All You Create

Since my husband and I switched our morning routines, which includes taking our two daughters to two different schools, I don’t have the opportunity to drive by our new lot as often as I’d like. What this means for the blog is that I’ll be receiving some photos from my husband. It also means that the photos may not be taken from the exact spot each time, which would allow for a fun timeline-type video on down the road. I had thought about it, going so far as to scribble a lovely Sharpie ‘X’ on the curb opposite where our front door will be, but there’s a problem — a big problem: Trucks tend to park right smack in between that lovely X and the future front door.

Ech.

So — here we go with some of the hubby’s photos! Photo No. 1 is a view of the guys readying our basement floor:

Next up — basement walls:

Holy fast build, Batman! This thing’s going up mighty quick.

SK

No rest for the weary, right?

Since the basement walls have to cure for about two weeks, what’s left to do? Well, “the guys” have laid down a bed of gray pebbles/rocks where the driveway will be:

The driveway is coming along nicely

In the meantime, I’ve been looking around town for all sorts of things. Toilets and sinks, you say? Absolutely. These lovelies will go in the hall 1/2 bath:

Memoirs by Kohler pedestal sink and toilet

What about the front door? Oh, yes. First impressions are the thing, or so everyone says. Come knocking at our door and this is what you’ll see — unless we change our minds, which is entirely possible:

Looks good on the door, feels good in the hand

Such fun picking stuff out, truly. But truly, not always an easy decision. Onward and upward!

SK

Week 2 has had great weather again to bust a move on our house, and the guys working on it are, indeed, busting a move. Take a look — we have foundation walls just itching for cement to be poured!

Week 2: Foundation walls

Then just a few days later (Friday, in fact), the cement has been poured and black stuff has been applied to the walls. We’re thinking the black stuff’s some sort of water-prevention material. Yay!

Week 2, Friday: black walls

SK

Digging has begun!

Day 1

The crew had a gorgeous day to begin on our house. First step — start digging that hole! The basement is being created by displacing a crazy amount of dirt. Love it.

Day 1 — Dec. 28, 2011 — Digging the basement

Day 2

Another lovely day for building! Replacing the dirt-mover is a crazy-tall skinny contraption. Perhaps something to do with pumping concrete for the footings?! Yeah, I’m one of those people who knows what she wants the end product to be but doesn’t necessarily know exactly how to get there (like most computer users, if you want a goofy comparison). I’m pretty sure, though, that these guys know what they’re doing.

Day 2 — Dec. 29, 2011 — Long, pointy thing doing whatever it does

Day 3
More great weather today and, boy, do these guys move fast. Today’s drive-by gave me and the girls a lot to look at — all of a sudden, we have basement “walls” going up. Really, they are the forms that will soon support the concrete that will become the walls. Our contractor told us that once the walls are in place, nothing will happen for about two weeks, as they (and we) have to wait for the concrete to cure.

Day 3 — Dec. 30, 2011 — concrete forms

Woot, woot, woot!

Ladies and gentlemen: We have stakes!

We were told last week that we received the go-ahead to begin our little project (gulp) and that they would put the stakes in the ground to indicate exactly which was our house will be situated. We went to the lot and slip-slided through the mud — each shoe gained about 10 pounds, I think — and decided that, yes, this placement is good.

Dec. 2011 — stakes!

Now they tell us that the digging will begin Wednesday. That’s tomorrow! Aaaack!

And now it really, truly begins. Schnikies.

SK

It seems that every time we set up a meeting with someone about the house, they tell us that we’re early in the process. And yet our builder has set up deadlines on when things need to be done, so I’m at a loss for why we are running early on these meetings. Weird.

We set up a meeting with the “cabinet guy,” who helped guide us through the process of picking out the cabinets. We met for about 1.5 hours and got a lot figured out. Here are the details:

• We’re getting shaker-style cabinets in maple that will be painted white (white white, not antique white or cream or glazed white or beige or anything other than fresh, clean white).
• They will have soft-close drawers (which are apparently written into the price, so they aren’t an upsell — unless that’s marketing-speak, which it very easily could be).
• They will have pull-out shelves that pull out all the way, not 3/4 of the way, so that the old fogies in the house won’t have to get down on all fours to find that last can of beans.
• They’ll have oil-rubbed bronze cup pulls and handles to accentuate the dark wood floors.
• There will be a lazy Susan in each of the two corners, with a single knobbed door on each (rather than two connected doors that swing).
• There will be angled corner cabinets above the lazy Suzans.
• Each cabinet will have a small cabinet above with a glass door.

Here’s a similar cabinet concept to what we’re planning. The upper glass doors add interest and light to the space. We’re having white subway tile (rather than the bluish gray shown here) and dark countertops (not wood), but you get the general idea:

White Shaker cabinets with upper glass doors (photo: http://www.chiccottagecharm.com/2011/02/whats-cookin.html)

I haven’t been by the lot in a few weeks but am still anticipating a basement dug sometime this month. With today’s rain, however, plus the holidays right around the proverbial bend, that action may not happen till the new year. I think we have enough going on right now to make a delayed start OK in my mind.

By the way, for any potential house builders out there, let me share this bit of wisdom: I thought I was pretty prepared for the ordeal, with a three-ring binder absolutely stuffed (organized, but stuffed) with pictures and ideas of how we want our house to turn out. And yet the “overwhelmed” feeling has started to creep in somehow, even with solid preparation. Sort of like the concept of “the more you learn, the more you learn how much you still have to learn.” Oy.

That being said, I still am so, so looking forward to this entire process. Fun times ahead, for sure. But if I snap, just know that I told you so. Wink, wink. Nudge, nudge.

SK

Just a quick shout-out to all my homeys — may your green bean casserole have muenster gooing all over it, may your tummy have room for ample pumpkin pie and may your homes in the year ahead be filled with laughter, joy and more than a few happy surprises.

This is our last T-Day in this neighborhood, and I am thankful for this house and for the new home to come. Thankful, too, for:

• The husband who keeps me grounded while giving me wings.
• The rug-rats who make everything — everything! — worthwhile.
• Family who are as loving as they are crazy (in a good way, yes?!).
• Friends who are patient, kind, encouraging and an utter hoot.
• A career that fulfills on multiple levels.

Stay safe, stay warm, stay thankful. Cheers!

SK

Curbs!

We have curbs! What does that mean? That means we’re on our way. As soon as the streets are in, we should, in theory, be ready to DIG THAT HOLE.

Curbs!

Asphalt!

We have asphalt! Or we have at least some asphalt. What does that mean? That means we really are on our way. Asphalt being laid down means that the streets are almost done, which means, again, that we can DIG THAT HOLE.

Asphalt!

And you know what that means? Chaos is about to begin and last for four to six months or so.

We’ve been waiting for weeks for the streets to be finished, and now, within less than a week, bam! Things are happening quickly. Let the fun begin!

SK

I need some help defining what’s going on with the street that leads to our street.

Whatever it is, I like it

Take a look at the photo below and see if you know what that rolled black stuff is:

I haven’t gotten close to it, so I can’t tell if it’s netting or a solid surface. But what is it for? It’s in preparation for laying the road down, yes, but what’s it purpose? To hinder weed growth? To keep moisture out? To add strength? What?

I don’t know and frankly, I don’t care all that much except for a short curiosity. But if you know, by all means — share your information! I’m just excited to see movement on the “street.”

Yippee!

SK

First up: financing.

Done.

We met with the bank yesterday and signed a good part of our life away. And we’re OK with it. Thrilled, even. Over the moon. Signed papers means this dream house of ours is actually gonna happen. Cool beans.

Next up: red line meeting.

Done.

We met with the builder last week to finalize our plans. Anything that we want changed now will take what’s called a “change order” and will, I think come straight from our pockets. We made some last-minute changes — and really, who wouldn’t do the same in a similar situation? — and are happy about the way this layout has turned out.

Third up: countertops.

We’re having some serious problems choosing a countertop surface for our kitchen. And by we, I mean me. I desperately want a dark brown (think espresso) color with minimal (think next to nothing) movement and a matte finish (think honed) that is user-friendly. Apparently, such a product doesn’t exist:

• I’ve checked out Corian but am afraid of the maintenance of repairing scratches. A scratch on a dark-colored Corian shows up as a light scratch because of the way the light reflects on that scratch. But — Corian is repairable; the other surfaces are not. So that’s something. And I adore Corian’s Bronzite color.
• I’ve checked out quartz, and several manufacturers, at that. Cambria makes a gorgeous color called Oakhampton. It meets all of my criteria but one: too shiny. Cambria products are not suitable for honing. The shine is less than on some granites, but it’s not a matte finish, so I’m just not sure about it.
• Caesarstone’s Espresso may as well be the same product as the Oakhampton quartz, they are that exact in look and feel. So really, if we go with that look, the best price will win.
• Silestone’s best bet is called Gedatsu, but it’s a bit lighter in color, so I’m not sure about it, either. But it’s a contender.
• Going green is always a consideration, and I heard of a product called Paperstone, which is made from recycled paper and resin. The color is lovely, but the heft of the sample (or the lack of heft) left much to be desired. It just seems too unbelievable that it would last long. Too bad.

This decision will absolutely take more time. But it’s all good fun. There’s one more place in town that I need to check out. Anyone heard of Quality Granite and Marble? They carry more than granite and marble, and they’re supposed to have a crazy amount of knowledge about this sort of thing. Perhaps they can sort me out.

SK