Owner-Builder Journal Entries
Posted to LittleLakeCorner by Lisa in Groveland, FL
on 7/8/2008 2:39:06 PM
I just had to blog because we got some amazing pics. The other evening before we put in the vinyl fencing we had the most beautiful light and just had to take some pics. The fencing is all in now, lights are up on the driveway pillars and we just have to finish the gravel on the west side of the house and on the edge of the drive.
One of the trees I planted in the bed in front of our master bathroom has flowered, it truly is stunning, it is called an "Angels Trumpet", it is really hard to get because the plant is miss-used mainly by kids as it can be (very dangerously) used to make a tea which is an hallucinogen, however not being druggies and appreciating a "pretty" (as Lynn would say) plant I really wanted one. Wow, it is not just pretty it is absolutely stunning.
Finally my lovely sister has been in hospital for the last 10 days and is finally home with her newborn son "Finlay James Judge", born 28th June at 1119hrs weighing just 4lbs, they have both been through a lot, but everything is okay now. Well done Becky, congratulations Steve and big cuddles to little Finlay. If they let me I'll post a piccie in due course. A very chuffed and proud Unkie Lisa.
More outside pics to follow when the gravel is finished, then as far as we are concerned, other than maintenance the outside is DONE!! Or though we are considering some screening we really need wardrobe rails first!!
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| Familiar Friends. |
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| View to the south (rear) of the house, in the amazing light. |
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| View again which includes our tidied up cabbage palm tree. |
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| To the SW of the house looking back in the amazing light, (pre-fences to hide the well, A/C and electrical/cable, gas stuff. |
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| Our amazing Angel Trumpet tree. |
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| Rupert showing our amazing tree. |
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| Rupert again showing off our stunning tree.
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Posted to OwensNewHome by Justin in Chandler, AZ
on 7/8/2008 11:34:21 AM
This is the time of year where the humidity picks up making hot even more unbearable. On July 3 I tried out my new stilts. I convinced Audra that I had to buy them and they would make things go a lot easier. I raised them up as high as they would go and held on to the wall as I pulled out 187 plastic protectors from the bolt holes and screwed in 187 bolts for the ledger. I still have a blister to prove it.
We excaped the heat to the mountains for the Fourth of July weekend. While there we watched the local parade and since Audra's family is from up there we wanted to get in the parade next year. So when the house is finished my next project is to make a barrel train for our kids and their cousins.
Yesterday the framers started, lumber was dropped and work progresses.
By the end of the week we should have our deck in place and start the basement backfill on Monday.
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| Basement floor curing |
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| It's the stilts. They make me look too skinny! I am a real muscular and handsome fellow . . . |
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| I put those there! |
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| Those too. |
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| The first day of framing with 3 guys. Laid out the basement and hung some of the ledgers. |
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| The plans called out 12" and 16" OC for the bolts. The Wall Company just made it all 12". It will be a pain for the framers to hang the floor trusses around 12" spaced bolts at 16" centers. |
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Posted to Keener-Road by Jennifer in Elizabethtown, PA
on 7/8/2008 8:02:14 AM
Great News!!
Harry called the septic guy for Lancaster County and explained what we were wanting to do. The gentleman told Harry that as long as we're just taking away the trailer and adding no more than 3 bedrooms, that we have the green light... that was it! No inspection! I am very happy about that.
We're waiting onthe GC who will be doing the following, to come back with a bid: excavating, block, concrete, electric, intalling windows and doors (that we'll purchase) roofing, siding, and insulation. I will be double checking that bid with two others.
We're in charge of plumbing, flooring, windows/doors (purchase), drywayll, trim, & cabinetry/appliances, etc.
Still very nervous and waiting for someone to tell us that we can't do this. We are remodling 496 sf, and building 1003 new - total cost sq equals out to about $50... avg. cost in lancaster county for new construction is $153 sf. I am not sure how to figure the cost for the remodeling part.
I'm attaching our floor plan. We've made a few changes to this - but I don't have them uploaded yet. Also - ignore the diagonal lines... I do not know why they printed out!
HAPPY IN PA!!!
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Posted to SOPHIA--SAMUELDELAWARE by Samuel in Smyrna, DE
on 7/7/2008 8:25:58 PM
We passed plumbing today, felt real good to know that we did it our self. inspector had one fitting he wanted me to change, so I did it right there while he was there looking over my other work. Time for some concrete!!.
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| Fitting I had to change. |
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| THIS IS WHAT WE WORKED SO HARD FOR!!!. |
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Posted to Arkansas-First-Timer by Jack in Trumann, AR
on 7/7/2008 2:44:59 PM
Well, we moved in two weeks ago. I still have some things to finish in the tile and trim area but it's definitely livable and almost finished (I don't think you ever really get finished with a house). I still have to set tile in a couple of small closets and in the half bath. And because I'm not finished with the tile in that area, I have three doors and trim to do when I do get finished. That is really a small area that won't take much to finish if I could ever just get back to it. It got sidetracked because the tile supplier sent the tile I'm using in that area in two shipments and the second one didn't match the first. Anyway, while I waited on the matching tile to come in, I moved on to other things and just haven't gotten back into the tile mode just yet. But I'll have to get there soon; I intended to work on it this weekend but I was sick.
I also have the master bathroom to finish. It's functional and mostly finished except for the shower and bathtub. I've got a lot of tile work to do there and it's going to be tedious so I'm saving that for last. But other than that, I have some electric work to finish in the bonus room and a little bit outside and then the rest of the trim which I can probably do in a couple of good days of work. It's not much but I'm out of vacation time and I'm tired when I get home so most of it is being done on weekends; so it's not going real fast at the moment. I've got to get moving on it though because I want to get it done and because I need to get rolled over to my mortgage which I'm working on now.
We received our first full month electric bill with A/C running all month. It's for June and we had a hot one here so it is a pretty good gage for what we can expect. We like to keep it cool in the house and it's a decent size house at 3400 sqft heated and cooled. However, 600 of that is bonus space which at the time we hadn't yet started cooling except when we were up there so say 2800 cooled for the last month at an average of 72 degrees and the bill was $108. That's not bad considering it's been hitting in the upper 90's all month. I won't say that this is what our bill will be ongoing but it should be in that neighborhood. June wasn't the perfect month to judge by because we were only living there for two of the billing weeks. For the other two weeks, we were finishing out the house and there from early in the morning until late, 11 pm - 1 am, almost every day and running the A/C and using the washer and dryer and cooking and all that but we weren't showering there for one thing and for at least one week of that, we were turning the A/C up to 75 when we left; we keep it on 70 degrees normally. So, even though we weren't living there, we were almost living there. Anyway, it will be interesting to see the bill for July. I expect it to be in the same ballpark but a little more. Interestingly enough, our bonus room has been open to the attic up until Saturday the 5th when I finally got the door hung that closes off the attic and the rest of the house was open to the bonus room too. I don't know if it happened or not or how much impact it had but it's possible that the A/C has been pulling that hot humid air down into the house which now that it is closed off, may impact the bill in our favor a little bit too. Regardless of all that, I can at least tell that my energy saving features are helping because at $108, it cost over half less to cool this house as it did the old house and this one is three times larger than the old house! That's not bad in my book.
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Posted to Hawaiian-Bungalo by Mark in Holualoa, HI
on 7/7/2008 1:44:31 AM
...on this blog, lol.
Where has the time gone? The roof is just about finished, just need to button up the ridge with the vents. Things had been going real good then my son broke his ankle skateboarding then Matt came down on his foot and strained it pretty good, also skateboarding. So my main labor is down for awhile or out for 3-4 months. Good thing I am to the point of subbing out some stuff.
The crew came in for the stucco and knocked it out in about 9 days total. We are still waiting on some lights so the rough electrical inspection has not been completed which means that the lanai ceilings have not been soffit boarded yet for the stucco. Matt is going to fly to LA to pick up the lights and the last minute house audio equipment so we can finish the electrical this week. Good thing he gets free flights.
The whirlpool tub came in last week and we are getting that framed in tomorrow so they can finish the plumbing. I completely forgot about the shower fixtures for the master bath so I ended up running around last week to find the valves for rough in. I found the setup I wanted but ended up costing a lot more than we were planning. I guess when it is the only thing in stock on an island in the middle of nowhere you take what you can get when you don't want to wait or pay for shipping.
The electric is hooked up now so no more generator. That whole thing got a little stressful, dealing with the HELCO inspectors and they only come out one day a week and she forgets to tell me about a major problem when she checks it before we pour concrete over it. I was so mad but had to keep my cool and just try to figure a way to deal with it. It worked out fine just had to do a little grinder work and she was happy. Now that it is done I can get the rock walls finished and they started on them yesterday.
We had a good clean up day a couple weeks back and got rid of all the rubbish. One of the guys where I live works for a tree trimming company and we were able to use one of their one ton Ford dump trucks. Loaded everything up and off to the dump. I saved a couple of hundred bucks over getting a dumpster and still had the scrap available if we needed something, which helped a lot to keep the waste down. To this point we had less than 2 tons of scrap to haul out, it didn't even fill the truck.
My electrician has been great, he has maybe 10 days on the job with one full 8 hour day and I have done almost all of the wiring myself. It has helped me do some extra things that would have cost to much otherwise. I have a ton of outlets in the garage and throughout the house, I put 220 lines to the range and dryer, just in case, even though I am going with gas. "Do it now while the walls are open", he keeps saying, makes total sense to me.
Photos
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| May 28 pictures, windows in. |
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| rough plumbing ,guest bath |
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| We had to reframe this opening as it was built for 2' windows not the 3'. |
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| ready for shingles |
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| Looking from the garage into the house, you can see the panel is in |
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| Ginger the "guard" dog. |
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| The roffer friend Clint and son Mark before the broken ankle |
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| Sliders all in |
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| Most of the shingles done. The color sample in front of the garage, we are thinking the gray. |
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| Utility trench is pau (all done). |
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| the entry door |
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| Master bath plumbing, a mix of PEX and copper |
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| brown coat done let it cure |
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| the panel all made up |
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| Meter, phone and cable boxes |
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| Solar hot water valves |
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| Flush AV box from HD |
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| lots of brackets and clips |
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| Clips and hold downs |
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| From kitchen looking out over the bar |
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| exterior trim, half round door and windows with rounded bottom band |
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| front door looking in |
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| Hansgroe shower valves, $$$ |
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| 3 car garage |
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| had to hammer out the slab for 4 of the drains, the first plumber missed. |
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Posted to TheHoskensProject by Brian in Melbourne, FL
on 7/6/2008 12:40:40 PM
We are trying to finish the cement on the dome, there's only a little left but we can only work from 7am-11am, and 5pm-8pm. It's SO HOT during the middle of the day it's just impossible to work in the sun. I got so overheated I got sick and was probably close to passing out and falling off the ladder. Whoa...That was enough for that morning.
The next day we cemented 7am-11:30, then took a break and napped or did work out of the sun until 5pm. It started raining around 7pm or so, and caused some of the fresh cement on the side of the large walk-out dormer to loosen and slide partway off the dormer. Not sure how I will fix that, but we're going to let it cure and harden and see what stuck and what didn't. I'll have to chip off some of the damaged cement I'm sure, but maybe I can patch the "crater". Here's a picture of the sliding cement, and a couple pics from our security cam of some visitors to the property.
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| I have no idea who these people are, wandering around in our driveway. Good reason to have a security camera. |
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| This little deer is fast. The camera is set to take 2 pics 3 seconds apart, and he was gone in the second pic. |
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| Sliding cement. Great... |
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Posted to deltona-fl-custom-home by bob in deltona, FL
on 7/6/2008 6:21:50 AM
After the shell came the hard part which included windows trim flooring and fixtures ect
But the shell was not a HARD process only the concrete which should be ha.
Photos
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| lot slopes right to left and front to back |
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| you can see the 2nd pile behind me as shadow to the pic these were to fill around the basement |
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| the front was offset (steped) to increase the strength of the wall although we used 12" block and filled with 3000# conc you can see the front backfill pile in this pic |
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| the natural slope was hard to see with all the grouth we shoped for lots that said needs fill |
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Since my last post of July 2007, I have gone through a lot of can I do this, should I do this. My finally answer is YES I can and I am going to take the plunge. I had my plans drawn by a local plan service in Augusta GA. Actually I had 3 plans that I liked so I took a little something from all 3 and had my plan service design me a house. It came out beautiful. The total cost approx $2400.00 for a 4287 sf house design. The house will have 3.5 baths, 3 car garage, 3 bedrooms, study, media room, living room, kitchen, laundry room and family room.
I have obtained my permits, insurance and paid for the water and sewer tap fee. We just had the land cleared and the crush rocks trucked in for the drive way.
The house will sit upon 5.85 acre lot with a 2 acre pond.
Other things that I have done to date is to purchase my cabinets. I know this is a bit unorthodox, however, I received such a good deal on the cabinets that I couldn't pass up. I saved on 60% off retail for the cabinets. I also purchased some chandeliers on clearance (3) recently from Home depot. I also purchased a pedestal sink from Ebay.
I am constantly looking for ways to save money and searching for clearance items.
I will be uploading pictures soon
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Posted to Latest-update by Cannon in Sierra Vista, AZ
on 7/5/2008 8:34:21 AM
In the last couple of weeks there has been measured progress. We passed our rough in plumbing on first good that was good. Susan, Jake, and I put the main water shutoff and water line in to the house so we now have water! Matt's guys did all the compaction for the slab. I then installed the electrical conduits to the island and a floor outlet. I also added a second floor box to handle speaker wire and telephone. The shower and tubs are all boxed in and ready for the pour which is scheduled to go at 5am Monday morning. I am looking forward to having a slab. We will then push to get the electrical to the house and the septic done within the next few weeks. After that we will sit tight until the monsoons end before we bring in the SIP panels and start the build. Everything has gone amazingly well so far and we are thrilled.
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| Jake and Susan working on plumbing |
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| Jake roll compacting the water trench to save money :P |
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| boxed, stubbed and almost ready to go |
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Posted to deltona-fl-custom-home by bob in deltona, FL
on 7/5/2008 8:18:17 AM
I have found a ruff cost of $350.00 per ton or approx 100 sq ft of flag-stone for the front porch and will see if a local retailer has it or even a freight company can get some to deltona soon. My friend a projectmanager between projects said we could do it for (beer and pizza the expensive labor) a weekend project with me. The neighbor had a pooldeck repair and they quoted $450.00 for resurface of the front steps/entry. I like the flagstone look.
Part 1 (Bouns down to family Rm)
Well I started up in the bonus room and went to the walkout basement with the pics some of the problems/fixes will be backed with construction pics so look what Iam in and how much I will be dooing to finish because we needed to movein asap and will take our time to get the interior done.
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| Balconey down to family rm
Future Library needs some trim and custom shelves |
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| bonus (theater) from balcony
needs;
carpet, sound, sink, refrig, and cabinet |
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| bouns stair door on right and porch balcony on left in family rm |
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| family rm |
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Comments (1)
Posted to Keener-Road by Jennifer in Elizabethtown, PA
on 7/4/2008 10:17:02 PM
As of this very moment - Harry and I are one month from settlement on 26 acres in the middle of what he terms, "white-tail paradise." It is happening way too fast!! We were simply in the middle of "looking" when Harry spotted this property FSBO. That was 3 weeks ago and 3 days ago we rec'd the agreement of sale back....signed. We were supposed to stay here in our townhouse; the same one we've lived in for 9 years, as we built equity into the land and eventually built; BUT the appraisal came in so nicely that we are building right away.
Instead of having 50% budget for land and 50% budget for the house, we just spent 90% on the land and only have 10% left for the house. I went from a 3000+ sf dream house to a starter rancher that will be 1493 sf. That's ok, because the land is what we're truly ecstatic over. And that little rancher is going to be to die-for!! Now, how to build this house in budget and on time?
In our favor: the property has an OLD trailer on it that we will haul away - but - the seller had added an addition less than 10 years ago that consisted of a kitchen, laundry, bath and what will be our daughters' bedrooms... we are gutting that and adding less than 1000 sq. Our framing costs and plumbing will be lower than we were initially expecting.
I am so thankful (and so is Harry) that I've been researching this for over a year now. Unfortunately, I don't have 1000 hours of planning in. I think I am only 1/5 of the way to those hours. If I had never read that one piece of advice I may have went for it. But I honestly don't have enough time into the planning. Just enough to be dangerouse! We have decided to hire a GC for excavating/footers/framing. He's a long-time friend and we feel we can trust him. We will sub out the rest and that will fall to me. I am waiting on his bid, and even though he is a friend, I will double check, particuarly his "block-guy's" bid. I don't know him, and I am sure the GC isn't going to get more than one estimate if this is "his guy."
I can't sleep. I can't work. I haven't cleaned our house since this started. I CAN still eat..... unfortunately! :) I'm fairly certain I have exhausted friend and f |