Any opinions on the front door? E-mail us if you have anything to say. Here are the choices:
http://www.jeld-wen.com/_images/ext_fiber_iwp_craft_entry_ko.jpg
http://www.featherriverdoors.com/gallery/preston/3_4lite/pres3_4lite.jpg (w/ matching sidelites)
The insulation guys were STILL working today. They are doing a great job, which tends to take a long time.
Friday, December 29, 2006
Thursday, December 28, 2006
warm and quiet
The insulation crew is still finishing up. They are filling in spots where the spray foam isn't as thick as it should be, and trimming off sections that stick out past the studs so it won't interfere w/ the drywall installation. The boss is out of town this week, so things aren't moving along like they were last week. Today, the 2 guys who were working told Walton that they should be done tomorrow. The drywall crew was ready to start Tuesday, but when they saw the insulation was not finished they had to wait.
Walton took Kyle to work with him at the new house yesterday. They put acoustic insulation in the interior walls where there is plumbing so we won't hear water running through the pipes so much. My Dad told us that he wishes they had done that when they built their house 30+ years ago, so we took his advice. Kyle helped measure and cut the insulation. He told Walton he thinks it's good that we're building a house instead of just buying one that's already built because we are learning a lot as we go. He is so right!
Walton took Kyle to work with him at the new house yesterday. They put acoustic insulation in the interior walls where there is plumbing so we won't hear water running through the pipes so much. My Dad told us that he wishes they had done that when they built their house 30+ years ago, so we took his advice. Kyle helped measure and cut the insulation. He told Walton he thinks it's good that we're building a house instead of just buying one that's already built because we are learning a lot as we go. He is so right!
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
no work yesterday
There was no activity at all at the house yesterday. Walton is checking on things now to get the wheels rolling again.
I am going to go to Williams Brothers Lumber to pick out the doors, and we need to go to the stone yard to pick the color of our stacked stone for the foundation & accent areas.
I am going to go to Williams Brothers Lumber to pick out the doors, and we need to go to the stone yard to pick the color of our stacked stone for the foundation & accent areas.
Thursday, December 21, 2006
more insulation
Here are some more pictures of the insulation in progress. It is close to being finished, and the drywall crew is scheduled to start on Tuesday. 
The ceiling between the boys' room and the kitchen/family room area does not have spray-foam insulation. Instead, they used rolls of acoustic batting made from old blue jeans.
Will peeking over the edge of his closet floor.
The ceiling between the boys' room and the kitchen/family room area does not have spray-foam insulation. Instead, they used rolls of acoustic batting made from old blue jeans.
Will peeking over the edge of his closet floor. 
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
insulation started today
Jimmy Vickers and his crew started working on the spray-foam insulation this morning. They started with the upstairs area and will work their way down. Their trailer has some kind of big blower in it, and it blows the foam through the long blue hose you can see coming out of the trailer. (Yes, the boys are wearing shorts and t-shirts today. It does not feel like Christmas weather here!) You can also see that Hester Drywall came out to install drywall on the garage walls and in the stairwell so the foam would have somewhere to adhere. www.airtightinsulation.com 
We couldn't go upstairs while they were working, but you can see that the insulation guys wear coveralls. They also wear respirators. The white stuff is the foam this guy is spraying onto the walls. It expands instantly.
Looking up into the boys' bedroom.
The boys were watching the foam expand - they thought it was kind of interesting, but didn't like the smell! 
The little bit of drywall that went up this morning changes the look of everything. (Will's comment as soon as he saw it was "Man! Now we can't walk through the walls any more!") The boys are standing right where our refrigerator will be in the picture below:
We couldn't go upstairs while they were working, but you can see that the insulation guys wear coveralls. They also wear respirators. The white stuff is the foam this guy is spraying onto the walls. It expands instantly.
Looking up into the boys' bedroom.
The boys were watching the foam expand - they thought it was kind of interesting, but didn't like the smell! The little bit of drywall that went up this morning changes the look of everything. (Will's comment as soon as he saw it was "Man! Now we can't walk through the walls any more!") The boys are standing right where our refrigerator will be in the picture below:
More updates tomorrow!
last week's update
Here are a few things that were going on last week while Walton tied up the loose ends for the reinspection of the rough electrical, plumbing, and framing:
We bought some sample-sized containers of exterior paint to see which one we liked. (What a great invention those are!) Right now, we think we'll end up with something in between the two darker shades on the sample board below as the main color of the house, and a creamy tan color for the trim.
The metal roof was installed over the side entry door and in the accent areas on the front of the house. It is much darker than we anticipated - in fact it looks almost black. (The color we asked for was called "burnished slate" - it had more brown in it. The guy accidentally put up this color, which is called bronze.) He offered to change it, but we are starting to like this color. We're going to leave it. You can see a little overspray that looks like spray paint. The metal comes painted before they install it, but they go back and touch up any scratches after it is installed.
Finally, on Friday, we got the ok from the building inspector to insulate. Whew. I stopped by the house after school and she was next door checking the rebar for the Frank's basement flat concrete. I called Walton and he hurried over to talk to her. Once they looked at/ measured a few things and he pointed out some areas her co-worker had given guidelines for over the phone; she checked us off. It appears that some of the delay we experienced this month was due to a lack of communication and work overload in the county inspections department. I'm glad we caught the inspector at the right time and were able to get things taken care of.
We bought some sample-sized containers of exterior paint to see which one we liked. (What a great invention those are!) Right now, we think we'll end up with something in between the two darker shades on the sample board below as the main color of the house, and a creamy tan color for the trim.
The metal roof was installed over the side entry door and in the accent areas on the front of the house. It is much darker than we anticipated - in fact it looks almost black. (The color we asked for was called "burnished slate" - it had more brown in it. The guy accidentally put up this color, which is called bronze.) He offered to change it, but we are starting to like this color. We're going to leave it. You can see a little overspray that looks like spray paint. The metal comes painted before they install it, but they go back and touch up any scratches after it is installed.
Finally, on Friday, we got the ok from the building inspector to insulate. Whew. I stopped by the house after school and she was next door checking the rebar for the Frank's basement flat concrete. I called Walton and he hurried over to talk to her. Once they looked at/ measured a few things and he pointed out some areas her co-worker had given guidelines for over the phone; she checked us off. It appears that some of the delay we experienced this month was due to a lack of communication and work overload in the county inspections department. I'm glad we caught the inspector at the right time and were able to get things taken care of.
Sunday, December 03, 2006
more weekend pictures
Walton and Kyle worked on the punch list after church today while Will and I went to Lowe's to pick up some things they needed to finish the wiring. (Kyle is collecting all the snips and scraps of electrical wire and stripping the insulation off of them. He is going to take the copper to a place that buys it to make some money. He has quite a collection now. He's a kid on a mission!) Here are my 2 hard-working men looking out of the newly-trimmed bonus room window. 
Here is the front of the house w/ the bracket the trim guys put up yesterday. I'm not sold on it yet. Maybe some paint will help.
The front door & windows.
The guest bedroom.
It is 7:30 p.m. and Walton is still over there working. I'm sure working late will get to be a pattern now that we've reached this point.
Here is the front of the house w/ the bracket the trim guys put up yesterday. I'm not sold on it yet. Maybe some paint will help.
The front door & windows.
The guest bedroom.
It is 7:30 p.m. and Walton is still over there working. I'm sure working late will get to be a pattern now that we've reached this point.
Saturday, December 02, 2006
pediments
Aaron's trim crew were at the house today working on the window pediments and other details on the exterior of the house. They fixed a few of the errors the rough siding crew made in addition to giving things a more finished look. I only got 2 pictures of the pediments before my camera battery ran out. 
Walton spent most of the afternoon today working on the punch list from the rough inspection. He still has a few more little things to take care of before we can call for a reinspection. His goal is to have a satisfactory recheck by Friday of this week.
Walton spent most of the afternoon today working on the punch list from the rough inspection. He still has a few more little things to take care of before we can call for a reinspection. His goal is to have a satisfactory recheck by Friday of this week.
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