As most of you have experienced, there are weeks when tons of progress gets made, then weeks where it looks like nothing has happened. We got our windows in and the ice and water shield on the roof, so we are now basically weathertight (still need a front door and garage doors to be totally). That has been a huge weight off our shoulders with the Colorado weather coming. The septic line also got tied in and the trench for the water line was dug and hopefully will be put in this week. These were the main things that needed to happen before the ground freezes and snow starts falling.

Siding is going very slow. Last week we had just 2 guys there doing the t&g under the eaves. When the whole crew decides to show up, I know that things will move faster. Our stone guy is 6 weeks out, and by then it will probably be too cold and snowy, so we may not get stone on the outside (mainly on the bottom) until next spring:(

Plumbers are almost done so the electricians will hopefully start next week. And the roof shingles can go on after the plumbers get all of their roof penetrations done. Not sure if anyone else is roofing right now, but apparently there's a "run on shingles" right now. Our roofer was not able to get the shingles we wanted until the end of October (not a good option here in the rockies), so we had to either downgrade to the cheaper quality option with no adjustment in price or upgrade by $2k to the higher quality option. Just another budget overage and at this point I've lost track how much we are going over!

@K M I love your tile! Looks great!

@2rickies I love your stone!

yay! Water main getting put in!

Went to the parade of homes this weekend and saw these cool ceiling fans. DH and I both not huge ceiling fan lovers, but know that we need one to move the hot air down with our high ceilings. Got on the internet and souced them, now just waiting get a price quote and figure out where that fits in the budget.

Slooooow.. Ours is mostly new build expansion of our original A-frame cabin.

The builder started in early April (we did all the inside demo ourselves before they started). We told the builder we HAVE to be in by Thanksgiving. Framing, roof, windows and insulation are done. HVAC is almost done. The basement still isn't done, and drywall and siding start next week. The kitchen cabinets and flooring are to be delivered at the end of Oct.. I'm not feeling like we will make Thanksgiving at this rate.

At what point in build do you hit halfway point 50% in terms of overall spending??

I do not know. The builder is taking draws - only 2 so far, and fronting the costs. I don't have a resource-loaded schedule to look at either, so I can't really tell.

Framing at last! But stalled till the structural steel arrives.

The steel I ordered in March paid in full is coming three days after it was promised. Maybe.

"If there's an unexpected delay, regular builders have priority over occasional builders," the steel supplier told me. I'll keep that in mind next build!

For the eagle-eyed critics, yes the soil is too high. But after it settles with rain and snow, we'll re=grade to keep clear at least six inches of uncovered concrete.

*****

agbhw

Depends on the level of final finishes.

And any unforeseen expenses for the foundation, excavation and building permit fees and charges.

@bmanning @k_dub our contract is set up with X fixed amount to the builder + allowances. We get the invoices and pay the subs/vendors directly for every line item. I don't get involved in selecting the subs, but my builder shares the quotes and provides us options. He has been great so far in terms of timeline. We have been very prompt in making selections, and planned way ahead of time (eg,., windows and appliances were ordered three weeks before demolition). Overall, we are under the budget for most line items so far, some over the budget (lots of retaining walls $$) and some close to estimated allowances. We are at the final stretch with multiple things planned for next 2-3 weeks - hardwood flooring (basement LVP already done) and countertops installed this week, grading and sod by end of the week, shower glass doors, final plumbing, closets, final coat of painting, driveway etc. Still lots of things to do...

@nancymitch62 Our house was demo'd in early April as well. We have taken 4 draws so far (bank transfers it to me and not the builder).

@agbh we hit 50% of the budget I think 3-4 months into the build when framing, siding, roof, windows, rough plumbing and electrical were completed. Some items were preordered (appliances, garage doors, plumbing fixtures etc) as my builder was concerned about the long lead time. For some of the line items, we had to make deposits and for some provide checks immediately after the work was completed. This meant we had to front load and wait for the draw until after the inspection.

I think or next draw will be over the 1/2 way point, for electrical and plumbing rough, drywall, and septic. There are probably only 2 more.

@agbh - I would agree with @G M on 50% budget.

@g m - it seems like you are making good progress in terms of timing of the build. It took us 6 months to get to electrical/plumbing roughin. We are now getting HVAc done. We broke ground in March.

@agbh We also hit 50% at the same point as @g m. Six months in and two to go!

Thanks everyone for feedback, I really appreciate it. Looks like I haven't hit 50% yet. And that's scary lol. :/

@bpmba are you saying that you have two more months for completion and you are six months in since breaking ground?

As I await plan review I can always find some inspiration here. @nancymitch62 that is a tasteful addition and remodel you have going on.

Thanks @kelly M. We are pretty excited! The house is going to be great, but the best part is still that view of the Blue Ridge Mtns!

@bmanning. Consider the trench for your internet as well. Maybe it isn’t an issue but we have a 450ft driveway and the wire laid down beside it all winter when we built 5 years ago. And conduit down your driveway too. That will save you trouble in the future.😉

@ghatta I think the internet went in the same trench as the gas and electrical to the house. Water here needs to go a lot deeper (8') because of our frost level. But I will double check that! thanks!

@bmanning. We are in Minnesota so we know all about deep trenches for stuff. I would definitely check to make sure the wire went where you thought. We all know if it isn’t spelled out and right in their faces, things get missed.

@Liz888 Yes, we are six months in, and two to go till we take possession. I probably just jinxed it, though...

Haven't been here in a very long while, but a run in with my contractor today after a year break from him and his ever so charming personality made me think of this place.

There's some seriously beautiful and impressive homes being built here. Hope you are all enjoying the journey.

@2rickies -- Amarr!!!! no question. (though I've never heard of Raynor.) We are using Amarr doors - quality is great.

@bmanning - Love the fans! What are they?

We broke ground in February and have no idea when we will get in. 1st coat of primer was just done inside.

There are several things I would like a do over on but can't spend the money for that. There are also things I'm super excited about so that makes up for the ones I wish I could go back to. Glad I found this thread!

We hit a snag. The 12’ board and batten for the remaining two gables isn’t available in the darker gray we wanted. The other B&B options are lighter and not what we want. Now switching to cedar shake. Can’t decide between using the same color as the lap siding or going outside the box to the rustic. Front door is mahogany Trim, soffits are white. What do you think?

Here’s the back of the house and the other gable.

@HU-674506042 Good to know, thank you! Do you know which Amarr model you have? I'm looking at the heritage 3000 and lincoln 3138.

I'm now leaning toward not trying to match the exterior paint and instead going gray for the garage door, which will coordinate with the stone and the metal roof. I think it might disappear more that way.

@nancymitch62, gorgeous Blue Ridge view! I'm also building within sight of the BR. Are you west or east of the mountains?

@K_ Dub

*Paint*

@k_dub - i say go rustic! The contrast is nice IMO. Your house is looking amazing!

@nancymitch62 - wow that is stunning view, to see that everyday soooo jealous!!!!

@HU-674506042 - curious what are things you would do over again? Your progress is much faster than mine, we are still in HVAC stage and it's been six months.

@BPMBA - I don't think you jinxed it, you'll be fine. So jealous that your build is so fast!!

Question to all, do you have chainlink fence around your new build?

Our GC put one in and they lock it when they/subs are not there. We had someone cut through the chainlink fence and there's a big gap where they can go in. There was nothing stolen or taken but i was wondering what everyone else has.

We end up putting a security camera by the new build so we can look at it anytime we want. Now I don't have to drive all the way there to see if subs are working.

Someone told me about this security camera called game camera that you can set up without wifi, it runs on solar power and use simcard. We thought it was a good investment to check in on what's going on.

We also have a nosy neighbors who walked inside our house and looking around. This really bothers me. I don't know why they do this. Anyone have this issue?

Our build site is at the back of some acreage out of sight of anything but the 3 neighbors behind us. I'll have a gate down by the road and there is existing barbed wire to tie that into. We won't be doing any security fencing but I will probably put up some game cameras to see what goes on when we are gone. There are deer to watch.

Our neighbors are all retired ladies, one has a son who might wander into the new build. My plan is to be friends with all of them. That neighbor I already did some excavator work on her property gratis. It took a few minutes for some good will.

The sunrise view 90 miles to the North Cascades

peek-a-boo Olympics mountains

Looking west to the Olympics, this is the view for the gazebo

I have two Tactacam security cameras at our build so I can track who goes up there and when they leave. Here is a sample pic from the app. Totally recommend.

@Liz888 We do not have fencing around our build. They have been mostly locking it since it has been airtight, but not always. We try to go over daily to catch if they leave it unlocked. We live is a town with almost no crime though. I don't know if anyone ever went into my house. The key is in a realtors lock box and we have the code. It was easy to get in through the basement but they seemed to have fixed that. We have thousands of dollars of materials in there.

Our big news is the electric wires were finally run up from the street to the house! It is about time. The poor workers have been using a generator the whole time. Hoping the electrician comes in quick and hook everything up, as we need our hardwood floors to acclimate so we can get them installed. We are in the home stretch I hope. Tilers are back today, hoping they get a good amount done.

I ordered my backsplash tile, the Bedrosians Cleo tile. It shipped very quick, ordered Saturday and it is arriving today! It said 10 -15 days and I considered it expediting it, but they wanted $300 to expedite. Glad I didn't since they wouldn't be ready for it for awhile anyway. The island isn't set and the coffee bar isn't installed, so they need to do that before templating the granite.

Oh and remember my story about Xfinity/Comcast? The guy came today and of course can't do anything because there is no line up from the street. This after I spent almost 1 hr explaining to the scheduler that it was a new build. Ugh. At least he is able to put in the request from the line to the street. Then when our electricity is really running, he can hook everything up.

@Kyla McSweeney, your experience resembles mine. I just had a very long series of interactions with our local landline provider. Because goog maps shows our house at the bottom of the mountain, they keep saying that it's ready for service and they think all they have to do is a line drop. I keep trying to tell them the actual location is a mile up, there's definitely no cable there yet, and goog doesn't even show the road going there. I thought I'd save them some hassle (and me). But they insist on sending a tech out "to hook up and install the jack," and when they find that's impossible, then apparently they'll send a field engineer to figure out trenching from the nearest pole (uh, a half-mile away) to get the line to the house. It's silly but apparently there's no choice, and all this so we can get 911 service. Won't use it for anything else. Which is apparently a good thing because they don't maintain the copper lines in our area.

Okay so now we might be looking at a wood garage door, or a wood-look garage door. Wood is beautiful but I don't relish the frequent maintenance that will be required. We have some cedar accents on the exterior (under overhangs). Apparently there are composite options, but I don't know how good they are at matching the cedar.

... do you have chainlink fence around your new build?

6' temporary fencing and dust screening is required. It's chained and locked when no one is on site. The only security it provides is reduced liability if anyone who shouldn't be on the property injures or kills themselves.

The builder across our courtyard lost a C$25K lumber load overnight. Since then, he has 24 hour cam security. And we noticed he had some young workers bivouacked for a few weeks until the houses were wirelessly alarmed.

I've been dropping by when I can at 2-3AM to check the first lumber drop--C$27,727.77. Lucky so far!

(All those 7s I guess!)

I have that 20' trailer available to me and will probably manage my own deliveries early on, until I crew up for the main framing show. I won't have much there until I have to. I stopped by my insurance agent to get a quote on insurance for the new home and job.

Wow the build security is interesting. My builder had us buy insurance to cover the build (he had someone steel all of the copper wire out of another build) and he put in game cameras that he watches. But no one in my community fences their builds. In fact, my house is completely open for anyone to come and go and neighbors do according to my builder.

@2rickies - who makes composite doors? if you are still looking at Amarr and want the double sided steel, you should go with Lincoln 3000 - it is close to the same price as the 3138 but is thicker steel which holds up better. We are getting the all glass doors and they will be tinted. I'm super excited. By the way, western NC is my favorite part of the world - your view of the Blue Ridge Mountains is incredible. I'm jealous!

@Liz888 - thanks for making me feel better about the pace of my build! For the past month all that has happened is primer on the inside and paint on the outside. The primer took a day. We are also 6 months end with a big second floor deck that is being supported only by 2x4s because my builder can't get the concrete people out.

Maybe this will help someone!

What I'm glad I did - 1. giant windows in great room (the builder said the gable windows wouldn't add since I would just see more of my deck roof and he was very wrong - will post pictures soon); 2. investigating bricks enough to figure out that what I liked and didn't like were the same but different color grout; including a walk-in pantry; 3. setting the refrigerating back in the wall so a full size will have look of cabinet depth; using Ferguson for plumbing fixtures - far less money than other supply houses and they are holding everything until needed then delivering to job as needed and I can shop online with build.com then use the Ferguson showroom for the delivery; 4. adding blocking for grab bars now; upgrading shingles - for only $500 for whole roof I get mildew resistant shingles; 5. researching how to get hot water faster - discovered recirculating pumps; 6.

You asked so here goes on what I would do differently -- 1. The biggest thing is the air return. It is in a vestibule where a large piece of furniture was going to be because the architect didn't put it on the plans and the builder called me when the HVAC was happening and said he had to put it in right then - I was at work and just agreed to what he said not realizing that it would take up the space for the piece of furniture. 2. I would have stood firm against suggested plan changes from my architect - she put a wall in between the toilet and shower in a bath that was supposed to be handicapped accessible despite me telling her that I needed it to be completely open and I didn't notice - she also redid the front of the house in a way that caused my porch to be encased by walls on either side when I wanted it to extend forward from the house 3. The basement is much larger than we wanted (the builder said we were wasting money putting a crawl space under the main part of the house since we are on a slope and will have a daylight basement, so to save money a good bit of the space is a garage. While I love that open space, I have discovered the garage space really isn't cheaper so I should have enlarged the small bedrooms in the basement instead 4. HAVE EVERYTHING IN WRITER WITH BUILDER - he forgot the vent for the basement laundry so it had to be added later and the only place it could go was to the front porch; he forgot a soldier course in the brick which was badly needed because it is a looming unbroken 2 story wall in a few places, he promised the temporary plywood on the back deck would be used to floor the attic but they discarded it, he also took out wiring that was planned for future electric curtains because the framers made a mistake with the windows and they corrected it with wood which left no room for the wiring 5. Used herringbone brick where I'm having fake shutters on the street side of the garage; 6. stuck with Delta or Moen despite the price on bathtub faucet 7. Gotten the tile contract from the tile company early - they gave it to me when we were placing the order which was timed to have the tile arrive when needed and it has warranty disclaimers if anyone puts a hole in the tile SO, my expensive waterproofing system has no warranty once grab bars are installed (building for age in place) and once the glass is installed 8. Not gone over the top on my stove - at the time I didn't realize how tight the budget the builder gave us was 9. Gotten a second quote from a different builder - mine made substantial errors like $8K allowance for tile for the whole house which has 2 full baths and 2 half baths which might have been caught 10. Spent the money from the stove on double front doors instead of a single front door with no transom (a decision I made when feeling stretched on the budget); 11. Used 4 inch cans instead of 6 inch (lighting is now good enough that you don't have to go big to get more light; 12. Not installed bidet plugs in the full baths (had no idea they would cost $350 each); 13. Met with designer about lighting plan before meeting with electricians and confirmed lighting plan they had was correct - they put fixtures in a room in the wrong place and have refused to move them and I'm afraid of what they would charge if I fought it

@2rickies My garage door is a wood look. I did that first and then asked the front door and our wood accents be stained to match. It isn't the best match, but I am not stressing about it because it is probably only me that notices. The front door isn't as prominent as the garage doors as it is on a covered porch, so you can barely tell. And yes, I feel your pain with the landline. We aren't doing a landline, or else we would probably have the same experience.

My tile guy just called this morning telling me to pick out grout this weekend. Any advice? I have our mudroom and 3 bathrooms to do.

5. researching how to get hot water faster - discovered recirculating pumps

Involve an engineer in their design if you want to avoid "erosion corrosion."

On most of the homes I've built, I've simply slipped pipe insulation on the hot water pipes.

@HU-674506042, i think you have me confused with NancyMitch62. They posted the gorgeous photo. I'm not in NC, although I do also have an amazing BR view! Btw, very helpful to see your lists.

Unfortunately the door style we want isn't available in the Lincoln 3000... I guess when I was thinking of composite doors, I was looking at CHI Planks, but I don't know if that's actually composite. I'd love to know how convincing that one looks up close. Otherwise I can't remember which company I saw makes them--maybe Clopay?

@Kyla McSweeney, which wood-look door do you have? Our front door is glass so there's nothing to match there, but the cedar is under the overhand and on the ceiling inside what will be basically a glass box, so that will be visible from outside but not close up so if it doesn't match exactly I think it's fine. The garage door is very obvious from the front door, and that's why we were first going to paint it the same color as the house, hoping it would disappear. I guess the architect now thinks that approach is not going to work.

I'm curious, do your smoke detectors link to the local fire station? Apparently the only way that can work where we are is with a landline. That's the only reason we're getting it.

@worthy, interesting about the hot water problem with recirculating systems. I would have thought the pinhole leaks came from acidic water. Thanks for sharing that.

@2rickies This is the one we have in Chocolate walnut https://www.garaga.com/garage-doors/residential/eastman-e12 It is a steel door, no real wood present

I orignally picked out Cloplay doors and thought we were all set, until our build got delayed 1 1/2 years the the price almost doubled. It would have been almost $20K for those doors and we paid a bit under $12K for these. This is the piece that almost broke us... I was insisting on a high quality, craftman style wood door. MH did not want to spend the $. I still have door envy over those with the Cloplay doors.

Our smoke alarms do not connect directly to the fire dept. I have never had a home that has done that. They are hardwired and not battery operated though. Our codes say they need to be replaced every I think 5 years?

That extreme example of erosion corrosion was a 24/7 facility that just ran pumps, no down time.

If you employ a smart sensor system like this Leed certified control, your pump will only run as needed. This is far better than a simple timer system for saving wasted heat.

Smart Aquastat control

Put your circulation lines adjacent to the hot water line, and then insulate to R-8 per code around the pair of pipes.

The way this system works is it senses temperature and only runs the pump until the return loop reaches a temperature close to the supply temperature.

I also suggest plumbing with PEX to eliminate the possibility of corrosion, whatever the cause.

Not sure how helpful it is for those building outside of Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, but we are getting our garage doors through the Overhead Door Company in Denver who works with Grand Timber doors https://www.grandtimberdoors.com They will put wood on an insulated door base. Ours are 12.7R value and we supplied the siding that matches the rest of the house which they will build onto the doors. They get installed in a couple of weeks, so hoping they turn out as expected.

@HU-674506042 the fans are from here https://www.architecturalfans.com

As far as security, we have no fencing and our contractor did have a camera but it never worked very well and he ended up just sending it back. The biggest problem we have is people dumping in our dumpster. Before we even got started our dumpster was nearly full with mattresses, windows and other construction/remodel debris from unscrupulous neighbors/contractors taking advantage. I know a lot of our neighbors walk through and check things out. The contractor has all tools locked up in a trailer onsite and so far no one has touched our materials. I am looking forward to having a front door (16-18 week lead time on that one!, ordered in June, still not here) and the garage doors so we can lock it all up.

Our gypcrete will be poured next week, and the plumbers have been scrambling to finish the tubing on the radiant floor heating, electricians getting floor outlets in, etc. The window for getting this poured is closing as soon it will be too cold, so there's been a big push by our contractor to get it done asap!

After dealing with a glacially slow forming crew, I'm suddenly overwhelmed with blindingly fast carpenters mad at me for not having all the lumber and steel on site that was promised by their carpentry contractor.

Here they are doing something I haven't seen before. They built a large section of the first floor temporarily supported.

Come to Poppa!

Then they moved in the supporting steel under it using a Bobcat. (They couldn't wait for a crane.)

Easy does it all the way!

I promised they will have all the lumber on site in one week. I'll rent a box truck and bring in the ZipR from the retailer myself, if necessary. They intend to be ready for the roofers in six weeks. I'm aiming at a one-year completion.

@HU-674506042 that’s a long list, thanks for sharing, although I can relate to all of those. I also have a long list of my own but unfortunately that’s part of new construction woes and happens to the best of us.

@agbhw that picture is so clear on the security camera. I’ve been using mine (not as nice) and it’s really helpful. I can see who’s coming in and going. And Il there’s a microphone so just in case there’s intruders I can speak to them. Lol. I haven’t had to yet.

Here’s some info for anyone who is interested.

@kelly m wow those views are gorgeous!!

@bmanning that would be frustrating to see others putting their garbage in your dumpsters. We don’t have one yet but I think they will put in later. I think that’s why the fence helps to keep people out and also avoid using our porta potty. Before the fence we had so many strangers stopping by to use them.

No progress, it’s been sitting empty for weeks. I stopped by yesterday and saw that hvac guys dropped some of the ductwork so I’m hoping they start next week. Going so slow. It’s agonizing waiting.

Here’s the security camera

Before we even got started our dumpster was nearly full with mattresses, windows and other construction/remodel debris...

A lesson I learned long ago.

Accumulate, then dumpster in and out the same day. Or check for services that use their own trucks/trailers for pickup. We're usually 10-20 minutes from a transfer station, so sometimes haul it ourselves. But stay well masked!!

@Liz888 funny you should mention porta potty. My friends and I trained for and ran the Boston Marathon in April. We used my site's porta potty often in the middle of our long runs and others would use it even if I wasn' there. My friend scared one of the workers one day, coming out of the porta potty when he didn't know she was there.

Here are some more tile progress pics. I went down to the tile store to pick out grout last night. These decisions never stop...

Hello folks. We are installing fiber cement lap siding on our new home. Me n my beautiful wife. So although we move slower we can get er done. Hopefully we will get the corner n window trim started. On the inside we are getting all the wiring that needs to be done in the attic. About 80% complete. Then vapor barrier, sheetrock. We will blow in cellulose insulation in the cold attic. Near r-65-70. We have - r 21 rockwool fire n sound insulation in the walls. And adding 2" of pinkboard on the inside after we install the vapor barrier over the rockwool insulation. This will add another r 7 to the outside walls and provide a continuous barrier against heat transfer. A system used in northern regions of Switzerland. We have an oil burning drip stove in the living room running for heat until we get the utility room built and the boiler installed. And the water tank and indirect water heater. Right now we have a 1" pipe through the cement coming from the well pump.

Again glad I can do most of the work. I bartered a snogo for hooking up the boiler. I paid 800 bucks for it 25 years ago and riding it since so good trade for me.

We will continue to pick away at things and somehow they get done. We have each other and our family near.

Has anyone here gone down the LVP flooring rabbit hole? Wondering what brands to consider. I’m still praying that our budget allows us to get hardwood floors but I’d like to have an LVP option in my back pocket in case I have to compromise…and slowly die inside…jk…kinda lol

It seems like it has been a really long time since I posted our house plans that was mostly bashed, and me for not wanting to change everything or for not having a endless budget that allowed me to change everything. lol!

The builder we was planning on using tried to add over $70,000.00 to the agreed on price when filling out paperwork for the bank, along with a few other red flags so we had to find a new builder. So it took us a little longer to get started, but we finally got started and we now have a foundation. They did the waterproofing on the outside of the foundation yesterday so I'm hoping they will backfill this week and get started framing soon.

It is great to see things finally get started!

@Chandllerin we have used LVP in our basement and went with Lifeproof brand.

Oct 2023 how is your build going link here:

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/6404340/october-2023-how-is-your-build-going

@chandllerin we used Core Tec LVP in a beach remodel a few years ago and were pleased with it. We no longer have that house, so I can’t speak to its performance long-term, but we were happy with it for the time we had it.

All I got today- waiting on a drywall quote and I’m so scared. Lol 🥴🤦🏻‍♀️😫

@Kat Hi Kat! Nice to see your name here. I so miss seeing pictures of your gorgeous home. How are your marble counters holding up? Been curious.