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The 8th day of the month and we're going onto part II already. |
Here is a link that might be useful: April 2014 - Part I
Follow-Up Postings:
- Posted by ladybrowncoat (My Page) on Tue, Apr 8, 14 at 14:57
schicksal - Thanks for the info. We were wondering if a sprayer was worth the investment- sounds like a no-go. We hand-rolled the entire house weŌĆÖre renting now- it was a beast but we were happy with the results once it was over. illinigirl - So beautiful!! What a view! I would spend all my time looking out the windows :) Autumn.4 - Thanks :) I guess if we need to do the ceiling a sprayer might be a good idea after allŌĆ" uponthehilltop - I am drooling over your countertops! I love the look of your upper cabinets, so I would say if you can fit it in the budget then definitely take the others all the way up to the ceiling. That would be so dramatic! I think it makes the ceiling look higher, too, for some reason. akshars_mom - Thank you! Looks like weŌĆÖre finally going to have some good weather, just in time. loribug26 - Love, love, love your quilts! That is an awesome way to display them. Congrats on being on the other side :) When I first looked at that picture of your kitchen with the vinyl lettering, and it must be my computer screen at work, I really truly thought that was a raccoon walking around your kitchen!!!! I finally realized it was a cat and had to close down my computer screen because I was laughing so hard. |
Madness we are on part II already! We now have internet as of today. Pictures shall be coming! |
- Posted by illinigirl (My Page) on Tue, Apr 8, 14 at 19:51
I am drowning in graph paper! yep, it's closet trimming time, aaaaack! And the pantry. that by itself is going to drain me. I've got until Monday to get it all down. There's just so.many.closets. |
Made it right before dark to get pics of our new porch posts....yay!!!!! And the A/C was in also. At least for half of the house. |
- Posted by bluemoon_1 (My Page) on Tue, Apr 8, 14 at 22:41
Sorry I've been MIA-work has been keeping me busy. Cant believe all the posters moving in or about to move in to their new homes- you give us all hope :) Congratulations!! Welcome to all the new builders- best wishes for a quick successful build. We have windows :) the skylights and little window above the front door went in today. |
I went to IKEA last night to check out my green little lights. I have a love/hate relationship with IKEA. As I walked the store there were tons of lovely green items that all matched each other. Get to the lights, near the end of the store, nada. The green doesn't match another single green in the whole damn store. Also, the lights come in three sizes but they don't offer the same colors so they are hard to match. I then went to Lowe's and stumbled upon a 50% or more clearance on exterior lights. Nothing crazy nice but decent $60-$80 lights for $30-$40 so not bad. I am still at a loss. HAH was roughed in today. Yay! |
- Posted by uponthehilltop (My Page) on Tue, Apr 8, 14 at 23:45
@ladybrown - Thanks for the compliment! We are considering taking the side opposite of the current cabinets that go to the ceiling and taking those to the ceiling, to balance the room, but just add heavy crown above the section with the fridge. Everyone's concern, is if I take it up, all way around, it will give a "tunnel" like feel. @jdez - Look at your beautiful home! LOVE that porch! Can I come and sip on some tea with ya once this is all over?? I am starting fresh with Part II and trying to keep up better! Some days there are so many posts that it is impossible for me to keep up.... |
ladybrowncoat - I was thinking about it and, spraying would probably work out ok with a better, rented sprayer in a totally new construction environment. The kind that sits on top of a big paint can. Either way I've had pretty good luck by rolling once, the backrolling a little while later. I'm getting close to finishing all the painting... I still have to do the pantry, two walls in the family room where a couple of last minute drywall problems showed up, and all the corners and edges. That should be finished up today. I took a vacation day today (my only day off from work during the month of April except maybe for Easter) because it seems like this task will never end. Here's the kitchen with all the junk that's been hiding in here. Flooring is next. I plan on starting here, in front of the door that's closed and working forward into the kitchen and living room. The hallway leading back from there will be slate that I haven't bought yet. It shouldn't take *that long* to do but it does seem like the tasks are getting smaller at this point. Famous last words. |
- Posted by maggiepie11 (My Page) on Wed, Apr 9, 14 at 10:30
MFatt - are you saying they didn't have the green pendants? or you didn't like the shade of green? i literally live 5 minutes from ikea so if you want me to pick one up for you and ship it i'd be happy to. i need to pick up a couple things there soon anyway. |
- Posted by illinigirl (My Page) on Wed, Apr 9, 14 at 11:17
JDez- I love the style of your home- so classic! Bluemoon- great shots! I am a big fan of the full walk out basement also. Looks like you will be getting great light in there- a nice key to making the 'basement' feel just like any other living space in a nicely done house. :) schicksal- also looking really good. You have a pretty open floor plan too? Is the kitchen open the family room there? The slate will be gorgeous! Here is our latest kitchen island choice: It's kind of deceiving because I had to take the photo from a pretty severe angle- so the big chunk of white that looks like it's close to the center is actually where the sink cutout will be- and that leaves a pretty consistent pattern through the rest of the stone. I'm convinced that once the stone is laying flat that it won't look busy but rather a general grey/cream wash throughout. It is also a bit warmer than my photo shows as it does have sheer gold areas washing over the pattern here and there. So it does bring in many of the colors of our calacatta gold subway tile, and some of the tiles have pattern that is similar to the counter pattern. It will be a definite contrast to the white perimeter cabinets but a light overall affect compared to the black perimeter counters we are doing. What do you think? |
I think it looks nice - it's always hard to get good pictures of granite. I'm biased towards granite with loads of personality though - to me this one looks in the middle of the road so far as uniformity goes. There's all the same -> what you have -> picture/looks like clouds. The dark areas will probably tie in just fine with the darker granite, and IMO they will help keep everything from being the same tone between the cabinets, backsplash and countertops. Our floor plan has been opened up a lot. 24' of a wall that used to be the rear wall of the place was removed, the ceiling in the family room raised up from 8' to the underside of the rafters, and I reframed the wall between the kitchen and dining room from a small arched doorway in the corner to now being about 6.6' wide. The formal living room and entry hall came along for the ride because they also had the same structural problems and "while I was in there I might as well"... took over and snowballed everything. In the end I've rebuilt at least 1,300 sq ft of this place from the ground up. |
This post was edited by schicksal on Wed, Apr 9, 14 at 11:47
Maggie- I did find them and they didn't really match anything else so I think I am going a different direction. The pendant was too Kelly Green, I was thinking it was a tad muted but its not really next to other accessories. Thank you very much for the offer though, I too live near IKEA. I did buy a few of them but I just think I am going to do a colored glass pendant instead. I found one at Lowe's that looks really nice in person for $40. I absolutely loved all the greenish bluish accessories they had right now though. :) |
- Posted by maggiepie11 (My Page) on Wed, Apr 9, 14 at 13:34
hmm, i wonder if it's the same as the ones i saw. they were definitely that muted sort of limey color like it shows online. doesn't matter though cuz that glass pendant is awesome!! love the shape, texture AND color!! |
They look like chalk paint but its pretty vivid next to things. I don't know. I think I am worried about going too casual more than anything else. These glass ones were ok looking online but I went into to Lowes to check out some Mason Jar style lights and it stood out from the pack even being a mini-pendant. They are gorgeous in person. I also scored some clearance knobs at Target! I think these are a better fit. I am not much of a statement maker, more of a blend in neutral decorator. I still have the IKEA lights though, perhaps for the mudroom. I do like them, just not as the great room and kitchen accent. |
Bluemoon - Awesome! Look at all those windows. Hilltop - My porch is open to everyone. I can't wait to sit there and relax. You are always welcome to join me. Schicksal - It looks like things are coming along. Bet you can't wait to start on the floors just so you can be doing something different. Kelli - Yay on the internet!!! Now lets see some pics! LBC - What's shaking in your neck of the woods? Robyn - Well, anything to report? Autumn - Are you making any progress? Is the snow melting? Has baseball started? What the heck is going on!!?!! LoriBug - Your pics make your house look like the perfect combination of comfortable, welcoming, friendly, homey and fun, all wrapped in one. I hope we can achieve the same thing. MFatt - I love the glass mini-pendant. I like a little bit of color too but not so much that you feel like you're in a Blue's Clues episode when you walk in the room. Both of those lights are pretty. Maggie - What is it? Two more days? I don't know how you can stay in your skin. Akshars - What's the word? A week and a half? Yep, I'd be skinless at that point too...lol. My peeps are putting posts on the back porch today. The HVAC guy is finishing up and brick is supposed to be delivered. I don't think the brick is going up until Friday or Monday but it is supposed to be stacked all around the house this afternoon. Our siding guy came back with an extremely high number for the little bit of siding that we are doing. So, we put the siding on hold while we shop it just to make sure we aren't getting fleeced. This puts our metal roof on hold because they can't put that up until the fascia boards are up for some unknown reason but oh well, I like to show them who's boss from time to time....not really, I hate waiting but I hate overspending even more. :) |
illini - love that granite. It will look great and I agree when you lay it down it won't be nearly as busy as you think. Jdez - Love the porch. Mfatt - my favorite color is green but unfortunately I am the only one in my household that likes it so I can't decorate with green. I will figure out a way to sneak it in somehow. Lori - Love the red cabinets. I had merlot colored cabinets in a prior life and adored them. They make such a statement. I enjoy watching and reading about everyone's build and selection processes. Although our process is just starting I am trying to really enjoy it and appreciate the process. We have the floor plans done! Woohoo. We have selected two builders in our area with good reputations and have submitted the plans to both to have them bid them out. We met with the first builder which would include both the site foreman and his partner who does all the organizing and getting the bids etc. The meeting went great, it was exciting, it was positive and they would be great to work with. Today I met with the second builder. First it took extra time to arrange a meeting with him. He didn't want to come to our current house as that it too far of a drive so I had to meet him on my lunch hour 15 minutes from his home. Go figure The entire 2 hour meeting I was lectured about everything we wanted to put into the house what we should do what we shouldn't do etc. He literally had his finger pointing within a inch of my face several times. He does good builds and we are aquaintances but after this meeting I was completely fit to be tied and have no desire to use him ever. He keeps going on about if you build a house over 2000 sq ft that the sub-contractors will think you have more money and up their rates based on that. Essentially they have two pricing matrixs one for under 2000 sq feet and one for over. I finally told him to his face that I will not do business with anyone that does that as that is unethical. He shrugged his shoulders and said that's just how it is. Thing is the other builder we are working with right now has never ever heard of that in our area. We have spoken to a few other people who in town that also have never heard of that. I am guessing that is his practice not his sub-contractors. He was condescending the entire time, I wondered if it is because I am female. I was so annoyed at the end of the meeting that I called the BF who is literally on the other side of the world and got him out of bed. I never ever do that but I was so mad I had to vent. Obviously I am still mad! Sorry I don't want to go with this guy especially since I am the one who will have to deal with him since the BF works out of town. The other thing is I worry about this guys health since he had to have a 5 bypass heart surgery last November. Seriously 5 and he admits he still not 100%. That alone worries me. I just need to breath and remember to enjoy the process! lol This is all part of the process. Oh and he also told me that we don't need to go to the site and check things ourselves "you are not building an airplane it won't fall out of the sky" What?!??!?!??! |
behind, so so behind. Spring break, baseball, take out food. My body is rejecting this way of eating, I tell ya. :( I am so sick of eating out! mfatt-I like it, I like it A LOT! (glass one). ladybrowncoat-we bought a sprayer from Lowe's, it wasn't cheap - BUT it was way cheaper than paying a painter. ;) I think our sprayer was $350 bucks or so (it is an airless on wheels that you can kinda grip a 5 gallon pail to and wheel it around)? You can rent them from paint shops also (at least around here you can). Worth every penny for the ceiling, I hate them so. It gets the paint up there so efficiently and then back rolling is easy. Definitely a 2 person job anyhow. marjorie-I am so late but I wondered if you could at least mark out the area on the slab that you want preserved (no sink hole, etc) to be sure you at least have your fav parts somewhere in the counter top? Good luck with the wedding, I hope once the day arrives it will be absolutely wonderful and all those pre-jitters and stressors will be nothing but a memory! lori-I am coming over for an oreo! ;) How in the world did you get unpacked and decorated already? My finished house is going to look bare naked next to yours. It looks so cozy and homey over there! I love your fridge side panel words. I have a sign similar to that one......somewhere. I can't wait to join you on the 'other side'. jdez-I can't stand that - when all of a sudden something that was supposed to already be cleared (that you paid for) is all of a sudden not doable. GRRRR! You eat biscuits, I eat toast - texas toast. So much in fact I gave it up for lent and I think I've dropped a few pounds. Insert embarrassed smiley face. akshars and maggie - So excited for you! The final crunch. It's going to be great! Dh caulked and was literally bleeding from multiple finger tips by the time he was finished. His finger nails formed in the shape of a V from repeated wiping, how gross is that? I am thankful that he took that on. I'd have been whimpering. 1st coat of spray on yesterday, finally. Now light sanding, then more cleaning from paint dust and then 2nd coat and then we are painting with color baby, YEAH! So yesterday was the culmination of potentially realizing all my fears over this trim and door DIY business. Will the trim color be too creamy?, will the paint cover all of my filled nail holes (filling and sanding is not my talent)?, will the caulk cover well? So crabby on Monday while we were doing the final prep - stress induced I swear. Yesterday I poured myself a bowl of lucky charms before we got started AND...........I love the color, I *think* the flashing will be gone after the 2nd coat as it's pretty good right now already, and we have very minimal caulk touch up needed. Huge huge sigh of relief! Today was an off day letting things dry up and cure well. Took the fellas to see the Lego movie, everything is awesome when you are part of a team. ;) Tomorrow back at it. Mantel is up but needs to be sanded and primed so we can spray it. Doors took paint well. Sorry, no pics. Boohoo! Maybe tonight but we have to make another run to Menards for a piece of trim so not sure how much work time there will be. Fergusons-wowee! I stuck straight (okay not perfectly straight) with the sinks as I am on a time crunch. I am thinking cinder. Truffle is too brown. Anthracite is so stark it's almost glaring to me I think? Dunno. I am going to quadruple check and then place my order before DH changes his mind......I finally did show him the sink and he has relented (for unknown reasons)... |
Another option for DIY paint is a paint sprayer with a power roller attachment. That's what I use. With the extension, I can paint my 9-1/2 ft ceilings from the floor. My sprayer was about $350; the roller attachment another $75, but well worth it. |
Lots of progress, Lighting trims almost done, alarm wired up next week, sons bathroom done. powder rooms floors done. Island almost done as well. |
- Posted by Skyangel23 (My Page) on Wed, Apr 9, 14 at 20:34
Maggie11, You are so close, and your house looks so lovely! I hope you get to move in Saturday. That is so awesome!What is the paint color of your walls in your main living area? It looks like a gorgeous greige, which is what I am currently searching for. :-) Loribug, I love your photo collage wall. Everything looks so cozy already! I LOVE the ŌĆ£we do loveŌĆØ family decal on the side of your gorgeous red cabinets. Yours is certainly not a house lacking that individual, personal touch. Forgive me but I donŌĆÖt remember what your countertops are'┐Į"they are very pretty. Could you tell me? JDez, that is so frustrating that you paid to have the plans reviewed and then they didnŌĆÖt catch things. Beyond frustrating!!!!! But your porch is looking so pretty. Mlweaving, love the blue island, and I hope you can relax and have a good time at the wedding. Gold566, I would call that second builder and kindly tell him not to bother bidding out your build. If it was me and I had more guts I would tell him if he continues to treat prospective clients with such condescension then he may shortly be out of business. :-) I would find another builder to get a quote from though so that I could have two, if not three, complete bids to choose from. Um, and about not building an airplane??? WeŌĆÖve found several mistakes visiting our site and I know others have as well. Not someone I would want to work with! It seems like our house has been sitting around at the framing stage forever! But the drywall is being dropped off on Monday! The builder estimated two weeks for drywall for our 2770 sf house. Does that seem normal? I can't wait. I think it will finally start looking like a house. Our house. :-) |
The time frame for drywall involves the taping and mudding. They have to let each coat dry before they can sand it and put on the next coat. |
loribug26 - sometimes I wonder too. We've flipped a couple of times due to relocating but this is where we're staying. This is by far the longest and biggest project we've ever done. It will be seven months without a kitchen beyond a freestanding range and microwave by the time we're finished. I miss having a kitchen sink and dishwasher more than anything else. It's great to see that you've moved in and decorated though, and the glass pendants should work out pretty well IMO. JDez - flooring starts today! No more walking on plywood with embedded drywall dust! :D It sounds like your siding people either think you're in a bind or aren't that interested in doing the work. There are probably others out there willing to do it. The roof doesn't make sense though. gold566 - It sounds like you have a winner with the first builder. How does the second one even manage to stay in business??? I could see repeat customers maybe, but not new ones. Autumn.4 - Awesome that your color and doors turned out ok! It's kind of scary buying all that paint, putting some of it on and then getting second thoughts about it. pors996 - it looks like you made some awesome choices. Is the wood tile room a half bath? Skyangel23 - Sounds about normal for that size house. They can move pretty quickly, especially with someplace that's new. The only thing I could say is to take a faceplate with you and put it over the outlet and switch holes to make sure that they clean up the cuts close enough for the plate to cover it. Some friends have a few outlets with router bit sized hole sticking out 1/2 an inch past the faceplate from where the drywallers made too big a hole. At home, the chalk lines came out ok and I can start putting in the hardwood without the need for any shifting or adjusting. I'll be happy to see it go in, but also to see the giant stack of it in the middle of the room get smaller and go away. If this is done by the end of the weekend I'll be thrilled. |
- Posted by illinigirl (My Page) on Thu, Apr 10, 14 at 8:18
pors- I love your bathroom with accent tile- such nice colorful contrast. Island looking great also! Autumn- what color trim did you go with? You are getting closer every day! What is your projected complete date? MFatt- such a cool pendant! |
- Posted by maggiepie11 (My Page) on Thu, Apr 10, 14 at 8:51
oy - to say i'm out of my skin isn't descriptive enough JDez. :) it's exciting but so stressful that it's coming down to the wire. we still have no certificate of occupancy. inspection failed last night because of a known issue that was supposed to be addressed, but the landscapers just didn't show up to fix it before the inspector. so they came today but now the inspector won't be out until tomorrow night. if we get our C.O. by 130pm friday, the bank will wire funds and we get our keys to move this weekend. if we have no C.O. by 130pm friday, then no move until next week sometime. we should know by 630pm today. our walk was tuesday morning. by wednesday night, the painters had not been back to fix a single touchup. :( i'm told they're booked to be there all day today. also, at 5pm last night they were just starting to address the issue of re-grading for drainage along the drainage easement because they didn't quite go deep enough and then we got a crazy storm and it all got torn up. so i think we're ok to move this weekend, but i'll feel better when we get the C.O. in hand. i can live with the punch list (for now) but just let me in!!!! we're tentatively doing our "final" walk friday--ahem, that's TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!!!!! at 8am and then afterwards the floor guys will do their final coat of poly. talk about doing things backwards!! and thank you skyangel - it is my perfect shade of greige! i had about a hundred swatches of greige from every manufacturer in the US. :) the color is by PPG paint, and it's called "Silver Dollar." no discernible undertones of pink, green, blue, yellow etc. super neutral! |
- Posted by Skyangel23 (My Page) on Thu, Apr 10, 14 at 10:16
Maggie11, Thank you! I am so excited since our builder uses PPG paint. I am very worried about those undertones! i have a few swatches and I'm pretty sure the one I like has green undertones. So I am going to order a sample of Silver Dollar right now. :-) |
Skyangel ~ my counter tops are good ol' Formica in Soapstone Sequoia. Thanks all for the compliments! I did get good news on the stone/outside, stone guy is going to plan on starting next week. Weather permitting of course! Keep your heads up people!! :) |
Had our open wall inspection today. We failed because we had a bedroom window that didn't have a big enough opening. So I ordered a window but its not expected to be ready for pick up until the 30th, the 23rd if I get lucky and it makes the previous week's shipment. So, the brick can't go up because they're waiting on the window. The roof can't go on because they're waiting on the siding. The siding hasn't been ordered because I'm a tight#@$! and I'm tired of handing out thousands of dollars without getting 15 bids first. So, if we'll get those other 13 or so bids in by the 30th, we'll get this show on the road. |
Jdez - Hang in there! I love a good deal and I use coupons - too bad these places won't let us use coupons and have double coupons on Wednesdays!!! |
- Posted by illinigirl (My Page) on Thu, Apr 10, 14 at 16:22
- Posted by jackson2348 (My Page) on Thu, Apr 10, 14 at 16:44
- Posted by Skyangel23 (My Page) on Thu, Apr 10, 14 at 19:54
Maggie11, Could you also tell me what trim color you used to go with silver dollar? Are your cabinets a warm white or a cool white? The up close pic looked warm, but pictures can be deceiving. Our cabinets will be warm white. I have some trim possibilities but since I'm ordering the Silver Dollar sample, I might as well add trim too. :-) Thank you! |
Jdez ok maybe put the roof on but reconsider on the windows and siding you don't want to block that view. Lol |
- Posted by maggiepie11 (My Page) on Thu, Apr 10, 14 at 20:17
skyangel - our white is also PPG, and the color is "Delicate white" which is a perfect name for it. can i take the easy road and call it neutral white? i would not call it warm, but it's not stark either. it's like pure white for those who don't want the white to scream. |
- Posted by maggiepie11 (My Page) on Thu, Apr 10, 14 at 20:40
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Keys tomorrow, partial move this weekend. Another misunderstanding on the floors - they should really be left to cure over the weekend so we're only moving stuff into the garage and tiled areas. Still - the C.O. is huge! |
- Posted by bluemoon_1 (My Page) on Thu, Apr 10, 14 at 21:33
OMG maggie congratulations!!! good luck with your move. do you want us all to come help?... |
I posted some pictures in a separate thread to not completely clog up this one. :) It's called Kellithee's House. YAY maggie! illini- I'm super jelly of your lockers! |
Congrats to all!!! I quite literally cannot keep up!! Here's a pic of the stairs!!! Progress... Yeah! So glad to get the update on the wedding plans lori! I have been wondering about how that front was going. Jen |
Tried to post a couple pics last night but for some reason GW wasn't having any of it. We had the GC put up our tile in the kitchen behind the stove. I wish we could afford to do the entire backsplash but it's not going to happen... We really like the look... Very happy with the tub tile as well. The lighter colors really do set well against the chocolate painted walls... I'm not a big fan of the tile around the fireplace. I think it either should have been darker, larger, or both. I am to the point now where I honestly don't care as long as it's done. I am so ready to move in already... Last pic is of the workbenches my son and I built in the basement garage. I get a kick out him and his notion that anything good has to be purchased from a store. He didn't understand what I was doing or why. When the frame was done he wouldn't put any weight on it because he thought it would fall. I told him he could jump up and down on it if he wanted to. I had to show him. The reason I built my workbenches this was was to get rid of all the obstructions so I can sweep the floors. My benches now don't allow it and it gets pretty dirty/dusty before I get the leaf blower out. I've hung the slat wall and started moving in all the goodies. It is going to be so nice to have a separate shop area from the garage/storage area... I hope all of you are ahead of schedule and under budget. Keep posting... Saftgeek- |
- Posted by akshars_mom (My Page) on Fri, Apr 11, 14 at 1:03
Maggiepie, Congratulations for the C.O. You must be so excited to be done with all the build drama. Good luck with the move. Hope you post more pictures of your beautiful house once you settle in. Lori, Your house is looking great. illinigirl, Love you mud room bench and the curve to the top. You are moving along fast. Jackson, Your house and cabinets are looking good. Love the trees and greenery you have. Mlweaving, Hope the drama at the wedding has subsided and you are enjoying it. Can't wait to see pictures of your granite with your island. JDez, The posts look great. It is hard to prepare for selling your current house while building. So good luck with that. Saftgeek, Your house is looking good. When do you move in? I am totally with you on just moving in already. schicksal, You are moving along at a good speed while doing most of the stuff yourself. I am impressed. Skyangel, The house will indeed go through a lot of change once drywall is in. Our drywall took longer but it depends on the size of the crew. Autumn, Glad you got a chance to take a break from house work and take the kids to the movie. Can't wait to see all the pictures the mantel and the paint once it starts. Our final inspections have been moved to Monday/Tuesday as they can't finish a few things by tomorrow :( We are supposed to be moving in next weekend and so many small things still pending. At this point I just hope they finish up all the things except the punch list by then. Have been so stressed and on top of this my son is also sick. Have not had the energy to take any pictures the last few days. I will try to take some tomorrow and post. |
Illini - really like the lockers. Might have to reconsider our bench and do lockers instead. Jackson and illini - kitchens look great. Maggie - congrats Jenny - you did a great job on the steps gorgeous. Spoke with the BF a couple of times yesterday regarding the builder situation. Builder B won't get our business but because of my dear sweet BF who is my calming force I cannot tell builder B to go jump in a lake. Unfortunately while we live in a nice size city it is small enough that we will see each other although it is rare. I did have several coversations and snappy comebacks with the builder.....in my head! Lol So by the end of the day I was calmer and refocused on enjoying this once in lifetime opportunity. Never imagined I would ever get to build a home from scratch. It is really exciting. I am learning so much by watching and listening to everyone. Thankyou to those who take the time to share you experience and knowledge when you are so short on time as it is. |
- Posted by robynstamps (My Page) on Fri, Apr 11, 14 at 9:36
Hey everyone! Just a quick check in. Life is so busy! We move to Utah in just a little over 6 weeks! I'm going out there next Thursday to make some decisions. Wish me luck! I wanted to post a picture of what my page actually looks like while I am watching my home be built. For those of you who have never seen this. It's actually pretty cool! Yesterday they finished up getting ready for the basement concrete that will be poured today. They sprayed gravel on the entire foundation that will be under the cement. Have a great weekend everyone! Framing should start on Monday for us! Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!! Robyn |
schicksal Yes the wood tile is the powder room,. |
Wow, how do you all keep up with this thread? Builds are looking great and congratulations to those who have moved in. JDez -- had a fright for a minute with that photo . . . |
- Posted by illinigirl (My Page) on Fri, Apr 11, 14 at 12:51
FWIW Schicksal I really like your fp tile. I think the color and scale are beautiful. Robyn- that is really a cool setup with the camera. Will you move it inside once they are done framing or will you be out in Utah by then? Either way it's a great way to see what's going on from so far away. :) |
- Posted by robynstamps (My Page) on Fri, Apr 11, 14 at 14:34
illinigirl - We will be out there in 6 weeks for good. Should be done with framing by then and just starting to work on the inside. The camera stays outside because it is for security purposes as well. |
LMAO, nice picture JDez. Love your sense of humor :) CONGRATS TO MAGGIE!!!! WHOOP!!!! Hi to all and have a wonderful weekend...off to check out Kelli's thread! Drink one for me! |
- Posted by bluemoon_1 (My Page) on Fri, Apr 11, 14 at 15:43
Kelli -would you please post a link to your thread :) |
Nothing new to report here. A week after we resubmitted our plans, the city's website is showing that we're no longer "on hold", but still says they're waiting on amended drawings. I thought it was just a mistake updating the website status. DH just noticed it today and freaked out that we forgot something. So I called the city and left a message. We also have a construction camera. But since there's nothing going on at the lot, DH put it in his office window and has been recording a photo of our back yard every 5 minutes for the last week. He showed it to me last night, and it's funny to watch the snow melt, and then reappear, then melt, then reappear. I guess it's funny when it happens in a few seconds. It's quite sad in real time. Then the other day, the dog decided to hang out outside all day, so the video has him jumping all over the yard. :) shicksal, I am so looking forward to your finished rooms. It looks so cool as is. maggie and akshars_mom, I am so excited for you to be moving in. I am confused about the CO thing, though. I know, technically, we need it before we're allowed to live there. But we own the property, and if we want to move stuff to it, there's nothing stopping us from doing that. I've heard a few stories of people in my area moving in before the city could get around to doing their final sign off. We're way too early in the game to be worrying about moving in, but I intend to have keys from the moment locks are put on the door. So, why don't you get keys before the CO? Do you own the property? Or are you purchasing the land and house from the builder? Or is it a builder's liability thing that you aren't supposed to have access to the house? |
maggie-yay!!! That is awesome! I'm actually not sure what exactly needs to take place here to get ours, but I do know we aren't ready yet so no matter. illini-we had repco lite custom match the trim paint to our cabinets - I brought a door in. All the windows are covered with plastic to spray and it's such a nice day today. Booo! I wanted some fresh air in there while sanding and wiping down trim. Love your rounded bench for sitting, excellent idea. Great progress pics of the kitchen too. I am so envious, I am ready to get to that part!!! jdez-I was thinking what the heck??? Eek. amberm-no longer on hold well that is something in the positive direction. I hope they speed things up a bit from this point forward for you! robyn-a cross country move, yikes. I bet it's so exciting that it'll make the pain of the move much less of a hassle. I love looking at your security camera pics! Will you be staying pretty close to your build so you can drive there easily? I am more than GROUTchy. I can't think of the proper word...I am trying to stay positive but it's a constant battle and I'm driving my dh nuts with my horrible awful attitude too. I can't express how much I hate sanding and prepping trim. Period. That's it, I can't stand it and I will never EVER do it again. I'm at the point I'd rather do ANYTHING else, labor and delivery - bring it on. So I have nothing positive to say about it except that we have one more coat to go (Monday as that's dh's next day off) and then it's done. It looks okay, I just find this process so tedious and not even sure it makes all that much of a difference, all I see is flaws but I know the second coat will make a difference - I just need it done. Here is a smiley though........ :-) And one more positive, that means I can paint walls come Tuesday. Ahhhhhh, yes. Color on walls! I ordered up a Blanco cascade precis sink in cinder today. Checking that off the list. Ferguson's price matched the on-line price I found, yay! I don't have to worry about shipping/receiving and inspection now as they take delivery. Phew! I haven't even begun to think about mirrors and such, oh boy. I hope there is a catch all place for those cuz I need something simple. Back to work.......... |
- Posted by carsonheim (My Page) on Fri, Apr 11, 14 at 17:40
- Posted by kariromero (My Page) on Fri, Apr 11, 14 at 20:11
We started the John Tee "Amelia Place" that we modified to open the kitchen up and make the square footage smaller, along with a few other changes. They broke ground the second week of March, I think, and they are working on the second story now!!!! We can't wait to finish it and get moved in. I'm hoping we will be in by September. |
- Posted by akshars_mom (My Page) on Fri, Apr 11, 14 at 21:53
amberm145, In regards to the C.O it strictly depends on the city I think. We own the property not the builder. In our case the city has to give you C.O before you start living there. You can move stuff into the garage (may be even the house) as long as the inspectors can check everything they want. I just don't want to move in until most of the stuff is done because of the dirt and mess aspect of the building process. Carsonheim, Congratulations on closing the loan and good luck with the build. Some good news on our front that we should be able to move in next weekend. The cleaning crew has been scheduled for Wednesday and the builder assured that we should be able to move in any after Thursday. So relived but now need to start packing and schedule movers and so on. |
Yay Carson!!!!!....Finally! Kariromero - I will be cheering for you and hope you move in September. Akshars - Congrats to you too. Hopefully you can get everything organized before your company comes to stay with you. Autumn - It's ok to hate sanding. You're almost done with it. I decided that I hate the push broom, and the mud, and the checkbook. Glad you got the sink you wanted. Hang in there, in just like a week or so, you can have your Texas toast and all will be good. |
- Posted by carsonheim (My Page) on Fri, Apr 11, 14 at 22:57
kariromero -- congrats. Our home is a modified version of Abberley Lane. I wanted smaller, ended up way huger! And I wanted the kitchen on an outside wall. This is *almost* correct. We are grouping our windows 1 &2 and 3 & 4 on the second floor. I'll be interested in seeing your progress, as the interiors are very similar! |
- Posted by RhettDrive (My Page) on Sat, Apr 12, 14 at 8:32
Today I only had time to scroll through & look at everyone's pics. Life is crazy w/ 2 businesses and building a new house. Jennybc- steps look gorgeous! pors996 - Bath tile is amazing- it reminds me of Greece! Robynstamps- I miss those mountains & love the cameras. I keep saying I'm going to get them set up on our site but time moves faster than me some times. Framing has started and now it feels real. The basement begins to take shape. Hope Spring has finally sprung for everyone and the long sunny, warm days help us all get through this process with a : ) |
This post was edited by RhettDrive on Sat, Apr 12, 14 at 22:33
- Posted by illinigirl (My Page) on Sat, Apr 12, 14 at 9:38
autumn, your doors/cubbies are beautiful! I love the color! I think you said it is close to White Dove? We are leaning towards White Dove also (despite the current GW leaning *away* from WD). I may have mentioned in another post, but the actual door sample I have with White Dove looks to me like I thought Simply White would, and it is much crisper than the chip from the paint store. Crisp creamy. I don't know if that's because the lacquer formulation changes it any, but it is beautiful- I don't see green or gray at all in it. Just, well, crisp creamy! White but not blinding. Thank you so much for the vote of confidence on the granite. I am afraid to post it on Kitchens. It's pretty much a done deal. I *think* once it's laying on it's side it's going to look fairly subtle and pull together the black perimeter, calacatta subway tile, and white cabs. I HOPE!!! Latest kitchen pic: |
- Posted by AnitaLadyRose (My Page) on Sat, Apr 12, 14 at 10:04
Hello, I am new to GW. My husband and I are in the planning stages of our build. I have gathered so many great ideas and inspiration from reading the posts on GW. Thank you all. I am very impressed by the plans I have seen on this site. I would love to provide one for feedback. What software does one use to create them? I found one free site that isn't proving to be too user friendly... Soon we will be interviewing six contractors that have been referred to us. We want to make sure we feel comfortable with the person who will be overseeing this build for us, as we plan to be "hands on". This is our first build and have so much to learn. Any advice about this very early stage would be appreciated. We do know what we want - we have been discussing it for several years, and have a (very) rough floor plan drawn - on paper! It's just the two of us - our children are adults. We will build a one story, 3 bedroom, 2 bath home on a 1.1 acre lot that we have owned for 2 years. The lot is 2/3 flat and then a wooded area gently slopes down to a small creek. The lot is slightly wider than it is deep. The house will sit roughly in the middle of the lot. We will be a few miles away from an urban area. The home is not in a planned community. We feel very grateful and excited to finally be beginning this process. Anita |
- Posted by robynstamps (My Page) on Sat, Apr 12, 14 at 11:10
The wood was dropped off yesterday and the concrete floors were poured! Let the framing begin on Monday!! |
For DIY designs work, Google Sketch-Up seems to be the default free program. Any drawing program is going to have a significant learning curve unless you work with them all the time. I must apologize for having so little involvement lately- I've been quite busy with an inspection deadline looming. I do skim through the posts, though. Everyone is booming right along! Today we commissioned the HVAC system. We used mini-splits, and they are little gems. You can barely hear them at all! Even the outdoor units are very quiet. Time will tell if they live up to the efficiency claims. Our Mitsubishi units have a SEER of 26. Maybe not as exciting as new counter tops, but the pay-off should come when we open the first power bill. |
- Posted by uponthehilltop (My Page) on Sat, Apr 12, 14 at 19:03
We are 11 days till possession! So excited, we did a pre-walk thru last Monday. Here are the most recent pictures, don't mind the dust everywhere. Sorry about the small pics and if any are upside down, can't seem to figure out resizing on the Photobucket iPad app. Houses are looking great everyone!!! :) |
This post was edited by xc60 on Sun, Apr 13, 14 at 2:01
Wow those are some great pictures and updates, everyone! I'm pretty exhausted at this point but it's more from work (job) than anything else. Start time is 5:30am / 5 on weekends and we like to have a social life so in the end you just deal with it. Progress at home is hard to see to the untrained eye. The areas to have flooring go into were made 45 years apart but after endless measuring it turns out they line up really well with each other. The first row of flooring is always the hardest and it's in, so today after work I can go crazy installing more of it and probably do the whole kitchen... or go to sleep. Whichever. |
...progress at home is hard to see to the untrained eye - uh yes I get that statement. shicksal-way to go on the first row of flooring! I just bet that once you get started you will have a hard time stopping and will be doing floor over sleeping but sleep is pretty precious. :) Cheering for you over here!!! xc60-wow 11 days. Another one on the cusp of life in the new house. Love the kitchen and all that light in your bathroom. Awesome! upon-I like the darker shudders - but I like the pop of color. Were you hoping they would blend more or different shade or? Did you end up going all the way up in the kitchen on the other side of the buffet or stick with what you have? illini-first off, I love your range hood. Love love love it. That was my first choice but dh wanted stainless so give and take - that is what we went with and I do like the shape of what we chose. The paint color is close to white dove I think but more creamy I'd say?. But, I will also say that the custom match formula does have YELLOW in it and that made me gasp as I absolutely did NOT want an antique or ivory color? Just crisp creamy exactly like you said, that is a perfect description. :) We also did both think it has lightened up a bit as it's sat/cured? Weird. Or maybe it's just the difference of it being dry and reflecting less light. Anyhow - when you look at the over spray on the plastic covering the windows it definitely has some tan in it which freaked me out but it does not look like that on the wood. Come Tuesday when I'm painting the walls I think it's going to be GREAT and I cannot wait. Antsy and itching to paint. Then dh will start on the wood floor immediately following and THEN CABINETS! I am doing the happy happy joy joy joy dance over here when I think about that! So I am praying no delays with the sink. jdez-what's the word? Are you loosening the grip on your pocket book and out shopping? ;) anitaladyrose-It sounds like you know just what you want and that's a good thing. Making sure you get it in your plan and do not rush that part I guess would be my little tidbit of advice. :) Read-don't finalize and just hope to make adjustments on the fly. That is nearly always painful and costly. Sink - anyone using a sink setter? I have to call the granite place tomorrow and see once what they use for installing the heavier silgranite sinks. |
illini-and forgot to add about the granite and the selections. In the end you need to be happy and there are a ton of different combinations. You love the back splash (which I have yet to nail down myself) so if this new granite works with all of your choices then go for it. I do understand your trepidation about posting it in kitchens. ;) At some point we all need to call it and move on. |
jennybc, nice job on the stairs |
- Posted by jenniekehr (My Page) on Sun, Apr 13, 14 at 11:49
uponthehilltop: I like the shutters since your stonework is a bit darker anyways. Your kitchen and everything else is beautiful. |
- Posted by RhettDrive (My Page) on Sun, Apr 13, 14 at 20:51
2 times in one weekend, things are getting close, the walls are laying on the top & will be erected tomorrow, the anticipation is crazy! I will be posting pics & asking for GWers advice. As I am struggling w/ entry door- Wrought iron vs. something else. illinigirl- Cabinets are AWESOME! Love the shape of the range hood too. AnitaLadyRose- Welcome! I agree w/ Autumn.4- We spent 2 yrs. & the day we signed the contract I completely destroyed the MB plans & started over from scratch (& that was after being a voyeur on GW for over a yr). uponthehill- What did you decide on the outer colors. The brick was the most challenging for me & I am looking to my builder for the trim colors after HER 30 years experience I can lean on her good design eye. xc60- Kitchen looks great. It's on the same lines of what I have planned. What flooring did you use? I'm planning on dark hand scraped wood floors and can't decide if I want to use the ceramic look alike or not. |
- Posted by robynstamps (My Page) on Sun, Apr 13, 14 at 22:40
Happy Sunday everyone! Here are some pics that my neighbor took on Friday for me. I'm really excited! We have all of our window wells poured and stamped. Just waiting for them to build the rock wall window well for our downstairs living room. Concrete is poured everywhere except the patios and the garage. |
- Posted by Michelle1973 (My Page) on Sun, Apr 13, 14 at 22:42
Everyone's homes are coming along so nicely! We are creeping along. Our goal is to get roughed in by snowfall next year, so hoping we make it. We've chosen our GC. We were originally going to just use a draftsman for our plans due to the perceived high cost of an architect, but then the GC told us an architect they frequently use recently decided to go out on her own and therefore we can get a project done for under $10k. Does this sound possible? We are meeting with GC and architect on Wed. What questions do we ask? Also, at what point do we get financing started? Also, I'm excited to start choosing finishes. What do I begin with? Flooring? Thanks! |
This post was edited by Michelle1973 on Mon, Apr 21, 14 at 21:38
- Posted by Michelle1973 (My Page) on Sun, Apr 13, 14 at 23:22
Here's our lot. :) Another question. I'd love to use ship lap on a few focal walls. Is it crazy expensive? |
This post was edited by Michelle1973 on Wed, Apr 16, 14 at 21:38
- Posted by Michelle1973 (My Page) on Sun, Apr 13, 14 at 23:29
XC60, I love love love your finishes! Is that marble on your master bath top? It looks awesome. I'm terrified to use marble due to the staining and etching. But maybe it's not so bad in bathrooms? |
Thanks Autumn, your house is looking awesome, the cubbies and doors look so good with paint! Your almost done too, yay!! Uponthehilltop, it's all coming together perfectly and love seeing your home come together. Great choice on your backsplash, we also used beveled subway on ours. Illinigirl, that is going to be one amazing kitchen :) Robyn, your foundation is looking great, loved the stamped windows. Framing is coming up and then you will see some super exciting things happen. :) Enjoy seeing your camera photos. RhettDrive, the floors are wire brushed oak 7 1/2 engineered planks. I'll attach the link for you. :) Engineered floors work great in our climate in Alberta, less shrinkage.... with the weather. So glad to see your at framing, whoo hoo! Michelle1973, the bathroom counter is Super White Dolomite kinda like a marble. I loved it so much it's worth the risk of any patina. Thanks for the compliments, and your property is gorgeous! Wow!!!! |
Here is a link that might be useful: Kentwood Wire Brushed Oak
This post was edited by xc60 on Mon, Apr 14, 14 at 0:14
- Posted by mlweaving_Marji (My Page) on Mon, Apr 14, 14 at 5:29
xc60, Love the pics of your home. Beautiful choices. Uponthehill, relax, it's coming together. Trust your initial vision at this point. What did you decide about the dining room fixture? You asked about it at the very end of the last thread and I'm not sure you ever saw any feedback before the new thread got started. Robyn, love your setting. I love seeing the different places everyone here is building. We're already seeing 80 degrees here, so it's funny to see snow on the ground. Autumn, you're coming along. Can't wait to see paint on those walls! The wedding went off just beautifully last Friday. And I'm so glad it's over (shhh, don't say I said that) |
Michelle1973:Also, at what point do we get financing started? The bank will require construction drawings with the application, so you'll need to wait at least until after designs are finalized, builder contracts are signed, specs are fully detailed, etc. After all that, when you get started depends on when you'll need the money. With our bank, we were told that the approval process would take 45-60 days, then another 3 weeks after closing to process internal before the first draw. We too owned our lot and had a bit to get things started. You'll need to document everything fully so the bank understands and acknowledges your contribution to the project. What you can and should do is get some form of preapproval from the bank, so you know what you and your project will quality for. You don't want to pay an architect to design a 600k house if the bank will ultimately only finance 500k, then you'd either need to redesign or come up with more cash. |
- Posted by Hoosierbred (My Page) on Mon, Apr 14, 14 at 8:49
Sorry I don't have time to respond to all of your postings. Just think of me nodding, smiling, cheering, consoling, etc. all of your choices, dilemmas, pictures during your build! Houston, we have a problem! We discovered this weekend that our painter got overspray paint (oil based paint) on our garage doors while spraying our cabinet doors outdoors. Our garage doors are Chi All-Steel doors (see link below) with the Mahogany wood grain texture. I posted this on the paint forum, but decided to post, here, too. We have specks of white spray all over the doors. Is there anyway to remove the paint without harming the doors? The specks of paint have dulled the once-rich color of the doors. We will be talking with our painter today if or when he comes. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Chi Steel Carriage Garage Door
- Posted by mlweaving_Marji (My Page) on Mon, Apr 14, 14 at 9:16
Oh Hoosier, say it isn't so. My heart is breaking for you. Yeah, it's a first world problem, but after all you've done to build the house, it's a monumental snafu as far as you're concerned. Michelle, the other thing to note re financing is, you need to plan for a much higher % of your own money going into your build than if you were to buy a home. There are a few here who only have 20% equity in their build, but for the most part you can buy existing for a lower $/sf than you can build. The lenders are looking at that, and financing accordingly. If your finishes are all "builder grade" and you don't have a lot of upgrades or high end finishes you may be able to finance 75% of your project. It seems from the information I've gleaned here, and from what I've heard from builders and those in the business, that 35-40% equity is more the norm. (that includes value of the property) |
awesome progress people!! Hoosier... ugh...keep us posted that is a real bummer Hilltop ~ I love your floors, and your exhausted kiddo! Jen ~ love the stairs! Keep up the good work Autumn ~ I can't even imagine doing as much as you guys have done. I'm keepin' ya in my thoughts! |
- Posted by Indiana_TH (My Page) on Mon, Apr 14, 14 at 11:55
They finally started digging for the basement. We are so excited, even though there is a chance of snow tonight (in west central Indiana!). |
- Posted by Michelle1973 (My Page) on Mon, Apr 14, 14 at 12:20
XC60, thanks for the bathroom info....I'm making a note of that material. :) OICU812 - thank you for the awesome information. I'll work on getting preapprovals in place. MLWeaving....wonderful, thank you for the info. I'll contact Mike Nagy....sounds like a good place to start and I really like NW Bank. We have a unique situation too....we have a trust fund that pays us a good deal of $$ for the next 10 years. Plus, we own our current home outright ($300K), plus the new lot, and the cash on hand. Plus, DHs income. And, we actually own a second lot in our new subdivision that we have for sale. I hate putting all these numbers out there, but I want the best help and we have a weird situation. We want to stay in our current home until new build is done. I'm pretty sure my friend is going to buy our home....so I could probably get a purchase agreement signed if that would help with the construction loan. It's going to be a weird finance, but we really just need financing during the build, then we will only own maybe $100 or $200K when the build is done, and we'll be able to pay that off fairly quickly. (Or is it more cost efficient to keep a mortgage for tax purposes?) Thank you for all your help!! |
Michele, the number 1 question I wish I had asked our architect was "What other projects are you working on, and what priority would our project be?" We had thought the same thing, that we would hire an architectural technologist (draftsman) for cost and the fact that "architects" prefer to work on big commercial projects. We connected to an architect who had built a house to sell, and we looked at that house. We liked the style of the house, but the lot and garage were too small, so we didn't buy. But he was interested, and only slightly more than the techs in our area. Plus, 3 different people in the building industry recognized his name and gushed approval. So we hired him. I've wanted to fire him since about November. We had the design done since Sep, but he disappears for weeks at a time, and we didn't push him because we thought he was working on our drawings. Then he comes back weeks later, and not only has he done nothing, but he can't even remember what we decided and why in the last meeting. So he draws something, and it's wrong. When we point out that it's wrong, he accuses us of changing our mind. It took 4 months from the time we were supposedly done the design to getting drawings to the city. We're just a lowly single family house project. He's got warehouses and 4-plexes on the go that take more of his attention. The second question would be about charging for "changes". We have a flat price contract. And he's started trying to bill us for extras which were supposed to be covered. He's now told us that due to all the "changes" we've asked for, he's not making any money on this job and he will never do a flat priced contract again. We still have the contract, but I think if he'd done a time & materials contract and was charging us for correcting his own mistakes (or even just assumptions he didn't bother asking us about), I'd be livid. Make sure (s)he takes notes during your meeting. The guy we hired was the only one who didn't take notes in our initial meeting. I think that should have been a red flag. He doesn't take many notes in any of our meetings, which probably contributes to the problems of forgetting things when he finally goes to draw 3 weeks later. I didn't hold it against him initially, since I'm not much of a note taker myself. Having my head down writing notes makes it harder to understand and engage in the conversation. Good luck! :) |
- Posted by robynstamps (My Page) on Mon, Apr 14, 14 at 22:02
Framing has begun!!! I cannot believe how much they got done today. My GC said that we will see a ton of activity this week. I will get to see it in person on Friday! Can't wait!!! |
This post was edited by robynstamps on Mon, Apr 14, 14 at 22:04
hoosiers-oh no! :( I have no idea but I hope someone on your other thread has shared a good tip on removal without damage. lori-thanks girl. We are moving right along. The trim was a huge hurdle for us. It was not without it's lessons learned through a somewhat painful learning curve but ahhhhh, it is DONE! marjorie-sounds like the wedding went well. I hope you can get caught up on sleep among other things and your cold or run down feeling gets nipped in the bud! Did you end up getting another sink? What did you choose? If you already said and I missed it feel free to ignore my ?. I can't wait to see more of your pics, love the charm of your place and that back porch. Awesome! mommytoty-where are you? How are things? Any new pics? indiana-yay! It is slushing here right now. :( Keep telling ourselves, it won't stick, it won't STICK! schicksal-how is it going? robyn-they are really moving along quickly. I wonder how many are in the framing crew? Looks good! michelle-I wouldn't bat an eye at paying off the mortgage. Not for a second. Our last house we paid off and it was a great feeling! As far as taxes, you lose the interest write off but look how much more interest you PAY vs. the percentage you get back. Not an even exchange by far. We adjusted our withholdings accordingly to accommodate the lack of interest as I didn't want to end up paying. All moot now since we will indeed have a mortgage after this build is complete - but hopefully not for too long. My opinions of course. 2nd coat coverage was much better which I guess I KNEW from painting walls but still fretted over regarding the trim. The 'soft white' seems whiter which is good since it was looking ultra creamy. I really like it. I think uncovering the windows helped immensely in that regard. :) I am picking up paint tomorrow. Not sure I'll get color on the walls after all of the taping that needs to happen but I will have it in hand. Hope everyone has a productive week! |
- Posted by robynstamps (My Page) on Mon, Apr 14, 14 at 22:27
Autumn, I counted 5 cars and one truck today. Looks like a good sized crew. |
robyn-YES! You are going to see major progress just as your gc said. I am sure you can't wait to get there on Friday, so much to see! :) I think there were 3 ppl that framed ours but then again it is 2300 sq ft. so that makes a bit of difference too and it took a while especially with weather. |
Robyn, I love your window wells. I thought I was being fancy with my terraced pressure treated 4x4s instead of the corrugated metal. :) |
Autumn - SO tired... it's tough balancing everything else going on with going out in the evenings and building the place. The fridge died at a rental we own and then 5 days later the a/c drain pan over there overflowed. I don't DIY there but still had to stop, call people, find a new fridge at Lowes, ... I should finish the flooring in the kitchen today though since I'm at the part where the floor is now as wide as it will get. The family room just continues from the kitchen so it's more of the same in there. I really enjoy putting in flooring and doing stone/tile because everything looks so different after only a few hours. |
- Posted by illinigirl (My Page) on Tue, Apr 15, 14 at 7:31
Robyn- yay for framing! This is a fun stage- something new to see every day! Autumn- yessss! on trim getting done. xc60- your selections are just beautiful throughout! Just lovely! Jen- awesome stairs upon- I really like the color of your shutters :) We had our closet walkthrough yesterday. 125 shelves are included in our allowance (where did they get *that* number from?) Yeah, I went over...big time. by 100 shelves. at $35 each. to the tune of $3500. That did NOT fly with my husband. I'm going to have to go back and make cuts. ugh. |
Just got caught up on here. Here is a link to my thread. Just signed the final draw with our builder sunday night. We were able to fix the overages a bit, but still more over than I'd like, but this is a one time deal and it could be worse. We started hanging up decorations this weekend. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Kellithee's house
Can't possibly catch up with everybody but here's a try: Rhett - You have a beautiful view there. Michelle - I love all the trees on the lot. You MUST go in to a few banks and just talk to them about what you are planning and see what they offer. It is the best way to find out. xc60 - Your house is looking ready for move-in. Why don't they just give you the dang keys??? Jen - Beautiful stairs and your paint color choice is perfect with the white trim and dark stained wood. Robyn - I bet you are just useless this week...lol. I would be too if I knew I was going to check out my framing in three days. Schicksal - You know the old saying is true..."When it rains, it pours." You got the worst of it behind you. Just take it one day at a time. Amberm - Are you sure you should proceed with this architect? I know its a lot of expense to change now but this is your house we're talking about. If you're like me, its much more than just a financial investment. Indiana - Good to see some progress. We should start seeing more pics from you soon. Hoosier - That kind of carelessness drives me up the wall. I hope there's any easy fix and I hope your painter is the one who offers to fix it. mlweaving - Glad you made it through the wedding. Good luck on finding the right color for the library. AnitaLadyRose - Good to have you join in. I'm not sure about design programs. We bought a stock plan from the internet and made changes with our builder. To show him what we wanted, I opened the floorplan in the paint program and erased stuff and drew other stuff in and it was at least very easy for him to understand. Computer saavy I am not. Autumn4 - I will NEVER let go of the pocket book...lol. DH, on the other hand, thinks we have a money tree somewhere and I have been the one to hold him back. You'd think it would be the other way around. BTW, I have no idea what a sink setter is. Are you talking about an object or a person? Even though we failed our inspection last week, the building inspectors said we can go ahead with insulation. So, when DH decides to get over the flu, I am going to take two days off work and we are going to do it ourselves. Other than that, I still haven't decided on siding, so that is still on hold. Nothing else going on. Happy Tax Day! |
- Posted by Michelle1973 (My Page) on Tue, Apr 15, 14 at 9:25
Amberm....ACK, what a nightmare. I'm sorry that has happened to you. I have a good friend who experienced that same thing with her architect....and then they built this $1mm home that she isn't even sure she likes. Good tips and the questions to ask.....thank you! |
Just checking in! I will post some pics again soon but its still pretty boring progress. Our FP is in and interior ceiling details are going up. Garage doors and gutters are on order and we walk through with the electrician in T-1 hour to choose all the rough in and location stuff. I smell a bid coming in higher, just saying :) Everything looks great and I am still blown away by Robyn's crew and their speed. No time to comment but XC60 love the cabinets and floor choices. JennyBC your stairs look fantastic! Have a great day! |
I love Robyn's view!! :) I hate Indiana weather. That is all... lol |
jdez-umm, I think the drywall crew took our money tree out when they hit one leaving after a delivery, just sayin......chop chop and ground up. It's GONE. :( LOL! Sink setter is a thing, it's a supposed aid in mounting and undermount sink? It's not costly (30-40 bucks) so I'm wondering if I should order one up? schicksal-ITA, give me something that shows progress. Ugh! Painting walls and tiling does that for me, prepping trim not so much. But it's all part of it I suppose. amberm-very good points. Had a similar experience and some things were missed or not hashed out like they should have been because we felt rushed due to delays on designers part. It is what it is but it could have been avoided if we'd went elsewhere darn it! mfatt-'smell a bid coming in higher', lol! Ours did.....so your sniffer is probably pretty good.... lori-3" on the ground here and cold wind chills. Say what, it's APRIL 15!!! Glass shower door guy measured today for the master. Waiting for that quote. My trunk is filled with paint, woot woot! I best get back out there and start prepping for color. |
- Posted by ladybrowncoat (My Page) on Tue, Apr 15, 14 at 11:19
JDez - ItŌĆÖs nice to see your progress, but IŌĆÖm sorry about the window :( We had our foundation waterproofed and backfilled, but weŌĆÖve been holding there all week. Our county has been a bear to deal with. We changed our basement bathroom rough-in from a 2-piece to a 3-piece, and our builder forgot to update the permits (theyŌĆÖve apologized but swear weŌĆÖre still on schedule for the slab and framing). So now the county is making them fill out all this paperwork. Ugh! uponthehilltop - I think your kitchen cabinet solution sounds beautiful! I also REALLY like the color of your shutters. I think it looks so elegant. schicksal - Definitely something to consider. I guess weŌĆÖll see how overwhelmed we feel when we see all the bare walls and ceilings, ha ha! loribug26 - Haha! Honestly IŌĆÖm just glad I wasnŌĆÖt the only one who thought it was a coon :) Also IŌĆÖm happy to hear kitty has had an easy go of it with the move. We have a 9-year old rescue kitty who gets cranky with change, but has adjusted well to 3 moves so far- though IŌĆÖm sure sheŌĆÖll be pleased this is the last one! Autumn.4 and MushCreek - Yikes! A sprayer might be too much of an investment for a one-time gig. But maybe weŌĆÖll look into renting one. Ceilings are evil- IŌĆÖm pretty short so no matter how long the pole is my shoulders/neck are always aching when I have to paint too high! Thanks for sharing your experiences :) maggiepie11 - Congrats!!! saftgeek - I love your tile behind your tub. IŌĆÖm hoping to do something similar after we move in, but I think my window will be a bit higher up so I have to wait and see what size tiles will look good :) carsonheim - YAY! YouŌĆÖll be in your new house before you know it. kariromero - Looks lovely. I think we might be moving in around the same time :) We also broke ground in March. Congratulations! AnitaLadyRose - Hello :) Good luck with all the planning- for me so far that part was the most fun. Michelle1973 - Gorgeous trees. Just a stunning view. Geez, itŌĆÖs crazy how many posts there are!! Sorry if I missed anyone. I love looking at all the pictures and hearing about everyoneŌĆÖs progress. |
Autumn4 - I thought the countertop people attached the sink to the underside of the countertop. Is this something you have to do yourself or did you choose to do it to save some moolah? When I got new quartz countertops in my current house, I just told them what type of sink I wanted and the countertop guys installed it. Maybe because I bought it at the same place??? The only thing they wouldn't do was connect the plumbing because of liability issues. Maybe you could ask the place where you plan to buy the countertops before you spend the money on the sink setter doo-hickey. Loribug - It could be worse....just saying. That is all. ;) MFatt - Aren't all bids higher than you planned? I know ours have been. That is, all of them BUT the electrician, oddly enough. LBC - Your happiness is contagious. |
JDez, no, I'm not at all sure we should be continuing with the architect. In November, I convinced myself that we'd already paid him so much, and we were so close to applying for the first round of permits, that it was best to just continue. By January, when we still hadn't applied, and we'd now spent more in carrying costs since November than we had paid to him, I realized we should have cut our losses. DH finally agreed, but he had a chat with the architect, who promised that the worst was over and he'd wouldn't be a delay anymore. So far, that has not been true, but I'm more pissed at him than DH is, and I'd rather not fight with DH over him. DH is more pissed at the city, which has been their own special kind of frustration. I maintain that we'd have more patience for the city if we hadn't been strung along so much by the architect. I do like the house, though. I think the design is probably 70% our own. We had a pretty good idea of what we wanted and we've been holding firm on it. |
And yes, our counter people attached the sink in the current house. We bought the sink from Amazon, and gave it to the counter people. When the counter arrived, the sink was attached. |
I had an important inspection today- Permanent power. As usual, the inspector was only here a couple minutes, but gave us that all-important piece of paper- the release to get our permanent power! After struggling through one of the area's coldest winters on record with nothing but a puny 120 volt extension cord, we will now have the luxury of real power. I also finished the installation and commissioning of the A/C units, so not only do we have power, but we have climate control! The only inspections left are all of the finals, which are still some months away. Since the winter was so harsh, I spent my time inside. Now that spring is finally here, I'll work on finishing the outside, hopefully before the really hot weather sets in. On rainy days (like today) I'll work on interior stuff- the fun stuff. All minor victories, but very important for a DIY builder. |
Woo hoo for real power!!!! I don't think my bid will go too much higher. Our plans were electrical heavy and they had bid to the plans. I added 2 outlets and 2 mini cans, oh and under cab lighting but not too many. I also removed a bunch of outlets that we didn't need. Maybe they will cancel out....doubt it but one can always hope :) |
yeah, yeah, it could be worse ... lol :) crazy weather. Yay for real power MushCreek!! :) Here's my link to my reveal thread. I'll have some pictures to add to it soon once my bar is done :) |
Here is a link that might be useful: Lori's home
I have been MIA and just starting to catch up with everyone's updates, but too much for me to comment on individually! I am glad to see some of you are moved in, some are very close and some have just started building! Part of the reason I have been MIA is that we have run into an issue with our cabinet paint and trim paint and I've been really upset about it. It is so frustrating to put all the time and energy into making the house the way you want it and then find out someone made a mistake and is not willing to take responsibility. Both the cabinet guy and the painters were told to use the same paint color--SW Pure White--and it appears that the cabinet guy used something else and the two whites look very different, with the trim being a crisp white and the cabinets a warm white (which of course makes the cabinets look dingy!). This only became apparent after the painters took down all the paper/plastic they had up while they were painting. It was the first thing I noticed when I walked into the room and my heart sank. I won't bore you with all the details, but our builder is in the process of figuring out how to fix it. We are supposed to be moving in in a month and not sure how this will affect timing. Here is a pic of kitchen upper cabs that shows the color difference: On top of that, NOTHING got done at the house all last week. Everyone is apparently finishing up other projects meanwhile ours sits unfinished. Electricians finally came yesterday and started the trim, but they now can't come back till Friday.... Anyway, on a more positive note, I do love some of the features that have gone in over the past few weeks. So much work still left to do. Crossing fingers they will be done in a MONTH!! :) Reclaimed beam mantle and board/batten above fireplace in Great Room Painted office Painted ceiling beams and railing for loft Custom powder bath vanity I ordered from Etsy (we have a vessel sink that will sit on top) Master bath vanity in progress Pebble surround for Rec Room fireplace (they need to redo the border around fireplace opening so the pebbles are in a straight line) Deck being installed |
- Posted by carsonheim (My Page) on Tue, Apr 15, 14 at 19:53
Hilltop! - I forgot to tell you that everything is looking beautiful at your house, including the shutters. Mommytoty - To be honest, when I first looked at the cabinet/trim picture, I kind of liked the contrast and thought it had been done intentionally. However, if it were me, knowing that someone didn't do what I told them to do, there is no way I could live with it. In fact, I would HATE it just because it was wrong. So, I totally understand you having a problem with it. Everything is gorgeous though! Even the cabinets. Carson - WHAT??? Is that...No, it couldn't be... It looks a lot liiiike.....YYYYYYEEEEEESSSSSS!!!!!!! WWWOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOO!!! |
- Posted by Michelle1973 (My Page) on Tue, Apr 15, 14 at 22:51
Congrats carsomheim! How exciting! I can't wait until we're there with you! Mommytoty, oh geez, I'm so bummed for you. What a let down. Hopefully GC can get them reprinted for you ASAP. The rest of the house finishes are gorgeous. I love the rustic touches along with the casual sophistication. Very nice job! So, for months I've been dreaming about oil rubbed faucets and door handles/hardware. But I don't see it happening much anymore. Is anyone here using those? Or would it be a total design failure on my part? |
Carson, those are the best neighbours! Mommytoyt, I love so much about your house. I may steal the ensuite design. You've also got me second guessing my plan to build a brick fireplace. The paint issue sucks. I think the problem is that you give them a BM colour, but 9/10 times, they go somewhere other than BM to get their lacquer, and it's usually close enough. But if they go to different places and both get "close enough", then... I have learned to either get colour samples from the paint supplier, or not to spend too much time stressing about the "right" white because the painter is just going to get "close enough". Michelle, I don't think ORB is going to ever be the brass from the 80s. The problem with the brass is that it was EVERYWHERE. And most people didn't really like it to start with, but they didn't have many options. So when new options came along, people rebelled. ORB hasn't been as ubiquitous as brass. And people who use it, use it because they love it. If you love it, it's never out of style. So no, I wouldn't say it's a design fail. |
- Posted by Michelle1973 (My Page) on Tue, Apr 15, 14 at 23:49
Thanks Amberm, I appreciate that. I actually put brass in our first custom build in 1999, and I hated it just a few years later, so it's good to hear your take on ORB. |
Carsonheim- Your picture of the 'neighbors' made me think of the thread about 'looky-loos'. I guess you have 'looky-moos'! |
mommy ~ love your home! Your half bath vanity is similar to mine. I have an old reclaimed bucket as my vessel sink :) Sorry about the paint mess up, we're all here for you to vent! Carson!!! Congrats on the dirt moving! Where are you? Beautiful scenery...judging by the pipe fencing, I'm guessing west somewhere. I love calves. Robyn is surrounded by horses & you're surrounded by cows. I believe I'll plan on visiting :) LOL at MushCreek's Looky-moos!!! That freaking made my day!!! Have a great day all! ;) |
- Posted by mlweaving_Marji (My Page) on Wed, Apr 16, 14 at 8:46
Mommytoty, my heart sank for you. What a hassle, and what a let down. I've forgotten, are your cabinets fully custom or are they made by a cabinet manuf who uses SW paints? I know a lot of manuf of semi-custom cabs use SW colors as their custom color line. Ours does, and the custom blue we chose is a SW color. Fortunately, they got it right. Can you live with the cabinet color? Because of the two, it's undoubtedly going to be easier to get the trim repainted. Both are pretty whites, just not together. Other than that, your house is looking great! Love the pebble stones you're using. What color is the office wall? I just love how it's come out. Carsonheim, congratulations! What if anything have you decided on the sconces? I found that during the process of building I've managed to edit and edit and edit so that what we're ending up with is spot on with my vision. But it is hard to leave off all those fabulous elements that individually are wonderful but together just create a jumble. Michelle, I don't think the issue with ORB is going to be whether you get tired of it, but rather how it's going to wear. Go to the kitchens forum and post your question, as there are a lot of folks there who've installed ORB and have been using it for awhile and have feedback. I recall reading somewhere on this forum how someone has had to start replacing fixtures because the ORB isn't wearing well, but the recollection is fuzzy. I have to submit colors today, and we are STILL undecided on the library color! It's the one room my dh wants input on the color on, and it's the one room that isn't going to be consistent with the rest of the house because we're using my 9x12 Persian rug in there - which is a red/blue carpet. Our painter uses SW paints, so I've tried to stick to their palette because I'm not confident matching colors from one manuf to another is always successful. But in this case we've given up. We went to the Benj Moore store and have picked two blue/greens that we've painted swatches on the wall. Two days ago we thought that BM Affinity Azores was going to be the winner, then I looked at some pics online of rooms painted Azores, and we both said we need to rethink this. So yesterday, in dreary rainy light we looked at both swatches, as well as rooms online painted BM Fort Pierce Green (which is actually blue). It may be the winner. Today it's sunny so we'll go back out there and look at the paint, and hopefully have a decision. and here it is in a dining room And here is BM Azores And here is closeup of the center of my rug. Opinions? |
Thanks all for your words of encouragement on our paint issue. I'm meeting with the builder and the interior designer on Friday to discuss the fix. We'll see what they propose.... Carson--Very exciting!! Michelle--So happy you picked up the style we are going with for the house--casual sophistication with rustic/natural elements. It is reassurance that all the elements are coming together as I envisioned them on paper! :) On your ORB question, I am doing ORB on all door handles, kitchen cabinet hardware and some lighting fixtures, but not on plumbing fixtures, so you might consider something similar if you are concerned about doing everything in ORB. I do think ORB on plumbing fixtures is a bit more limited to certain styles and has the wear issues that mlweaving notes. loribug--Yes, I saw your great powder vanity! Very cool! I thought about using an old bucket or bowl of some sort for the sink, but was concerned about whether it would be hard to clean, so went with a ceramic sink. I know you just moved in so probably haven't had to clean yet, but wonder if you see that as an issue? mlweaving--The color in our office is BM Wythe Blue. I really LOVE it! Lots of pics online showing this color in various rooms, so you can take a look. With the deep colors in your beautiful rug, my inclination would be towards the Fort Pierce Green over the Azores. |
I also have ORB almost everywhere, door handles, plumbing fixtures, lights... but I want my stuff to look worn. :) I love love love it, personally. I had brass & antique brass in previous home and changed them all over time to satin nickel. Just wanted a complete change here. Bucket sink seems pretty easy to clean so far. We got it REALLY clean to begin with, took the wire wheel to it. I've just been wiping it out periodically since there's still TONS of dust to be reckoned with. |
I did ORB on cabinet hardware and lighting fixtures. Satin nickel doorknobs and chrome faucets. Obviously I wanted a little of everything and I also couldn't make up my mind. |
Well I must be out of style. Faucets are chrome and door knobs are black. Oh yeah, the kitchen faucet is stainless. I haven't gotten to the cabinet hardware yet. I like the chrome, ooh...its soooo shiny. |
- Posted by bluemoon_1 (My Page) on Wed, Apr 16, 14 at 14:46
I did 2 bathrooms chrome and 2 bathrooms ORB-it depended on how I was planning to decorate the rooms-my powder room has a hammered black copper vessel sink (same color as ORB)-picked that out so long ago it feels like a dream... cant wait to see it again in real life LOL--I even got ORB toilet levers-go big or go home! |
Mommytoty - Love your house! What type of decking material are you using? Love the color. Hope you get the kitchen paint problem sorted out. Thanks. |
Mommytoty - please share the etsy shop you purchased that vanity from? It is exactly what I am looking for for my rustic mud room bath. |
I am doing ORB too. I think it is no longer high fashion but it goes with what I am doing style-wise and I like it. I am not auditioning for a decor contest, just a livable house. Kudos to everyone mixing finishes! I have no skills in the mixing finishes dept. but it usually looks cool when others do it successfully. |
- Posted by Michelle1973 (My Page) on Wed, Apr 16, 14 at 16:29
Mlweaving, I've got an appt with Mike Nagy for Monday. Thanks for the reference. Regarding the library color, I know this is boring, but since you have some fairly bold colors going in that room, how about a nice light beige wall color that won't compete? Thanks everyone for ORB feedback. Mommytoty, I love your idea of going with ORB on doors, pulls, and some light fixtures. The door hardware is where I wanted it most, so that will work perfectly for me. Don't know why I didn't think of that. :) Well, we met with our potential architect today. She has designed some pretty impressive stuff. Mlweaving, have you been to Crystal Mt? She designed all of the little bungalows there around the pool area. I love her style. Thanks to amberm, I asked about her current projects. She's working on three others. She said if we got back to her on a timely basis, she could do preliminaries in about six weeks, then two weeks for full construction sets. She charges $70 an hour. She's currently putting together an est of hours for our project. What do you guys think on her price and time estimate? She made a couple of remarks about our budget being too low. We're building a 3000 sq ft 1.5 story home with an addl 1,000 sq ft finished in basement. Does $600k seem low for a custom home? That doesn't include the lot. |
Ray--Thanks! The decking is Azek XLM (previously a Timbertech line) in Rustic Bark. It is a PVC material. The railing will be powder coated aluminum (in white). Hopefully, this will result in a fairly maintenance-free deck! :) NWHobart--The Etsy shop is TipsyFish and they were great to work with. They make all kinds of tables/benches and offer a couple different finishes. Very responsive and made it to my exact specs. Turned out great! It was $135, which was a great price, though shipping was $95 given the weight and the fact that they had to ship the top and legs separately (may not have to do this for smaller/shorter pieces). For a custom piece, I still think it was well worth the price! |
- Posted by illinigirl (My Page) on Wed, Apr 16, 14 at 18:59
Hi Michelle, welcome! In what part of the country are you building? How many of your 3000sq feet are on the main floor vs on the second floor? I think 600K is certainly doable depending on where you live. We have the same number of square feet above grade, with something like an additional 1850sq feet finished walkout basement. Our build (construction cost only, not including lot) will go well excess of 600K, but it really depends on the finishes you are choosing, cabinet prices, etc. Since you own your own home outright, maybe you could consider a home equity loan for some extra cash. |
I posted a thread in the Home Decor section to ask for help on choosing a siding color if any of yews want to check it out and give your two cents. I didn't really know where to put it. |
- Posted by Michelle1973 (My Page) on Wed, Apr 16, 14 at 21:37
Illingirl, we're shooting for about 2,000 square feet main level and 1,000 second floor. Is that about what your build is? I'll admit, the finishes I like are getting expensive. :( But this is our third build, our DREAM home, ya know? :) So I'm trying to find some balance of spoiled and practical. We are building in Traverse City, Michigan. :) |
- Posted by mlweaving_Marji (My Page) on Wed, Apr 16, 14 at 21:52
JDez, I'll go look for your color post. I posted my color question today too on the Home Dec forum here. Would appreciate some input from those of you here as you're more aware of the direction we've gone in our house, as we've all been on this merry go round together. ;-) Michelle, email me at mlweaving at gmail dot com. Your profile page isn't set up here to accept emails. Glad to hear you're going to go talk to Mike. I sort of think that yes, your budget is a bit low unless you plan to build pretty basic without a lot of material upgrades. You're only budgeting $150/sf, and that's not much. Shoot, we went and picked doorknobs today and I swear just on door hardware we upped our build by $1/sf! |
- Posted by carsonheim (My Page) on Wed, Apr 16, 14 at 23:04
Wow, now that this has started, I'm REALLY busy! I'm self employed and work from home, so I have lots of flexibiltiy. BUT... my clients expect a quick turnaround on work from me. so I'm finding myself working a lot in the evenings now. Here's today's photo: JDez and mushcreek -- you guys are hilarious! Loribug - We are in College Station, TX. Gig 'em, Ags! mlweaving -- I haven't *fully* decided about the sconces yet, but I'm thinking I might leave them out. I already purchased them, so I may repurpose them somewhere else, or return them to exchange for some other lighting we will need. And just for fun, here is the fabric for my kitchen window treatments |
New here, but glad to meet some of the other passengers in the building boat. What a ride already. Our work started last July and we are looking forward to moving in this summer. -D |
A picture of the front of the house. The masonry work is still unfinished on the back and East sides. |
- Posted by carsonheim (My Page) on Thu, Apr 17, 14 at 0:23
musicgal -- beautiful home. Where are you located? I see that lake back there.... :) |
Very cool pics, everyone! (ok I think the one with the cows is my favorite since my last visit here). It's also good to hear that others are splitting finishes too. In our place once everything is done you'll probably find brushed/satin nickel, chrome, actual antique bronze, and antiqued brass for the front door hardware. @carsonheim - I spent the best 6 years of my life at a small school in College Station with 44,000 of my closest friends... I put in about 110 sq ft more flooring yesterday evening so the kitchen is getting close to being done. Batch 1 of appliances get in today too and they'll need to find a home for the next few weeks before being installed. The black marks on the floor are from the mill. It's unfinished white oak so they'll all go away once it's finished. |
- Posted by illinigirl (My Page) on Thu, Apr 17, 14 at 7:58
Michelle, We are building in the Grand Rapids area. Our main is almost 2400, with about 650 on second floor (just building the 'bonus' area over the garage). Main floor square footage costs the most, basement square footage the least. Musicgal- love the style of your home- we don't see that much in our area. Beautiful! Schicksal- floors looking great! |
I should have known TX, carson. Love it! You know this ORB convo makes me go back to my original statement. |
- Posted by mlweaving_Marji (My Page) on Thu, Apr 17, 14 at 9:03
Schicksal, I'm so impressed! Gorgeous floors. Musicgal, beautiful home. Welcome. Carsonheim, LOL, wonderful! I love your toile! The first thing I bought for our home, a couple of months before we broke ground, was a bolt of Stroheim and Romann Toile. It has literally driven a lot of my choices. I thought I was buying it to slipcover the living room couch, but it arrived and announced quite clearly that it intends to hang vertically and be window treatments. Remind me again what your kitchen windows look like. How will you be using the toile? Shades or panels or something else? My first love is fabric, can you tell? Re finishes, we have polished nickel going into the kitchen and bath fixtures, polished nickel kitchen knobs and pulls, hand forged pewter knobs and pulls in the great room built-ins, satin nickel door hinges although they look very pewter to me, and yesterday we chose some ORB door hardware for exterior doors. JDez, I bet you're more confused than before you asked for color input over on the Home Dec Forum. We ended up deciding on the Fort Pierce Green for the library. Upon, are you moving yet? Autumn, when do you start the new job? Carsonheim, want to see my toile? |
Schicksal - the floors are looking good! You are inching your way closer and closer to the finish line. Mlweaving - I am so jealous of your crystal knobs. I couldn't affords new ones and I thought about picking up used ones at thrift stores one at a time but I knew that if they didn't all match it would drive me insane. They are beautiful and they go perfectly with your house. Here is a pic of my front door entry set and interior door knobs. We haven't decided on the back door yet because we're thinking about gettting one of those with the keypad on it. If not, it will just be a black lever and deadbolt. |
- Posted by Michelle1973 (My Page) on Thu, Apr 17, 14 at 10:02
Mommytoty, I'd say you did AWESOME on your pr vanity. Have you seen the price of Pottery Barn's version? |
- Posted by mlweaving_Marji (My Page) on Thu, Apr 17, 14 at 10:09
JDez, we're doing the Schlage keypad doorsets for the garage entry door and the workshop entry at the back of the house. We still had to pick doorknobs to go with the keypads. Because those aren't really public spaces we chose simple satin nickel levers. I love the simplicity of your ORB round knobs. Do think though about using levers for your egress doors. If there is a fire or an emergency, you have a lot easier time opening a lever from the inside than a round knob. It's been proven over and over. |
- Posted by carsonheim (My Page) on Thu, Apr 17, 14 at 10:21
schiksal -- yes, I *think* there's a small school close by, LOL! mlweaving -- your style looks a lot like mine. I'm also doing glass doorknobs throughout my home. My kitchen has a large triple, counter-height window over the sink. In fact, the layout is very similar to this: Our window treatments will be like this: Then down on the far end of the room, we have a window seat built in between two bookcases like this: we will repeat the fabric, and also need a coordinate. I'm also incorporating burlap. My 20 foot drapes on either side of my triple french doors in the adjoining family room will be lined burlap: I'm so excited! |
Mlweaving - The inside of the front door entry will be a lever. Just the outside is a round knob. I just didn't have a pic of the inside. We actually don't anticipate using the front door at all, which is why I like the covered key thingy. We live in a small town and everyone we know will probably come to the back door which is on a screened porch. All of the knobs are flat black. I figured that would go with anything I chose as far as light fixtures and ceiling fans. Carson - Your kitchen is going to be beautiful! |
carsonheim...we are building on a lot in an older lake community close to College Station, Tx. I feel as though the carpenter is my new best friend nowadays. |
Michelle--Wow! I should show that to DH so he can see how much I've SAVED for a change! :) Granted, the PB one comes with the marble counter, sink and a drawer, but STILL!!! |
Illinigirl- thank you. The stone is from quarries in the hill country and they use it a lot in our area. I had to fight the mason to get the slightly darker color as he is accustomed to using a pure white stone... he likes it now:-) The tower has caused quite a commotion in the neighborhood- everyone wants to know "what's it for????". I've received many suggestions. |
Just got a phone call from my hardwood estimator... he ended up in Houston looking for my street address. Uh oh.... about 70 miles off. |
This post was edited by musicgal on Thu, Apr 17, 14 at 12:50
- Posted by robynstamps (My Page) on Thu, Apr 17, 14 at 13:36
JDez - Last time I looked, Lowes/HD sold just crystal doorknobs that you could use with your existing hardware. The shaft is square, so it works perfectly with an older lockset. If you're looking for something in a modern door hardware size with a glass knob I'm sure there are affordable ones out there. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Glass Doorknobs
- Posted by jujubean71 (firstname.lastname@example.com) on Thu, Apr 17, 14 at 14:05
Loving everyone's updates and photos! It's especially fun getting progress updates from those who broke ground around the same time we did in September. To the rest of you, yes, there is light at the end of the tunnel. I promise! Sorry I don't post much. Our wood floors are in, most of the painting is done, cabinets and built ins are installed, all but one bathroom tiled. Next up is stair risers and treads, banisters, closet organizers and extra shelving, light fixtures, railing on our veranda and finishes to the front portico. Quartz countertops will be delivered in a couple weeks. I can't believe we're still on schedule for moving in by Memorial Day with all the weather setbacks we had this winter. The flurry of activity on finish details at our house is exciting and is definitely worth the necessary headaches and aggravation along the way. Michelle, we have a vacation home at Crystal Mountain, and I agree that the architectural style around the village is fabulous - so charming. We are building a custom home south of you along the lakeshore (with shed dormers and other Craftsman details... a la Crystal Mountain) with roughly 2800sf on main floor, 1000sf on second level and a fully finished walk out lower level for around $100sf not including lot, and I feel we chose quality materials. I certainly don't feel we skimped. My number may sound low per sf since I'm including the lower level in the calculation. Our goal was to downsize since we'll be empty nesters soon, but ... ummm that didn't happen. We expect lots of visitors during the summer months since, and we wanted to have room for them and all our future grandkiddos, who get their own bunk room on the second floor. |
Dang it Schicksal!! They didn't have them at my Lowes. I should've checked online. I already ordered the black ones. I look for everything online! Why not those? Ugh...sometimes I disgust myself. |
- Posted by Michelle1973 (My Page) on Thu, Apr 17, 14 at 15:40
Jujubean.....woah in your $ per sq foot! Who is your GC?? |
- Posted by Skyangel23 (My Page) on Thu, Apr 17, 14 at 17:32
So hard to keep up! Xc60, love those pictures! Beautiful colors, especially in the kitchen. I too am mixing hardware, but keeping it to two'┐Į'┐Į"ORB and brushed nickel. ORB light fixtures and cabinet pulls, and brushed nickel bath fixtures, sink faucet, and door handles. I wanted ORB originally on the interior doors, but then we decided to paint our doors a dark brown-black, so the brushed nickel should pop. Hopefully. 'üŖ NHHobert, thanks for the mention on Tipsy Fish. I visited their website and like their stuff. I will keep them in mind for future purchases. Musicgal, welcome, and lovely house! We finally have drywall! It felt like it was sitting at the framing stage forever. They did the first round of drywall in a single day. Big change in a small amount of time! It finally looks like a house now. :-) Of course, now that it's too late I notice little irritating things like how the electrician wired the light switch boxes 18" from the end of an already short 4 ft. wall which means no hanging pretty pictures there .... why don't they put these things as unobtrusive as possible? It's hard to catch things it seems at framing when your eye looks "through" the walls. Oh well. Still exciting. :-) |
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