Mechanical Walk-through

August 29, 2012

Wednesday was our mechanical walk-through, which is where we make sure that the plumbing, electrical and other mechanical items are what we were expecting.  My dad came with us since he has some knowledge of construction.

Overall, the work was very good.  The contractors installed everything properly, and almost nothing needed to be corrected.  We found a couple of wood pieces that had been cut off to install the HVAC system that Jason (the construction manager) knocked down for us (they just never got removed after they had been cut) Leaving them there could result in a rattling noise every time the heat or air conditioning was on.

In addition, my husband and I had discussed where we would like to put up a baby gate in the future, and there really weren't any spots where the 2x4s were across from each other in the walls.  Jason offered to add a 2x8 in the wall so that we had better support for a pressure-mounted gate.  He also suggested doing the same thing at the top of the staircase (great idea!).

I'm sorry for no pictures today, but I was just too tired yesterday and today they had a large crane unloading drywall, so I skipped the stop at the house to stay out of their way.

Framing is done!

August 23, 2012

Hello again!  Well, the framing is finally done and everything looks good!  The workers did a nice job overall, and they left the place pretty clean. The only negative thing that I saw was that they didn't cover the drain in the garage when they were cutting the wood, so there are quite a few pieces of wood in the drain.  I asked about it, and Jason assured me that it would be cleaned out. I also asked about adding an extra board in the wall upstairs so that I can pressure-mount a baby gate in the hallway (not at the top of the stairs) without putting all of the pressure on only drywall.

We also did the electrical walk-through today.  The electrician was super helpful.  He was very patient while we were making decisions and he made some really good suggestions. The mechanical walk-through will be next Wednesday!  Things are moving fast!

The exterior:

Standing in the pantry, looking at the kitchen, dining room and great room:

The finished area of the basement:

The view from the master bedroom:

First Floor!

August 15, 2012

We finally have a first floor! After a few weather delays, they finally started framing today! I got to walk through the first floor and could finally visualize the rooms!  This is finally becoming real!

The view from the front:

The wall in the great room/foyer:

The 2nd floor is starting!:

Another view of the 2nd floor support:

All of that was put up in one day!  I'll be back in a few days to check it out again!

Ready for framing

August 10, 2012

Well, things are moving along!  We stopped by on Tuesday of Week 3 (our anniversary), and all of the lumber was delivered to start framing!

They also poured the concrete in the basement and the garage (the pipe in the middle of the garage is for the floor drain:

I probably can't stop by until next week.  I am so excited for school to start (I'm a teacher) so that I can stop by every day (the house is on my way home)!

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We have a basement!

August 3, 2012

Well, things have been progressing!  In the past three weeks, they dug the basement, poured the footers, poured the basement walls, did the below-ground plumbing, backfilled the foundation and poured stone  for under the concrete floor.  I know the pictures aren't too exciting, but I wanted to post something. Framing starts next week!

The front stoop and the garage:

 The basement with a cut out for a glass block window:

The I-beam is ready to go: