Our bricks are going up nicely, but the heat is keeping the work days short. Also, one of our diamond-grid windows came in with he grid the wrong way, so that has to go back, and we'll have to wait 2-3 more weeks for the replacement.

Our hot water heater was put in this week and the electricians have located and wired all switches, receptacles and fixtures. We're moving right along!~

Bowyer123 - Is your hot water heater in the attic???? If so, I know it is too late for you but I have never understood the logic of putting a hot water heater in the attic.

Hot water heaters need periodic maintenance including testing the temperature/pressure relief valve at least once a year to ensure that it is working properly; and draining some water from the bottom valve to remove built-up sediment once or twice a year. The harder your water is, the more often you should drain out the tank because sediment that builds up in the bottom of the tank reduces its efficiency AND can cause premature tank failure. You also need to check the heater over periodically for evidence of small leaks - especially where hoses connect, and/or any signs of corrosion.

With the water heater in the attic tho, it is often a case of "out of sight - out of mind." The homeowner never give the hot water tank a second thought - until it fails. And far too often, hot water tank failure is accompanied by a deluge of water that overflows those dinky little drain pans and causes significant water damage to the ceiling of the rooms below before the homeowner even guesses that there might be a problem.

And, replacing a water heater that is in the attic can be a major PITA. Even if you have pull-down stairs for attic access, they often cannot bear the weight of an old water heater that is full of water and sludge that can't be drained because the drain valve is plugged from not having been drained for 5 years. You wind up needing to rig up a block and tackle to lower the old heater to get it out of the attic. And, it isn't unheard of for a large water heater to be installed thru the rough opening for the attic stairs and then, once drop-down stairs are installed, the stair opening winds up being smaller than the tank thus making it impossible to get the old tank out of the attic at all!

For anyone who HASN'T yet started building but whose plans show the water heater in the attic, I strongly urge you to do some research on this before you proceed. If you do, I think you'll be looking for a way to revise you plans and move the water heater out of the attic.

And for Bowyer and anyone else whose water heater is in the attic... plan on replacing it ON SCHEDULE or even a little early. If it is an 8-year tank, replace it before the eighth year runs out. And maybe put a big note on your Christmas ornaments boxes reminding you to do annual maintenance on the water heater while you're up in the attic getting down the tree decorations. That will help minimizes the chances that you'll have a catastrophic water heater failure.

Bevangel,

Thanks for all of that good advice....ours is in the attic as are most houses in my area. We went with a Marathon HWH. It is 105 gallons versus two, gas-fired 50 gallon heaters.

My experience is water heaters do fail and leak, but not too often if you check on it every few months. Our attic has full stairs and I will be sure to check the and drain the sludge regularly. Fortunately I have seen one fail and the homeowners were out of town....disastrous!

We talked to our plumber and he is going to install a shut-off on the unit that will cut the water supply if there is a loss of pressure. And the fact that this is a Marathon (lifetime leak-free, plastic) HWH makes me feel better about it being up there. The last 2 houses we had both had 2 50's (gas-fired) up there and were fine.

I attached a link to the Marathon site. I like it because there are no gas lines involved and no ceiling vents, a definite source of potential leak issues and inefficiency.

I will be sure to attach a note to the Christmas decorations....great idea!

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.marathonheaters.com/

I too have the hot water heater in our attic. We have a 2 story house with a full door access in one of our boys' rooms. We haven't had ours fail but it is fairly new. I store my holiday decorations in this area as well, so it's checked on quite often.

My husband had to replace a heating element when we first moved in because someone with the realtor's office forgot to turn the breaker off since no water was running through the house while they were trying the sell it. It was a foreclosure. To drain it, he just opened up the water valve which released the water into our drain pan that drained outside of our house. We didn't have a problem with it overflowing.

Just make sure to put a wrap around it to keep the water heated during the winter months. It doesn't get that cold here in Louisiana, but I am grateful for having it when temps sometimes get below freezing.

BTW, our air conditioner inside unit is also upstairs on the opposite side of the house from the hot water heater. We had a leakage problem from that but nothing really major. In our build, my husband wants to make sure that it is connected correctly. That was the main issue for the overflow of the drain pan from the HVAC system.

Sorry, I certainly didn't mean to permanently drag this thread off-topic. How about we get back to "How's Your Build Progressing?" Even tho we've been in our house for two years now, I still get a kick out of seeing other folks' progress each month.

We started five weeks ago and this is where we are today or rather a couple of days ago. They are almost finished framing except for a couple of corners for some reason. The interior walls are framed too. Not that I've been upstairs yet. I wonder when stairs will go in. I've been tempted to use a ladder but I didn't want four little kids following me so I guess I can be patient.

Some exterior shots, we have a dumpster, our little solar pad for our little solar shed (we're going to be off grid), and my youngest saying he's the king of the world - not really, he's never seen Titanic.

Our house is a different style than most on this site. Here are some recent pictures. The plan is to get the roof up then complete framing.

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laurajane02,

That's an intersting build. I really like it. Gorgeous setting too.

Care to share any specs/info?

Sure, what would you like to know?

Sure, what would you like to know?

We are just about to finish our third month of construction. We lost about 10 days with the rains and Debby, but things are moving along. They started the plumbing rough-ins today. The roofer is scheduled to load the shingles on the roof this afternoon and start putting them down tomorrow. They have now finished all of the waterproofing - these pics are a few days old - and we are ready for siding.

The front elevation. Can't wait to see this all trimmed out. We hope to start the siding next week.
href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/69340843@N05/7509306394/"; title="Letitia Lane 002 by KFHL, on Flickr">

The back elevation.

The interior is all framed and ready for rough-ins.

The breakfast nook.

The back yard.

Can't wait to sit at the breakfast table and enjoy the view!

Beginning days of framing. I'm VERY type A so the little framing mistakes, though easily correctable, are already stressing me out.

Here's the rendering of what it'll look like

Well this past month has been crazy! So much has been happening and I feel like I still have a ton of stuff to do!

We've had trim start, cabinets installed, exterior finally finishing up. Here is a current shot of the exterior. And, I have to say, I just love the antique chestnut my builder found for the mudroom entrance!

Kitchen in progress...

Mudroom in progress....

Boys study in progress...

Laundry room...

Upstairs hall...

Guest bath...

Sorry for the big pics, I still can't figure out how to make them smaller!

Andy_k- I love the kitchen cabinets, in fact all the cabinets are beautiful! Are they custom? Nice laundry layout too!

LauraJane - that build makes my heart go pitter patter!!! It is gorgeous - every bit of it! Can't wait to see the final product!

kamkar - thanks! All of the cabinets are Shiloh....love them!

Andy_k- Curious, what color is the vanity in the last picture?
Thanks.

Andi_K - your house looks absolutely amazing. Love your kitchen - how wide is the window over the sink. Ours will be split into three as well and I'm worried it's going to look too broken up - too late anyways. Probably just because I'm getting used to seeing this great big space and I like it.
What a lot of lovely storage your house is going to have and you have very lucky kids! I've never seen a recessed box for venting a dryer - what a good idea. When are you supposed to be done?

Looking great everyone!

They have dug our basement and poured the footers...might not be too exciting...for us IT is amazing!!!

Andi K- Looks wonderful, love the chestnut and everything! Please share about your floors...species, grade, what are your plans for finishing them? Thank you!

We just finalized our floor plans and everything is going out to bid now. Hopefully it comes back on budget. I don't know what else we can cut and still end up with the house we want.

I'm slow to upload pics but our build is moving right along:

oil rubbed bronze knobs/hinges installed

Oil rubbed bronze light fixtures

rough grade of front yard done

stone columns finished

granite and appliances installed

crown molding on bottom of trey for cove lighting

Open staircase started

Here is a link that might be useful: Our home sell/build blog

We're at the start of our seventh week. Last week the shingles went on, the windows and doors were installed, the garage floor was poured and the porch was finished, most of our up/down stairs (with the exception of our cement stairs from garage to basement) were completed. We also completed framing.

This week they are doing our plumbing, electric and heat rough-ins and we have our electrical walk through as well.

It's hard to believe how fast everything is happening some days!

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Bonus room:

Front of house:

Back yard:

Its been way too long since I've been able to post and a lot of progress has been made! We went to Cooperstown, NY for a baseball tournament for one of my boys, and it was so exciting to come back home to all the changes. We are really almost to the final patching and cleanup.
Here is the kitchen:

still need to cut out hole for island sink
another kitchen view:

fixture for island is on back order...
powder bath: (still needs vessel sink, paint on vanity and finish up tile)

built in's in study (it isn't as bright in person)

art niches:

dining room

wine room

kids bath


so excited to get lights! And started the pool today!

Have to add how much fun it is to look at everyone else's progress. laurajane--I hope you keep posting--its so fun to see a style that is different. Andi K--love your mudroom color. Xclusive--the columns are going to be stunning--what a wonderful idea.

Posted by cvtxmama (My Page) on Tue, Jul 17, 12 at 21:16

Have to add how much fun it is to look at everyone else's progress. laurajane--I hope you keep posting--its so fun to see a style that is different. Andi K--love your mudroom color. Xclusive--the columns are going to be stunning--what a wonderful idea.

Thank you! I love your groin vault inside the trey in your dining room. How tall are your ceiling and do you know the rise of the vault? Our ceilings are only 9ft so I'm thinking we can only get about 16"-18" rise max. Our builder considered the groin vault 'to custom' so we couldn't get it but it will be one of my 1st things on the "to do list" when we move in.

I also love the pendant lighting and the chandelier, do you care to share? :)

What made you go with over cabinet lighting instead of taking the cabinets to the ceiling? We are debating this right now?

Thanks,

Here is a link that might be useful: Our home sell/build blog

Here's where we are at as of now. Hoping to be in in about 3 weeks!

House is staked out...drawn in blue ink...and city has put a culvert in the ditch...hope that is the beginning of something big!

House is staked out...drawn in blue paint...and city has put a culvert in the ditch...hope that is the beginning of something big!

Gee, I wish our guys were working inside. The heat almost got them yesterday (my DH and DB are possibly too old for this). We have a detached garage that is getting decked today and this am about 5 they poured the house foundation. We are actually considering a hiatus for the heat, but when it gets down to it, I bet they toil on.

We are coming close to the end, seems like things have slowed down a bit for us:

Security cameras at front/rear door

Yard being prep for concrete (dont forget pvc pipes under driveway/sidewalk for irrigaton/landscape lighting)

Stairs stained

Concrete poured

Doors/garage painted

We are on day 129 and to be honest the house build project is starting to wear on us and lose my interest. It seems we've had problem after problem, debate after debate and its just starting to get old now. I went thru the house earlier and gave my GC a punch list which consisted of about 30 things still left to do. A few major things but most of them just minor so I still say we are a couple of weeks out not including ordering a VA appraisal once house is 95% complete and of course they are on their own timeframe :).

Major issue is grinder pump in front yard (we call it the green turtle). They seem to be common but we were never aware of them before and it was not disclosed to us one would be on our lot. We just came to the house and there it was! :( So we are debating back and forth with builder about moving who of course is giving us every excuse why it can't be moved but I have talked with the city and they state it can be moved to side yard.

Of coure this will just delay things even longer. It would be different if we were building a custom house but this is not and other house in the neighborhood have been completed around 90 to 100 days. This has been dragged out and I will just be glad when its all over. We were hoping for a 4th of July picnic but think that will be pushed back to "Hopefully" Labor day (just had to vent, thanks for listening!) :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Our House sell/build blog!

Rough-ins are complete and wall insulation is in. Drywall next week.

Here is a link that might be useful: Build Blog

Finally got some pics of the land!

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Driveway:

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Artsy! Lol.

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I won't post any more until there is actual "building" happening :)

We are about one week into build. Our detached garage will get doors next week and dried in. Then we will have a good place onsite for tools. The foundation for house is poured. The pad for the rain water collection tank is almost done.

Grinder pumps have been a part of our lives for nine years or so. Here in our subdivision we had to have a trouble light that came on when the pump wasn't pumping (clogged). Eventually you learn the hard way to baby the pump. We did not put anything down a drain or toilet other than human waste and toilet paper. We used liquid soaps and detergents for dishwasher, washer, baths. Grease that went down the sink was minimized in every way we could. No little dissolvable packets. No wipies that say flushable. You want to keep it working: people really like to flush and they cost a lot to repair or replace.

Framing is underway!

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Making up some lost time with our unending site prep issues! I can get a real sense of what the rooms will feel like now. House is wrapped and ready for brick, roof is shingled, plumbing and HVAC complete, garage slab poured and gas lines ran. Oh and we picked style and colors of kitchen/laundry/masterbath cabinets too! We found two freestanding vanities at Cabinets To Go for less than $500 a piece! They are beautiful!! Can't wait to share soon!
Here are a few pics, the rest can be seen on Photobucket.
Garage

Fireplace with firebox installed with gas line hookup

I was so excited when they installed the stairs! I refused to climb the 20 ft ladder to the second story!

House closed in except front door

Bonus room with a view!!

Hope to have electricity wired next week and sheet rock soon!

Love seeing all the phases of construction on here. I remeber the footing/foundation phase and look forward to the painting and counter top installation!

I'm late, I'm late!! We are awaiting inspection approval but we have movers scheduled for Monday. So it is STRESS around here!! We are almost done. Here's the outside...we have grass! I'll take some inside pics after we move in :)

Graceshan it is so cute! We are building across the water from you and I showed my husband your blog and we obsessed with your windows! lol.

Such beautiful homes!

I can finally post some progress pics - kinda slow going but we'll eventually get there. We are building out of pocket so it's been a long process. We did the foundation last Fall. It will at least be all shelled in by winter. We'll work on it this winter as we can. Anyway...here are some pics. :)

We are having a very rainy summer after our record snowfall winter. The mountains in back still have lots of snow on them - they are usually mostly velvety green in the summer.

This is looking north. There will be a second floor with a 7/12 pitch roof. In the right corner there will be a 12' x 24' deck.

Our bedroom windows looking north to "Mickey Mouse Mountain". There are two waterfalls which we can hear - I love it!

Trusses were delivered today!

Showing Arctic double wall construction with space in between so it breaks the thermal conductivity. I'll post a link below that tells about it.

Finally - a beautiful day for building! As you can see...the mountains still have snow when they are usually mostly green.

This is looking into the north entry (right), two office and south entry (to the left)& pantry area.

I know I've posted these before but just wanted to put these last 3 pics in here to show you the southern winter, Fall & summer views we usually have :)

Winter

Fall

Summer

Here is a link that might be useful: Double wall construction can boost energy efficiency in cold climates Read more: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner - Double wall construction can boost energy efficiency in cold climates

[Traditional Exterior design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-exterior-home-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_736~s_2107)

I wish I could say...It has been a dream to build this home but it hasn't....I can only pray the process gets better! I will post most recent pics...to show you what the front looks like now...and the way the roof should have been installed.