Tuesday, December 30, 2008



We put our mark on the house today!  The porch was poured and we wrote our names...only to realize that they will soon be covered by a brick column!  Oh well, we'll always know they are there!




We are so happy with the way the brick looks.  Choosing the brick was a very tough decision.  We chose the oldest looking brick we could find and just hoped it would look the way we wanted. 
An up close shot.
The roof was finished today.  They'll come back to do the porch after the brick is finished.  




Monday, December 29, 2008

Great weather...lots of progress!

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Look at that beautiful Soulard Tudor! The brick layers put in a full day today and are very happy with the weather and the forecast (at least for the next day or so).   They think it will take about a week and a half to lay the brick.
Here is the pile of sand that will be used in the brick laying.  You can also see that the digger is back!  Today they finished prepping the basement and the front porch and will pour the basement floor and the porch tomorrow.
The South side!  

The front windows are now all in.

Kevin and the girls inspecting the brick.  They were also learning about the process from the brick layer.  He told them he was buttering!!  The roofers were also hard at work today.  Hopefully things will continue to move along well this week and we'll have lots of great pictures to share!

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Windows!

The windows were delivered and installed today!  I am very happy with the way they look.  The middle window was delivered in the wrong size.  Thankfully we will be able to get a new window tomorrow.   I don't know why I didn't take a picture of the entire front of the house (maybe because it was raining and very cold) but the upstairs middle windows look great, the two small side windows will be installed tomorrow. 
A north side view.  The poor south side never has its picture taken because it's much harder to get to, with all of the construction going on on that side!
The interior dining room windows.  These are wonderful!!  They cover most of the dining room wall.
Glass blocks in our bathroom.  This was a last minute decision made last week.  Glad we decided to do that!  



Making progress....even with this winter weather!

After two really tough weather days, which made it impossible for the crew to work, a lot was accomplished yesterday.  To begin with, the front porch was built!  The plumbing in the basement was roughed in, and now just needs to be inspected.  The carpenters finished the framing.  Today or tomorrow (if it's raining today) the windows should be delivered and installed.  After seeing how great our neighbors windows look--they were put in yesterday- I can't wait! 
This window is in our stairway.  I really love it.  It so much fun to see things that we've seen in a plan for months, finally taking shape.  
Emma and Ellie will continue to share a room.  Ellie was delighted with her first trip into her room!
Choosing sides!  They went back and forth trying to decide which side each girl would put her bed.  


Friday, December 12, 2008

The Flying Roof









Kim (our builder) let us know yesterday that the trusses were going to be placed around noon today, he thought we might enjoy watching them go up.  We got there a little after 1, in time to see the last piece placed.  This was our favorite day!  Emma missed preschool in order to go with us --I know, a teacher having her own child "skip" school :), this was an educational experience,  proven by Emma's comment "I'm so glad I didn't go to school today, if I did, I wouldn't have seen the flying roof"!  I forgot my camera so the pictures are from my phone, amazing that I remembered how to take pictures with it!  They are working on the stairs today, so hopefully we'll be able to go upstairs later this weekend. 

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Second floor is going up

Another great day of work!  The crew is super, since Monday and Tuesday look like they could be rainy, snowy and cold, they are going to work (with 2 extra guys) on Saturday to try to get the house to a point where the weather will stop being such an issue!  
The daily shot!  
MUD!!!!  The lot is a muddy MESS!!  We decided to walk around to the back (what was I thinking) and we got so muddy.  The three of us started laughing which only made things worse.  My sides hurt because I was laughing so hard.

The difference in our children!  One had to go straight into the bathtub when we got home the other is perfectly neat and clean (except for those poor boots).

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Interior walls going up in the cold

It was cold today but thankfully not as cold as last Friday.  A lot of work was completed today!  The girls loved walking through the walls this afternoon when we went to the house.  This picture was taken from the back of the house in the area between the laundry room and 1/2 bath.  You're looking through the kitchen into the living room.  
 Here Kevin and the girls are in what will be his office.
Emma in the bathroom!

Emma and me in the kitchen.  Can you tell we're freezing?  





Tuesday, December 9, 2008

First Floor Walls

We have first floor walls!  After a few days of setbacks (Friday too cold for the nail guns to work, Monday icy roads in the area the crew lives, resulting in a late start and one crew member not being able to come in) the first floor walls went up before the heavy rain started today.  Tomorrow looks very iffy at best due to cold temps but hopefully Thursday and Friday will be good days for us!
These will be the front windows.
The front door with side lights.

The North side of the house.  The front cutout is a window at the foot of the staircase.  The middle cutout is for the dining room windows.  The back is Kevin's office window. 

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Subfloor is finished!!

We walked over to the lot today.  It was cold but we REALLY needed to be outside some today!  The framing was not supposed to begin until tomorrow but yesterday afternoon we got an email from our builder that said they'd begin first thing this morning.

The subfloor was finished by about noon.   They had hoped to start framing the walls today too.  The lumber truck got hung up somewhere else so, without lumber, the guys went home and will begin again tomorrow morning!

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Foundation has been backfilled

Yesterday the foundation was backfilled.  It looks really different now!  Our driveway will be one the side of the house the girls are standing on.
This will be our patio!

The foundation!

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Foundation is in!

I have pictures of the foundation but my computer/camera are not cooperating!  It looks like a big concrete hole!  The next step is framing.  This will begin late next week or early the following week.  Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Forms are in place


It was just Emma and me at the lot today.  Kevin got home earlier than expected and Ellie chose to stay home.  It was COLD!!!!

The forms are in place.  The foundation is scheduled to be poured tomorrow morning.  We plan to be there!




Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Perfect timing

Ellie didn't want to leave the lot today, she was having too much fun exploring.  Her stubborn, 2 year old nature ended up making our trip great!  Just as I was about to pick Ellie up and carry her to the van, the cement truck pulled up!  We watched as it backed up to the hole and the mixer began making all kinds of noise and turning around and around, mixing the cement.
We loved watching the men work together to guide the truck, maneuver the chute (we learned that this person is called the chuteman) and spread the cement out .
Soon after the cement truck showed up the concrete forms arrived!  

It wasn't too much longer before our neighbor Phil (pictured) came over and soon after another neighbor, John came over.  They have both lived on the street for many years and raised their children here.  They were so friendly and told us a lot about the street.  Not long after one of our friends from the Clayton Family Center, Carrie and her daughter Abbey, came down the street (Carrie's mother and father in law live on this street) and invited us to meet her mother in law, then out came Jen, another neighbor.  Emma and Ellie loved meeting everyone.  On the way home Emma said "we already know more people on Yale than we do on Rosebury".