I am finally allowing myself to get excited (again). We have had some obstacles - our latest that our new neighbors disagreed with the way we divided our two lots and Dale had to go to the Opelika Planning Commission for approval, he does a great job with folks and everything is approved. To the say the least he left me at home for fear I might not be as gracious as he is!
Mike Gardner has agreed to clear our lot and cut in our drive way....he says 10 days - I will give him 2 weeks! He always does a great job.
We have been looking at windows. We THINK we have decided on Silverline by Anderson. We are thinking of using a vinyl window with grill between the glass this time. We have not used vinyl before but they seem to have come a long way in looks and it will be great not to have to paint them. We got to see an actual installation of them at Grand National and they are really nice. I will have to go ahead and pick the exterior color so that I can select the window color... seems a little early but will have to get the windows ordered. I keep telling myself to think ahead!
Benjamin Moore here I come!
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Monday, July 2, 2012
Good graces
My builder is getting back into my good graces...if he can get this house out of the ground during July his marriage problems will improve! We have been working very slowly.... had to reboot our house plans for a more affordable design and are very pleased with it. Stay tuned I feel some good juju and maybe it will be started soon!
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Patience
Doing all the ground work before we break ground. Dale is busy getting prices from all the sub-contractors. So far we have the plumbing, electrical and framing prices. Of course we already have our price for our energy efficient spray foam insulation :) - Hopefully the beginning of the week we will have a materials cost from the building supply. Preparation is key and we know this but sometimes I have a hard time waiting!
Last weekend we selected where the driveway will come into the property. Dale met with the city to determine the size of tile to go under the drive. We also marked trees that we want to try to save when clearing the drive and lot. There is a big lone oak that will in the front yard near the house that we definitely want to keep and not disturb. Thinking about the water line and if we want to go through the woods or up the drive...Dale says prob up the drive.
Still thinking about exterior and interior. The house has a European look and thinking about Stone and stucco.... I will know when I see it! Enjoy the beautiful weather!
Last weekend we selected where the driveway will come into the property. Dale met with the city to determine the size of tile to go under the drive. We also marked trees that we want to try to save when clearing the drive and lot. There is a big lone oak that will in the front yard near the house that we definitely want to keep and not disturb. Thinking about the water line and if we want to go through the woods or up the drive...Dale says prob up the drive.
Still thinking about exterior and interior. The house has a European look and thinking about Stone and stucco.... I will know when I see it! Enjoy the beautiful weather!
Friday, March 16, 2012
Getting organized
Today I decided to get my organization together. I bought a notebook complete with files, pockets for business cards, it has a notebook paper and graph paper too! I like it because it is hot pink. :)
I usually label the folders as products and/or rooms. If there is something I am collecting literature on for instant, light fixtures...then of course I have a folder for that in my book. This is great when going to a home show and picking up ideas at vendor booths. Also I collect pictures both that I take and from magazines and this gives me a spot to keep them for ideas.
I also made what I call a room schedule. I type a list leaving space of each room. Then when going through the house with a sub I can make them notes about each room. This is great for painters and I always tape the color chip on the schedule. Also you can put which light fixture or flooring etc. etc. . I make many copies so that I have them for each sub and myself!
Picked up house plan copies today to get to the subs for pricing...the good weather is getting us ready to go! May the luck of the Irish be with us!
I usually label the folders as products and/or rooms. If there is something I am collecting literature on for instant, light fixtures...then of course I have a folder for that in my book. This is great when going to a home show and picking up ideas at vendor booths. Also I collect pictures both that I take and from magazines and this gives me a spot to keep them for ideas.
I also made what I call a room schedule. I type a list leaving space of each room. Then when going through the house with a sub I can make them notes about each room. This is great for painters and I always tape the color chip on the schedule. Also you can put which light fixture or flooring etc. etc. . I make many copies so that I have them for each sub and myself!
Picked up house plan copies today to get to the subs for pricing...the good weather is getting us ready to go! May the luck of the Irish be with us!
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Have you thought about?
I have been hearing this question a lot this week...
What kind of tubs, interior doors, cabinets, windows, posts on the porch,
Is the size right on the dormers, do you want a box window or a bay in the kitchen....
We need to think about where we want the outlets and switches.
My goodness, I always forget how many decisions are involved in building a house. The amount of pre planning is incredible. I have got better at is as many times as we have built - I do have a simple rule that I try to stay true to.... Don't pick anything that does not make me smile! :)
Hopefully this week I will have a budget because my beer budget always gets in the way of my champagne taste! I will begin my quest this week to make decisions. I am starting with the tubs, we know we want a whirlpool and it will be fun to see what new products have come on the scene since we last built. The school of hard knocks has taught us a lot about what we don't want... but we do know to sit in the tubs before you make your final selection. We always feel a little stupid but when you are tall.... got to make sure we have the length. Away we go... I let you know how it goes!
What kind of tubs, interior doors, cabinets, windows, posts on the porch,
Is the size right on the dormers, do you want a box window or a bay in the kitchen....
We need to think about where we want the outlets and switches.
My goodness, I always forget how many decisions are involved in building a house. The amount of pre planning is incredible. I have got better at is as many times as we have built - I do have a simple rule that I try to stay true to.... Don't pick anything that does not make me smile! :)
Hopefully this week I will have a budget because my beer budget always gets in the way of my champagne taste! I will begin my quest this week to make decisions. I am starting with the tubs, we know we want a whirlpool and it will be fun to see what new products have come on the scene since we last built. The school of hard knocks has taught us a lot about what we don't want... but we do know to sit in the tubs before you make your final selection. We always feel a little stupid but when you are tall.... got to make sure we have the length. Away we go... I let you know how it goes!
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Getting closer
We are closing on our lot next Friday! The plans should be back from the architect by then...We are getting excited and now it seems to be time to get things rolling. Dale finished the spec sheets with the materials and when the plans are complete we will get an appraisal off the plans.
I am predicting an April start with cutting in the driveway and clearing the building site. WE ARE VERY EXCITED. We have built and remodeled many homes and it is definitely in our blood.
My tip for today.... before you begin.... Take out your good car mats and buy some cheap ones because no matter how hard you try your car is going to get muddy! Note to self...put some mud shoes in the car for when I drop by for the same reason.
I am predicting an April start with cutting in the driveway and clearing the building site. WE ARE VERY EXCITED. We have built and remodeled many homes and it is definitely in our blood.
My tip for today.... before you begin.... Take out your good car mats and buy some cheap ones because no matter how hard you try your car is going to get muddy! Note to self...put some mud shoes in the car for when I drop by for the same reason.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Planning
Thinking and visualization of our house plan.
Finding the plan is sometimes hard, compare your needs vs. your wants and come up with a practical way to combine those to fit your family needs. I look through countless magazines and web sites. I usually can come up with my basic plan then combine them into something unique for us. I ride around a lot and take pictures. Patterns of your taste will become apparent.
Mentally live in the house. Walk from room to room. Stand on your lot and look out where the windows will be. Cook in the kitchen. Sit in the rooms think about where the doors look into... we once built a house that you could see into a hall bathroom from the kitchen...we could have flipped the bath and would have solved the problem! I literally get out my measuring tape and measure room size so that I know the size to make sure we will fit our furniture and ourselves into a room.
My husband usually draws our plan... he has a nifty program to help him... it is really cute because he even puts furniture in the room. I made fun of him until I realized how it helped me to decide about window and door placement. We have settled on our plan now and it will go to our architect and he will do the exterior elevations for us. We hope to try some new things and products in this house. We are interested in energy savings.... once this is all done we make our budget...as I like to call it my spending plan!
Finding the plan is sometimes hard, compare your needs vs. your wants and come up with a practical way to combine those to fit your family needs. I look through countless magazines and web sites. I usually can come up with my basic plan then combine them into something unique for us. I ride around a lot and take pictures. Patterns of your taste will become apparent.
Mentally live in the house. Walk from room to room. Stand on your lot and look out where the windows will be. Cook in the kitchen. Sit in the rooms think about where the doors look into... we once built a house that you could see into a hall bathroom from the kitchen...we could have flipped the bath and would have solved the problem! I literally get out my measuring tape and measure room size so that I know the size to make sure we will fit our furniture and ourselves into a room.
My husband usually draws our plan... he has a nifty program to help him... it is really cute because he even puts furniture in the room. I made fun of him until I realized how it helped me to decide about window and door placement. We have settled on our plan now and it will go to our architect and he will do the exterior elevations for us. We hope to try some new things and products in this house. We are interested in energy savings.... once this is all done we make our budget...as I like to call it my spending plan!
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