My Sunday drive found some more work done at the new home. Window trim, soffits, copper roof, front porch floor and support beam are done. This coming week the framers should finish up with the stairs leading up to the porch and a few other minor items. My daughter, Ann's, baywindow bedroom has a deeper than normal closet to later accomodate a mainfloor laundry room ... it's now had the plumbing roughed-in. Everything is moving right along. We had snow flurries and sleet today ... with some snow showers expected tonight.

We have windows!! (a nice surprise today)

ROOF IS UP ... I'm so happy, so very happy ! Last week it rained inside my new home ... the roof was not completely covering the top of the house. There was water everywhere ... but by the following day, it was 90% dried out ... Now it can rain all it wants, as long as the wind doesn't blow rain sideways through the window openings. The color is called mission brown ... so is my basement floor color (um). Two bathtubs have been "installed", the rough-in plumbing for the entire house is about completed, and the bonus room above the garage now has a framed end wall, flooring, stairs, and the bathroom. Here's a few pictures I took today.

Walls, roof trusses, stairs ... beginning to take shape. Tomorrow (Friday) I'm off to pick out bathroom and kitchen tile and countertops.

Photos: 10/12/06 of new home under construction ... furry friend ?? Just a visitor that my kids thought I should have brought home!

This past week interior walls, doors, windows and one of two stairways were framed. Plus 80% of the exterior walls were covered over, and they started building the front porch. Ann's closet was expanded a bit to eventually convert to a main floor laundry room, and I gave up a corner cabinet of the kitchen to put in another very convenient doorway (before, there was just one way in and one way out). Next week we should start on the second floor above the garage and the roof trusses. Progress is sweet.

Photo: Ann standing near the storageroom door near walkout basement, 10/6/06

Photos: Showing framing today ... including the garage.

Thursday: This week has gone well (so far) with the framing company. They are doing an excellent job ... and I'm sure to tell them whenever I catch the foreman on site. This evening I managed to "drag" Nathan and the dog Holly, both on tethers (big smile) up to the property. This alone is quite a fete as they both seem to want to go in different directions (at once)! As you can see from the photos, Nathan found his room and posed by his "window" opening. There was a small measurement problem ... probably a miscommunication with the draftsman. I told him my dining room needs to be 12'x12' (I'm thinking all along inside measurements) ... he made it that size from the outside measurements ... thus, giving me an 11'x 11-1/2' room; making the width a bit too tight with my buffet cabinet. My (wonderful) builder was able to fix the problem by making a slight adjustment to the pantry and adding a "bump-out along affected wall. I'd much rather have the bigger dining room and lose a foot of pantry space!
Photos: Framing progress this week, Nathan standing in his new room, nightfall tonight barely showing main floor and basement walls.

End of Week Three: We have water, septic tank connection, and basement plumbing stubbed. Monday, weather permitting, we should have the garage and basement floors poured. Things are moving right along. This week I've been a "mad woman" trying to put together the appointments for the masterbath. It should be a combination craftsman and a country look. Clawfoot tub, craftsman vanity and mirror. It pays to do a little comparison shopping. The siding quote this week came in two to three thousand $'s less than the first quote we got ... for the same brand and color, plus I've had two friends use this particular company and were very happy with them. They install roofs too ... so we may be using them ... and they have a partial roll of the coppertone metal roof for the "eyebrow" roofline along the front portion of the home. Said I could get a good deal on it since it's leftover from another job. We found similar savings in windows by shopping!

Photos 9/15/06: Basement plumbing stubbed out, and a little wooded knoll we had graded for a picnic table and lodgepole lawn swing. From this vantage point there's a filtered lakeview.

Just happenstance ... but we now have a circle drive! When the earth dozer first arrived at our property a few weeks ago to do its thing, in order to get to the lot, the driver chose the lowest spot from the shared easement driveway (shared with two other homes) to enter property. By doing so, he opened up a perfect path for our intended driveway to circle on around, making it a circle drive. When DH asked the builder about keeping it, our builder wasn't sure because it wasn't in the plans approved by the county ... but today, he informed us that the county said we could incorporate it into the plans. DH was smiling ear to ear over that little prize!

Top photo: Basement walls

Middle photo: Driveway leading to garage ... and curving around to circle

Bottom photo: Curved driveway from different approach.

We have crawlspace and basement walls. Things are progressing quickly now.

Photos: DH checking out his new turf, Forms supporting concrete walls

Building progress ... Week One: We have the foundation footings up. A light scattered shower passed through on Wednesday ... just enough moisture to lessen the dust. By friday the foundation footings had been framed and poured with cement. The kids, dog, and I had an al fresco lunch in newly established backyard area.

Artistic sketch of our home (colorized sketch by Mrs. Mac) 9/3/06

Today began day one for construction and near the end the garage, crawlspace, driveway, and part of the basement were dug. There is a lot of nice topsoil with some clay mix beneath ... just a tiny little bit of shale type rock that was eventually dug up. Next week they should pour the cement forms.

We have liftoff! A for sure real green light to start building ... the actual building permit ... issued by the county ... just yesterday! Amen ... and THANK YOU LORD! When my builder called me yesterday afternoon and said he had been in the county building permit office for over two hours waiting for them to issue the permit ... well, lets just say I almost fainted! My dh had all but stopped asking me when he'd call to check on the family how the progress was coming along ... quit asking about the permit all together. Earlier this week, with the hope of the permit, the builder had made arrangements with his excavation crew to be ready next week to start "grubbing" out the land, digging the basement hole, and grading the area for the driveway. Oh, I must remember to go up there today and pick the huckleberries before they're disturbed ... don't worry, we have lots that won't get plowed under. We should have to only take down one tree and a snag (dead lopped off tree); which makes us happy to keep the beautiful existing trees. Oh, happy day!
Photo of property

The end of yet another week and still no construction. This "productive" week found me checking with the county on my permit ... they yet have issued the PAPER to begin building. Seems there was a question about a beam in the foundation or basement area ... of course, that meant another trip to my favorite engineers ... whom happened to be on vacation. Such efficiency! So I busied myself with selecting windows, interior doors and knobs, trim molding for doorways, baseboards, and windows. I also checked out some nice freestanding gas (wood type) stoves that can be used as supplemental heat in the winter. After watching my pop buy/haul/cut and stack wood for their heat the past twenty years, I'll be happy with the gas version. Yes, I know the wood is the real deal ... but not in my golden years, pleeeze! Here's one of the stoves I'm considering ... along with the windows selected.