We did it, we're HOME! The good and the bad lol...

loralee_2007

17 years ago

YAY! I'm home, I'm really truly home! Am I dreaming???

This has been the longest 6 months of my life. DH & I both work full time (plus a LOT of overtime), I also go to school evenings & study weekends, so there really wasn't any "extra" time to do this. But we got it done! I designed the house including all finishes while DH GC'd it (he is a commercial design-builder so this is also his busy period).

The good:

- OMG, you have NO IDEA how AWESOME my Ultra Bain felt the day after moving. I was in heaven lol.

- Our twin cats absolutely LOVE their new home and were not traumatized by the move at all (unlike when we moved out!) In fact, their favorite new game is playing "peekaboo" through our 2nd story stairs if I am in the kitchen (we have open risers). What a couple goofballs!

The bad:

- I HAVE NO FURNITURE lol!!!! DH (the little slavedriver) would not let me go shopping for furniture until ALL of my exams were done. I was on course to do that and STILL get my shopping done on time, but then I failed one. By the time I re-did the exam and passed, we were 1 week away from move-in....and with 4-6 weeks delivery we're going to live with the "echo effect" for awhile lol. We do have furniture in the media room, but that's it. How's that for "roughing it"?? lol

- Woke up at 6am this morning to loud "clunking" coming from the ductwork. Turns out one of the return air or supply air covers wasn't secured, and my little bratty girl Cosmo decided to explore the ductwork. Talk about a heart attack, especially when I couldn't find the opening where she got in so I didn't know where exactly she was. Of course, DH out of town, 3 hours away....but I finally found her, and got her out. Duct promptly screwed. Whew!

No pictures yet as the boxes are still piled up, but I'll post pics once the furniture arrives! Thank you so much for your help while we went through this, we're both so very very happy to be HOME!

Lora

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (13)

pinktoes
17 years ago
CONGRATS! Job well-done, under duress, by you and your DH. It sounds so exciting, especially your sense that you're HOME at last.

Glad your felines are adjusting. We've got 2 nervous nellies to try and move if we ever get the house built.

Ive seen some of your posts but must have missed most of the action as I'm relatively new. Seems a lot of you guys are finishing up now and a new group starting. It'll be really interesting to see you pics.

You sound really happy. Happy for you.

(BTW, when first married we settled in on a carpeted floor with a TV, one lounge chair, and a fat floor pillow. There's something survivorish and back-to-basics about those days. Enjoy!)
0
brutuses
17 years ago
Congratulations. Can't wait to see the photo's of the new furniture and decor.

Your story about the cat reminded me of one of ours trying to come in the house through the dryer vent. He stayed inside for the longest time before venturing to the yard. Then when he did he was scared and I guess when he realized the vent led into the house he tried to gain access. We heard him meowing and went and rescued him. He never tried that again.
0
Related Discussions
We're In but now our GC wants to lien on our house!
Q
Comments (25)
Kats, that is some real chutzpah. I feel for you. We've been in our home for a little more than a month after a 13-month build (that was only supposed to take 9 months) - the delays were excruciating because they would have been avoidable by someone with even a modicum or organizational ability, which our GC does not have. He's a lovely guy on a personal level but not nearly as good a contractor as he thinks, and we sorely need a break from the unrelenting pressure. He still has not finished one major item - two sets of steel stairs that go from our rear porches to our rear terrace, as well as several small punchlist items. There's always an excuse. He's disorganized, but resents it when we step in to organize, or take any kind of action to impose a deadline - this from a guy who is routinely hours late to scheduled meetings and never met any deadline in the construction process, even ones he imposed himself. Our new theory this week is to give him whatever time he needs (within reason) but to limit his intrusions into our home life to one day a week, arranged in advance, with a "one hour" rule - if he's not here within an hour of when he is supposed to be he has to wait until the next week. Apparently that is being just as "mean" and "difficult" as complaining about unmet deadlines - he thinks we should be there 24/7 for him to do what he wants, or we should just give him a key and trust him, in any event on his schedule. No way - he has needed watching every step of the way. We've done way more than our share of work that he should have done - I feel for you there too. He's been inches away from being fired more than once on this job, and we've talked to a construction lawyer several times about really contentious issues. In the end, even though we have the cash leverage (we still owe him more than our 10% retention, primarily because he's too lazy to do a requisition), it just hasn't been worth it to fire him. Assuming that you don't need clean title for a takeout of your construction loan, it sounds like you have little to worry about. I don't have huge faith in the court system, but even then I find it hard to believe that a judge would buy his argument that his subs are not under his control. Also, if he's not done, how in the world could he be owed a completion bonus? The courts are always a risk, but in this case it seems to me a pretty small one. If you do have to close any new financing that requires title work, you may need to think about it a bit more strategically. Do everything you can to get your loan closed without a lien being recorded. Otherwise, my advice to you is the advice I have a hard time taking myself. It's only as big a deal as you make it. So hire a lawyer and instruct him or her to deal with it in as cost-effective a manner as possible. Then let it go and enjoy your new house.
...See More
We're home, and a few pics!
Q
Comments (58)
Steph, I'm so happy for you. You have been blessed with 2 beautiful children. Camryn is a little doll baby. Thanks for posting pictures of her. And you look beautiful in the picture by the way! You can see in your face how happy you are. Lots of ugs, Tammy
...See More
It's official...we're joining the 'old house club'!!!
Q
Comments (9)
Thanks everyone! I can't wait to get in and get my hands dirty! The summer kitchen is in pretty primitive condition...it's basically the frame structure (which is in good condition)...there is a staircase inside which goes up at an enormously, dangerously steep angle to the second floor (we're thinking maybe the servants had to live up there?) We peeked under the staircase and it was wallpapered with newspaper...from 1915! I hope that's just the first of many interesting surprises we find :) I took some pics inside summer kitchen...I will post them as soon as I get them off my camera. Life is chaotic right now with buying the new house, selling our current one..and also last week I found out my mom has a brain tumor :( I'm so glad that I have the endless possibilities of this new (to us!) old house to occupy my mind :)
...See More
I think we're watching too much CSI. lol
Q
Comments (11)
One day while walking the dog, & chewing gum I choked and spit out the gum, then got to thinking "what if someone gets murdered here, & all they can find is that gum, and they have my DNA and nothing else??? Of course now we tease about "don't spit out that piece of gum/candy/lifesaver" Since i was in the army, worked with mentally retarded patients, and took a training as dispatch, my fingerprints are in every database they could check, that would mean my DNA to right? (on the show it would.... )
...See More
Related Professionals
Fayetteville Architects & Building Designers · Saint Louis Park Architects & Building Designers · Dardenne Prairie Home Builders · Duarte Home Builders · The Colony Home Builders · Wilmington Home Builders · Lomita Home Builders · Bel Air General Contractors · Catonsville General Contractors · Chowchilla General Contractors · Fitchburg General Contractors · Havelock General Contractors · Irving General Contractors · Tuckahoe General Contractors · West Whittier-Los Nietos General Contractors
owl_at_home
17 years ago
Congratulations! It sounds great. I'm still in the stage where it doesn't seem real that we'll actually LIVE in the new house that we're building. It's going to be weird and exciting.

That's also nice hearing about your cats. I know our dogs will be fine with the move, cause they visit the house with us all the time anyway, but our cats have no idea what's going on.
0
kats
17 years ago
loralee!

Whoopee!!!!
You're IN...and there's NOTHING like finally being home! Whether or not you have furniture! At this stage just keep repeating the mantra "I don't need no stinkin' furniture!.
We gave almost every piece of furniture away before we moved so we're currently living with the "echo effect" too. Doesn't matter really though does it :)
And like you I still have to many boxes in the house to post pics yet. Can't wait to see yours though!

Congratulations again!
0
minnt
17 years ago
Congratulations! How awesome it must feel to be done and in. I am envious!

We also ordered a BainUltra, the Alma model and I can't wait to take a bath in it. I tried one out at a spa near us and it was wonderful.

Here is a link that might be useful: My house building blog
0
lindybarts
17 years ago
Congratulations! I'm laughing about your cats. Mine does like her new digs too but is so skittish about all the pounding still going on in the neighborhood. She has no interest in the cute little window seat I made just for her in the hallway. Cats....so finicky!

Can't wait for your photos and Congrats again!

Lindy
0
kelntx
17 years ago
Congratulations!! That is so funny about your cats! You sound so happy in your post :-)

Can't wait to see pictures! Oh, when DH bought our first house we had NOTHING. We sat on the floor for the longest time in the living room. All we had was a table, 4 chairs, a bed and some odds and ends. It will all come in time!

Congrats again!
0
pinktoes
17 years ago
lindybarts: don't mean to highjack here, but for all the catlovers would you post pics of your catseat in the hall sometime?
0
kcthatsme
17 years ago
Congratulations! I'm so happy for you! I can't wait to see your pics!
0
charliedawg
17 years ago
Congrats to you Loralee!!!

Doin' the HaPpY DaNcE for you.

Kats, LOL at the "echo effect". We have that too. Sometimes I feel like screaming TURN THAT %^!%* TV DOWN!! because it seems so loud.

I can't wait to see pictures...we don't care about the boxes, post them anyway :)
0
loralee_2007
Original Author
17 years ago
Thanks everybody! LOL, I'm glad I'm not the only one suffering the echo effect right now. I found out today that my furniture's not coming until mid-November!!

Also, what really worked for us and our cats was to lock them in one of the bedrooms while we moved. Then after everybody had left and we were getting ready for bed, that's when we actually let them out. It was quiet all night for them while they got to explore their new home.

Charliedawg, I saw your pics very soon after you moved in and am jealous how you got rid of your boxes so quickly. I must have re-organized my kitchen a 100 times already lol.

Here's a cute picture! Somebody better explain to Duke that he is a CAT and not a MONKEY lol.
0
pinktoes
17 years ago
loralee_2007: I see that we really missed the boat design-wise. I've been trying to think of some fun climbing apparatus for our cats and I see you have the perfect one! Problem: we don't have a 2nd floor. Maybe a stairway to Heaven...
0
charliedawg
17 years ago
Your steps are really pretty and unique. I like them a lot.

Maybe you didn't see my follow-up photo in my move-in posts. Did you miss the one with all of the boxes piled in the basement? Guess what? They are still there. :) I'm just good at hiding my messes. It's a fine art...ha ha!
0

We did it, we're HOME! The good and the bad lol...

Comments (13)

pinktoes

brutuses

Related Discussions

Related Professionals

owl_at_home

kats

minnt

lindybarts

kelntx

pinktoes

kcthatsme

charliedawg

loralee_2007
Original Author

pinktoes

charliedawg

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

We did it, we're HOME! The good and the bad lol...

Comments (13)

Related Discussions

Related Professionals

loralee_2007Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

loralee_2007
Original Author