Johnson Street

2009-02-22T11:27:00.000-08:00

Julie's office update: here is the finished product with all the computers hooked up. It has proven to be a very wise investment in the short time it has been up and in "operation". Still waiting on the office chairs but they are armless and painted wood to match the cabinets. Even though we will all die from brain cancer, I love wireless!

2009-02-12T17:10:00.000-08:00

BEFORE

DURING

AFTER

Julie got her office done, Julie got her office done....

If it wasn't for a 50% non-refundable deposit given in November, I am not sure this would have happened, but now that it is in I must say it sure is nice to have done! Julie worked with an interior designer from our ward to come up with a lay-out, which we didn't use (sound familiar???) and came up with a general plan on what she wanted. She then interviewed three finish carpenters, had them quote the project and then she presented to me her thoughts. After interviewing all and viewing their work at other homes, we hired a carpenter named Peter who really did an excellent job. There are two computer areas, one for "JULIE's" computer and one for the girls and me, chord trays to hide, literally, all of the chords and accent lights along the top. The back board is v-grooved and it is painted to match our dining room furniture. I don't think the pictures really do it justice so hey, another reason to come see us,,,,,right???

2009-01-24T06:56:00.000-08:00

Braedyn making sure she is "safe"

Lauren thinking; life is good

Lauren gets a new horse

Green + Green = Black and Blue........this is the lesson learned in the Johnson household as it relates to horses in 2008. Reo did not mesh with the girls....not a single one of the three....so we have been trying to sell her for the past four months. Not many lookers right now but we did find a trainer that was willing to possibly trade. With the temperature at a balmy 5dF, we went to look at this prospective swap and after about 30 seconds of saddle time, Lauren's eyes said it all: "Dad, this is the horse for me!".

SO,,,, meet Butterscotch: a 10yr old Palomino looking Appaloosa. Mojo has been such a great horse that the girls tell me that through their research that Appy's are the only horses worth anything in the world --- I can't believe how intelligent those two are and I don't remember ever knowing as much as they do at their age..... None the less, Nutter Butter (this is what I call her) is a little grumpy in my opinion and yet more estrogen to deal with in the ocean in which I live, but well broke, very responsive, and the apple of Lauren's eye. So far so good, but riding time has been limited to, well, yesterday since it is the middle of winter and frickin' cold!

2008-09-15T18:20:00.000-07:00

FENCE IS DONE.

We completed the fence last week and moved the horses! Happy day! I can tell you that 280 planks nailed in a three nail set on the ends and a four/five nail set on the middle post is just over 2800 galvanized nails, 280 short boards, two butane cylinders, two batteries in the Paslode, two complete boxes of tape nails and a whole lot of clean-up. I struggled for days on how I was going to consistently top all of the posts to a uniform height but had a light bulb go off in my head at the local TSC (Tractor Supply Co) when ambling around trying to come up with a resolution. Using a 5" triangle hinge as my template, I marked all of the posts over the top rail, broke out my chainsaw and hammered them home. For the record: holding a 16" chainsaw chin high, on its side and at about a 20d angle will equal three days of really sore forearms and shoulders, at least for me. Note to anyone wanting to build a fence: treated lumber kills a new saw chain quickly and there is no good way to freehand angle cuts so be careful and start in a spot not readily visible... We also installed a lean-to in the top pasture that matches the barn for the horses to get out of the wind and the riding arena is complete. I am happy to say the arena is being used ALMOST three times a week....Braedyn really loves her new horse and he is really helping her gain her confidence back. I learned a hard lesson with young horses: green + green = black and blue.

What to do now.....hmmm......what project is next??????

2008-08-31T17:57:00.000-07:00

FENCE FENCE AND MORE FENCE

How many linear feet of 3-rail board does it take to put 2.25 acres under pasture with a riding arena?

I can tell you ours is 1386 total linear feet, which is 178 posts on 7'6" CL, and 260 16 OAK planks that are 5/4" x 5.5"x16' in length. We finished the perimeter with the help of some friends and put the horses in today. I found a local saw mill that is custom cutting the planking for me and we ran out of his oak stock so I am waiting for the next load to come in. I am "OK" with that because this old body is SORE! Of course new tools were needed to do this project and the coolest is my new Paslode cordless framing nailer that runs on a butane cartridge and battery operated electronic ignition ---- Tim Allen eat your heart out!! I will attempt to cut the tops of the posts to a consistent height tomorrow and will let you know how that goes...

2008-08-03T15:43:00.000-07:00

Barn Party '08

What better way to break in a clean barn than to have a small barn party before it gets full of stuff.......This got way out of control from an attendance perspective but what a great time! We are THINKING about doing this annually, maybe in place of the White Elephant Party, so that the entire family can enjoy. We could only fit about a third of the folks in attendance in the barn at any one time so if we did it again we would do it on the lawn.

Just look at the pictures and you tell me if this was enjoyed by all....

2008-08-03T15:21:00.000-07:00

THE BARN IS DONE!

The barn was completed just three days before our barn party and yes there was some sweating going on! It has turned out really nice with the open spans down below and the hay loft above. I opted not to put the loft over the stalls for ventilation and I think it will work out pretty good once I get hay chutes put in for feeding. The stalls turned out AWESOME and really look nice; not the kind of stalls we had on the farm that is for sure! Now it is on to the fence --- Julie said I needed to start earning my man card back and do that myself....I guess wiring the barn didn't count.

2008-06-01T11:24:00.000-07:00

Power and electric to the barn
First phase of siding
View looking from the house

POLE BARN II

They destroyed the lawn, as you can see, to run the power and water lines---I told the guy he performed what I considered to be "junior achievement" work (no tarp under piles, 24" bucket for a 6" requirement, dirt piles on both sides of the trench when I told him one side only)--that didn't go too well but it is what it is. It got around the contractor circle as well because I had a couple of friends laughing about it because they heard it through the grapeving (small community) I won't go into the utter destruction of our sprinkler system but I look back and blame the city for not letting us do this work before grass. Even if I could have ran the lines without power or water I would have been happy but I guess they need to make their dime on codes and permits. Our stall doors are on back order so we are as far as we can go until they get here--what a bummer.

2008-06-01T11:10:00.000-07:00

Arrival of the wood package and trusses.
Setting of the poles

Setting of the trusses

We started the barn and that has been an interesting experience: I took a basic floor-plan, added attic trusses, and needed to bring in dirt--go figure! I think I know as much about dirt as Bubba does shrimp. We will be putting in a concrete floor in all areas but the stalls and here is where we are so far.

2008-05-18T14:00:00.000-07:00

From this.....
To this.....
To the finished room
We now have 3 bathrooms!

My office project was a labor of love...not...it was a necessity because we did not have a family TV area until the basement gets completed. Now the girls spend more time up there than I do---so much for a "MAN's ROOM". I did most of the finish work but brought in the pro's for the bathroom because I didn't want to mess it up. Julie says it reminds her of their house in Flagstaff on Ascona Way.

2008-05-18T13:47:00.000-07:00

Finshed product
The boys working hardLaying the release and starting the stamp pattern

Finished product: signed sealed and delivered
Four different releases make one pretty pattern!

Sorry for the lapse---Julie is not happy with me for letting it go so long. What have we been doing: well, I finished my office which added a bathroom, we put in the patio and are starting on the barn. The barn will be it's own post so enjoy my office and the patio for now.

2007-09-12T19:17:00.001-07:00

Sunday of "moving weekend"
Southwest shot of house
Front -duh-
Northeast view

MOVED IN!!
YEAH---moving day finally arrived and we are officially out of the hood--I mean Waterford. Seriously though we had some really good neighbors and we will miss them, but we now have AWESOME neighbors that we are THRILLED to be by again. I am embarrassed to admit to being so happy about our new home but ooohhhh wellll, I will get over it. We are excited about the new digs and everything is just peachy.

You may have noticed the insta lawn, 3300 sq yds of it. It killed me to cover up all of that wonderful fill dirt that I loved, hated, enjoyed, disdained, cursed and praised, but alas, a wiser mind prevailed and we splurged on sod. What a huge difference it made in the appearance. I put in mulch beds and positioned the boulders---all of which came out of the basement (as well a three others that the Hockstad's acquired)---and we now have a true yard. It is hard to believe that those boulders as well as most of the retaining wall boulders came from the basement dig. Makes one think there may be a reason they called this street Stone Rowe.....

Can't wait to have visitors---I need a legitimate excuse to finish the basement---so don't be shy. Talk is cheap and I want to see some action on this; that and it is fun seeing Julie beam and contain her excitement when "giving tours". Barn and fence are next but it will be at least winter/spring before those projects are put into action. We are planning on trees too, but we need to figure out what look we want for them---for sure Japanese maples in the front and back, a willow for Lauren and a couple of river birch's here and there.

Thanks to those that viewed the progress, lived our dream with us, and especially those that posted comments on the blog---Christine you rock and I appreciated everything you said. You and Cassie need to get out here to see Julie and the girls!

2007-08-21T20:01:00.000-07:00

Finished foyer---They broke the glass piece so the raw steel look, while sexy in its own right, is not the look Julie was trying to achieve. Doug our finish carpenter, is particularly proud of these and the mudroom shelves as they are all original and built from scratch. Both made it into his picture book. I am amazed at the creativity of some people.
Living room as you enter from the foyer. The ledgestone on the fireplace matches the exterior and that is a solid piece of limestone for the seat. Doug also made the oak mantle from scratch.
Living room looking from the mud room. The doors are to the den and will probably be open most of the time. They open up to the great room and we thought that would be a good "picture frame" look rather than a blah opening.
Stairs to the girls rooms.

2007-08-21T19:50:00.000-07:00

Lighted pantry with obscured glass for ambiance.
Dining room

Finished kitchen. The island is 40" x 120" and is set up for bar stools on the end. We decided on this instead of a table for room and aesthetics----planning for the running meals associated with middle and high school
Another angle showing the bench seat under the window and the cheap island light fixture....

2007-08-21T19:40:00.000-07:00

Finish grade topsoil will be done tomorrow---we have been DUMPED on the last two days so it is a little soggy. The boulders you see all came from our property as well as those from the boulder wall. Some of these are 3-4 wide and just as tall!
My office --someday-- witha fresh coat of paint and my compressor waiting to have a brad nailer attached.
Finished mud room
Front of the house at night with the accent lights on.

More pictures of the garage doors----NOT

We are one week away from moving in! We passed the final inspection on Monday and are officially "green lighted" to do with the home as we please. I jumped on my office and with the help of my buddy Tony, we painted and stained everything on Saturday and I finished up last night. I will put the trim up in the next day or two and have it carpeted, hopefully by this weekend. The next two entries will be just finished pictures.

2007-08-08T19:14:00.001-07:00

Upstairs bookshelf and storage cabinets
Finished mud room
Cup pulls on the kitchen drawers

Getting to the end

PAINT---check

FLOORING---check

CABINETS----check

DOORS ---- check

TWO WEEKS TO GO---CHECK!!!

We are almost there! They layed (SP) the last of the flooring yesterday and today is the "initial" cleaning. The knobs are on the cabinets, tile is grouted, carpet is in and doors are hung. The sprinkler system is being installed tomorrow and we will hydroseed in about two weeks. We were really struggling with deciding on an instant lawn: sod or durable: hydroseed. There are pro's and con's to each and the hydroseed won out on the Ben Franklin list.

QUESTION----How in the H E double L can knobs and such cost so bloody much??!!??

2007-08-01T06:21:00.000-07:00

Front of the house, in the evening with all grading compete!
Garage with carriage lights.......can you do anything to make this look better....

Oh yes you can: hinges and handles!
Front landscaping plan--once the back is done I will post that

Getting close to button up!

The next go around I will post pictures of the lights and cabinets but right now it is pretty blah. Landscaping, barn and fence will have to wait: probably landscaping next year and barn/fence the following.

It would have been nice to do everything but as the intellectual giant Mick Jagger once said: " you can't always get what you wahoohaunt".

2007-08-01T06:04:00.000-07:00

Rock wall complete---Thx Bill for the help that last day. I couldn't have done it without you.
Not a great picture but here is the flooring, center island with the proper top and cabinets.
Now that is a water storage tank---119 gallons at 67 psi ground pressure (that means it is literally filling and priming itself) I think the builder put a 1.5hp pump motor on there just for laughs!
Geo-Thermal tie in----in talking to the furnace guy he put a system in that was a step or two below ours in quality last year on a 3400sqft home three miles from us and their heat/cooling bills are at or under $100 a month. I upgraded the system to glycol versus water and have two 50 gal water heaters integral to the system so I don't expect a whopping savings but probably can expect 15-20% over that other home.

It's been a while...

Sorry for the lag--I have been cosumed by a large project (we got it!) at work and have let many items like this slip. So....we are four weeks and counting until we get the keys -- August 24th is the day. Allot has traspired since the last blog entry: doors are hung, lighting is in, tub and shower are complete, plumbing is complete, electrical is complete and the geo-thermal is complete. Now we are waiting on flooring, final stain on the floor, appliances and final clean up. Doesn't seem like four weeks worth of work but we can live with it.

2007-07-11T20:00:00.000-07:00

The dirt has cost me so much money and aggravation I decided to just take pictures of it-----or is there more there than meets the eye......

That is a funny looking rock cluster.........or is it really just rocks...........

YEAH--here are the baby Kildeer from the eggs we saved!

Environmentalist at heart

Who said that hunters are heartless....we found a Kildeer nest with four eggs the day before the finish grading was going to be completed so the girls and I put a wooden stake ring around the area, called the builder to tell him to make sure they did not grade that area and then I made a special trip before work to tell the dozer guy myself. He scoffed at me -literally- and said they were just birds. I quickly reminded him who was paying the bills.....the eggs were not bothered. Well, our work paid off as you can see from the pictures! I was within about two feet of these chicks and they didn't move a muscle--mom and dad on the other hand were giving me quite the " I am so wounded and about to die, come chase me" show.

2007-07-11T19:52:00.000-07:00

Mud room painted
Braedyn's room
Finished fireplace
Finished doors--in case you couldn't tell

Inside paint and stain

They are finishing up the painting this week after finishing the molding and trim stain last week. I am really happy with the "look" as we were always concerned that there would be too much wood---can you ever really get enough wood in a house?? We went with a bone tone for color and ipswitch for the trim color. They will stain the floor next week and then comes carpet and linoleum.

2007-07-11T19:41:00.000-07:00

Rock retaining wall

We had to build a rock retaining wall and so I rented a bobcat and went to town....well I tried my best to be a landscaper anyway. I had to cut out the area with the bucket and then move the rocks from around the property to the wall. With the help of my friends Tony and Troy, we knocked out what you see in about four hours. There is another layer that needs to go on but they had places to go, we ran out of rocks and energy so we have what we have and I will need to finish it later.

2007-06-27T15:04:00.000-07:00

Girls' bathroom
Girls' bathroom
Master shower
Master bath

Bathroom tile

The bathrooms are tiled and ready to be painted and then the countertops. We are doing the one piece marblelite countertops and I am looking forward to seeing them in. The shower looks smaller in the picture than the actual 4'x6' dimension and I can't wait for the tub to be installed. I requested a bubble tub with in line heater so I can relax with my candles as I sip my covoisier and look out over the field.

2007-06-27T14:26:00.000-07:00

Fireplace before....
Mud room before.....
Mud room after.
Fireplace after.

From this to that....

More before and after pictures for your review. The stainers come next week for the floor and the trim. I am interested to see this crew as our builder will only hand stain wood. This is obviously very time consuming and labor intensive but you get a true wood penetrating stain, not a surface finish as he puts it. Followed by the stainers, the painters will come towards the end of the week and then the bathroom and mud room countertops get delivered.

2007-06-24T11:12:00.000-07:00

From this....
To This....

Back to the house---WE SOLD OURS!!

The porch posts were done this week, the kitchen granite was completed and so was all of the tile work in the bathroom. Due to technical difficulties the porch posts are all I have to show for the moment. We are also working on the finish grade and I hope to have that cash drain done this week. Looks like the project will be complete the second/third week of August. The folks buying our home are willing to push the closing to the first week of September so it couldn't have worked out any better,,,,well I guess if they paid me what I paid for this house that would be better but I am not going to whine about the significant hard cash loss we took on our home, that's not my way.........

2007-06-16T18:37:00.001-07:00

Lauren "I ride only with perfect form" and Reo

Braedyn "This is so cool" and Reo

The girls and Reo the first day
Julie and Reo
Flossy and Reo getting to know each other.

Not really house related but it is my BLOG and I can do as I wish....

We got got a new addition to the family yesterday---her name is "REO" and she has nothing to do with the Duran Duran song or anything Speedwagon'ish. She is a a 4 year old quarterhorse paint that is just over 14 hands tall. Although young, she has been a lesson horse for the past year and comes with impeccable ground manners. There is still allot for her and us to learn so I figured "why not" with a young horse that can "grow up" with the girls. She is the perfect size for them and Julie. Flossy is becoming my horse as she works really well for me, although she too is amazingly docile when the girls are around her. REO cost me a tractor this year so I think I am going to hook her up to some implements later on......she is doing pretty well as a lawn mower as it is.

2007-06-16T18:21:00.000-07:00

Oak foyer cabinets front without shelves
Side view of foyer cabinets
Granite end as its is
Granite close-up
What it will look like when "fixed"

More Finish Carpentry and Granite

Doug has the foyer shelves 85% done. All of this is done by hand, no template, off of a sketch that Julie and I did for him. He will be doing the same for the mud room shelves and the front porch posts. We think he is amazing. We also got granite and the solid slab of limestone set. They will finish the fireplace sometime next week and the counter folks need to come back--our first major mess up. They did not round the end properly as we planned for that to be our kitchen table and wanted the space for elbow room. There needs to be an overhang so that entire piece needs to come out and a new one put in----pretty pricey mistake to say the least. We put cardboard up to see if it was really needed or something we can live with--it will be replaced.

2007-06-14T19:37:00.000-07:00

Imagine a solid piece of limestone with ledgestone to the bottom of mantle

Swinging doors into den
Oak end caps and banister to my office and to girls rooms
Braedyn's bathroom window

Trim work

The finish contractor Doug did a phenomenal job this week. On top of putting all the cabinets in he hung all the doors, put in our fireplace mantle and did all of the trim work. Finish carpentry is the toughest of all the trades, in my opinion, and the difference between a good finish carpenter and an average one is still night and day. I couldn't put a playing card between his seams if I tried. I can't wait until he does the entry bookshelves and the mud room shelves. Once the trim is complete, our contractor has a crew come in and stain each piece by hand. He says the color is more "true" and penetrates the wood better than if it is done on saw horses in the garage where everything sags and consistent coverage is suspect. All of the doors are solid wood as well so that process is going to take a couple of weeks.

2007-06-14T19:29:00.000-07:00

Laundry cabinets--these are actually an oak base with a foil that is heat sealed on- what that does for you I don't know but the process is as expensive as the maple cabinets.

Bookcase between the girls' rooms---remember our house in PHX?

Kitchen --- notice the sawdust from Doug making his own dowels and plugs
Julie's view every morning----there will be bench seat under the window.

Cabinets are in!

They installed the cabinets this week and boy did it change the look of the interior! The kitchen is maple and the baths are oak. I think the look will change again once the granite is installed. All the baths are going to have the monolithic top, otherwise known as marblelite.

2007-05-31T19:39:00.000-07:00

All buttoned up

They finished the siding today and I think we have almost exactly what we were hoping for. What we wanted was a "...you know that yellowish house..." look and I think that is how it turned out. Not exactly yellow but not creamy or dull either. They delivered the solid wood doors, finish trim and cabinets today as well. That will be the bulk of the work over the next few weeks so don't expect many posts----YEAH RIGHT!

2007-05-30T17:01:00.000-07:00

Oak flooring

They installed the oak flooring yesterday and the kitchen cabinets are being delivered tomorrow. We decided on a 3" x .75" slat that is to be screened and stained at the end of the build. The cabinets will not get installed until next week but we are cranking right along....I am really interested in seeing how those look. Once they are in the granite guys do their final measurements. Still looks like an end of August move.

2007-05-30T16:49:00.001-07:00

LET THE SIDING BEGIN!

Julie is going to break her jaw when it hits the ground after she sees these changes on Friday. She has been at 5th grade camp all week with Braedyn so Lauren and I have been sharing all of these developments together. The garage doors went in today as well---I spent the jack and went with the upgraded doors and it is nice added touch to the overall look of the house. Their look will change a little once we put the fake hinges and handles on to give them that "carriage door" feel. The siding started today as well and I think it is looking ultra freakin' awesome! Siding should be buttoned up by Friday and then the carpenter comes back in to finish the porch posts and such.

2007-05-30T16:41:00.000-07:00

Drywall complete!

They finished mudding and taping the gypsum and the have also prime painted everything. Now it is on to wood floors, trim, and tile work in the bathrooms.

2007-05-30T16:35:00.001-07:00

More on Dirt Moving

We are 60% complete on dirt moving as the North side of the house is done. I didn't get the last 1000yds in yet but you can get a pretty good idea what it will look like once it is completed. The lake you see is about 12" below what the finished grade will come out at.

2007-05-15T17:23:00.000-07:00

1:30pm
2:00pm
2:30pm

Dirt knock down

My dozer guy only worked for about an hour before he popped a hydraulic line on the machine which halted our progress. I think it is neat to show what happens to 300yds of dirt when a 15 Ton DRESSER dozer gets busy. Hopefully it is an easy fix as he has about 1000yds to be knocked down by tomorrow/Thursday so that the last 1000 can come in on Friday. For perspective, the track top is about 3' tall.

2007-05-15T17:15:00.000-07:00

Flooring lay-out

We went over the flooring lay-out today as well----this is not going to happen for a while, but the flooring guys need to measure and order so we made it easy for them. The wood floors will be stained oak 4" wide slats, tile is all 10" and carpet is TBD--frieze is the dream (maybe the living room).

2007-05-15T17:07:00.000-07:00

Master bedroom tray ceiling and windows
Master shower
Girls' room with walk-in closet
Garage

More Gyp pic's

To be completed this week:

Finish ledgestone rock

Finish grade of fill dirt

Tape and sand interior

Next Week:

Siding

2007-05-15T17:00:00.000-07:00

Living room
Kitchen
Mud room----shoe and coat closet under the stairs

My office

Gyp'd in a day

Amazing what the coordinated effort of 20 men can do in a day. They knocked the drywall out yesterday and we will be taped and sanded by Friday--what a deal. More pic's on the next post.

2007-05-11T23:33:00.001-07:00

More dirt

Another 35 loads of dirt were delivered and now it needs to be spread out. To date we have put over 3000 yards of fill dirt on this land to accomodate the daylight basement. In the top picture I had Julie put the Tahoe on virgin ground for perspective---the bottom of the brick on the porch is the top of the basement pour. When done we will have brought in enough dirt to reach the bottom of her windows, tapered to blend into the existing landscape, or about 4' of fill over an area approximately 120' x 160'. According to my calculations we are still about 500 yds shy of what we need to complete the project.

2007-05-11T23:20:00.000-07:00

VANDALISM!!!!

They poured the porches today and someone had the audacity to carve their names into the semi-dry concrete. I can't believe the nerve of these people..........they must think they own the place!!! Alas there is light and we can make lemonade out of lemons: the stone masons can now finish setttting the FREAKIN' AWESOME ledgestone so we can start hanging drywall next week and the framers can set the finished porch posts........

2007-05-09T18:05:00.000-07:00

Sound Insulation and Geo-Thermal

I put in sound insulation so nobody needs to hear my snoring any longer--I would rather do that than lose the 25lbs I need to shed. They started the Geo-Thermal today and also put down the metal for the porches. Gypsum (sheet rock for those of you that aren't into construction lingo) goes in next week along with the porches and the finishing of the ledgestone. I am bringing in another 1000 yds of dirt so house is buzzing for a while. The Geo-Thermal is a closed loop glycol system (kinda like an antifreeze) that is placed 5-6' underground in 1" round tubes that are looped. Ground temperature is a constant 55dF at that depth here in Michigan so we will always be heating air thus we do not need an air conditioner. The loop is much larger than I expected but everyone that makes the initial investment says it is the best---and as I stated before we get a special meter for the system that is 50% off on electricity since we are "Eco-Friendly". I hope that they are right!

2007-05-02T18:55:00.000-07:00

ROCK

It is over 40F at night so I green lighted the rock facing. We decided on a ledgestone and I think you will agree that it looks FREAKIN' AWESOME. We are really happy with the last minute change! Our builder, Miles, took the girls over to the workers and was explaining to them how they cut and set the stones in place. They thought that was pretty cool, got into the mood and decided to help the stone masons set some of the base pieces. The sill along the top needs to be placed and is a neutral colored limestone. The fireplace will be done in the same rock pattern with a 6'x30" solid piece of limestone for the hearth---I am really looking forward to seeing that in application because my mind's eye has that looking freakin' awesome as well. I will get better pictures with the scaffolding out of the way this weekend. We are really starting to get excited.....

2007-05-02T18:49:00.000-07:00

INSULATION

They insulated last week and the inspection was done today---I can now "sound proof". Sticking with our crunchy granola plan, we opted to upgrade the insulation to sprayed cellulose. This increased not only cost but R-Value by 4 to 17 on the exterior walls, except the garage which is R-19. This would be the equivelant of upgrading from an Altima to say a Yukon..... Messy and a pain if you try to put anything into a wall later, but much more energy efficient as every nook and cranny now has insulation. That and they pre-spray all exterior seams and electrical holes with expandable foam = air tight and energy efficient.

2007-05-02T18:32:00.000-07:00

OK OK it has been a while--SORRY! We had a cold spell and so I asked that nothing be done on the exterior until it warmed up a little. If you try to put brick or pour concrete in cold weather you get a bad cure and potential problems. Regardless--they have been keeping busy inside doing the plumbing, running electrical and mechanicals. The two week spell finally broke and they poured the basement---nice big roller rink according the girls!

2007-03-09T16:51:00.000-08:00

More mechanicals and roof shots

The cabinet folks were out today and they are officially on order. I took a picture of the kitchen island lay-out--at 9' long and 44" wide it will be a combination table/prep area. That's a pretty large slab of granite, but it replaces the kitchen table and will be nice for entertaining. The girls' tub is in and their Jack/Jill bath is going to be really nice. Fireplace gets put in next week, plumbing is wrapping up and the electricians will start the week after. I wanted to put a pond in but the guys that I had come out told me no way---judging from the view out the second floor I would say they didn't know what they were talking about when they said the ground would never hold water.

2007-03-08T16:40:00.000-08:00

Roof and Mechanicals

The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire...we don't need no water----I know where you thought that was going........... It is not the flame red Julie would have liked but it is classy and I think "maple sugar red" is just fine. Like floor tile, we now know that roofs are hard to imagine off of a shingle sample. You really need to see it in a large area to get the right perspective. All windows and doors are in so we are now 100% buttoned up. They are working on the mechanicals (plumbing and heating) this week, finishing them next with electrical starting next week as well. The power company will run power in the next week or two and then the "dry out" begins to get the basement ready for pouring. We will be doing blown and shaved cellulose insulation with a GEO-Thermal heating system so we qualified for a second electrical meter which gives us a special 50% off power break on that system because we are "eco-friendly"---eat your heart out Mr. $6K electrical bill Gore. It is a little soupy around the house with all the dirt we had to bring in so that is a bit of a bummer. Did I mention the man's room above the garage?

INPUT TIME: I am thinking about putting carriage style doors on the garages instead of standard doors--is the look worth the upgrade?? Look at the Renaissance door by Overhead Door Company versus the Thermacore Ranch series and give me your thoughts.

2007-02-28T17:57:00.000-08:00

Front finished---check out the arches on the porch
Great room looking at a future corner fireplace
First major water leak??....looking at the what will be the mud room
Kitchen to great room and stairs to the girls rooms
Fuzzy picture but basement looking out to daylight windows

STALEMATE

We are now waiting for the weather to break a little to get the power and mechanicals in. Because we are an "eco-friendly" home we are qualifying for some pretty significant power discounts---that is the good news. The bad news is that there are puddles in the house since there is no roof and we are expecting more rain this week.....so much for painting and roofing.

So much for "WOW" progress.

2007-02-22T18:16:00.000-08:00

Lauren in front of the new casa

Did I mention I have a MAN'S ROOM over the garage?

FRAMING IS COMPLETE!

They finished framing today and started installation of the windows and doors. Now is when it really slows down but WE HAVE A HOUSE!! We changed the look of the front porch by having them put in the arches and it made a world of difference in the look. Smart idea Julie.

2007-02-20T17:30:00.000-08:00

2nd Floor Framing Day 2

Another day, another dollar, and a whole lotta work gettin' done! Trusses are up and now it is on to sheeting and putting it all together. The picture with the arch shows what the entire front porch will look like. These guys are doing a great job.

2007-02-19T17:25:00.000-08:00

Front of the house

Is that a porch I see?

13' wide x 43' long---that's a mans cave!

FROSTBITE HAH!

Well, the framers are now cranking out the second story. They had to take most of last week off due to -15F to -25F windchill but when they work, they are machines. The upstairs bedrooms will be framed by Tuesday the 20th and then it is on to the trusses, the roof and "finish" framing. This is probably the most exciting part of the building process because progress is substantial and easily identifiable. They could be roofing by the first week of March!

Check out the Toby's room over the garage---as they say in Kazikstan: That's very nice!

2007-02-13T18:10:00.000-08:00

Great Room

Master Bedroom

View out kitchen

NEITHER RAIN, SLEET, HAIL or SNOW......

Better than the postman, our framers are rockin'! They completed the first floor today just in time for it to be covered with 8+ inches of snow---winter is here! Once they tilt the garage walls they are ready to bang out the second story. Yes that is four inches of snow you see on the floor.

2007-02-11T16:31:00.000-08:00

QUEENS OF MILFORD

I couldn't leave this picture out as the girls loved climbing the dirt piles before the dozer took them down. They are pretty excited about moving out to where many of their friends are as are we. Braedyn would get to the top and claim to be Queen of the world--thankfully she never shoved her sister down to the outer world and so no heads were cracked open.

2007-02-11T14:14:00.000-08:00

BASEMENT
The kids are exicted about the roller rink they will have until the basement is finished. They pour footings and walls until the entire house is built up and then they pour the basement. Julie has about 500sqft of food storage under the front and side porch thanks to the muscles, insight, tools and time of my buddy Bill. Never worked with a harder worker--ever! We may use one of the rooms as a hidden area for a Mormon underground railroad when Romney gets elected into the Whitehouse.

2007-02-11T14:05:00.000-08:00

DELIVERY OF THE LUMBER PACKAGE AND FRAMING
The lumber package was delivered and the guys didn't waste any time despite below zero wind chills and flurries. They say that building in the winter is best because snow doesn't saturate wood and can be brushed off while rain is always bad---I'll take their word on that. They have six guys that are cranking out the work--we should have a completed first and second floor by the end of the week and trusses up by the end of the month. The goal is to have the roof on and shingled by the second week of March.

2007-02-11T13:56:00.000-08:00

FILL DIRT

Just like the heat in AZ, snow and cold comes to MI---the day we started bringing in dirt to build up the ground for the daylight basement it started snowing and got COLD! To date there are 1800 yds of fill dirt and we will need about another 1000 to finish the grade to the barn---that's allot of dirt. For the boys out there that is 65 loads of delivered dirt from the trucks you see above with another 35-40 coming this spring. Julie likes to point out a daylight basement adds value to the home. I remind her the amortization of initial costs need to at some point equal the value gained ---she is winning the argument.

2007-02-11T13:40:00.000-08:00

FOOTINGS AND WALLS
Because of the mild weather, we had perfect digging and concrete pouring days. I am amazed at how little residential pours differ from the commercial pours I work with but my contractor tells me "it's just a house". Julie wanted a daylight basement, Toby wanted 9' ceilings so the net result is pouring walls 5' higher than grade and filling in--more to follow on that.....you can get an idea of how high the walls are over grade by the last picture--yes all of that needs to filled in with dirt brought in from somewhere else.

2007-02-11T13:35:00.000-08:00

STAKING THE BASEMENT
Three years and many floor plans later we have finally decided on the "perfect" home. Michigan has had such a mild winter that we decided to move forward and here is the first phase: