What beautiful homes. One of the large pleasures of this site is seeing and learning about the differences from around the country.

The only word for our build is magical. All of the problems have been been realitively small. Of course at the time they feel larger. The GC has been great at taking care of them. There are a few small design issues but isn't there always? We are building in a small town so some issues are like one sub refuses to talk to the GC because the sub didn't look at the full set of plans and under bid the job. Much of the work is being done with a verbal agreement and a handshake.

We are around 9 weeks into the build and they will be finishing the drywall in a couple of days. The under coat of stucco is on. The ETA is around first of December.

Here is a link that might be useful: House build

Brutuses...your house looks finished to me! What a great eye for details.
Twotogo...enjoyed the slideshow of your build. Lovely views!
We broke ground one year ago. Last month we reached the finished drywall stage. Yay! Our painter has started with the interior BM Aura...love it. Outside, the crew is progressing on the Nichiha siding and shakes and the Homeslicker, and after much agonizing, I've decided on colors, with shakes a slighly darker hue than the siding, but no exterior painting, yet. And the masons have started on the fireplace. What a beautiful mess!
{{gwi:1515029}}From Retaining wall, Fireplace

{{gwi:1515030}}From Exterior

{{gwi:1515031}}From Drywall

Like so many others have noted, this forum has provided a wealth of info. that I otherwise would never have known...like the Nichiha (thanks, persnickety!).

coffeehaus,

am i to understand you will be painting your nichiha siding?
if so, is that the primed only board?

thanks, and your build is looking great! beautiful view...

Kateskouros...yes, the Nichiha is pre-primed. The painter plans to use SW Duration on the exterior. And thanks for the compliment. We're very pleased with the result so far.

We have pilings and underground plumbing. And the frame for the slab is up.... Its a start!

We are sprinting towards the finish and hope to be moving in at the end of the month. Things won't be 100% complete when we move in, but we do need to get enough done to pass final inspection. We made lots of progress this last week, and the next few weeks seem equally packed full of tradesmen. We now have all the walls painted, and most of our lighting fixtures up. Yay lights! Also we have most of our cabinet installation complete, and tile work has begun.

Here is a link that might be useful: our home construction blog

We've worked outside the house since the nice weather hit and by the feel of things we're ready to start the indoor work again. It's freezing here!

We built a tiny barn for the goats and probably in a year or two will build a bigger barn and use the little one for something else. For now it houses my sons's goats.

The garage is done except for hanging the sliding door and putting the metal on the roof. They plan to finish it up this week.

I've done a bit of stone work and some top soil this summer too. It's heavy work! Eventually the grass will come up to the edge of the stones in front of the house with no step down onto the lawn.

We've lined the bank with some of the stones from the excavation.

These giant flagstones have been leveled and top soil is in between them making a patio outside the front door.

I topped the window well with flat stones and top soiled and planted grass.

Garage in progress:

[IMG]http://i33.tinypic.com/nf2m8z.jpg[/IMG]

This is my first post with a picture. Hopefully it will work. Here goes.

HOORAY!!! It's November and I get to see all the wonderful things that everyone has been up to. I still get excited when I see this thread every month. :o)

Brutuses...I still absolutely, positively adore every single little thing about your home! It's so bright and inviting while still maintaining the coziness that I love. Magnifique!

Twotogo...On a mountaintop with gorgeous sunsets? Are you kidding me? Yes...that's the jealousy creeping in. :o) That is some view you have!

Cursive...WOOHOO!!! This is where all the hard work starts paying off. Congrats!

Justme....I'm so glad to hear that everything is going so beautifully with the GC. The house is just lovely...all those windows are great!

Coffee!!! What a difference a month makes! You absolutely HAVE to post pics while you're painting. I can't wait to see what colors you've chosen. I still want your roof! :o) Pssttt....I learned about the Nichiha on this board too. I bet the company has seen a growth spurt during the past year. LOL

NW...those cabinets are wonderbar!

Ajpl...Holy cow! Our flagstones weighed a ton when we were moving them around and they look like babies compared to yours! Oh, I can feel the aches & pains from here. I bet I know exactly why you want to start working on the inside...and it has nothing to do with the weather. LOL It's lookin' geat! Give pup a good tummy rub for me. He looks like he's been working hard too. :o)

Landcmom & Mairin...What pretty homes! Looks like you're both getting ready for all the fun stuff. Looking forward to seeing more pics from both of you!

I forgot to post our pics for this month! LOL I'm a little excitable today. We got TWO offers on our house yesterday within a couple of hours of each other. YIPPEE!!!

Anyhoo...the garage doors are on, interior painted, light fixtures hung, plumbing trimmed out (no more port-a-potty!), the deck and screened porch are done, and some of the appliances are in. We're in the home stretch! The things that remain to be done are ones that DH & I will be doing ourselves, so it will probably be slow going, but we're still aiming for the first part of next month.

Some of the pics were from the first part of last week, so there's been more done since these were taken.

Kitchen

Breakfast room

Great Room

Sunroom

Dining Room

Drywall is up! Waiting for texture on Wed! Here's a shot of the dining room.

persnicketydesign....Can you tell me more about your pendant lights in your kitchen? I love them.

Thanks, jillie! We love them too and have the matching chandelier in the breakfast area. They are soooo cute and add a little bit of whimsy without being over the top. :o) They are manufactured by Kalco and are from the French Twist collection.

Here is a link that might be useful: Kalco's French Twist Collection

Love seeing everyone's progress. Persnick, what is the color on your kitchen walls? I love all your paint colors. Very pretty.

Thank you so much! It's SW Hearts of Palm and it's my favorite of all the colors we used in the house. We also have it in one of the bedrooms. :o)

thanks, the bedroom is beautiful. I wanted to use that shade of green in my house, but was afraid because I didn't know if it would be too modern for the house. So I played in safe with another green, which I really love also.

persnickity, the excavator guy I hired to help me move the big stones was pretty awesome. He is a really young guy who works for the excavator company we used and he was totally into picking out the rocks and turning and twisting them to fit them like puzzle pieces. Our little tractor wouldn't move some of those stones but we left everything we can move for later. Hmm, always something for later.

Love seeing everyone's progress, there is something unique to appreciate about every home...I love the way your house is coming out Brutuses, the care you have put into your choices just shows, I have red-roof envy everytime I see pictures from Coffehaus, and Persnickety's kitchen makes me think...I am glad I am getting white cabinets and black counters in my laundry at least!

Well we missed last month's update so there is alot to report! Our siding (for those who are interested it is the Nichiha pre-primed)and exterior trim are done and the drywall was just finished on the 1st! Now WE get to paint..so I am deep into color selection mode. (I SO appreciate it when you all share your colors, by the way Persnickety what is that yummy color in your great room?) I have a palette chosen but a few colors yet to choose.

We had a contractor get us through 'blacked in' and we took over with the drywall. Now we get to DIY the paint and trim. So things will slow down a bit but we are excited to get our hands on the house and I'm sure it will feel more 'ours' now.

Thanks to everyone for sharing I just love seeing this thread and everyone's progress.

Fall leaves are gorgeous this year, this is the view from our lower level family room,

luckymom, thanks for the compliment. Your house is so pretty. Love the view out of that window. Wow!

Luckymom...I love your windows! What a view. :o)

That's SW Camelback in the great room. We ended up using 4 colors off of that deck card.

We also used SW Tradewind in one of the bathrooms and a couple of the kids rooms. It turned out to be another of my favorites. :o)

We are getting fired up seeing rapid progress in framing. After some difficult issues with grading, slope stabilization, retaining walls, etc., it's gratifying to see the skeleton taking shape so quickly. We'll be getting dried in in the next few weeks before winter sets in here in the NC mountains. Wish us (or better yet our builder) luck in getting the 12 foot wide three window unit in. See pics below. Thanks.

Evidence of a rather large black bear trapsing around the site the other day.

mtn law, Your photos with framing and the great view remind me of where we were a year and a half ago. Nice! We're seeing bear tracks and other evidence around our place too but so far they seem to stay away from the actual house. The population is suppoedly at a 20 year high in our area.

Persnickity is your sun room also SW Hearts of Palm? Love the color.

Thanks! The sunroom is SW Sassy Green. It's one step darker than Hearts of Palm. :o)

Bruteses,
Did you use the crystal door knobs throughout the home? I think those are beautiful! I have been trying to decide if I should spend the money to do them everywhere or just in the main areas.
I have a question for all of you- does anyone use nickel door hardware throughout their home with dark stained wood doors? It seems like I only see it with white doors.

fancypants2008,

If you click on Brutuses 'My Page' you can send her an email re her door knobs. She would be happy to send you a picture!

Eileen

Well I didn't update in October because I kept waiting for a better picture :o) It took them all month to brick the house! Now all that is done, as well as soffits, insulation, and they start hanging drywall tomorrow (hopefully).

mtnlaw, your view is breathtaking, the fall colors are so pretty where you are! We have falcons nesting in our fir trees and the kids want a new kitten-I worry that it might be 'food' for the birds, I wonder what concerns you and ajpl would have with bears for company!

jnjmom, your house is looking so pretty - love your front doors!

Hi,

I am think of building a home in connecticut and I was wounding if someone can tell me what they have been charged for labor to have their house framed. I am looking to build a 2200 to 2600 sq. feet.

Thanks
Rich W

Hey Rick - you are probably better off posting a new thread called - building costs in CT? or something along those lines. You might get more direct responses that way.

Sorry I can't exactly help you, but to brag, I paid $4/sqft in Tennessee :o)

Thanks for the advise.

luckymom - thank you. We were really blessed to find this piece of land. The bears generally stay away - just don't leave food out and can't have bird feeders!

mtnlaw

Your view is just gorgeous!

We has a large window like yours- sounds like the exact dimensions in fact- and it was a chore.

Keep the pics coming!

We finally closed on our construction loan on Friday. Scary and exciting at the same time.

The 2,000' driveway is almost done but we got 2.6" of rain this week.

Thursday they're supposed to dig the basement. Hopefully it stays above freezing for another 2 weeks.

Your houses are all beautiful!

Brutuses - Love it all!

Luckymom23 - Are your shingles black? Love them and your house!

Persnickety design - LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your kitchen!

We have roof trusses going up this week!
http://obrientradeshouse08.shutterfly.com/

Here is a link that might be useful: Building Trades House

Thanks Mobrien, :) Our roof shingles are actually a very dark brown that does look black at certain times of day, it is called 'Oakwood'.
It looks like your home is really coming along, it must be those really cute helpers!

Mobrien- you aren't very far from me at all. We are building over by Bushnell/Prairie City and our trusses are going up this week also. So nice to actually see somebody else close by on here.

Looooooong time lurker here! Sooo excited to be able to finally post!!! I have learned so much from everyone on here.
Broke ground about a month and half ago. Things seem to be moving along fairly quickly! We are building the "Irby" by Donald Gardner.....

They poured our slab last week!!

I also wrote out the biggest check in my life.... so far.

I can't believe after all this time lurking, I have something to post!
They are finishing clearing our lot and the foundation will be poured by next week (depending on rain).

Everyone's homes look beautiful- it really is fun to watch the progress.

The big tree will sit at the end of our driveway. Isn't it pretty?

I too finally have something to post!! YAY!!
They just finished the foundation and will be back filling tomorrow.
This is one of my girls after the footings were done.

This is the front

This is the back

We are fighting the rain and the increasingly cold weather in good ole Illinois, but we finally have a house up and most of the roof trusses on.

{{gwi:1515062}}

Hick14 and Kimber95 - Hello to my house building friends in IL! I'm doing a "NO MORE RAIN" dance tonight! Make it stop!

Hick14 - How exciting! Our house is being built just off Rt 78 if you ever want to stop and look at it. I'd love to see pictures of yours! Ours won't be finished until June.....When is your hopeful move in date? Welcome to GardenWeb! I love seeing everyone's pics and getting helpful advice.

Kimber95 - Very exciting for you, too! Isn't this rain and cold weather awful if you are trying to build a house?? It looks like you are progressing nicely. I stopped out at our building site today, and oh the mud!!! Yuck, yuck, yuck. I can't wait for the roof to be on and windows and doors on so it will be protected from the weather.

.....................................................

cursivesailor - Big check! I hear ya! The foundation, basement, garage was a big one. The checks have slowed down a bit for a while.....but I'm sure there are plenty more bills to come.

tdog..only a month ago breaking ground. Wow! You must have busy builders.

crescent50 - Beautiful setting!

Welcome all! What an exciting journey we are on together.

cursivesailor-
DH just told me how much we owe now that the foundation is going in- our first big check!
WOW! It definitely makes it all feel so real!

Good Luck to all and maybe even more importantly as we move toward winter, good weather:)

everyone's houses look great. mtlaw, i love,love your views. we broke ground october 1. they are 3/4 finished with the first floor framing. here are a few pictures

Finally, I can post a couple of pictures. I really appreciated all the suggestions and the opportunity to view your homes! Once again, thanks for your help during our first build!

Here is a link that might be useful: sallen2008 pics

Mobrien & Hick.... noticed the "Little Giant" logo on Mobrien's page. What a small world! We are building about 45 minutes from Canton!

tdog1973 - A small world indeed! It's great to see so many IL houses going up. We are doing our part in helping the economy! Do you have a projected move-in date? I'm not sure what to expect through the Winter, but we are hoping to get the GeoThermal Unit in soon so it won't be so cold to work all Winter!

Here is a link that might be useful: Building Trades House

tdog1973 & mobrien -- So great to see others building so close in Illinois! Our trusses are going up today and geothermal is to be trenched in next week. We are hoping for an early summer move-in, if all goes well.