I don't know everything, but I learn a lot from other posts on your site. I have also bought a lot of your publications and learned from them. Keep up the good work. Thank you. Frank B., San Pedro, CA

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Journal Entries: 33
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HardiBacker

Posted to Andel-Ranch by Teresa in Rogers, TX on 12/17/2008 2:11:56 PM

Since we are putting tile in the showers and tub surrounds, we are using the 1/2" HardiBacker cement board which is waterproof.

Photos

Cement board in bath 2 around plumbing for fixtures.	Cement board in bath 3 around plumbing.	Cement board in master bath around plumbing.

Rock - Interior

Posted to Andel-Ranch by Teresa in Rogers, TX on 12/17/2008 2:00:17 PM

To keep the kids shoe marks off the bar wall and because I think it looks nice, we're putting the white rock around the bar wall below the bar top.

Photos

Plumb lines dropped at the corners to establish a starting point to keep the wall straight.	Notice the flat rock in the center. I didn't like the cut edge showing so they are going to put the cuts against the wall.	Putting mortar on the rock before placing it on the wall.
Rock around mantel.	Side walls finished.	Long wall finished.
Notice the cut pieces vertical to the ceiling by the mantel. That looks much better!	Finishing all the way to the ceiling above the mantel.	Rock wall finished.

Texture

Posted to Andel-Ranch by Teresa in Rogers, TX on 12/17/2008 1:31:09 PM

After looking at the types of texture available, I decided to go with "orange peel."  It has a very clean and smooth look with just the right amount of texture, similar to the peel of an orange.

Photos

Jay spraying on the texture in the garage.	Randy and Kenny had taped the windows to prevent too much mud from getting on the vinyl. Now, they are taking the tape off and scraping the remaining mud from the window glass.	Kenny scraping the mud off the floor.
Texture applied to the popout in the garage below the stairs to the second floor.	Jay spraying texture in the utility room.	Texture around arched doorway.
Close-up of texture around arched doorway.	Texture in kitchen and dining areas.	Texture on ceiling in family room.
Texture around window.

Corbels and Mantel

Posted to Andel-Ranch by Teresa in Rogers, TX on 12/17/2008 12:08:40 PM

William Chambers with Mesquite Unlimited out of Cut & Shoot, TX (near Conroe) is providing the wood corbels and mantel (and later the floor and cabinets).

Since we are putting a rock wall below the bar top, we are making the bar top wider than "normal" so you will still have some leg room when sitting up to the bar.  As a result, we are also bracing the bar top with 12" corbels to add more stability.  These are made out of pecan which compliments the mesquite mantel very well. 

For the mantel, we attached blocking to the surface of the wall the thickness of the rock which is about 5".  We then attached the mantel to the blocking.  This allowed us to have all of the beauty of the mesquite wood showing outside of the rock wall instead of embeded behind the rock.

After the installation of the corbels and mantel, we wrapped them with Tyvek moisture barrier paper so the rock mortar would not soak into the wood when the masons install the rock wall.

We will wait to put a clear finish on these until after the rock wall has been completed and the house has been painted.

Photos

Mantel attached to blocking.	Corbel attached directly to bar wall.	Corbels wrapped with Tyvek to prevent damage during rock installation.

Brick/Rock - Exterior Finished

Posted to Andel-Ranch by Teresa in Rogers, TX on 12/17/2008

When the mason set the brick arch on the front porch, they left the arch support up for several days to let it cure before removing it.  They came out and removed the support template, plastic covering the entry door, and cleaned the mortar off the bricks with VanaTrol.

Photos

Scrubbing the rock with a wire brush and hosing it off.	Putting in some touch-up mortar around the arched entry door frame.	Cleaning the brick and windows.
Nice and clean and look, you can see the entry door again! I even got the first coat of clear finish put on.	A closer look at the rock around the door.	All clean!
Joseph Bedrich came by and helped me get the leftover rock in a pile. There is still good rock to use around the yard and entrance at the road, so we will just hang onto it here for a while.

Drywall

Posted to Andel-Ranch by Teresa in Rogers, TX on 12/17/2008

Jay Ray did the drywall work.  I showed him the kerf in the wood doors that he would need to wrap the bullnose into.  He had not seen this done and was skeptical before seeing it.  He had done bullnose around a door, but it did not have the kerf which later caused the drywall to crack around the door.  My brother, William, recommend I do the bullnose around the doors.  He is putting the kerfs in the jamb for almost all the doors he is building these days down in the Houston area.

Photos

Randy taping the lower level seams.	Jay taping the lower level seams.	Sample of the bullnose plastic wrapped into the built in kerf in the door jamb.
We removed the wood doors from the hinges so they would not get mud splattered on them. Thanks Randy and Kenny for carrying these to the barn to get them out of the way. They are super heavy!	Randy taping the ceiling in bedroom 2.	Kenny mudding over all the screws.
Kenny and Jay taping the high seams.	Jay cutting the bullnose plastic to fit around the windows. He used some kind of spray glue (sorry I don't know what it was called) to attach the plastic to the sheetrock.	Bullnose attached to sheetrock around wood door jamb.
Jay cut the bullnose slightly to allow it to follow the curves in the arched doorways.	Randy putting mud over the bullnose to fill in all the holes and smooth it out.	Arched doorway floated around the bullnose.
Randy putting the final coat of mud around the corners.

Sheetrock

Posted to Andel-Ranch by Teresa in Rogers, TX on 10/12/2008 10:17:04 PM

We chose Jay Ray's Drywall out of Seaton to do the tape, float and texture.  He doesn't install the sheetrock so I got Paco's Drywall to install it.  They requested I get 4x12 sheets and they underestimated the total amount by 50 sheets.  The cost of materials for me went up after September 1st so those last 50 sheets cost me an extra $1.50 per sheet.  Ouch!  They had neglected to calculate for the stairwell and upstairs room.

The installation went well and they completed it in two days.  I had them avoid the entry wall since the door was not installed yet.

I made sure they knew all the windows, arches and corners would have bullnose edging.  They cut the sheetrock short of the corners to make it easier when the bullnose material is installed.

I also had them use the green board for the areas that would contain plumbing or moisture.  The green board is water/moisture resistant.

They did the ceilings first and then laid the sheetrock horizontally on the walls.

Photos

Here we go, starting in bedroom 3 with the ceiling.	Leaving a gap at the corners for the bullnose finish.	Dining room with a vent cutout.
Oops! Who moved that vent? This was the only hole they missed and they came back later and covered it.	Sheetrock around the step-up in the living room.	Cutouts for the outlets. They had painted marks on the floor at every cutout location to make sure they got them all when they were finished. Great idea!
Green board in bath 3.	Work area in garage.	Measure it twice, cut it once!
Step-up in breakfast room.	Looking into the kitchen from the living room. We put up plywood and Tyvek over the bar wall because it will be rocked. The plywood helps with the stability of the wall.	Green board in master bath.
Putting in the arch entry into bedroom 2.	Cleaning up? Thank you so much!	Green board in utility room.
Arch dividing breakfast area and hall to utility/master/garage.	Arch at base of stairwell.	Master bedroom.
Step-up in master bedroom.	Green board in master shower. They put it on the ceiling in here because of the rain can shower head.	Breakfast area finished.
Kitchen finished.	Living room finished.	Dining room finished.
Office finished. Entry wall will be done later after door is installed and the arch around the transom is framed out.	Hallway finished.	Bedroom 3 finished.
Bedroom 4 finished.

Doors

Posted to Andel-Ranch by Teresa in Rogers, TX on 10/12/2008 8:46:18 PM

For the external doors other than the entry, we are using a fiberglass textured door that can be painted.  The patio doors have the blinds built into the glass.  The entry, office and pantry doors are custom built from honey mesquite wood out of Mexico by Mesquite Unlimited in Cut & Shoot, Texas which is near Conroe.

We had the office and pantry doors installed before the taping and floating because we are using a bullnose edge around them into the built kerf.  The kerf is cut into the door jamb so the bullnose material rolls directly into it making a very clean and smooth look.  When using the bullnose this way, there will be no trim.  We are only doing the bullnose edging around the entry, office and pantry doors that are custom made.  These are the only doors visible in the primary living area.  All other doors will have standard trim.  The door jambs for the office and pantry are made out of pecan which blends very well with the mesquite doors.

Photos

Jose putting sealer down below door. They used the black roof cement that is used on the shingles.	Installing the French doors on the back patio. Both doors are functional, but one will stay closed with a pin lever.	I noticed a gap between the door and the trim around the door going into the garage and pointed it out to Davie. He had to cut some of the plywood out at the wall and reset it.
Installing the mesquite entry door. The glass for the door, side lights and transom will be installed much later on after the subs are at a minimal.	Mesquite office doors with pecan door jambs. The glass for these will be beveled glass and will also be installed later.	Installing the pantry door. It is also mesquite with pecan door jambs.

Brick / Rock - Exterior

Posted to Andel-Ranch by Teresa in Rogers, TX on 10/11/2008

We chose the Vernon King Size brick from Texas Premier Brick using a dark mortar.  The mortar is called 80H light chocolate.  Depending on the color of mortar the brick can look lighter or darker.  With the darker mortar we have more of a contrast between the brick and the rock.  The brick goes around the bottom 3 ft parimeter with rock the rest of the way up.  The rock is also used as the primary stone on both the front and back patios.  The brick is also used to outline the windows across the front of the house which is called a rowlock.  We are using a double rowlock of bricks around the windows.

Lee and Wes Lundy are providing the resources to set the brick and the rock.  We got the rock from Apache Stone which is a quarry just west of Salado.  We chose a 4, 6, 8 sized brick for a random pattern.  We had 48 tons delivered as a starting point until we could determine if we needed more.  Although they were very reasonable on their prices for the rock which I got delivered for $65 / ton, there are about four tons the masons are avoiding and calling "crappy".  They are basically odd shaped pieces that would take forever to shape into a square or rectangular piece to match the pattern.  And we still have some walls on the inside of the house that will need rock, so I'll need to order some more for that.  Too bad that last 4 tons isn't worth using or I would have had enough.

I was also able to get the masons to make the keystones (trapezoid shaped rock above front arched windows) out of some of the rock we had delivered as opposed to purchasing those pre-made which saved me about $100.

Photos

Bricks all line up and ready to go.	Brick on east side.	They used brushes to keep the brick clean as they were putting it up.
East wall brick finished.	Brick around front side.	Getting started on the rock.
East side rocked.	Rock around garage windows.	Brick and keystone around transom window.
Brick and keystone around garage window.	Garage wall and window finished.	Putting in an attic vent just for style. It's not functional because we don't need it since we're using the ridge row vents on the roof.
Garage doors with a single rowlock.	Office window.	Back patio rock around living room windows.
Jose carving the rock to fit the pattern.	Attic vent finished. Just needs to have the mortar cleaned up a bit.	Finally getting the steel posts set on the back patio to support the patio roof.
Steel posts set on front patio to support the entry gable.	Starting the brick around the steel post on the back patio.	Brick finished around steel post on back patio.
Getting started on the adding the rock to the steel post.	Brick around steel posts on front patio.	Finishing up the rock on the steel post on the back patio.
Jose made an arch template to use to brick around the front entry. We'll remove the template once the mortar is set.	Jose putting brick around the arch template.	Front entry brick making progress.
Another angle of the arched entry.	Entry gable brick finished.	Side view of entry gable.
Dining room wall and window finished.	Steel posts on back patio finished.	Finishing up with the brick and rock on the outside.

Jeff's Forum Posts: 56 Journal Entries: 20 Interview Answers: 250 Average Forum Rating: 4.29 Send Private Message My Construction Website Jeff's Selected Image 10/12/2008

Great house, and the exterior looks fantastic!  I just wanted to let you know that you're an inspiration. Just two months into the process, your roof is on already, and masonry is going up. Looks like your making good progress on the interior, too. We're about six weeks behind you, but I'll be happy if we can get things done half as fast.

Teresa's Forum Posts: 0 Journal Entries: 33 Interview Answers: 30 Send Private Message Image from Teresa's blog 10/12/2008

Thank you so much for the wonderful comments.  Perhaps it is going fast because I'm not doing any of the work!  The main thing that I am staying on top of is having the bids and subs chosen at least a few weeks before I need them and then I call them about once a week to let them know where we are with the construction and they let me know where they are with their schedule.  It is taking a lot of effort, but I have not had any downtime yet.  Another advantage I have is watching the subs work from inside my existing house.  If I see something I'm not sure about, I'll walk out and take a closer look and ask questions.  Also, I go out about 3 or 4 times a day to take pictures and ask them if they need anything, which takes about 5 minutes.  I also chose my subs not only by their bid price but by their reputation.  I've turned down some really low bids after going to look at some work they did on other houses (brick/rock work specifically). Along the way, I am learning when certain things need to be available/done and I'm trying to stay ahead of the game.  For example, garage doors take three to four weeks to order so I ordered them six weeks in advance just to make sure.  They are ready and waiting now to be hung as soon as the garage is painted. There is one thing that I'm disappointed in which is the cost of materials.  It has gone up several thousand dollars since I got a take-off from the lumber yard back in July.  And, nearly every sub that has worked on the house has run out of materials that the lumber yard estimated in quantity.  You can count on at least a 10% increase in cost each month you get into this right now because of things going on in the economy. Good luck with your home!

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Pre-Wiring

Posted to Andel-Ranch by Teresa in Rogers, TX on 10/10/2008

We decided to go with Audio Tech out of Temple for the pre-wiring of audio, phone, TV and internet.  It's wired for the capability of installing a NuVo sound system that has 6 zones.  Each zone is defined as a speaker pair.  We've split the speaker pairs up as follows:

1. Master bedroom / Master bath
2. Upstairs room
3. Utility room / Work room in garage
4. Kitchen and Breakfast / Dining
5. Office
6. Back Patio

For phones and TV, we'll have a jack in every room.  Four of those rooms will be wired for satellite receivers.  There will be a direct line for the internet to the office and to the control panel.

All of these wires are terminated at the control panel in the master closet.

For security, we hired VIP Security after discussing the pros and cons of having a wireless solution which we thought we would do later and at any time later.  Wiring for security is a better solution in the long run, because it does not require the maintenance of batteries at each secure location.  Now, with all our windows that would be a nightmare.  Having it wired eliminates the worry of whether or not a battery has gone dead.  It is also a better choice when deciding during the construction stage as it allows you to wire for future use whether you're ready for it now or not.  It would be awful to try to wire for security after the house is done and probably more expensive.

VIP has a simple cost structure, they charge per opening.  Well, guess what?  A double-hung window has two openings!  I have a lot of windows half of which are double hung.  For the others, we added glass break detection devices powered directly through an outlet.  VIP also has a reputation with the local police to have the lowest false-alarm rate in the state of Texas which speaks for its ease of use.  With three kids in elementary school, we need simplicity.  It also tells me that when law enforcement gets an alarm from us that it will be acted on immediately.  Apparently, there are levels of alarms within the law enforcement system that create a priority for response.  Anything coming from VIP secured homes gets moved up the chain.

Photos

Wiring for audio.	Audio, phone and internet control panel.	Wiring for audio.
Wiring for the TV which includes HD, Satellite and phone.	Wiring for TV on back patio.	Satellite and internet through the soffit off the south side of the house.
Red wires are security.	Looks like spaghetti to me!	Security wiring to top of window.
Wiring into the bedroom 2 closet to control the TV on the back patio.	Blue box above windows will control the power for the glass breakage detector.	Sensor added to security wire to the top side of the top half of the window.
Sensor added to security wire to the side of the bottom half of the window.	Wiring to one of the sirens. We'll have one in the garage facing the road and one inside the house.

FEMP Inspection

Posted to Andel-Ranch by Teresa in Rogers, TX on 10/9/2008 8:49:24 PM

Since we began our house construction prior to September 1, 2008, we are not required to have the TRCC inspections.  However, we decided that it would be best in the long run if we did and also thought that it would help us to know if the work being done was acceptable or even met code.  We hired Stephen Rinehart out of Nolanville to do the inspections and as he walked me through the house he educated me on various building code.

He provided me with a list of things to look into but were not required to make any changes.  He suggested several more things that he did not provide in his report.  Some of the things in his report were obvious and perhaps the inspection was somewhat premature.  Had I waited another week, those items would not be on the list.

1. Finish installing shingles on roof.
2. Frame around the arched windows and put water seal around the windows.
3. R-6 ducts are less than code (R-8).
4. Anchor bolt the interior walls.
5. Vent the bathroom exhausts to outside instead of into soffits.
6. Replace 2x6 header with 2x12 header above doorway to upstairs room to support valley rafter.

I discussed all of these items with Davie, our G.C. consultant and he disagreed with several of the items. 

#1 and #2 were obvious.  We'll definitely finish those. 

#3 is apparently something that is not accepted in the construction community.  R-8 ducts are not affordable and with the SEER ratings of the furnaces as high as 20.5, the overall rating average is at least R-8 so we are covered there.

#4 is also something that is not practiced in the construction community.  The inspector suggested we use a Ram set to secure all the interior walls to the concrete.  The walls are security with concrete nails which is sufficient.

#5 again is a matter of opinion on how to handle exhaust fan vents.  We have the vents going into the soffits.  The inspector suggested we extend the vent through the soffit to the exterior.  By venting it into the soffit, the air could be trying to flow outward while the venting in the attic is pulling air in basically causing the exhaust air to try to fight its way out and potentially lose and get recirculated into the house.  We chose to leave the vents as is.

#6 is the only item we are acting on although Davie didn't think the header was part of the support of the rafter.

None of the items above required a re-inspection nor prevented it from passing.

Photos

Missing shingles	Missing shingles.	Missing frame around arches.
R-6 duct.	Interior wall secured with concrete nails.	Exhaust fan vented into soffit.
2x6 header over door supporting rafter.	Shingles finished.	Arched windows framed and sealed.
Header board replaced with 2x12.

Insulation

Posted to Andel-Ranch by Teresa in Rogers, TX on 10/9/2008

We used 1/2" foam board as the backing around the room upstairs and the walls surrounding the stairwell.  This provided a wall to attach the R-15 insulation batting to as well as some added insulation.

Johnson Insulation out of Belton came out and did the first round of insulation in two stages.  First, they went around and used a poly seal to foam around all wiring holes and plumbing that cut through the ceiling and exterior walls as well as at the base boards around the perimeter.  Next, they filled all the exterior walls with R-19 fiberglass batting and R-15 on the designated interior walls as a sound barrier.

The second round will include blowing the foam into the attic which we will do after the sheetrock has been prepared for painting.

Photos

Foam board around upstairs room.	Foam board around upstairs room.	Foam board around upstairs room.
Foam board around upstairs room.	Foam board around upstairs room.	Foam board around upstairs room.
Foam board around upstairs room.	Poly seal around plumbing and wiring.	Poly seal around perimeter base.
Poly seal around electrical, security and audio wiring.	Poly seal around plumbing in utility room.	Every so many feet, there is a piece of that cardboard at the perimeter of the attic space.
Poly seal around plumbing in bath 2.	Poly seal around gas intake pipe.	R-19 batting around entry.
R-15 batting around upstairs room.	R-15 batting between interior walls.	R-19 batting below cat walk and furnace platforms in attic.

Windows cont'd.

Posted to Andel-Ranch by Teresa in Rogers, TX on 10/9/2008

After the windows were hung, we used the WindowSeal around all the windows.

Photos

Garage window sealed.	Garage window sealed.	Dining room window sealed.
Living room windows sealed.	Breakfast room windows sealed.	Inside look at framed arch above window.
Garage window sealed.	Office window sealed.	Bedroom 4 window sealed.
HardiBoard added as trim around dormer window.	Bedroom 1 windows sealed.	Bath 1 windows sealed.
Bedroom 2 and bedroom 3 windows sealed.

Windows

Posted to Andel-Ranch by Teresa in Rogers, TX on 9/14/2008 11:22:58 PM

We are using double hung low-E windows with screens on the north, east and west sides of the house.  On the south side the windows are fixed one-lite and do not open.  It took about three hours to install the windows.  One of the windows caught a gust of the wind from Hurricane Ike and fell over and broke.  It was leaning against a very short window sill after getting distributed to its appropriate location.  It is cheaper to replace the glass than the entire window so we got it installed broken and will fix it later.

All of the windows that are less than 18" from the floor are tempered glass, which is a code requirement.

Photos

Windows delivered and stacked in the garage.	Distribution of windows has begun.	First window installed and leveled.
Windows in office installed.	Windows in bedroom 4 installed.	Windows in dining room installed.
UH OH!	Windows on north side installed.	Broken window installed.
Living room windows installed.	Breakfast room windows installed.	Master bedroom windows installed.
Getting ready for master bath.	East side windows installed.	Dormer windows installed.
Installing transom windows across south side.

Roofing

Posted to Andel-Ranch by Teresa in Rogers, TX on 9/14/2008 10:42:55 PM

We chose the "Amber" color 30-year Duration Shingles by Owens Corning.  They are wind resistant up to 110 mph.  We didn't see a need to go with the Duration Premium Shingles that are wind resistant up to 130 mph.  We live in central Texas and the winds rarely get up to a category 1 hurricane force, although fate was tempted this past week by Hurricane Ike.

We're also using the ridge row venting instead of the old whirly birds.  We're also using the metal flashing along the edges and in the creases.

It took two days to put the shingles on and another half day to finish the ridge rows.

Photos

Underlayment felt on, exterior trim painted and ready for shingles.	East side shingles on and moving across the north side.	Metal flashing along edges.
East side shingles on.	A closer look at the north side.	Metal flashing along crease.
Half the roof shingled after one day.	North side shingles nearly complete.	West side shingles on.
Putting on a ridge row.	Ridge row vent.	South side shingles on.

Exterior Paint

Posted to Andel-Ranch by Teresa in Rogers, TX on 9/14/2008 10:08:45 PM

For the seams in the cornice trim we used "Big Stretch" caulk.  The paint is one coat of Sherwin Williams exterior acrylic in Marshmallow color, one of the dozen shades of white to choose from.  We had the exterior painted before the shingles are put on so that we wouldn't have to be concerned with overspray.

Photos

Caulking along the soffit on the back patio.	Spray painting the ceiling on the front porch.	Caulking between panels in the ceiling on the back patio.
Painting the trim on the west side.	More trim painted on the west side.	Painting the ceiling on the back patio.
Dormer painted.	South side painted.

A/C Rough-In

Posted to Andel-Ranch by Teresa in Rogers, TX on 9/14/2008 9:51:37 PM

Steve Kosel with Kosel Air Conditioning and Heating out of Cedar Park installed three XC21 Lennox systems.  We are powering these with propane as well.  Two of the systems are 2-ton (SEER up to 20.5), the third is 4-ton (SEER up to 18.1).  One of the 2-ton systems will manage bedrooms 2, 3 and 4.  The other 2-ton will be zoned using the Harmony III Zoning System between the master bedroom and gameroom upstairs.  The 4-ton system will manage the common areas throughout the middle of the house.  These systems are expected to be very quiet with sound ratings between 69 and 73 dB and are energy star efficient.  It took 4 days to install the furnaces, ducts and return air vents.

For the furnace locations, we added a subfloor the height of two 2x6 boards (11 inches) to allow for insulation.

Photos

Installation of 2-ton furnace.	Installation of second 2-ton furnace.	Return air vent. Each furnace has two of these. Yes, that makes six filters to change monthly. Oh my!
Vent for exhaust "fart" fan in hall bath to the soffit.	Air ducts.	Installation of 4-ton furnace.
Vents in living room.	View of the duct work from the living room.	Lines from furnace to outdoor units. All three go through bedroom 2.
View of ducts from attic.	Another view of ducts from attic.	Vent for venthood above cooktop in kitchen and two fresh air ducts topped out through the roof.
Safe-T-switch on drip pan on furnace. The drip pan drains are connected to the plumbing that will drain into the septic system.	One of the gas line regulators in front of the 2-ton furnace.	More ducts in the attic.

Plumbing Rough-In

Posted to Andel-Ranch by Teresa in Rogers, TX on 9/13/2008 9:27:28 PM

We have a lot of plumbing.  At least that's what the plumber told me. 

We are using propane for the three furnaces, two tankless water heaters, cooktop, dryer (enabled for gas).  We also have a gas line stubbed for a cooktop on the back patio.  Because we are using so much gas, we needed two regulators to manage the flow from the 3/4" black pipe.  Adding the two regulators that will each handle up to 600,000 BTU was much cheaper than changing the 3/4" pipe to a 1 1/2" pipe.

Photos

Master bath - "her" vanity.	Master bath - shower.	Master bath - overhead shower.
Master bath - "his" vanity.	Master bath - whirlpool tub.	Master bath - commode.
Tankless propane water heater.	Utility room - washer with drain for overlow and dryer with vent through slab.	Utility room - sink.
Utility room - refrigerator.	Hall bath - pedestal sink.	Hall bath - commode.
Garage - water treatment system.	Kitchen - refrigerator.	Kitchen - gas cooktop and pot filler.
Kitchen - sink.	Bath 2 - shower.	Bath 2 - commode and sink.
A second tankless water heater to service bath 2, 3 and 4. Bath 3 - sink.	Bath 3 - tub and shower.	Bath 3 - commode. Also notice incoming gas line (black pipe).
Bath 4 - sink.	Cast iron tub for bath 3.	Regulator for gas line.

Framing - Misc.

Posted to Andel-Ranch by Teresa in Rogers, TX on 9/13/2008 8:41:21 PM

  Over the next few days we got the kitchen bar installed, the gameroom framed, arched doorways, and 2x6 blocking behind all the walls that will have cabinets.

Photos

Bar wall in kitchen.	Bar wall view from living room.	Decking and wall sheathing around the gameroom dormer.
Soffit and fascia around dormer.	Side view of stairs to get to gameroom.	Front view of stairs.
Cat walk in attic to access 3rd furnace.	Walls up around gameroom.	Blocking behind cabinets in vanity.
Arched doorway from breakfast room.	Arched doorway between dining and kitchen.	Arched doorway into Dustin's room.
Arched doorway into hallway to girls rooms.

Electrical Rough-In

Posted to Andel-Ranch by Teresa in Rogers, TX on 9/13/2008

Rickie Novasad and his son Heath are the electricians.  Rickie thinks of everything.  He discussed every single plug, switch and light location with me as we walked through each room and marked the location before installing the boxes.  While Rickie was installing the boxes and cans, Heath would go behind him and run the wires.

Photos

Recess cans in kitchen.	Recess cans in breakfast hall.	Electrical boxes placed in utility room.
Electrical wires on living room wall.	Recess cans and electrical box in bedroom hallway.	Rickie installing a recess can in the angled step-up ceiling.
Heath running wire to the recess cans in the kitchen.	Wiring for flood light.	Hose for wiring "future" sprinkler system.
Homerum wires into breaker box.	Homerun wires back to the breaker box.	More homerun wires.

Framing - Roof Decking

Posted to Andel-Ranch by Teresa in Rogers, TX on 9/1/2008 5:55:13 PM

We covered the roof with the 7/16" OSB Solar Shield and underlayment felt.

Photos

Putting on the roof decking.	Roof decking on east side.	Roof decking over back patio.
View of the solar board from the inside.	Hardi-board on ceiling of back patio.	Underlayment felt over east side.
Roof decking and underlayment felt on north side.

Framing - Roof

Posted to Andel-Ranch by Teresa in Rogers, TX on 9/1/2008 1:01:25 PM

Framing for the roof took about 7 days.  Some days we only had half a crew.

Photos

Roof over front bedroom.	Roof over front entry.	Trusses over garage for upstairs bonus room.
Ceiling joists over garage.	Ceiling joists over kitchen.	Ceiling joists and beams over back patio.
Building the outline of the roof.	Rafters over north and east side.	Rafters over north side.
Rafters over garage gable.	Beams for ceiling in living area. We will have three ceiling heights: 10', 11' and 12'. There will be crown moulding with roped lighting around the 11' level.	Rafters over north side.
Starting to look like a house!	Rafters over garage.	Rafters over back patio.
Davie cutting off the rebar that was marking the electrical in the floor. Finally, no more tripping over it!	Building the frame for the soffits.	Soffit on the east side.
Soffit for back patio.	Framing the room and dormer above the garage.

Framing - Wall Sheathing

Posted to Andel-Ranch by Teresa in Rogers, TX on 9/1/2008 12:04:59 PM

We used 7/16" OSB panels for the exterior wall sheathing.

Photos

Decking on front of house.	Decking on west side of house.	Decking on back side of house.
More decking on the back side.	More decking on the back side.

Framing - Walls

Posted to Andel-Ranch by Teresa in Rogers, TX on 8/16/2008

Framing began on Saturday, August 16th.  Jose and crew rolled out of the truck and began nailing boards before their feet hit the ground!  After two days of labor, we have all the walls up.  We also had two days of rain in between.  WOW!

Photos

All the plumb lines marked.	Jose overseeing his crew.	Plumb lines in master bath. We were able to use the "permanent" red lines because we are not doing stained concrete. The red ones won't wash away if it rains.
East wall ready to stand up.	North wall erected!!!	Now, that's balance!
Did I say in case it rains? We had a two-day rain delay and got four and a quarter inches of rain.	East wall up.	Master bed and bath walls up.
Family and breakfast walls up.	Bedroom walls up.	Garage walls up. Not level, but up.
Courtney in the doorway to her bedroom.	Dustin in the doorway to his bedroom.	Rachel in the doorway to his bedroom.
Office walls up.	Garage walls up.	Half bath and closet walls up.
All coming together.	And, finally the level comes out. That was fun to watch how they pushed and pulled until the wall was level and then nailed it down with a brace.	What is wrong with this picture? Even I realized one end should be in the wall and one outside.
Kitchen walls up.	Putting tarpaper around the bottom to keep water from leaking in under the frame.	Plywood going up around Dustin's room.
Please don't fall!	All the walls are up. All that in one day, too!

Foundation - Concrete

Posted to Andel-Ranch by Teresa in Rogers, TX on 8/13/2008

The slab for our house is 5,581 sq. ft. which is wider than a regular truck can reach so we had to get a pump truck to pour the concrete into the beams and the living area.  We used a regular truck to fill the porches and garage.  The pump truck charged by the hour plus more for every yard of concrete pumped through.  They started pouring at 6:00 in the morning and the pump truck left around 9:30 after pouring 160 yards.  We poured another 30 yards with the regular trucks and had it all poured before noon.  Lalo and his crew leveled it out and buffed it and were on their merry way by 2:30.  This was a very exciting day!

Photos

Pump truck.	Transferring the concrete from the regular truck to the pump truck.	Pumping the concrete into the beams.
Concrete guy directing the pump truck controller to move the pump as the beams are filling up.	Setting the bolts.	The arm of the pump truck reached from one side of the house to the other.
Filling in the concrete for the floor.	Lalo made a little wash tub for the concrete trucks to rinse out their pipes before they headed back to Transit Mix. This helped keep them from washing the concrete into the yard. When it dries, it can be hauled off.	Davie Ralston overlooking the progress.
Leveling it out.	Bringing the fine particles to top to make it smooth.	Making it smooth.
Long arm of the pump truck.	Waiting for more concrete to arrive. Almost there...	The pump truck driver maneuvers the arm using a remote control.
Pouring the driveway with the regular truck.	Buffing the slab to make it smooth.	Keeping the slab wet so it doesn't dry too fast.
It's all poured. Finishing up the buffing and keeping it wet.	Covered with poly for three days with water under and over it. This keeps the slab wet and the moisture in.

Foundation - Electrical

Posted to Andel-Ranch by Teresa in Rogers, TX on 8/11/2008

Rickie Novasad and his son Heath came out after the poly was down on the pad and set the lines for the power that will come up through the floor.

Photos

Rickie and Heath building the electrical conduit.

Rickie building the electrical conduit.

Foundation - Steel

Posted to Andel-Ranch by Teresa in Rogers, TX on 8/11/2008

Now for the hard part... We put 6 bar 5/8" rebar with stirrups 3 feet apart throughout the 3-foot beams and put 3/8" rebar on 12" centers on top.  This took about two days.

Photos

Getting the bars of steel ready to put in the beams.	Covered the pad with poly.	Setting the steel in the beams.
Rebar set around the incoming electrical pipe.	Rebar going around a corner.	Tying down the rebar on top of the pad.
Setting the forms for the floaters - around the porches and garage so they can be sloped away from the house for drainage.	Had a slight rain delay, but they guys got right back out there when it stopped.	Ready for concrete. They will finish setting the chairs under the rebar in parallel with pouring the concrete.
Floaters for drain in utility room.	Floaters for front porch.	Floaters for back porch.

Foundation - Termite Pre-Treat

Posted to Andel-Ranch by Teresa in Rogers, TX on 8/10/2008

Lalo came back after the plumbing was in and leveled the pad back to grade.  Jason Hoelscher with Hoelscher Pest Control came next to pre-treat the foundation with Termidor.  Adding the blue dye to the spray helps to show what has been sprayed and what hasn't.  It took 55 gallons of Termidor to cover the pad and all the beams.  This took about 3 to 4 hours.

Photos

A look at the tank holding the Termidor mixture.	Jason spraying the pad with Termidor.	Finished spraying the pad.

Foundation - Plumbing

Posted to Andel-Ranch by Teresa in Rogers, TX on 8/7/2008

It took two partial days to get all the plumbing into the foundation before we could start setting the rebar into the beams.

Photos

Dustin set up shop to keep the plumbers honest. They took to him pretty well.	Putting in the septic pipe.	Utility room and half bath.
Septic run from master bathroom.	Keith McMillan putting the copper through the blue sleeve for cold water and red sleeve for hot water.	All the plumbing is in.
Stub for hose bib off front porch.	Plumbing for the Hollywood bath.	Plumbing for the bathroom in Dusty's room.
Plumbing for the back patio kitchen that we hope to put in some day "soon".	Plumbing for the kitchen sink.	Plumbing for the half bath plus the water lines for the refrigerator and pot filler.
Plumbing for the utility room. We will have a full-house water treatment system.	Tip of the drains coming from the utility room and the incoming water line.	Plumbing for master shower and "his" vanity.
Plumbing for master tub.	Plumbing for master bathroom, water line for external tankless water heater and hose bib.

Foundation - Beams

Posted to Andel-Ranch by Teresa in Rogers, TX on 8/5/2008

Started working on the foundation on Monday, August 4th.  Eulalio "Lalo" Salinas, E & S Concrete, arrived on schedule to begin setting the forms and digging the trenches.  Lalo commented on how hard the pad was and was happy to find the pad was within 1/2" of being level from one side to the other.

We are digging three feet for beams throughout and pouring a monolithic slab. 5,581 total square feet.

Photos

Lalo and crew setting the posts to dig the trenches.	Lalo running the trencher with crew shoveling the dirt aside.	Trench for beam on west side with Buck inspecting.
Trenches for back patio.	Setting the forms for the slab.	Lalo and crew digging more trenches.
Covering the pad with poly in anticipation of rain. We don't want the rain to crumble the sides of the trenched walls.	Shoveling excess from the trenches into the scoop to save for leveling the driveway later.

Foundation - Pad

Posted to Andel-Ranch by Teresa in Rogers, TX on 8/5/2008

The first week of construction was very productive.  I had been talking to my dirt man, Tommy Dean (T. C. Dean and Company), and keeping him in the loop on my loan schedule so he was ready to go when I was.  He started bringing his equipment out the day after I called him. 

We are located in the middle of black dirt in East Bell county which is really good for farming.  Not so much for building houses.  Last year we had record rainfalls and this year we are back to a deadly drought. 

We decided to dig down four feet from the highest point of the foundation and then build it up one foot above the highest point.  This gave us five feet to fill with crusher fines.  Tommy hit white chalk at about three feet which is really good for this area.  It took him three days to dig the hole and build it up.  Then another two days to get 2,200 tons of crusher fines delivered and spread (that was about 90 truck loads).  He also watered it down to compact it as he was spreading and rolling it.  We watered it for two more days with the sprinkler and then he rolled it again.

Photos

Tommy hammering the first post to measure the grade level.	Marker showing the grade level.	Tommy making the first pass at dragging the ground to soften it up. This loosens about one foot of dirt at a time.
About halfway there.	Getting down to the chalk (yea!)	Tommy scooping out the dirt.
Two scoops are better than one!	Tommy's apprentice watering the crusher fines in between layers.	One of the 90 truckloads of crusher fines.
Tommy spreading the crusher fines.	The kids playing in the piles of crusher fines. I think they thought we were just building a big sandbox for them!	Pad filled, leveled, rolled and watered.

Commencement

Posted to Andel-Ranch by Teresa in Rogers, TX on 7/29/2008 9:40:07 PM

After years of designing the "perfect" floor plan, we have finally closed on the construction loan on July 18 and commenced construction on July 23.

Joe 's Forum Posts: 21 Interview Answers: 58 Average Forum Rating: 3.60 Send Private Message Randomly Selected Image 7/30/2008	Congrats on getting a loan. It seems that its getting harder and harder to do that these days. Who were you able to get one through? What kind of house are you building? Where is Rogers close too? Enough of the questions, I'll let you get back to work. Joe
RogerC's Forum Posts: 51 Interview Answers: 3 Average Forum Rating: 3.36 Send Private Message Randomly Selected Image 7/30/2008	That's great... congratulations!  What type of house are you building?

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The Plan

Posted to Andel-Ranch by Teresa in Rogers, TX on 7/23/2008

Here are some photos of the floor plan and elevations.  I spent about three years going through thousands of floor plans and walking through homes being built around the area where we are building.  I used the basic footprint from one of the plans from a local builder and integrated it with the things I liked from other plans.

Some of my "requirements" were:

1. Large living space with open kitchen and lots of natural light (i.e., windows).  I'm not in the kitchen much (ha ha), so I don't want to feel excluded from the rest of the house when I am in there.
2. Notice no fireplace.  I'm allergic to most trees used for burning wood.  I had a fireplace in a previous home that was rarely used.  Decided I could live without it and came up with the idea of making the back side of the wall that houses the double oven into a wall that looks like a fireplace (rock with a mantle).  It's the first thing you see when you walk through the front door.  I plan to have a nice piece of mesquite for the mantle.
3. Everybody has their own bedroom!  Each of the three children will have their own bedroom space.  The girls will share bath space but have their own vanity and closet.  My son will have his own room and bath which will turn into the "guest" room when he moves out.
4. I work from home, so I need lots of office space separate from my living space.  I tend to not leave the office very often when I'm working from my laptop sitting on the living room couch as I am now.  I'm hoping this will change once I'm able to leave the office and close the door.
5. Covered large patio and front porch. 
6. Walk-in closets in every room.
7. Large utility room that does not have an entry through the garage.  I hated walking through homes where you felt embarrassed to step around piles of laundry.  I have three kids in elementary school.  I have piles of laundry!
8. Must be able to see the front door as you drive up/by.  So many porches with gables hide the front door.  I think the door makes a statement and should be seen.
9. No dead hallway space.  This was extremely difficult with the three bedrooms on one end of the house.  We have a short hallway splitting the rooms with a closet in between.  Not too bad.
10. Kids rooms are not meant to be seen.  I was using a ruler to draw visibility lines between rooms and realized you could walk through the front door and look directly into my son's room.  Not good.  I added a short entry to divert the visibility.
11. Plenty space for seating extended family.  With the two dining spaces and the never-ending bar, there is opportunity for all the generations to be seated for those annual gatherings.
12. Three-car garage.  Now, realistically you would only need two.  However, any house I've ever lived in that had a two-car garage only had space for one after you put the lawnmower and other yard equipment in there.  I've also added a work area for gardening/crafts and extended the length of the garage to allow for storage space.  I tend to be a collector of items that are too good to throw away!
13. No carpet.  All floor space will either be hardwood or tile.  This was decided after the plans were finalized.  As a result, no central vac.

Photos

Elevations	First Floor	Second Floor