Day #73

Day #73 - Quick Update

Kathleen went to the house today and it seems they have the basement almost done! Looks like the lumbar will be here early next week and we should have a frame up by the end of next week I hope! Here are some pictures; I just love the view!

Day #70

Day #70 - Footer poured

Day before yesterday they broke ground... yesterday the footer is poured and all the forms are there and ready to be installed. Today, I have a feeling, all the forms will be up and ready for the basement to be poured. These guys move FAST. It is only a matter of days before the wood arrives and they start putting up the framework. I will add some pictures of the footer tonight. I had to take the picture from the truck since the ground was muddy from the rain. 

Lessons Learned:

• WooHoo! Media closet here I come!
• Can't wait to build my network with a gig switch and multiple WiFi access points

Day #69

Day #69 - Quick post - Ground all busted up!

They finally broke ground! Now the fun begins. They expect to have the forms started very soon. If the weather isn't bad I hope to run out there today to see the forms/progress. There was some crazy freezing rain this morning so I am not sure what/how much will get done.

Day #68

Day #68 - Ground not broken yet

Well... the ground has not been dug yet and to be fair it could be the weather. It has been really cold lately and it is snowing now. We did check out the land and they are really moving along fast on the houses in the plan. We had a couple machines on our lot along with piles of stone and gravel. Hopefully the weather gets better so they can start soon!

I will post some pics as soon as they start on the land, hopefully sooner than later. 

Lessons Learned:

• I am getting impatient 
• I might hop in the excavator and do it myself 

Day #66

Day #66 - Breaking ground!

Not only is this the day they are breaking ground on our house but it is the number of the greatest hockey player who ever lived. Mario! Today is the Pens home opener as well. It is a good day all the way around! As soon as I leave work today we are heading out to check it out and take some pics. I will post them as soon as I can. 

We are so excited that I don't think either of us can take it anymore! Hurry up and wait now. 

*Edit* no ground breaking today. Too cold I guess... and the Pens lost. 



Lessons Learned:

• When it is 7 degrees don't count on anything on the exterior getting done. It was way too cold for anyone to be outside for more than a few minutes. 
• Fluery is either hot or cold in the net. 

Day #61

Day #61 - Meet the PM

We met our PM's tonight, yes, we have 2. Mike and B.J. were great. They answered all our questions and were very patient with us. This meeting consisted of signing papers (aren't they all?) and an introduction of the PM's and what their roles are in our build. They also staked our lot for us so we knew our property lines and where our house would sit on the land. They gave us a lot of good tips, one of which was to not paint until after the 10 month walk through is complete. With the land and house settling there will be some nail pops and after fixing them you will need to repaint the entire wall. So we are going to try to take this advise. I don't know how long I can last with all white walls. See below for some more tips.

The pace seems to be speeding up. We were approved for our loan and they are breaking ground in just a couple days. They think they will complete in April, early April. That is earlier than we thought, by like a month!

Lessons Leaned:

• If you don't like the chrome towel & toilet paper holders have the PM's make a note to leave them uninstalled. This makes your life easier so that you do not have holes to fill when replacing them.
• If you are getting a 2nd floor laundry and plan on having a gas dryer your door will be louvered. It is code that you get this door for air flow. We were not aware of this till it was too late.
• If you want a wider driveway this is the time to ask for it. They will let you know when to talk to the sub contractor to get this done. Trust me, you want a wider driveway.
• If you are planning on putting a counter top on your washer/dryer you need to tell the PM at this meeting so they can drop the water/gas hookups a few feet so they do not interfere with your counter.
• Building a home is still expensive.

Day #52

Day #52 - Last meeting to finalize all the upgrades

We met to sign our final papers to lock in our price and our upgrades through Guardian and Rusmer. This was a 10 minute meeting that just needed a couple signatures. They had one thing wrong, they had the granite counter tops in the spare bathrooms the wrong color. Easily changed... and re-sign the paperwork. 

We went up to our new street to see the progress of the other houses in the neighborhood and they have a few framed up and ready to go. 

We have a meeting next week to meet our project manager right before they break ground. So the construction should be starting very soon! 

Lessons Learned:

• Triple check everything! Humans do make mistakes
• The foot print of a ranch is much larger than that of a 2-story... just sayin'