The End (of our frustrations) and The Beginning (of our simple life)

Over three months have passed since our last entry, which happened to be the day before we bid adieu to city life. We are finally settling in to country life after dealing with numerous issues that Indy should have remedied. (It's probably best that I waited until now to post this last entry to let my fury subside.) Indy finally completed our driveway a week after we moved, and all our attempts to get him to pick up this monstrous pile of junk beside our house were futile. We finally hired a company ourselves to handle it. Best money we've spent so far...other than on the yard, which we also had to handle on our own. We had countless rocks covering our yard that had to be removed before seed could be sown or sod could be laid. Luckily, our neighbor (come on, you know Noel's already befriended them all) gave Noel the name of a guy (whose name ironically was Guy, ha!), who had a machine called a rock hound, basically a rock scavenging machine. We had a new yard by the time he was finished. Oh, between that and the empty space that was once the trash pile I didn't think I could be any happier until we discovered grass. Noel and Dad sewed grass seed immediately after Guy finished his work; however, we had been doing some research on sod and found that prices weren't as ridiculous as we thought they would be. We decided to lay some sod in the front and side yards to boost morale around this homestead and, boy, did it! It took all day one Sunday for four of us (Noel, Dad, Mom, and myself -- although at seven and a half months pregnant this girl took several more breaks than the majority) to lay ten palates of sod (each palate covers 450 square feet). You want to talk about being sore for days. Wow! The sod, however, quickly met Ruthie's approval, and the seed is coming up nicely to blend in where the sod stops. (You see we certainly couldn't have sodded the whole yard, and even if we wanted to, I seriously doubt we could coax our two helpers into taking on the challenge again.)

Our frustrations spanned much wider than just with Indy. We have also had bank issues. We still do not have a mortgage, because the bank and Quicken Loans do not see any need for speed in such a process. We have already locked in a rate once and lost it, and the process will restart in only a few days. We have also dealt with a post-construction appraisal that fell short of the pre-construction appraisal. (How that is possible, I have no idea. I have fought tooth and nail with the bank and the loan company about that appraisal but to no avail. The appraisal is an issue because it affects how much of our construction loan can be rolled over into a mortgage. Needless to say, we got screwed over yet again. We are now going to have to carry a two mortgages. What fun!) I digress. Hopefully, we'll have a mortgage by the end of October.

Frustrations aside, the whole process was totally worth it. We have the house of our dreams and a much quieter life (until we welcome our little Isaac or Lydia in another month, anyway) with Sox and Marley...oh, I mean Ruthie. We are glad we did it, and in hindsight, we'd do it again (but we'd rather not). 

The grass makes it look like a real house!

Noel's view from our hammock (that he wasted the day away in...said all he needed was his house, his dog, and his hammock...work is overrated...I agree).

Many, many thanks for all the support from our family and friends in this process. We hope that somewhere in this process someone may have taken away something helpful. We now have a wealth of knowledge, though now probably very useless to us, about this whole housebuilding/dealing with your contractor/banking process. You live and you learn. Then, you get mad as hell and take matters into your own hands. 

We outta here! ....almost.

Our home is move-in ready (by the skin of our contractor's teeth, I do believe), but as Indy said, we may be done but we're not done. After we move, we will make a list of all that needs to be 'fixed.' Everything will get remedied; then, I believe (ehh...hope) that we will close on our mortgage, and this endless stream of bills with be no more.

As you know, we have installed a geothermal system in our house and insulated the entire house in foam. We have a very tight house. There benefits and downfalls to this. Benefit: less air leak from the interior to the exterior (thus lower energy costs). Downfall: less air leak from the interior to the exterior (ironic, I know). You see a house has to 'breathe,' and I talked about this earlier on in my great blogging adventure. In order to avoid 'sick house syndrome,' and, yes, there is such a creature. We have had Stroop's install an ERV system, or an energy recovery ventilation system, to help avoid this problem. This ERV system will let the house 'breathe' by exchanging stale internal air for fresh external air a set percentage of a 24-hour period. Currently, our ERV is set at 30%. Translated, this means that the ERV will exchange air for 30% of the time during a 24-hour period (a little less than 8 hours a day). The ERV technician was at our house the other day installing the system under the house, and he drew a diagram of house the contraption worked and took me under the house to show me how to change the setting (or percentage of exchange if necessary). Oh, that sweet smell of fresh air. Ahhh.

Quite a bit of work was done yesterday at the house, because as of Sunday evening (two days ago, mind you), there was no running water in the house. Let there be water! And, golly gee, we got water yesterday. And our refrigerator is hooked up. We also got to welcome back our washer and dryer that my brubby has so kindly kept operational for us. Shelving was installed (wood in the pantry and wire everywhere else). The front porch steps are supposedly complete as well. I would imagine the yard is still a muddy mess because of the current monsoon season, but eventually, Indy is going to pick up the rocks that litter the yard (with some machine he's rented) and bring in topsoil. Hopefully, they have removed the clutter in the garage or at least sorted through it. The leftover electrical supplies have been returned to the Southern Electric for credit. (Note: Always, always make sure that any extras get returned for credit. These credits certainly add up! We returned unused tile and grout to Lowe's a couple of days ago and that yielded a significant return in our wallets.) Once Builders Supply picks up the remaining lumber and other products, our house/garage/yard will start looking less like a construction zone and more like a home (surrounded by a sea of dirt or mud, of course).


Today, we hope Indy's cohorts can get our driveway in working order. They are to install two more culverts, smooth it out, and lay more gravel. The rain/muddy condition is the limiting factor.


 Tonight, we are moving clothes and Soxy down to Lynchburg. Soxy will actually be spending a few days at his grandmommy and granddaddy's house because there may still be workers going in and out of the our house. Poor Soxy's stress level would be off the charts. 


As I type this entry, I am surrounded by boxes and stuff that still needs to be thrown into boxes. We have cleaned bathrooms, emptied cabinets, vacuumed floors, changed addresses, called utility companies, and have eaten out or had sandwiches for the past two weeks. This will be the fourteenth time I have moved since moving out of my parent's house after high school. (I'm certain Noel's number rivals mine.) Moving is certainly a familiar nuisance, but a necessary one nonetheless. Last night, we were saying how we can't believe we have reached this point. This journey didn't start with purchasing land, nor saving up money, nor getting married. This journey started much, much sooner than that. In the words of Ty Pennington...Welcome Home White Family, Welcome Home!


We will keep you updated on the post-move progress (once we regain Internet access...I am turning the cable box in right after I complete this entry) because Hannah and Noel's great adventure isn't over until the mortgage broker sings. I also want to thank, in advance, the 'movers' who are volunteering their time and muskels to help us: Larry, Matt, Mom, Daddy, Jamie, Eli, Riley, Rosa Lee, Marianne, and Emma. We appreciate it!

Parting shot: Happy Anniversary to my bestest friend in the whole, wide world. (You are such a lucky dude!)

T minus 7 days and counting

We are one week until move day, people! And, I must say that my semi-vocalized frustration had quite the impact on our contractor, apparently. (I say semi-vocalized because I didn't have to vocalize much before he realized that I wanted him to get on the ball and get this house move-in ready.) After our phone conversation last Thursday, Noel and I drove up to the homestead that day and, there were ten (yes, ten!) cars parked up there 'getting shit done!' You couldn't wipe a smile off my face with and eraser. The framers were back and had finished our screened-in porch (minus the screen). The flooring dudes had finished tiling our shower and were in the process of grouting tile. Jose and his compadres were completing our interior bamboo steps, and while we were there, the stone masons appeared and got to work on our front porch steps.

Oh, now we can sit out on the porch and sip our mimosas!

So Soxy won't fall.

These gorgeous steps are really made from a grass. I really hope I don't run into a panda bear one day munching on our stairsteps. Pretty awesome!

The improv HGTV crew -- post mailbox installation.

Since last Thursday (aka the GSD day), the balusters have been put into place and the handrails stained on the staircase and overlook. The final round of painting was completed today. Carpet has been installed in our master bedroom. The hot water heater has been placed under the house. The plumber has been hard at work installing fixtures in our bathtubs and shower. A few of the contractor's men (if I knew your names I would thank you, but I do not) routed the gutter downspouts into the ground with corrugated plastic pipes to irrigate the yard while directing water away from the house. They also backfilled much of the area around the garage with dirt from one of the massive dirt piles that was created when the footers were dug. The electrician has installed the under-cabinet lighting, raised the pendant lights, and installed dimmer switches. Today, he was in the process of installing our speakers, TV mounts, and rope lighting. This is his last day on the job at our house, and we truly appreciate the work he has done. (Thank you, Jon!) The dishwasher would have been installed today if the cabinet people (ahh, the headache reappears) had actually made the slot large enough for a standard size dishwasher, but they did not (surprise, surprise). Alas, they must return to correct their mistake, but their return did not occur today (and we were ensured by them that it would).

Gutter engineering.

After the mounting frustration on Thursday, I typed out lists for the electrician, Indy, and the plumber (although the plumber's list was extremely short). We wanted them to know what we noticed needed to be done. Apparently, they expect lists...like lists. If only I had know that this was kosher earlier in the process, I would have been like Santa...lists for everyone! We, of course, kept a copy of each person's list so we can walk through and around the house and check off what has been completed. Lists give the A-type personality something tangible. Makes me feel a bit more in control of the situation. Not to mention, we always forget to mention things to Indy. To make a list, we analyzed each room as to not miss anything.


Today, Noel met with the closet shelving elf (get it...the shelf elf...ha!) to tell him how we wanted each closet set up. The cleaning ladies are coming tomorrow to rid our house of dust and trash. The area around the house still needs some tending. The burn pile in the back needs to be scooped up and hauled off. The yard needs to be free of rocks and adorned with a fresh coat of topsoil. Backfilling needs to occur around the house. And, we need a screen for that screened-in porch. The driveway, good grief, the driveway needs a couple of culverts installed, needs to be graded, and desperately needs crushed gravel. Of course, as this has kicked into high gear, monsoon season has fallen on Lynchburg. I didn't think I would say this (in a time when we so desperately needed rain), but rain, rain go away come back again when we've moved in and need a lazy, rainy day.


The interior of the house is so much closer to completion than the exterior, but we just need this thing to be livable in seven days. We might just make it. Come on Indy!

Parting shot: The muffin (our wonderful wiggling muffin)

On the twelfth day before moving in my contractor gave to us...no progress!

As I type this blog, Queen's "Under Pressure" is blaring in the background in an attempt to calm down a very frustrating evening and morning. If I was an inanimate object, I would resemble a food canner with that jiggling thing on the top vibrating like mad to let off steam. I know I have used this line before in the blog but I am funneling Frank Costanza yet again..."Serenity now!!"


Here is the timeline people. We have twelve days to get this house done. We are moving from this townhouse in thirteen days, June 29th, mind you. Less than two weeks. What is left? Oh, the porch steps, interior steps, interior balusters and handrail, screened-in porch, staining the concrete, finishing the electrical work, finishing the plumbing work (but, wait, our plumber can't finish his job until the tile boys finish our shower), grouting the tile, cutting an air vent for the dryer, returning and crediting unused supplies, installing carpet, installing an interior door in the garage, caulking around the exterior doors, sanding and restaining the exterior doors, installing doorknobs, patching the hole in the kitchen ceiling, installing our rope lighting and dimmer switches, painting the hallway, giving our closets shelving, installing the hot water heater, refrigerator, and dishwasher, trenching for the plumbing to our garage (then covering it up), filling in around the house site with the dirt they removed to do footers, bringing in topsoil so we can have grass, dumping some more gravel on our driveway, hauling off the junk they have used to junk-up the house site, and cleaning our house of all the dusty remnants. That is all. Twelve days, that's all I'm saying. We are installing our mailbox today, at least we know that will get done. Dad has offered numerous times to finish it for us. Why, oh, why didn't we let him?!


Apparently, this situation is not unique to us. I have heard from numerous people who have built a house (through a contractor) that once the house reaches the point where it looks like it's almost complete all of the workers disappear.


On another note, our plumber has done everything he can do until this point. He has installed our toilets (which we thought were going to be low-flow but that is another story for another day) and faucets. We did have to exchange the faucets we bought for the upstairs bathroom because the extensions on the bottom were not long enough to reach through the granite. This worked out to our benefit because the faucets we exchanged them for were a bit cheaper. 


In the mean time, we have been moving boxes from Murfreesboro to Lynchburg as we can. With each trip we bring another load as we will do today. Our goal is to have only large furniture remaining by the 29th. 


Note this 'installment' (as my poppa calls it) is just a dose of reality. As I mentioned when beginning this blogging adventure, we were going to be brutally honest about our experience. One day we'll look back and laugh...maybe. Ha! Ha!

And, we're rounding third...

Over the past few weeks, finishing touches have made their way into our new homestead. Whoop! Whoop! The flooring boys have completed the tile in utility room, upstairs bathroom, and the floor of the master bathroom. Working on the tile in the master bath shower will take a bit longer. The tile in these rooms has not been grouted because the flooring ringleader (Adam) said that the grout will just get dirty if they do it now. He said grouting is typically completed toward the end of the process. Adam and his cohorts have also completed our hardwood flooring, and the bamboo is gorgeous. This bamboo, though, caused it's share of bumps in the road. We purchased strand-woven bamboo (tremendously stronger than oak) from SimpleFloors in Georgia. When Adam attempted to nail down the bamboo with a nail gun, the nails would fold because the wood was entirely too strong to penetrate. After much help from our sales rep at SimpleFloors, Indy and Adam decided that gluing the floor was a much better option. We want to commend Indy, Adam, and our wonderful sales rep Lyza for their patience and diligence in remedying this problem. You guys rock!

Meet the floor dudes.

Floor dude vs. bamboo and glue

Trees are thanking us right about now. You are welcome!

We ordered carpet yesterday, and the style for the bonus room is on backorder until June 24th. Nevertheless, the bedroom carpets should not be a problem and should be delivered next week.


And, finally, we have granite! The granite was installed last week once the flooring got installed under the kitchen island. Luckily, the granite looks great. (Considering we couldn't remember what in the world we had picked out. Ha!) 

Can't you just see Noel cooking away?!

And, I can totally see him cleaning up all the dishes after the delicious dinner he fixed me.

A few weeks ago Keith and his crew rejoined the workforce at our homestead to give us a deck on the back of the house and a lean-to on the back of the garage. They threw both up in a day's time. Pretty efficient really. We told them to hold off on the railings for the deck, because we wanted to install the taught wire (you know, for a modern look). So we started doing research on taught wire railing systems. We got a quote, and the quote is so laughable I just can't bear to put it in this blog. Needless to say, the taught wire wasn't just over our budget, it was waaaaaay out of our price range. We still needed railing, though, and my dad decided he would be the one to supply us with some nice wooden railings, which now looks great by the way. (Thanks, Daddy! And I'm sorry I don't have a pic to display your fine craftsmanship, but Indy was impressed.) He will be the first to tell you that he is the most efficient subcontractor we've had in this process, and for argument's sake, we'll agree.


The ceilings of our porches have been stained and installed.

The stained ceiling of our front porch.

John (our electrician) had been busy at work all last week finishing up the electrical in the house. I believe we are still at the electric company's mercy to come pull the electric line to the house from the transformer, but they move as slow as molasses down there. We are also still attempting to get credit from the electric company for going 'green' with our geothermal system, insulation, and windows. The guy who evaluates this for us said he would come once the appliances have been installed. 


The soffit/gutter guys have started doing their job, but soon after starting they disappeared and have been MIA for well over a week now. Hello, boys! We need gutters if you want money. I see only one way to remedy this situation.


Stroops (our geothermal company) installed our thermostats and turned on the units, and we are not certain that either unit is functioning appropriately. Wonderful! Indy has made them aware of the problem as have I, so, hopefully, we'll get some arctic air blasting through that house soon.


We are moving from this townhouse to the homestead on June 29th come hell or high water. And, please consider this a solicitation for volunteers. If you don't volunteer, we will hunt you down and make you miserable. :) Some boxes and pieces of furniture have already made their way down to Lynchvegas and are sitting in the upstairs of our garage. We are nearing the end of the long adventure, and we are very ready to jump to the next. (Yeah, we get bored quickly if you didn't know.) However, we seem to think that this next endeavor will keep us on our toes a bit more than a house. 

Parting shot: A HUGE congrats to my bro and his new wifey! (Nayer, you can't bring him back. May the force be with you.)

In the words of Frank Costanza, 'Serenity now!'

All last week Noel and I played contractor while Indy was dealing with the passing of his dad. We, however, are very happy he is back in the saddle, because Noel was ready to fire everybody.


We have remedied the cabinet situation...we hope. The cabinetmaker is working on the missing utility room cabinets, and they have a plan to correct the current cabinet that resides over the washer. I will say that on my visit to the shop, I dealt with two very competent gentlemen, because the cabinet lady (even though I emailed her only 4 hours before my arrival), who had created this whole mess, said she 'forgot' about our meeting. I highly recommend she see a neurologist promptly regarding her short-term memory lapses.


We also had to delay the granite guys, who were suppose to install our granite on Tuesday. We knew that once that granite went on the island in the kitchen, it would be impossible to move the island in order to lay bamboo flooring underneath it. You see, the island has faux feet. The flooring has to go under the feet and the entire island. The granite guy, who is one of the biggest airhead males I have ever met, thought the flooring was already down. Once he realized it was not, he still could not wrap his head around why we needed to wait on the granite for the flooring to first be installed. Bless his heart.


On another note, we have applied for an extension on our loan, because (surprise, surprise) we are over-budget. The bank, who was originally extremely handy and helpful, is now proving to be quite a headache. They require an inspection before paying any bill (with OUR money). Now, their version of an inspection entails some banker/amateur photographer coming out to the property with a camera to take pictures of what has been done. Do you really think we would authorize money to be withdrawn under our name (money for which we will be paying interest on once the withdrawal occurs, mind you) if the work has not been completed? Seriously, seriously? I will never, for the life of me, understand their intent.


This week workers at the crib (as Noel calls it) have put a bit of pep in their step. Interior painting is almost complete. The flooring guys (they'll handle the hardwood, tile, and carpet) should be here later this week or early next week, then on to the granite. We've got to get soffits and gutters on the exterior, steps on the front porch, a garage door, plumbing fixtures installed, shower in the master bath, shelving in closets, railings on the interior steps, and another load or two of gravel on the driveway, all by June 15th. Ha! Move over Mom! By the way, we prefer a turndown service in the evening, our laundry done on Sundays, and Soxy requires his wet food at 5:30pm sharp.

Business ethics 101

Thankfully during the majority of this process, our stress level has been kept to a minimum. The operative word here is 'majority.' Now I may be a tad naive in my thinking, but I understand that the proper way to do business with another is to do your work, do it correctly, and receive compensation. My, my, how some businesses need a lesson in business ethics...and common sense.

As you might have noticed a couple of posts ago, we were so happy to see our long-awaited cabinets make an appearance. Unfortunately, not all of the cabinets made it to our homestead, but (being the trusting people that we are) we thought that they were still working on another unit for the utility room (because there are two separate units set to reside there). We waited for a week or two, then decided to email the cabinet receptionist lady, who had been our liaison during this whole process and who also just happens to be the owner's daughter. You can see now where the problems are beginning to arise. Over a span of a few weeks, we emailed asking the same question...what about the rest of the cabinets in the utility room? ...what is the status on the rest of the cabinets in the utility room? ...backerboard and baseboards have been placed where the rest of the cabinets in the utility room are suppose to be and some will now have to be removed once we get the rest of the cabinets for the utility room. None of our questions/statements in any form were addressed. In fact, they were blatantly dodged by the lady who 'helped' us up to this point. Now, we would receive responses from her but not a single response addressed our question. Finally, we had to do what we hate to do, be upset customers. It disturbs me how this cabinet shop finally responded rapidly to us when they knew we were upset. Suddenly, it dawned on the lady that in fact we were suppose to have another set of cabinets that we had purchased. Amazingly, she attempts to get the ball rolling so the building of our cabinets, which should have occurred two months ago, could be expedited. However, it turns out they are being built way too wide. In the midst of it all, we realized that the cabinet unit above the washer is much too low; thus, we will not be able to open the lid to the washer. Mind you, not once during this entire process did either Noel or I approve a template for the utility room. Why? Because we were never presented with one. Round of applause for the repeated incompetence of this cabinet shop! I don't believe in slandering a person's nor a business's name. It is distasteful and, frankly, very redneck. Thus, I will not mention their name in this post, but if asked in person Noel and I will gladly tell you who has caused us much grief. If I have mentioned the name of this particular shop in previous posts, then it was only because I was giving them high remarks at that time. 

In all honesty, I do want to give my laid-back husband a round of applause for having to deal with this situation yesterday, my husband who requires a lot to ruffle his feathers. This incident, however, has been ever so trying for him. In this relay race, he today has passed the baton to me, his pregnant, hormonal, and merciless wife (I feel like I'm funneling my mom here). May the force be with that cabinet lady today...

Also, thank you to all of the other subcontractors who have done their jobs correctly and efficiently. We are forever appreciative of your work.

Back in the saddle again!

The blogging hiatus is over! April has proven to be a busy month for Noel and I not only with the house but with several other things: new job and big news. I changed jobs to be closer to Lynchburg once we move for a much shorter commute, and we've decided that we need some help filling up this new house of ours so we got on the ball (no pun intended there, ha!) and now have a little one that will be making an appearance in early November!


Enough about all that mumbo jumbo and on to the progress of the homestead. The siding is completely finished, and the house and garage are painted. Thank you Jose and Elias, because it was truly a two man show. Actually, Jose, Elias, and Simon have been the work-horses of the homebuilding endeavor. The three of them have recently completed and painted our interior trim and great room ceiling, assembled our fireplace, built the bases of our front porch pillars, and completed every other odd-and-in job necessary. They are now in the process of painting the interior of the house for the final time.

The great room ceiling.

Our fireplace is finished (although in the following picture it is still in process)! And it looks amazing! The rock guys have just a bit more to do outside before they bid adios to our house for good - like the front porch pillars and some rockwork on the back of the house.

Our fireplace!

Blue-eyed Keith and his dudes have reappeared to construct our deck, back door stoop, and the lean-to on the garage for Noel's lawnmower that currently is non-existent. This, of course, took them about a day and a half. We ran into them at the house last week after they completed the majority of the deck and happened to interrupt there break (aka beer time). Why didn't I opt to be a carpenter?! Build a deck, drink some beer. Build a stoop, drink some beer. Build a lean-to, (you got it) drink some beer. The deck and stoop will be complete once Jose (man of all trades) strings the wire for the railing. Our inspiration for this look, the HGTV Dream Home in Stowe, Vermont, of course.

The back deck (which now has steps on either side). All we need is some grass.

We got a quote on granite from another company out of Nashville. Indy uses this company in his homes. We received a better price from this company versus Aritisans Granite in Murfreesboro. So it's a no-brainer that we are going to use the Nashville-based company. I met with the the company's contact; Steve is his name, a little over a week ago at OHM (the granite wholesale company where Noel and I picked out granite in January). It's a good thing that this powwow occurred because it turns out one of the samples I had that was supposedly Sienna Bordeaux (the granite we picked out for the perimeter of the kitchen) looked not at all like the actual Sienna Bordeaux slab. Ooops! (Who knows what sample we have.) It's amazing how your memory can fail you. Nevertheless, Sienna Bordeaux is what we're sticking with, but instead of just using it on the perimeter of the kitchen, we are going to use it for the perimeter and the island. Crisis averted. On Friday, Noel met with the template guy who sketched out and measured the granite. Maybe just maybe we'll have granite in a week or two.


Stroop's (the geothermal company) is finally finished with their work, and Indy (Jose actually) sprayed the foam insulation in the subfloor under the house. This is important because once the interior of the house is painted. We'll fire up that geothermal unit to get a constant temperature in the house to lay the bamboo flooring.


On Friday, Noel was at the homestead to receive the delivery of our refrigerator, cooktop, and double-oven from Home Depot. Pretty sure the delivery boys were sweatin' it driving up our driveway. Noel got a good chuckle out of it. Then, Noel and Dad headed to Lowe's to pick up our dishwasher, so we've got all of our appliances now.


All of this rain has, of course, washed our driveway. Noel and Indy discussed placing a couple more culverts in the driveway. Indy wanted the driveway to wash before placing any culverts in order to see where they needed to be placed. 


As you can see, we are in the process of tying up loose ends. We still have to choose lighting and plumbing fixtures and carpet. We should be nearing the end. However, there is still the money issue lingering out there. Noel is meeting with Indy on Monday to see how much more money we are going to need to finish this thing, because like the majority of people who build, we are over budget. Then, he is meeting with Lou on Tuesday to discuss the banking side of things. Poor Noel his 6-day vacation has been consumed by the house. (He did get a break on this warm, sunny Saturday to paddle, so there was some semblance of a vacay amongst all the business.)

Noel survived Clear Creek after two swims and an Eskimo roll! 

Our periodic home inspector. 

Now we're gettin' some action

This week is bringing quite a bit more excitement than the past couple of weeks. At this point in the process, you can begin to see everything coming together. It all started with the exterior paint decision that was made last Thursday. I headed to the paint store to pick up some samples of exterior paint (3 different colors) and a trim color option. I actually chose a color that day once my options were slathered on a section of the garage...now that is a feat in and of itself! 


Noel was able to enjoy this beautiful weekend outside starting our garden (thanks my daaaa'ling) and watch them put up some siding on the house. So really, no major action this weekend.

You can barely see it in this picture but we have shake siding on the top part of this domain. You know, just to add a little character.

And on Monday...the monsoon...


But on Tuesday, our rock masons were back on the job site covering the cinderblock base of our garage. (We decided to do this after we saw how good it looked on the house and how much cinderblock would be exposed on the garage. Folks, it wouldn't have been pretty!) The guys got this done in a day. The only project they have left is to rock the interior fireplace of ours. The fireplace chimney is prepped on the interior with a fireproof board to protect the house if any stray sparks fly out of the double-interlocking piping (which hopefully will not happen), and the actual fireplace insert is almost in place.


Much to my surprise on Tuesday, I saw the rock work, and I walked into our kitchen and there were cabinets! I just couldn't believe it! The bathroom cabinets were also there. We were still missing the cabinets in the utility room, which will probably make an appearance once the tile goes down in that room, and a small cabinet set in the kitchen, which was built 10" too big. 

Kitchen cabs. On the wall, will be our range hood and range. On the island, will be our sink and dishwasher. And, yes, the island is a faint sage color believe it or not.

Microwave and double-oven, meet your new home.

Noel's primping domain.

And mine. (The cabinets in the upstairs bathroom are the same as in the master.)

On Wednesday, Noel stopped in to see the progress and provided this blog with the pics you see. He's so obedient. At that time, Stroop's had brought the actual geothermal units for under the house and was also working on connecting the piping for the wells in the front yard. Indy told Noel that once Stroop's gets the units hooked up they will get the interior of the house to a constant temperature then start flooring. Once those floors are down we're going to feel like it's getting finished. 

Excuse me, would anyone mind explaining why our front yard is a disaster? Yes, you, geothermal guy in the back. This is how the geothermal tubing is connected (soon-to-be underground).

On the agenda, Indy's going to start working on the pillars for the porches. Dad, you can breathe now. He is terribly bothered by the fact that the front porch roof and back porch roof, which happens to be one of the upstairs bedrooms, are propped up by a couple of 2x4s. It truly is a wonder those 2x4s have held.

A little bit of this and a little bit of that

We're pretty dull over here at the site. Not a lot of huge steps have been made recently. During this dry spell (and, oh yes, the rain has now returned), two of Indy's compadres have been working on the fiber cement siding. (And, no, it's not done yet. Of course, you can't blame them, really, when only two people are working on it.) The same two dudes are laying down the backer board in preparation for tile in the bathrooms, and they framed two different windows with two different framing options for us to choose. Hey, when we only have two choices, the decision is easy. Actually, the choices where two different spins on a design I pulled out of a Better Homes and Gardens magazine. Magazine pictures can be your best friend when your choosing house stuff. Back to the tile, Noel and I finished up our tile decision making...and we are putting that decision behind us. WoooHooo! We do have one more aspect of tile to handle, and that is the backsplash in the kitchen. We will not know the exact square footage to order until our range hood gets installed (since the tile has to reach up to the bottom of the range hood). And, we ordered a range hood late last week.


We also made the last cabinet decision! In about ten minutes time, Noel and I chose our cabinet pulls and knobs from our cabinetmaker's shop. We thought about trying to get a better prices on pulls and knobs at Lowes or Home Depot, but in the end, figured we wouldn't save enough moola to justify the hassle. I'm going to be honest with you, when you get to this point in the game, the quicker you can make decisions the happier you'll be. The cabinetmaker seems to think our contractor will be asking for the cabinets in a couple of weeks. Once those suckers get in there, the interior will start coming together...and hopefully it won't be hideous. 


The geothermal well guys were finishing up on Friday by pumping a cement mixture into each 300-ft well to case the wells and insulate the piping that was already residing in each well. Now, we are just waiting on Stroop's (the HVAC/geothermal company) to install the downstairs unit and Indy to insulate the subfloor.

In the words of Yosemite Sam, "Back Off!"

Stupid viruses! I hate being sick! I despise being really, really sick! It really throws a hitch in your plans. Like my plans to blog last week, completely shut out by a relentless virus. Needless to say, about 500 tissues later, I'm feeling much better and my bloggin' fingers are ready.


Last week Indy's men primed and painted (yes, we actually made some color decisions) the interior house....and (much to our dismay) the garage. We had typed up a list of colors and the corresponding rooms and emailed them to Indy, who in turn gave the list to his painter. Now, the three of us (Indy, Noel, and I) all understood that nothing else was to be done to the garage, because we are done sinking money into it. Imagine my reaction when Noel called to tell me that the painter interpreted 'bonus room' as the room above the garage (the detached garage, mind you). Oh, livid didn't begin to describe my reaction. I was hot! And, let me just tell you, when I am furious about something I have blinders on...I don't like anything. (It's actually a poor personality trait I possess but at least I recognize it, right?) So when I walked into the house after possessing this knowledge (for I had only about 30 min to cool off before stepping foot in our homestead), I didn't like any of the colors. I ended up going back down to Lynchburg several days later when the plastic had been removed from the windows and the natural light was streaming in. Amazingly, that day the paint wasn't so terrible. Indy put me at ease and assured me that if I wanted to change anything that it was 'not a problem' (his favorite line). He is going to complete the painting in the garage because it doesn't need to be left unfinished. Needless to say, we will only be paying for half the work done in the garage. Crisis averted.


While I was there, our interior doors (Masonite doors whose design is title 'Riverside' -- so fitting for the two of us) and trim were delivered. It's starting to look more like a finished house than a frame. 


Indy also informed us that we need to be picking out tile. Ahhh! More decisions! So we found some tile for the utility room on sale at Home Depot. It's a porcelain tile, which apparently is quite a bit more durable than ceramic. We definitely need a durable tile in that high-traffic area. We think we've decided on bathroom tile but we may look a bit more just to be sure that what we've chosen is what we want. (Since obviously you can't just change tile like you can change paint.) And armed with our cabinet samples (because we have round two of those now and they look incredible), we have picked out a tile backsplash. All we have left to pick out are the pulls and knobs for the cabinets! And then we are finished with the kitchen! (Other than the appliances, of course, but that will be easy.)


The bank is about to drive us crazy. 
Dear ACB, We are fully aware of where ever penny is in this house. Please be informed that we have our own expense spreadsheet. We are a competent, educated, successful, and financially responsible couple. We feel that your incessant need to meet with us to 'discuss the construction process' is slightly ridiculous and benefits no one but your entity. You are not providing us with information that we do not already know. Also, do you not feel that it is a waste of your time to send 'an inspector' down to our house every time a bill is presented to you? Especially when you were just down there two days earlier. We realize that the banking system/housing market is botched. However, be aware that responsible citizens such as Noel and I do not fit in the category of greedy, gullible, financially irresponsible bankers or homeowners who have destroyed the trust in our banking system and housing market. Long story short, we've got it under control. Sincerely, Drs. Noel and Hannah White
(I think that pretty much sums it up! Whew! That was cathartic!)


We are both off this weekend, and it should be a BEAUTIFUL one. Hello Spring, oh, how we have missed you! Hopefully, we can load up on some vitamin D and make some final decisions that are still lingering. Our anticipated move-in date is the end of May now. At least it will be warm.

Well, color me pretty!

I'm pretty sure we've collected about 500 paint swatches. No joke. Note to self: don't do that again. You see, we like colors but we just don't understand the rules of color that well. Continuity is key. For example, you don't want a red foyer, blue living room, and a yellow kitchen. It starts to look like a preschool, you know. So we got a little advice from Indy, who painted for a living (and still does) before he got his contractor's license. Swatches you grab at Lowe's or Home Depot typically have four or five colors on one strip. He mentioned that it's a good idea in an open-concept house to paint adjoining rooms with colors from the same swatch strip because the colors are in the same family. Makes sense. 


The other problem is that Noel and I are both left brainers; therefore, we have a very difficult time envisioning what a tiny little color swatch will look like all over a wall. So we enlisted the help of one of my mother's friends who is paint savvy. Yesterday, we met with him, and we walked through the entire house room-by-room discussing colors that would work. He helped us decide which colors would soak up all the light and which colors would help maintain the bright and airy feel of the house. We've made our final decisions, at least we'll see how final they are once they get on the wall. Ha! Hey, it's just paint, right?! The only other thing we need to ensure is that the paint is low or no VOC (volatile organic compounds) to ensure good indoor air quality, especially in such an airtight home.


Speaking of indoor air quality, we have 'loosened' up our house a bit through our geothermal system. We met with our geothermal company on Friday and discussed adding an ERV (energy recovery ventilation) system on the downstairs unit. This is a programmable system that will exchange stale indoor air for fresh outdoor air at certain times of the day depending on the season. The exchange will occur during the daytime in the winter and during the nighttime in the summer. Because of this, we opted to hold off on the HEPA filter on the system. 


We also met with Indy and David (the salesman for Builders Supply) to pick out interior doors and casing. We walked through the house and chose which way we wanted each door to open. It was a rather quick and painless process.


Not much has been happening in the way of noticeable changes at the homestead this past week. (The reason for the lack of pictures in this entry.) The drywall dudes have been mudding the joints. They should begin sanding today; and hopefully by the end of the week, Indy and his entourage will begin priming the walls. 


On a side note, I can't begin to tell you how nice it is to have a decision behind you. I was thinking the other day about all of the decisions that we have toiled over -- the roof, the flooring, the granite, the contractor, the houseplan. It is so nice to know that that overwhelming feeling of 'decision-overload' is coming to an end. I must say that the constant bombardment of decisions is the most mentally and emotionally draining aspect of building a house. 

Take a breath of fresh, non-stagnant, oxygen-rich, outdoor air

This is what happens when you watch too much TV. Well, I certainly don't watch that much TV, but I happened to catch a local news story last night about an energy efficient house that was too airtight due to spray foam insulation and lack of proper ventilation. Ummm...yikes! Basically, no fresh outdoor air was making its way into the house, and the air inside the house was stagnant and loaded with carbon dioxide -- causing in this particular case, the family's pet hamsters to fall over dead. Now, I just couldn't stand the thought of walking into our house one day after work to a dead Soxy Paws. So what did I do? What any crazy cat mom would do, of course, I got on the EPA's website to see how we could improve ventilation in our house. Now, you see, this spaz moment probably wouldn't have occurred if I thought the house was already properly ventilated, but I did not. Luckily, when I brought this up to Indy today (queue Noel chuckling at my ridiculousness in the background), he too had seen the news story and said he thought to himself, "Oh, no, Hannah's probably watching this." Well, you're right buddy, I was. So, he said it probably would not be a bad idea if we had a fresh air exchange added on to our geothermal system. And, yes, I have already called our geothermal dude, Joe, who actually had the same concerns and is going to make it happen. Soxy's lungs thank you.


News story link: Too-tight Energy-Efficient Home Traps Carbon Dioxide


What a difference a little sheetrock makes! Apparently, we have some very efficient sheetrockers. It took them a day and a half to hang sheetrock in our house. Today, two guys were applying tape and plaster to the seams, corners, and screw heads. The house seems more cozy and more like a home now. Next week, we will walk through the house and decide which way doors should swing and discuss crown moulding and other trim.

Back of the living room at the overlook and entry to the kitchen.

Tray ceiling in the bedroom.

Bonus room.

The geothermal well drillers were at work today finishing up the third and final vertical well. It is quite the dirty job, and fittingly these boys have been featured on Discovery Channel's Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe (or so they tell us). Each well is 300 feet deep, and the remnants of rock or mud that is pulled out of each well is pulverized into a lava-looking substance that is oozing down our front yard as we speak.

Front of drilling truck.

That is one dirty job!

The ooze oozing down the hill.

The head of the first well surrounded by the ooze.

Bonnaroo isn't until June but we're ready to rock...sheetrock that is!

Organization is key to overseeing the building of a house -- especially when it comes to finances. At the beginning of this process, we created an Excel spreadsheet in which we insert totals from each bill so that we may keep a running total on the whole process. Each receipt we receive is filed in our binder titled 'Building the White House.' (C'mon, people, what else would it be called?!) It's a good idea to look over the details of every receipt. Well, this time we have a feeling we have been billed twice because we have two invoices that are identical. We'll take that up with Builders Supply tomorrow, but the moral of this paragraph: be organized and pay close attention to invoices/receipts.


And, hello, spring weather. Oh, how we have missed thee! We spent some time at the homestead today checking out the progress. The house is almost entirely insulated except for about a third of the attic. The house is amazingly soundproof to the exterior with the installation of the foam insulation, and you can already tell a difference in the interior temperature. On Friday, the drywall was delivered. The sheetrockers should begin tomorrow. In the words of AC/DC: 'For those about to sheetrock...we salute you!'

OMG! It's a big green fungus taking over our living room ceiling!

Our warm and soundproof living room.

Sheetrock.

We are rather saddened by the remnants of the spray foam that occupies these trashbags. Any ideas on how to minimize this on Indy's future projects?

And there is a truck in our front yard...a really big truck with lots of really complex controls. However, this is no ordinary truck. It is the truck that will drill our geothermal wells, hopefully tomorrow. 

Parting shot: View of our house from the next hill...it's that white speck in the top right.