Going very SLOW!!! Hoping the roofers can measure for the metal roof this week, maybe get it up by January.... fingers crossed!!

Framing seemed to drag on for the longest time due to a lot of rain, but now we're making good progress.

Storm shelter went in a couple of weeks ago...

Brick is 90% done....

Sheetrock and texturing all done as of this week....

Wood floors are going in this week and next, and hopefully porches and driveway can be poured next week if weather cooperates.

I usually don't post until Saturdays, but I am so happy with my stone. It was very hard for me to find the right colors, and then try to decide what should be stone, should we have brick, where should the siding go, etc.

My husband wanted all brick or stone, real of course, and I am trying to pinch the budget to make room for other things, and also it is just a simple farm house style so I just wasnt sure how it would all look but I am loving it.

Was suppose to have siding above the brick on the garage, but I think tomorrow (well today) I will see about taking it all the way up on the garage.

Anyways, I am very happy with it so far. I have never had anything new, so I am pretty tickled.

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Here is a link that might be useful: Our Build in Pictures

Lots of great progress going on.... hopefully I will have pics to post tomorrow. We are in the third week of framing but it seems to be slowing down a bit and I am anxious to have a roof on before the winter weather comes.

fish- what color hardi are you using? is it the factory painted type? So exciting that you could be in in the next 6 weeks!

Gopintos- I love your stone... do you mind sharing the name?

OH thank you!! It is from canyon-stone.com My lumberyard actually found it for me. I scoured the internet high and low, couple of area brickyards, and I found some things that were close and I would have settled and I am sure have been happy, but my lumber yard knew what I was looking for and they found it.

It is a stone veneer. It is the canyon ledge pattern and the color is Autumn Blend. I was nervous, it is so hard to judge the color from pictures and even from samples. But it is perfect for us.

The brick is a fiber cement brick panel. I knew I wanted something, some other texture like brick, but was having trouble finding the color. The one I used, a white wash, looks like it was made for it, but I passed on this one several different times before in my search. The sample online looked like lots of black. Someone happened to drop off a sample for my Amish guy for another job, and I just happened to see it laying there and I am like, that is the one! But even going on, I asked him to only do a little bit, cuz I was having second thoughts. I didn't want to take away from the stone at all.

Anyways, I love it and I am so glad someone else likes it too :-)

Here is a link that might be useful: Our Build in Pictures

I like your stone also gopintos. We will be ordering our stone next week and it took me a while to find what I wanted. We are trying to match the stone of this building on Rhodes College(link below) and I found the quarry. Schwartz Stone in Arkansas says they can match it exactly. Our whole house will be stone.

We get the last of our windows and doors delivered tomorrow(except for front door) and I will post some pics once they are installed.

The house is mostly all framed with about half the windows in now. Will be starting the heat and air(Geothermal) next week and should be in service by the end of December so I can get the tax credit on this years taxes.

http://www.csocollegecenter.org/UserFiles/Image/Virtual_Tour_08_Cover_Shots_Edit_0043_MG_7332.JPG

I'm glad to see everyone making such great progress! We're still probably 6-9 months away from starting, at best.

Gopintos- do you have a link for the brick panels? I'll need something for our foundation, and that's great looking stuff!

HTH :-)

If the sun ever comes out again, I will take a morning picture with some sunshine :-)

Here is a link that might be useful: Nichiha Fiber Cement - Vintage Brick White Wash

We have the framing for the first floor, and nearly all of the second floor done! We've done all of the work (except for the excavating) ourselves so far. Unfortunately, both my DH and BIL sprianed their ankles, so nothing has gotten done this week. And even worse, it looks like winter has finally arrived as it snowed last night and it hasn't melted yet. Our house is a lot smaller than most/all being posted, but here it is!

First floor

Most recent

Thanks for the link, gopintos! I can see a lot of uses for that when we build.

crescent50- We're using prepainted Hardieplank cedarmill 8 1/4" in Arctic White. We'll be "roughed in" for our plumbing,electrical, HVAC (geothermal) soon and insulation will go in late December. Then turn on the heat and keep going. Still several months from actually moving in (hoping for April or May).

thanks fish- we are using pre-painted hardiplank too but in Timber Bark. I was starting to worry about the quality of the finish in a cold weather region after reading some posts here, but some research and a few pictures of some snow covered houses with pre-painted hardi reassured me.

gopintos- great choices from canyon stone- the autumn blend is beautiful.
We are planning on using environmental stone works and are trying to decide between bucks county and autumn. Our house will have lots of woods behind it, so I want to pick a stone that blends well and looks somewhat natural.

gopintos - just love how the combination of stone and brick worked out on your house. So often that can go very wrong. Great job.

Jo Ann

We closed today! OMG I can't believe its all ours finally-- 2 long years of planning -- 1 1/2 years of renting a very very small place and its finally ours. We are moving in slowly- the big move day is late next week-- meanwhile i have scheduled the wallpaper hanger, tv installer, new furntiture deliverys and the guy is coming to measure for some window treatments. Did i mention we are having xmas at our new house!!! Woo hoo!! I will post pics once i have a chance....
Thank you for all of your support... cant wait to see the rest of your houses coming along
PS Gopintos- i love your stone!

Our builder says he hopes to be done in time for us to close before xmas...I doubt it though

Granite suppose to be installed Monday

They started on the Tile This is the Master bath

They are also painting and staining now

So they are doing granite monday and hopefully finishing tile and painting.

We are at the end of week 4 and pleased that framing on the basement and first floor is finishing up today (Sunday!). The framers were even out working in the rare TN snow yesterday.

Here is a link that might be useful: Blog with pics of progress

We started in October and are moving along quickly! We should be in January 14th!!

I'm not a fan of that beam. I added it to the floor plan, as I also wanted the side walls to come out a bit too, in order to make it a separate room and be able to have separate paint colors. They didn't punch out the sides at all though and now it looks silly to me. THere will be columns on those boxes, btw. I think I'll love those.

THey put the wrong roof color on. I didn't want them ripping it off, so I got some freebie upgrades instead. I hope I won't regret that decision.

Overall, it's been smooth sailing. We haven't run into any problems and are overall pretty satisfied. I'm just ready to move in! It's our first house (just out of college) so we don't have much furniture so we're in freak out mode right now trying to think of a plan!

Wow, started in October! Impressive! :-)

Everyone has great progress!!

jllmb79, you have a floor plan? Yours looks so similar to mine so I was just curious.

snow... Ack! I am afraid I might have some pictures like that this week ....

Here is a link that might be useful: Our Build in Pictures

Gopintos,
We started with a floor plan I found on line http://www.dreamhomesource.com/colonial_revival_house-plans_DHSW06212.hwx

Then I found a picture of the outside of a different house online

First floor is framed. Hopefully joists for second floor go in tomorrow - but a big rain is coming. Gripe!

We are finally moving along and I am so jealous of those who look like they will be moving in soon! The rains started here in California just today....sunny but cool days with no precipitation until tonight, so we've gotten very lucky up until now.

Had to do a lighting test to see if we had enough and the right color lights since we have the "green" lighting requirements here in CA. Our contractor rigged up the lights so we could see the kitchen at night:

No windows yet, but coming this week:

Family Room not quite done yet either! But we do have wiring for the switches:

jllmb79, awesome. Your home caught my eye because it was very similar to mine :-) so I was curious how you laid out the inside.

look'n good everyone!

gopintos, What kind of stone did you use? We are building a farmhouse with hardiplank and stone, and I think your stone is beautiful!

Oh thank you, I am loving it. And I was scared to death of my choices and how it might look together, so I am very happy to have some positive feedback. :-)

It is called Autumn Blend from a company called Canyon Stone.

The pattern I used is canyon ledge.

This place, Dutch Quality Stone, was a VERY close contender.

http://dutchqualitystone.com/

The Cypress looks almost the same I think and I was ready to order that when my lumber yard found the other.

HTH

Here is a link that might be useful: Canyon Stone

first_house_mp, where are you building in california? we're dealing with the first rain of the season as well, luckily we just got our roof on and will be stuccoing soon. We're in the south bay area near torrance if you're familiar

Great progress everyone.

Our new home, garages, etc. is a total DIY project and was started in early 2006. I am thrilled to be getting so close to moving in. Looks like a Springtime move for us.

Early December has been exciting for us. DH and I started drywall just a few weeks ago, working sporadically, but really worked hard to wrap it up and get a first coat of mud on before freezing temps arrived (tonight). All the board is hung and that first coat was completed about 1am last night. Yay!

Going to go pick up a BM color wheel today! So exciting.

Here's a sneak peek.....bad picture taken w/ phone. A tiny glimpse of living room and saran wrapped stone fireplace ;)

We are sooooo tired. Especially my DH. Will be great to finally get to sit and relax over there.

Last month, someone asked me for a floor plan view. I apologize, but my prints are too large to shrink in my scanner. I may be able to doodle something but just haven't had the time. We are so busy trying to finish!

Happy Holidays and happy building everyone!

I'm jealous of all of you who are getting so close!!

We got 10 inches of snow this week, which has significantly slowed things down. Still hoping to have it enclosed by January...

FRONT:

BACK OF GARAGE:

iamsum: I do know the area where you are, I lived in Manhattan Beach and Redondo Beach for many many years. We are now up on the SF Bay Area about halfway between San Jose and SF.

How's your Title 24 compliance going? That area really took a lot of research and time!

Our contractor seems to be fully aware of these requirements, the biggest problem is our lighting scheme. We are forced to use cfls in our kitchen which we're not fans of. Other than that we already picked up some of the highest energy efficiency windows so we would qualify for the tax rebate. You're house looks great by the way.

here are a few photos of our build

dinning room with entry on right

Main walk way from entry to livingroom and kitchen

Living room with tall ceilings and 8 foot french doors

We're moving along but it seems to have slowed. Since most all the framing is done I think it just doesn't seem to change as quickly. Most of my windows are now in, I've got one that is broken and will still have to be replaced and one dormer is missing the window since it was a late addition and order, and another missing in one garage. Started the heat and air installation this past Monday and they will be drilling for the Geothermal next Monday. Also just started the roofing but you can't see it in the pics yet(went with Grand Manor Gatehouse Slate). We're still on track for middle to late summer.
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fish7577- Your home is lovely! We are still searching for the perfect floor plan and really like your style. Would you mind posting your floor plan? Thanks!

End of Week 4 Framing...

All I want for Christmas is a roof and some windows!- LOL

bmxmom- the floor plans are on one of the earlier months "how's your progress"- I think October.

Wonderful progress everyone!!

Our rough in plumbing should be finished Tuesday. 3rd floor electrical rough in should be finished Tuesday. Most everything is framed in except safe room, and it has alot of supplies, etc in there at the moment.

Stone and siding almost complete.

Should be able to finish porch roof soon.

Should start wrapping porch columns soon.

Oh, I guess they are ready to start working on the barrell over the door, for lack of a better word for it. Then there will be a couple of stone columns going in at the front of the porch, stone at the bottom that is.

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Here is a link that might be useful: Our Build in Pictures

They start mudding the walls today. I had to give them paint colors this weekend.

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Here is a link that might be useful: Slide show of my home

This is my first time posting on this thread... We are building in Southern MASS.. I think we are getting close to the end maybe another 4-6 weeks. The plaster went up last week and the painters are going tomorrow to do prelim. painting. Heat is finally on so everyone WILL work now!!! I am nervous about the progress.. Afraid all of my design choices are not going to come together the way i hoped.. Second guessing every choice I made!!!!

Here is ours. Hoping to be in sometime in January. Five months into owner building.[IMG]http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy279/chadlmullins/1214091230.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy279/chadlmullins/downsized_1213091624.jpg[/IMG]

Take two

Ramor your house looks amazing. Is that a custom house plan?

ramor - how tall are your french doors and how high are the ceilings in your great room?

Really look forward to seeing your progress.

Thanks - Jo Ann

gavr6,
Thanks,
We bought the plan from DreamHomeSource. We were extremely lucky to have picked the best builder in our part of the country. He is a licensed structural engineer and a licensed plumber. I would say he is also an architect(but not licensed) since he can draw and build anything we ask for and have the ability to afford.

Our builder has been at the job site every work day, all day long since we started in August. This includes many Saturdays. He is very passionate about what he does and I believe he is truly a gifted artist.

drjoann,
I'm looking forward to seeing my progress too. Anyway, I think the doors are 8 foot. The walls are 12', Im not sure how high the vault and tunnel are. If you look at the first picture of the front of the house, the whole central section has 12' walls(dining room, living room, and den). The master bath also has 12' walls. The rest of the first floor has 10' walls except for my theater room which has 11' walls(We lowered the floor one foot so the front row seats will be lower than the back row). I'll post some more pics next month.

We are in!! Moved in the day after Thanksgiving. We are mostly settled but still unpacking boxes and hanging pictures. I promise to take pictures soon. They will definitely be in the January update. Our trim guy is still here working as I type. The blinds were put in today. Still a little painting to do. It's a nice feeling to finally be at home and in time for the holidays. We are entertaining for the 1st time tomorrow. Good luck to everyone and Happy Holidays!

Oh wow congrats!! I was so hoping to be in by the holidays also, but it is what it is. Looking forward to your finished pics :-)

Very nice everyone!! Everyone has made some very nice progress.

Rolled out some porch roof yesterday, just in time for a little snow today.

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Here is a link that might be useful: Our Build in Pictures

Finally getting there,flooring trimming being done now
Flooring before sanding and finishing

Inside family room, viewing second floor overlook balcony, foyer.

We are about 3 1/2 weeks away from moving in. Hopefully around January 15, 2010, if everything goes well. Our cabinets were installed this week. They are custom amish made cherry cabinets. I'm very happy with them...Paint should be finishing up this week and hardwood/carpet/vinyl for next week. Things are moving right along...

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Angnrog, Nice to see you making such great progress. You got it all under roof in good time for here in Columbus and we had great fall weather. If you need anything in the last few days there is a home/remodeling show at the Convention center Jan 1,2,3. Stop on down and say hi..I will have a booth there. We are also getting my girlfriend moved in that weekend at her Buckeye Lake house. I will post pics hers and her brothers ( he moved in about 5 weeks ago)of them in Jan. thread. Good luck

Angnrog, nice kitchen. Do you have dimensions or plan that you can post? Thanks

@jessica13: if you go to the link that I provided, you can see our thread on the whole house being started and the plans are on there as well! May be not work for most, but works for us! We came from a 2 story home and hated it with our 3 kids! So we have built a 2500 sq foot ranch with a 2500 sq foot basement!

Thanks for the nice compliments everyone! Paint is being done this week and the subflooring is being later this week too!

Move in date: around Jan. 15, 2010! Keep your fingers crossed.

Here is a link that might be useful: Updated pics of new build-Just starting

gopintos.. how are you doing your columns? I am at loss for how to do ours for a raised bungalow which will have to have railing as per permit

Well... outdoors stuff has taken a back burner, however I do know that the front two will be stone up to probably like the window sill height, and then white columns the rest of the way up. I think like 10 inches around for the columns and the base will be like 24" maybe?

The rest of the columns will get wrapped in white, with white rail.
HTH :-)