House

[RobS]

Re: House, Second Floor Joists

We're not scheduled to move into the new house until mid-August but our current house goes on the market this week. Hope to sell quickly and we do have a rental place lined up just in case it does. If not, at least we've got time to deal with it /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[MDNY]

Re: House, Second Floor Joists

Rob,

The photo looks nice, with good color and all. Nice blue sky too. Met with the builder and the excavators today to get a better idea of where all the stuff being removed is going, discussed some general issues. At this point hope to be starting the clearing in about two weeks. By end of the week the bank should be giving the ok from the appraiser and then I will give the excavator the go ahead. Just plain jealous You will be in around August, but we are expecting sometime in September (depending on weather).

Keep the photos coming. Going out to get a digital camera. Which one are you using? The photo looks good.

 

[RobS]

Re: House, Second Floor Joists

Hey MDNY, send all your leftover dirt our way! We need quite a bit of the stuff. Since we built the house up out of the ground quite a bit we need to fill and taper around the garage more to get the minimum frost depth on the footings. Also the garage floor and driveway need to be raised. Any way to send that stuff via the internet, perhaps one atom at a time /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

Neat story behind the camera I use. It's an HP 318 and I'm pretty happy with it. My mother got one for each of my sisters and me for Christmas last year. Since she now winters in Florida she can now count on lots of grandchild pictures heading her way /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[MDNY]

Re: House, Second Floor Joists

Rob,

Sorry, but no extra dirt over here. Once they clear all the trees and stuff out (mostly dead or dying pines) there won't be much left. They will strip and stack the top soil as best they can, but I will most like either hold off on a lawn unti spring (due to me figuring 10+ trucks of dirt) or I will try to do it in september. But money is the factor.

I am going Digital photo shopping. The SONY I wanted had a price drop so now seems a good time.

 

[MossRoad]

Re: House, Second Floor Joists

Is your soil type good for ponds? Did you look into the possibility of digging a pond VS hauling in fill dirt?

House is looking good!

 

[RobS]

Re: House, Second Floor Joists

MR, we've thought about a pond, but not very seriously. Not ready to take on that level of planning and maintenance just yet. We've got a spot that will make a fine pond someday, perhaps when we retire /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[MossRoad]

Re: House, Second Floor Joists

We're looking into the possibilities of a pond. If the soil and water conditions are right, we'll have them dig it at the same time they dig the foundation. The trouble we are having is that the state biologists keep quiting and it is hard to get one out to the property to help plan it. No hurry yet.

Should be a good week for you after this rain ends. Sounds like your little foreman is lining up his tree house stuff pretty well /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

 

[RobS]

Re: House, Ready for Roof Framing

Finally got out there with the camera. It's been a good week, in spite of a little rain. The second floor wall framing is complete except for some exterior sheathing. The garage roof trusses were delivered today (everything else will be stick-framed) and we got a good chance to walk around this evening. Even met some more future neighbors, seemed like good people.

This shot is taken from the north. The front of the house faces the left in the picture with the garage to the right (in the rear of the house). Still plenty of mud, though it's not nearly as bottomless as it was a couple of weeks ago. Without the windows cut out it looks kind of industrial.

Very dirty truck in the foreground /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[RobS]

Re: House, Ready for Roof Framing

Another shot, this time from the South. Not sure why I didn't get a shot from the front, might have been too muddy. Might also have been two young boys getting into all sorts of trouble /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif

The big opening on this side is the fireplace. Wife and I are heading to an historical district in town tomorrow to look at vintage chimneys for design inspiration. Kind of fun /w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif This side will also have a full length porch that wraps around the front (to the right in the photo).

This is the second house we've built and it's still a blast. Very exciting to begin walking through the spaces we've planned and designed for so long /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[shade2u2]

Re: House, Ready for Roof Framing

Rob,
Things are looking great!/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
Your spot is very flat & very pretty. That wrap-around=porch will be a nice touch. A wrap-around-porch is perfect for the country... gives that "farm house" feel.
Glad to see things are progressing even with the rain.
It's veen dry here this week.

 

[MReeter]

Re: House, Ready for Roof Framing

Rob,Things are looking good.Also looks like someone is going to have lot of mowing to do one day!!!!

 

[MDNY]

Re: House, Ready for Roof Framing

Rob,

Time does fly when your having fun. Me I am still waiting on the appraiser for the bank. We have now started to get some rain, so I guess a few more days won't hurt. As long as we can get underway in the next week I will be happy, any longer and I will have some issues. While I realize this is a hot time of year, I am forced to wait on an individual who can say yeah or nay on my project by his proposal. The other bad thing is I have nothing near me currenlty built that even comes close to what we are builder.

On the brighter side I pull the trigger on a new digital camera, and have some goodies to buy tomorrow for it. Got a great deal and can't wait to start taking photo's. By the way keep your coming.

 

[RobS]

Re: House, Ready for Roof Framing

Mike (MDNY), good going on the digital camera. Obviously, I've been having fun with mine. I must remember to share as many pictures with my mom as my TBN buds since she got it for me /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Mike (MReeter), won't be as much grass to mow as you might think. We're planning on having some finished lawn around the house (subdivision size area) and let the rest resemble pasture with a bush-hogging every month or so. Eventually want to start a prairie, but will have to wait a bit, those seeds are pricey /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif

 

[RobS]

Re: House, Garage Trusses

Here's a shot from today. The guys worked yesterday since it rained Friday. Got the garage trusses up and some more second floor sheathing. The trusses are a two piece affair with the cap trusses going on a bit later. They'd have been too big to transport in one piece. This shot is taken looking at the front of the house.

We've been keeping the guys pretty well stocked with donuts, cookies, cup-cakes, fruit and Snickers bars. Seems to be going over pretty well. I've also been trying to help with some clean up where I can. I'd rather pay them to frame than clean /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[MossRoad]

Re: House, Garage Trusses

Very nice!

 

[Soundguy]

Re: House, Garage Trusses

I did the same thing. I would go out to my house while it was being built and bring a coller full of coke, or OJ in the mornings.. twinkies, etc... The guys were always working hard, and took less breaks to 'run to the store' .

All it cost me was less than 100 bucks through the whole course of the house.. and the workers did little extras for us as well.... like reinforce the cieling with 2x6's over an area in the kitchen for a hanging pot rack for my wife. etc.
They are also a lot less likely to to a 'grudge sabotage' on ya.

Soundguy

"We've been keeping the guys pretty well stocked with donuts, cookies, cup-cakes, fruit and Snickers bars. Seems to be going over pretty well. I've also been trying to help with some clean up where I can. I'd rather pay them to frame than clean "

 

[RobS]

Re: House, Garage Trusses

Finally had a chance to download some more pics. This was taken the other day as they were putting the garage trusses up. Too big for one piece so they split them in two. Kind of nifty how that works. Sheathing and felt paper is on since then. Finally, the guys have had a decent stretch of weather to work in /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[RobS]

Re: House, Interior Shot

Not much to show here, but I felt obliged to include a shot of the interior. Others have mentioned it, and we did it in our current house so I'll bring it up again... Once all the rough-ins are in, but before insulation, I'll be taking lots of photos of these walls. I have referred back to those shots for our current house hundreds of times. Even plan on leaving the album for the new owners when we sell /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[RobS]

Re: House, Roof Framing

Here's an action shot of the crew hard at work on the roof framing. They're not too pleased with us, but as our GC says, she pays them a certain amount to grumble a bit. The focus of the grumbling is the 14/12 pitch roofs and the heights. The peak will be 22 feet above the attic floor. Shown here are "knee walls", actually about nine feet high and the collar ties. Conveniently for us, this structure will frame up a dandy space in the attic for a future bonus room. I-joist rafters are supposed to show up Tuesday. I told the guys we'd bring some extra special goodies on ridge beam day /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[RobS]

Re: House, Roof Framing

Here's a picture taken from the driveway where I made the cut through the old fencerow. It's become a semi-permanent pond but we'll bring in some fill later to raise the drive /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif