Thanks for the site and the book. I know that having these resources available has definitely increased our confidence that we can take this project on. Barbara in Gladstone, OR

Previously Unjournaled Details

Posted to STEPHANIES-DREAM by Stephanie in Lower Burrell, PA on 12/30/2007 7:36:14 AM

Things seem to be going much slower now.  I'm hoping that's just because we're doing small things that don't get noticed now.  There are several things that were done in the last month that I haven't yet journaled, so I'm adding them all at one time.  We got the shingles on, and they've started on the soffit/fascia and gutters.  We also got the garage door put up.  We haven't yet put the hinge straps and handles on, but I'm including a pic anyway.  We also got the steps put in.  This makes a world of difference when working there.  We put up the patio door also.  Now Dad is working on the wiring.  This is exciting because I get to plan furniture arrangements to make sure I have my outlets and A/V lines in the right place.  Check out the pix below!

Photos

		The back porch was an add on. It meant having the roof right below my bedroom window, but I will love having the porch so it's worth it!
Upstairs Steps	Basement Steps

Utilities

Posted to STEPHANIES-DREAM by Stephanie in Lower Burrell, PA on 11/30/2007

We dug the trenches for all of the utilities right before Thanksgiving.  (water, gas, electric, sewage)  Because our basement is lower than the city sewage, and we wanted a  bathroom in our basement, we put a tank in with a grinder pump to pump the sewage out.  We were going to put the tank 10' down.  However, this meant digging a hole for this, and then having to dig it up if it needs serviced.  So, we put the tank in a room under our front porch.  We got a rubber gasket to tightly seal it, and we'll have an alarm in case the pump quits.  Overall, I think it was a great solution and I gained a 6'x15' storage room.  I've included a picture below.

Photos

Concrete!

Posted to STEPHANIES-DREAM by Stephanie in Lower Burrell, PA on 11/8/2007

NOVEMBER 8, 2007

The floors will be poured.  Yesterday the garage floor was poured.  Wayne used the power trowel until it was as smooth as glass.  Beautiful!  I ordered the garage door last week so now we just have to wait to get it in.  We found a wholesale place and got a door twice as good for about $500 less.

Today they worked on getting the basement floor ready to pour.  As it is over 1000 sq. ft. we will pour it in two parts.  Here you see the PEX tubing for the radiant heat tied to the wire.  We used the Ultra-Foil bubble insulation, which was recomended by Mark Deane who designed our layout for the heating system.  It's supposed to be great for this purpose, plus it gives a radon barrier if that is ever a problem.  I should note that we also put a pipe in to use for radon for "just in case" also.  That was one nice thing about the Form-a-Drain.  They built a shoot to use for the concrete as it will be coming down from pretty high.

Photos

		Around the bathroom - But not near the toilet as this will melt the wax seal.
The wood block serves to keep the tubing in its place.	Using this trough to get the concrete down to the basement saved us from renting a pump truck.

4 Items completed!

Posted to STEPHANIES-DREAM by Stephanie in Lower Burrell, PA on 11/5/2007

NOVEMBER 5, 2007

Well the back patio was poured on Nov. 2nd.  Wayne and Spike built a block wall for the slab to set on to prevent any settling.  Also in a last minute decision we put the PEX tubing in the slab in case sometime in the future we want to close it in and heat the area.  I don't know that we'll do that, but for the small cost of the tubing I wouldn't want to regret it in the future. 

Dave K and his crew came out today and put on the roof on the back porch.  The post are vinyl with a steel insert.  Worth the extra cost I think as there will be no upkeep.  We also got a matching rail to put along the sides of the basement steps.  The roof is right below our bedroom window which I don't like, but so worth it to have a covered porch!  This was an add on from the plans.

They also put in the front door.  I drove around a lot of new neighborhoods before settling on this one.  All the doors were delivered last week.  Taking advantage of a free solid core upgrade, I bought them all a little in advance.

Wayne and Spike finished the split face block which we used to cover the block.  I think it looks very nice.  Check it out...

Photos

Basement Steps

Posted to STEPHANIES-DREAM by Stephanie in Lower Burrell, PA on 10/30/2007

OCTOBER 30, 2007

The concrete steps were poured today.  Now we can get out of the basement without climbing ladders.  Because we put a 9 1/2' ceiling in the basement, there are a lot of steps coming out.  They look great though!  We still have to top the walls off with something as you can see in the pics.

Photos

Project Roof

Posted to STEPHANIES-DREAM by Stephanie in Lower Burrell, PA on 10/12/2007

OCTOBER 12, 2007

The roof is on the main part of the roof is on.  Instead of tar paper we used the Titanium Roof Underlayment.  It was probably overkill because we are not leaving the roof sit long before putting on the shingles and we have such a steep pitch (10/12).  Also, they advertise that it's supposed to be easier to walk on, but the guys say it's not.  But it's down now.  In the pictures below you can see the roof and Brianna checking out the dormer in her new room, which is the "bonus room" over the garage we are using as a 4th bedroom.

Photos

Toppin' It Off

Posted to STEPHANIES-DREAM by Stephanie in Lower Burrell, PA on 10/10/2007

OCTOBER 10, 2007

The trusses have arrived.  They were not supposed to come until the 15th, but I put a call in to request them early.  They had a cancellation and were able to bring them today.  After a quick scramble to make room for the truck to pull in, they arrived.  For $90.00 an hour they sent a crane truck to set them in place.  This is really the way to go because it took 4 1/2 hours for all the trusses to be set.  This would have taken ALOT longer to set by hand.  Well worth the money.  Rain is forecasted for tomorrow :(

Photos

Anonymous 10/12/2007

Basically I agree that the crane is an excellent idea and economical for setting the trusses. My framing crew were planning to use a crane, but it was going to be delayed for most of the day, so they just did it by hand, and it was amazing how quickly so few guys could do it. The framing contractor (who wasn't present) was impressed himself when he saw what they'd done.  He said they used to do it by hand all the time, but still, it was impressive.

Click here to reply...

Second Floor On!

Posted to STEPHANIES-DREAM by Stephanie in Lower Burrell, PA on 10/4/2007 9:27:49 PM

Wow!  The second floor is on and the exterior walls are built.  They won't do the interior walls until after the trusses are on.  They'll be delivered on the 15th.  The garage foundation was finished yesterday and the walls for it were built today.  The past two days the block layers worked on the stairway coming out of the basement to the back yard. 

Photos

Vroom!

Posted to STEPHANIES-DREAM by Stephanie in Lower Burrell, PA on 10/2/2007

OCTOBER 2, 2007

It's starting to look like a house!  The first floor walls are almost completely up.  I can get a feel for the floor plan now.  After months of looking at it on paper it's soooo exciting!  I could actually walk through my house.  The garage footers were poured this morning, as well as the footer for the steps walls out of the basement.  So now the garage is on its way.

Photos

Git 'R Done

Posted to STEPHANIES-DREAM by Stephanie in Lower Burrell, PA on 10/1/2007

OCTOBER 1, 2007

Well it's October, and we've started the framing stage!  One day and the framers have almost all of the 1st floor deck on.  It's starting to look like something from up above now.  Dave K. is FAST!  Dad, Wayne, and Spike worked LATE getting the footers for the garage ready for the concrete in the morning.  Chase just loved the ditch.  Yesterday Chase and Luke were playing in the foundation and pretending to be Wayne and Spike (our foundation guys).  So cute!

Photos

The Job NOBODY Wants

Posted to STEPHANIES-DREAM by Stephanie in Lower Burrell, PA on 9/28/2007

SEPTEMBER 27, 2007

Today the walls were filled with concrete, so now the house can be built on top.  The framer is anxious to begin, so tomorrow morning at 7:30am the beams are being set in place.  Nobody wants to coat the foundation.  Three people later, it's done.  We're adding the styrofoam to the outside of the walls for added insulation. 

Photos

On Their Way Up

Posted to STEPHANIES-DREAM by Stephanie in Lower Burrell, PA on 9/21/2007

SEPTEMBER 21, 2007

Well, I took a little break from picture taking.  The walls are on their way up as you can see.  One wall is complete, so we can get a feel of just how high they'll be.  More room for the kids to play I guess.  Fun, fun!  It  seems like the block is moving so slow, but I'm glad I have a block layer who is sure to get my foundation right!

Photos

Footers!

Posted to STEPHANIES-DREAM by Stephanie in Lower Burrell, PA on 9/12/2007

SEPTEMBER 12, 2007

The footers are laid and concrete was delivered.  Let the building begin!  I just had to include a picture of Chase.  After the work was done, Chase was running through puddles and fell face first flat in the mud.  Not very pleasant, but sooo funny once we knew he was okay.

Photos

More Work

Posted to STEPHANIES-DREAM by Stephanie in Lower Burrell, PA on 9/6/2007

SEPTEMBER 6, 2007

I'm learning to accept unanticipated costs.  The excavator (Dave), and block guy (Wayne), have decided that rather than just a french drain that goes into the tank we need a daylight drain for the best drainage possible.  I want a dry basement, but this meant digging a 10' trench about 160' long.  Ugh!  It was a busy day, and the septic tank was delivered.  We'll have city sewage, but we need to pump it up to the street because we are lower than the sewage lines in the basement.  The pic shows Dad guiding it in.

Photos

One BIG Hole

Posted to STEPHANIES-DREAM by Stephanie in Lower Burrell, PA on 9/1/2007

SEPTEMBER 1, 2007

The hole is getting bigger.  It's finally starting to look like a basement.  After one side was dug, we decided it was too deep.  (We wanted a 9' basement, not 10')  So adjustments were made, but that hole is BIG!

Photos

The Gas Line

Posted to STEPHANIES-DREAM by Stephanie in Lower Burrell, PA on 8/30/2007

AUGUST 30, 2007

The digging was progressing until we hit an old 12" gas line.  The good news is that it is no longer used, but Dad saved the day and had to use torches to cut it in two different places so it could be removed.  (The idea of a large pipe running through the basement wasn't very appealing.)  After it was cut the excavator picked it right up and moved it out.

Photos

We're Started

Posted to STEPHANIES-DREAM by Stephanie in Lower Burrell, PA on 8/28/2007

AUGUST 28, 2007

We're finally started!  Today Dad worked with Dave V. (our excavator), and his worker to clear four LARGE spruce trees before we can start digging.  Chase and Caroline each got a turn riding and controling the excavator (with Dave), and they loved it!

Photos