New house starting

[jinman]

Hey Mike! Thanks for the house tour and property tour yesterday. The map to get to Hwy 77 made our exit much easier. We made it home by about dark-thirty last night. Our kitties were all good and wanted to go outside, but we are making them wait until today. We are lookin' forward to coming back for the TBN get-together in the Spring.:thumbsup:

 

[dmccarty]

I had three years of drafting in HS. Which made me an architect. :laughing::laughing::laughing:

Ever since then I have always wanted to design my own house but I was not crazy enough to design AND build it.

I would constantly design houses even when building was not an option. But finally we got some land and we built the house I designed. It has ADA spec bathrooms. All doors are 36 inches or wider. Limited hallways since a hallway is wasted money and space. But the hallways we have are over 36 inches wide.

Living in our house for six years now. Hard to believe it has been six years. There are a few things I would change but they are nits. Like I did not run a coax for an antennae to the TV location. Lots of coax for cable runs to that spot but not one for an antennae. The sparky asked if I wanted one but I said no. I also should have run Cat 5 to that spot. I will be putting in both over the holidays. I wish I had put the thermostat in a two feet away from its current location. :laughing:

I would likely have changed our window specs slightly. And I wish I had watched the HVAC guy when he was installing the system.

Basically a bunch of nits. Which is pretty danged good for building a house. :thumbsup:

Hopefully we will live to a very ripe old age in this house. That is the plan. And there is something special about living in the house you designed.

Later,
Dan

 

[mikim]

quick update -- stone is done, cabinets are in, interior paint next week, they're still going really fast on it. can't hardly catch a breath.

 

[irvingj]

Looks really neat. (Merry Christmas!)

 

[mikim]

Kitchen, living, dining is one large area. Here's a couple of shots of it. It's coming right along. We're getting propane tank today so tomorrow we'll have hot water and heat in preparation for flooring.
----omg---I just noticed my join date for TBN ----10 years ago! ...:confused2::thumbsup:

 

[jinman]

----omg---I just noticed my join date for TBN ----10 years ago! ...:confused2::thumbsup:

HA! Me too. That must make us TBN kin.

Your house is looking really nice Mike. As you come to the finishing up, I think of all the decisions for everything from doorknobs to mirrors and the gazillion different finish hardware items you have to make decisions about. I was working and my mind was in a whirlwind on my house, but between you and Bernice, maybe this is all fun instead of chasin' your tail like it was with me. I think your place was far better thought out than mine from the beginning. From what you've told me, your contractor is far superior to the goofball I had too.:thumbsup:

 

[EddieWalker]

That sure is a nice sized kitchen. I love all the counter space you have!!!!!!!!

Eddie

 

[mikim]

Yeah Eddie - we do too. The island is an antique I found about 7 years ago. I bought it before I even had house plans drawn up. Bernice asked me what it was for and I told her it was our kitchen island (no way would any island fit in the current kitchen) she looked at me like I had lost my mind then I told her "for the new house" and she really knew I'd lost it. BUT here it is -- just like I had it planned in my head about 10 years ago. It originally had a butcher block top and was just 32" tall. We had the counter top material put on and I had added casters and the skirt to raise it to 36".

 

[mikim]

Jim -- all the hardware decisions were made before we even hired a builder. Once we settled on the builder we took all our research, samples, 3 ring binders with photos and magazine cutouts, etc to him and he just gaped at us. He said he'd never dealt with anyone so pre-prepared. It mostly worked out except where items were discontinued during the year or two from when we found 'em til when we were ready for 'em. We've had very little last minute scrambling to do. It kinda upset the builder a bit though, cause he'd say something like "well my supplier might have that" and we say "oh no, you don't understand, we have it bought and sitting on our shelves". It took a bit of adjustment on his part, pricing wise.

 

[bindian]

Mike,
Awesome house there. I will try to stop by on my next trip to or from Austin.
hugs, Brandi

 

[mikim]

ARRRRRGH!!! yesterday they stained the cedar faux beams in the great room....I ok'd the color....too dark. Gonna need to tear out and replace and redo. Today the appliances came. After working most the day the fridge and vent hood are in. 36" cooktop ....they cut a 30" hole in countertop. Dishwasher doesn't fit far enough back in cabinet to allow corner cabinet drawers to open. Microwave wiring is for 110v on a 15 amp breaker. Microwave/convection is 220 and needs double 20 amp breakers. That's probably going to require a wall tear out behind cabinets to rewire.----unless they can fish it up from under floor....I knew there was a reason I built on crawl space rather than a slab. Oven has to wait for microwave. Floors are in but there's no way they're going to escape damage with all this redo happening......I need a vacation from my retirement.

 

[EddieWalker]

WOW

Sometimes stains lighten on their own over time and sometimes you can lighten them with a stripper or laquor thinner scrub.

Is the faux beam three pieces of cedar that you can take a part and rebuild inside out?

Did the plan show a 36in cooktop? Why did they cut it 30 inches? Seems like one of those things that would have been checked before just cutting any old sized hole.

Was the dishwasher designed to be in a corner? I've seen this on plans and tell my clients about how difficut it is to get in and out of them when they are in a corner. Hope you figure this one out. How about some pics?

In every kitchen that I've been involved in, the microwave outlet is always a dedicated 20 amp line with 12 gauge wire. I've never heard of what you are doing, but since it's something special, I'm wondering if it was on the plan? Something like that would have been real easy to do during the rough in stage.

Sounds like more then just a small screw up. Is your GC still in charge and what's his solution? Are the guys who got it wrong, people that he brought in?

Good luck,
Eddie

 

[irvingj]

Hey, Eddie & mikim-- that's too bad, a lot of extra work that could/should have been avoidable.

Eddie, you should see my kitchen- when the place was built, the electrician put in only two outlets... one countertop 4-banger, and one near it for the fridge. Guess where the microwave went? Yep, on the counter next to the fridge... Yep, same circuit. Gave my circuit breakers quite a workout for a while!:laughing:

I had to separate them, and put in a recessed outlet for the fridge (oh, yeah, they forgot that, too!) on a dedicated 20-A line, then added an outlet strip on the other side of the sink area, also on its own circuit.... Have to wonder what goes on in people's minds sometimes.

mikim, I hope it all works out for you (I'm sure it will!)-- you've got a real nice retirement home goin' on there!:thumbsup:

 

[mikim]

WOW

Sometimes stains lighten on their own over time and sometimes you can lighten them with a stripper or laquor thinner scrub.

Is the faux beam three pieces of cedar that you can take a part and rebuild inside out?

Did the plan show a 36in cooktop? Why did they cut it 30 inches? Seems like one of those things that would have been checked before just cutting any old sized hole.

Was the dishwasher designed to be in a corner? I've seen this on plans and tell my clients about how difficut it is to get in and out of them when they are in a corner. Hope you figure this one out. How about some pics?

In every kitchen that I've been involved in, the microwave outlet is always a dedicated 20 amp line with 12 gauge wire. I've never heard of what you are doing, but since it's something special, I'm wondering if it was on the plan? Something like that would have been real easy to do during the rough in stage.

Sounds like more then just a small screw up. Is your GC still in charge and what's his solution? Are the guys who got it wrong, people that he brought in?

Good luck,
Eddie

cedar is way too dark. wife says it looks like 70s mediterrean(ms) mobile home.:ashamed: We want the rough cut look so it means new material. other side of boards are smooth.
When I called the builder he didn't seem surprised that the microwave/convection was 220. Seems a lot are like that. ....surprised me...don't know why it didn't get checked during rough in.
dishwasher just needs a better installer. The guy they sent doesn't even have it level. I'm going to redo it this a.m. I've done dw installs several times over the years and they're still the same. We have "corner drawers" that pull out at a 45 deg angle so the dw needs to be flush with the cabinet face for the drawers to clear. hopefully it will do that.
The hole for the cooktop....don't know why they cut it small. I was there and even missed that they did that. All they had to do was look up and see the 36" space for the vent hood. I should've caught them. Must have been busy with someone else at the time. We had a lot of subs in there that day.
The cedar redo is on me--that was my screwup--all else is on builder. All the subs are the builders. almost exclusively in some cases. They average 40 homes a year so they keep some of these individual subs in business.

 

[txdon]

Hang in there Mike, The final month when things come together always are rough. Our cabinets, for the vent hood, was cut 36" and we had a 30" stove top and vent hood. We just exchanged the 30' vent hood for a 36". Our microwave is not convection so no problems there. Wasn't yours the same as ours? You must have upgraded. A clear stain on cedar (like the cabin) will turn darker.

 

[mikim]

Hang in there Mike, The final month when things come together always are rough. Our cabinets, for the vent hood, was cut 36" and we had a 30" stove top and vent hood. We just exchanged the 30' vent hood for a 36". Our microwave is not convection so no problems there. Wasn't yours the same as ours? You must have upgraded. A clear stain on cedar (like the cabin) will turn darker.

yeah - we got the same oven but we were considering a warming drawer....just made sense to get a micro/convection and use it as an either/or.
Got the dishwasher installed today. I think I might have a solution on the microwave too ....need to check with electrician --Monday. Still having a problem with that cedar though. Builder was out today and said it could cost near $2000 to replace.....still .. better now than later. Don - if you & Karen are available this weekend - I'd appreciate your opinions. We have to make a decision this weekend and let the builder know on Monday.

 

[txdon]

We can do that.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Wow! What a beautiful Texas ranch home. As usual, I'm late to the party just now finding this thread in "Today's Posts".

It always seems the last 10% of home building is the most frustrating. I love the colors inside and out. There is an old joke about being married long enough to garner "color authority". Usually for men color authority starts and ends in the garage...:laughing: There is a nice home down the road past me that is trimmed in Mary Kay pink. I don't care for it. Obviously, the man there must have lost all color authority....

Mike and Bernice, that fireplace looks cozy already. Hope you 2 enjoy your new home for many years to come!

PS, I love your statement about needing a break from retirement.:laughing:

 

[txdon]

The beams do not need replacing! (That's $2K for furnishings!) The color is perfect with the kitchen cabinets which they come down to. Mike's first thoughts were correct on his choice for the color. The ovens are in and look great. the decision to get a convection microwave that can double as a warming oven were well thought out. The porch, railings, and shutters should really make the house pop! Just a few more weeks and then move in time. The slower pace of yard landscaping will be just in time for spring.

 

[mikim]

using that $2k for furnishings is a good point. We need every room except dining. "slower pace of yard landscaping" ....???? ...oh that's right ....your boss isn't Bernice.