Friday, September 12, 2008

Week in Review


We have a roof on the house!






From the back of the yard


The plumbers have begun rough plumbing and one bathtub is in place!
The porch and patio covers are on. Some of the beadboard ceilings on the porches and patios are started. (pictured below)






Half round trim - and part of my head as I walked into the shot!

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Windows, Doors and Framing.....




This week we met with vendors on site to finalize doors & windows. We added a window, changed a few sizes on windows and finalized the order. The door order is final & we had to make the first significant compromise so far. One of the first things we noticed in touring model homes was the full glass door in bathrooms leading to backyards. FULL GLASS in bathrooms. Hmmmm....didn't like it, didn't want it, WILL have it in this house. Oh well - guess we will learn to love it.


On the other hand, one of the ideas we took to the architect (credit goes to Bob on this idea) was a rotunda in the entryway/foyer. It is AWESOME! It is framed (see picture) & just looks fantastic.

The framing on the rotunda


September 5, 2008

Any bets on move in date yet?

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Instant Gratification!


We love watching the progress on this house. The past week has been instant gratification.....as we watch the framing. Every time we go visit (& we go often!) there is something new to see.

As you can see by the pictures, we have taken several people on 'the tour'. We appreciate their indulgence as we wander aimlessly admiring every piece of wood and window that we've already seen several times. To us, it's all awesome.


Mom & Daddy at the front door!











The Mansour's came to visit!




Bob & Cuz bonding on the back porch!


Thursday, August 28, 2008

What a Difference a Week Makes!


All forecasts pointed to nothing but rain in Texas during the time we were in California. We were just sure nothing was done on the house. Finally, we couldn't stand it any longer and Bob called Jay last Saturday.

The rain had stopped long enough to pour the foundation on Friday. Even better news, he anticipated framing to start by the middle of this week.

We drove down to see the foundation the day after we got home. Not only did we have a foundation, we had about 7 people working on the framing. The framing will take about 3 weeks but we've seen significant progress in the last few days. As we stand at the 'front door' we can visualize rooms and walk through the 'house'. It is really exciting to see the plans we've lived with on paper for so long coming to life!

Monday, August 18, 2008

Countdown.....

There has been siginificant progress on the house. Just nothing as exciting as a foundation would have been.....
August 15th at 4:30 a.m., the concrete trucks were supposed to be on our street. The foundation was to be poured at 5:00 a.m.
At 2:22 a.m., we heard the first crack of thunder in Denton. No foundation on Friday. Now, it is supposed to rain all week.
The unusual weather would normally be a welcome break to us in August. We are usually in the warmest, dryest part of the year by now. It has been in the 70's and low 80's, cloudy & rainy.
Just hope that by the time we get back from California, we are back to hot, dry Texas in the summer.....and I can't even believe I just wrote that!

Thursday, July 10, 2008

And so it begins.......






Dirt is moving!!! We arrived at the lot today to find workers, equipment, a culvert and lots of limbs being cleared for the foundation!


VERY exciting!


Our first house guest, Jessie!




Day 1 construction strategy huddle. David, on the left is leading the excavation effort, in the middle is the boss (surpise) and the guy who is going to make all of this real, our builder Jay Brown.









Day 1 progress, we have a driveway!!!








A typical reaction to our obsession with this house...

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Choices, Choices & More Choices!


Big things have happened toward the new house in the past few weeks.

We appeared before the Zoning Board of Adjustment on June 16. Our request was for a variance on the 80% brick or stone requirement in Keller. None of our future neighbors expressed opposition to our request. Two of them sent notes approving of our plans. We really appreciated their gesture. Our request was granted.

For the soil sample some minor excavation was done on the lot. That enabled us to actually walk on the lot for the first time. It has always been too overgrown for us to do anything but look at the overhead pictures online!

Last week a decision was made on placement of the construction access to the lot. This temporary road will later become the driveway. We walked the lot to determine which of the trees need to be removed. We are hoping to have a much sunnier yard this time around! Shade gardening in a 'cave', not much fun & very difficult!

In other news, the foundation engineering was received by our builder. He has filed paperwork for permits with the city. We anticipate dirt moving after the 4th of July holiday.

We have made decisions on tile, granite, some countertops, some hardware, plumbing & most of the lighting. The most tedious task so far has been tile. We have spent a lot of time online looking at ideas. Walked through models, looked at magazines & then finally had to make choices. Hours walking through various buildings looking at tile & granite. About three hours into the last day we both felt like our eyes were glazing over with all the choices.

Links to some of our choices are below -

Trim on the kitchen back splash -

http://marblesandaccents.com/glasss6.html

The master bath floor tile -

http://www.arizonatile.com/products/natural-stone/slate-and-quartzite/rajah_slate_gauged.aspx

Hardware on the master bath tub -

http://pricepfister.com/website/documents/Products/PRD_11rod_15841_49-yp1u.jpg