WOW CP, it's a HOUSE. Looks fantastic, I remember back when you really wondered if this was going to ever be done. Lot of work.... we are just about ready to hit the engineer as soon as the truss design is done it's off to the next phase. Of course the engineers are 5 weeks out but the builder is going to make a few calls and beg LOL. Deadlines to with, may not do anygood but have to give it a go.

Artemis_ma - I love seeing pictures of your log home. We almost bought one as our first home.

Poolroom and CP - your homes look great. Hopefully we will all be done soon!!

poolroomcomesfirst your house is looking great.

CP loving the colors on your house. The red doors are spectacular.

We visited the house yesterday and today but chose not to go in because they were still working. Insulation is going in. They started the outside staining. Garage has first coat. Going to try to get some pictures tomorrow.

CP-- great colors and you were so right to go with the bronze in the back. Love the red front and friends doors!

Artimus -- looks so cozy and love that lamp!

Beth -- what a pretty site.m

Poolroom -- locks great and wow, you are almost there!

Good luck everyone! I Love reading about your progress!.

Our Progress:

Appliances delivered, but not installed yet. That's a job for DSIL with some help moving.

Final painting (interior rolled coating over first spray coat) and final staining almost done. Final exterior coats completed.

Slow progress on tiling -- all tile except our guest bath shower is done, but grouting continues. Here is DD's first floor guest bath/powder tile on the shower wall. She wanted a sophisticated subdued look with a hint of bling, and I think it turned out great. I wish the picture she sent had more of the room in it.

Lighting fixtures are going in.

driveways and porches up next,

9th! Draw received last night (not the fun part of the process!)

Carpet due to be installed first or second week in October.

still have some dirt moving (minor) in the back yard' fence and landscaping to go (although some of the landscaping may need to be postphoned tuntil spring, because it is already getting late in the season for some things and that wait is permissible under the HOA rules since all will be snow coverdd from Oct/Nov, through April.

Still looking at a mid October CO.

Other non-house but move related progress, my Mom has reserved the apartment she really wanted in the nearby senior living place about 3/4 mi, from the house and last Saturday I took her to pick out new living room seating to be shipped directly out there when completed, so less to move for us, we are moving us and Mom at the same time, but fortunately we are starting fresh with a number of items, beds, nightstands, couches, other living room seating, dining table and chairs and bar stools, so not moving a whole house full of furniture and the designer will have all the new stuff set up and in place before we arrive.

i've even started working on window coverings for bedrooms and bath, but will save the greatroom until I see it all together. I think there is less room for mistake to live with it a while before making decisions like that. Same thing with kitchen backsplash tile although I am gathering ideas that might work.

It is really strange to think that next time we are out there it will be for the big move, probably the week before Thanksgiving This is really getting real!

Hopefully DD will send some more pics this weekend!

Congrats all on your progress.

Poolroom. House is beautiful and kitchen is looking fantastic!

CP Your house is looking great! It looks as though is has been there for decades,. It just fits in so well.

CP Your is is looking great! It looks as though is has been there for decades,. It just fits in so well.

Thank you zorroslw! That is exactly the look I was after.

I had to correct my message (and I wasn't even drinking!)

Mojo....just think, you will get to enjoy that grandbaby every single day.

Thanks, Red! I am so looking forward to it. It is hard to think that we won't be back out there until mid November. I am going to miss his fifth and sixth months and they are so sweet at that age. It was game day for him today:

On the house front, we hit a snag today. The bathroom faucet interferes with the medicine cabinets in the master bath. The cabinets will probably have to be raised a couple of inches and that means drywall repair etc. Ugh!

But the microwave drawers were installed:

The final push is on!

Our build is moving along. Porches are poured and drywall has started. I've ordered or received most my light fixtures, I ordered several directly from the manufactures in china and the ones I've received meet my expectations. I'm working on trying to figure out exterior colors right now and am finding it challenging to narrow the colors down.

Here are some photos from this last week.

South patio:

Back patio:

Main living room area:

Summye

Gorgeous Windows!

Here is a pic of the outside of the house. Still need steps up to the front door! Those are being designed on site due to the ledge we have to work around!

The front deck will have a wire railing system and also at the front door (which is to the far right of the photo - there is a deck there and the front door is protected).

Framing started Friday! DH and I rode down and did a walk through. I got rid of the tiny linen closet in the master bath. The carpenter told me I'd hate it because it's only 12" deep (before Sheetrock). I have a piece of furniture that I'm going to use in that spot instead.

I also got to see the height of my laundry room window. Luckily I was there... it was way too high for me to see out. So, we agreed to lower it and the kitchen window to the same header height. They're both casements so I should be able to open them, too.

CP I liked the red doors, but the Bronze probably does look better.

PoolRoom i really like your kitchen tile!

CP I liked the red doors, but the Bronze probably does look better.

Beth the front door and friends entry door are still the red. I didn't like the red in the back competing with the bronze sliders.

rdy2retire, your house is so pretty.

Thanks CP :)

mojo, that grand baby of yours looks like he could be on the cover of a Gerber ad. What a cutie!

Thank you, CP. I'm kind I of partial. He was a long time coming and something of a surprise because I had almost given up, but he is definitely worth the wait!

The kid's side is really shaping up! DD sent a bunch of pictures today and we got a FaceTime tour. They got most of their appliances and working today.

Their dining area, the banquette cushions and pillows are done and she is having a custom built table. I think their dog will claim the banquette as his spot:

Their living room:

And DD's pink closet; with a husband,son and male dog, she wanted an escape from all that testosterone! She has ordered a really cute cappize schell candalier for itand will put a dresser with mirror on the right wall opposite the couple hangers:

A better view of their guest bath/powder room tile:

Their master, the lights need leveling and lowering and the chevron tile isn't grouted yet. WC, alcove and linem closet out of view on the right.

DGS's bath:

Decks in the back 0verlooking the creek and view to the ski mountain out front:

More to come.

Continued. View of ski mountain from the house:

Another photo bombed pic of their kitchen:

Not much new in our side this week:

Refreshment/coffee station sink is in:

And pendants in the kitchen:

Cool thread! Love seeing everyone's progress.

DH and I decided to build a post frame barn-house this year, by ourselves, (yes we have lots of experience in this sort of thing) hiring out help as needed. The ground was leveled in July, we put in batter boards and grade lines at the start of August. On August 20-23 we finally dug the foundation holes, which we had to bail out and repair after the remnants of hurricane Harvey delayed things. Then we erected all the posts and poured the concrete mid September.

Now we're backfilling, adding skirt (and underskirt) boards (which are set at grade) and also will hold the bottom edge of the steel siding.

The trusses are supposed to be arriving this week. Then hopefully it'll really start to look more like a house sometime in October.

Got back from vacation and they made a decent amount of progress. Here's my master bathroom with center tower and mirrors. Those drawer pulls are freaking awesome

Amazing progress on everyone's projects! Makes me feel like we're running in molasses, but the end is in sight for us. This month saw the installation of a lot of the finishing work and prep for paint. All that's slated for October, the month we're supposed to finish, is a little more tile, a few counter tops, wood floor, paint, finishing electrical and plumbing. A month to complete all this? I guess we'll find out!

We finally got a brave painter up to the top of the turret to mount our dragon weathervane. It has gold guilded wings and spines so those will always stay brilliant. The rest will patina so my grandkids will enjoy a green dragon while I get the copper.

It seems like with every step forward, there's something pushing against us. The front steps are being installed, but the dimensions are off and will impinge upon the driveway, so they'll have to be destructively corrected. When that's complete, we can finally get a driveway in.

On the inside, built-ins for the study are in place and awaiting paint. The floating shelves are supported by steel rods drilled and welded through the steel studs behind the wall. I can hang from the supports.

The rotunda is finally safe to walk in with the installation of the rail and balusters. Each one will need to be taped when the stain is applied to the railing.

The fireplace stone is on the column all the way up. Lots of labor went into this but now the tile installers can move on to finishing the rest of the house.

We got our reclaimed barn beam mantle installed. The craftsman just cleaned up the beam with a wire wheel and applied a dark stain with a protective coat. There's a tenon on the left end and a tenon and peg still in the the middle where another beam was attached.

We got counters and sinks in all the bathrooms besides the master bath, so all we need are toilets, faucets, lights, and paint and they're done!

The floor tile, complete with in floor heating (Ditra) is complete in the master bathroom. Just waiting on the counter, shower bench, and wall tile before they can move on to the other finishes.

Looking forward to see if we can pull the rest of this off this month and maybe move in before the snow and holiday season starts. Three years and now we're almost done. It's surreal, but I think we're ready!

dazureus, the rotunda is awesome. Love the ceiling and 2 story fireplace. I'd hate to be the one taping all those balusters though.

dazureus - beautiful! Love the dragon weathervane.

Everyone's progress is so great!

We are moved in! I wish I could say we are done, but we're not. The house is livable. We pasted our energy/blower door test. Our stair parts shipped out last Friday, so hopefully arriving soon. We'll get those installed ASAP so we can call the city out for final inspection to get our CO. I'm slowly unpacking boxes, purging, hanging blinds/curtains, etc. Our master bedroom "blinds" currently consist of painter's paper taped to the windows. :) I asked the family which room I should paint first and they all agreed the family room and kitchen. So maybe I'll tackle that this week. I'll show pics when each room isn't such a mess of boxes and junk.

dazureus - wow love the weathervane. Your home is beautiful.

gthigpen - good luck with all the painting.

poolroom - really like your mirrors. That's next on my list.

buzz solo - really looking forward to seeing your build.

We got all our mirrors at TJ max HomeGoods. Really great prices and selection.

Well, problem solved on the faucet that was too tall for the medicine cabinet to open. Ferguson's will take back those and trade for one with a bit lower profile (that I think I actually like better anyway). Much better than having to raise the medicine cabinets an inch and a half.

poolroomcomesfirst - Love your granite and color scheme in your kitchen!

mojomom - I'm going to need more information on the tiles in all of your bathrooms. They're amazing! Love the herringbone and DGS's bathroom color.

Summye - The outside of your house is beautiful! Are you going for a transitional look or more contemporary? I can't wait to see what the inside looks like!

dazureus - That fireplace and rotunda are breathtaking! Your house is gorgeous!

We finally got our plans moved from sketches to CAD. Met with the architect today to discuss flooring and ceiling treatments. We're still a ways away from starting to build, but it's moving along.

Stephanie-- I can't find the invoice, but you can probably pull a lot of info from these pictures as we were making our selections, the dark floors are 12'x24 black slate (Daltile I think) with 2"2" in some of the shower pans:

Here is the chevron in DD's master bath. I think you can get the info from the picture Arizona Tile Natural Stone Chevorn Mosaics in the gray and white

DGS's bath Emser Zephyr in the gray middle color.

DD's guest room tile: glenrock distributing, Textile in silver.

First coat of Sikkens stain started on logs. Hopefully the 2nd coat will even out the difference between full logs and log siding.

Kitchen cabinets - installed! Pantry and Command Station cabinets to be installed within the week or so. Trim work mostly done but working on the various built-ins. Tile work happening. Still going back and forth on paint colors (decided to pay a painter to do this instead of DIY which bought me a little more time), faucets, backsplash and fireplace tile - ordered all counters and will order carpet this week for the upstairs. I don't ever want to GC another house again. It's just so stressful and all consuming. Sold current house (well we are under contract anyway) and hope to be done with new house and moved mid November. The countdown is on!

Our lot! House was demolished last friday - all that is left is a lonely
little maple tree that one of the neighbors wants to save! :)

dazureus I am in love with your house, and that weathervane is amazing!

mojomom Love the finishes coming together on your place. The dog is great, what breed is he?

vinmarks Looking good, can't wait to see it with the second coat of stain, your place is very much what my hubby would love to do in 15 years when he retires for good.

poolroomcomesfirst Love your kitchen and curious to see a closeup of the pulls in your bathroom.

We have made quite a bit of progress and have 17 days until closing. Lots of little things they need to touch up and get done but I think we will make it in time. Here's a pic I took quick while doing a walkthrough on Sunday.

Master shower, love it but they will be moving that towel rack. They put it up before the glass went in and then they realized oops no room! So will do a hook instead out of the way.

Well we finally got our plans complete and I took those into Chief Architect and got a LOT of 3D CAD views... that makes it SO much better to visualize what you've got going on. Never used it before and it is VERY easy to use! First pic is of the rear of the house, lower area is going to be a paver covered patio. Upper pation will be screened in off the rear of the house. All stairs will be Brazilian Teakwood. All ceilings thru out are 10' and we did this so we could get enough height to have a 100% clear view of the bay. We are directly across the street from the Perdido Bay about 150' off the water.

Front elevation has 2 patios, the upper overlooks the Perdido Key Bay and is about 28' above ground level. The two photos below are from the rear patio looking into the great room from the patio.

Above photo is the front entry and the view looking in the front door goes thru the house where you can see the rear French doors to the patio.

Here are various interior shots of the second floor or main living area starting with directly inside the front door and then into the great room.

The shot is from the hallway from the entry once you are about to enter the great room.

And the pantry and appliance garage area.

3rd floor or my office, I work out of my home. This will look directly over the Perdido Bay.

From the guest bedroom upstairs over the bay.From the upper patio looking in.Upper patio
Looking in the French Door, elevator will be at the end on the far right.

And finally, the garage which is under neath the house and fairly large.

That's a wrap for now, plans are in engineering.

The actual entryway front and rear will look basically like this and lead directly to the respective doors front and rear.

Pensacola PI - That is amazing! Is that program free?

That it is, no not free but folks who did my drawings hooked me up with the software. I'm told it's costly but from the end user stand point it's invaluable. Hard to believe but this is the culmination of 2 years of work and a lot of it. Now the real work begins.

Pensacola, what happened to the amazing design that ARG had done for you?

Nodak - Hi! He is a Siberian Husky. Sweetest puppy ever!

We would not have had the elevated views so we made some changes and incorporated components of his original design into this version. 3rd floor had to be up close to .30'. First design didn't get us there after we flew a drone up to the heights we had which were way short. That was due to an error on my part so we started fresh using a good bit of the original interior layout with upper floor and great room areas. 32" stemwall foundation and our lot is a good 2' above the roadway then 10' ceilings and 16" floor joists gets us where we need to be with all 2 x 6 construction on outer and inner walls per code. Top of the house is almost maxed out at 42' high, our max height is 45' so by the time we add a cupola we will be about at the max for the lot.

So ARG didn't do this, right?

Correct, we used the general layout of the previous house I.e. great room and kichen setup and relocated the master bedroom and retained the upper level as was previously done since it was perfect.. The entire goal from day 1 was to have a wide open view of the bay and the only way to get that view was to elevate the house.

Here's the actual front elevation and the exact siding color and ledge rock color we are using. 3D CAD drawings are a bit rough. Rear elevation is basically the reverse of the front. Granted it may not be everyone's cup of tea but, it works for us and accomplishes our goals and within our budget which is the most important thing. Not much point in designing something that doesn't work for our taste nor our budget. I've seen FAR and away too many people end up in an incredibly gorgeous house and when you walk in, their idea of a kitchen table is a moving box with bean bag chairs. I don't think so !

Here's ARG's original plan cuts. The first floor has pretty much the
same layout with the exception that we moved the Master Bedroom to where the garage is and reconfigured that area a bit. Also the second floor as shown below is exactly the same as it was. That was absolutely perfect as it was. The revised layout has the master bedroom in the front of the house which, typically I would not do for car lights into the bedroom or for privacy concerns. In this case, the master bedroom windows are right at about 15' up and off the ground so it's no longer a real concern. With the change, we started at the left front corner of the house with the guest bedroom and went straight to the rear. Now, the rear of the house is all great room area, dining area with an island and then a second island for prep and then the kitchen.

Lots of great houses in all stages here. Mine moving slowly but seems to be picking up progress. I have been MIA but will try to post more. Stone going up, roofers working, windows next week.

Working on tweaking elevations and such here.

upstairs shower prep

Master update

I LOVE my master marble floors. If it wasn't so expensive I would have put it on the master shower walls too! Give and take. ;)

Some updates