@Lou - I thought the nesting boxes were a design feature; definitely a happy accident!

Thank you Lou!

Thank you Lou! Do you mind sharing size too? It is so hard to visualize online. I saw they come in 16.25" height and 21.25" and a 32" (which the 32" would be too big)!

Love that porch Lou!!

Lou - I want to live on your front porch!! :)

Hey! I finally have something pretty to post. Front door was stained today. LOVE IT!!!

Kathy that looks lovely!

@kathy door looks great!

Kathy the doors are gorgeous and the steps are nice too!

@ Lori Wagerman_Walker

I love seeing everyone's progress! Buzzsolo, how's yours going?

Hi Lori, today we finished the left side wall, the bedroom/bathroom wing.

Here's what it looks like from the inside.

And here I am doing my best attempt as game show prize presenter.

Next we will start the garage door wall and then the bit of house over the garage roof. When the replacement window comes in we'll be able to finish the corner on the back of the hosue. I do believe we will really get dried in this year. (I sure hope I haven't just jinxed us!

@Pinebaron

Buzz Solo: Hats off to you and your DH.Amazing job! That’s all I can say! I know it’s great satisfaction when you do it yourselves.

Thanks Pinebaron. It really is true, but dang, it seems to be taking forever and we aren't getting any younger! lol

Buzz, wow! It looks fantastic, I love your color and all of your pretty windows.

Kathy, what stain color did you choose? I really like your double arched doors!

@KH I went with the large lanterns (32”). It’s really hard to tell the scale of that porch from the pics but my front door is 8 feet tall and my house sits off the road about 500 feet so I really needed big lanterns so they didn’t get lost. It took months of hunting to find lanterns that size that wouldn’t blow my budget. I was VERY lucky to end up finding them on clearance for under $200 combined. I just started shopping by size and narrowed it down from there.

Thank you all for the porch compliments. I must admit it’s been the most fun of the build thus far for me. Truly unexpected as originally we just stuck a porch on for aesthetics and now it’s become our favorite feature.

@Kathy your door is phenomenal!!!!

@Buzz I feel like I keep telling you how much I love that blue, but I REALLY REALLY ❤️ that blue!!!!! We are also doing a lot of our project ourselves so I understand how you feel with your energy level not keeping pace with ur ambition. Just keep chipping away at it. Like a river cutting thru a mountain we just keep moving.

Lou we didn’t go with a taller door or a transom. But im planning to add a fancier trim up there something like this

So I will most likely go with the medium size. I also plan to do a hanging lantern and that one measures 24” so it would be a similar size to the 21” wall lanterns

Well we got good news! Our floor is fine and we don’t need any steel. The problem is that our framers didn’t frame the slope correctly in that area. They are supposed to fix it this week though I am not exactly sure how they are going to do it.

Buzz Solo... what kind of siding is that? Love the look and the color!!

NYCish - what size are your white subway tiles?

@kayce03 I will try to get a measurement next time I'm at the site!

@kayce03 actually they are 3' x 12", just found a box. They are by marca corona (italian)

Did anyone here opt for toe kick drawers in the kitchen? I didn’t, and am about to sign off on cabinet plans and am having all the second thoughts as per usual!

@kirsten- no, we didn’t do toe kick drawers. We did all drawers as lowers except sink and garbage and a skinny door for baking pans. But no toe kick drawers.

@wysmama - Thanks! That makes me feel better. We have all drawer bases/pullouts, but the toekick is being built up an inch to 5.5” to account for our thinner countertops and it just feels like wasted space...even though I’ve planned out where everything will go!

Im not sure what a toe kick draw is?
I got a knee tap draw for the garbage pails. lol

NYCish - thank you! I can't wait to see your completed home!

We're deep in tile setting this week and then this happened:

When our GC asked the tile guys to work with us on a solution to fix it they threw a fit then walked off the job saying we were "unreasonable" and shouldn't have used such difficult tile. None of the new tile guys our GC interviewed was willing to touch this floor so it's coming up. $1000 down the drain.

@NEGal - Hahaha! They’re storage drawers in the toe kicks!

kayce, that stinks!

Kirsten...what??!!! I needed those lol :)

Kayce - how horrible! So sorry you're going through that. Is it that difficult because there is so much variation in color? Did you get it locally so that you can hand pick the tiles that all go together? Just a thought....

Akila, great news! Hopefully everything gets fixed soon.

Coming along on the exterior paint. Still need stain on the cedar and a few other thing. Lighting is going up and it’s starting to look like a home

kayce03

We're deep in tile setting this week and then this happened:

---

What am is wrong with it? Is it fixable? I like the tile, it is pretty!

I realized I had not posted in a good while. Financing is lined up, trench for the electricity is done & now waiting on them to move a pole. About 1 week out now from the pad work to begin. Getting excited!

kayce03 - I keep going back to your tile pic trying to figure it out. I looks as if the darker section has been grouted and the lighter section has not - is that correct? If the color variation is in the tiles themselves, are these master set? Assuming they are (& I can't imagine they aren't) the tile setters should have seen this doing a dry layout. If they didn't do that, they are hacks, IMO. It depends on your contract of course, but seems to me you should not be eating the cost - your GC should be policing the subs and if he wasn't doing that , he should be on the hook for the cost. What a huge disappointment for you - I hope there is a resolution that you are ok with.

edited to add.....I rarely post anymore but I do read everyone' updates and relive the highs and lows of our build with each one of yours.

Kayce I was wondering what was wrong with the tile as well...

update: ok I see the light versus dark demarcation

Almost all of the plumbing fixtures are in except the tub! Interiors of windows on the main level were painted black. Front door to the building is being installed today. Elevator install starts tomorrow.

Front door ready to go in! Will be painted black
Toilet in the master. All of the lav sets in the bathrooms are watermark and they are all black.
Sink in the laundry room (delta) with silestone rugged concrete counters.
Vent hood being installed. The open shelving is definitely a leap of faith design-wise...I think I’ll enjoy seeing all of my pretty dish- and glassware that has always been hidden.

Kayce I am so sorry the tile guys did not do their jobs. Why was the GC not there to check on this? Are there different colored tiles there (what it looks like) and if so, they should have known they needed a specific pattern to them. I hope your GC does the right thing and find a tiler who knows what he is doing and pays this out of his own pocket.

NYCish everything is really coming along quickly! I like the black on the windows and doors.

Natmc You too are getting so close! What is that to the left of your master vanity? It looks like more countertop?

Nice to see so many putting pictures up for all of us to see.

Well a lot has happened with both me and the house the last two months. Our triplets were born on July 24th (34 weeks and 4 days) instead of Aug 1st due to preeclampsia. They had a 3 week NICU stay and have been home now for two weeks. We are smitten.

Our house is also moving along on schedule. I feel like I've been neglecting it, but our GC (my FIL) and husband have been amazing and taking care of everything.

After the longest search in the world, I found a company that had the color I wanted in both siding and shingles. Vinyl is up now and all that's left on the exterior is the porch and a few brackets/details.

Rough electric, plumbing, HVAC, central vac, and more is also done. Insulation and sheetrocking happening this week!

Kelsey congrats!! They are beautiful. So happy you all are home as a family.

Oh Kelsey they are just darling and precious! What did you name them if you do not mind me asking? That picture is simply stunning. You are blessed!

I love, love, love the color of your house. I see you spending a lot of time out there on that front porch. Hope the remaining work goes quickly for you. You are one busy mama I am sure.

Thank you! From left to right is Forrest, Marin and Wilder <3

@Kelsey, gorgeous babies and beautiful home!! I love their names! The siding is lovely on your home.

I had twins so I know how time consuming multiples are! I hope and pray you have some good help because sleep deprivations is a BEAST! However, having multiples is AMAZING! My girls are 11 yo now and are the best of friends <3

Kelsey wow, only a three week stay! Lucky, they are so perfect! Your house color is also perfect! Alright made a template. Which wall lantern size works the best? Left or right?

KH I vote for bigger one.

NEG that is the tile to my jetted tub. It matches our shower tile but sort of clashes with the vanity counter top. hoping Once the actual tub gets placed and a few other details it won’t be so bad. Just one of those things...

@K H bigger!

Nycish I wish we had your caliber of tilers around here! They want 5k for a 3x5 shower, maybe that’s normal but in rural Missouri that’s a lot of money!

The light tile is how it all looked when set. The dark areas are where they grouted. As far as we can tell, they didn't seal the tile correctly (we stressed that they do this and even bought sealer!) and the grout stained the tile. We tried a haze remover but no luck. Our GC is going to eat the cost of the labor but since we pay for tile out of our allowance he says we need to pay for new tile. I'm ready for this to be over.

Hang in there Kayce....I know how disappointing these setbacks are.

Kayce - So sorry for the unnecessary stress! It sounds to me like the tile sub should pay the cost of the new tile and the labor. It’s your allowance, but it’s their mistake.

Kayce that is awful news on the tile. I wouldn’t back down trying to get the subs to pay for the botched job or replace it. We have a similar issue with our concrete guys. They did a poor job which led to some honeycombing and a bulged area. I told them about it and how they weren’t getting paid till it was fixed. They came out and fixed one spot but not the others and they emailed their invoice the next day. Now I have to call them back because not only did they not fix the other areas but they are asking for 2k over their bid. Not our fault they underbid their job or were too lazy to tap the forms! I can’t believe the lack of integrity or workmanship some of these subs have. You would think they would have more pride in their work, but some are awfully greedy