Thanks for all the compliments. Yes Jay we're aiming for Jan due to taxes. You are really progressing well. I know you're dying not being able to actualy see the progress on your cabinets, but I can imagine they will be worth the wait.

All of you who haven't posted photo's yet, we wait anxiously to see your progress.

tinker, we don't mind dust, hurry with those photo's.

tnhousewife, looks like you are getting really close now.

neff, I only get an x, can't view your photo. Anyone else having this problem?

thepond, we are building the elevation of the Summerlake, but the inside floor plan of the Azalea Farm, except we made quite a few changes. Where the back patio is on the Azalea Farm, we added a den, and the patio is now next to the Living room. We added some square feet to a most of the rooms also. Summerlake and Azalea Farms is very similar. I have never seen a pic of a real house, so thank you so much for posting it!

We are at the framing stage, so quite a road ahead of us. We are the builder (5th house now, and we build smaller homes on the side, when we get lucky enough to get a lot in various additions.) We hope to be in by November.

We're in too!! Two and a half weeks now!! It took a year. We're still living in a dirt bowl, the concrete in back is going in this week and then the pool will be plastered later this next week. Love the house and the views. Will post photos later. It's been great watching everyone with their builds and I really appreciate all the postings. I've learned a ton!
It rained several inches last week and we put ziplocks on the dogs feet so they could go outside and not track mud back in. They looked hilarious, but it worked.

Started on 12/21/07. Outside basically done. Ready to start final grading and bringing in topsoil. Inside, painting starting, tile finishing, and cabinets being installed this week. Supposed to be in 8/1/08ish....we will see.
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Jaymielo, your house is just stunning, really. I love it.

I'm hoping June is the month we can say we finally move in. Countertop guys should hopefully be wrapping up today, but they're moving very slowly. Grading supposed to happen today which it better since it's supposed to rain the rest of the week. Final paint supposed to start today too. If everyone does what they're supposed to do this week we could technically start moving in over next weekend, although I'm sure you'll notice all the "should" and "supposed" in this post, so I'm not holding my breath.
These are our counters so far:

And finally running water!

Oops, I suck at posting pictures obviously.

Slower than slow. We're still trying to get our well drilled. Our first was a failure.

Been lurking here for quite a while. I guess it's time to throw my hat in the ring.

My wife and I purchased our land in April and finally signed the contract last week with our builder (who we had picked out back in January.) We now hope to be meeting with the builder within this week to discuss the treeline as well as see exactly where the house will sit on the property. It's one thing to see all of this on paper but will be much more interesting onsite!

A few quick details: we are building a colonial on a 3+ acre lot in northern Massachusetts, about 3,200 sq. ft. above ground (another 1,100 will be finished in the basement.)

Boy, gr8smiles, yours has some beautiful work done, inside and out.

We should have the roof on this week, (if we can keep the framing crew from fishing on the pond and will work on our house!) I have the a/c guys scheduled next week, so hopefully that will work out.

Even though we have built a few homes, I am always confused on our own personal house of what to use. This house is different in that, we always knew we were going to sell the other homes in a couple of years, or I wasn't crazy about the location, so I picked out things that "other" people would like also. This house should be the "one" for many years and so it is really hard for me to pick out things for it. So, I will need lots of help!

Thank you cork2win, I wish I could see your pictures. ;-)

gr8smiles, wow! You have some breathtaking details. I love the copper roof. Will that develop a patina? The ceiling are also just stunning. I can't wait to see the whole package.

How to post pictures (courtesy of MightyAnvil):

To post a photo:
go to http://tinypic.com (it's free and no sign up is required)
select "browse" and go find your jpg, png, gif, or tif photo file and select it (it will be automatically downsized to 250K)
select the "upload image" button
copy the contents of the "HTML" window and paste it into the text part of your message.
Now preview you message. If you can see the photo, submit the message

Not sure why my pic's didn't show up so I am using the tinypic suggestion as mentioned above...

View from the front

View from the back

Wasn't a believer in global warming until we started building our house. It can be the only explaination for this much rain. I am sure that once the roof is on we won't see rain again! :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Gallery of House Building Photos

I just checked out Azalea Farm floorplan, practically identical. I would be so happy to be framing, have not broke ground yet. This is going to be our last house, too, so I fret over every final choice. I like your kitchen layout way better than ours, but I don't think I can switch at this point. We are changing the family room by including the screened porch in one big room. Front bedroom will be a den/office and we are switching the door way to the foyer (french door). Wondered if your second floor would remain "azalea" or be "summerlake"? Do you have photos? I'd love to see your progress, it helps give me hope that we will see our dream become reality. Here's a few more photos of summerlake that someone else built: Click on this photo, it should take you to my photobucket page where you can see more summerlake photos. You have to click on my Album there to see all photos. Be sure to view both pages of photos. {{gwi:1458187}}

Thanks for the props everyone. I have been a long-time lurker here and finally took the time to post some pics. We built a lake-home 5 years ago and learned so much then as well. This is our '20 year' house. We are about to be empty-nesters and are building this less than a mile from my office in Brentwood. We have done Biobased open-cell spray foam insulation throughout the entire building envelope. We are doing geothermal ac and have dug 4 250ft vertical wells. Our flooring is 8-10-12" longleaf heart pine and will have a tung oil finish. Plumbing is all PEX. Weathershield casement windows. All exterior lights are from Bevolo in New Orleans. They are copper and are a mixture of gas and electric. The copper was definitely a $ hit, but it was worth it IMHO as well. Yes, it has already begun to patina. I will get a current pic for comparison sake. The outdoor shot was about 6 weeks ago. Still deciding on stone for screen porch and front and side porches. Also, working with a local pond builder for a waterfall/pond out the kitchen window.
Glad you all like it.
Rick

I just grabbed a few pics yesterday as DH was starting the arxx system... We are scheduled to pour the basement walls this Saturday.

neff, they are showing up now. Your house looks pretty large? How big is it?

Its going to be a 2400sq ft ranch with the same sq in the basement. We won't be finishing the basement till next year. Even then only about 2/3rds of it will be finished. Got to have space for a woodworking shop!

Wow! It is June and we finally have some 'real' progress to report! We got our building permit last week and started excavation. Our site is challenging and has ALOT of rock so the digging will go on through tomorrow. At least we can use the rock to build our retaining walls though a few are so large we are not sure what to do with them...perhaps our own personal 'Stonehenge'? :) Any great ideas?

Brutuses, love your floor tile! Your colors all seem to complement each other and 'flow', and your lights are so pretty. We aren't having too many fixtures so I won't 'get to' or 'have to' pick out too many...depends on how you look at it I guess!
Jaymie-I always love seeing new pictures of your home, it is just turning out fabulous. I live in 'Mascord Country' and that plan is popular here, honestly yours is the prettiest I've seen.
gr8smiles-so glad you posted pictures, they are stunning! I particularly love the timber frame ceiling, Wow! We are doing a few accents but nothing as elaborate as that and I just love it!

Here are a few pictures of our site...

Some of the larger rocks...

One of our excavators...he looks a little inexperienced but is so cute we don't care! LOL! The guys were great and gave our son a lesson on running the mini-digger, little boy heaven!

luckymom23,

Your lot is fabulous! How exciting for you guys! Was your little guy really operating that tractor!?!

That is funny that you live in "Mascord country" and see our house all the time. We have never seen it in person and we are the "oddballs" around here. We got a lot of negative feedback about building it when we were shopping for a builder, so we are always curious what they think now. It is definitely different for our area, but we love it and think it is perfect for us.

Keep us posted with pictures. I wish we had found some nice boulders like that when we excavated. That is exactly what I wanted to make our beach retaining wall out of, but I had to give it up when I found out the price tag associated with bringing in the large rock!

mmmm luckymom23, sure wish I could magically transport some of those big rocks of yours to my yard for landscaping. How come those kinds of things are always where you DON'T want them and never where you do? LOL

luckymom, what a view you have there. That little cutie can come help with my build. Isn't he a doll?

Not much more than a hole in the ground but this is a long time coming! Block work is almost done and I can't wait for the framing and log work to start!

Here is a link that might be useful: My House Building Blog

Let me try that a little larger...

thepond, SO MANY THANKS for posting more pics of Summerlake! How did you aquire all of them, I couldn't find any in real person to see. It really helps so much that we can see a real live pic instead of a drawing.

We are building the Summerlake on the 2nd floor. We really have made quite a few changes. We took out the fireplace in the LR and put in 3 big windows, so we could have full view of the pond from that side. We are putting an outdoor fireplace on the patio that you will see from the kitchen, DR, and LR, and there will be a fp in the den. We put in French doors in DR and LR out to the patio. We put in a mudroom from the garage. It still has the Summerlake exterior though.

I changed my member page to accept emails, so, if you want to email me, feel free. If you do, WHEN I get pics I will email you some. It is so messy out there right now, I'm embarrassed to post them. The clean up guy comes after the framing and roof is done.

For all you others: I am so excited for all of you that have moved in and are getting so close to moving in. Luckily, I will be VERY busy for the next few months and it will go by quickly.

Finally able to share something on one of these threads :)

Permit was granted this morning, and we hope to begin excavating the basement at the start of next week. We're acting as GC, but have a framer to dry-in the house.

House will be a modest sized 1500+ sq ft ranch, on an acreage that we've owned for the past 25 yrs.

It'll be nestled in behind the evergreen trees at the right and face towards the left of the picture:

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Municipal waterline was trenched a mile in from the highway;

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Hydro crew setting the yard pole:

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Very preliminary steps I know, but exciting for us nevertheless.

Dawn T

Hi!
Thanks for the compliments on our land, we love it, and the commpliments on our little guy, we love him even more, and he is a doll Brutuses, you have a very good eye! If we are ever in your neck of the woods I'm sure he would be happy to lend a hand. :)

Yes, Jaymie our little guy really got to operate the mini-digger! He was so excited, it was great to see. I wonder why the builders gave you a hard time? It is such a popular plan here. I love your Garage doors, they compliment the siding so well. Can't wait to see what you do with the inside!

Bevangel, too bad we can't get a boulder or two to you, we could likely spare them! What you can't see in the picture is a retaining wall that is likely 10' high in spots and at least 70' long-all built from rocks excavated out of our building site. Our builder called it 'utilizing the site'.
Luckily we only have one monster rock that can't be removed and since we are building our basement over a crawlspace it can stay right where it is, saved us the money of not bringing in the big breaker. It is ironic, if you have too much they charge you to haul it away, if you need it they charge you to bring it in, we are thinking: 'Will trade rock for clean fill'!

jaymeilo,

Fantastic. Hadn't seen the exterior elevations yet.....it's very impressive. Right on the beach too.....bet you're looking forward to some spectacular vistas. We too are a little worried about cabinetry. We himmed and hawed with the supplier for 2 months to make sure the design and measurements were spot on. Expected delivery is next week but we'll have to see.

gr8smiles,
Love the exterior and ceilings. They will all look amazing once finished. Also, like the idea of the "outside-in" approach in matching up copper fixtures with copper exterior trim. It's going to be quite a home.

We're turning the corner on our tile and should finish painting this week. Our trim and stairs are done and we'll be installing hardwoods end of the week beginning of next. Outside the exterior trim is finished, we've framed our deck and have called in a loader for final grade and septic instalation. We'd like to be in end of June but it may be a bit longer. Since we're doing some of the work ourselves we're just looking to get electric, plumbing and hvac trimmed so we can move in to complete some of the finish work........will post some pictures soon.

Things are mioving very slowly for us now that we are in the house.

We did some more painting (freakishly bright yellow is first coat of a two coat process), installed some of the faux beams on the exterior walls, door trim, window trim, upper walls and carrying beam in catehdral areas and probably more. We marked off the garage site and we're digging the footer now. We're building a chicken coop this week too! I finally met with the cabinet guy and he's working on my kitchen. And I'm still loving waking up each morning to look over our marsh and hear the nesting birds.

Porches and deck are almost finished. The roof goes on the porch today, IF the rain holds off long enough. (Newspaper said this weekend 56 construction days lost to rain in our area since Jan 15 - what a fabulous time to build.)

Picture attached is actually a couple of weeks old.

Plumber should be there on Wednesday to start plumbing runs. Electrician soon also.

In the midst of first major disagreement/frustration with the GC. A few items he said would be addressed that have not been, plus his communication lacks a little (or a lot). We e-mail with questions, he may or may not answer, or may answer only half the questions - especially if he thinks they are silly questions. We have no idea of schedule, what comes next, etc. He just calls and says, hey, I need you to pick out bathtubs for next week, or I need the electrical plan the end of this week. I asked about ordering cabinets, he says, not yet, I'll let you know. I'm worried he'll let me know too late, and then we'll be waiting around for cabs. He's quite independent and seems to take offense easily, so we are sensitive to that, but gee, OUR HOUSE OUR MONEY!

I've been handling most of the logistics in terms of arrangements, communication, financing, etc., etc., due to DH's work demands and schedule. This weekend when we went to the site, however, a previous issue that had not been addressed kind of set him off. DH is a very calm, easygoing guy, but he does have a line that when it is crossed...he e-mailed the GC that night,very firm (though I made him soften it a little), indicating our frustration and also that we are expecting weekly face-to-face meetings and updates from here on out to resolve the communication issues. He then took time off to go out to the site yesterday. GC was not there, though it was evident by the reaction of the crew that GC had received the e-mail and talked with them about the issues. We still, however, have had no response, by e-mail or phone, from the GC.

My quasi-neurotic need to get along with everybody is struggling with this state of affairs, so I'm hoping it blows over soon and they kiss and make-up.

I told DH over the weekend that I really thought having sold our previous house before the build started would enable me to really enjoy and have fun with the build - but right now, not fun.

Anyway, we hope the rain will stop sometime soon, and we can move in and look out of these windows every morning from our loft bedroom. The pic is of the windows at lake end of the house.

It's June already? It looks like everyone has made fabulous progress since last month!

Is it just me or did anyone else notice that every single house on here is being built on lots with incredible views? WOW!!! GWers sure do know how to find the good spots. :o)

We've been scootin' right along. At this time last month we had just started framing. Framing is finished, roof is on, rough HVAC and plumbing are done and the electrician starts tomorrow. The fireplace goes in tomorrow too.

This is our first build and we're OBing, so we've been expecting lots of problems. So far the only thing we've run into is that we need footers for the steps at both the front & side entry. Getting those stairs done and the porches poured is my pet project for the rest of the week, but it's hard to get things done efficiently when the kids are out of school. LOL

We had planned on using primed Nichiha shakes for the house, but decided on prestained instead (Macadamia), so we're waiting for those to arrive before we can do the exterior. They should be in next week.

The little tree in the middle will be finding a new home soon. I just haven't decided where to move him yet.

The front door was temporarily installed yesterday so that they can cut the arch for the porch to match it. It won't be staying in, but I did manage to sneak a picture.

Looking great persnickety, I CAN'T WAIT to see your Nichiha shakes go on. I've never seen that color before. You are really moving along quickly! Beautiful front door! I love all the light it lets in.

Persnickety,
Wow! Love your door! We were thinking of alot of glass for our door then fell in love with one with only a little glass...now yours is making me waver! We are planning the Nichiha pre-primed shakes...maybe your 'Macadamia' will give me another thing to re-think! Your home looks beautiful, glad your build is going well.

Thanks, Jaymie! I love how your garage doors turned out. They really made the front of the house. :o)

Nichiha finally put a couple of pictures up on their website of Macadamia, but the two photos look absolutely nothing alike...and neither of them look like the sample that they sent to me. LOL The color of the samples that they sent us are kind of in between the two colors that they have on the website. Nobody here locally has used that color yet, so we're going to be guinea pigs and go for it. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. :o)

Here is a link that might be useful: Nichiha pictures

Luckymom...thank you! This door was actually our second choice. The first was a true radius double that had the glass and iron work on the top half only. We couldn't use it because we wouldn't have been able to mirror the arch on the porch. We went with this one instead and now that's it's in I'm glad we did. I was a little worried about the full glass, but we're far enough off the road and the porch is deep enough that someone would have to be standing on the front porch to see inside anyway!

I'll be sure to post pics as soon as we have some of the macadamia up. :o)

ok, I realized I tried posting the pictures as links rather than images. ugh. Braindead.
Looking back at our blog, a lot happened in may. we got trim and stairs and cabinets which was very exciting.

countertop guys finished yesterday! That makes the kitchen officially complete (other than finishing the floors)

And we finally have running water!

Moving in June 13! CAN ... NOT ... WAIT. I know you understand.

More pics in link, but here are some(not 100% updated, taking more this week):

Here is a link that might be useful: More pics

liptonjl, did you plan on building a "house on a hill" or did it just happen that way?

What are the dimensions or your fireplace? Our plan has a see through fireplace in between two rooms and we plan on covering it with stone as well. I'm wondering about how big your is in relation to the rooms it divides, and the height of the ceiling. I can't get a sense of it's room presence from the picture. Do you like the height of your hearth?

Brian

why won't my pictures show up???

[IMG]http://i31.tinypic.com/qs9n4g.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i31.tinypic.com/21cyvrk.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i30.tinypic.com/dneq7d.jpg[/IMG]

sprice, I don't think this website uses those types of tags, you have to use real HTML tags. You can also try the instructions posted above, copied here.
To post a photo:
go to http://tinypic.com (it's free and no sign up is required)
select "browse" and go find your jpg, png, gif, or tif photo file and select it (it will be automatically downsized to 250K)
select the "upload image" button
copy the contents of the "HTML" window and paste it into the text part of your message.
Now preview you message. If you can see the photo, submit the message

Thanks guys!!! I wish I were more computer savvy!

I can't tell you what an inspiration it is to see other's progress. Love your homes, they are beautiful! Yesterday, I took floor plan in to get bid on windows (Milgard) doors and interior wood trim, base, etc. I just made a guess about woodwork: something rustic and blockish that will be stained dark, kind of more old world than arts and crafts, but it was a stab in the dark (pine or walnut?). Our style hasn't really fit a mold yet, if it ever will, lol. Keep flip flopping between two ideas for the exterior, but seeing the Nichiha site helped a lot. I'd love the outside to look like the 7 dwarfs cottage /or/ a cedar mountain lodge, can't decide (duh).
Here's our building site (it's changed a little since this photo):
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This is our inspiration:
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This is our house plan built:
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Still hope to get permits by August the soonest.

I haven't posted to one of these since they started. I originally moved in February 07, and am nearing completion of Phase 23 sub part 2b of my master plan by building the garage. Once grading is done and everything looks green (Oh joy, germinating acres of grass in June!) I'll post a completion message. Sometime this year I hope.

So as of the beginning of June, the garage is framed and waiting on the floor to be poured, the siding to be installed, and soffit and facia. Electrical will probably amount to a bare bulb and an extension cord.

bdpeck-charlotte (Brian),

I THINK our fireplace is 6 feet wide... 9 feet high (ceilings are 9ft.) and our family room is 19x15.
We are happy with the hearth height - I think it is 6 inches off the ground.

The stone is Cultured Stone by Owens Corning - Chardonnay Southern Ledgestone. More pics of our family room in my web album if that might help you.

Here is a link that might be useful: Web Album

They started painting the exterior yesterday!

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Wow, everyone's houses are looking great! Liptonjil-love that stone on the FP, Klabio-your home and site are just beautiful and Sprice-your green is great! Do you mind sharing what color & brand?

Thanks luckymom23! I kind of sweated that color a little, I didn't want anything that was going to be too olive when the sun hit it.

It is SW paint but kind of a tweaked color because the original one I picked was just too light. I would be happy to get the formula from the can if you would like.

I will post pictures of the front soon as they should have it almost done tomorrow. I can't wait to see it with all the trim painted.

Rainy weather has been slowing things down a bit. The framers are still hard at work on the siding and window installation. Plumbing rough in is complete. HVAC rough in is almost complete. It's starting to feel like a real home instead of just a structure.

Here is a link that might be useful: Home construction blog

Final Grade, Stairs, Interior Trim and Paint through May. Hardwoods next week, cabinetry the following. Also, finishing up tile work.......hoping to take June to trim it out with possible move-in late June early July.

Final Grade

Stairs

Shower

Here is a link that might be useful: Kempton Court