Roof, Plumbing, and lots of pictures....

The roof has been going up this week and is almost finished.  We went with a standard shingle color so that it will match the stucco, stone, and eave shingles.  The stone is set to be delivered next week.

 This is a look at the back of the house. 

This is a later in the week picture.  The back roof is shingled.  The attic vents are in place.  You can see the plumber has been at work and the vent pipes are coming up out of the roof.

 The roofing on the front is almost complete as well.

 The front porch ceiling decking is in place and ready for painting later.

 Speaking of front porch... The arches were put into place this week awaiting stucco and stone.

The back porch ceiling decking has been put into place as well. 

 The stairs to the upstairs climate-controlled storage area were put in this week as well.  We had them cut the wall down here to make it easier to get larger items up the stairs like a tall Christmas tree.

Despite the heat, Abby took a moment to pose for a picture in the upstairs.  You can see across the entire house attic here.

This is the storage area upstairs.  The picture of Abby was taken two days before this one.  You can see that walls have gone up with doorways so that we can add sheetrock and insulation to keep important items cool.  This area will have its own A/C unit and we will probably keep it around 80.

The plumber has been busy and even snuck in this tub here in Abby's bathroom.  Wasn't expecting it when I was there today, and it made me excited to see fixtures start coming in.

 Not very interesting, but this is the bench seat for our master shower.  It will be covered in tile like the rest of the shower.  I think our selections for tile are finally finalized.

As one who enjoys a good kitchen, I was excited to see the wall for the kitchen bar go up.  Behind the wall you can see the plumbing for the kitchen island. 

The fireplace frame has gone in this week.  We will have a raised hearth.  The fireplace is gas flame.  The fireplace will be covered in stone that matches the house all the way up to the ceiling.  Above the fireplce will be hung a big flatscreen TV.

 The HVAC guy apparently made an appearance today.  When I looked around today, there are vents being put into place. 

A look at some A/C vents from the attic view. 

This is the game room.  You can see the single opening french door on the left and the windows.

 This is the awesome view from the french doors and windows in the great room.  I can imagine sitting in the living room and looking out over the pond.

 The pet room is coming along.  We are going to get a doggie door put in this door. 

This is our master closet.  The closet area on the left is mine because it is the smallest.  The right side is larger and will be Melissa's.  In addition my side will house the breaker box and an attic entrance for this side of the house.  Does that sound fair?  Oh well.I think we will manage. Abby is still mad because our closet is larger in area than her room!

A lot can happen in a week!

 We got back from our family vacation in Cancun and found a lot of changes.  The exterior wallboards are up all the way around.  The roof is decked and tar paper signals the beginning of the roofing stage.  There are windows and even the exterior doors are installed!

A look down the new fence line in front.

The front entrance from Harts Bluff Road has blossomed over the past week. The columns are present and the poles for the wrought iron are up. All we are waiting for now is the stone to cover the columns and retainer wall and the actual fence panels.

 This is the front entrance and porch to the house.  Hard to tell details in the picture but really taking on the modern farmhouse look we are going for. 

 It is dark inside now with the roof, windows and doors in place.  I will take more pictures later this week inside but this is a peek at what the breakfast area looks like with the windows in place.

Toward the end of the day today, the shingles were going up.  They are starting at the back of the house over the back porch.  Beginning to look like a real house.  We are very excited.  Will update again later this week.

Closing in and Gates Begin!

 Went out today and they have started boarding up the walls and closing things in!  Things are moving along great.  A little rain today but not enough to slow things down.  The ceiling in our bedroom finally went up today and then the back porch roof started going up today. 

 The first end that is being closed in is our family bedrooms and closets.  This is a picture of Abigail's room near the front with the window and our master closet behind that.  This is a good profile view of the front porch.  Can't wait to put some rocking chairs out there.

 This is the garage end of the house.  The roof line is taking shape.  The whole area under the roof is going to be climate-controlled storage over the garage.  You can kinda see that the windows were delivered and are stored int he garage awaiting placement.  Probably next week!

 Excited to see the front fence starting.  We are having a concrete runner placed.  The fence will be a 6 foot wrought iron fence on top of this with stone facade over the concrete to match the house.  Again this tree is awesome.  The foreground of this picture shows the turn into the entrance monuments. 

I tried to not get run over on Harts Bluff road taking a panoramic view of the entrance drive.  Will have a double gate entrance of wrought iron with scroll details.  In the background, you can see the house going up and the long driveway.  The actual driveway is going to be moved to the right to match the entrance when complete. 

We are going on vacation next week and can't wait to come home and see what progress occurs while we are gone.

Starting to take shape...

 Just a quick look at Abby enjoying the new land this weekend.  She loves fishing at least for a short while.  It was so hot she only lasted 30-45 minutes before she started the air conditioning in the truck and eventually walked over to Caroline's house.  I wish we would have changed the picture angle and we could have seen the house in the background. So far we have only caught sun perch in the pond.  Supposed to be stocked with bass and catfish.  May have to be restocked at some point.  Right now it just needs some water!

More of the roofline was put into place today.  Kelly at The Plan Shop used what she calls connective architecture for the exterior.  You can start to see that the main entrance looks like a farm house. The other areas will appear added on at various stages and times.  We will be using a combination of stucco, stone, and siding shingles to bring it all together.  Will be exciting to see it all come to life.

Will be interesting to see how the roof develops over the garage.  It is such an open expanse plus there will be an upstairs on the garage for climate controlled storage.  The windows are supposed to be delivered this week and then will start to be put into place.                                            

David Taylor was out today and ripped up all the old asphalt at the entrance to prep the area for front gate installation.  The concrete runners for the fence will go in soon.  Can't wait to have a new entrance.

The Roof Begins and More.....

 First I just wanted to post this picture.  This tree is at the front of our property.  It reminds me of the tree of life because it is so perfect.  My favorite tree of the whole property.

The first part of the roof is going up today.  I can't believe those guys work so hard in this heat.  It was 103 when I was out there.  This section of roof is over our closet and Abigail's room.

And finally today we have a new edition to our home.  We knew we wanted a Baby Grand for our new house.  The piano store is moving and had amazing prices to keep from having to move all those pianos.  They are going to store it for us for 6 months until the house is ready.  It is a Weber and is brand new.  Abby will enjoy this.  Makes me want to start taking lessons as well.

The roof is coming....

The house framing continues.  All of the rooms have been framed in.  Today they started in a vertical direction.  Rafters are starting to come out.  The front porch and back patio are coming allong.  Once all the rafters are in place, we will start seeing the roof go up. 

This is a view of the front porch.  A mini version of a wrap-around.  I can start to imagine the stone and wood columns.

 A view from the front door.  This view looks through the foyer into the great room and out the back with the pond in the view.

The rafters are starting to be put in place to support the coming roof.

This view is in our master bedroom.  The door at the back of the picture goes into our master bath.

Looking at the middle of our back porch into the great room with the foyer in the back.  The roofline boards are being put in place.

A side view from beside the garage looking at the back porch.  The foreground shows the outdoor kitchenbeing framed in. 



And The Walls Go Up!

The hammer and nails began firing today.  The framing has begun.  By late this evening approximately half the walls were propped up.  It was fun to get out and walk around and finally imagine what the rooms are going to look like.  I am worried about the size of some of the rooms as they seem small, but they match the measurements on the plans.  I guess I have a spacial visualization problem.  The funny thing is that the room that seems the biggest to me is our (Melissa's) closet.  Figures!  The framing is going to go fast with a roof planned in two weeks. 

We have a trip planned to Dallas on July 13th for plumbing fixtures and pool design.  Should be fun. 

We are learning a lot as we go.  I have had a crash course on post-tension cable slabs and now the types of studs used in the walls.  Trying to keep up with learning new things to make sure I understand everything.  James at ACH has been great at explaining things as well. 

Will keep everyone posted as more of the house takes shape.