Insulation Saturday/Monday!!

Insulation on Saturday or Monday! 

We are contracting with OJ Insulation L.P. to supply and install our insulation. They were a recommendation from the likely drywall company we will be using. There is a chance that they will be able to install the insulation as soon as Saturday! We can then call for inspection next week and then schedule drywall!!! I really can’t wait until the drywall is up and painted! The septic should be done this week. The leach field was completed along with the head works. The pump however was not ordered and should be here on Friday. So Mike will be able to finish the whole system on Monday and then we can call for inspection on that as well! My hope is that we can have both inspections on the same day next week.

This weekend Dave Bishop and I will be installing our small garage door, our last two pocket doors, some bathroom recessed cabinets, finishing the brown coat on the chimney and the soffit in the garage that will be hiding the electrical and plumbing in the garage.

K and I have decided to not stain the concrete and to go with the plywood planks and then stain them. I am much more excited about this option and I think it will set the tone for the décor.

:)

Inspiration for our small garage door

Our interior walls will eventually look like this and the pic below...

Our floor will be wide plank plywood with hardwood veneer. It wont look just like this but somewhat similar :) 

WE CAN INSULATE!!!!

We passed inspection with three minor changes that we are able to fix immediately!

It was amazing what a relief it was and continues to be having passed the combo inspection. The emotional weight of that inspection was enormous! 

Saturday I spent the morning at the house and was able to install the dryer booster fan, RV plug on the garage wall, the landscape electrical conduit in place and the wiring for the second floor HVAC in the wall. I also was able to tap into the water main and run a line to the knoll for irrigation. We are going to be installing insulation on Saturday and I hope we can get the majority of the house done. I should have at least three guys there and am hoping we can get 4 besides me. 

Front yard landscape lighting electrical conduit.

Dryer booster fan that will "cut the dry time in half" according to amazon reviews

water supply to the back yard and future electrical conduit.

RV outlet for Mimi and Papa!

Inspections, Inspections!!!

Fire sprinkler inspection tomorrow and combo inspection on Tuesday!! The septic “should” be finished end of next week and we can call for an inspection on that as well! Really getting excited about this project moving forward! The house feels more like a home now that we are done with the siding, windows, doors, and roof. Saturday I will be at the house working on the exterior of the chimney. We are going to be using a dry stack stone veneer and so we are applying the first scratch coat and hopefully getting it ready for the stone. Verizon will be out to set up our phone service from the street. And the septic leach lines will be dug on Friday. It will be so nice to have all the utility lines and septic system done! 

had to include this shot of my girl A.  So sweet!!

Utility Trench...

yesterday I was able to make some more progress back filling the trench that holds the conduit for our electric service. There was a big rain and thunderstorm last night and I spent the time between children crying worrying about the open windows and unfinished roof. when I got up in the morning the worry seemed slightly ridiculous (something about the middle of the night and hearing the storm...). Mike Mark is up at the house finishing the plumbing and the other jobs today. I look forward to seeing a clean and finished house this afternoon. I am not, however, holding my breath that it will be today I see the house that way. :( 

Not the best picture but you can get a feel for what the entry way will look like. I really like that the window height and the front door glass match. totally lucky! :)


Closer to weather tight...

The siding was finished yesterday with the exception of a few trim pieces. The roof is only missing the ridge caps and a couple of rake caps. This “should” all be done on Wednesday. I am working on the utility trench that has the electrical line. I should have it back filled with 12” of sand by the end of the day today. We can then lay the phone and water lines tomorrow. I am really looking forward to this trench being back filled and our septic tanks being covered! The front of the house will look much more like a home and less like a moonscape. J

Our goal is to be ready for our combo inspection by the end of the day on Wednesday and then we can call for an inspection Thursday or Friday. At this point in the project I no longer feel a sense of calm and peace as I travel up to the house. It has become an extremely stressful process. K and I realized that a lot that stress is connected to the lack of daily progress. Our contractor has not been on site each workday and at least twice a week sometimes 3-4 days a week he has 1 or 2 workers total working on the house. This slows the progress dramatically! I can’t wait to be done working with him. 

K's dad Tom and I are planning on installing the stucco (brown coat) to the chimney saturday. So then we can then use faux rock as the final vernier. 

End of summer and start of school...

We have been quickly trying to finish the electrical (finally hired an electrician to set the panel and trouble shoot my work) and the rest before school starts again. Got the downstairs HVAC installed and am in the process of finding a technician who is willing to work with us (DIYers are apparently not very popular with this industry here) on the line set and thermostat controls. The windows are in throughout the down stairs and the siding is done as well. The roof is almost finished and the upstairs siding should be finished soon too! All in all it is going well just not quickly. My goal is to be moved in by the end of September. This doesn’t mean that the house will be finished, just livable. 

Master and first floor bedrooms

C and A by our new doors in the garage in the old house

This is the dining room end of the view side of the house. the siding is in primer and will be a different color. I call it a "light brown" color. Kimberley knows the real name. :)

 

We had two plumbing leaks that seem to be the result of our foundation contractor using large rocks like this one as back fill in close proximity to the pipe. Sooo there are now four areas in our slab that had to be cut out and reworked. Totally frustrated with the whole scenario!

 

 

Camping, Siding, windows, doors, HVAC...

This house is sucking every last ounce of creativity out of me. So here are some pictures folks.

Sarc

:)

 

The windows were supposed to be delivered yesterday and when I called about not getting a confirmation I found that the dealer and the Jeld-wen rep. were on the same page but that someone in production pushed us back to a Friday delivery. So now we are getting windows Friday morning. 

The first load of siding materials were delivered to the house today. The crew will start working on that tomorrow and Friday. Mike Mark and I went over the details of what we want the siding to be yesterday. Really excited to see the house in two weeks! 

Our ETO doors were delayed as well and may be available Friday or early next week. I should hear from Michele in the Status department tomorrow. 

Camping and boating on Lake Mary in the Mammoth Mountain area. 

SMORES!

First bedtime camping...don't they look like they are just dozing off to sleep?

I got my bag and I am ready to go! 

C at the helm! All by herself!

Someone slept well the first night!

Got 9 of the register boots attached to the flex duct today. Duct work is SOOO much better than pulling wire and making up boxes!

So what do you think is wrong with this picture? Ya, gotta check that I am not zip tieing the duct work to the water line.  :)

Happy Fourth of July!

July 3rd

Over the last three weeks (since school has been out) I have been at the house from sun up until 2 or 3 in the afternoon five and six days a week (K is a saint!) working on the electrical systems. I have been able to pull all the wire (over 3000 feet of wire), placed over 200 electrical boxes and over 75 recessed can lights. As of yesterday I have just 4 circuits left. All of which are three way circuits (you can control the lights from more than one switch). I found a great diagram online that will help make that wiring easier. So after we get back from our much anticipated first time camping trip with kids (ages: 7, 5, 3, and 9 months) I should be able to get these done as well. We will be taking pictures and writing about out camping experience and will be posting them here as well. :)

 

Yesterday while working upstairs Jess Mark the plumber asked me where I learned to do electrical. I looked up at him (he was in the attic) and said with a smile after a pause, “uh, here. I also watched a lot of YouTube videos and read about it online. You can probably tell right?” He said “no, it looks good to me.” I was encouraged to hear this until I realized he is a working for his Dad and has not been working in the trade for very long. But I'll take any complement I can get! :)

 

The septic system fire sprinklers and the indoor plumbing should be done next week!

 

We are also up to our eyeballs in HVAC air handler, ducting, and registers. We purchased our unit from Alpine who sizes the system based on the house plans and then sends you everything you need to install it along with a dvd that walks you through the installation of an similar A/C system. The video is very detailed and clear. The video really calmed some of my fears about the installation because it shows you each and every step. So after we get back from camping we will be working on the ducting and register system as well. On the 15th our windows will be delivered and hopefully later that week our exterior doors and roof will also arrive. James from Scorpion Backhoe may be digging the trench for the utility lines and moving a lot of the rock that was excavated for the foundation on the 15th as well. Busy, Busy, Busy!

 

So glad to have my parents come down and help after the camp trip! It will be great having a fresh set of eyes looking at the project and lending helping hands!

The pictures below are from the annual 4th of July Parade on the plateau. It was complete with fire truck spraying water and candy being thrown out! We all had a great time!

 



Framing Completed!

June 18th


The framers finished their work today! The place looks like a house!! I have been able to run electrical wire to about half of the house. The wire nuts still need to be installed but the wires are all labeled and so making the connections should go smoothly. More work was done on the septic system and Mike Mark is going to be making the requested corrections to the fire sprinkler plans and then resubmitting them. Hopefully it will all be approved next week and he can get working on the fire sprinklers as well.


We had the inspector out on Monday but the house was not ready and the inspector seemed annoyed that we called him out. I was under the impression that we could have a sheer panel inspection done before the framing but he wanted in all finished before he came back out. I asked about the electrical and he said that we needed to have someone help us because he doesn't check every single thing and that a licensed electrician should be making sure that the circuits are not overloaded and that the design is satisfactory. He also made it clear that we needed to check with out Title 24 engineer to insure that the changes we made to the windows were all still up to the standards. He also said that any changes we made need to be approved by the county.

The whole conversation was deflating but after thinking through it for a couple of days it is also giving us some freedom to go ahead and do things ourselves. The inspector repeatedly said that it is perfectly fine for us to do it ourselves but that we need to make sure we are doing it correctly. It became clear that if it looks like we are competent then he won't have to look too closely and we can stop sweating the small stuff. Very excited about the progress!


Stairs, sheer paneling, and roof sheeting!

The last three days have seen some exciting changes. The stairs are complete except for the first two steps and the second floor is framed and sheer paneled. The trusses for the second floor are up on the walls but not in place. The roof for the first floor is completed and the correct metal bracket for the main beam on the first floor has been installed! Tomorrow morning (Saturday) Dave Key is coming out to help install the recessed can lights and the remaining electrical boxes! We may also be able to drill the remaining holes and maybe even pull some wire! Exciting I know! You all wish you were so lucky too! ;)

Below are a few of the updated pics. Not as dramatic a change as walls going up but the fascia is on the roof and the house is looking more like it will when it is completed!



"Architectural details" and Auger bits

June 7th

While at Home Depot on Thursday picking up a few of the electrical supplies I noticed they had a 10% off promotion if you signed up for a commercial account. I asked if I qualified if I wasn't a contractor but was an owner builder. They talked to the manager and I was approved! So I bought all our electrical boxes, recessed lights, bath tubs, water heater, and a bunch of other things I knew we would be purchasing in the next few weeks. Getting it all home in a minivan was a trick but the Odyssey has a huge amount of space in it with all the back seats out. :)

Dave Key came out at 7:30 in the morning today to help me install electrical boxes and drill the holes in the studs for the wire. We were able to install all the first floor electrical boxes and drill 80% of the holes for the wire in the first floor. The auger bit we used to drill through the studs was amazing. It had a tip that looked like the tip of a screw and it would pull the bit through the wood. Amazing how the right tools for the job can make the work so much faster! It was such a relief to finally get some of the work done and it went faster than I had planned!

Jim Irvine our Designer also came by today to see how the build was going and noticed that one of steel brackets that holds the 6x6 post which supports one side of our main roof beam was not the correct bracket. It was supposed to have lots of smaller holes for hex head screws but this one has 4 large holes for large bolts. These bolts would make it impossible to drywall over the top of them inside or to install the siding on the outside, without some sort of “architectural detail” that would protrude out from the wall. The problem is that the roof is already mostly built. So Michael Mark and I will be meeting Monday afternoon to discuss this “development”. 

Beautiful sunrise this morning!

The above picture is a gallery of photos. Click on the picture and it will progress through the gallery.

That looks like a REAL rocket cake

Totally forgot to post pics of N’s Birthday. K made a “rocket cake” for him. N’s best comment was “that looks like a real rocket cake!” Yes it does buddy, yes it does. :)

The Mimi, Papa, E and K, V and J pitched in and outfitted the kids with construction gear! They love it!


Rooflines and rough electrical marked out!

June 3rd

The framers were able to finish most of the first floor sheer paneling and have finished 80% of the rafters that make up the main attic area. It is really cool seeing the roof line start to take shape!




Front entry door and eventual porch.

 Looking back at the front door while standing next to the island area. 

 Here you can see on the left side of the large beam was were the window was originally and we decided to move it to the right side and make it smaller. The following pictures are all taken as I turned to my right and tried to get a sense of what the kitchen, dining and living space will look like.



Two 8ftx8ft sliders will frame the view from the kitchen.



Living area on the left and pantry on the right.

Bedroom #2

Bedroom #1

1st Bathroom view

Master Bedroom slider

Master Bedroom again  :)

The big opening in the middle is the fireplace. they haven't started on it yet. I love the open attic area!


That first step is a doosy! The driveway will require a little fill to finish it. :)


I was able to mark all the electrical boxes and switches this afternoon. It was really nice doing something other than research or paperwork that actually moved my portion of the build forward. I am thinking that we may not be using the sub-panel idea because it will most likely involve some paperwork for the county because the approved plans do not show a sub-panel and I am sure they will at least want to see a “as built” addendum. It will be easier to just run the wires from the main panel.

I am really hoping we will have inspections before Thursday next week. Paul the inspector that came through for the foundation said that he works every other Friday. He was very friendly and I would like to stick with one inspector for the whole process.

We decided on the style of the stairs and what type of newel posts we will be using. The newel posts will be 4x4 or 4x6 posts with a very simple top cap. The stair tread will open on the side with the balusters. We are going with a simple, possibly non-conventional stair rail we saw a blog that used 2x6 for the hand rail, just like you see on outdoor deck railings. It was painted white and looked really nice. It would be very sturdy and relatively inexpensive.

Next week is finals week and I will be out of school after 11:30. So I am planning on heading up to the house to start placing boxes. Hopefully the inspector will be there while I am doing this and I can pick his brain on what I need to change and how best to run the wires from the main breaker over the garage and into the rest of the house.



Pigtails and Volunteers!

May 31st.

I met Ron Dinicola my brother’s Father-in-law at the house because he is a licensed electrical contractor and was willing to walk us through how to wire our house. As we walked through the house and talked about what needed to be done and what was involved with completing the electrical it became more and more obvious that I had underestimated what was involved. Ron was helpful and pointed out some changes we will be incorporating (including a sub-panel in the laundry) that will reduce the materials and hopefully the time needed to install them. He showed me how to use the “pigtail” technique to connect wires and devices inside a box. Thanks Ron for the help!

 I will be heading out to the house on Tuesday to mark out the switches, boxes and lights, with the hope that on Saturday I can go out again and start drilling the holes to run the wires. On Sunday I had two friends (coincidentally both named Dave) offer to help for a couple of days! So thankful for friends like these (not just because they are working on the house but because they are willing to take time out of their week for us)! I can't thank them enough!

Below are some pics from Friday the 30th. Friday the framers were able to get the main beam up and in place above the main floor! We should be framing the roof and the upstairs above the garage this week and calling for inspections middle of next week! Moving quickly!!

We are ordering doors and windows from ETO Doors in LA. We can drive there and pick them which will save us about $900 dollars! We are also going to be Installing our own HVAC and will be getting the duct design done through ACDuctDesign.com. They will give us a detailed layout and we can take that to KarnAir in Hemet who will help us put together a parts list. 

We are going to hire Michael Mark to install our standing seam metal roof because he is our framer and has a very competitive bid (mostly because he is already here).

The Septic system will be ordered this week and should be installed next week sometime along with the utility line and all the plumbing! It is coming together quickly now!!!
:)










This is the main beam that will be moving up 18 feet above the surface of the concrete. They were able to do without a crane. I didn't see it but it must have been a sight!

Walls, Walls, Walls!

May 22nd

Yesterday I went out to the lot to check on the progress and there were walls! Lots of walls! It was so surreal walking through the halls we had seen on paper for the last 9 months. My first impression is that I had no idea how big our “small” 3 foot by 6 foot window would be let alone the rest of the windows. The amount of light that will be coming in will be incredible! I am so glad we stuck with big windows!

We are already seeing that we want to make some minor changes. The window placement in the master bath and 2nd bath and the pocket doors in master bath are not the right width.The windows are too close to each other. The master bath pocket doors were built to accommodate a 30 inch wide door and the plans call for a 36 inch wide door. The header heights for the pocket doors are not high enough either. We are still early in the progress and these changes will be easy to make.
K and I are frantically working to decide what doors to order when, and what windows to order and what tubs to order. I feel like we will be playing catch up for the next couple of weeks. J

 My first look as I walked up on Wednesday.

 Future location of entry porch.

These three windows are in our master bath and second bath.

Future stair well and garage wall.

Looking back at the entry room and laundry room.

 Living room

 Living room again.

  Looking down the hall with the pantry on the left.

The front door wall going up!

 This is the plumbing fail. Those pipes are supposed to be within the cutout in the plate (the plate is the 2x4 on the bottom of wall). Did you catch that?...I used a technical term IN context even!! ;) The concrete will have to be cut more to than it already is to accommodate the necessary changes.

 Second bath. The window is too close to the wall the toilet is on. No one wants to be totally exposed in front of a window while on a toilet. :)

 Master bath and closet.

Master bath curbless shower.

Outside the master bedroom.

Lumber delivered and concrete cut?!

May 20th


I met with Michael Mark yesterday at the lot to discuss the lay out of the walls and the window and door placement. It was very obvious that the laundry room was not plumbed correctly. The drain and water supply for the clothes washer were not properly placed; they are in the middle of the hallway floor! So Michael will be cutting into the concrete and moving the pipes back to the proper position. They finished placing the wall plates yesterday and measuring out the location of the windows and doors! Which means today there will be walls up! We listed our house yesterday and will be out of town for Memorial Day weekend. Hopefully there will be some interest and a couple of showings while we are gone. Getting the house ready for showings has been more stressful than the house build. We have so much stuff! K has been hard at work putting together some beautiful wall hangings and décor! She is amazing! J









Foundation Finished!!!

May 18th

La Duke Brothers Concrete finished the concrete Thursday and it looks great! Mimi and Papa and the rest of us went up to the lot on Saturday for a morning tour. Mimi and Papa brought the three bigger kids hard hats and construction supplies (they were a birthday gift for N from my whole side of the family) so they were busy hammering rocks and looking official! The concrete is looking good and Michael Mark is going to begin framing on Monday! J

The Birthday Boy is looking good! :)
Thanks E and K and V and J!







 The three pictures that follow are of "knoll" where I pulled out a huge amount of poison oak. it looks sooo much better and wont make you itch! :)



 The above picture is taken standing in the middle of our dinning room looking through what will be one of our sliding glass doors. Wow! Can't believe that we will be eating meals with that as the backdrop (minus the orange tractor)!



Knowing the difference between lumber and wood...

May 13

th

We had our final foundation inspection on Monday and Passed! Tom and his crew poured concrete on the first half of the house on Tuesday and I showed up at the end of the concrete pumping at quarter to ten in the morning! They spent the rest of the day finishing the surface to a beautifully smooth texture. We decided to not cut the surface and let the concrete crack naturally. This will be easier to fill and seal than having 1/8

th

inch score marks in 10x10 foot squares through out the floor.

Ana White (

ana-white.com

) featured a concrete seal/paint that she is using in her Mom's new place. We are probably going to use that same product to finish our floors. It looks relatively easy and as she said it is much better to use a roller on a pole than to be on your hands and knees snapping together planks.

While I was there I was able to finish removing the poison oak bushes from the “knoll” area. This was the 4th or 5th day I spent some time on it and have not reacted to it. I was very careful to tape my gloves and sleeves together and to wash with Tecnu Extreme after finishing. So glad I didn't pay someone to do it!

While I was working on the poison oak our designer Jim Irvine stopped by to see how things were progressing. We chatted for a few minute and I mentioned that the framing would start Monday and that I assumed that the wood would be delivered sometime Monday (its kinda hard to build any walls without wood). He paused for a minute and looked at me and said “What did you say?” I repeated that I thought the wood would be delivered Monday. He looked at me out of the corner of his eye and said “It's LUMBER. Call it lumber. If you call it wood people will know you don't know what you are talking about.” We both laughed and I said “Right, the LUMBER will be delivered on Monday.” It is sure nice working with people who are friendly and help you look less like a idiot. :)

last night I called Ron Dinicola my sister-in-laws father who is an electrician. He agreed to give me a crash course in electrical work and to help me get going on the project. He is also going to perform the final hook up to the solar panels and the main breaker. It is a real relief knowing someone who does this for a living locally will be walking us through it! Thank you Ron!!

Monday inspections, Tuesday through Thursday concrete!!

May 7th

Tom and Lee La Duke have been hard at work and have finished back filling the foundation with rock and then DG (decomposed Granite). Mike Mark (our plumber, framer, and who know what else we will hire him to do) made the changes we decided on in our master bath and second bath. The inspector is scheduled to come out on Monday and then we will be pouring concrete Tuesday through Thursday!

This shot is from the living room looking back through the kitchen (the two black pipes on the right are in the kitchen island)

This is looking at the kitchen and dining room areas

This shot is looking at the front door. The door will be on the left side of the wall we can see in the foreground.

This is the stair area and the garage.

This is the garage door and what will eventually be our driveway. looks like we will need a lot of fill to bring up the driveway to the level of the garage. So glad I didn't spend a lot of time moving rock for our driveway! I was planning on doing just that and K convinced me that it would be better to wait and see what would need to be moved after the foundation is poured. So glad she is so smart! :)

This area is just out side the kitchen and dinning room. This will probably be where we spend most of our time outside while our kids are young. We are planning on installing synthetic turf. It is so nice to not have to cut or water a "play area" that looks and feels like grass. :)

This is the view from the kitchen sink looking through the dining area. The rocks will be incorporated into a patio as the base.