House Update

Well, we've been in for over a week now and there's still plenty of boxes. I haven't even made it into the office yet!

The epoxy coating we put on the garage floors will be finished Thursday, so we can get cabinets put up in there and get the household stuff out of the shop. I already have several projects that I need to get going on, so it will be nice to get in there.

The big TV is in and the sound system is hooked up (partially). I have no clue how to get this going! I'm hoping that when the DTV guy comes on Thursday he will be able to help me get it figured out (It was supposed to be Monday, but that's a whole different story).

We still don't have any idea when we will have a phone or internet access, so if you need to reach us, call our cell phones, or call me at the Palm Valley Church office. If you send me an email, it may take a day or two to respond (for Paige it will be a little longer).

I got the reverse osmosis system working as well as it's going to work. Tonight I will put in the whole house filtration system. I'll put in the water softener this weekend.

Steve and I tried digging holes for the mail boxes and basketball hoop, but found rocks in every hole we tried to dig. I'm not sure how we're going to address the problem!

I'm alone at home tonight for dinner and for the evening, so hopefully I can get a lot done (I need to get some reading done too).

Yesterday afternoon we had our first major dust storm hit. Afterward, we had to go retrieve one of the patio table chairs from down the road (the rest we were able to pull inside before the blew too far away). It will be nice when there are other homes and landscaping to minimize the amount of dust and dirt.

House Update

Things are happening crazy fast right now. We decided on interior and exterior paint colors. The interior has been painted. Doors are in (including all 5 garage doors [one's in the back] and openers, though we have a temporary front door until ours comes in. Cabinets are nearly all in. There was a problem with the cabinets for the island, but that will be fixed soon. The septic system is being installed today. Power lines are up and we should have power soon. The propane tank will be installed tomorrow. The electrical will be done next week. We ordered all of our flooring and tile today. It will be installed beginning Monday. Last night we ordered the last of the lighting and the kitchen faucets on-line. The stonework will begin any time. As soon as the roofers put trim on the exterior will be painted.

The next decision is the garbage disposal. I also need to lay out the cabinet for the powder room so that we know what size the granite needs to be cut and where the sink drain hole needs to go. As soon as the island is done they make the template for the counter tops to get started on those.

We are getting quotes on the circle driveway and walk. We think we are going to have the walkway done with flagstone instead of the pavers that we had originally planned. It will go better with the stonework and the flagstone by the viga poles.

House Update - Framing

We have a house! Not really, but wow, what a difference a week makes! In one week we went from raw slab to fully framed and skinned and ready for top out plumbing.

Saturday morning was cool. We got to watch them put the trusses up. Half way through the crane broke and they had to wait for another one. Paige was like a little girl she was so excited to watch the house go up! There are few sights as beautiful as she looked with her smile trying to express her joy.

They were short one viga pole so they had to wait on that. It's now in, and so are the 1'X1' beams in the dining room. They look really great!

Steve and Terry's house is coming along as well. There electrical is in, windows and columns are installed, and they are working on the exterior insulation and wrap.

This week will be busy as we make final decisions on framing adjustments, order cabinets, and work through plumbing and electrical plans.

One thing I would recommend is a storage container. Because of some materials in the garage (bath tubs), we had to park the Tahoe in the driveway. Saturday night someone decided they wanted to see what we kept in the glove box (nothing). They also broke into Caleb's car (He's home for spring break) and took all of his music, iPod, stereo faceplate, and his tools (don't ask why these were all in his car, I don't know either).

Tuesday's House update

This will be a really short post, since nothing happened this week! We got a couple of days of rain.

Steve and Terri's house made progress. They finished praming, installed the HVAC and fireplaces. The next stage of plumbing was put in and electrical is started. They met with the cabinet guy (Who happens to be a christian who is a prayer warrior).

Hopefully, we'll start framing early next week!

Tuesday's Post - Thursday

I'm finally getting to Tuesday's post updating the construction on our house.

The foundation is done, but we are waiting to begin framing until I get back from the C3 conference at Fellowship Church in Irving, Texas (Dallas area). Kind of a bummer, but I am sure I'll be glad they are waiting. I don't want to be out of state when there is a decision I have to make. The framers had another job in between the two houses anyway, so it all works out.

Steve and Terri's house is moving along well. They are done with framing, plumbing is going in, and they delivered the roof tiles yesterday. They also started on the A/C ductwork. I haven't been out all week, so when I see it tomorrow I'm sure it will be exciting!

We purchased the cast iron tub for the guest bath and the shower faucets and valves for the master bath and guest bath so that they can be installed during framing. The tub we got from Lowe's who matched another quote we received, and the faucets and valves we got on line and at Home Depot (those were actually closeouts so we got a good deal).

Sorry about the day on the post, but its been a wild week. Nothing bad, but I decided Tuesday night after Bible study to leave the computer off, and again last night I spent time with my valentine instead of being on the computer.

House update

This week the footings have been poured and the stem walls are going up. We almost had a huge problem that Steve caught on one of his trips out to the land. They forgot to set up for the rear garage door and entry door on the workshop garage. Fortunately, it was before the concrete was poured, so it was an easy fix.

We're meeting with the plumber today to review the rough plumbing so that I can get going on that this next week.

We got the quote on the windows. We decided to go with Low "E" vinyl, dual pane, argon filled. The extra cost should pay off in lower energy costs.

I was working on getting a garage door quote yesterday. We should get a pretty good deal since we are getting 5 for our house and 2 for Steve's. We got a great deal on openers when Lowe's was closing out some and dumped the price to $22.50 each. My neighbor was there at the time and bought a lot of them. They're exactly the type of opener I want. They sell for $225 each normally. He was selling them for 150 but I got them for 100 each (he found the deal, and I have no problem with him making some money off of them, I'm still getting a great deal).