3-Story Home Progress Pics

16 years ago

DH and I have six children; the youngest is a year and a half. We proceeded with plans to add on to our home to in 2003 when we found out we were having number five. However, we recently adopted 6-week-old twins and found we needed more space.

We set out to buy new, but soon found out we could build our own much cheaper. We still have to decide on flooring. Everyone wants a different carpet color, UGH! After that, we have to design our built-in entertainment center. We will be making the carpet purchase tomorrow so I'll post completed pictures soon.

I've included pictures of the twins who, by the way, are fraternal. We also had an inground pool built this year. Something tells me the twins won't like it much :(

Enjoy!

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Featured Answer

houseful
Original Author

16 years ago

Hi Fly, the fluffier one of ours is definitely also on the chubbier side. I nicknamed her Toulouse which, if I remember right, is the chubby kitten on the Aristocats. The other one is Stinkerbell because she's a stinker, as is antagonist!

Here are some semifinal pictures. We ran out of jute and some of the cloth has to be tightened. I also realize we should have left more room at the house entrance. Although they seem to do fine with just that small ledge. We'll put this in front of a window since cats like to look outside. The kids like to use the leftover material for little blankets. So far I think it's a hit!

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Comments (21)

dixiedoodle
16 years ago
Now that's funny! Thanks for the laugh :)
amyks
16 years ago
HA!! Beautiful twins. Good luck in the new home!
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allison0704
16 years ago
OMG! I was beginning to think you were saints! They are so cute. :D
merj
16 years ago
Hmmm. Have you considered GC'ing for a living? That's a fine addition you've done there.

Enjoy those cute babies!
arleneb
16 years ago
Fun post! Thanks for the creativity . . . in the story and in the structure! Your babies are beautiful!
cefoster
16 years ago
Oh my goodness.....I started reading and thinking that I am so selfish because I have 2 human children and that is all I can handle. Then to see it is about pets....toooo funny!!! I love it! THanks for sharing!
brutuses
16 years ago
That's so funny. When I first read a pair of 6 wk. old twins my first thought was she's referring to kids like I refer to kittens. HA! HA!

The little house is great. Do you use sisal on the posts? I find the cats like it better and it holds up longer.

Congratulations on the new babies, they are precious.
les917
16 years ago
How cute! Thanks for the smile! The 'twins' are adorable.
houseful
Original Author
16 years ago
LOL!!! I thought you would get a kick out of this. The original six kids are human, haha! These kittens are going to be the most even tempered since they'll be used to noise and being man-handled.

We do have a real addition and now have the a whole-house remodel to do for the original section. I also partly GC'd and addition and the pool. We used a consultant for both at considerable savings, but I did a heck of a lot of work. I can't wait to have real house progress pics to share. I sat down to this forum today and saw so many new progress posts (which I look so forward to reading) that I thought of this project we started yesterday. You might see our Rotty mix in some of the pics. I think he's jealous and wants his own house so that might be next.

I bought the posts as a single piece for $10 and the rest is leftover wood I used for the kids' bunk beds. I'm thinking about using large bath mats all in the same color since carpet is so thick and hard to manipulate. Each post is going to be wrapped in natural jute. Is that adequate?

And the built-in entertainment center will be a long string hanging down with a rubber mouse on the end.;D
kelntx
16 years ago
OMG! I so enjoyed that. I had to read it twice because I was thinking how in the world do they handle that many kids when my 8 year old is about to push me over the edge! LOL! I thought "these people are heaven sent to adopt TWINS!"

The house is great! The babies are precious!!!! They look like our little set of twins we had a few years ago! One was a nascar fan!

NasCat (also known as Diamond)

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Sox

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brutuses
16 years ago
Do the large bathmats have rubber backing? I wouldn't use that because their claws will get caught on the rubber and eventually tear it. Natural jute is perfect for the posts.
igloochic
16 years ago
I have a 22 month old and was reading that thinking....how on earth do they have time for six kids? How rediculous to take that amount of time from the family to build a home entirely on their own, and then bring twins into it LOL (This is because I barely dress myself and even being "just the designer" on a home remodel is a full time job, not to mention being mommy!")

Your babies are adorable...and you're right, they won't like the pool much!
kitchenkelly
16 years ago
Too funny. I was thinking "how can they afford an addition with six kids?"
boogamite
16 years ago
Very cute twins.

One hint with the rope wrapping - soak it in water first, and then wrap tightly. When it dries, it will shrink slightly, making it that much tighter around the posts. This works with sisal, but I think jute would do the same. Those two cuties will try to rip it off the posts, no matter what you do.
hoosiergirl
16 years ago
Too funny! Thanks for the laugh! They're adorable, BTW!
slahgirl
16 years ago
Now that's funny stuff.
I was a little worried for you and your different colored carpet in every room. You brought back some funny memories. A house we lived in when I was a kid had that. The bedrooms were hot pink, teal blue, and purple. Shag, of course. The living room was orange, and the dining room was pea green. I kid you not! I wish I had pictures......
sierraeast
16 years ago
Were there any height limitations in your area and if you exceeded them, did you obtain a variance? Did you utilize the services of a structural engineer regarding the third level and were load requirements met? Had you considered "building out" rather than "up" or was lot size a factor?

Awesome cat digs but you better get'r roofed because winter is coming!
houseful
Original Author
16 years ago
LOL, Sierraeast! A height variance? Considering the house behind me is smushed up to my property AND the foundation is 4 feet above grade, I didn't think I needed one (can you tell I'm a bit annoyed?).

I too grew up in a house where practically every room had different colored carpet. AHHH, the good ole 70's!

Nascat! That's is so hilarious! I wonder if our kitties will watch anything in particular on TV. They are just so cute right now. We did discover that they were peeing on my DH's work papers. PLEEAASE tell me they won't do this forever. They're female, so I'm surprised.

Well,the entire structure isn't even screwed together yet. I wanted to line the inside of the little house before the roof goes on, but the pieces are cut. I bought a big plushy blanket at Marshall's that I'm going to cut to size for each section. The rubber on the bath mats had me concerned. Thanks for the tip about wetting the just as well. The kids are bugging me to finish the structure right now so that's where I'm headed.
sierraeast
16 years ago
Forgot to mention to run it by the FHA,(feline housing association), any colors planned for painting for their approval!
mahatmacat1
16 years ago
Houseful, you're Housefuller now :)

I love your design--I knew that if anyone could handle building yet another addition, it would be you. :)

We've got to build a new apartment building for our tenants as well. One of them is rather overweight, though, so careful structural engineering will be a must. That top apartment would never pass inspection with our senior resident in mind...

3-Story Home Progress Pics

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3-Story Home Progress Pics

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