We built a house

And its done. I got the CO this morning. Completed. Finished. All to code. Our beautiful little house by the pond.

The electricity will be turned on by tomorrow. I'm going up to put something on a shelf, and do the last bit of cleaning. Then we'll slowly start moving in - we have time to do it methodically so we don't have boxes all over.

We're excited as can be. We built a house! I just really wish Vicky could have seen it completed, because it just wouldn't have happened without her faith in Rob and her willingness to invest with us and in us.

I'll probably do one last entry in a few days so sum things up, but for now WE'RE DONE!

Now you can put those house-warming presents in the mail.

fill 'er up

Ahhh, finally, the building passes final inspection. Tomorrow I'll go apply for the CO, which is still a mystery to me. It may have something to do with getting the electricity turned on...? I'll let you know. And I'll post pictures of the exterior with color on it. Blue! Seriously blue.

correct me if I'm wrong...

Okay, before you request a certificate of occupancy, you get your final building inspection. I thought they were the same thing. Today we had our insulation final, and a failed final building inspection. Technically we didn't fail, it was just considered canceled. I had no idea (do I say that often?) that the grading is part of the building. So with all that digging and sealing I've been doing to the foundation, we still messed up. In the crawl space, there is a small ditch all around the edges, and on the outside we have not yet created a proper grade, so the water was sitting against the foundation and seeping in. We had a huge rain a couple of days ago, so there was water and evidence of water in places it shouldn't have been. Then just as Rob goes to crank up the backhoe, it rained for 30 minutes, and there went today. He'll try moving the dirt tomorrow, and we hope to call Friday so they can come out Tuesday for another try at the inspection. IF we pass (and I think we will) THEN we request a c.o., which I think is handled by 911 services. They make sure they can find your address, and have access to your house.

It has taken longer for us to get a final inspection than it took to build the framing...

my mistake...

We didn't get our mechanical final Thursday. It was just the plumbing, and as part of that he inspected part of the venting. Rob suspected that was the case, and fixed that vent ring before I called for the plumbing final. So plumbing passed. I called Reeves to tell them I had made a mistake, we had not passed mechanical, and had they even called for an inspection? Why, no, they had not called. Same with the propane installer - no call for a final inspection. What's the deal with that? I know they want to get paid. Anyhow, calls were made Friday, inspections were made today, and this time they really passed. Signed off on the little yellow sheet stuck to the kitchen window. So - tomorrow morning I go pick up the signed papers from environmental health, walk them down the hall to permitting, pay a reinspection fee, and REQUEST A CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY INSPECTION! woo hoo. That's the biggie, the final final, the nailbiter.

So until Wednesday, we'll just be sitting around holding our breath. Yeah, there's little things to do to the house still, but we just want our c.o...

fill 'er up

Now you can send me a letter. Somehow it was very exciting to have the mailbox in place.

We had inspections on the venting, and plumbing, and FAILED! ha. Of all the things we thought the inspectors might have an issue with, the only thing they didn't like about the venting was a missing collar. Maybe leaving it off was a clever mis-direction. An easy enough fix, which should be done tomorrow. The plumbing problem was some missing rodent-proofing under the sinks. Rob calls them 'beauty rings'. Another easy fix.

The propane is all installed, and should be inspected tomorrow. We ended up having to buy a gas stove, because although our antique O'Keefe & Merritt stove has a gas to propane conversion valve, it doesn't have thermo-couplers to turn off the gas to the pilot lights if they should come unlit. In a stroke of super luck, Habitat Homestore had a gas stove in good condition for the low low price of $175. They also had 2 nice wicker chairs, and two nice things with drawers that Rob sanded and sealed that will be our nightstands. And a big glass door to use as a window in the goat shed, and two windows to use as windows in the goat shed. Oh, and an antique ice grinder.

Other things that got done - an incredible desk in the boys room. Rob made it from some drawers and a counter top. On the wall above it is a huge shelf unit, all painted a nice dark blue.
- a bench with shelves for the entry area, that Rob built from a really pretty piece of wood that he clear-coated.
- knobs on the cabinets
- screen doors on the porch
- changed the insurance from builder's to homeowner's!

We should be able to request our final for Tuesday. I can't wait to live there.

al fresco

Here is Rob installing the lattice on the porch, while Reese helpfully eats a pizza. The screen will go on the outside of the lattice, and hopefully this will pass inspection. We're not sure what they want for a railing or spindles, so we're trying this. Rob also installed the dog door in the wall, and is still there working on something.

Since in home-building there are those with skills, and those with shovels, I filled in some of the water line ditch. And cleaned glue off the wood floors. The floors are changing color slightly, and look even more amazing.

The venting is STILL not done. I sent an email to the head of installation for an update, and it turns out he is the one doing our vent installation anyway. He called to say they are having a hard time getting the proper pieces even though they are buying directly from Rheem, who made the water heater. It is a completely new thing here in this 4-state area, this concept of pulling the combustible air through the vent. Reeves HVAC is even going to send someone to Arkansas (or Arizona?) for training in this system, and try to corner the market. So I told him he can take pictures of our system. Rob says charge them $100 a picture...

I got a zoning permit for our sheds, which no one ever does, and I now have to go back to get it modified. I miscalculated where I want the goat shed.

So I have more ditch to fill, and more floor to clean. Tile to seal, and a shed to build.

Now we're cookin'

Well, almost cooking. That's the space for the stove, which we need to move any day now. Even I look at this picture and think "How pretty!". The floor, the colors, the simple lines...

I made some phone calls today - the water heater venting was fabricated wrong, again, and they are scheduled to come finish Thursday. Then we can have our final mechanical inspection. The propane guy will come later this week also, when the ground dries enough for his truck. He'll set the appliances and the tank, then we can get our final gas inspection. I thought the water department wanted to see the trench (I lost the paperwork they gave us in August), but they don't, so we can bury the water line.

Still to do - install the dog door, gutters, the mailbox, railing on screened porch, finish painting interior trim, and build a goat/chicken shed. Get cable.