We're Building a House! - Construction Update - 12/9/11

So much has happened in the last two weeks! I have already lost track of specific dates of the events, but I have tons of pictures and will post them in chronological order. And, I'm trying something new in this post. Since I have so many pictures, I posting them as a collage for each stage. Although, for the upstairs framing, I'll post separate photos so I can explain exactly what you're seeing because it's really starting to come together.

I think at the end of my last post, I mentioned the slab had been poured, but we hadn't seen it yet. We came back from Thanksgiving vacation to find this beautiful piece of concrete. You can also see the green plate on the walls.

Next up was framing. They started with the basement walls. Then, they moved to the first level floor system. You can see the I-Beams ready to go here and the pieces of the actual floor. I'm glad we decided to go with "Top Notch" sub-floor. Only the best... :)

We were just amazed at how fast the framers worked. The first day of framing was a lot of set up but after that, we have seen dramatic changes each day. Here is the second day's progress. You can see Tessa in a lot of these photos. She's really taken to the whole construction process and seems pretty interested. I think she looks so cute running around the house in her pink, fluffy skirt and sparkly boots.

Here are some photos of the rear elevation with the basement walls. Check out the mud! I think it will be spring before I get back there to check out the back!

Now, for the truly exciting part! The first floor framing began this week. First, they laid the floor.

Next came the walls, both exterior and interior. This is the entry from the front door. You can see the stairwell on the right. It's the horizontal boards.

This is the front door and the start of the master bedroom closets. Each side of the closet has a transom.

This is the big great room wall right before they lifted it into place. The far wall is the master bathroom and bedroom.

They used a crane to lift it into place. (I think this actually a photo of the front wall being placed, but you get the idea!)

Here are some more shots of the great room wall. This is Chad, our construction manager, standing right in front of the fireplace. There will be a door to the deck on each side of the fireplace.

The master bedroom is right next to the great room. This is before they put up the bedroom wall to separate the two.

Here is a shot from the kitchen. This is close to what we'll see looking to the left from the kitchen sink - the great room on the left and the dining nook out front.

And, this is what we'll see looking slightly to the right from the kitchen sink. The hearth room on the right and the dining nook on the left. No more walls going up in this section! I don't know that I've ever mentioned how open this plan really is. I love all of the light that will flood the kitchen! I really wanted to bust through the paper to see my actual view from the kitchen, but I resisted.

This is a view of the kitchen and great room from the hearth room. On the left is the sink and breakfast bar. The wall behind that (you can see a doorway and header) is the pantry wall.

And, the front garage wall.

Now, for my favorite part - the kids! We took them out there yesterday to check out the progress. We walked them through each room. Jack absolutely loved watching the crane and the framers using hammers and nail guns. He was pretending to hammer the whole time he was there. All boy! (Excuse the sweaty photos of me. I just finished a jog!)

I wish we could bottle the excitement we are feeling right now. If I could, we would have a waiting list a mile long and we would be building houses for other people for a lifetime. It's just amazing to see your design and plan for a home on paper come to life with lumber.

Next up will be framing in the second story which they're doing today. Then, they'll do siding, the roof and windows. The framer is thinking all of that will be done by 12/20 which is only 11 days away. So, expect my next update to be filled with even more photos!