me very happy!)  We also had more chats on the driveway last night.  Decisions, decisions...  there are so many considerations at this juncture - and we can't take them lightly because it's likely they will be final for many years.

We also received the first version of the cabinet layouts.  Very cool to visualize everything! 

And finally... when asked to move the "Best Pots" because it's blocking a driveway view...  sometimes, you just have to "get-r-done!"  🤣

Modifying As We Go!

We met Mike at the lot today after work to mark out the concrete options.  (I love being a part of every choice and having the opportunity to modify as we go.)  Sometimes the way it looks on paper is quite different when you see it in reality, so we were able to spray the measurements and made some changes like spacing of the firepit and size of the basketball area (yes... that was my wish, so that I can actually teach my kiddos how to play basketball, given the constant conflict during swimming!)  😃  It is refreshing to work with Mike...  he gives advice based on his learnings, listens to our desires/concerns, and problem-solves (one of my favorite skillsets!) 

We will have to make some tough choices on driveway and fencing pretty soon.  Costs are high with all the concrete/asphalt we would like to have - and as most of you know, lumber prices are CRAZY right now, so some will just have to be determined by final prices. (For example, Mike said red cedar is at an insanely high price at the moment.)  But there are some things that just make sense to do upfront vs. waiting a year or two.  We didn't go into this expecting it to be an "inexpensive" endeavor (after all it is a dream house!), so we are just trying to balance all the choices and be smart - with the intent of not wanting to look back saying: "why didn't we just [fill in the blank] upfront."

Next up:  Next week, the floor joists will get installed, and then the plumbing/HVAC under the house will get started.  Then we will get moving to flooring and soon after, the framing.  We are all so excited to watch the next phase!

Samuel was at swim practice, but Luke & Rachel came along for the ride and read their new Scholastic books while we worked through everything with Mike. 

Update -  June 5th:

We were headed to Starbucks this AM - and asked if any of the kiddos wanted to tag along for the ride.  Samuel asked if we could also drive by the lot, given he wasn't able to go with us last night - "of course," I replied! (I am always up for an excuse to stop by!)  After we had arrived, and roamed a bit, we quickly realized there had been changes since we had visited the night before!  There was vapor barrier, along w/ wood added on top of the forms (no idea what the correct technical terms are...)  😏

It was fun to see the changes, for sure!  Samuel is always so excited to explore and see the progress - which makes my heart happy.  He asks many questions, and is very intrigued with the build process.