All moved in!

So, it's been a few months since we last posted anything. We've been busy getting ourselves moved in and settled. We moved on September 3rd. It took movers 4 hours to unload our storage unit and unload everything into the house. Amazing!

Both Betsy and I had forgotten how much work setting up a house from nothing is. I'm still trying to get my office where I want it to be! We'll have some new pictures of the interiors with our stuff in it as soon as we finish setting up the last few rooms (and that darn garage!)

Thanks for your patience! It will be rewarded.

Greg

8/22/09 - Done

It's done. We just completed the blue tape inspection yesterday. Our home inspector said that this house is the best quality new construction he's seen in his entire career (over 2000 home inspections.) Pretty cool. Makes me feel really good about living here for the next 30+ years.

You'll see lots of little blue tape pieces all over the place. These are small things that need fixing as per us, our inspector and our GC. We all went over the entire place with a fine tooth comb and looked for even the smallest imperfections that need to be fixed.

We close on the sale August 31st.

I'll post pictures of the house after the blue tape inspection tasks are complete using my professional digital SLR camera and a nice wide angle lens.

8/20/09 - Update Lite

Okay, so it's been a week+ since the last update. My apologies. There's lots to share!

We're in the final throws of getting the financing done and the final punch list to the contractor. In a fortunate twist of fate, I've also picked up quite a bit of side work that's kept me busy most nights this past week. It's a bit hectic at the moment, so we'll post the final batch of construction photos no later than Saturday. PROMISE!

Yes, I said final batch of construction photos. The house is DONE. Salivating for more!? Stay tuned!

Greg

8/16/09 - We have a yard!

Our yard is in - grass and barkdust. It looks really good. As we suspected, they didn't completely understand what we wanted on the slope in front. Geoff assured me that he'll correct it.

8/14/09 - Landscaping prep

The landscapers have been busy, putting down fresh soil (I assume full of fertilizer) for the sod to be set on top of. We're a little concerned that they didn't quite understand what we wanted in terms of lawn in the front, as the dirt they put down doesn't cover the entire slope. We'll see what happens.

The door was painted back to red. It's a deeper red, which is much better than what it was before. Well done, painters!

A gate was installed on the east side of the house with a nice trellis over the top. The trellis is actually structural. I think it turned out nicely.

Cleaners have been through, too, for a first pass.

The stairs in the garage were built. They mimic the ones outside on the porch. WOW. I didn't expect this nice of stairs. Very impressed.

8/13/09 - More goodness!

It's getting so close to being done, I can almost taste it!

Okay - here's the rundown for today:

1. The Electrician has finished up his topping out (except the fireplace switch - which we just discovered was finished over! Hahah.)
   
2. Drywall guys came back to do the first pass on fixing issues - mostly spackling and caulking.
   
3. Greg is done with the deck! WOW - it's amazing. It really makes the house what it is on the outside.
4. The landscaper finished the ivy removal and planted the 3 flowering pear trees. These are going to be beautiful when they start blooming - white blooms.
5. The fence is built! It looks really nice. Apparently the neighbor (contractor building a spec house) requested that we build a more modern good-neighbor fence. It's okay, though I was a little disappointed that I wasn't consulted. Good thing it turned out nice.
6. 
   

8/12/09 - The Finishers went to TOWN!

This was one of those days I was warned about by our GC that would make me exclaim "Wow". Here's what we found today:

1. The porch is darn near complete, and it sure looks amazing!
2. Base trim is in along the bottom of all the cabinetry.
3. Landscaper stopped by and started clearing stickerbrush and trimming the ivy back.
4. Front door installed (though accidentally painted white).
5. Door hardware for the entire house installed.
6. Closet doors installed.
7. Closet hardware installed including shelving and hanger rods.

8/11/09 - Carpet Completion

Not bad - the carpet guys finished in 2 days. It looks amazing. I think we did good on our choice of color and pile height. It was nice that we had some choices to consider. Many spec houses go for the lowest quality carpet to save money (same is true with light fixtures). The joys of signing before it's done!

The column surrounds on the porch are about done. Wow, they look good. Greg is starting on the railings now.

8/10/09 - Carpet & Grading

Mmm. The smell of new carpet. It never gets old, quite frankly. If I could pay to have my house re-carpeted every few years, I would. Okay, I know it wouldn't be sustainable, but come on, it's a fantasy!

The carpet guys got started, but didn't make much progress save installing most of the tack strips and padding. 12' rolls are their standard material dimensions, so they try to cut as big of a swath as possible to minimize the number of required seams. Seams aren't always noticeable when the carpet is new, but over time, they show themselves and sometimes fail.

The grading in the back yard has been an interesting challenge given the natural slope we have to contend with. At this point, I've been successful in coming up with an acceptable compromise between budget, existing conditions and desired outcome. Yes, I've got more work to do down the road, but nowhere near the difficulty as it could have been.

It also looks like they've put up the forms on the sidewalk for repair.

8/7/09 - Tile finishing, Deck progress

The tile guy was back in finished the backsplash up to the vent-hood. I can't tell you how pleased I am with how that turned out. They also did a great job finishing up little details on the tub surround and the master shower.

The decking makes more progress today and Greg started on the entry stairs and the column surrounds.

8/6/09 - Couter finised, Porch started

The kitchen counters are finished and the front porch started. Greg, the decking/porch contractor is AMAZING. He's taking his time making sure that this is a work of art that will last decades.

8/5/09 - Plubming and finishing

Plumbing is one of those disciplines I have a great deal of intrigue and respect for. The movement of fluids through a structure is one of those things that I think we all take for granted. It wasn't long ago that indoor plumbing was a luxury for the rich. Today, it's fairly inexpensive, but still a craft. At this point, most of the plumbing is done. Toilets are in, kitchen sink looks good, faucets have been topped off.

The mechanical guys installed the thermostat. It's one of those nice programmable ones that can also control the AC (once we've installed it). They also wrapped the ductwork in the garage - important for minimal loss of heating as the garage is technically an 'exposed' space.

More light fixtures were finished. There are still a few more to go. It's like most things during the construction process - everything is done about 98% of the way and the remaining 2% is done at the end.

Mirrors are in all the bathrooms (it's a lot of glass!). While not designer, they are huge.

The towel bars and loops are in. They are nice - simple and "Old Fashioned" feeling.

I'm really impressed that garbage has been diligently been kept in the garage and flushed out nearly nightly.

The fireplace stone work is complete and looks even better than we thought it would when we picked out the materials.

8/4/09 - More electrical, plumbing and DATA!!!!

This may be my FAVORITE day yet! The data wiring has been terminated at all locations!! Check out the interesting data panel location in the closet. I know, it's geeky - but how many people have a CAT5e network going to every room in the house!?

One thing that's kind of funny, and I won't make an issue of - I don't think the electrician understood what I wanted in the screen recess. He installed plugs up there and it appears that one (or both) is controlled by the switch on the wall. This is okay, though. It will probably make the code inspection go quicker. The screen is going to be hard wired. I'll take advantage of the 3-wires to switch the up/down/common wires (low voltage) and re-wire the whole thing. The important part is that the wiring is in and going to the right places.

The plumbing started today. The sinks are all in (except the kitchen sink - the tile guy isn't done yet). The water heater showed up and was mostly plumbed in. Looks like they'll top everything out tomorrow. These guys waste no time! We just love the look of the oil-brushed bronze fixtures that our contractor picked out. They know what look we're going for.

The shower controls and heads are awesome! Wow!

Tomorrow should see everything plumbing and electrical related being completed.

The lumber for the decking and deck trim was delivered. That should be finished end of the week, too!

8/3/09 - Lights, Electrical

Most of the light fixtures went in today. There are a few more left and everything will get lamped with high-efficiency 2nd generation compact florescent (they don't flicker or have that awful unnatural color). We picked all the fixtures over a 2-hour visit to Globe Lighting a few weeks ago. Fortunately, Betsy and I agreed that we wanted a classic look to the house. The salesperson remarked that we were the first couple he had worked with to agree on fixtures and pick them out so quickly! We're funny like that. :)

The various fans, light switches, fire alarms, outlets and other electrical things are going in, too. The electrician moves fast. Very fast.

We also noticed that our stove, dishwasher and vent hood have been delivered and are waiting in the garage for installation.

7/29/09 - Painters are back!

The painters are hard at work with trim filling, painting and what appears to be sanding (for a smooth finish).

The banister is looking great! Better than we could have hoped for. Same with the fireplace. Just amazing how it starts coming together when the painting happens!

7/27/09 - Wally

So, in a sad twist of "I didn't think of that," we are ending up with a retaining wall on the narrow side of our lot, constricting passage to about 28". Sadly, if you change the grade (regardless of if you're up or down grade), you get to build the retention system. It's fair, but damn - had I realized we were going to loose 12", I would have had the house footprint moved 12" in the other direction. Too late now! The good news is that the fence will be on the neighbors property line. The bad news is that it's on the neighbors lot and we're paying to have it built. It's a strange compromise. Technically, the fence should sit right on the property line, BUT, that would mean attaching it to the retaining wall. This way, we get the maximum use of our property line (and a nifty seat retaining wall we can sit on). I've specified a "good neighbor" fence (where the vertical fence board alternate sides of the posts).

The interior trim has been caulked and nail holes filled (something the old house lacked!) The backsplash in the kitchen is mostly done. They will come back at some point and continue it up to the level of the vent hood we're having installed so it doesn't look funny.

Our front door arrived. I had picked it out the day I signed papers. It's red on the other side. Since the contractor already had it and was going to pitch it (another owner didn't want it and had paid for it already), we struck a deal to take it and in exchange increase the budget on the back door for the french doors. Nice!

7/24/09 - Concrete, Finish and Interior Doors!!

The concrete has been poured for the sidewalk, driveway and landing pads for the two sets of stairs. The concrete guys did a great job - I'm really impressed. We immediately carved our initials into a discrete corner of the nearly set-up concrete. :)

The trim work and doors are installed! These turned our BETTER than we had hoped for. Betsy got very excited when she saw the installation. It's pretty dang amazing. I'm particularly taken by the upstairs hallway, as it reminds me quite a bit of my grandfathers old place down on the banks of the Willamette river.

While it's a little hard to see right now, the mantle and hearth of the fireplace are starting to shape up. I really like how the mantle turned out in particular. It feels very old-fashioned. Very nice.

The base trim is quite nice, too! It gives the house some much needed character. In a few years, Betsy and I may install some crown molding.

All the shelving has been installed in the walk-in closet and is looking fabulous. The whole closet - walls, ceiling and shelving will all be painted white.

The stair railing and banister were also installed. These will be painted white like the trim.

We also picked out light fixtures and appliances. That was a lot of work. There are so many choices. In the end we went with traditional fixtures that are very "old Portland" in character. We were careful to select coordinating fixtures only where necessary. Most fixtures don't necessarily match, giving the house a more varied feel.

There is some sidewalk on the side that the city has decided needs to be repaired/replaced. I'm not entirely sure how the contractor is going to deal with this, but I suspect it's just a matter of fixing some broken concrete.

7/20/09 - Don't blink! You'll miss something!

We took a few days off of updates and lots has happened!

The gravel for the sidewalk was delivered and spread out. The excavator was back to level and grade the driveway, side yard and back yard. The back yard is more difficult than we anticipated. There is a huge tree back there that we can't disturb the 'drip line' around. As a result, there's currently a big ledge that the excavator carved out when he realized he was hitting roots. This may be the part of the project that I have the most difficulty with.

The counters in the kitchen are moving along. The contractor tells me that they will be able to finish these soon, once the finishers come through and install the casing around the window (the back-splash will butt right against this).

Interior doors have arrived. They're sitting in the family room at the moment waiting to be installed. We're really liking our choice on these. They look phenomenal - kind of an old-Portland/Farmhouse look.

The floor tiling has been completely grouted in the bathrooms and utility room.

The master shower is looking amazing - there's not much left to do. The sub has done an amazing job putting together the whole thing. We had forgotten about the recess for the soap, but were quite pleased when it showed up. What a great touch!

Finish materials have arrived and are stacked in the garage, waiting to be installed.

Last, I came by on the 21st (I think) and took a picture of freshly graded driveway with the forms setup and ready for concrete.

7/17/09 - Flooring done, Tile almost there!

The water meter is FINALLY in and connected to the house. That only took a millennium! That's the city for ya'!

The flooring downstairs is complete! It looks amazing. The tile shower in the master bath is looking great, too!

7/16/09 - Progressing nicely...

The water meter still isn't in, but the city has cut some holes in the asphalt where they are going to excavate and locate a main to tap into, as well as where our meter will go.

Today was the first day we braved putting our truck in the driveway - just to see how it looks. :)

The counters in the kitchen have been started and the flooring is nearly complete. The contractor has been putting down a protective cardboard layer over the flooring to keep it from getting dinged up as construction continues.

It's funny - every day there is a new pile of refuse and materials in the garage. I think that's how you know construction is moving along at a nice clip.

7/15/09 - Floor!

Some significant progress, as usual. The flooring downstairs started to go in. I can't tell you how pleased I am with our selection of this floor. It's an engineered floor, meaning it's built up like plywood and has real stain. The grain patterns are pretty neat and the bevel edges between 'planks'.

The tile guys have done some more work on the back-splashes in the bathrooms and utility rooms, too.

7/9/09 - Cabinets, tile and PAINT!

In 8 days, lots has happened!

The cabinets in the kitchen, bathrooms and laundry room are in. These really turned out well and make a nice contrast, particularly in the kitchen.

The paint is up (most of it - there's a bit of touchup to do, but that's to be expected!). It looks really good. We're feeling good about our choices.

The counters in the bathrooms and laundry room are done. The kitchen is next, I suspect. It looks like most of the tile and slabs are in, too. The backsplashes should start tomorrow.

Where tile will be going down (bathroom floors, shower), there is hardibacker installed. This is what the tile will actually be grouted to.

Last, the siding guy came by and put the vertical slats on the gables! Yippie!

7/1/09 - Textural

The mudding, taping and texturing is done! Wow. It's pretty amazing what a coat of plaster over everything does to create some solid planes and bring it all together. The Painters have been in to mark off their work.. which starts next week!

6/23/09 - Finishing the Sheeeetrock

The corners and remaining sheetrock is up now. They've also installed a temporary floor covering to protect the underlayment from when they start to mud, tape, sand and texture.

6/20/09 - Sheeeeeeetrock!

You can really start to feel what a house is going to be like when the sheetrock goes up. It's truly an amazing thing.

Here it is! Most of the sheetrock is up. It's amazing how fast it went, too.

6/18/09 - Holy Insulation, Batt Man!

Insulation started going in! It's thick stuff - R21! This house is going to be so well insulated, we'll find it difficult to justify running the heat that often. :)

Also of note, firestopping was applied in all penetrations between floors. It's interesting how the walls that face outside have fiberglass insulation and the ceiling between the garage and the upstairs has cotton insulation. Hmm. I wonder why that is?

Another strange detail are these cardboard baffles that are strung between the roof joists at the ridge vents. Strange detail. I would expect these to get soggy over time. I may be up in the attic in a few years replacing these...

6/17/09 - AV roughin...

This could be my favorite day so far. The AV system details were framed in. The projection screen recess has been framed and is ready for rock! Also, the "cowl" that goes around the projector is in, too. I'm so excited!!

The entrance to the crawlspace was moved to where I wanted it - in front of the laundry room door.

Geoff also opted to put some blower fans into the crawlspace to help dry it out quickly. It still had some small pools of water down there from before when the post and beam was finished and sheeted.

6/16/09 - Trellis and More

The trellis over the garage is complete, and boy does it look nice! Not bad, considering all I gave them was a series of photos to work from. :)

The electrical pole showed up, too. I suspect they will be connecting to service soon. That has to happen before they can do the drywall, as they will probably run the heater to keep the place warm while the drywall sets.

The remaining hardi-board went up on the covered porch ceiling. It looks really nice. I can't wait to see those can lights trimmed out.

I had forgotten that they still had a ton of data cabling to run. It's there now.

The crawl space entrance was now in place, though a little further back than I had hoped.

The big conduit between the ceiling where the projector will go and the wall where the equipment will be is in! It's a really nice 1" flex line that's been run in a very straight path. They still have some speaker wire to run to junction boxes in the ceiling still.

I have to say, I'm still proud that I've got 3 data ports and a power outlet in the closet of my office! Yippie! Home server, here we come!

The second shower head is in, too! This way, Betsy (who likes really hot showers) can have it her way and I (who prefer cold showers) can have it my way. The controls are on one side. I suspect that will become her side of the shower. :)

6/11/09 - Vac!

We asked, and it was received. The central vac system was pre-plumbed in today.

Not much else to see at this time.

6/10/09 - Lots completed!

We have completed siding!! Yay! It's amazing how much a house takes it's character on when the siding is up. It's the final skin that the house will be in (save some paint!).

Also topped out was the electrical and data cabling. Wow. It is looking good. I still marvel in the fact that there is a data port in every room! Yes, it may not be necessary down the road, but right now - it's the only way to transmit decent media bandwidths across a LAN.

The trellis over the garage started to take shape, too. That's looking pretty cool. At first I wasn't so sure how I felt about the vertical support members overlapping the garage frame. Now that I look at it, I'm sure it will look really good once they paint.

6/6/09 - Siding!

The siding started going up today! Wow, it's looking good. Everything is straight and joints are well done. Very little caulking will be necessary to conceal gaps. I'm impressed so far.

Interestingly enough, apparently the tar paper has a 30 minute fire rating. Who knew?

The ledger for the porch was installed and looks very good! The detailing is impressive.

Notice on the back the large band above where the siding stops. That's known as a "Belly Band". It gives a visual break between floors. I felt this was important given the height of the house and it's location on a high perch above the street.

Also, materials are appearing for the gables (a simple, yet elegant design that we saw on another house - more to come when that starts to appear!).

6/4/09 - Locked up and Muddy

The rain finally came. The house is now closed up - all the doors and windows are on and the place is locked down. This is good. Now the construction team can start on things like electrical and final trim without worrying about thiefs coming in the night and stealing anything of value.

The gas meter was connected, too. I suspect they passed the pressure test with flying colors.

It was slippery out there on site today. I managed to muddy up my shoes real good.

6/03/09 - Holy Progress, Batman!

More excitement today! We took a few days off of updating. I met with most of the sub-contractors yesterday and went over details on HVAC and Electrical mostly. It was fast paced and intense. Should be getting $'s back from the contractor in the next few days on how much OVER budget everything I want to do is.

• The plumbing is done! It's being pressure/leak tested.
• Gas plumbing is done and being tested, too.
• Roofing is up! All roof surfaces are now ready to go.
• Garage door is in. It's a really nice insulated model.
• French doors were delivered, but not installed.
• Fireplace was installed. Nice!
• Crawlspace opening cut.
• Vents downstairs mounted to the floor.
• Vent system installed in the upstairs.
• Ducts and vent stacks for the bathrooms and laundry room installed.
• Dryer vent installed.
• Air return installed (upstairs!)
• Skylights installed
• Railing fixed where the banister will go.

All in all, they should be able to close up the house tomorrow.

5/29/09 - Gettin' Slabby wit it

A slab appears! The garage has the first finished floor in the entire house.

More plumbing was done upstairs in the master bath as well.

5/28/09 - Plumbin'

The plumber was here! The majority of the rough-in plumbing was done today. Quite impressive, really. They are using a type of PVC water piping that has become very popular over the last few years called Wirsbo. It's really neat stuff - durable, quick to install and flexible enough to require few angles and unions.

5/27/09 - Training wheels are off!

Most of the bracing for the shearwalls was removed today. The garage has some framing. It looks like they're almost ready to pour the slab!

There is a banister that they framed up erroneously. Geoff assures me it will be gone in the next few days. We're having a banister installed there instead.

05/26/09 - Blink and you'll miss it!

Wow! We took a few days off and TA DA! Here's what's happened since last we updated:

• Windows started going in! In fact, they put 3 or 4 in during the 20 minutes I was there. Whoa!
• The fireplace has been rough framed in. At this point, we haven't really decided how this is going to work yet.
• The header on the Garage is in. That's a tall door!
• Sheeting on all roof surfaces has been roughed in.
  
• Skylight openings have been framed.
• Attic space entry roughed in (though it's in the wrong place - Geoff is going to have it moved).

More taking shape! The house next door is should be getting it's foundation poured in the next few days, judging by the forms that showed up over the last few days.

5/22/09 - Drawing on the floor...

The contractor was out today to draw where various cabinets are to go on the floor and walls. The exterior is looking nice, too.

5/21/09 - All Trussed Up

The trusses are in. Check out the vault in the master bedroom!

The remaining framing on the upstairs is done now. There are a few adjustments to be made to the upstairs framing. Notably, the master closet will grow a little thanks to the 90% efficient furnace that's being installed. It doesn't require a flue to run vertically, so the mechanical chase can shrink quite a bit.

Our contractor says the windows and doors go in soon so they can start working on plumbing, wiring and other items that are a little more costly and likely to be stolen off of an unsecured site.

5/20/09 - Second Story

We took a few days off while I was out of town from taking pictures. Here's what's changed in a week.

WE HAVE A SECOND STORY!!!

The downstairs walls are sheeted on the exterior in their entirety, though the framer still has a few window holes (known as 'Fenestrations' in the 'biz) to cut (structure is there, but the sheeting just goes up quicker if you cover everything and then cut out holes).

Upstairs is a bit dangerous at the moment - no upper railing has been framed yet and there are some areas that haven't been sheeted over yet. You can start to see the beginnings of some rooms.

The wrap-around porch is starting to take shape, too. I didn't realize how MASSIVE the structure was intended to be. Those are some incredibly large pressure treated posts. Now, I have to admit - I'm not crazy about the posts sitting directly on top of the concrete pads - I would much rather they were elevated and held by some sort of galvanized hardware, but I don't think they were thinking about that when they poured the pads. Pressure treated wood is an amazing thing. I doubt it will have any issues in this installation method.

5/11/09 - Walls rise to the occasion

The sheeting and walls started taking shape. The main purpose of the sheeting that's down now is for structural stability of the first floor. The walls are assembled down on the ground and then tilted into place. This is a heck of a lot quicker and easier than trying to build them in place.

This whole house is quite solid. We've told the contractor at this point to take their time. No rush. We want to see it done right rather than quickly. It's starting to show.

Already, we're starting to see how things are going to shape up when the 2nd floor goes on.

The guy in the picture walking around is my Father in law, Gary. He stopped by this afternoon on his motor scooter to check out the progress.

5/7/09 - Gas and HVAC

The gas flex and furance base was installed. The gas flex runs between where the stove and fireplace will go back to the furnace base. This will be the termination and distribution point for the gas line coming into the house, which will penetrate the east side of the garage from the meter (not installed yet).

I got some better shots of the air ducts this visit. I braved it and walked out on to the beams (carefully). I wish I had pictures of me taking pictures of the site. It seems like I'm always in my work suit when I'm out there. The neighbors must think I'm nuts!

5/6/09 - Level 1 - Going up!

After that rain delay, I was sure things would be stalled for a bit. Boy, was I wrong! Up went the vapor barrier and first floor post and beam in 1 day! It's unbelievable how fast these guys work. The first floor air ducts, waste lines and water lines went in.

Rumor is that sewer will be connected shortly. The lateral is under the sidewalk (or where the sidewalk was).

5/4/09 - Rain Delay

It rained last night, making the lot muddy. Gravel was put down from the sidewalk to the garage. We now have a better sense of where the height of the driveway is going to be. This is going to be one tall garage!

5/1/09 - A naked foundation appears

All the boards have come off! The foundation now stands on its own. This must be quick dry concrete. It's amazing how quickly it set!

At this point, it's starting to make sense and look more like a house and less like a mess of materials dumped in a hole in the ground. An interesting detail I noticed immediately was the fact that the two vertical concrete walls flanking the garage opening have embedded pressure treated lumber. I suspect this is for both expansion (it is well above grade) and for attaching framing to later on.

4/29/09 - Forming the Foundation!

The wraps came off the footing (only 24 hrs to set? Wow!) New forms went up for the actual foundation.

Several new pads (for the posts holding up the beams in the first floor) and some grading work on the driveway have been done. The grading in the driveway shows the elevation that can be expected for the garage pad, too.

This is a good point where the house starts to get real. The foundataion starts to form the vertical pieces of the structure that define it's volume. It's a trick the human mind plays on itself. I'm sure there's plenty of Harvard-quality research on it out there, but my take on it is that most people aren't trained on visualizing things volumetricly. Looking at the isometric view of a plan doesn't tell the story of the volume. Unless you have to-scale elevations to compare with, you don't get a sense of the overall size of what the finished building will be.

4/28/09 - A footing appears...

These guys move fast. Like the wind.

The footing for the foundation can be seen here. It's done and ready for the foundation that sits on top of it. Footings are interesting to me from a archeological perspective - they are what essentially is the base for the rest of the house. Curiously, it's buried and never to be seen again. Heck, even in 100 years when the house is demolished, they probably will leave the footing (after all, houses of the future will levitate and not require footings, right? Right?)

4/27/09 - Cut the hole!

The lot has been cut! Much of the clearing work is done, too. It's incredible how quickly (1 day) it took to happen!

4/26/09 - The Lot

The day just before the clearing of our lot.

Betsy and I took my mom out to the site for a little plant identification assistance (and so she could see what was to soon become home). Not too surprising, the flora on the lot had been maintained over the years by the previous owners. The soil was well drained and seemed rich. Many flowers, shrubs and trees were strewn about. Most would be removed the next day.

Mom was adamant that the fig trees were wonderful and should be saved. Sadly, neither Betsy or I are big fig fans. Sorry, mom.

What was saved was the most beautiful Dogwood tree. Later on, I'll try and remember to post an image of it. It's beautiful to say the least.

Tomorrow the dozer and arborist arrives to remove everything and "cut" the hole where the house goes.

The beginning...

Betsy and I started our search for a new house in Portland in the Fall of 2008. Needless to say, after looking at hundreds of homes - we decided that our initial intuition to build was our best choice. Bottom line - the houses we like in Portland are beautiful on the outside, have character for days, are large enough for a family and home business - but lack the affordability we require.

Rather than wait around 1o years and 2 kids to build our dream home, we realized - we can do this. After penciling out many different schemes, we found one that worked for us financially. Better yet, it stayed well under the price point we were looking to hit.

This blog will chronicle the building of our house. Watch it come up. It should be interesting.