marchell, when I came to the picture of the front of your house, I had to catch my breath. My goodness, what a porch that is.

That firplace, does it reach heaven? My goodness it is lovely. Your entire house is gorgeous.

Do you mind if I ask about your underhouse vents? Can you give me some information, i.e., name, where to buy, etc. we still haven't made a final decision on ours so if I can get some personal information on a particular model, etc., that would be helpful. Thanks

rhome, I believe I commented on your beautiful backsplash on the kitchen forum, but I'm doing it again. Very pretty.

Dawn, you are really making progress. Looks great.

ah rhome, the kitchen dilemma. I refused to put up anything that could be considered acceptible as a long term solution. Instead I have plywood and no shelves and my kitchen builder is totally stalled. I guess I got burned anyway!

brutuses, the dogs always seem to be in the middle of what we're doing so they're in lots of the photos. Good thing they're cute ;)

marchell, I like the exterior of your home! Great colour and it looks like you'll have a nice yard.

Thank you brutuses. The vents were bought at our local building supply company but I beleive you can buy them at Lowes to. They come in several diffrent colors and they are a really hard tough plastic or maybe vinyl. I will ask my husband tonight and get the info for you.

We have went over our budget on the outside. That porch really got into some money but we wanted it to be there a long time and was worried about the maintence on a wood porch. All I know is that I wanted a wrap around porch because the veiws on this hill is spectacular to us.

The fireplace is alittle bigger than I wanted. This is my husbands idea. We will have a buck wood insert heater in it for burning wood in the winter. I want mention that I did the hide a hose central vac in this house and I am so please that I did. I done alot of research on this forum andwas able to get it in before we got to far in the build.
This has been a real learning experiment for us. We contracted everything out ourselves. We have done alot of work ourselves to. We even put lighting under our crawl space so you can see under it if you ever have to work on anything.

here are some pictures I took at the beginning of the veiw. The mobil home home will be removed later.

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marchell, I understand what you're saying about the porch. I will do more living on the porch then I will the inside of my house, when the weather permits of course.

If I lived in your house I wouldn't get anything accomplished because I'd be sitting on the porch just gazing into the scenery.

We also had the foresight to put lighting under the crawlspace. I just about killed my DH with my lighting requests. He said when we turn the switch on to light the entire house at Christmas, the rest of the subdivision will dim. LOL For me, I can't have enough light and outlets that are convenient.

That's what is so wonderful about building a home, you get to have all those things that a ready built home doesn't offer.

I dont have much of a back yard because we built it on a hill but the porch more than makes up for it. I like outside better than inside to. I just hope I can afford furniture for it.. I manage a storage facility so maybe I will come across something.

I am embarressed to say how much recessed lighting we put in this house. The electrician that is helping us was floored when he walked in. I have most of them on seperate switches so we dont have to use them all. I think there is like 100 of them thruout the house, not counting 3 shower lights. We are just going to do the nessessity things on the inside. We have along time to work on this house and we are not wanting to finance all of it. I just want to get it done to close. I am going to wait on my backsplashes and some of the finer details I want to include. I am a painter and do murals and all kinds of art and I would really like to have the time to get a feel without having to rush in and do something I am not happy with.

We are in!!! We are done!!! Yahoo! We moved in on July 30 and they were still tiling, painting and working on trim and we had no a/c or water until the next day but we got moved and closed the loan on August 1.

The house turned out even more beautiful that I had dreamed it could be.

I will say it was worth all the stress. It is the greatest thing to wake up in the morning and see my horses out in the pasture.

I will post pictures as soon as we catch our breath enough to take some.

Sprice, Congratulations! I'm so jealous. Can't wait to see those pictures! j.

Sprice, congratulations. Can't wait to see the photo's.

Here are a few more updates on the kitchen. Thought some of you would enjoy seeing the cute laundry and pantry doors.

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Broke ground the last week of May. HVAC and plumber were inside doing their thing and you can see the roofers working. Hardiplank is half done, they were working on the backside when I took this pic from the front. GC says electrical next week.

I've been wanting to share pics but didn't have a digital camera and now that I got one, it appears I need a wider angle lens! We didn't clear-cut the native trees and I found that I can't back up far enough to get the whole house into a single frame. LOL! Anyway, this is my "entry porch" which leads directly into our great room. Front doors haven't arrived but GC says he'll put temp doors up tomorrow. The porch is 17' x 18' and there will eventually be a 9' X 10' deck above the porch. The two sets of patio doors lead to the master bedroom and a second bedroom.

I took bunches of interior shots but looking at them realized that framing looks like framing looks like framing looks like framing... especially when half the shots are out of focus or blurred b/c I haven't yet learned to use this camera. LOL! Hopefully by Sept, the interiors will be looking like real rooms and I'll get shots worth posting.

Mind if I join in? I'm new & just saw this forum today (thanks Brutuses!! BTW love your doorknobs!) Everyone's houses are so beautiful & unique in their own ways.

We broke ground in April, dug the basement & waited almost an entire month for the people to come dig the footing! Now it's August & this is where we're at. Framed, roof will be completed this weekend. Windows installed. DH is working on plumbing & electrical himself in the evenings when he gets off work, so that will take a little longer. Brick should be completed next week. I don't even know what's next. Insulation?? We hope to be in by Thanksgiving. Think it will happen? I would love to spend Christmas in our new house!

bevangel and tnkcfan, Welcome to the thread!

tnkcfan, Your house is very nice. I like the floorplan, and as I saw on another thread, how you turned the garage storage into the pantry. I also like that the house appears to have a breezeway to the garage, although if I remember correctly, your kitchen sits behind that.

bevangel, Gorgeous! Love those red (if I'm seeing them right) windows. Can't wait to see more!

Welcome newbies. Lovely homes and we love seeing the progress made, it's so exciting, isn't it?

tnk, you just reminded me, I need to order a couple of more knobs for the kitchen doors. I wasn't decided on what color I would get for those doors, but I think I'll stay consistent on the glass knobs throughout. Glad you like them. They are my jewelry. LOL

jaymielo - thank you! that "breezeway" is my pantry :) & then my kitchen.

Yep, the windows and doors are clad in Jeldwen's "Mesa Red" cladding. Hardiplank siding will eventually be painted a cream color - haven't picked the exact shade yet.

DH wanted to do the entire house in a deep barn-red siding and trim it with black. Since we're in a hot climate, I convinced him it was better to use a light color that would reflect more heat away for the siding.

So we're using the red he wanted for the windows and French doors instead. I was a bit leery but really like how the windows just "pop" now that they're installed. DH still wants to use black for trim (shutters and trim boards around windows.) I'm thinking that might be too dark but am open to hearing opinions and/or other suggestions.

Wow, such beautiful homes and diffrent taste. It all makes for great conversation. I love seeing diffrent homes in diffrent area. It really helps with idea.

Bevangel...as another red window chooser, I think your DH has great taste! Happy to see someone else with them, and I'll be following your progress to see how the final color scheme develops.

I'm a newbie here too. I've been lurking the forums for a few weeks but didn't know there was a building forum. We've been building since February and got our CO yesterday!! Yay. We close on Monday.

I'll post a link to pics of the build below. The house is completely Universal Design and handicapped accessible, as my husband has MS. We don't need it yet, but may in the future and this is our forever home. It is also a green home with superior walls in the basement, radiant heat, geothermal heat pump and hookups for future solar and wind. The materials are all sustainable, and low VOC. Pictures are about 2 weeks behind the build.

All of your houses are beautiful, and so original. Not a cookie cutter in the bunch!!

Laney

Here is a link that might be useful: Our Home Build

egrigby, your house looks beautiful and I see you're another lucky soul with a beautiful scenic view. Absolutely lovely. Looking forward to more photos.

Thanks! We got very lucky. Our realtor was proving less than helpful finding land. I stumbled upon this land advertised as 14 +/- acres... turned out to be almost 17. We bought it from the sweetest lady. Has a 1 acre pond right outside the back of the house. We subdivided into two lots and my inlaws built right next door.

If anyone needs any info on Accessible building/Universal Design I'd be happy to help. I'd be thrilled to discuss green building, but I don't hold myself an expert there.

Laney

Here is a link that might be useful: Our Home Build

Brutuses, my birthday is 12/31! And I'd love to know where you got those delightful doorknobs. Simply lovely.

I'll be sharing pics of my (almost done) painting. My hubby is in Alaska this week and took the camera. :( I'm SO excited though, because things are coming together. We've got to get our electrical hooked up and the AC on before DH can finish putting down all 2500 sq ft. of hardwood, then he'll tile, or maybe I'll tile the bathrooms as he puts down hardwood!

Building is a lot of work. My husband is GC and he's feeling every bit of the pressure, which is why I didn't mind him taking this week to go to Alaska with his brother and father. Poor guy. He'll come back refreshed. . .or else! Ha!

sdionne, I'll have to try to remember your birthday. I purchased the knobs from the link below.

Can't wait to see photo's of your house progress.

Here is a link that might be useful: homestead hardware

Everyone's houses are looking great! I always love this thread and seeing all the progress happening, it is hard to imagine our house will get there too...someday! :)

Well things have been crazy this month so it has taken me a little while to post to the update thread, but now we have even more progress- The roof trusses came today!

We are also very excited about the timberframe accents in the entry/great room/dining area, DH is out there right now putting wood conditioner on them!

Oh that timberframe is beautiful. That view of course is fabulous. Can't wait to see more photo's. It's going to be great!!

Shingle Style in Maine, almost the way I designed it.

Hi Persnick,
Thanks for showing off your floors. Early on my husband fell in love with #2 hickory, but I fear it's too busy for our house which I'd characterize as natural (vs country) contemporary until I come up with a better description. Hickory is too rustic and too busy as we have a lot of rugs and artwork in our house.
We're going to have maple cabinets. The old timey cabinet maker got a kick out of my unorthodox design sense. The doors will be maple with maybe a 1/2" of perhaps walnut on the outer edges, so the two woods will take stain differently. So maple has always been my first choice. I'm not a fan of oak.
Would you be so kind as to tell me where you got the flooring? I feel like I'm following in your footsteps!

Jodie

Jaymielo,

Love the tile in your powder room. One of the design elements I'm repeating in our house started with a ganging of three windows which I'm going to repeat in tile and that tile looks like a great candidate. Can you tell me what it is?

What a lovely house!!!

Thank you so much, Jodie! They actually look soooo much better in person than they do in the pictures. :o) We got them online from Hurst Hardwoods. They don't list the #1 common on their website, but if you call and ask for Eric he can get it for you. If you're OBing he'll give you a contractor's discount and an additional discount if you need over 1,000 SF. We ended up getting it for $2.80 PSF. He also gave us an awesome deal on shipping and stair treads. Our flooring guy said it was really good quality and we hardly had any waste at all.

I'd use them again in a heartbeat!

Here is a link that might be useful: Hurst Hardwoods

Jodied, I'm assuming you are referring to this tile. (Please correct me if I'm wrong). Here it is with the grout. The name of the tile is Interceramic Kashmir Stone Mosaic.

Wow, there are several homes I don't remember seeing before. I love this report! Everybody's build looks great.

landp

Well, I can FINALLY participate in this forum

The hole was dug last Wednesday and they are backfilling today. Talk about fast! The framers are starting Monday. He expects to be setting trusses on Thursday next week. The well, septic field and geothermal will also be started next week.

As an FYI, our house is only 2100 SF plus a full basement. I am also the owner-builder.

At this pace, I could be moved in by Thanksgiving

zimzim, glad you're up and running and welcome to the update thread. Look forward to seeing some photo's for September.

Now look, there is no "only" when you state the size of your house. I have the smallest house here, "only" 1900 sq. ft. People here are not snobs, at least not to me. LOL I don't think they care what size homes are, they just enjoy seeing everyone's dream come true, with updates month after month.

See ya in September

HVAC, Electrical, Plumbing rough-ins in and inspected.
Hangar and garage floors poured.
Waiting for alarm and fire sprinklers to be put in.
Then we insulate!

Finished "selective demo" 10 days ago. Excavation complete. Concrete should be complete in 10-12 days from now.

PersknicketyDesign,

Just spoke with Eric and he gave me a price of $2.99 for your same floor. He knew who you were when I said I only knew your screen name!
It's right within what we budgeted for hardwoods.
Can't wait to see how your stain comes out as we're not looking for a natural finish.
BTW, my husband spilled the beans about the Nichiha pricing to the supplier who quoted us $400 a square. He was floored; said he pays way more than what they sold it to you for! With 84 windows in our house I have to compromise about the Nichiha.

Isn't Eric a sweetheart? I need to call him and get some more of the maple. We decided to put it in the master too. I also forgot to get the bullnose for the landing when I placed the original order. OOPS!!!

I bet that Nichiha supplier was busy making some phone calls after speaking with your DH. LOL

84 windows? Holy cow! I bet it will feel like you're outside all the time. How wonderful. :o)

Our high school building trades class will begin building our house the second week in September. The process will take until June of 2009.

We have the foundation walls poured, as well as the garage and basement floors. They have started back filling around the house a little so the dirt can settle all winter.

Here is a link that might be useful: Obrien Trades House website 08

I can't believe how fast our house is going up. Demolition on our existing house started July 26th. The finish carpenter comes in today - August 26th.

Here is a link that might be useful: Our Building Web site (with lots of pictures and video)

PersnickityDesign, With maple floors, what wood are you using for your staircase?

Yup, 84 windows. We even have some looking into the house from inside the house--looking into the aviary. I designed the house to make it feel like you're one with the woods. As soon as we are set on pricing and the construction loan I'll post the floor plan and elevations.

Fedude, did you really mean to type JULY 26 and AUGUST 26? Do you have casts of thousands working on your house?

84 windows, that's amazing. How many will actually have window treatments? LOL

The stair treads are maple too. but we'll have painted risers. From the kitchen you step onto a 4' X 4' landing and the stairs wrap around the back wall of the kitchen.

And here's the 1/2 wall at the top of the stairs.

Sorry the pics are messy, but I took them right after they finished working on them and I hadn't cleaned up yet. :o)

Was going to wait for the September thread seeing as how late in the month we are but since this one is still going.....

8/26/2008 Received C.O.

Will post some pictures in Mid-September

Congratulations Kemptoncourt! Haven't seen you in a while! Really looking forward to your pictures.

What lovely homes!

I usually just lurk here, but we're getting close to completion and I'm just too excited NOT to post!

Our home is a green build project in a new urbanist neighborhood. The builder uses the term 'green', but it's more accurate to say it's an energy-efficient home with a tint of green. (smile!) We spent our budget (and then some) on the house systems and features we wanted which means we didn't have $$ left for some of the more 'green' interior materials.

I've learned so much by lurking on this forum before and during our build. Thanks for the education!

gala, thanks for posting some photo's of your beautiful home. Look forward to seeing more.

Jaymie,

I've been babysitting trades for the past month or so. I've never seen a bigger bunch of [dare I say it?] PANSIES in my life. I was called off the desk for anything from plumbing valves not fitting in a tub deck to notching a sixteenth out of our harwoods for an HVAC opening.

We moved beds in with a week to go[then moved them out after the electrical inspector advised he would not give a final until ALL personal posessions were out of the home], and I found myself just this past Sunday afternoon grading an enclosed crawl [a second time] to please our building inspector.

Having said that, I hope wifey and child grow bored of this one quick because I can't wait to do it again!

Full details after the touch up and cleaning crew has been through on friday............I'm looking forward to relaxing weekend of culinary delights, a bit of puttering, and a relaxing night with Abby watching E.T. on our Pioneer Kuro.

PS.....cabinets are AWESOME.....worth the wait!

kempton, Looks like we are at about the same place. We passed all our final inspections today. Lucky (or unlucky) for us, all our furniture is in our basement because we were kicked out of our rental at the beginning of August. The cleaning crew and painters were there today and again tomorrow. Lots of little details to finish up, but we will be moving stuff tomorrow and the next day. Also looking forward to a weekend of puttering, but there might possibly be quite a bit of unpacking going on. I'm a bit manic these days. :) So ready to be settled after years of transiency.

I CAN'T WAIT to see your finished pics! Thanks for the compliments on the cabinets. They were worth the wait and only aged me a few years! LOL! So, this should be our LAST build. DH thinks I'll be bored. Me, not so sure!

Hope you have an easy and stressless move!

gala522 Beautiful home! I'm enamored with all the bungalow elements. Would love to see more pictures when you have 'em.

I'm haven't posted before but have been lurking and love watching everyone's progress! our house is finally getting close to completion and I wanted to share. We started Nov 2007, are now getting our trimwork and staircases finished. 5 weeks of painting comes next - all our trimwork and most cabinets will be painted white (island in kitchen will be stain over rustic alder), then wall color follows. Then countertops, floor finishing, etc etc etc.... It's been a long process with many bumps along the way but it is really coming together now.

Here is a link that might be useful: house photos

Hi everyone! I have been a lurker for months. We started building in April. My husband is the GC and has done a lot of the work himself. We are almost finished! I have added a link to my website with some picture's. It needs to be updated because so much more has happened inside, I just need to find the time to update! My husband & I are in Rochester, N.Y. We have 3 boys and are currently living in a 1500sq foot ranch that my husband & I built 10 years ago when we got married. Our new home is nothing spectacular but it will give us the space we need and we love it!

I have really enjoyed seeing everyone's progress! There are so many beautiful homes!

Here is a link that might be useful: New home

Wow! Everyone has gorgeous homes and all so different! DH and I are finally starting our build! We had to sell a house first which put us back somewhat, but now the forms are up and we are just waiting on the foundation pour. I will take pics soon! Thanks too for all the helpful hints and generous support!