Lots of good news!

Okay, all good news this time! The stucco guys didn't need any money up front, so they got started last week. All the drywall has been delivered and they started hanging it yesterday. We had the re-inspection with the bank guy this morning and we are all clear! Woo hoo!!

While we were waiting on the inspection, I stained the front door and installed all the door handles. Dan poured the concrete deck for the tub in our bathroom. I don't have any finished pics yet, but I'll post some soon. We grouted the floors and plan to grind them this weekend. We decided to grind the floors smooth after we do the grout so that you can see the lines, but there won't be a depression for stuff to catch in! I hope it turns out as nice as I think it will! Dan ground the floor in our bathroom down and it came out really nice. I've included some pics.

Also, we have decided to wait on the pool until next year. There is so much left to do on the house, and we really want to take some stress off and just get moved in! Since we are going to do the pool ourselves, we can kind of go at our own pace that way and not have to rush--plus, no more bank inspector to deal with! : )

Things are moving along pretty well overall! We still haven't finished the roof. It has rained the last few weekends, of course! So we'll just keep plugging along at it and keep you posted!

The front door after staining. The blue stuff is just tape to protect the edges of the door!

The tub deck right after we poured the concrete. It looks really nice finished!

The bathroom floor after Dan ground the surface. It came out nicer than I expected!

A closer look at the floor. You can see the rocks in the concrete.

Okay, sorry for the delay in getting this update posted! We have been working really hard the last few weeks. Where to start. . . . . . .
Okay, the windows and exterior doors are in! Yay! It looks more and more like a real house! We had our inspection Friday for the plumbing/electrical/HVAC and framing. And we PASSED on the first try! Hooray! That was a really big one, and now we are done until the final inspection at the end. SUCH a relief to have that over with! The electricians worked really hard to get done, and we were at the house early each morning and every evening this week to get everything finished. We spent all day Thursday on the last minute stuff, and the children were amazing helpers! I'm so glad we had them to climb around in the trusses to run wires and stuff, so I didn't have to! : )

Okay, now for the not-so-good stuff. We had another inspection by the bank on Monday. After the inspector left, I got a call from the bank saying that they couldn't fund the next draw because we have to be at 60%, and we're only at 54%. The inspector left off all the points for the stucco, even though he told us during the last inspection that he would give us a pass on that since we don't need insulation in the walls and we already have the styrofoam there. Also, he took a point off for plumbing because we didn't have our tub delivered yet, even though it's sitting at the supply house. So we basically have to have the tub on site, and get the stucco guys started before he'll give us the 60%. Oh, and we have to pay $120 for a re-inspection. :( We got a bid from the stucco company on Friday, and hopefully they can start this week. Now that the stuff in the walls is done, we can start on the drywall as soon as we have the money from the bank to pay them!

So, we've made lots of progress. This will cause us a small setback, but hopefully not more than a week at the most. Then the drywall and stucco will get started. We have some odds and ends to work on, like pouring the concrete for the front and back porches and the well. We are going to try to get the roof completely finished tomorrow and Monday. Then it's on to the pool! Wish us luck, we're going to need it!

You can see all the stuff in the roof! The black tubes are the insulated water pipes.

My dining room window!

The french doors from the living room to the back porch. They have built-in blinds! I LOVE them!!!

The front door with the windows in! It's a little crooked because I have to hold the camera over my head because of the slope of the land!

The fireplace is in!

Hello all! Just wanted to give you a quick update! Sorry for the delay in any news, but it's been slow going in the walls! The plumbing is done, as well as the duct work for the heating and cooling. The electrical should be done by the end of the week. The exterior doors and windows are going in this week, so I'll be sure to get some photos up when they're done!

We should be ready for our next round of inspections and draw from the bank by next week. Then it's on to the stucco, drywall, and pool!!!

Update

Well, things are moving along, though it seems kind of slow right now! The progress isn't quite as visible. We have finished most of the roof tile. We only have to do the corners, the ridge caps (they cover the tops where the tiles meet), and the side over our bathroom. We're saving that side for last so we can sort of work our way off the roof. : )

Inside is going well, too. The plumbing is just about done except for a few connections. We got the gas line in for the dryer and the stove. The ductwork is almost completely done, now we just have to finish up the electrical. All the outlet boxes are in, and most of the boxes for the lights and fans. We are going to start running the wires tomorrow with the electrician's help. Hopefully we can learn enough to continue on our own next week. We have two more weeks until the windows are installed. The doors should be done soon as well. It will be nice to have it closed in! After that, we can get the next set of inspections. That should be thrilling, as always!

Some of the plumbing in the walls. This is Nathaniel's bathroom.

You can see the water pipes in the ceiling, as well as some of the duct work.

Dan contemplating the roof. : )

The view of the roof tiles from the back side. You can see the corners still aren't finished!

The view from the front.

Roof tiles

Well, we started on the roof tiles this weekend! I am not entirely crazy about the color!! I want to make sure everyone who comes to see my house knows that this is NOT the color I picked!! They were supposed to be white and almond. We picked them because they had the highest reflection index so it would help keep the house cool. But when they arrived, they had a kind of salmon/peachy spray on them. We considered sending them back, but they already took 3 weeks to get here instead of the promised one week. I really don't want a 3 week delay--I'm on a tight schedule you know!!. So I guess I can live with them. They actually don't look too bad now that they're on the roof. I'm hoping to pick out a nice paint color that will keep attention off the roof!

We got the entire garage side done. Thanks to our many helpers: my brother-in-law Bill and his children Maranatha, Hope, Hannah, and Zane; my nephew Zack; the Buppert family; and Steve and Jake Max! We really appreciate all of you!! We still have a ways to go, but every day we get a little closer! More on the roof this weekend. . . . . .

The tiles all stacked on the roof. That was a job in itself!

The first side we finished! Yay!

Many hands make light work!!

The front side of the garage.

The view from above!

Framing

Okay, while we were busy on the roof, the framers finished all the inside walls! It looks so amazing! It's really neat to see the plans I have practically memorized in actuality and real 3-D! I love my house even more, if that's possible! I wish we could move in tomorrow! We have been spending our Saturday nights there just enjoying the monsoons and planning for the upcoming stuff! Dan has started the indoor plumbing, and the septic tank is in. The electrical and the ductwork for the HVAC system should be going in soon (that's the heat/air conditioning!). We have ordered the windows and the kitchen cabinets. We are moving along, though not fast enough for me! I wish we could move in tomorrow!

The pantry in my kitchen, with the office behind it and the front door on the right.

The children's side of the house. It's hard to see much from this view! There is now a fireplace in that corner on the right.

The other side of the house, with the master bedroom, powder room, and laundry room. My cute plumber hard at work!

The basement with all the boards knocked out finally! It is still there, though I secretly still expect it to cave in sometimes! The stairs are to the right.

The roof

Okay, sorry I am so behind! So much has been happening! The roof is almost done. After the framers finished with the plywood, we covered it with this stuff called Feltex to keep the water out. It comes in a big roll, so you just roll it out and nail it down. Then we had to cover that with the boards that will hold up the tiles. They are each about 4 feet long and in rows 13 inches apart. Let me just say, that is a REALLY big roof! The hardest part was measuring and marking everything so that the boards are straight and meet up at the corners. We got dried in just in time, as it has been raining nearly every day! The tiles are arriving today. We will have to unload them all onto the roof using a forklift, then they get set out on the boards (there's a little ledge that sits right on the top of the board). We are going to screw every other tile to the roof for extra security. We get some pretty strong winds in the spring! We will be starting on the tiles this weekend! More on that later. . . . . .

The front entryway all finished! There will be a porch out to where the columns are.

The roof with all the plywood on before we covered it.

One side finished!

The view of the front with the roof done.

View from the back side with the roof done. We just have that little spot to go, and it's kinda tricky!