End of the month!

Well here we are the last day of the month already....so that is almost 5 months of the project "under our belt" Progress this last month has seemed a little slow, but I am confident that the pace will pick back up again soon.

The last few days a bit more of the siding has gone up (the sub is clearly working on more than one job...fortunate position to be in these days!); the HVAC is installed (as far as I can see), drainage pits filled back in; basement walls insulated and the framing in the basement started today

Another 2 1/2 hours spent with the lighting designer this morning.....good job he is such a pleasant man, and a delight to work with....otherwise all these hours he & I have spent together would have been a real chore.

Sorry, just a couple of photos..the ones of the framing of the gym and bathroom in the basement did not come out well..will retake tomorrow

Photo descriptions

1. A litte bit more of the siding completed on the front of the dormer windows in William's bedroom

2. Basement walls insulated and being framed ready for drywall

Labour of Love

This truly does feel like a labout of love tonight.....have been meaning to update the blog the last 2 nights but have bottled out due to exhaustion. Ian is getting impatient for updates (which I quite understand) so despite feeling really tired and having a 8-9 hour drive to North Carolina tomorrow I kind of feel obliged to get this update done. So with out more ado..here goes.

What has been happening since the last update? The main action has been that the 2 drainage pits have been excavated,lined,pipes installed inspected , refilled with stone and dirt. This work really has hindered other work as the driveway became inmpassable with stone and piles of earth,

Electrical work, including installation of the recessed lights and exterior sockets/outlets; plumbing; heating and air conditioning systems have all but been installed. Siding began again today with the sides of all the dormer windows now clad. The siding installation will be completed tomorrow. Stucco should start next week.

Besides work at the house several more hours have gone in to lighting ad ceiling fan fixture selection, cabinetry hardware final choices etc etc. The list of selections seems endless!

Ian made the decision to go ahead with prewiring for an audio system..so before the dry walling happens in about 3 weeks the audio and security wiring, phone cabling, central vac and wiring for holiday lights have to be installed. At that stage (priort to drywalling)the next set of inspections have to happen.

Anyway I am truly runing out of steam here..and the eyelids are feeling very heavy..so "Good Night!"

Photo Descriptions:

1) Pits almost concealed
2) Drainage pits in progress
3) Dormer windows almost completely clad with siding
4) A quite tame version of what much of the house looks like..switch boxes, outlets/ socket boxes...wiring, plumbing etc etc all over the place!

137 days later...

I now have proof that there was no way that they could have built Rome in a day! Here we are 137 days in to single family home build, and we are not anywhere near being finished!! This is in no way a criticism of our contractor, who has been fab. There has been great progress made, which is plainly evident when I look back at the photos I took on Day 1 versus now. We are actually slightly behind the original schedule (which in my opinion was possibly over ambitious anyway..says she who has never built a house before... so who was/am I to judge?) but nothing to get concerned about.

Obviously it is "Le Weekend", and no one was working at the house, that I know of, yesterday or today. There was some talk of possibly the base coat of the stucco going up, but we had some heavy rain showers this morning that may well have put paid to any such ideas.

The end of last week the excavation of the drainage pits started, electrical wiring and installation of the plumbing continued, and the primed siding began to be fixed on to the house.

Photo descriptions:

1) Siding going up....the primer is grey, but the finished colour is not.
The final painting wil be done once all the siding is on the house.

2) The beginning of the excavation of the drainage pit..taken from the porch roof.

3) The Pex system is now being connected to the pipes. Photo shows the plumbing
for the vanity unit in the guest suite.

4) The front of the 3086 Merlin Road, as it looks as of August 22nd 2010.

Hello.....is anyone out there??!!!

Undeterred by the total abstinence of comments, I will make today a "Record Breaker" (who remembers that kids programme? R.I.P. Roy Castle. Thanks for some fun memories.) and post 2 blogs in one day!! This 2nd one will be short though..well probably will be!

Progress to report today:

1. Well item 1 is actually old news..the large excavator returned to the lot yesterday in readiness for the drainage pit excavation to start tomorrow (I'll be there camera in hand....how sad is that?! Well maybe I will depends how early I feel like getting out of bed) It was a young lady who returned the excavator ..I was impressed! The drainage pits are having to be larger than on the original drawings as we have more impervious cover than at first calculated. Larger pits means more $s of course, but Rick assures me that he has negotiated well!

2. Electricians still beavering away.

3. Met with holiday light man..and all agreed there. I opted not to have the red bulbs thoigh, as I decided that if we cannot afford the swimmng pool I will seek more conventional, even if not as exciting, means of earning those funds!

4. Central vac now been demonstrated and outlet locations, in principle, agreed, so that is another box ticked off. Phew!

5. Date stone font and wording agreed - tick another box!

6. Siding started to be put up

Still seems to be some soffits to be put in..and more plumbing, HVAC etc but we are making progress.

More tomorrow.....hopefully. Very excited as Rebecca & I are off wedding dress shopping tomorrow! The camera will therefore be put to much better use ..so much more fun than taking photos of soffits, wiring etc etc!!

If you have read this it would be great to hear from you!!!!

Photo descriptions:

a) HVAC equipment in attic
b) Fuse boxes in basement
c) Pex system - project in progress
d) The soffits - look fab (especially against the beautiful blue sky!)

Return of the blogger

After a couple of weeks away fom blogging..prepping for "vacation"(??)..away on "vacation" and then recovering from "vacation" I am now trying to get back up to speed on the house build (& life in general!).

After 12 days away Sam, William & I were excited to go to see what progress had been made. Consequently went up to the house as soon as we got home. From the exterior no change (other than racking on the rear of the roof for the solar panels), which was a bit disappointing, as when we left there was talk of siding and possibly base coat of stucco being done in our absence). However, internally the electrical sockets ('outlets' in American!), switches, light fittings, fuse boxes, meters etc have been wired and most of the pipes for the plumbing and 1 bath tub have been installed..and the HVAC system is almost all in..at least the venting!

Both the electical and plumbing guys are still working away at 3086. The plumbers are installing the Pex system and the soffits were being installed yesterday. The electrician (whose wife is British, and is a Jelly Baby fan..so I bought her some back!) needed answers from me on things like where we want outside outlets (had to madly think ..where will we want to put up Christmas lights (Not easy to think Christmas when it is 88 degrees and sunny), electrics in garage, switches for security floods etc. In fact, I am woman much in demand at the moment..by sub contractors that is!!!! I am being chased in all directions for decisions..all quite overwhelming..I am trying to stay cool calm and collected and deal with each request in a logical manner..but not always easy to stay as cool as a cucumber with everything else going on in my life, as well as the house!! I will get it all done...one day!! As they say in Venezuela "poco a poco"!!

On Tuesday morning I spent 3 1/2 hours working some more with the lighting designer on choosing fitments..or at least coming up with a short list, as final decisions will of course be made with Ian. I have however delegated to the boys the task of choosing the lights and ceiling fans for their own bedrooms and bathrooms.

Today the siding starts to go up.....and tomorrow the drainage pits will begin to be excavated.

I am off to house now to meet with some one else (???..it is all a blur!) and to go over some stuff with Rick (our builder)

Hasta luego!!

Photo Descriptions:

1) Racks on the roof at the back of the house ready for the solar panels to go on in a few weeks. Note how the copper roofs are mellowing beautifully!
2) The first bath tub..in the guest suite
3) Wires and switches everywhere!!
4) The 2 electricity meters