I wish I had time to read every post that was ever made on this site.  Lots of stuff to dig up. Grant in Jacksonville, AL

Adam's Forum Posts: 24
Journal Entries: 19
Average Forum Rating: 3.43
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Even more tile!

Posted to Southport-NC-Home by Adam in Southport, NC on 3/8/2010 9:30:48 PM

Will the tile ever end? No, I don't think it will. I'm not sure who talked me into the whole hopscotch pattern in the master bath, but I may need to have a heart to heart with them before this is over.

At any rate, here is the guest bath mostly tiled. I forgot to measure and make my cuts early on, so I will have to go back in a day or so to fill them in.

Also, here is the progress on the master after about an hour of layout and 2 hours of laying. Me and Ang are beat, and we have a long way to go. We will tackle it again tomorrow night and try to make a dent in it.

Photos

Guest	Master
Tired Ang rinsing the perpetually dirty thinset bucket :)

More cabs and tile

Posted to Southport-NC-Home by Adam in Southport, NC on 3/3/2010 4:45:16 PM

Me and Ang worked late this weekend and got the tile down in the utility room. It still needs grout, and tile experts will catch one obvious mistake if they look, but we are pretty happy with it for our first-ever tile project.

Robert and Mom worked tirelessly on cabinets, and now we have pretty much all of the boxes complete. They started on drawers yesterday, so the end should be quickly approaching regarding cabinets. There is a massive amount of cabinetry in this house. I don't know how we talked Mom and Robert into this one :D 

Photos

		Ang presenting her work
Looking into master closet. Drawer and cubby bank	Further into closet. Shoe racks	From back of closet to master

Tim's Forum Posts: 6 Journal Entries: 4 Interview Answers: 66 Average Forum Rating: 4.00 Send Private Message Image from Tim's blog 3/6/2010

Nice built ins!

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More cabinet and floors

Posted to Southport-NC-Home by Adam in Southport, NC on 2/26/2010

Mom and Robert have been working really hard on cabinets for the past couple of weeks. The kitchen is pretty much done as far as building the boxes. Today, Mom, Ang and Robert were on their own, as I was (and still am) sick as a dog. I have been on the couch all day trying to recover.

Anyhow, we also got the HardieBacker down in the utility room, and I hope to be feeling well enough to tile within the next few days.

Photos

Island nearing completion, and uppers finished and mounted.	Hey, somebody left pizza in the oven :D	Back (kitchen side) of island
Ang mixing thinset	Sanding down minor ridges where subfloor panels meet.	Getting the thinset down
Viola! Instant HardieBacker :)

Paint and more cabinets

Posted to Southport-NC-Home by Adam in Southport, NC on 2/21/2010

A lot has been happening over the past couple weeks. Ma and Ang got quite a bit of painting done on the exterior, and even some inside. Also, we started the kitchen cabinets. We also picked the tile for the baths and utility, so only the kitchen tile remains to be picked.

We figured out that something got cross-threaded during framing and the refrigerator niche ended up two inches too small. The sheetrockers tore out the rock, and I modified the framing to accommodate the  fridge. Now we have to wait for that to be patched back up before setting cabinets. Hopefully, that happens in the next day or two.

We have five weeks to get a CO if we are to maintain our time line. It is going to be very tough, but we are giving it our best shot! Robert and Mom stayed until 10:30 PM on Saturday building cabinets and painting. We really could not do this without the help we are getting from family and friends.

Thanks again to all involved!

And now the pics...

Photos

Getting some paint on the walls	The scary high work...	First coat is on... Oh, I forgot to mention it snowed :D Cool, huh?
Ang really got in the spirit and made a snowman...	First coat in the utility room. It's not quite as neon in person...	First coat in master bath. I couldn't get a good angle with this camera.
Kitchen cabinets started	More cabinets.	Lowers are pretty much roughed in. Ang is presenting them for the studio audience :)
Group photo after a long day :)

Interior framing pics

Posted to Southport-NC-Home by Adam in Southport, NC on 2/5/2010 3:08:28 PM

Its a bit out of order, but here are some interior shots of the framing.

Photos

In living looking to dining	Dining	At master looking to living, dining and hall.
Guest bath	Living looking to stairs	Bonus looking down stairs
Master	Looking "through" guest into living	Bonus
Bonus, small dormer	Bonus, large dormer. Nice header huh? Thanks Robert! :)	Feeding the Sundrop addiction

Another update

Posted to Southport-NC-Home by Adam in Southport, NC on 2/5/2010

Here are some more pics of the progress.

We are working on cabinets, the insulation is in, and sheetrock is in progress!

Photos

Mom and Robert at work	Robert getting the finish juuuuuuuust right.	Robert telling me something important, though what is was escapes me now...
The ever-popular planer		Robert setting up the router bench
	Getting there...	No backs, but getting close
Back installed and top test fit	Insulation!!
Insulation and corner tub	Sheetrock started. Check out all my cans!!! :)

Finally an update!

Posted to Southport-NC-Home by Adam in Southport, NC on 2/5/2010

I have been slacking off on my journal updates due to being so busy. You people who make time to build a house and update blogs on a regular basis have my respect!

Since the last update, the house was sided, the front door FINALLY came in, the trades were completed, insulation went in, and the sheetrock is currently up and being mudded!

Also, the tray ceiling was built, central vac was roughed in, the bathroom cabinets are built and ready for paint, and the exterior is being painted as weather allows.

Attached are several pics of the progress... More pics to come!

Photos

Siding installed	More siding
Building the access door...		Finished door!
Ang was impressed with my Ninja carpentry	David doing some plumbing
Me supervising...	Ang "helping" me with the corner tub	You can't set a tub without a sawdust smiley. It simply won't happen.
Starting paint, the mother-daughter team	There is always time to pose!
Family porch picnic after a long day of caulking, wiring, and other random stuff.	Thanks for the feast, Sis!

Brace yourself...

Posted to Southport-NC-Home by Adam in Southport, NC on 12/7/2009 5:19:19 PM

They have made some more progress on the roof. Here are some shots of the dormers, bonus, bracing, etc. Moving along ...

Photos

Sheathing and trusses

Posted to Southport-NC-Home by Adam in Southport, NC on 12/4/2009 8:08:49 PM

The walls are complete, and mostly sheathed. They set the trusses today as planned. Be sure to watch the time lapse video of them going up :) It was nerve-wracking watching them set the trusses in person, but the video is pretty entertaining now that I am sure it did not end in disaster ...

Photos

Videos

More framing, and the lake...

Posted to Southport-NC-Home by Adam in Southport, NC on 12/3/2009 1:06:00 PM

Framing is moving very quickly. I even made myself useful and helped to stand up the front wall. :) Also, I took a nice pic of the lake that blew in last night. Thankfully, the trusses are mostly out of the water... Oh well. The crane will be on site tomorrow at 1:00 to set them, so they only spent a day in the water. I have been assured that they will be fine.

Photos

Framing begins

Posted to Southport-NC-Home by Adam in Southport, NC on 12/3/2009 8:43:50 AM

So the floor is framed and inspected, and they have started the decking and walls. They hope to set trusses by tomorrow.

Photos

	Hope that Advantech is as good as they say regarding rain resistance...

Foundation complete!

Posted to Southport-NC-Home by Adam in Southport, NC on 11/19/2009

The foundation was finished up yesterday, and looks pretty good. Flooring should start Monday (weather permitting as always). My framer told me we should be in the dry within a week or maybe two depending on... the weather! It is funny how you go through life not really noticing precipitation patterns until they hold up a massive project such as home construction :)

At any rate, here are a couple pics of the completed foundation:

Adam

Photos

Foundation 1

Foundation 2

Footers and foundation...

Posted to Southport-NC-Home by Adam in Southport, NC on 11/17/2009 11:25:14 AM

Footers were dug Sunday, poured Monday, and block work began today. They are already making great progress, as can be seen in the pics.

Woohoo! I guess we better be happy with the footprint, as there is no going back from this point :)

Photos

Footers 1	Footers 2	Blocks 1
Blocks 2	Blocks 3

Rain, rain, go away!

Posted to Southport-NC-Home by Adam in Southport, NC on 11/11/2009 2:05:30 PM

Well, so much for a foundation this week :( Rain is in the forecast until Saturday. I called the foundation contractor, and he is willing to dig footers Sunday, pour Monday and lay block through Wednesday. I am keeping fingers crossed that next week is nice. If all that pans out, we can still start the floor next Friday.

On a positive note, my GC supplied me with a t-pole and we got power hooked up yesterday. Saved a couple hundred in materials there, so I can't complain. Also, the water is plowed in, and all I have to do is find a break in the weather to install a temporary hose bib so they can set the meter.

The truss guy called me today and sent me more drawings and specs in preparation for the roof. Everything is looking good there both availability and price-wise. We hope to have a roof on this thing in the next three weeks, weather permitting...

I am still waiting on window, door and soffit quotes to come in. This will be our third window/door quote, and I hear this supplier kills everyone else's prices... I can't wait to see where they come in.

Adam

Clearing complete!

Posted to Southport-NC-Home by Adam in Southport, NC on 11/9/2009 3:48:33 PM

OK, so the clearing is complete. It does look a little barren now without the pines, but we will be planting plenty of trees and shrubs, and I despise pine trees. So, here it is ready for the foundation guy, who is coming Thursday. I spent the rest of today window shopping... literally. I have also been getting my material and pricing nailed down a bit tighter on soffit, siding, shingles etc.

Fun fun fun!

Photos

Left	Middle	Right

Clearing the way

Posted to Southport-NC-Home by Adam in Southport, NC on 11/4/2009 6:30:13 PM

Well, clearing began today. The guy says he should be finished by Friday, and looking at the lot today; about half the trees are down and stacked so it's looking pretty good so far.

My foundation guy told me three to four days for the foundation should be plenty if the weather cooperates. It is supposed to rain Tuesday, but I am still shooting to get the foundation finished by next week or possibly early the following week.

More as it comes...

Adam

Photos

Clearing the way...

Picked up the building permit today!

Posted to Southport-NC-Home by Adam in Southport, NC on 11/3/2009 5:07:49 PM

I am one day behind schedule, but I got the building permit today. My clearing guy will be out tomorrow morning to start the clearing process. He should finish by Friday, and I hope to have my foundation guy in on Monday to start laying out and digging footers.

The water company already came out and located all underground utilities and marked the meter location, so we hope to have water within the week for the foundation guys.

I'm going to build my t-pole this weekend so I can have it set and ready ASAP.

More as it comes...


Adam

Closed! Sort of...

Posted to Southport-NC-Home by Adam in Southport, NC on 11/1/2009 3:11:43 PM

So, we sort of closed Friday as planned. I say sort of due to not being able to record until Monday :) Of course there were some errors in the docs regarding the property address, but we got those sorted out and it seems we are on our way now.

I am supposed to be introduced to the local branch money handlers this coming week, and our GC has been very proactive with filling out all the permit apps. The building inspector called me Friday and said everything looks fine, including the plans I drew up and printed myself :) At this point, I need to drop him a copy of our latest survey, give him a large quantity of money and we will be ready to roll.

Hoping to get the permit this coming week and my clearing guy is loaded and ready to go.

Attached are some pics of the lot. They are not much, but its still a bit "unpolished".


More to come!!

Adam

Photos

Looking from road	Rough-staked house. Note the large pines in the living room :)	Quality fishing gear somebody was kind enough to leave us...

Mary's Forum Posts: 64 Journal Entries: 20 Interview Answers: 15 Average Forum Rating: 4.10 Send Private Message Image from Mary's blog 11/2/2009

Hey Adam, sounds like your making great progress. I'm looking forward to hearing more as the project moves on. A question when you get a chance - you mentioned that you drew the house design and the building inspector approved it. Can you share any more info on that? For example, did you draw it by hand or with a computer program? Did you do floor plans, elevations, cross-sections? I know that it is different from one local to the next, but I was wondering what you turned in to them. Did you have a background in construction that helped you get this step done? I'm currently working on the design but feel I'll need to get some help - as I don't have construction experience. But I'm very interested to hear how others are getting through this step. Thanks! Mary

Adam's Forum Posts: 24 Journal Entries: 19 Average Forum Rating: 3.43 Send Private Message Image from Adam's blog 11/2/2009

Hey Mary. I have some experience in construction as an electrician, but nothing relating to carpentry or design. I used a program called Punch! to draw the plans. I provided the inspector with the first and second floor layouts, including dimensions, and Punch has the ability to print to scale, which I think is very important. I also printed out elevations and turned them in to the inspector. FWIW, the GC who is helping us out is tight with the inspector, so we got away with no door/window schedule, no roof plan, no cross-sections, etc. The only reason he let us slide with no roof plan was because the roof will be a truss system. The inspector just told us to make sure all of our windows meet the wind zone of DP50 and that they are low-E and impact resistant where required by code. I'm sure not all inspectors will be so easygoing. This guy is the sole inspector for our little muni, so he has a bit more wiggle room. Good luck with your permitting process. I'm sure you already know this, but be as polite as possible and try to show up armed with all the information you can. You may be surprised by how accommodating they can be if they are in a good mood and all the planets align :) Adam

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And it begins...

Posted to Southport-NC-Home by Adam in Southport, NC on 10/27/2009 4:20:44 PM

So, it is October 27th, 2009. Me and Ang have been waiting for this moment for quite some time. The bank called today and said that we are closing on our construction loan this Friday (October 30, 2009). We are excited and nervous. This has been a long time coming, as we had title issues when selling our last home which drew the process out for nearly 6 months. Now that is behind us and we are going to start building a home, FINALLY!!!!!

I have called our GC who is going to be helping us along the way. We hope to have a permit by Monday November 2. If that is the case, our lot clearing should start next week weather permitting....

More to come as it comes.....

Adam

RogerC's Forum Posts: 51 Interview Answers: 3 Average Forum Rating: 3.36 Send Private Message Randomly Selected Image 10/28/2009	Congratulations Adam and Ang!  You must be thrilled to finally feel like it's going to happen.  I'm looking forward to seeing your project progress.    If you don't mind my asking, what bank are you using?  Is it a national bank?  I'm almost ready to take my plan to the bank, but I can't find any in this area that are currently even interested in discussing loans.  The two banks I've done real estate projects with in the past, M&I and Countrywide (now BofA), are not providing construction loans at all.
Adam's Forum Posts: 24 Journal Entries: 19 Average Forum Rating: 3.43 Send Private Message Image from Adam's blog 10/30/2009	Thanks Roger :) We are using First Citizens Bank. I hate to say it, but I think we just scraped by with this loan. We actually had to make a compromise regarding the terms, as halfway through the process, they stopped offering the product we were shopping; a construction to perm, single closing loan at 90% LTV. They honored our rate lock for the conversion, but we will have to reappraise at completion, and resubmit our employment docs. Not normal procedure for this type of loan, but it was that or lose our rate lock and be faced with an ARM. The loan itself was the best we could find, as they are(were) the only bank offering 90% LTV financing in this area. We used our lot as the down payment and so we only had to come up with closing costs in cash. They did require a GC and a contract to finance us, though. We hired a GC who is being paid a flat monthly rate to help us along the way. Hope this helps. Good luck in your search for financing, it is a TOUGH situation right now for it. Adam
RogerC's Forum Posts: 51 Interview Answers: 3 Average Forum Rating: 3.36 Send Private Message Randomly Selected Image 11/2/2009	...and it's looking tougher by the day.  My future neighbors across the road spent the last year developing their project and recently met with their GC (they intend to owner-build with limited GC oversight) to set a start date; only to be informed by their bank last week that the bank will not be providing construction loans anymore... their deal is off.  :( It looks like First Citizens doesn't do business in Arizona, but thanks for the reply.  I'll keep lookin'...   ;)

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