Wow- I must be the oldest one on here- I'm a '53! Talk about aches and pains- I feel pretty good scampering up and down scaffolding like a cat, but the next morning I really pay for it. Still, I've lost 40 lbs. since I started our project.

mush-I have never at any age 'scampered like a cat down scaffolding' - so that is pretty darn good! Kudos to you! Now back to my regularly scheduled baking which has had a counter-affect on any manual labor calorie burn I have earned throughout this process. ;)

Hi All,
I am amazed by you all who are running your regular life, managing builds, packing up homes, and are still able to post here so frequently!!
We are moving along...drywall is finished and painting will start next week. I had to have my color choices in by Thursday and I hope I like them! Foyer,Hall and Great room will be the ever popular BM Revere Pewter (just couldn't commit to a true gray after having warm tones for so long!), Basement and Powder Rm will be BM Quiet Moments, Master and Piano Room will be BM Beach Glass, and Kitchen/Dining, Office and Mud room will be BM Palladian Blue.

My front door finally arrived....transom is wrong and the mullions are different than what I expected. However, I think it actually really works with the paneling and in an effort to keep this build somewhat on schedule, I decided to keep it.

We got our landscaping quote last week and I am feeling pretty sick about it. Knew we needed some retaining walls but didn't think it would add up to the sum of 80k! Anyone else have experience with this. I am not sure if this is really what they cost or if we are just being taken advantage of since we are in the "nice" neighborhood in town.

Michelle...it is good to see things moving along for you. You should be at the framing stage before you know it! As far as age...I am a '76er and DH is a '70er. I wonder if there is a correlation of the type of home one is building and age since a lot of us seem to be in a similar age bracket;-)

Musicgal...I greatly enjoy your home pics. Your creative energy shows through more and more with each pic that I see.

amberm...glad to hear that you have at least a great framer and are hopefully seeing lots of progress. Hope that helps with all the other frustrations that you are dealing with.

JuniperSt...Basement looks great...things will move along fast from there

Northpole...looks like you are getting close! Congrats on being the first of our "batch mates" to get to the finish line! Love your decor and design choices....all looks beautiful. I am unsure on your island pendant...I think it is cool but would love to see something that is a little more sparkly and not quite as different from your dining fixture...just my 2 cents. Can you live with it and still exchange without taking a major loss?

Robyn...your place is looking fabulous! So jealous on that laundry room! Good luck w/ the move. Btw...your love of your paint color helped me make up my mind and we will have Revere Pewter as one of our main color choice:-)

MrsB...framing is looking good. We still refer to the house as "The Lot" and it drives our kids nuts:-)

Autumn...small strange world...my daughter turned 12 yesterday, as well. I, too, am wondering where the time went!

Here is some eye candy of my front door for you all....

From further back...

Mush- you've got me beat by three years- and like Autumn, I don't scamper down much of anything anymore... I will however, cautiously get up on the Cosco stepstool. Love that thing.

Terrific news today. Life is normalizing. Found the little box I keep necessities in- the good blush brush, tweezers, my Belkin usb internet connector, Brighton earrings, etc. All the stuff you can't live without, ya know.

We accepted a bid for our floor and will get that done when we get back from Canada. I hear it's really Fall up there:-)

My computer is wanting to recharge, but I just wanted to show you guys the door handles now that the tape is off. Big improvement, I think.

On a design note....
Had always planned to have the posts large and white (garage will also be white carriage doors) but my builder threw out the idea yesterday of having them stained dark like the front door. I am intrigued by the idea...it could either look really great or totally out of place. As you all have such great home savvy thought I'd throw it out to you to get your thoughts...

Pic is what we are modeling our porch from

Happyvalley- that is so pretty, it would be hard to go wrong with matching that stain- IMO.

Actually, the scampering isn't so bad; it's setting the scaffolding up. Due to our sloping ground, every time I move it, i have to take it all apart, drag it up the hill, and put it all back together. Is it any wonder it's taking me forever to build this place?

Mush- You are definitely "the" man. Great pic of the scaffolding- I am a fan of all you are accomplishing. No easy path you've taken, but you know every inch of your house.

Robyn- I am simply in awe at the scale of what you are building. The only folks with a better laundry room are the Duggars, lol -)

happyvalley- thank you for the kind words. You are doing amazing things, so I take your comments as high praise:)

Autumn- Loving the pavers too... thanks. We already are turning on the pool heater though. When are y'all coming to swim?

Carson- where art thou?

mush- look at that gorgeous sky you have there! Woohoo! Yeah I don't know how dh does that stuff either. He does stand a little crooked these days... So where do you hope to be before this winter hits? Anymore barn parties?

happyvalley-so nice. I think with your house, siding and roof colors you could easily go either way. Not helpful I know but I think it's one of those instances that you won't lose sleep over after the fact. I think stained would be more striking and sort of frame the space and the white would be very nice as well but not as pronounced looking? Your home is lovely.

tamaratom-I guess so - you have come a long way! Looks great. :) I wanted to look at virginia mist IRL but couldn't find it around here. Looks very nice.

michelle-tween's UGH! Calgon take me away!

music-nice handles and glad you found your 'essentials'. :D

Tamara: love the cabinets!
Happy valley: gorgeous home! What stone did you use for the exterior? It is lovely.

Since we are all sharing ages, '80 baby here! The grays are coming in and my little guys are getting bigger (they are 4 and 2.) Can't wait to get them into the house, we have lived in coop apartments their whole lives and they are so excited to move into the "big house."

mrsb-"the big house" - that made me smile as that is what the University of Michigan's stadium is called. 4 and 2 - so sweet. I am in awe of how quickly they grow. Snuggle them up before they don't want to do that anymore! You will love being in the big house with a yard for them to roam. :D Super fun times ahead.

SO much progress from everyone since I last checked in. Welcome to the new folks too.

Northpole: Please share details on that great table you pictured above.

happyvalley:Love that arched entry to the porch. Nice focal point, and how inviting.

musicgal: Can you share some details (brand, cost, setup) on your generator? We ran out of time & money, so backup power got dropped. I pray the power doesn't go out, because I don't own a portable generator, or even know how to use one!

NHHobart: Like the warmth of your kit cabs. Great color. Reminds me of old craftsman work. Looks timeless. Like the pendants too. Are those Pottery Barn?

On our end, we've got a few minor punch-list items, but the bulk of things are done. Had our final bank inspection the other day and last draw, so will convert const loan to perm mortgage soon and close that chapter. We've hit the bottom of the money barrel, so every few weeks can decide to do one thing from the to-do list.

Got some landscaping finished. Walkway, patio, and enough left to seed the front lawn. Out back is an acre-plus of hard-scrabble rocks, roots, and branches. I spend a couple hours every morning and evening raking them by hand. It's actually very zen. Hopefully by spring I can lay down a million dump trucks of loam and seed it all. Then again, I'm thinking wildflowers, vegetable garden, and a hedge maze. (All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy...)

Still haven't unpacked any of the stuff in the basement that was from the storage locker. Still haven't got any curtains on the windows. Still only have 2 pots for the induction cooktop. No rush on any of that. Actually, it's nice to not feel any sense of urgency on decisions or to-do's. It's done, we're in, the rest will be done when it's done.

Here is a link that might be useful: Mmm...blog.

oicu- had a duplicate post for some reason, but saw your question.

We put in a 20kw Generac natural gas generator. It's hooked up to the house gasline. It self checks everyday by coming on for a bit.

This post was edited by musicgal on Sat, Sep 27, 14 at 22:20

Hi Autumn- yes, we've come a long way in a relatively short period of time. (A builder motivated to finish in time for the parade of homes helps!)

Mush- I am in awe of you! So neat that you're doing all that work yourself.

Mrs. B- thanks! We're very happy with the cabinets.

HappyValley- I really like the door! I agree you can probably go either painted or stained for the columns, but I do really like the painted columns on your inspiration photo.

Musicgal- So glad to see your iron doors are finally finished. They're beautiful!

No new pictures today. We were at the house, but there were a lot of workers and we had to go over some things with the builder. We'll be back tomorrow and I'll take clearer pictures! Have a good night, all.

music-oh how I wish I could say TODAY-I'll be right over. But alas, no. I am still way up here but thankfully enjoying warmer than average temps for this week - mid 70's. I'll take it! We did just have to do some cooler weather shopping. My oldest tried on a pair of pants and they were pretty much capris. Not a good look for a BOY.

TamaraTom-fall parade of homes by you? When is your target move in? I'd guess after the fall parade which will be around November 1? Our fall parades are late October.

Finally getting around to posting. It's been a long long long build so far with the rain stopping us at every chance it gets:) But here where we are at so far!

Last Thursday poured main floor walls and garage and set beams. Hard work but so rewarding.

Next up - Roof trusses delivered next Friday and windows in.

Some highlights of the build
1. Full Hobbs Vertical ICF home
2. Geothermal
3. Zola Aluminum/Wood clad windows and doors
4. Siga tapes for airsealing
5. Zehnder HRV

If you'd like to know more details, I'll post a new thread for everyone to follow along.

Happyvalleyhome -- not only are we batchmates here, we are both '76ers! So is my husband. Your house is coming along nicely.

Oicu -- table is about 3 years old. I ordered it online. I will find out where from exactly.

Musicgal -- doors look amazing

We are supposedly closing in a week and a half, but seems like there are a lot of things left to do :/ Questioning (and panicking) whether we will make it! We close on our current house too on the same day supposedly.

Here is a running list of things I can think of at this moment:
1. Windows have not been moved (the ones that were not in the center), and consequently the wood floor in that area has yet been done as well, and of course siding has to be replaced.
2. Waiting for the front doors to arrive
3. Trim carpenters need to install some interior doors, and a few windows still need trim
4. masonry needs to START work on our fireplace!
5. few exterior recessed lights to be put up, as well as some more light fixtures
6. Plumbers need to finish putting sinks and faucets in
7. Appliances - double oven still in the garage; refrigerator still not delivered!; basement refrigerator needs replacement
8. Glass for shower door and walls
9. Stamped concrete needs to be sealed and colored
10. Wallpaper
11. Wall stencil
12. Window treatments
(I'm sure I missed more!)

Would we make it???

northpole - It looks like if they get working fast they should be done. My list is just about as long as yours and we are moving in on Monday night!! They have a ton of people coming out on Monday to finish up along with the 2nd inspection. The masons stoned out fireplace in about 2 days and it we have 23 foot ceilings in that room. It will all work out! Kind of stressful for this final stretch, huh??!! I can't wait to finally be moving in!!

Yes, robynstamps! As per builder's original schedule, we should have been on final clean up and final inspection last Monday! We expected lots of activity last week, but workers would come for like 2 hours to do a few things. I'm a little stressed because I have already noted a lot of things that need to be repaired (?) like scratched walls, uneven this and that, etc so I feel like I need more time in the end for them to address those. We have our "final" walk though on Thursday. Hope everything is done by then. Wish us luck!! And good luck to you too! Your house is beautiful!

I forgot to post a pic of our fireplace stone. No mantle yet. Here it is:

And here is the opposite wall that has wood on it. Couldn't remember if I ever posted a pic of that or not. Here ya go:

happyvalley:

While I like the idea of the stained posts, I slightly prefer the painted ones. I think the beautiful door should pop with its own stain/colour and not repeat that colour on the posts. Photoshopping it both ways would be the best way to feel confident about the decision.

Tweet:

Welcome. We did ICF on our basement walls. Kudos to all the green techniques you are using.

Mush: Always like seeing your progress as DH is now building the rest of our house on his own with very occasional help (he started the DIY after the shelled in stage). It is very slow going, but less stressful in a way as we only have self imposed deadlines and winter to deal with. When did you start your build?

OICU: Yeah for grass and being almost done.

Robyn and North Congrats on having the finish line in sight. Robyn, please let us know where you bought your daughter's chandy from?

JDEZ: Love the fireplace and warm wood walls!

Tamara: I agree with others that your progress is quick.

Musicgal: Where in Canada are you travelling? Yes the fall here is gorgeous.

Kris: I can't remember what stage of building you are in. However, at different stages of constructions rooms can look smaller (or bigger) than they feel when they are done. Provia makes a great door!

Autumn: Always love reading your humorous comments. Sorry to hear about the porch delays. Glad your beautiful back splash has passed the testing. I find kids' birthdays hard too. Why do they have to grow up so fast?! One of my sons turned 15 at the beginning of Sept and my youngest (a daughter) is turning 9 later in October -- that I am not ready for at all!

I have spent hours pouring over thousands of light fixture options on Destination lighting. Great site, Mfatt. It is so hard to know how matchy matchy you want to go with light fixtures in an open concept space in terms of choosing lights from the same collection, or trying to match finishes or shade colours. Also, my style is transitional, but I often like the light fixtures described as modern/contemporary. Why can't a gal who likes transitional have a little crystal and bling? Well, back I go to search another 1000 pages on destination lighting -- I might be going insane with choices.

Carol

Happy Valley- I also slightly prefer the painted look with what you have going on but the stain would surely look nice.

JDez- that wood wall and fireplace set up looks great! I feel like we have all come so far.

Music- We have that generator set-up at my work (a residence) and it works seamlessly and was well worth the expense of the natural gas mainline to it. We can't do that on our build because we have no access to gas. We are putting in a propane set up but they aren't nearly as nice or reliable as the big Generac.

Happyvalleyhome, ours just got painted over the weekend. Love how it turned out.

To those who can remember my dilemma about recessed lights on my dark gray soffit, we went with black and glad we did :). That downspout in the middle is killing me though!

What's wrong with the downspout? Too visible?

OntarioMom- I started in June of 2012 with a hole in the ground, so it's been 2 years, 4 months or so. I probably spent a couple months finishing the barn in that time, and 2 months in FL getting our old house ready to sell, so i have about 2 years in right now. The outside is just about finished, and the master bath is about ready for tile, so the last big things will be the entire kitchen, and the flooring. I'm building all of my cabinets, so it will be a while yet. I have to have surgery (hernia) this fall, so I'll be out of action for a couple months, but we'll get there eventually!

@Happyvalley -- can you stain the porch posts and then if you don't like them -- paint them? I know you can't do the opposite.

Mush,

If it makes you feel like yours is a speedy build, we started about 6 months before you. Like you there were various times when we ceased building for one reason or another. You are much further along in the interior than we are, but our home is fully cladded and most re-grading and even some landscaping is done.

Carol

Mfatt, yes, too visible. But actually, after the posts were painted, it "disappeared" a little bit which is good.

TamaraTom- I am in love with your Virginia mist, would you mind sharing what price per sqf was for it?

Thank you!!!

jdez-that looks great! I bet you are so ready to move in there and relax. Well eventually I suppose relaxation will come. :D

northpole-we have one of those downspouts, right where you wish it wasn't but there is no place else to go with it - and it was crooked! It was as if it was waving, hey everybody welcome, look at ME. Thankfully they did adjust it so it's straight. Our house is kind of a greige so not a perfect match either way you go so it doesn't disappear. It is what it is.

carol-we used lightingdirect for most. I had great success with their delivery and customer service. I will add that if you are buying multiple fixtures for a house build you can 'chat' with them and they can view your cart and will give you a better price. That was my experience. I'm right there with you on a nice transitional fixture with just a little bit of bling! Hard to come by. Besides my pendants and dining fixture, the rest are fine but I don't go ahhh. But then again I don't even really 'see' them anymore when I am walking about. I actually look and see my pendants every day and smile. As far as layered lighting, what I thought wouldn't really matter I find I am enjoying a lot. In the living room after dark I typically turn on the fireplace lights and the niche lights that are up in behind the arches. Really nice soft lighting. I wasn't going to do fireplace lights because I didn't think we'd use them, thought we had plenty of other lighting but the electrician swayed me and I'm glad I listened.

Happy Monday...marching right on to October.

Hi all,

Thanks for weighing in on the porch columns. I am still undecided but at least have some time to think about it as I don't think they are scheduled to go in for a few weeks. Rms....had a good thought about trying the stain first and then if it doesn't work painting them out. Anyone have paint shop that could help me out with a visual??

Musicgal...doors are lovely and unique!

Mush...this build must be a labour of love for you! I bet even with all the aches and pains it is keeping you young:-)

Mrsb...I second getting in lots of snuggles! They do grow up too fast. My stone is a mix of Stonecraft Pennsylvania Ledgestone (80%) and Fieldstone (20%).

Oicu...yay grass!!! Don't think we will get to that stage until next spring. Congrats on getting settled in...can't wait to make it to that stage

Tamaratom...you are really coming along fast! Love your kitchen! That Virginia mist/mont blanc combo will be very similar to my choices of soapstone for perimeters and iceberg quartzite for island

Tweeter...welcome!

Northpole...good luck this week...will hope fo a very productive week for you. Your porch looks lovely and welcoming!

Robyn...good luck with your punch list and move tonight! You must be so excited, nervous, exhausted!!

Jdez...your builtins and wood walls are stunning!

Ontariomom...I remember the mind numbing process of going through so many pages and pages of light fixtures. Have you looked at Hinkley and Feiss lighting? I remember them being more modern/transitional. My favorites are Robert Abbey and Visual Comort Lighting but they may be a little too traditional for you

Autumn...hope you were able to enjoy the beautiful fall weekend...without doing too much house stuff!

I'm in the 70's club too. I am 78 and my husband is 75. Our brick work is coming along, we just need it to stop raining, so they can finish. The deck is being built tomorrow, and drywall starts on Thursday. I was able to order our garage doors today. I leave town for a little over a week Thursday evening so I am super excited to see all the progress they make when I get back.

Robyn-good luck on your move tonight. I bet it will be a long day and night, but it will be worth it.

Ontariomom- I ordered lights from all over. Overstock.com, build.com, lampsplus.com, wayfair, amazon, and some other places. I decided to just buy what I like and try not to worry if it all goes together.

MrsFireman, I'll check on the SF price. We also have Mont Blanc, so I need to ask specifically about the Virginia Mist.

Happy Valley- OOHHH soapstone! Love it! We will have a small remnant of it in our half bath. I can't wait to see your kitchen.

Robyn- Congratulations!!

Northpole - I looked at your pic first and didn't notice the downspout. Then I saw it after reading your post. So, didn't notice it until you pointed it out.

Autumn - Relax? What is that?

Robyn - Hope your move is going well.

Ontariomom- we are headed to Montreal for our anniversary trip. In Worchester now with family before driving through Vermont tomorrow on the way up. Such a treat for flatlanders.

Northpole- yes, that downspout is in a bothersome place. We stopped the gutter guys from putting in anything until we could be there in the house- still don't have any gutters yet... but man, in a compromise with symmetry and function, at least yours blend in colorwise. A rain chain on either side of the gable would be too conspucous too, I think. We have a similar problem in our pool area where the downspout positions will tend to be a little wonky. I am researching options.

Musicgal...enjoy your time in Montreal...it is a great city with lots of food and culture! If you are venturing outside of the city at all I would recommend heading to Mt Tremblant. The pedestrian village has great food (favourite is La Forge...upper level) and activities and I'm sure the 45min drive through the mountains at this time of year would be breathtaking. Have fun:-)

The cabinet guys have been waiting on us for 2 weeks to finish the tile. Well the tile got finished and we have cabinets now. They are cherry with a cranberry colored stain. The doors and trim are stained to match the cabinets.

This is my wife's side of the bathroom

And the doors

Mrs. Fireman- the price we got on the Virginia Mist is $65 sq/ft.

Indiana- love the finish on the cabs!

OntarioMom - thanks. We're two feet shy on the width on the master (from our previous house) so I'm thinking the oversized furniture isn't going to fit right. But hoping I'm wrong.

Yup, ordering the provia tomorrow.

We're (finishing up?) framing.

jdez-I dunno. It's a word that is in my vocabulary but I have no practical applicaton to apply it??? :D

northpole - yikes, that is a long list. :( Any of those things schedule to start? Like say the window moving?

tamaratom-that is a great price for that pretty stone!

Hold the phone - the barn concrete is going to be poured tomorrow?! Do you know what that MEANS???? Holy cow peeps I could be parking in the garage by Saturday. Watch out world! A new day is dawning and this girl isn't going to need an umbrella to get to the car!

Autumn - Wh, what?! Yay for you!!! It's more and more like home.

I feel like a little sister over here! (I'm an '80 baby) My DH and I have 4 kids (ages 7-2) so there's lots of cuddling for stories over here these days. Reading to the kids is a great stress reliever!

I'm just soaking in all your progress. Way to keep things moving!

Are good plumbers hard to find?! Ours has made another mistake, which has delayed our slab pour for a second time. Considering we are still at the beginning, I think we'll be switching to a new plumbing company.

We asked our friends who have built homes recently, and none would give a good recommendation for their plumbers. Surely, there must be some out there that know how to follow a plan!

I really am hoping to see some wood going up next week. Fingers crossed!!

yellowducky - I'm just a year older. (Just two kids though) But yup, they love their books. Hope next week goes your way, seeing that really started feeling like we were making progress.

Music,

I was born and raised in Montreal, QC, but now live in Ontario. Montreal is a wonderful city! I love Vermont too -- lots of great camping trips there.

Carol

Framer pointed out to me today that our architect's drawings assume 14" thick joists, but the joist company sent us 11 7/8", as indicated in the joist plan. Architect was on his way to the site to discuss changing out my "post" made of 2x6s for a steel post that's more attractive. So we discussed the fact that our house is going to be 6" shorter than planned. It's a problem because we wanted the house taller, but the city wouldn't allow it. On the upside, we can get an extra 6" of headroom on the 3rd floor, where it's desperately needed. On the downside, the floor of the 3rd floor is now 6" lower, which reduces our view. We'd have liked it to be a foot HIGHER. We would have made the lower floor ceilings higher. But now our 3rd floor deck is lower, so we'll need to build a platform up there so we can see over tree tops. Boo.

Architect swears that the joist company pulled a last minute switch. He claims he had designed for a 12" joist, but the joist company spec'd 14" ones, and he spent an evening stretching all the joists in Autocad. But I looked at all our different versions of joist plans, and we never had 14" ones spec'd. I think this goes into the list of things he would have caught if he'd actually READ the joist plan.

But, hey, more headroom on the 3rd floor means more useable floor space, since the ceilings are sloped. DH wouldn't be able to stand anywhere but right in the middle in the original plan.

Musicgal, fall in Vermont is spectacular. But I think you're there a couple of weeks early.

Hey guys these are some great posts. I have a question where do you get a loan for owner builder i am having trouble finding a bank to loan from. all need a GC which i want to avoid. I have a property that is paid for and have pretty good downpayment. Tips would be appriciated thanks