Roughing it

We have moved in.  We are here.  It is not pretty, but we are working on it!  We have a working half bath, and a working tub/shower.  T

Half bath sink

Half bath

Casey working to level the range.  What a mess! Temporary fridge in place so we can live here. another cabinet is to be installed above the fridge. Panels need to go on the bar - plywood is not the final detail :)

We are basically camping.  This place is still a construction zone.  Our counter tops won't be installed until the 11th, so until then, we are cooking on either the grill or a camp stove and washing dishes in the tub.  It's all good though, because we are moved in!  This is all part of this adventure.  

Closer

Today we worked on a variety of tasks to include hanging the last of the light fixtures (inside). I also put the last of the device covers in place. 

My office track light is hung, trims will go on after we move in.

The master bedroom is looking pretty great!

I love the trim style Casey chose (pocket door to master closet/bath shown)

The birch hand scraped floor in the boys rooms is pretty also! 

Casey worked on the half bath today to get ready for the toilet and sink to go in very soon. Our kitchen has not yet arrived (waiting on one cabinet) so we are spending the time to get the bathroom trim boards on before the fixtures get installed. The rest of the trim will go up after we move in.

Our Marmoleum will be installed in the kids bathroom tomorrow and then the toilet will go in. 

Hardwood, carpet and lights...Oh MY!

Over the last week we have installed the hand scraped birch flooring in the hallway and boys bedrooms.  We also had the wool carpet installed in the master bedroom.  Casey did a great job installing the hardwood, I actually look forward to cleaning it and photographing it!

Casey just getting started with the wood floor.

The dining room LED's are very bright!  

All the 2nd floor rooms have light fixtures, receptacles and switches installed.  Even the washer and dryer receptacles are ready for use!  In the bathroom we used an occupancy switch for efficiency (not shown)

Our kitchen is being delivered tomorrow and Casey plans to prepare for the installation on Friday.  On Saturday we will install our sink, toilet and shower trim.  

The current plan is to move in on Sunday! We won't have a working kitchen for a few days, but the idea of living there is so exciting I'm willing to sacrifice some creature comforts. We know how to camp!

Getting closer

Drywall work feels never ending and is generally regarded as being pretty awful. The good news is that we are nearing the end of drywall hell.  Casey and I put the drywall up on the second floor walls. We hired someone to do the first floor walls, ceiling and the stairwell. I put the tape up and Casey did all of the mud work.  I'm responsible for most of the sanding and he is doing all of the painting.  The second floor walls and ceiling are 100% primed and painted.  We need to put the trim on the windows and baseboard.  We also have hardwood for the kids bedrooms and hallways that needs to be installed.  The master carpet and bathroom Marmolium will be installed by a sub-contractor. We have all the materials available, they just need be installed. 

We still need to second coat the first floor, paint, trim, etc.  I actually look forward to the sanding, it is just that much closer to having paint on the walls! 

It's been a few weeks since I've be able to do much at the house.  The last month has been quite hectic, including sleep away camp for my oldest, a CT vacation for the boys and I, and most recently the sudden illness and passing of my lovely Grandmother Doris Raitenen. I was lucky enough to be one of the loving family members at her side during this time. She'd understand my need to get back to work at this time, so this weekend I am going for it!

I've got light fixtures to install in the closets, bedrooms, upstairs bathroom.  The boxes are taking up a ton of space and I look forward to using the empty boxes for packing. The second floor is also ready for devices and plate covers.  As soon as we get the bathroom flooring down we can install the sink, toilet and shower controls. I also think my office and the theater will be ready for sanding this weekend. WE ARE SO CLOSE! 

We are still awaiting the arrival of our kitchen.  Casey has been so busy building a custom kitchen for another customer that he is not able to build our cabinets.  This was a very sad realization for us with him being such a skilled woodworker, but a person can only do so much.  Working a full time job, building a custom kitchen for a customer and finishing the drywall in your own house all at over the summer is way more than many people can handle. Adding another custom kitchen build to the mix was just not realistic.  We picked cherry cabinets with an amaretto stain and plan to have soapstone counter tops. The cabinet door styles are totally different from what I posted "Heart" last year.  The cabinets are about 2-3 weeks out at this point. I really am most excited about using is the kitchen.  The stove we are currently cooking with has two working burners. Cooking with that stove is going to be delightful, I am so thankful we bought that last year! 

I really hope our house is ready to move into by the end of August. It would be even more awesome if we could move in before the start of school.  We aren't moving to a new town, so no school transition. No real need to rush, but I am ready.  We are getting closer.

First Floor Drywall

Over the last week we've had a team come in and hang the drywall on the first floor.  It's finally done and we are just about ready to move forward with taping this weekend.  We also have an excavator coming this weekend and we are making repairs to the grading around our home as well as to some other needed work. 

The hanging of the drywall is a huge step and I feel so happy that we are inching along.  We've ordered our bathroom fixtures and soon it will be time for Casey to start building our kitchen cabinets. 

My office 

Front door - stairs to left, office to right

From the 1st floor bath looking south into mudroom

Tape and mud

Today I spent the morning taping all the drywall seams, joints, etc. on the second floor so that Casey could run through and put the first coat of joint compound up.  He is using a 90-minute quickset compound, apparently it dries fast and is less likely to crack in the process.  We'll have two more coats to put up along with sanding before these walls will be ready for paint.  It is slow work, but not as slow as hanging drywall!

1st coat!



Master Bedroom



Laundry closet on 2nd floor - taped and ready for mud!



Casey throwing some mud on the walls ;)

We did have a bit (okay, a major) of a plumbing issue, but it has been fixed.  It was really sad to see the huge pile of materials that were improperly installed.  All of the plumbing that was previously installed was removed and replaced over the last few weeks by a master plumber.  It is all up to code and we won't be having any issues with it now!

A portion of the discarded plumbing materials that were improperly installed

All the plumbing is now completely up to code - it previously had a HUGE list of violations

This week we will be ordering the sheetrock for the first floor.  I am really excited to get the first floor done so we can order our kitchen and get closer to moving in.  It is likely that we won't be ready for moving in until the end of June, but what a way to celebrate the summer! 

Springing along

Here are some photos to make up for the lack of them in my previous posts:

Our electrical panel is hung and nearly complete! 

The boiler has been in place for a while now....I've just neglected to photograph it

The kitchen is a bit easier to envision with the bar in place

Drywall is coming along...looking into the boys bathroom/laundry room

drywall! Still need to tape and mud

We will hang drywall on the remaining interior walls this week

Drywall

I've really started to fall behind on this blog.  Sorry, things are just so busy for us!

Next Monday we have a licensed plumber coming out to repair all the code violations.  This is great news for us and feels like a BIG step forward! The plumbing is the only thing holding us back from hanging drywall on the first floor.  It feels so good to know that in just two weeks we'll be right where we need to be to get that drywall hung!

The framing on the second floor is also complete.  Yesterday Casey and I hung about 13 sheets of drywall.  It was my first time doing that sort of job, and it was kind of fun!  I was the "marker" and drew lines to mark the drywall where the studs would fall and also cut the drywall wherever it was needed.  I think it's so cool that you just score it with a utility knife and break it.  I think that is my favorite part. The boys bedrooms walls are done!  This week I'll try to get up there to do some taping - I will probably soon learn why everyone hates that part so much, but for now I'm just excited that we are making progress.

The electrical on the second floor is also complete.  Our electrician has started making up the permanent panel in the basement. Over the last several weeks I drilled the holes to get all the homeruns to the panel location and pulled all the wires in.  Everything is all nice and neat, at the panel for him to make up all the circuits, breakers, etc. 

We met with an engineer on March 7th.  Everything with the building looks pretty good, with the exception of inadequate ventilation in the attic.  We are going to add some gable vents once the snow melts (need to put up staging to do this task).  The results of the inspection with the engineer were favorable and we don't have as many problems as I initially thought. The problems we do have are easily rectified.

I NEED TO TAKE PHOTOS of our progress.  I'll try to do that this week!

Pocket doors

Casey has been busy over the last few evenings working on the framing and pocket door rough-in.

Pocket door for my office

Pocket door for the half bath

Framing for the mudroom closet



Today my mother arrives and she will be watching the kids at night so Casey and I can get a dent in the upstairs interior framing.  Moving right along!

Holding us back.....

Sadly, no photos to update the progress of late.  February was a really slow month.  There are several things that have occurred that have really held us back, all of which were out of our control.

1.  On 2-2-14 we discovered a water damage in the attic space that needed to be dried out.  All the wet building materials and drying concrete created excess moisture which was not able to adequately escape our attic.  The excess moisture was not able to escape (inadequate venting) so it formed condensation on the roof decking. We have a ridge vent, but the soffit vents we planned for were never installed due to a snafu. Our building was designed to have a heel on the truss, but the materials were not available fast enough.  We were told "we can build it, and build it better."  Well, they built it, but not better because they didn't add the heel as designed and there wasn't enough room for the insulation in the eve and the soffit vents.

The water damage took about 5 days to dry out, during which time the air movers and dehumidifiers were kicking up a lot of dust. This all coincided with number 2.

2. We all got the flu, but not at the same time.  So three weeks out of the month was spent with one of us so sick we literally just stayed in bed.  Yup. That was not a fun time.  So glad that it is behind us.

3.  The state inspected our plumbing and wrote up a nice big letter outlining all the code violations our plumbing has. This is a MAJOR set back as we not only paid someone thousands of dollars to install it, we also paid for all of the materials that now need to be mostly removed and replace.  UGH. Working to find a solution on this....hopeful it will be resolved quickly as we are ready for drywall and this is holding us back.

4. There are some other issues that have come up as well, but we have a meeting scheduled this week and we hope to have them resolved asap. (More at another time)

THE GOOD NEWS

 

We are all healthy again!!

 

 

The wet materials are now dry - and we caught it really fast so that the damage was minimal. I've got great friends at G.W. Savage who really took care of things for us.

 

We are looking for solutions to some of the plumbing and other concerns we have.  Solutions are always good.

 

Yesterday Casey and I got a ton done.  The first floor electrical is complete.  Our electrician friend came out and made up all the switches so that as soon as the drywall goes up, we just have to wire a switch and the receptacles, easy peasy. It's much easier to get all those 3-way switches, etc. made up during the rough in stage. Although it is time consuming, it's not as time consuming as after the drywall.

 

We got a huge chunk of the second floor electrical started and will hammer out the rest of it this week.  I'm taking a vacation day this week to get 'er done.

 

Casey has been working at night after work for the last week and will ramp that up this week.  My Mom is also coming to town this week to spend the evenings with the kids so that Casey and I can go get a few hours in each night together. Oh la la, a working date.

 

It's all progress, and progress is good.  Hoping we can break down the barriers that are holding us back in the coming days.  Cross your fingers for us!

 

 

 





Bits of progress

I've discovered that working a full-time job, raising two kids, volunteering, (trying) to maintain our household and building a house are kind of an interesting combination for expecting to write a blog post every day.  I just don't have enough time!  My new goal is to post here once a week. It's much more realistic!

These photos will help to document our bits of progress in the last week or so.

All elevations now have siding complete - the blue board will be covered in the spring when the ground thaws.  The material will match the roof and the windows. Note the bracing details on roof overhang.

Casey and I hung all of the recessed can lights over the weekend.  My neck still hurts from looking up.

 Last week our siding was completed, the concrete floors were sealed (although not polished as we had thought they would be) and we passed the Efficiency Vermont thermal break inspection.  We will be working over the next couple of weeks to get the HRV ducting installed as well as the remaining bits of electrical work.  It won't be long and we'll be getting drywall up!

Insulated

This week the insulation was blown into the walls.  On Monday Efficiency Vermont is meeting with us to make sure there are no thermal breaks and also to make sure we are still on track to earn the Energy Star rating.  Once they give our project their stamp of approval, we will be doing more electrical work (ceiling fixture rough in on first floor), installing the ducting for the ERV system and then once that is done, we can get the drywall up!

Looking through the mudroom wall into the kitchen

2nd floor master bathroom

drywall just waiting to go up on the walls!

The North elevation is completely sided. Ledger is in place for a future porch

Bulkhead is sided



West elevation nearly complete

We'll be saying good-bye to the builder after they seal our concrete floors on Monday.  They've done a great job!



 

Ready to insulate!

After spending a few days last week getting the electrical roughed in, today I tackled the remaining portions of the project that were holding us back from insulating the exterior walls. I am happy to say that on the first and second floor, the electrical has been roughed in! *insert applause here*

Yours truly adding wire to one of the boxes that will power our under-cabinet lighting

At the end of the day - I got it done! (Kitchen view from dining)

I still need to run 3 wires in our bulkhead, but it shouldn't be a big deal to squeeze that in this week.

So close but yet so far.....

Over the holiday break I was on vacation for several days and spent a lot of time with the kids. Casey has been very busy on a side project since Thanksgiving week (working 18 hour days) and I've felt a bit like a single parent. I'm very thankful that the side project is complete and now we can focus on getting our house more habitable. The holidays feel like a blur to me and I am ready to focus on the New Year!

I have been squeezing in some work days as I'm responsible for the electrical rough in.  I'm working under a licensed electrician who checks my work weekly and does all the major stuff.  Each time that he comes to look at the progress, he assigns more tasks for me. He and I have been friends for over 12 years, we worked together when I first moved to Burlington years ago. It is so nice of him to support me in this way so that I am able to do the majority of the electrical work myself, saving a ton of money.

At this point all of the plumbing has been roughed in.  About 75% of the exterior walls have the electrical rough in complete.  The plan is to do the dense packed cellulose wall insulation on Monday so I'll be finishing things up this weekend. We've got an appointment lined up for Efficiency Vermont to come and do the first inspection to ensure we are meeting the Energy Star Program standards.  Once we've passed the inspection the drywall can start going up.

Here are a few photos, which are quite dated when I think about how much has been done in the last two weeks.  I just haven't remembered to bring my camera to the job-site when I've been working.

I must also add that we finally got our water heater installed and it is up and running.  Having water in the house feels like a huge step, as does having heat!  Our radiant tubing is flowing with hot water and heating the place nicely.  Once the walls are insulated there will be no stopping us!

My office is just about done



The kitchen plumbing is roughed in and the electrical in the kitchen is also completed since date of photo



The second floor interior walls prior electrical