Hoozieg's Home Building Chronicle

Finally!! Moved in!!

2009-08-21T14:30:00.001-06:00

We've moved in! Hooray! At Last! On August 2nd, we hired 3 college students to move out of our rental. I'm so glad to be out of there...just wish our sweet doggie Loki could have lived for a little while up here with us. Overall, things went very smoothly. We still have to move the stuff from two storage units - stuff we haven't seen in over a year. I'm excited to see what's in there since I can't remember what I've been missing.

We got our bed set up and the dishes unpacked before John left on a business trip for a week. He took the next week off and we got some more moved, some mirrors hung and electronics setup. Then he left for another trip. Now school starts...it'll be a long time before all the little things (hanging pics, plants, set up guest bed, wash windows, plant seed for erosion control.....).

Speaking of erosion control...one week after we got the final grading done, we had several days of raining cats, dogs, mice and Rats! We have gulleys all over where there are hills. The dirt was washed down to the bottom like a delta on the river. It even half buried our power box. We really Need to get something down to hold the dirt in place. Bought a 50 lb bag of dry grass mix (I wanted Native grass seed, but the seed store talked us into the other) that only needs to be mowed once a year, but we have to fix the gulley's first.

The painters came to finish the exterior doors...the last thing on their list and they are the last contractor to finish...We are DONE! The porta-potty guy is on his way to pick that up, so all remnants of construction will be outta here! [Whoops I spoke too soon! DH just called and said the electrician (The worst contractor!) is going to come up and finish a punch list, but doesn't know when.

I've spent most of the time cleaning up the construction dust...then my hair stylist said that cleaning was part of the contractor's job (her husband is a contractor)! I KNEW our's would not do that unless forced to, so I continued to do it myself. Now I'm suffering for it. A major flareup of my Fibromyalgia - Pain in all 4 limbs - ARRRGH! After 5 nights of very little sleep, I went to the doctor and got some good drugs. Had two night of good sleep and feel a bunch better. I just went and washed windows that I could reach - probably a big mistake! [Edit: I was in more pain last night, so it WAS a big mistake!]

So here's some pics for you to enjoy. It's kinda messy since we just moved in, but I'm sure you understand. This may be the last of the bunch on the house. I may gather some wildlife pics and post them here, but this is pretty much it for now. Take care!

Outside

2009-08-21T13:41:00.005-06:00

Finished House

2009-08-21T13:36:00.002-06:00

Finally! An update!

2009-07-09T20:48:00.006-06:00

So sorry guys! We're getting down to the wire here and been so busy straightening things out that have gone wrong and making sure everything gets done right.

Here's what's right:

Painting is almost done and done very well by some very nice guys who are very patient, willing to make suggestions, but do what we ask them to. All they have left to do is stain the exterior doors.

The tile layer is really doing a great job and is also friendly, nice and knowledgeable. He comes every day early in the morning and stays late. He's getting it done very quickly because he's WORKING! Not like some.

Kitchen counter tops are being installed tomorrow morning. Hope everything goes smoothly there!

Here's what's wrong:

The electricians have reached the contracted amount for all their work, but they are not finished. The man they've assigned to us shows up at 10 am, talks every one's ear off, complaining about the work and the turns his private life has taken lately, then leaves at 2 pm. He takes a breakfast break when he gets there and probably a lunch break too. He gets very little done during the time he is there and has to keep coming back - at HIS convenience of course - claims he's working on his "Own Time" now. Not all the fixtures are up, not all the wires are hooked up. Grrrr!

The general contractor packed up all his gear last Friday and left acting like he was totally done. DH and I made up a list of a dozen things, we expected him to do before he finished. We called him twice about hanging the basement doors after the painters were done and he claimed it was their job - "They took them down, they can hang them back up." These doors were never hung and didn't have the stopper strip on them that the painters needed to paint. We finally convinced him there were things left to do and he showed up Monday morning and got some done. We'll see how much when we get up there tomorrow am.

When the counter tops got installed on the bathroom cabinets, we noticed they were too tall. We had specifically asked for Standard Height (30") NOT Adult Height (36"). We are SHORT and it makes it hard to get to the sink with it that tall. Two of the three bathrooms had 36" cabinets and we didn't notice until the counter tops were installed! The salesman checked and saw that he did order 30" cabinets, but neglected to check the confirmation to make sure they got the message...they did not and sent the taller ones. He also did not check them when they arrived to see that they were the correct height. We assumed he would make sure we got what we ordered! Now it will cost $900 to pull off the counters, pull out the cabinets and reinstall everything. Some of the flooring will have to be delayed so they will have to come back to install those areas. Some of the plumbing will have to be delayed and/or removed for the replacements and then reinstalled. Getting the new cabinets will take 4-6 weeks just like before. Had we known when they arrived or before, we could have reordered them BEFORE installation and had them here about the time the contractor was ready to install them anyway. DOUBLE GRRRR!

Many subs have surprised us with double billings, invoices more than the bid amount, made addition errors and the like - making this house MUCH more expensive than we'd planned on. Now we have to go back to being VERY careful with our money - no eating out, driving less, no spending on things we can do without. We can't even afford to do a final grading on the lot, leaving lots of dirt piles, unevenness, foundation showing and rain running down the hill creating canyons as it flows. Waaaa!

So you can tell why I haven't updated. In between being busy, frustrated and angry, I just don't want to do anything but play a silly game on my computer. A mindless escape! Got lots of pictures though and I've put some here, but there's more to come. Please be patient!

So this is what I've got so far. Got lots more pics to edit so I'll be baaack! Enjoy!

Drywall (sheet rock) is done!

2009-05-07T14:03:00.007-06:00

Taping, texture and paint will be next.

Warning! There are some "bad" words spoken by DH in here. If that offends you, turn the volume off!

Upstairs:

and Downstairs:

PROGRESS!!! Finally!!

2009-04-21T22:28:00.008-06:00

It's been nearly a month since my last post. As soon as we got back from DC, it snowed, then snowed some more. We were just going to get that cement truck up there and it snowed 5 more inches! Arrrrgh!!!

Yesterday, after a weekend in the 70's, we finally got the cement poured in the garage.

That's what was holding EVERYTHING up! Today the insulator got started on the spray foam insulation upstairs.

I'm told this is the time when everything changes really fast! I can't wait! Should I start packing? Hmmmm? Not quite yet. We'll see how it goes for the next week or so. Contractor tells us it will be 2 months now....Here's hoping he's not just trying to appease us!

Very Little Progress

2009-03-25T22:13:00.003-06:00

I'm disappointed to say that very little progress has been made on the house. When the cement trucks came to pour the basement floor, they slid off the road a little bit. Yep - the roads ARE icy in the winter! Wimps will not even come up there now until the road is thawed. The electrician took two weeks to get the job done and then it was time for us to leave for the family reunion in Washington DC and VA Beach. The contractor said when we told him, "We'll just hit it hard when you get back." Seems like there could have been something they could do while we were gone?!?

Now we are back and had a wonderful time! Thanks everyone, but especially Diane who organized and hosted the whole thing and Alan who drove us everywhere! The contractor hopes to get the cement trucks up there on Friday, but it's STILL SNOWING!!! Will it ever stop??? On Monday, then, the excavator will come dig the holes for the propane tank and septic and trenches for the water and power lines. Hopefully, then they can insulate, hang drywall, paint and do the ceiling.

I'll post some pics in a bit, but not much has changed since last time. Stay tuned!

Progress as of Feb 22, 2009

2009-02-23T00:03:00.005-07:00

Electricity is going in along with the plumbing, so not much can be seen except the deck, front steps (which aren't exactly what I had in mind), a few wires and pipes. We are getting ready to excavate for the electrical, water, septic and propane tank. As soon as this is done, they will start on the inside. Whoo Hooo!!! People tell me this part goes really fast....Can't wait!

This Siding is NOT Wood!

2009-01-30T21:54:00.002-07:00

It's called fiber cement siding (CertainTeed brand)...looks like wood, yet it's fire resistant, and no painting for 10 years! I love it!

Getting Closer!

2008-12-30T00:15:00.008-07:00

The windows are in the roof is almost done and they've put blue foam on the sheating. The roughed-in Plumbing is also in; the electric gets started next week

Unfortunately there's not a whole lot done in the last 3 weeks since the contractor took off to do some other jobs and celebrate the holidays. What??!!! NO holidays when working on MY house!!! He is due to start up again on Friday

It's a House (almost)!

2008-11-20T17:56:00.002-07:00

Looking Good! There's only one wall that's not framed, the kitchen wall. The plumbing is in and window/door openings cut. The soffits and fascia have been covered with metal. Windows have been ordered. Exterior doors are still being worked on, but they will be ordered soon.

I'm starting to get excited! There was part of me that thought this would never happen. I'm sure the next few months will seem like forever!

The Roof is on!

2008-11-05T22:42:00.003-07:00

Time to get doors and windows! Pics tomorrow....

So FAST!

2008-10-28T16:15:00.004-06:00

Thing have been getting done so fast, I can't keep up! Here's a slide show chronicling the last week or so. Framing is pretty much done, trusses and beam are up, Plumbing starts today. Gotta get that kitchen design finalized!

And Now for Something Completely Different!

2008-10-19T20:38:00.006-06:00

First Snow Storm

2008-10-12T01:26:00.001-06:00

Just a little view of the storm across the way...you can just barely see the neighbor's wind generator in the distance.

Well....maybe you can't. But I can!

Framing and Sub-Floor

2008-10-12T00:43:00.008-06:00

This part sure goes fast! Or maybe they were trying to beat the snow! Well, they succeeded -- barely! Pics are of basement framing and the sub-flooring on top.

Foundation Poured

2008-10-07T22:26:00.014-06:00

The foundation was poured (pumped technically) on Wednesday Oct 1st. First the pumper truck arrived:

The contractor was not quite ready so while the sun came up we waited.

Then the cement arrived. They then load cement into the hopper (behind the tree) of the pumper.

Very quickly the forms are filled and then settled with a huge vibrator ;-)

The finished foundation! Onto the framing! It's starting to look like a house!

Update Sept 28th

2008-09-28T14:53:00.002-06:00

Footers are done and forms are going up. I suppose the next thing is pouring cement! Almost looks like a basement now!

Breaking Ground!!!

2008-09-13T20:16:00.013-06:00

We have broken ground this week! Hooray!!!

Lots of trees were literally pushed down. Click arrow to play video.

The foundation hole has been dug and the forms for the concrete are in progress.

I'm starting to get excited now. It only took 5 days to get to this:

Come On Builder!

2008-08-08T02:33:00.002-06:00

Arrrgh! Our builder has the plans in his hot little hands and we haven't heard a word! I wanna get started!!!! Tired of waiting! Tired of living here in this rental house! Tired of neighbors who scream foul language at each other!

The Plan is Done!

2008-07-25T23:06:00.001-06:00

Yea! We have a plan! And we're sticking to it! Getting bids now.

Fire!

2008-07-25T23:04:00.000-06:00

A forest fire, named the "Cactus Fire" apparently started a mere 500 yards from our back property line! That was close! Burned 650 acres and evacuated 100 homes but none were damaged. We drove around the sheriff's tape to find this helicopter dipping into a cattle pond to get water to douse the fire.

New well done

2008-06-23T18:12:00.000-06:00

Drilled a new well 13 ft west. It's all they could do. It went quickly. Found water about the same depth and set the casing. Still working on plans...hired a draftsman to do the blueprints. Sent preliminary plans to contractor - He said, "this is a $300K house." Well that's about twice our budget. DOWNSIZE!

Arrrgh!

2008-06-18T02:08:00.000-06:00

They (water drillers) broke the casing off in the well. Now, they have to move over and start again. Thank goodness there's no charge for the first one!

House Plan

2008-06-06T13:26:00.000-06:00

Working on our house plan. It's harder than I thought!!! I've drawn up 8 plans now and DH doesn't like any of them. We've hired a draftsman to draw up plans, but didn't like his rough sketch either. If you have any great ideas for a 1500 sq ft house, let me know! Please!!

Moving Forward

2008-05-26T23:21:00.000-06:00

We've got a driveway and a water well (needs to be finished up this week). Here are some pics:

Moving

2008-04-12T17:56:00.000-06:00

Sold our house and need to be out by 4-30. We've found a rental house in Butte to live while we build our house. It's not the best situation, but it will be better than an RV on the property. I'll post pictures as soon as I get them.

2008-01-27T15:49:00.000-07:00

We are building a house on this lot! 20 acres 20 miles from anywhere! Yea! It's going to be very stressful, but we are excited!