We Are In!

Whew!  It's been an interesting couple of weeks, and one of the worst move-ins we've ever done.  Mostly because of poor communications with the builder.  He was working to get us an occupancy certificate to close, because time was expiring on the interest lock.  What we didn't know was that his "done" just meant for the closing.  So, when he found out we were moving in the day after the closing he got his folks working overtime. We arrived with our U-Haul and found the house fully occupied by tradesmen working to finish up.  And we had them in the house the rest of that week.  But, life has calmed down and Alese is starting to work on the yard.  I'm not going to show interior photos yet, because we still have most of the furniture in the Island house for staging.

 What's still left to be done outside is repainting the garage door to the correct color, but you'll not see the current garage door color in any of these photos.



We like the tile on the front porch leading to the front door.




The most recent big addition to the front yard is Cinco -- that's our Sable Palm, the only palm native to this part of Texas.  You won't be able to see it's full splendor for a week.  The fronds/leaves are tied up to help it settle in.  We have drip water running to keep it happy in it's new location.

 Oh, "Cinco"?  Well, we name our cars, why not our palm?

Almost There

It's been a crazy couple of weeks.  I was at a conference a week ago, and Alese was making two-a-day visits to the house to meet with tradespeople.  But its now down to the wire.  Today is Saturday the 24th, we are closing on Monday the 26th.   There's lots happening over this weekend.

You'll notice that we have the yard covered in mulch.  In a couple of weeks we'll have a few plants and trees.  Garage door will change color and so will two of the pillars.  Once we are in I'll take and post more photos. 

An Intentional Slowdown

Yes, if you were wondering why we're not about to move in things have been intentionally slowed down.  We're beyond the first closing date.  But, we've not sold the Island house yet, and the builder asked if he could focus on a few homes for folks who need to get in quickly, as well as the upcoming Parade of Homes, which is the builders chance to show off.

Today we got the second coating of stucco, which goes to hold down the molding.   That needs to dry -- a couple of days -- then the top coat with color will be done.

Here (on the right ) is the Master shower tile.  None of the tile has been grouted yet.  And, there was a problem with the tile in the guest bathroom.  Shipped and installed the wrong tile, so it had to be taken down.  So that bathroom is currently tile-less.



The condenser for the A/C was installed.  We were surprised at how big it was compared to the two we have now until we realized it's going to do the work of the two units -- zoned for each floor -- now that we'll have everything on one level.

 To the left are the two windows for the front (my) office.

Photo on the right is the looking down the side.  The first window  (far right) is the second (Alese's) office, then the 3 windows for the living room, and only the second window of the dinning room is visible.



And the final photo (below) is the back of the house.   And, yes it had just started to sprinkle.

Rollin' Rollin' Rollin' Things Just Keep on Rollin'

 










There's been a good deal of activity that shows this past week.  The electric fixtures arrived and are getting installed.  On the right, my office and the spiffy fan.  It's not our traditional fan, (see below) which we have in the current house and have in the living room, dining room and master bedroom.

 

On the left is one of the three hall lights. On the right, the guest bathroom.

The exterior received another coating of stucco.  Final coat, with the final colors should be happening this week, based on a conversation with the stucco contractor.

 



We have electricity!  Passed inspection and now have electric power.

Progress....

 First coating of stucco is on. We're doing stucco without a lot of adornments. This view is of the back of the house. The 3 windows are over the kitchen sink, and the two windows to the right are for the dinning room.  To the left is the covered porch outside the master bedroom. We want to screen it in to keep me safe from the mosquitoes, and to provide a protected (and not fully outside) for the cat. 

The vanity in the master bathroom, (right) not quite fully assembled. There will be a medicine cabinet filling the opening on the left.  We like drawers. 

This photo also provides the best look at the granite counter top used in the kitchen and for the vanities.

This photo also shows the primary color for the walls.  We've used two shades of brown for most of the house.  My office is the exception. 

You'll have to wait to see that color.

And here (on the left) is the darker brown that we used for the living area section of the main room.  You'll see it in other parts of the house as an accent in future photos.










To the right is the kitchen before the counter tops were installed.  There are the 3 windows in the first photo.

The island haa a large (~7 foot) counter top with overhang on 3 sides. We want to be able to have friends gather around that.

Of course we have to have Alese's signature shelves. We don't do cabinets above.   

The tile throughout (below) is almost all in place.   Tilers said either end of the day or tomorrow morning the tile will all be laid.  Alese describes the tile color as sort of muddy water.  Yes, we've gone brown for our main colors.   

The view below is looking into the corner of the dinning area.  The kitchen is out of frame to the right and the living area begins at the jog to the left.  The display shelf lines the outside walls of the dinning and living areas.

Trying to Keep Up is Hard.

Last week I was in Galveston for the TxDLA conference, so there's a week of action missing.  

Last post showed the sheetrock up but then it was taped and the walls texturized.  On the right is the living room and dinning room wall.

Below is a panorama of the living space; left to right, living room area, dinning room area, and turning the corner, kitchen.  It all falls into place more clearly as more elements are added..

Below, the hall arches.   Below and to the right, our version of crown molding.  We don't like the fancy stuff, so wanted something plain and simple.

 There was an opening in the schedule, so our driveway was poured.   Can't see the nice stone finish in this photo, but eventually there will be a photo that shows it.




The carpenter crew is fantastic.  Everything is custom and these folks are amazing.  From laying out closets to building the vanities and kitchen cabinets, their craftsmanship (there are just men in this crew) is amazing.

Next posting will show some of the finished product.  Most of the base cabinets should be finished today, but I don't expect to make another post this week.  Next week's will be amazing.

Things are Moving.

Last week, before I left for SxSW.edu the walls were up and the roof partially shingled.   In the past week, any wall penetration was first foamed (expanding foam), the area between the exterior wall and any electrical box, and the join between any double studs.

Then the walls were insulated with blown in insulation.  In the mean time the shingling of the roof was completed.   We were present when an inspector was by to check the thoroughness of the insulation and marking any areas he wanted fixed.

The sheet rock guys are fast and amazing.  Just about all the sheet rock was installed as of Monday.  

 

 The view down the central hall.  On the left, Alese at the front door (not the official front door a temporary construction door.)  and then (on the right,) the view down the hall to great room from the front door.

Our great room, living area on the left, back corner the dinning area, and to the right of the door the kitchen area.  unlike the present house where those three areas are all in a line, we wanted a closer feel, so it's easier to talk with someone in the living area from the kitchen 

This is going to be a very bright room.  In this view there's only 1 of the 3 windows in the living area, and the third window in the kitchen is not visible.

 On Tuesday the exterior screening for the stucco was up.  Not the stucco, just the screening.   Oh, yeah, there was a crew cleaning up all the "stuff" left from construction.

Things move pretty quickly. It should be done in May.