Dave and Steph's House

We're Done!

2008-05-26T15:38:00.001-07:00

After 7 months we are finally in our new house! We are all moved in, so below are the final pictures.

Finishing Touches

2008-04-29T18:00:00.000-07:00

The backsplash and the mantle are tiled and grouted. The finish concrete on the top half of the driveway and in front of the steps was poured today. They will be back tomorrow to finish the bottom half. The closets and blinds are going in on Thursday, and the trim carpenter will be back later this week to finish up.

Getting Close

2008-04-24T17:12:00.000-07:00

The mantle went up this week. The plumber was back in finishing up the guest bathroom. All the electrical work should be finished by the end of the week as well. Gas was hooked up to the house today, so the rest of the driveway can be completed. Closets and blinds are supposed to be taken care of next week. Carpet is going in May 5th. Right now, providing there are no major problems, we will start moving in two weeks.

Deck and Flooring

2008-04-15T18:51:00.000-07:00

The deck is finished. The bench was the final touch. The stain went down on Monday, and they will be back on Wednesday to seal it. The name of the color is red chestnut.

Painting and Appliances

2008-04-09T18:02:00.000-07:00

Painting is complete, except for the touchups that will be done right before we move in. David's Titans Red wall is finished in the office. It is really bright in the pictures, but it looks really good in person.

Office

Master Bath

Laundry Room Sink
Guest Bath

Granite and the Deck

2008-04-02T16:16:00.001-07:00

Lighting

2008-03-31T18:23:00.001-07:00

The electrician started today and will be finished in the next 1-2 days. With the way things are scheduled to go the next few weeks, I will probably have almost daily posts.

Outside the front door.

The office.

Hallway to bedrooms.

Looking into the foyer and dining room.

Dining room.

Master bedroom.

Paint and Appliances

2008-03-28T18:51:00.000-07:00

All of the trim is up, and all the walls and trim have been painted. The red wall you see below is in the office, which has a Titans theme. This is just the base coat. More dirt has also been added in front of the house, which you can tell from the change in the slope in front of the driveway. Our appliances also got delivered today. The refrigerator is hooked up and working. The electrician and plumber will be in next week to finish hooking up the rest of the appliances and to finish the rest of the electrical and plumbing. The countertops are also going in next week. I don't know if I mentioned this in the last post or not, but we are tentatively about 4 weeks away from moving in!

Door and Concrete

2008-03-19T17:10:00.000-07:00

The trim carpenter got started today. He put up moldings around most of the doors, windows, and arches. All of the interior doors are up as well. The front stoop, garage, and half the driveway are now concrete. The bottom half of the driveway will get finished as soon as it stops raining.

Cabinets

2008-03-14T18:52:00.000-07:00

The kitchen and master bath cabinets were installed this week. The master bath countertop is in. The countertops for the kitchen will take a little bit longer. Someone will come and measure the cabinets on Monday and it will take 2-3 weeks for them to cut the granite and get it back to install.

The hardwood install is complete. This is looking down the hall to the bedrooms.
The garage, ready to have concrete poured.

Flooring

2008-03-13T19:01:00.000-07:00

The tile and grout work is completely finished. Below are pictures of the master bath shower and tub. The hardwood has also all been laid. The color you see is the unstained wood.

Dirt, Tile, and Lights

2008-03-04T17:59:00.000-08:00

Well, we've finally had a few nice days and they were able to start backfilling around the house. The laying of the tile is complete. The grout work starts tomorrow. Also, the recessed lights in the den, kitchen, and living room are in and operational.

Keeping Room
Kitchen

More Tile

2008-03-02T10:40:00.001-08:00

Standing in the kitchen looking into the laundry room.

Laundry Room.
Laundry Room.
Standing in the kitchen looking into the pantry.

Master Bathtub.
Master Shower.
Master Bathtub.
Glass block above the master tub. They have started
putting up molding around the windows.

Tile

2008-02-26T18:43:00.000-08:00

Kitchen

Master Bathroom

Guest Bathroom

Shutters, Heat, and Flooring

2008-02-21T16:00:00.000-08:00

Since I last posted, a lot has gone on. As you can see, we have shutters across the front of the house. We have heat on in the house. The floor is getting ready for the tile to be put down. The wood has been delivered for the floor, but it has not been a consistent temperature long enough in the house to put it down yet. The master bath shower has also been sealed and is ready for tile.

Gutters and Paint

2008-02-10T14:31:00.000-08:00

The gutters went up this week. The meter box also got put up on the house and power is supposed to be completely to the house by Tuesday. We also got our half wall in the kitchen for the bar. Our cabinet and countertop order were finalized on Saturday and are supposed to be ordered this week. It will take 3 weeks for them to arrive. The basecoat of paint has also been sprayed

Siding and Garage Doors

2008-02-04T10:04:00.000-08:00

A bunch of work got done last week. As you can see from the pictures, we have siding on our eaves now. The sanding of the drywall is done and the ceilings are textured. We also got garage doors. Trenches were dug and wiring/pipe was laid from the street hookups to the house. The electricity has not been terminated yet. The kitchen is also being measured this week so our cabinent order can be placed.

Slow Week

2008-01-27T16:29:00.000-08:00

The weather this week really slowed things down. Tuesday morning we had a really bad ice storm, and the rest of the week the temperature was in the 30's. However, they are working on putting in the heating and air unit.

We have another door. This one is going into

the house from the garage.
The office, where the desk will go.
The ceiling in our bedroom.
Our bathroom, where the vanity will be.

Drywall

2008-01-18T19:13:00.000-08:00

Despite the cold weather, things are still moving right along. The drywall is all up, and they are working on finishing it now. We're headed to Sherwin Williams tomorrow to pick out paint colors. Our builder is still happy with the progress and says things are going smoothly.

Keeping Room

Garage

Looking into the laundry room.
Master bathroom.
Living room
Kitchen

Insulation

2008-01-12T17:12:00.000-08:00

The insulation was completed this week. The drywall was also delivered, and I believe they are supposed to start Monday on that. Still working on the bricking, but as you can see we have front steps now.

The Roof is Done

2008-01-05T15:06:00.000-08:00

Between the rain and cold weather, it has still been slow going. However, it was warm enough last Monday for the roof to be completed. All that is left of the bricking is what you see around the window in the front. The wiring for the electric as well as the cable and phone is also complete. Once the bricking is complete, some fill dirt will be brought and placed around the house. Next after that is starting the insulation and drywall.

Another Busy Week

2007-12-21T17:50:00.000-08:00

Our bricks made it here in time for the brickmason to start this week. When I was there today, about half of the house was bricked. The heat/air guys were also in this week. You can see from the pictures we have vent openings, return air, etc. The roof still isn't done. What you see in the pictures is all they have left. Between rain and some ice, it has been slow going for them.

Slowly but surely...

2007-12-16T11:53:00.000-08:00

First off, I hope everyone enjoys these pictures. There were taken in 30 degree weather and flurries (plus a WHOLE lot of mud) just so you guys could stay updated. The roof has gone a little slow this week due to some rain. The plumbing should be done this week, and the electrical work will start this week. Greg, our builder, and I walked the house on Friday to decide where outlets, switches, cable, phone, etc. should go. They also came to measure the house for brick so our order could be placed. Gravel had to be spread on the driveway in preparation of this. So things are moving forward, slowly, but they are moving. Things are going to be slowing down even more as we enter January and February, but Greg says that is to be expected.

The tray ceiling in the master bedroom.

Plumbing in the laundry room.
The wall in the keeping room where the fridge will go.
Done with shingles on the back of the house, starting on the side.
Fireplace is framed, and the gas logs are in.
Patio door and windows with built-in shades.
The front door.
Guest bathroom, site of the future sink.
Master bath shower.

Door and Windows

2007-12-10T17:25:00.000-08:00

Well I said in my last post we'd have doors and windows this week, but I didn't expect it to be so soon. In addition to those, the roof is getting shingles and the bathtub is framed into place and the shower is where it is supposed to go this week. I am meeting with our builder on Friday to decide where lights, cable, phonejacks, electrical outlets etc. will be placed.

Front of the house.

Getting our shingles.

The view of our bathroom windows.

Patio doors and windows. I don't know if you can tell from the pictures, but both the doors and windows have built-in shades.

Front door with transom and sidelights.

Close-up of front door.

Guest shower.

Master bathtub.

Glass block over the bathtub.

View out of our bedroom windows.

Under Roof

2007-12-09T07:30:00.000-08:00

The house is under roof now. They also filled in the garage quit a bit with dirt and gravel, so that has made a big difference. And as you'll see from the pictures, we have a shower, bath tub, and fixtures just waiting to go in. Doors and windows should come next.

The guest shower and my bathtub (in the box).

Tub and shower fixtures.

Ceiling in the keeping room.

View looking into the keeping room.

Looking into the garage.

Our front porch

Trusses and Tetanus

2007-12-02T15:58:00.000-08:00

The roof trusses went up this week. It went a little slower than planned due to some rain. They have also started to bring in some fill dirt to fill in the garage and around the house. The big excitement this week was the guy getting hurt on our jobsite. I went to take a check to our builder, and as I am pulling up I see them carrying a guy to a truck. He was one of the workers, and while he was working on the roof he put a heavy-duty construction staple right into his leg (by accident). They wanted me to take a look at it, but I wasn't able to because everytime you touched his injured leg he came unglued. His tetanus was current though, and they took him on to the emergency room. I haven't heard how he is doing, though. This is why neither David and I are involved in the actual construction process. As ungraceful as both of us are, we would both end up in the hospital.

New Framing Pictures

2007-11-25T08:38:00.001-08:00

We have some new pictures of framing work. They have finished some new rooms since our last post.

Looking into the laundry room.

The dining room.

Looking out the front door.

Our fancy steps.

View from the street.

Looking into the garage.

View from the patio into the keeping room.

Looking at the kitchen.

Hallway to the living room. We have arches several places throughout the house.

It's Looking Like a House Now

2007-11-17T19:56:00.000-08:00

Sorry it's taken so long to get new pictures. It has been a busy week and I wasn't able to get by until today. I was really surprised when I got there, though. The last time I was by the lot, we just had cinderblocks. Now we actually have walls on half the house, and you can tell what it is going to look like. This should take 2 more weeks, providing everything goes as planned and then the roof will be started.

Front of the house.

Our friend Dustin checks out our blog on a regular basis. He asked us to let him know where "his" room was going to be. So Dustin, you're looking at it. And don't worry, he will share it with everyone else who comes to visit us.

This is looking across to where the living room will be.

This is looking at where the dining room will be. The floor isn't elevated here. The green stuff you see is the walls and the opening is for the window. I'm guessing this is the next thing going up.

This is looking into the master bedroom. The view is to the backyard.

This view is from the back corner of the house.

Looking into the garage.

We have a schoolbus in our yard. I have no idea why.

This is the view out of the guest room window.

No work this week

2007-11-09T15:47:00.000-08:00

Sorry, no new pictures this week. Framing is (finally) supposed to get started on Monday. They ran over on the other house they were doing, so instead of starting us this week it will be next. In more exciting news, I got to make my first real decision in picking out things for the house today. After work I went to a local building supply store and picked out my windows and doors. I actually was able to get everything I wanted plus upgrade a few things and only come in 74 cents over budget on what I was alloted for those items. Yea!
As for the questions we'd had in the last post, I met with the builder this week and got some answers. The driveway you see in the pictures is going to be our actual driveway. However, that is just a rough estimate of where it is going to be, and he will bring out further from the house. Those are also not our actual steps, just the base for them. Don't worry future visitors we will have nice wide steps. They are also going to do a lot of backfilling around the house, as well as filling in the garage some. So I was happy with all those answers.
Hopefully I'll have some pictures next week.

Questions

2007-11-04T15:22:00.000-08:00

Sorry it has taken me so long to post these pictures. I had some problems uploading them, but I was finally successful. The foundation is now complete and sealed at the bottom. Things are starting to take some shape, and David and I have had some questions this week. I don't think that is going to be the permanent placement of our driveway. I think that is just the way they have it now to bring materials in. Also, they are going to be backfilling with dirt around the house. And the front steps will not be that steep and there will not be that many. But we are planning on meeting with our builder this week to be sure about all those things. We'll keep you all updated.

Foundation Finished

2007-10-29T16:03:00.000-07:00

The foundation was completed at the end of last week. Hopefully framing will start sometime this week.

Side of the house

Front of the house

View from the road leading to the house

Back of the house

Looking into the future garage

Foundation

2007-10-20T16:31:00.000-07:00

They started on our foundation this week. I looked all over to see where they put the cupcake blocks, but sadly I could not find them. If everything goes well, framing is supposed to start next week. We'll see about that, but here's hoping.

Back corner of the house

Side of the house, the opening is for the crawl space. We will actually have enough room to be able to walk upright in there. Instead of a small door, we will also have a full size garage door and this is where we plan on putting the lawn mower.

Another view of the side, this time from the front.

Front of the house.

This is how you know construction is getting serious on your house. You get a port-a-potty.

Floor Plans

2007-10-12T15:52:00.001-07:00

Below is a picture of what our house is going to look like when it is completed. I have also included the link to the website so you can see our floorplan. We have made some modifications, but for the most part it still looks the same. When you get to the site, scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the pictures to enlarge. http://www.eplans.com/house-plans.hwx/Q/Plan.HWEPL02437/searchId.127235997/offset.5

Cupcake

2007-10-12T15:32:00.000-07:00

So here are some pictures of our random cinder blocks. We also have our temporary electrical box as well.

Front of the house.

A neighborhood kid decided to practice their compound words on our cinderblocks.

Back of the house.

Random Cinder Blocks

2007-10-09T19:47:00.000-07:00

Well, I don't have any new pics to post today. It doesn't really look like anything else has been done to the lot, but there are cinder blocks laying around where the house is gonna go. There are about 7 or 8 stacks of them. I haven't gotten word from our builder as to exactly what they are for, but I assume they're gonna be for the foundation.

If anyone has any better ideas as to what they could be for, let us know.

Dirt and Concrete

2007-10-07T10:22:00.000-07:00

Not much new this week. Instead of dirt and holes, we now have concrete in the holes. So that's progress. Since a lot of you haven't seen it, I included neighborhood pictures too.

Our future street, Bicentennial Drive.

The sign as you drive into the neigborhood.

The clubhouse.

Front of the house.

Finally

2007-09-28T17:00:00.000-07:00

After two long years, construction on our house has finally started. Our contractor had the site excavated this week in addition to having our foundation survey completed. Yay! Only 6-12 more months to go. Everyone pray for good weather!

Front of the House
Back of the House

Pics of the land...finally

2007-09-25T09:36:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I've never been accused of being a great photographer, but here are some pics of our lot.

This first one will be the view from our front porch, approximately.

The second one is from standing on the street, looking to the right-side of the lot.

The third one is from standing on the street, looking toward the middle of the lot.

And the last one is from standing on the street, looking to the left-side of the lot.

There's really nothing too special about these pics, but for those who haven't seen it, this is our lot. As you can tell, it slopes up, then levels out toward the back of the lot. The treeline behind us should provide some quality shade into our living room (where the TV will be).

More pics will be provided once they actually start doing something that resembles building a house.

Pics of the land coming soon...

2007-09-24T16:44:00.000-07:00

So, this website is being retarded and won't let me upload any pics. I've tried from a couple of different computers, so I'm thinking it's a problem with the site, not me. As soon as it will let me, I have 3 or 4 pics of the land that I will post.

Excavation Time!

2007-09-19T21:43:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a long two years since we purchased an acre of land in Jefferson City, TN. We closed on our loan a couple of weeks ago, and our builder should be ready to break ground in the next week or so.

For those who don't know, Jefferson City is about 35 miles east of Knoxville. Once completed, our house will be in Patriot Hills Golf Club, about a mile and a half off I-40 if you take Exit 417.

Check back occasionally, as we will be posting updates on the construction of our home. We'll try to include as many pics as possible.