It's all my fault. The pictures are still in my camera. I thought I would give an update anyhow, seeing as how if I were required to wait until I was ready to post pictures you would all be reading this blog post 6 months from now, long after we were moved in, and this blog would be less "blog" and more "web-based-novel", just with less-compelling characters.
So here is where we are in the process: Exterior work is basically done. Except we still have no stairs, and only the most vague plan for having them built. I know that Jeff and Steve are working on this, and that they know that there is no way the final inspection will overlook this, especially since the front porch is around 8' off the ground. This is actually the problem- the "ground" floor is quite a bit higher off the actual ground than anyone anticipated. I'm sure we'll figure this out. Also, the exterior porches have not been poured yet. I think there is some creative engineering that is in the works to make this happen. That's really all I know or want to know about this.
Inside, we are done insulating, at least for now, and supposedly the drywall was delivered today, with hanging to start in the morning. We had out shower pans set ( 2 shower pans built with a mud set out of colored concrete to roughly match our countertops). I only saw the beginning of this process- actually I was there the day they were set, a day which I had the kids with me and Oscar just hopped right into the shower stall before I could stop him to check it out up close & personal. I didn't see any footprints and didn't hear any bitching from The Shower Pan Man (yes, that is his business name) so I can only assume there was no lasting damage. At this point, everything that is done, for better or worse, is still a thumbs up.
The heat is on! I have not experienced this myself, and I will tell you the last time
I was at the house it was butt-cold (which, it should go without saying, is very cold), but now the radiant heat in the basement has been on for a few days and is apparently dreamy. Seriously, just the thought of it is dreamy for me- that radiant heat is the whole reason I signed up for this brand-new house business in the first place. Once the drywall is up, the ceilings can be insulated and we can all experience the radiant heat in all it's glory. Soon, so
soon.
At the beginning of last week, it was suggested to me by a coworker who shall remain nameless that I HAD to have a central vac installed. When this was suggested, pretty much everyone else present also insisted that yes, this was something I
definitely needed. EVERYONE had a central vac. Everyone LOVED it. Myself, I have zero experience with central vacs and had thought that this was something that you got if you also happened to have a butler and a chauffeur. I'm still not entirely sure that my first impression was inaccurate, but I was sufficiently peer pressured into calling the Vacuflo people when I got home from work. It wasn't as much as I thought it would be to have the house plumbed for the central vac (although it will be years before I actually buy the vacuum part), so I had it done. In my defense, it was a time pressure situation- it had to go in before drywall. I'm sure someday I'll love it as much as I'm sure I'll love my butler. You know, after I hit the lotto.
At this point in the building process we are running up against "overages", meaning we didn't budget enough money for various items. In the case of an overage, the bank will only pay out money from our loan for a given line item up to our budgeted amount. If we go over, we have to pay the difference out of pocket. There is a complicated way to get more money from the loan, but this is only done when the end result is markedly different from the original plan AND adds value to the house, ie you planned to get laminate countertops and decided at the last minute to get marble. We don't really have that sort of situation for any of our line items, just the "didn't budget properly" situation, so that extra money is on us. And no, we can't borrow money from other line items. Really, we are paying for all this stuff either way, but we only have so much cash on hand to pay for overages, which fortunately are usually only around $200 or so. Sadly, we are also beginning to run up against a few things we didn't budget for at all. Like finishing the concrete floors. I won't go into our plan (or lack thereof) to do this ourselves (which we apparently thought would be free), but as I began to look into the process for staining & finishing concrete it became quite clear that this was something to leave to the professionals (if you have a passing interest in discovering the steps involved, look up "acid stain concrete floor" on YouTube and you will see why I decided not to do this). So I called around and have hired a very nice gentleman to do this for us for a fairly reasonable price that will pretty much relieve me of all my remaining savings, which is why I have suddenly begun volunteering for lots of overtime at work.
In the beginning of this process there wasn't a lot for me to do. Jeff was pretty busy, but I wasn't required to do anything outside my normal routine- which was kind of maddening. Now, it's getting to be crunch time. Final decisions are needed on flooring, tile, cabinets, lighting, paint... you name it. I'm the finish person, and I really wouldn't have it any other way, but
man, after a while it is tempting to just say "throw something up in there and call it good." I spent several hours looking for just the right medicine cabinets. Seriously. It seems a little self-indulgent to feel sorry for myself for being in this situation, but between the overtime and the constant "we need a ____ NOW!", I'm looking forward to a time when I can just hang out with my kids and actually do what they want to do for a change.
I probably could go on indefinitely, but I'm guessing that that the readers are beginning to drop like flies, so I'll just stop here with another fake pledge to post more pictures *soon* and let you all get back to your business. Remember, drywall soon. Floors. Etc. Yippee!
