It's been a long time since I posted our floor plans to the forum. We broke ground on July 1st and they have completed the basic framing of the first floor as of today, (except the garage). We completed demolition on the old house in December and since then, several old houses on our street have come down and been replaced. We are one of the few that bought the lot and then hired an architect - the other lots seem to have been snapped up by builders who then sell the homes on spec (the neighborhood is in a tremendous revival, so the economics work). It is an urban home - I feel sometimes as though I am the only person who isn't building on lots of land :) Foundation piers/garage slab: Framed 1st floor:

Hi all, My windows arrived!!! House was bustling with activity yesterday as they started installation, laid sewer, water and electric and poured the basement floor!! Jackson...so sorry to hear about your beautiful stone. Will keep my fingers crossed that you find something that you like even better. Robyn...congrats on passing inspections! Your insulation looked perfect so am not surprised! This next stage things will really start to come together...you must be excited! Amberm...you are getting so close to starting. We had so many delays and restarts that until that hole was in the ground I never really believed that it was going to happen. Our permits took 7 wks and thanks to reading all the stories here it sounded like it was not that bad even though it felt like forever! I think it was you that said you were building in a city in Canada...which one?? I grew up in Canada (Toronto & Calgary) and still have lots of family throughout the country. Hoosier...your concrete looks great!! It must be so nice to be able to supervise from the house (pj's and all) then having to trek down there everyday. Musicgal...you need to start packing and get into that beautiful new home! Carson...your neighbor sure puts things in perspective. It is so easy to get caught up in the not so important things in life as you build and a reminder like that really helps put things back in perspective. Hope she is ok. Jdez...I laughed so hard over your permit office comment that I almost spit my coffee out! The permit office did miss a few things...like support for a bump out window...it was in the garage so we were able to roll with it and create a cool window box to break up that wall. Caben...plaster looks good and that stone will look great under the raised bedroom. Autumn... Like that tile...it is nice and simple and should go beautifully with your counters. Jenniekehr...sounds like u are on a similar time frame to a few of us. What is going on in your build now? Here are some pics of my windows going in as I know how much u all like pics!! Front

My first picture! We have survey markers telling the excavator where to dig. Excavators were supposed to be moving their equipment today, but no sign of them yet. The surveyor was supposed to be done in 2-3 days. So I said "go" on Thursday, they had questions, I confirmed they had everything on Friday, and I figured Wed at the latest. On Wednesday, I get an email from the survey company. "Did you want us to do this?" Uh, yeah! I thought it was done by now! I told them the excavators were coming today, so they made it a rush job and got it done yesterday. I went by the lot today to take some pictures. I also needed shots of the neighbour's "ready to fall down even before we start digging" fence. Just in case we get accused of damaging it. I'm driving up the alley, and a new house several doors down is having some landscaping done, and for some reason the guy has his equipment spread out in the alley. So there's not much room to get through, and there's a van coming the other way. We each take turns pulling over so the other can get through. He waves thank-you and goes on his way. As he's passing me, I realize it's BIL's friend who is going to be helping on the build. He's checking out the lot like I am, and didn't even recognize me. :P Also, while out running errands, I noticed a new bathroom showroom. It's a new location of a company I've already got quotes from. The quotes were ridiculous, like, over MSRP on every single thing. So, I'm not buying from them. But a big new showroom might give me a chance to pick out some things. Not a single item had ANY information. No price, no model number, and in some cases, not even a brand name. I asked if this is just a symptom of being new, they haven't put up the info cards yet? "Oh, no, the showroom designers decided that the info cards made the display look too busy, so we don't have any." Really? I think the fact that you have 22 shower heads in a 4'x4' square area makes it look busy. Info cards would make it USEFUL. Oh, well. I don't have to waste my time ever going in there again. It's ridiculous, this isn't some hoity-toity designer brand bathroom boutique. They've got a reputation for being a big supplier of basic plumbing supplies. Maybe they're trying to become the hoity-toity types? I think the ensuite tile is picked. I'll probably get a lighter version of the one I had originally wanted. It's also discontinued, but there's lots of stock as of yesterday. DH is going on his annual mountain bike vacation tomorrow, taking my car for 10 days because it's better on gas. That means I'll be driving his big 'ole beast of a truck, so I'll go get the tile then. If I miss it again, there are a few other options that are just as nice and only slightly more expensive. So no need to panic. As for windows, the cheaper guy's products are much nicer. But, he's still waiting on his 3rd party certification that allows him to sell his window with a sticker. If we have windows without the sticker, we won't pass the city inspection. So, we're giving him another week to find out when that's coming. I am also investigating getting a Direct Buy membership. They also sell windows. So if they can get the ones we want, at a price that makes the membership fee worthwhile, then that's another possibility. Has anyone else looked into getting a Direct Buy membership for their build? Did you find it was worth it? SIL's mother has one, and she swears by it. But she buys a lot of stuff for her 3 daughters and their families. My cousin built his house a few years ago and got the membership. But I'm not sure he calculated the cost of the membership into his "savings". I mean, it costs $5000 or $6000, depending on who you ask. So you have to save at least that much to break even. And a lot of people are probably "saving" that much only because they're buying stuff they wouldn't otherwise buy. For example, you could get a $800 dishwasher and be very happy with it. But you go to DB, and they can get you the $2000 dishwasher for $1200. So you "save" $800. But you've still spent $400 more than you would have without the DB membership. Speaking of windows, I realized that we had quoted the super insulated, fancy opening, custom coloured windows on the garage. That's a waste of money. The garage isn't heated, so single pane is fine. We want them to open, but sliders is good enough. And the colour doesn't matter. So I got a quote from Costco for 3 basic windows. I almost choked when I got it. It's almost as much as the fancy windows that were quoted with the house. I also asked for door pricing, since I don't like what the window guys are offering. And they've spec'd out 1980s Home Depot style doors at several thousand dollars each.

andrew-love dormers, that is an amazing transformation. Are you living IN it mid demo? I am a fellow Michigander as well. Michelle-ummm, well yes there are a *few* things I would change, lol. Overall it's fine but I really really really wish we would have buffered the master area a little better due to the opposite shift thing. I love that I can get into the bathroom/closet without disturbing dh (and turn the lights on and see my clothes and all that fun stuff) but wish we would have had the closet between the bedroom and the bath instead of the other way around. I do wake up when he comes home at 3 a.m. and that is a bummer because I never used to. But for normal schedules the layout we have would have been just fine. The other thing is I think I would have put a door in by our locker area that faces front - a friend/family type entrance. Not a big deal but I think we would have used it. The locker area is functioning well and I like that it's not in the walk way if all the gear doesn't get put away every time. According to dh I still have boxes in the barn that belong in the kitchen - say what? My kitchen is already functioning so what could they be??? Lol. After it warms a bit I will have to check it out. We are mostly settled though and I know where most everything is now, hehehe. My current hearts desire is grass. The dirt of course is covered by snow right now but I know it's there! I love my closet organizer system, that I have room to dress in my closet. I love my cabinets and my blum glides and my woodhollow inserts in my kitchen. I love my property and that our living areas face the back and that we get to enjoy that view every single day. I was also going to comment on your back yard discovery, did you snow shoe or cross country? I can't remember now but I remember that pic - awesome. We found a whole trail system behind our house and I feel like we hit the jackpot. It is amazing. It is an equestrian trail but this time of year no horses on it - there are snowmobile trails too. DH and I have been doing some hiking. I love the fresh air and it is so beautiful to look at. I will be checking in time to time. I still covet your office off your kitchen. :D aimless-I keep reading my head Horton Hears a Who and was looking for a Dr. Seuss sign or something!