SAND92107 - Love the pendants and back splash in your kitchen. Also loving the garage lights. I heaven't seen like those before.

Parsonse- The lights were purchased online from Barn Light Electric, they are the 16"

Thank you for all the kind words. We can't wait to get in. Pardon the crappy cell phone pictures, I hope to get better shots this weekend.

Here is a link that might be useful: Barn Light Electric

Thanks! I've looked at BLE before but just couldn't decide which length would work best - yours look great! Again, beautiful home!

Sands, great looking house! Just curious, what is the 'I think green' rectangular box at the top right in the 4th pic?

I'm soooo glad to be done with framing! It took 8 weeks to get it all finished up due to weather & other assorted issues. Onward and upward!

Rough ins are done, roof is on, house is insulated, foundation and chimney are being bricked now and drywall is going up. Wood flooring will be delivered next week and Hardie siding should start by the end of next week. So excited with the progress and looking forward to a mid-December completion date!

Front

Back

Brick is Mosstown by Cherokee with a buff mortar. Love it!

My cookie kitchen

My son in his 'secret room' behind his closet!

Upstairs loft/study area. We hadn't originally intended to wall this off and planned to have a rail overlooking the kitchen, but with young kids this is a much better use of the space. We can always open it back up when they're gone. :)

I envy those of you just wrapping things up. We just got started on 11/1. Here's a pic of our lot with the digging just beginning.

We're shooting for move-in date of around 7/15/2013 depending on the winter weather here in the south Kansas City area.

We've had great progress recently. Just finished the brick, drywall and added porches (except screens). Hopefully this pace will continue so we can be in by Christmas.

Porch off master bedroom

Main porch

Living Room

Kitchen and Dining Room

Everyone's build looks great, keep those pictures coming!

Robin-the box is actually my breakfast nook light in the shot

We got the ICF basement forms poured this weekend. This week I will get the plastic down on the rock basement floor followed up the 2" of XPS foam with hopefully pouring the basement slab this weekend, weather permitting.

going to order the window and door package this week. Decided on Kolbe and Kolbe Ultra EP casement and fixed windows in triple pane glass. The glass is tuned to specific exposures to enhance solar heat gains on the south. Exterior colors combination of red and black colors. I will also get the front door from them as well as a custom door.

Updated pics in the blog

Here is a link that might be useful: home building blog

It's been four months, we're all done painting. Now comes finishing HVAC, insulation blown to attic, finish electrical, get rain collection system installed (hopefully this week, they are 3wk behind bringing our tank), tile and finish plumbing,wood floors, husband building 2 vanities and linen storage cabinets, then installing and putting top on cabinets, decide how to finish our columns out front and finish them, porch ceiling. Interior trim and doors after move-in we think. Hope to accomplish this and move Dec. 1.

Here are some pics of our build. We started on Aug 1, 2012. My pics are a little outdated. The roof metal is completed and the siding is almost all on. It is nichiha fiber cement board and we are staining it yankee barn. The sheetrock is also complete and ready for paint. Septic, water and electric are all ran to the house and connected and heat and air is on. We plan to move in my december 1 with the inside completed.

Wellllll.....nothing has been done after the footings poured in August! My contractor said the log house they are building has taken so much longer than expected...and now the floor joists have been delayed until Friday. I am in the same boat as RLSinOP....wondering just what this Kansas weather might have in store for us this winter. I so much wanted it enclosed before it gets cold or bad weather....so am getting very anxious, but nothing I can do about it so am at everyone's mercy. I was to start late August and be in by Christmas....so now I guess I can hope for Easter.
So God, please give me patience!

We are building the Vida de la Confianza house plan. In the process of framing and the roof should begin at the end of the week. Just picked out brick, stone and roof colors, hopefully it will look good! I am trying to post pictures on this iPad. First time poster:)

Here is a link that might be useful: Vida de la confianza house plan

Wow the houses posted are all so pretty. We just broke ground 11/1. Our house won't be as grand as the others posted but we are still excited. Could be interesting building a house in the winter in Eastern Washington. I'm hoping I won't have to shovel snow out of our living room. :)

Here is a picture of the forms for the foundation and our future view.

Our single story home is coming along. On the inside, framing is completed and rough HVAC, plumbing, and electrical are substantially completed. Drywall expected to start next week.

Front:

Rear:

Everyone's houses look beautiful!

We just finished with the basement and laying the plumbing for the in floor heat.

A few from the left

A few from the right:

I'm anxious to start framing and really see what this house will look like. We're hoping for a April 1 completion date, but it'll be dependent on how this winter is.

Sandy,
Your new home is gorgeous! I love the kitchen. We haven't begun yet but will soon. I am interested in your backsplash...what is the material? And what size are the tiles? Also what is the color of the paint on the walls? Thank you!

Laura517-Thank you! The wall color is BM Stonington Gray. The backsplash is Carrara marble in 3x6 polished beveled subway tile, the inlay is a herringbone 1x2. Good luck with your build!!

Sandy,
Thank you for the backsplash info- I think I want to replicate it! I am having trouble deciding between all white cabinets or white perimeter cabinets with a wood stained island. We will have red oak hardwood floors- in a traditional stain (not sure of name). What kind of floors do you have? I love the contrast of your cabinets and love the look of the hardwoods too!

Laura517- Your welcome. The BS is gorgeous in person, you won't be disappointed. As for cabinets, I wanted all white, my husband wanted dark so it was a nice compromise.
Our floors are also red oak stained in English Chestnut

Sand92107- I think the BS and the BM paint color look fantastic together. Just a few more questions...hope you don't mind. But seeing your new kitchen has me so excited.

Are your ceilings 9'?
What countertop do you have on the perimeter? (looks like a black granite)
What is the size of your island? Looks like it will have room to seat 3. And lastly, who made your cabinets? Mine will most likely be Medallion.

Framing just started today!

Laura517- I don't mind at all, planning the kitchen is the best part!
Our cabinets were semi custom, the island is 8 x 3.5, it will seat three, but I think you could do four. The countertop is a limestone Pietra Cardosa, gray color. I included a closer picture & the island is super white quartzite. The ceilings are 9'. We close next week, I should have better pictures after we move in.

M2two - That is a grand view! Just beautiful.

We've been at it for a year+ now and are looking to get our mechanicals etc inspections this Tuesday.
Thankfully we are not to drywall as Sandy left us with a roof repair and water inside that would have been major had we had drywall up.
It has been slow but steady and we have done the excavating for the horse barn and hope to get that underway before to much longer.
It's always fun to see everyone's progress. Wish you all happy building!

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motherof3sons: Thanks, We really like it and feel fortunate to be able to be finally building our house here.

ppbenn: your home is beautiful! Like a dream up on that hill.

Havent posted in a long time. Here is our new build Folk Victorian in the mountains of West Virginia. Started in April, been a very long process but getting closer everyday!

SAND92107 - Your house is beautiful!
We start framing in a couple of weeks and we are still undecided about some things so I have a couple of questions for you -
Are you going to place your TV above your fireplace? If so, where are you going to put your cable box and dvd player?
Also, what brand of double ovens did you go with?

I feel like things are going slowly for us, but maybe that's because I'm so excited for the inside finishing to start.

Here's the exterior (roof in progress)
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Also, I posted a while ago about a mistake with the interior staining (they used the exterior stain inside). Here is a photo of the restored logs. They were stripped, lightly sanded, and finished with a clear varnish. I am happy with the result, and so glad that the hand-peeled finish was not ruined during the stripping process.
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mcgmr-Thank you! We will put the TV above the fireplace, the cable box and components will be stored in a nearby closet. I'm not sure how it works but I think there is an "eye" that is placed on/near the TV that transmits to the box. We did Wolf E series ovens, took advantage of the package promo they were running. Good Luck!!!

I love seeing everyones photos
ppbenn-your last photo is beautiful!

ppbenn,

Love your exterior! Is that hardi? What color is it? I'm looking for a pale yellow.

TIA!

kberrie1
The siding is Nichiha fiber cement lap siding.Butter Cream. We really like this brand of siding and found an unbelievable deal at a local place that had a closeout. I believe it was a discontinued color. I bought enough to do our horse barn too.
The guys who installed were careful but it will need painting so getting prepainted isnt worth the extra. Ours was at a deep discount so it worked for us plus I really like the color. Very pale yellow. nice and mild. Although I had difficulty finding a color match for touchups.
My husband did all of the window/door trim I think he did a great job!

SAND
Thanks for the picture of your garage lites I too was having difficulty figuring out sizes. Your's look perfect.

I really love all the pictures of everyones houses.
I'm so jealous of everyone who is within reach of the end of their build. And for all of you just starting I wish you perfect weather and uncomplicated problem solving. There's no such thing as problem free... and yes building a house is a lesson in patience.

Laurajane Wow LOVE the logs. Wish we would have done metal roof especially after Sandy.

They started excavating yesterday! I was having heart palpitations, both nervous and excited! So many decisions to be made! For example, discussion of driveway. I will post photo tomorrow. Rained here in New England today.

ppbenn: your house is gorgeous and my what a view you will have! Where are you building?

sand92107: did you get your co yet? Post more photos when you get a chance!

I love seeing everyone's progress. Things are looking good!
We are getting there, but it seems that trim will never end. Still need to finish the stairs, fire place surround and more. The banquette and pantry are in and I am really happy with them - can't wait to see them after final paint. The banquette may look familiar to some of you - thanks graceshan for the inspiration!

The counter in the pantry was inpired by a few different people in the kitchen forum. I am really excited to have the counter to keep my small appliances on - and still have them tucked away from the main kitchen.

The kitchen is coming together.

Wood floors are in upstairs.

We hope to be done in a few weeks. Or at least close enough to move in - we have given up on the idea of finishing our landscaping and getting the brick on the porches before move in. Our current house sold much more quickly than expected - so here we are.
Thanks for all of the inspiration! GW has been an invaluable resource.

Tile guys are at work for the next couple of weeks for us. We are getting more excited each week as we see the progress. Hardwood should start going down after Thanksgiving. Trim guy will start first week of December, hopefully :). Still some work on the outside (front porch, shutters). Unfortunately, it looks like we will be waiting till next spring for grass (Pittsburgh winters!)

Check out the progress below:

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Lindsay221 - Your house is beautiful. What brick did you use?

Thanks so much. Our brick is General Shale Salem Creek Tudor. We used white mortar with regular sand.

lindsay....your house looks great! But the idiot that installed the walkway should have put knobs on top of that rebar. Someone walking by and trips on a rock or a clump of dirt....that's just like having a sword sticking outta the ground!!

All the homes are amazing in this thread. You should all be very proud. Please let me know if you have any rooms for rent.

Posted by robin0919 (My Page) on Mon, Nov 19, 12 at 22:13

lindsay....your house looks great! But the idiot that installed the walkway should have put knobs on top of that rebar. Someone walking by and trips on a rock or a clump of dirt....that's just like having a sword sticking outta the ground!!

Where do they do that? Of all the homes built in our area I have never seen that applied. I'm assuming if you aren't tresspassing you wouldn't have anything to worry about! :) I know for a fact of all the homes built in our neighborhood none of them had it!

Robin...that is not rebar it is 1' steel form stakes and they have a flat/blunt end on them. I believe that OSHA requires that rebar be capped but not steel form stakes...the State I live in doesn't even cap form stakes in their road construction projects.

Here is a link that might be useful: OSHA

Loto& X.....it's just common sense to put caps on any rebar/steel sticking straight up outta the ground. Even the installers could trip and fall on it! They do it(install caps) around here all the time. Loto....how would you like it if you fell on that blunted end??

Robin...I built commercial construction projects all over the United States for 25 years and not once did we use caps on steel stakes for concrete forms and not once did we have an injury from soneome falling on a BLUNT end steel stake and injuring themselves. I did have several injuries from people smashing their fingers with a sledge hammer when setting/driving the steel stakes so maybe I should have had the workers put plastic caps on their fingers.
Plastic caps are the norm on exposed rebar and that is standard in the construction industry. Your "Common Sense" comment is your opinion and it is pretty evident that you have not spent much time on a construction site as there are many more areas prone to more serious accidents than your "Rebar" scenario.
And you asked how I would feel if I fell on the blunted end...the answer is I would feel pretty stupid and that is my honest answer that I am sure you will not like but you did ask.

DH slipped and broke his foot in six places trying to avoid falling on rebar. Just sayin.

Sand92107

Your home is beautiful! And, so everyone. We started the plan process and I have a question, what are the dimensions of your kitchen. I want to put an island in the kitchen, probably about the same width, don't know about how the length. My architect was saying that you don't want a cramp space between counters and island. So far I have came up with dimension of 14x16 and trying to see where I can pull more space from in order to get at least a 33"x60" island. Help please. Thanks!

We were hoping to move in by Christmas but that's mostly not going happen. Trim is almost done, staircase started yesterday, and then wood floor and carpet.

LAURA517- We did get our CO & are moved in.

sthomas-Thank you, our kitchen is 14x13, the island is 8' x3'.3 with 43" on sink side and 46" behind stools. We wanted a 4' wide island but our kitchen designer advised against it. I'm happy with reducing the island, feels very open, not cramped at all. Good Luck!

Everyone's build looks great. Hopefully, I'll have most unpacking complete & final pictures for next months post.

This is my first time posting even though I have been reading and learning. We started our build on June 9 when the lot was excavated. We are hoping to be in by January 11. Here is a picture of the front of our home.

This is our kitchen with the granite being installed!