Day 178 - Details, Details

If someone tells you they thought of every detail before constructing their house, then you have met a very, very smart and organized person, a person who has built many houses, or a person whose memory has failed them.  Almost 180 days into this house project, I continue to be amazed at the number of details still to be considered.

Today we met Ivan Navarro, the trim carpenter who will be crafting many of the interior details of the house.

Ivan Navarro

 Ivan has many great ideas and a lot of experience in constructing the trim details in a house.  We went through every closet deciding on the depth, width, and height of shelves and also the short and long hanging rods.  We discussed crown molding, baseboards, door trim, and window casings.  We talked about cedar ceiling beams and door headers.  We laid out the plan for the pantry to incorporate a cabinet being built by the cabinet maker.  Ivan and his crew brought in their tools and set up shop in the great room.  Before the day was over, they were cutting wood to start on installing the trim pieces.

Two of these saws were set up in great room

Need many feet of power cords to work around the house

Other tools in addition to saws

An important delivery was made this morning - the interior doors!  The doors arrived "raw" and will be stained a dark chestnut to match the wood floors.  I had an "uh oh" moment when the glass french doors to my study were uncrated - they were not the kind of doors we ordered!!!  Our builder, Aaron, assured me the right doors would be delivered and it was a common issue to have incorrect doors delivered.

Knotty Alder doors awaiting installation

Ivan and his crew trimmed up the rough door openings to place the doorframes and started installing the doors quite quickly.  Later they will come back and trim out the doors with stain grade wood.  The whole unit will then be stained.

Trimming rough door opening in Nancy's study

Installed door to upstairs storage closet

Another big meeting of the day was with the tile crew including the material provider and the installers. Again, we went room by room discussing details of the decorative tile, niches, and other shower details.

Our tile experts L-R: Genaro, Garrett, Shawn

Working on Guest Room shower

It is very easy to get immersed in the details and forget the big picture.  So, here is a view from the second floor to recover focus on why we are building in Central Texas.

Day 177 - Get Your Mind Outta the Gutter

The final stages of work on the house exterior are underway with the installation of gutters and downspouts and finishing the last pieces of work on the roof. 

The Gutter Truck

We selected the Snap-Lock gutter system to eliminate any holes in the gutters.  Since rainwater collection is our only source of water, this system will provide extra protection against seepage, rust, rot, and mold thereby placing less stress on the water filtration and purification system.

Gutter Crew hard at work!!

Love the little tripods

Snap-Lock mounting system

More mounting system - and note open casement window!

Gutter attached to mounting system

The roofing crew is completing metal roof installation on the master bathroom roof, around the patio fireplace chimney, and over the powder room.  Some issues with the integration of cornice, flashing, roof, and stonework caused this work to be delayed after the completion of the majority of the roof.  And the inspector required relocation of the vent in the powder room.  The relocation caused a roof section to be removed and replaced.

Metal roof needs to be installed over master bathroom

Integration of different components was an issue around chimney

Note clamps - and a little more metal roof to be placed on right

So, we are just about finished with this phase of the house exterior work.   An arbor and outdoor kitchen are still on the schedule as we get closer to completion.  We are continuing to have fun learning about building a house in general and watching OUR house develop!!!!

Day 172 - FAMILY, 4TH, AND FLOATING SHEETROCK

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!!!!

The flag cake was part of our family celebration for the Fourth of July.  We've been having a great time visiting with our clan and enjoying all being together here in Texas.  Of course, no visit to Texas is complete without a visit to the Alamo.  The photo below is missing four of the visiting family members who were not available for the shot.

Front row L-R; Maddy, Ellie, Pat, Jacob, Peyton, Nancy
Back row L-R; Steve, Dana, Sydney, Bruce, Jeff, Melissa

Back at the ranch, the sheetrock guys were finishing up their work - including taping and floating the sheetrock.  And the masons have almost completed their work on the outdoor fireplace.

Wood niches on bottom; mantel still needs a little work

The masons and the sheetrock guys weren't the only ones working.  Bruce and son Kevin loaded up firewood to use in a smoker to start the fire for some divine smoked BBQ pork ribs cooked by Kevin and Bruce's son Jeff.

Bruce and Kevin with Shawna in background

Meanwhile, the sheetrock guys were working on stilts to reach the really high places.  It was totally amazing to watch them walking around on stilts like they were in running shoes.

Amazing stiltwalker in kitchen

Working overhead - I got dizzy looking at him!

He ducked through the door like it was no big deal!!!

Doing sheetrock work is a messy job because of the materials that are used and the crew was careful to protect  the windows.

The job requires lots of joint compound

Joint compound is messy stuff

Taping over windows for protection

 Then the next crew came in to do to the really high work.  It was quite a job to tape and float the 18 ft walls and the ceiling in the great room.  They erected tall scaffolding to do the work around the clerestory windows.  And the work on the staircase was kinda tricky as well.

18 feet in the air!!!

Don't think I'd like to be on this scaffold.....

And this ladder looks a little scary!!!

Even scarier view of ladder

The crews installed these clever curved devices to provide a rounded edge on the corners of walls.

Curve inset for corner

More corner "rounders"

I hope you had a great Fourth of July.  I'll leave you with a shot of a grandson......with no name for his protection and mine........enjoying a little snooze after loads of holiday goodies!!!!  Hope you had plenty of goodies, too!!!

A happy holiday reveler!!

Day 170 - A Quick Tour

We've almost reached another huge milestone in our house building schedule - completion of sheetrock.  There is still a little more work to be done, but it is close enough for a tour.

So, let's take a quick walk through the house.

Mudroom

Mudroom broom and storage closets

Great Room from Kitchen

Kitchen - Nancy Study left & Pantry right

Nancy's Study - Bookcase niche

Nancy's Study - desk/bookcase wall

Great Room Rear Wall

Guest Bedroom

Foyer

Bruce's Study

Master Bedroom Coffee bar

Master Vanity Area

Start of stairs

Other view - stairs

Top of stairs

Attic Storage Wall

Upstairs bedroom area

Upstairs Bathroom

Stairway Windows

And we are thrilled to have a large number of Bruce's family visiting to celebrate the Fourth of July.  Stay tuned for more family pictures in the next blog.

L to R - Granddaughter Maddy, Grandson Jacob, Daughter-in-law Dana, Granddaughter Sydney, Dana's Mom Ellie