Houston... We Have A Bedroom!

Monday: Tons and tons of hardwood was delivered and layout began...

Tuesday: Rain. Lots and lots of rain. No progress.

Wednesday: No more rain, just a lot of mud. But progress resumed, and suddenly I had a floor!

Thursday: Studs are UP! Nick (who works with Kevin) gave the tour this morning. He showed off some of the "green" elements of the framing. He showed where the windows and doors are going. He showed where the rooms start and stop. He basically just got me super freaking excited. So. Damn. Cool. I was standing in my soon-to-be bedroom. Wheeeeeeee!

I called my mom to update her on the progress. She asked me if I was frozen because I couldn't stop saying how cool everything is. :) She's so funny. Notice how the back wall of the house is finally gone. I am going to have the biggest living room/dining room/kitchen ever. (Okay, maybe not ever... but close!)

The next three weeks....

The update from Kevin:

For the next few days, the cement will set. Then the fun begins.

On Monday, a huge delivery of 4x6 beams will arrive and framing begins! Kevin expects it will take 3 weeks for the entire exterior to be complete, weather permitting. That means framing + insulation + drywall + doors + windows + roof!

Um... YAY!!!!

Kevin also mentioned how happy he was with the leveling process. He said I have one super strong, solid house.

Stages of Progress

I thought it would be fun to show some progress. Here goes!

Updates!

Over the past few days, the leveling company finished digging holes all around my yard. It really looked like one of those games from ShowBiz, where I expect moles to pop up at any minute. Where's a the giant "Whack-A-Mole" rubber mallet when you need it?
They also raised the house a total of 18 inches and replaces a lot of the rotten wood. This picture is taken from the West side of the house. (Notice the awesome a/c unit is still there!)
One thing I hadn't really considered was HOW high the house would be once they raised it. I'm supposed to have this cute courtyard in the middle of the house, but now I'm curious to see how we'll make it work. Perhaps a wood deck? I'll trust the experts for now...
Once they leveled the house, I can get through the front door anymore. So to get in, I have to crawl around the back. I don't recommend doing this in work clothes.
By Monday afternoon, all the cement pillars were in place and drying. Fingers crossed for the rain to stay away for a while!
In other news, I've been working with Jennifer (my designer) on interior finish outs. I picked my flooring - bamboo!! It's super cheap, which means I can cover my bedrooms in it instead of getting carpet. Here it is:
I'm also working on countertops, cabinet colors, tiles, fixtures.... I'm so happy Jennifer is helping me with this! :)

I'm still having a blast. For some, I know building a house is incredibly stressful. Sure, seeing my bank account fall each month is hard. But the end result will be awesome... This experience is amazing!

Leveling + Digging + Staking!

My yard is full of holes & people.

The new addition is staked out.

Things are moving! Fingers are crossed that the weather holds up in December!!!





...and I picked out my windows today. I steered away from Lowe's and am going with Atrium Windows. That's a big relief!

Demo is Done & Foundation Work Begins...

Blue's been pretty busy lately, so he had his assistant, mini-blue, stop for a moment to take a picture of the demolition. He's pretty happy with the progress!
This is what the front room - soon to be "music room" - looks like post-demo. The room is going to be so big!

Notice that there is no longer a fireplace. That opened up the room a ton!
Today they started leveling the house.
And this is the original, 1900 built house. It's so tiny!
Kevin said that he's happy with how it looks, meaning that they didn't find any crazy surprises during demo. Things appear to be on track so far. Every day I make sure to take a peek, meet the crew, and ooh & ahh over the progress. :)D

DEMO DAY THREE!

I spoke with Arther, who owns the demolition company. He said that it was VERY smart to tear out the addition - basically it was a joke of a build. I'm taking, using scrap wood from pallets. Lovely.

He said people get kinda scared at this point. Not me... I think it looks awesome!

Permit in Place!

DEMO DAY ONE!

Yee Haw!!!!

Go Time!!

Today I signed the G/C contract with Kevin... which means we start demo at 10:30am tomorrow.

By the way...

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(i'm a little excited.)