Beautiful!!! Love your stain color

Amberm.

R2D2...your home is lovely.

Things are are getting real over here. We are supposed to be moving next weekend, but I still have my doubts.

Appliances being delivered Monday, furniture being delivered on Wednesday, carpet scheduled Wednesday as well. Woah.

Had a successful day. Met with the designer first at Daltile. Found our guest bathroom tile immediately. (The 1" hex tiles) and white subway tiles for the walls. Done.

Discovered a beautiful basketweave in calcutta marble and with teeny yellow onyx squares separating the "baskets". That will create the "rug" in the master bath. A double row of square onyx tile will complete the "rug" with white calcutta tile squares surrounding the "rug".

Then we were off to the granite yards again. Walked all around the first one while telling the designer (who has never seen the granite I love), about my fascination with the Fascination granite. So we left, went to the floor place. Found a floor I like. Then onto the second granite place. We walked in. Her comment was, "You can't get any other granite. This one reminds me of watercolors." She put a hold on three slabs. I still have to do the scratch test but that will wait until I get back. Being that it's a busy granite, I don't think it's walking out of there too quickly since most people like quieter stones. Here's my new love.

Michelle, we still don't have a firm moving date, but we won't be far behind you. The flooring guy was asking me today, "so, a couple more months?" Well, once you're outta here, we have baseboards, appliances (which are in the garage), a few more cabinets to install, the shower glass, and we can move in. The glass is being installed on Thursday, so at that point, we can live there.

We finally got around to starting packing at the old house today. I was kinda envying those of you who had rentals during your builds. We have 13 years of stuff in closets and cupboards. I've gone through some of it, but I kinda wish we had just a few necessities and the rest was already in storage. But then, I don't have the stress of "OMG, we need to be out by this date and the house isn't finished yet!!!"

Amberm145

We had 42 years worth of "stuff" to sort through and decide what to keep, what to give to charity and what to sell. We did put 90 % of our stuff in storage because we didn't know if the house would be finished before we closed on our old house. It worked out great though, the house was completely finished about 8 days before the closing. It was nice to move only and few things and know you can take your time moving the rest from storage. But, the downsize is.... We are so tired from sorting, packing, lifting and moving boxes and furniture that it may take "a while" to get everything out of storage. We have all the necessities, beds, clothes, towels, dishes etc so the push to get it out of storage is not there. But we will hopefully get it done in the next 2 or 3 weeks. We just want to rest and maybe feel like we have an (almost) normal life.

I last posted on this thread August 3rd. The below photos were taken August 15th, the last time I was able to visit. (This weekend I am trying to sort parts of my house out for trash, keepers, and garage/tag sale -- besides yesterday I had a procedure done on my knee, so I am not moving too fast. Alas, even with the sorting...) There were four men on the job site last Saturday.

This is my garage. The only mistake so far -- they set the garage initially down too low and they had to build the foundation up higher. Off screen, on the right, is the area where they dump empty plastic water bottles, and there are plenty there. I fully expect them to be under the eventual floor, to confound future archaeologists, who will guess at some arcane ritual purpose...
Back of the house with the walk out basement.
I just love taking photos of detail work! These are parts of my home I'll never view again when completed!
Front door to the left; door into the garage to the right.
There's something comforting about this visual!

I did take videos this time, but haven't really stopped to look at those, yet.

As of Thursday evening (August 20th): All the roof base is on, and coated to protect from the elements, and they're starting to frame the interior. The log kit is basically completed except for the front porch. (The kit company does source the roof singles and all the exterior doors and the Andersen windows, although I opted to pick out the front door myself.)

On order are some interior and exterior stains -- for interior I'm strongly considering Clear -- although the next lightest choice is also on order. Exterior will move to a more mid-tone, and I have three samples coming for that. I am avoiding anything orange-y.

The funny thing is, we moved a LOT as a kid. My sister recently moved, and we were joking about how our SOs both lived in one house their entire lives, and now they're so clueless on how to pack. My sister and I have "skillz". But now I'm looking at stuff and going "how do I pack that?!?!" I guess I'll just drive it over in my car. Like piles of large framed art. The big confusion though is my stained glass materials. Bins full of sheet glass that I haven't worked with in years. (I suspect I'll do some work for the new house in the near future, otherwise I'd get rid of it.) And yet, a lot of this was my mother's, so it somehow made it here from Ontario, so how can I not figure out how to pack it?

Artemis, what are you using for stain? I have 3 cedar posts that need to be stained to match the mahogany porch ceiling. The Cedar Shop recommended Sikkens Cetol 1, but A) they didn't realize it needs a top coat, and B) it's a lot lighter than the samples. So I need the top coat as a minimum, and possibly a new can of stain. And now it seems everyone is discontinuing Sikkens, so I'm struggling to get what I need.

Haven't posted in awhile... our framing is finished main windows are in and our plumbing rough ins are starting. Love seeing everyone's progress!!

I'm finally in, yay! I moved in earlier this week and still have loads of boxes to unpack of course. There's some tiling to be done and a little painting. Will post a photo tour once all of that's done. My dog, Reese, seems to like it.

First serious disappointment. I chose a roof shingle that looked like it would be dark, and I even saw it in person at Home Depot. It is way way too light, a light gray rather than a dark gray. It looks like hell, and even worse so, I KNOW any light roof shingles look like terribly stained hell from whatever, within three years of installment. There's nothing I can do for now -- I'll eventually have to put a new layer of better stuff on, but this will be pricy. So, ahem, will suck it up and bear it for a few years. I don't see any other option. It's on there. And Serious UCK.

I have photos, but they make me too sick to post them.

I'm so sorry Artemis. I learned when choosing shingles for our current house (roof replacement) that you have to look at them from across the street to see the colour properly. When you see them in HD, you're too close to see the real colour. I was mad at our roofing guy, because when I asked for samples, he dropped off one shingle per colour. And it's not enough to see the real colour.

Shingles are hard.

Artemis-that has been one of my big fears throughout the house-something that is just a big mistake. But my mother taught me a while ago"You learn to grow to love it"-well maybe not love it, but at least tolerate it(this was in regard to custom made curtains-very pricey and they couldn't afford to replace it). Hopefully you'll have mild winters and it won't look too bad. I also have a feeling we all are more sensitive to things that others, who are not building, wouldn't even pay that much attention to. Before building, I don't think I paid a whole lot of attention to roofs-couldn't even begin to tell you what color my friends roofs are.

artemis - what is the shingle color - we are thinking of going with grey and I am afraid the color we like will be too light.

Pdmd

if you have any doubts at all about the shingles being too light, if it were me, I would probably go darker than I think I want. I would rather have the roof darker than lighter.

The exception would be if you're going with a dark grey. You don't want a black roof. A solid black roof looks like tar paper. I guess another exception would be if you live in an area that AC is used. Your house will get extra hot with dark shingles, so I'd probably err on the side of too light.

So exciting to see how many are getting close to being finished. We're getting there too-just wish we were there already. Someone mentioned second guessing-I have to stop myself from doing it all the time. I think I'll be a bit calmer once the paint is on the walls(and hopefully confirming we made the right choices!) Outside stucco is done-and yes we made the right choice-phew. Kitchen cabinets were installed last week and tile in shower and tubs done(our tiler is a sweet guy and doing a great job but is very sloooow). Hit a bit of a hitch with granite people-they've been telling us it would take three weeks from templating to install-my husband contacted them a month ago about to set an install date. When he called last week to confirm, they said it would be 4 weeks-ugh. Back splash depends on them and plumbing. We're hoping it will be sooner. They are the only place that has the granite we want(Colonial Cream-apparently they aren't mining that one any more) so we're stuck. One week may not seem like much but it just holds up everything else.

Front of houseI'm so happy with them. They are darker than I thought but love them. Someone had mentioned about how things change size wise-I was worried that the kitchen was going to be smaller than I planned-ha! The darn thing is huge-now I'll have to cook-no escape ;)

Had a productive meeting today with the kitchen designer and with the builder. Got a lot of questions answered and hammered out some minor things. Hopefully when we get back from our trip our builder will have pricing for us.

Things have been busy at our house but finally a photo that looks like progress- brick around foundation. Photo doesn't do it justice, it's so pretty in person. Body of house will be white 5inch vinyl siding. We considered the 6inch with bead and even Hardie, but in our area for a farmhouse in a field it seemed like overkill. Framing starts Wednesday, so excited.

They are just finishing the walls--seems like they went up quickly.

Trusses were delivered Saturday and are being spread around for the crane Wednesday. In our area with small lots, they usually build up, not out, so they can usually get the trusses in place with the crane in half a day. They're planning the full day for us.

The utilities made their water and sewer connections today--and managed to cut a Verizon cable that wasn't on the diagrams...My neighbor wasn't too happy....

I found these safety walls interesting--to protect the workers while they were digging.

After the horror stories I hear about builders, I am grateful that our superintendent has the 'people touch.' He's the one who doesn't look like he belongs, in the plaid shorts. He saw an opportunity to help the workers with the trusses and jumped right in. Now THAT's a boss I'd want to work for.

I haven't posted here in awhile, but we are down to just a few weeks before completion! Have enjoyed seeing everyone's progress!

We are at a full stop due to a framing issue. Wrong trusses were ordered and not caught through 4 levels of review.

The HVAC cavity does not line up between floors. A tough decision must be made on which sacrifice to get the runs up the walls.

The builder has done versions of this plan 30+ times and this has never happened (apparently).

Considering they accidentally cantelevered the upstairs a foot where this HVAC issue is presented I'm guessing some major measurement is wrong creating all of the problems.

It's not my problem but it is at the same time. I'm going to lose a chunk of my laundry room or pantry. We wouldn't have finalized the plans with either option we are presented with now. I haz the sadz.

sorry to hear that Mama rachel. Especially since they are putting up our trusses tomorrow. gulp. Here's hoping yours was an isolated incident.

I sacrificed 3 ft of pantry (went from 5x9' to 6x6'), moved a bathroom, took out 1'x12' of my husband's home office, and lost the upper part of a coat closet (reach in, will have bar, but no shelf above it) to solve the HVAC problem. .

Builder won't comp us because no actual sqft is lost and it is going to cost him a lot to move the bathroom vs. his option (which was awful).

I get it. I'm letting it go. It will be fine I'm sure. I'm just ... disappointed.

sorry to hear they wouldn't comp you. I admire your ability to let it go.

Who's mistake was it Mama? The builders? Then he should comp you no matter what the square footage will wind up. If it doesn't match the plans, he needs to either make it match or comp you.

I see at least 16sq' you're losing there MamaRachel. If your builder thinks 16=0, I think I see how the trusses got screwed up.

The bathroom gets slightly bigger so there is offset. It's just not useful offset.

I'm okay. It's going to be fine. It's not ideal but if it had been this way to start with I would have been okay with the layout so I'm letting it go.

*His* solution was awful but I found a better way. His solution was a cheap fix, soffit and move a wall. My solution moves an already plumbed bathroom. I'm telling myself we are splitting the difference. I don't get a concession but he has to make it right at his expense.

The trusses went on our house smoothly. Such an operation! We were shocked when we drove up and saw this:

We didn't expect the front cab totally off the ground!

Then we saw why--so the crane operation was level.

Such a smooth operation--attaching the trusses to the crane and a rope to guide them. A lot of confidence in these guys by those standing on the roof ledge as these trusses came so close to them!

and they got it all done in one day!

That's really cool golfer. Ours was such a mess. My trusses are sitting up there laying on their sides for the 7th day in a row.

In other news, the Parade of Homes starts 9/4. Our house is in the same neighborhood. I'm excited to look at the neighbors finishes in better detail, although I've been walking their floor plans for months.

Well, as it goes, we won't be moving in this weekend, but should hopefully move in next week sometime. Carpet goes in Monday and Tuesday. There is still a lot to do...so I guess we'll see what happens.

Finish carpenter got a good start on our dining/living room divider today and I'm in love. It's gorgeous!! It will be painted of course, and there will be shelves in the middle and doors on each end.

I have to admit to you guys....I'm struggling with feeling like I don't deserve this house. Anyone else ever feel that way?

Not me!! This is our first new home. We bought a real fixer upper 42 years ago and worked our butts off making it into a beautiful home. We both worked full time jobs and then came home and worked on the house til sometimes 9:00 or 10:00 at night and then all weekend. We did that for many years, not always that much but seemed like all our time and money was going into "the money pit". So, I KNOW we deserve it and I bet you do. Too:).

Michelle - I can totally relate! There is so much going on right now it doesn't even seem like ours yet either, so I'm not as excited as I thought I would be. I just can't wait until it's done! (Currently living with my in laws ). Framing. Starts Friday now so hoping that helps it seem more real! Good luck moving in!

cpartist -- your granite is breathtaking!

Michelle

I can absolutely relate. We are building what will be the nicest home we've ever been inside for more than a tour. No one in our family has a home this nice. It's going to be... really well appointed (and unfurnished initially, ha!).

Anyway, I get it. I total get it.

That built-in rocks!

Thanks Mama Rachel and farmdrmer. It helps to know I'm not alone!!

Michelle, it's probably the most expensive house among any of our close friends, so that feels kinda weird. But half of that is location. Several of our friends have nicer, larger houses outside the inner city. And I have been working pretty much every waking minute for the last 10+ months. So, yeah, I deserve it.

Whew! I knew I wasn't the only one but coming across this post was a God-send! My husband and I are on the adventure of building our first home. He had to convince me TBH. We were trying to sell the property but figured out we could build on less money than we could buy with. And, it will be (almost) everything I want. This is our 3 bedroom, 1416 sq ft, unfinished basement home, so far! Haha! We have big plans for this property. Pool, vegetable gardens, possibly hens, and hopefully somewhere down the line, a few toys to go roaming around in the bush on. (I have about 60 photos posted in my FB album. I will not subject you all to that haha!)

We are doing a self-build so no building contractor here! A lot of what is shown has been built sans labour costs. Trusses were put on by hand (no crane!), framing was done mostly by my carpenter BIL and FIL. Roofing was just finished today (yay!) and my FIL, husband and I installed the windows this past week. (Still some work to be done there) Plumbing was roughed-in, front door arrives tomorrow and basement/garage concrete should be poured next week. Next steps - electrical rough-in, HVAC and siding!

And this is what it looks like now! :)

Feels like it is flying by, framing should be done tomorrow. Had a few disappointments, found out my stairs are only going to be open rail for about five steps and I had planned on the whole thing. Also the outdoor patio area we designed the house around is way too steeply graded and not sure yet how we will fix it. That was a rough day but we are looking on the bright side and will figure out something later. But overall we are so happy with how things are coming together!

My last post for Aug is a happy one. DH, BIL and his helper, and I spent the weekend at the house finishing stairs, baseboards and other finish work. The stairs and finished floors look awesome.

We passed our first "final" inspection today, and have been declared move in ready by the home warranty people. They have been bugging me to get in to inspect. I've been putting them off because I didn't want them pointing out everything I still need to finish. Well, I finally met them at the house today, and they told us we're done, as far as they're concerned. If we were working with a builder, the deficiency list would be long. But since we're an owner builder, they give us a little more leeway. We had to pay a huge deposit for the "warranty", required by law here. The clock starts ticking now, and we get our deposit back in 2 years. Yay! It's a giant government backed scam. The idea is that builders have to provide insurance to home buyers that they won't disappear and leave the homeowner with a defective house. But it's a whole lotta money paid to insurance companies, and homeowners get nothing out of it except in very extreme cases. And an owner builder? We'll NEVER be able to make a claim. We still have to pass the city inspection before we can officially move in.

We really need sod now before we can actually move in. The landscaper is putting me off, telling me we need our fence and walkways first. But finding those people isn't easy. I'm about to tell him we're not going to get walkways, because I can live without walkways, but I can't live with a dog who has to run through mud every time he needs to pee. Putting in walkways after grass isn't ideal, but it's a better alternative to putting in grass next year.

Front door came in last week and I am in LOVE! Ordering things online without seeing them first is a bit precarious but this purchase did not fail me!
Basement and garage floors are being poured today. Had my property tilled because we have really good top soil and didn't want to cover it with fill. Guy has been in there with his bulldozer for days pushing it all back.
Saw a larger sample of my siding this past week. it's more of a burgundy (sp?!) than red so I'm not sure if I am going to paint my front door black anymore. We will see!
Had to change my kitchen layout a bit to make more room in the dining area. Created a new one on IKEA and was not happy. So I reworked it again and am back to being in love with it. However, my cabinet door maker is probably not going to be happy that he has to do up a whole new quote for me haha! It's coming along, slowly but surely.

Dana, I love those doors! Source?

Gosh everyone's progress pics are making me so anxious to dig!! We should be breaking ground next month and I can hardly wait. We have a LOT to do to prep. We bought ~10 acres in Central Ohio, most of which needs to be cleared. It was a foreclosed property, so it hasn't been taken care of in quite a while. Most of the brush was taller than me! We've gotten most of it cleared and are now working on our temporary house, which we will be living in while our house is being built. It's pretty rough, but because it was a foreclosure, one of the stipulations was that we had to make it our primary residence within 60 days. The other big thing is getting one of the barns down to make way for the construction driveway. This will be our first time owning a home and obviously our first time building. It will definitely be an adventure! You can read all about it and see pictures of the land and current house on my blog: https://loeschhomestead.wordpress.com/.

Hey guys, post these on the September post. ;)

@paraveina I purchased it on sale at Home Depot (as far as I can see it is available in the U.S as well if that's where you are. I'm in Canada) It is a fake wrought iron look so it is painted on, but seems well done. I love it because I haven't seen anything like it on anyone's house. One thing to note, it comes fitted for 2x4 framing and my house is built with 2x6 so we have to put in a jamb extension. No biggie though, simple fix!! Brand is Stanley. :)

Sweet! I'm also in Canada so I'll end up with 2x6 construction as well. Thanks so much :)

Hey, more Canadians! We may just take over! FYI, for some reason, HD only STOCKS 2x4 framed doors. But you can order any of them in 2x6. We ran into this when we replaced the door on our 25 year old house. They don't seem to be aware that houses aren't built on 2x4 anymore.

Also, we regret the ones we've bought from them. The one on the old house is terrible for weather sealing. We get snow drifts in the house where the door meets the frame. We never had that with the old door (which hadn't been installed properly so when we gutted the kitchen, we discovered a rotting subfloor.) We got cheap HD doors for the garage on the new house, and BIL(GC) keeps commenting on how these are the crappiest doors he's ever seen. On the other hand, I'm only mildly more impressed with the Codel doors on the new house.

amberm145 HD doesn't offer this one in store, you can only order it online. I'm not sure if that makes a difference? Maybe I should have called customer service before ordering haha! I would have much preferred it to just fit and not have to do all the additional jimmy rigging lol!

Yeah, I figured it's too late now. My comment was more for paravina.

Thanks for that info Amber :)

almostemptynester, do you have a finished photo of your kitchen that you could share.