Tis the season

The mercury reads below zero, so it seems like a good time to hang up some lights.

Happy Thanksgiving

We are thankful for friends and family!

Moved OUT

People keep asking me if we've moved into the new house yet. I think that moving in is going to take weeks, even months (and that if you don't include basement finishing and other miscellaneous construction projects.

The truth is that we have finally moved OUT of our old apartment. I packed up the last box at 1AM this morning.

wifi for everyone!

So, I thought that we would be off the grid for a few days until our internet service is transferred over. I turned on my laptop and there are currently 20 wireless networks visible from my bedroom! A handful are even open.

Closed!

I just got back from the closing. So, the house is now finally ours (well 95% the bank's). Feels so good to be moving in and having everything finished up with. I can honestly say that we've had a good experience with Hamlin construction and would recommend them to our friends.

Appraisal

We just got a copy of the appraisal, and the house appraised at a little over the agreed purchase price after all credits and change orders. All signs point are go for closing. Now we wait for the results from the underwriting before we can set a firm closing date. Still hoping to close on or before Nov 20!

Inspections

Several city inspectors were in today and most of the finishing touches are now in place. Still remaining is the installation of the garage door opener and the last bit of sidewalk to be poured tomorrow.

almost done!

I haven't updated with any pictures in a while, so here is a teaser from the master bathroom. They poured our driveway / sidewalk today and will have the inspector come on Monday which will mark the finish of construction!

Countertops

Here are some pictures of the countertops which were installed on Friday.

cabinets

The cabinets are now installed!

mass installation

and Pat said, "Let them have lights." And there were lights, and it was good!

In this picture, you can see the bar lights and the chandelier above the stairs. Most of the doors and frames were installed today.

floors

Today, the floors for the entry, baths, and kitchen/dining were installed! Attached in the dining area.

Painting

We got had an opportunity to get into the house this past weekend and do some wall painting. I think that we spent more time taping than painting, but we're really happy with the results.

Locking up for the night

Melissa was able to lock the door to the house for the first time on Friday!

rock'n

They began hanging the sheetrock on Friday. The spaces feel even more real now that there is a clear definition. Here you can see the kitchen/dining area (bottom) and the kitchen (top).

Siding

There were installing the siding this past weekend! Here is a picture from sunday afternoon. Tomorrow we expect that the insulation will begin to be installed.

looking up

Was digging through the memory card on the camera and found this fun picture from when the trusses were going up. This picture is from the master bedroom looking east toward the living area.

Locked in

I locked in our interest rate for the mortgage today. It is very comforting to have that taken care of and to no longer need to worry about how the market may affect rates. When the construction was just starting, rates were more than 1/2% higher, so I'm feeling lucky that the timing for this has worked out.

Lov'n the view

Mount Helena, as seen from where the back patio will be.

Kitchen Dinning

Here is the framing for the kitchen and dining room. On the left side above the staircutout is the pantry. Just to the right of the picture is the sliding glass door. This picture faces East, so there is lots of natural light in the living area!

Master Suite

Here is the framing for the master suite with the closet and bathroom in the background

Wrapped

Here are some up-to-date pictures of the back and front of the house. The front door is not installed because door that was received was not the correct door which was orderred, so a new one is on the way.

Framing completed!

Today, we had our electrical walkthrough with the project manager. The framing and roof are nearly completed and some interior work has begun. I'll post some more pictures later on tonight.

back to work

The framing crew started on the house today! The schedule says that they are suppose to be finished in 8 days. This is obviously very exciting as the project is dynamic and will be going up very fast.

Today they finished the wall for the basement. The view is very exciting, you can tell how the stairs are going to be wider than normal, and the basement bedrooms for the girls are very large!

virtual kitchen

Here is a rendering of the final design for the kitchen of the house. Not shown is that of the wall next to the fridge is a large corner pantry unit. Yeah, more food!

Delays...

on Friday I spoke with Pat, the project manager, who informed me that the current schedule date for the final inspection has been pushed back to Nov 11th. This is from our original closing date of October 23rd. Frustrating as that is, there was no work done on the house last week although apparently some items (windows / doors) were ordered from suppliers. We're told that work will begin anew on Monday (8/31). *sigh*

Basement walls

This week they completed pouring the walls for the basment. It feels really big to be down there, which is exciting and a little scairy all at the same time.

its punny

So, even though in a little over a week no work has been done. At least they managed to make a drop-off at the site. We were told today that they would begin to pour the foundation by Friday of this week.

Thanks Amber for the title!

A hard day's work

Its been a long time coming, but its finally starting to feel real! One day in and the hole is almost completely dug. Its really amazing what a good job those kids did!

Construction crew

Our construction crew is hard at work. Here is the official groundbreaking!

Painted Earth

Real work began today as we went out with Pat, the construction manager, to stake out the property and paint the lines for digging! We should have a nice hole in the ground within a few days.

Updates

We completed the pre-construction meeting on Wednesday of this week. Among the typical decisions made at this meeting are items like texturing for walls, exterior colors, trim, roofing, etc. This went pretty well, but there are a few items still up in the air.

To summarize:

exterior color -- red
trim color -- almond
roof -- architectural shingles (a darker brown color with red and tan hints)
texture -- medium depth texturing (the newer style, looks a little like plaster)

We have also added a small window to the garage and expanded the layout of the basement bathroom for the girls as they grow up.

Details and Washer/Dryer Dilema

Here are a few details originally left out. Top pics are of the hills seen from the Master and north and south windows. Each level of the house is 1406 sq ft. The address is 361 Northgate Loop. If you look at Google maps you will just see a blank piece of land. The land is in between two completed houses on a 16,000 sq ft lot in the city. We are a block away from the golf course and a great elementary school. The main level is the major living space where the basement will be finished in the future. Right now we are thinking about paint colors, trim and cabinet colors, and were we will place our furniture. Melissa is worried about not having a washer and dryer on the main level and whether or not there should be a window in the kitchen at the end of the bar instead of cabinetry. Thus removing the window from the dining area. Let me know what you think about these concerns. We could put the w/d in the master bedroom closet???

Its official!!

We signed the initial buy/sell this afternoon and wrote out a check for earnest money. The project is now past the conceptual stage and into motion! Closing date is "on or before" October 23rd.

Here is a nice 3D picture of the main floor which more or less matches the floor plan from the previous post.

Here are the main floor and basement floor plans which provide the basis for the official architectural drawings.

Plans are set

We have now agreed, verbally, to enter into a contract with Hamlin construction regarding the construction of a new house! Our financing has already be pre-approved for the final sale, so we'll be able to sign the papers as soon as we're ready.