Start of the framing 3/29/14

It is finally starting to look like a house now that the framing phase has started. The decisions are already starting to pile up. Our builder, Micky Barnes, asked what color windows we wanted. Seems like an easy decision right? NO! It is not, beige or clay....clay or beige?? We decided to look at brick and stone and thought that might help us make a decision. That turned out to be an even harder task. We found a stone we like but finding a brick color that we think will match the stone is an exhausting process. We drove around neighborhoods for a couple hours looking at different houses. We see brick we like and now have to try and figure out what the color is called. The brick was furnished by the company our builder recommended, so hopefully using the address and picture, the brick company will be able to look up the brick type in their database. We saw houses with the stone we liked but the brick that was paired with it was not appeasing to our eyes. And the search continues....

I think we are going with the clay windows since we seem to be leaning towards brick and stone that are in that color family. 

Master Bedroom

 Breakfast nook area and my handsome Hubs ;-)

 Family Room

 Bedroom #1

Bedroom #2

Many more rooms still to come! 

Starting on the floor 3/27/14

Foundation Photos 3/21/14

More progress, the footers are done !!

The hubs and I went out to the house site last Tuesday (3/11/14) to check out the progress and the footers are complete! We are not experts and had to google around to figure out the exact purpose these footers....A foundation footer is perhaps one of the most critical aspects of the house. It's almost always the first building element that contacts the soil that the house rests upon. The primary purpose of the footer is to spread out the weight of the structure across a larger footprint than the foundation would, if it were in direct contact with the earth. 


Humm....sounds very important! 
It was getting dark by the time we made it out there after work, so the photos are a little blurry due to lack of light. I probably should have turned the flash on.

We have progress !!

Things are finally happening! We met with Mickey on Monday to discuss the placement of the house and driveway. The plan was for them to come out later that week to put in stone for the the temporary driveway and to scrape the area where the house will be. The building permits are taking forever to get from Williamson County, a month and half later and I think they are finally coming through. We also had to make a decision on where to put the electrical pole for the transformer...Which took me a day and a half to decide! Scary considering all the decisions I will have to make in the months to come....
Yikes, I hope my husband is still around once the house is built, I might just drive him CRAZY!!
;-)

 Time for some PICTURES!! Photo creds to the Hubs.

Lot has been scraped 

 We have a port-o-pot! 

So much stone! 

 Mickey's Sign....Things are getting real !! This time next year we will be IN OUR NEW HOME!!

Working with Dad

Today my dad and I went out to the land to clear a portion of the existing barbed wire fence that is along the road front. Whew...that was not an easy task. We cleared out four eight foot sections and took out three posts. Thorn bushes, cedar trees and lot of vines and nasty weeds were tangled among the barbed wire. Even though it was hard work we enjoyed each others company and made a great team.

When we arrived we were surprised to see the septic area was already sectioned off. Bigger than I expected but there is still plenty of room for the house. :-)

Big pile is nasty weeds and brush we cleared.

Dad hard at work!

New spot cleared for the driveway.

We used the stakes from the fence to show were we want the house to go up.

Hard to see but they are there! 

After all the hard work we had dinner to celebrate the progress, salmon, green beans and a chocolate ganache CAKE!! from Whole Foods.

Builder Meeting. Pre-Construction

My dad started asking me a lot of questions about the foundation and various other things...."ummm, I don't know dad" was the answer to all of the them, so I told him I would set up a meeting with the builder and he could ask away. I also had some questions cooked up that I wanted to ask, so this was going to be productive! I e-mailed Mickey (Michael Barnes Custom Homes) and he got back to me right away with his availability. The meeting was set for the following Wednesday after work. I ended up having a bout 3 pages of questions and changes I wanted to make to the original plan...and here they all are.

-Cinder block coated on inside and out to waterproof-how do you seal the block?

Black tar/spray from loaded in a truck from Murfreesboro

Blocks filled with concrete every 6ft and on all corners

-Will you dig down for footers till find something firm and bring in dirt or gravel?

Ground is scraped, footers are poured and gravel is then brought into crawl space area for plastic to go down on top of. Scrapped dirt is used to back-fill around foundation

-Does the crawl space have to vent per code?

Yes, per code crawl space must be vented

-When do we decide exactly where the house is going to be?

The septic area will be staked out and sectioned off with mesh fence, can then go to the land and put 4 steaks in a basic square to show where we want house to be built. House/driveway/sidewalk must be at least 25ft away from the septic area.

After we decide where house will be then the driveway will be constructed. After that they will start preparing the area for the footers/foundation.

-Will the house have hurricane straps?

Yes, there will be clips strapping the house to the foundation and also clips to stap the roof to the framing down to the foundation.

-Window allowance?

Depending on the window size $200-250 per window

Allowance is for single hung, upgrade to double hung about $100 per window

Windows are Low-E but not Argon gas filled, upgrade for that is about $25 per window.

Brand used by builder Ply-Gem

-Rot proof frame for doors? Says in contract metal doors is the framing metal too.

The framing for the outside doors is “rot proof”.

Mahogany door is allowed at about $1,700

Back French doors allowed at about $700

-How much of the 6.50 a sqft for hardwood and 25sq. yard for carpet is install and how much for the actual flooring?

The hardwood flooring itself is allowed at $4.50 per sqft with install of $2 sqft

Carpeting itself is budgeted at about $22 sq yd with install of $3 per sqyd.

-20k for all counters and cabinets installed—does this allowance include the bathrooms and laundry area? Does this include all the cabinets pictured? This is enough for all pictured standard from Timber and Grade 1 granite.

Yes, allowance is for all kitchen bath and laundry

Allowance should cover all cabinets pictured, Tier 1 grade with Standard finish at Timber

Allowance should cover grade 1 granite from Modern Granite; sink will be included in this as well with an allowance of $200 for kitchen sink and $50-60 for vanity sinks.

-Tile flooring in all wet areas, baths, and laundry $3.00 sqft is that installed or just for the tile? Same with shower tile allowance ($3 and $6 for deco).

This allowance id for the tile itself, install is not factored into this allowance

This also includes back splash tile for the kitchen

-4k light fixture allowance is that installed or just for the fixtures themselves

Does the plan outline where lighting should be or do I need to decide that?

Lighting will be in the middle of rooms and 12 recessed lighting is included and can be placed wherever you like. To add more recessed, the cost is $75 each light.

Most people do upgrade their lighting package and spend an average of 1,000+ on additional fans and lighting.

-How much to add an extra exterior outlet?

Additional outside outlets are around $75 each.

-How much is budgeted or allowed for the HVAC units?

I would like to upgrade from 13seer to 18seer for the downstairs unit and possibly the bonus.

A formula is used to calculate the allowance for this, the install could be the same no matter what unit. A quote will have to be obtained from HVAC installer to upgrade from 13seer to 18seer.

-What is the allowance for the floor vents, the company that makes the bamboo flooring I am considering makes matching floor vents.

Allowance for basic brown metal floor vents is around $6 a vent.

Some custom vents need to be installed at the time the flooring is installed to cut around them properly and this will add cost to flooring install.

-What is the allowance for vanity mirrors?

Basic 3 sided beveled edge strip mirror is allowed at $3 a sqft

-Says wood columns on front and back porch. Do fiberglass ones cost more and are they less maintenance?

Columns are cedar wood and painted. The columns should not rot if kept painted.

-How much should we budget to make back porch screened in?

Adding a screened in porch will be 5,000, 2 doors out and ceiling fan

-How much extra is it going to be to make the shower bigger instead of having the tub in master? No glass/no door shower 1 Shower head, 1 shower hose and 1 rain head on ceiling.

This should be a wash depending on the cost of the fixtures you choose.

-Kitchen hood and actually vented outside

Venting the hood outside will be an extra $150, the hood should be covered in the appliance allowance

-Built-ins for entertainment unit where fireplace shown on plan.

Built in-s or out-s run about $1,200 for a 6ft unit, $200 a foot

-Surround sound wiring for bonus room?

The wiring for just the bonus room is about $500

-Concrete patio staining for back patios?

-How much to add a bathroom over bathroom beside the study?

Adding a full bath is about 5,500.

-Exposed beams in living room?

Adding 3 exposed cedar beams in living room is about $1,500.

-How does it work if I want to use my own Subs? How will I know the allowance for certain jobs and if someone I know will be able to do it for less?

Just have to get quotes and ask him how much the job is to compare.

Example $2.80 sqft for electrical, this does not include the electrical fixtures, $325 per fixture for plumbing, this amount does not include the fixture itself just labor.

Changes discussed and given to Mickey 1/22

1.)    No angled walls in kitchen and study

2.)    A closet and no desk in the hall by back bedrooms

3.)    Closet in back bedroom by patio to mirror adjacent bedroom, closet to be along the wall and not corner as shown per plan.

4.)    Siding door instead of French doors by nook

5.)    Screened in Lanai area, 2 doors and ceiling fan, per Mickey estimate of $5,000.

6.)    No tub in master, large walk in shower with extended wall and no glass. Per Mickey this would be a wash between no tub and larger shower, only extra cost would be if pick out expensive fixtures.

7.)    Full bathroom upstairs, per Mickey would not be approved for extra bathroom, could plumb for it and add later 5,000 for half bath and $325 for shower plus cost of the actual shower stall and shower head.