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.