Night Visions

Went out to the house Tuesday night. Thought I'd have a quick peek and listen to the first place Milwaukee Brewers on the way out and back. I remembered to bring a legal pad and a Sharpie® marker so I could label the pictures as I shoot since I have the short-term memory of a tsetse fly lately.

I didn't expect to see a ton of progress but it certainly looks like someone had been out there. The concrete moulds for the front porch and rear steps had been removed. There was some work done on the curb by the street. Inside, they appear to be laying out the electrical boxes to be installed. The master jet tub, shower and tub in the second bathroom were installed. I also noticed that one of the windows in the family room was cracked. We didn't notice that Saturday so I wonder how that happened. The fireplace venting had also been installed. There was also a bit of water in the basement although nothing like the earlier flood.

Laying Pipe

Another relatively dry week and more progress is made. The plumbing and gas lines have all been installed. The windows are in place. The front porch has been poured. Steadily, the house is moving towards completion. So, we really don't have any complaints so far.

I took lots of pictures of the pipes and whatnot for future reference but when I uploaded the pictures, I couldn't remember what was what. I'll have to lable the pipes before I take pictures of them again next week. I don't think that'll be a problem since I think the next step would be the initial wiring. They can't drywall until we've had our pre-drywall walk-through orientation with the foreman. I called to see if we need to schedule that but I'm still waiting for word from the builder. Normally, the foreman calls us so I may be a little ahead of myself right now.

Kerry and I spent most of the day in Plainfield. Took a new suit I bought on Thursday to a Plainfield tailor. Went to Lowe's and bought my birthday present: a 3/4 HP belt drive Chamberlain garage door opener. How exciting! We also picked up Kerry's replacement light fixture for the kitchen -- this time a brush nickel pot rack light (below). After a light lunch at Panera Bread, we went to see 3:10 to Yuma. It was good. Not great.

We also had our first guests at the new house. Bill and his son, Liam, met us for buffalo wings and then came out to the house. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of them.

I Love It When a House Comes Together

When we got to the site today, we almost didn't recognize our house. Not only had the trusses been delivered and put up over the week, the roof and shingles had been installed. It looks like a real house. So much so, I almost drove right by when we got there.

Inside, the sub floorboards and basement were bone dry. The entire week had been rain-free but they must have pumped out the basement and did something to draw the water out of the wooden flooring. There was some slight puckering of the floorboards in the loft but I think it can be easily remedied. Otherwise, the builder and I will have a little conversation.

So, Kerry and I can actually start to envision where stuff will go in the house. There is PVC piping in the garage along with the front porch pillars. So I would assume that would be going in next. We really need to get the pre-drywall orientation scheduled and start taking to the lender about the setting a closing date.

Forty Days and Forty Nights

Lots of rain again the last week. Thursday there was severe storms. Torrential flooding. High winds. Lightning and thunder. The Red Sox/White Sox game that Kerry and I were supposed to attend was postponed. We were very concerned and hoped that the weather didn't damage and delay construction. We'd really like to stay on-target for an October close.

We got out to the site Saturday morning and were happy to see that the floods didn't damage the existing construction. The exterior walls that had been built previously were still up. In fact, additional side peaks had been added and were still standing tall. The interior walls that I had seen in progress were pretty much complete and still standing. The trusses were delievered and on site ready for installation this upcoming week.

We walked around the house and saw that there was a lot of standing water both on the first floor and upstairs. Not surprisingly, we also found that we had a new pool -- in the basement. Of course, that will have to be pumped out and any water damage to the concrete repaired. The wood subflooring will also have to be thoroughly dried out. Once the trusses and roof goes on, this shouldn't happen again. Knock on wood.

Workers in Action

I had an arbitration hearing scheduled in the suburbs so I took the opportunity this morning to run out to the building site to see what's happened since Saturday. We've had lots of rain lately but with plenty of breaks of workable weather, I thought I might see some progress.

And progress was seen. The second floor exterior walls are all in place. While I was there, I watched the carpenters working on the interior walls. First time I'd been out to the site when there were actual workers there. Not that I thought the hole dug itself or the walls were raised by passing Amish farmers. I didn't go bother them. The ground was too muddy and I didn't want to step in anything icky before my hearing.

Didn't see any trusses for the roof on site yet but the weather today has remained dry if warm. So, maybe if the trusses get delivered soon, we'll see a roof in place in the very near future.

Decisions, Decisions

While up in Milwaukee we again visited my mom's furniture store. We decided to get the appliances locally but we'd still like to get the dining room and dinette sets from her (discount notwithstanding). We've settled on a dinette set that combines wood and glass that will work well with the tile, cabinetry and countertops of the kitchen and dinette area. It is shown in the third photograph below with Kerry and my mom seated therein.

We're still debating the dining room set. Kerry likes the more casual set shown in the first picture below. It has a matching hutch with silver hardware. I lean towards a more formal set showin in picutre number two below. It has "X" back chairs, padded captain chair backs and, I think, a richer looking wood. Kerry doesn't care for the parque pattern of the table. So we'll see. Either is workable although I don't think the casual set can be leafed bigger.

Second Floor: Housewares, Ladies' Lingerie,...

And I was right. I'm always right. We have a more house-shaped house now. The first floor is completely roughed in and there is one wall up on the second floor. The second floor does have a floor, though.

According to the warning sign on the front of the house, only carpenters are supposed to go inside but hey, it's our house. So we went in and saw, for the first time, our downstairs rooms. We also could go upstairs and walk around but nothing is framed out.

Things are moving along quite swimmingly. The drywall has been loaded into the downstairs ready for installation. The trusses for the roof haven't been delivered yet so I wouldn't expect the drywall would be installed until then. I would expect the second floor to be done by next weekend.

Of course, the workers have left Gatorade® bottles all over the place. This doesn't sit well with Kerry, of course. I'll have a problem if the junk is still there when the finish carpentry is done or if I find a box of poop in the basement.

Can't wait to see how far they are along next weekend. We'll probably be talking about scheduling the closing soon.