Week 12 - Waiting on Inspection

Every week my builder calls to give an update on the status of the build.  So the Monday after Week 11, he called to tell me windows are in and framing is complete but now things will start to slow down.  Between each stage of completion, the builder has to wait for the state/city/county (I don't know which) inspector to come to the site and approve the work.  I called on Friday of week 12 to see if the inspector had come by, but no.  

That turned out to be a good thing because my current home went on the market Friday the 26th, plus I had to work all weekend so there was nothing to miss by not going over to the house.  

This week instead of pictures of the house itself, the pictures will be of the selections for the interior and the exterior brick.  

This is the exterior brick which is called Flagstaff.  I love the various shades and there is a hint of red in there.  That was the one regret I had with my current home, it was a spec home so I didn't get a choice with the brick.

The carpet will be in the two bedrooms and the media room; the hardwood flooring is everywhere else except for the bathrooms and laundry room.  The tile above the wood floor is the laundry room, guest and half baths.  The tiles to the left are for the master and can be seen in the next picture.  The scrap of paper under the brick and tile will be my wall colors..... for now.

This is only a partial display of the master bath choice; there will be a stone design element in the shower and the 6x6 tiles will be around the garden tub.  The large tile will be in the shower and on the floor.  The trim piece above what will be a 18x18 in size for the floor tiles is the trim for the shower.  

My plan is to get workers in there immediately after purchase papers are signed and the keys are handed over to complete the following projects.  

I opted out on carpet upgrades from the builder and will go with Peek's carpets as their service and guarantee have always been top notch.  They have carpeted all my existing rooms and I really like their selections, lots of selections.  

I'm also going to request bids from the three major closet design companies in advance.  

I already have shelving for the garage that I will take with me and that will need to be reinstalled, along with the Elfa I plan to put in the laundry room.  

The closer we get to the final purchase date I'll start making appointments with all these vendors to come out to that house and provide quotes for the post purchase work.  I'll place the orders based on how long they anticipate it will take for the materials for install to arrive.  I prefer to have all of the extra stuff done (paint, carpets, built-ins) ASAP, as in before moving in all the furniture.    

:)

Week 11 - Roofing and Windows

I wasn't expecting to see much in the way of change this week so I was surprised to see the roofing is almost done, windows are in all around, the water heater is in and I can see that a lot of the plumbing is also installed. 

The builder calls me every Monday to discuss the status and I usually ask questions regarding what I see on site, this week I plan to ask about that front window.  The windows in the front have grids in them, and I was told none of the windows would.  The grid windows appear on the elevation plan but my paperwork stats single panel windows.  So not sure if this is an error or a developer change.  I don't exactly dislike the windows, its just not what I was expecting.

WEEK 11 PICTURES:

There are only a couple places that are not yet complete on the roof.  

I can't figure out why this picture turned out so awkward.  This looks like the house is leaning or is twisted.  Very strange.  

This is the south side of the house, and that box on the wall next to the window, that's the water heater.  Its one of those new energy efficient units that heats the water super fast when you need it.  Unlike conventional units that keep the water hot all the time.  Great picture except for that bright blue port-a-potty!!  

Construction workers are slobs!!!  There is all kinds of food and drink trash tossed in with the construction mess.  Not to mention all the non-construction trash out back and in the house. 

Next weekend will be an Open House at my current home so I have to make myself scarce for the weekend.  If I stay in Roanoke with the kids, I might not go out to the house.  No sense in driving all the way over there and then back again.  

Gorgeous day today, just beautiful!!

Weeks 9 and 10 - Coming along

Week 9 was framing up to the roof and the beginning of the weather barrier siding.  I'm guessing that Week 8 must have been the start of the framing, i.e. walls.

 WEEK 9 PHOTOS

South side of house.  

Front of house faces west.  One bedroom and the front door.

Standing on the corner looking south towards my house.  

Five years from now, or possibly less, I'll share this photo with my neighbors of what our street looked like when building was first started.  Currently my home is the furthest along in the build process.  There are two other houses down on the corner that were started after mine.  The one immediately next to mine is a spec-home and framing started on it during week 11. 

The other lots belong to a different builder.  For those that don't live in Texas, developments here tend to have more than one builder in a community. 

Twenty years from now it will be interesting to compare this picture to a fully matured neighborhood picture.  


WEEK 10 PHOTOS:

 Some interior framing.  This is standing in the garage looking through the house. The door into the house is to the left.  Directly ahead from where I am standing is the media room,

 Standing in the master looking towards the garage.  The view is Master bedroom, master bath, closet, media room and garage.

 This is the family/living room fireplace.  

This is standing in front of the fireplace looking towards the kitchen.  That is the pantry door slightly off center to the right. 

Week 10 Standing on corner looking south.  There are now two homes on the corner being framed.  

EXTRA  -  I'll be planting a Chinese Pistache in my front yard.  :)

Week 8: No Time to Visit Site

Unfortunately in order to build this house, I need my job and that job usually requires I give up the first weekend of each month to close the books.  That was the case with Week 8 which was the last weekend in July.  

Instead of going out to the house, I packed in the evenings and made a trip to Ethan Allen to start the process of choosing fabrics for the new home.  

Below are pictures of some of the fabrics we are thinking of using in the master bedroom.  Also included are pictures of furniture that I already have or will be added. 

1. Sheer fabric for window; 2. fabric for chairs; 3. pillow fabric for bed; 4. Pillow fabric and possible window fabric; 5. bed comforter (have this already)

Alternate window treatment fabric; there is some fine blueish stitching in the bottom fabric that matches perfectly with the sheer fabric.  We're still trying to decide on either window panels or cornice board. 

The picture below is the chair that will be covered in fabric number 2.  This chair is called the Harris and it has an ottoman option; but, the existing furniture needs to go in first to judge what size chair(s) would suit best the space.  

The wood finish option here is silver; my selection will be English Toffee which is the finish on my bed.  

For the living room, the sofa will be recovered in the fabric to the left in the picture below.  I received an email from my interior designer Friday letting me know that fabric is in.  I hope they will allow me to push out the reupholster
date until after the house sells.  Showing the house with no sofa might look odd. 

Fabric to the left is for the sofa; fabric to the right is for the chairs.

The fabric to the right looks a bit orange in the photo, but it is actually a burgundy with golds and pinks.  That fabric will be used on two chairs that will go in front of the fireplace.  That chair is the Fairfax and it is super comfortable.

I like this wood finish, but unfortunately it won't work with the rest of the selections.  

  
Thanks for stopping by.  Next post is for weeks 9 and 10.

Looking at Weeks 5, 6 and 7

Unfortunately I have a job that requires too much of my personal life, but thankfully there wasn't a lot of activity worth documenting between weeks 2 and 4.

By time I was able to visit the site on week 5, the foundation had been dug and the framing was in process.  Late in week 6 they poured the foundation and since it has to cure for a bit of time, week 7 isn't much different than week 6. 

Below the foundation pictures is a shot of another model home that has the cabinet color I selected and the island is finished in cabinetry as mine will be.

Three pictures for week 5:

Two pictures for week 6:

That is a two level house going up on the street below my street.

One picture of week 7:

All the wood for framing is staked up around the foundation.  The workmen are all standing on the edges of the garage.

Not sure what wood choice this is, but I've selected Knotty Alder.  When I remodeled the current house I liked the "knots" in the wood, it was a good choice since everyone that sees my kitchen loves the cabinets.  Unfortunately the stain choices are all dark but we'll make it work. 

That's all for these weeks.  Next up week 10; I had to work week 9 so that's why there are no pictures.

Dirt

In May 2016 I signed papers to begin building a new home. 

My brother and sister-in-law went with me to home shop and check out the models that I had been looking at on line.  I originally wanted model number 512T, but once we saw the actual home (it was under construction and not actually one of the models) I changed my mind.  Model 554 has 2248 square feet on a single level and with my bad knees it didn't make any sense to have the other model. 

Below are the first pictures of my lot.  This lot sits above the homes on the street behind by 6.5 feet.  This is a good thing, because even a home that is two levels will not impact my privacy.  Only the homes on either side of me will be able to look into my back yard and only then if they are both built at two level and not a single.  The fences are 6 feet in height so with that 6.5 foot retaining wall and the 6 foot fence, I will have wonderful privacy directly behind the house.

So here are a couple pictures, the first in the timeline, of the lot.

Lets call this WEEK 1 PICTURES:

June 11th; this was the week the electrical and sewer work was started.  This is standing at the north corner of the lot, looking north east.

This is pretty much the same shot, only I was standing on the south lot line at the curb.

This is taken from the street behind my lot, directly behind,  The retaining wall is 6.5 feet and the fence that will go on top of that wall will be another 6 feet.  Not that I will, but if I look over the fence in the future, I'll look down into the back yard of the house that will be built here. 

 

This is standing in the middle of my lot looking towards the street.  Kind of distorted, my car looks like its far away, but it really wasn't.

Thank you for stopping by.

New Home In North Texas

Welcome to From the Ground Up.  I am building a new home in Texas and this blog will be used to share the fun of building it with family and friends.  For the most part the blog will be used to chronicle the week over week build of the house and to toss around ideas for decorating the house and landscaping the yard. 

To get started, below is the link to Highland Homes for the model home and floor plan. 
Highland Homes In Texas

The decorating in this model home is a bit strong and not anything like my personal style but thankfully it does not take away from the wonderful floor plan and flow of the home.

My home has two structural upgrades; the first is an extended patio the second is changing the 4th bedroom and storage room into an entertainment room and half bath.

For those that do not want to pop over to the Highland Homes link, I have posted the elevation, floor plan and a few pictures of the model below. 

So thank you to my family and friends that will pop in to take a look. 

This is Elevation D. This gives the single story house the feel of a two level home.

This angle is from the end of the main hallway looking into the family room and dining area.  The custom built-in dining hutch to the right in the picture, is an upgrade option; however I passed on that option because my existing china cabinet will fit into that space perfectly.  We estimate there will be about two inches on the sides and top once it is in.

Looking towards the front door.  I chose a door similar to this one to let the light into the otherwise windowless hallway.

Master Bedroom.  That is a king size bed (I measured it) which means my queen will fit in here with room to spare.

Master bathroom looking in from the bedroom.  The door straight ahead is the closet.  I chose a stone design for the shower and carried it through to the bathtub. 

The kitchen island will be raised to a height of 36 inches.  In the model the island has drywall; however because I am raising the island, it will be cabinetry all the way around.