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.

water, straight up

Rob ran the water from the street into the house, and set most of the plumbing fixtures. The boys bathroom is finished and looks so nice - all chrome, shiny tile, and a nice blue on the walls.

The venting in the laundry room was on hold, because it was fabricated wrong, but they are scheduled to come in tomorrow to finish.

ooooh, pretty!

Room by room, Rob is painting, then pulling up the paper from the floors. Yesterday he did the boys room and the spare room, today the living room and the kitchen. It looks so nice I can't believe it. (Thats what the boys say about cool stuff - "Can you believe it?" "I can't believe it!") See the photo album link to the left for a couple more pictures. The spare room is light purple with a sky blue closet, the boys room has green walls and a sky blue ceiling. The colors in this picture of the dining room are a bright cream, a brickish terra cotta, and a nice green. Anyhoo, it all means that much closer to moving in...

This was the good news...

A big 'thank you' to Thomas at Reeves HVAC. He's the technician who figures the combustible air requirements for the gas appliances. I explained to him our concerns about the doors to the laundry closet being in the entry way, and not wanting them to be full of grills or louvers. He came out this morning to look at the space, called the tankless water heater manufacturer (Rheem), and hurray! we get to put a hole in the ceiling of the closet! Turns out the w.h. DOES pull air from outside via the double-walled venting, so we only have to pull air for the dryer. That means a 7"x14" hole up high, and a 2" gap under the doors. That almost eases the pain of the $985 cost of the venting. The other good thing is now we think the inspectors will be very distracted by this issue, and not pay much attention to the rest of the house.

Rob is painting today. He's going to finish each room at a time. The trim is done in the spare room and the boy's room, so they will get painted, and be finished! We'll move the misc stuff in there, and then he'll move through the rest of the house this weekend. Then he finishes off installing the plumbing fixtures (I better buy some toilets), runs a water line from the street to the house, and then we will be ready for final inspection. We fully expect to have to fix or change something to pass, but that's okay.

Frank wants to grade our yard, so we will generously let him play with his tractor, disc-er, and smoothers in our dirt. Get some gravel delivered for the driveway, build a goat shed, and hopefully be able to have a summer garden.

This?

This is how exciting the work on the house is right now. We're sanding trim, for the second time.

Current dilemma - trying (still) to figure the venting requirements for the tankless heater and clothes dryer. Apparently, according the technician who was only brought into this today, you can't put these appliances in a 3'x7' closet. So technically it has to be joined to the living room. We were trying to avoid louver doors, but we'll be lucky if we don't have to take out a wall. Well, not really, but we may have to put in two large grills - one in the ceiling of the closet where it would pull from the living room, and one in either the bottom of the closet door, or through the wall to the living room. I thought the double-wall direct vent on the tankless heater meant it pulled combustable air down through it, but it just vents out. We didn't have enough outside wall space (away from a window or door) to put this unit, but the whole thing really required more careful research.

Don't tell anyone, but we don't want pickets on our screened porch. We're thinking of screwing up plywood to pass inspection, then putting up lattice to protect the screen from the dogs.

Let's see... April 15th... wasn't I supposed to send someone some money? A lot of money? no?

sexy curves...

ahh, the joy and the payoff. Finally getting to the fun part of house-building, which is furnishing and accessorizing. Mom visited this weekend, and we shopped. Yeah, Rob was painting and backhoeing, blah blah blah, but we got to look for a couch, curtains, rugs, a dishdrain, stuff stuff stuff! This picture is a chaise from the Ivy Cottage, and was taken with my phone so it doesn't do it total justice. We also found a beautiful orange couch (see the photo album). I know this is a bit off subject from house-building details, but I also know how much you all care, so I had to share.

This just in...!!!

We passed the septic inspection! He called this morning and said we can cover the distribution box. Major kudos to Rob for building this system (and not losing it with the inspector)!!

Don't worry...

there's no electricity in there.
Chase is helping prep for paint. Reese was washing the van.

We're still sanding and caulking, and waiting to hear about the final approval on the septic. I called 3 times last week, and again this morning. We still don't know if he came out Tuesday, and if he did, did we pass or not? If not, then why not? arg.

Well, we picked the colors for all the rooms. We decided against the yellow wallpaper with the cartoon bugs on it that I had bought last year for the bathroom. It would have looked good with the blue tile in the old house, but not with the new tile, which has tan and gray-blue. So that bathroom with go a muted blue. I can't wait to see color up, but the trim is taking lots of prep.

As a side note, the water level in the pond continues to rise. It was stopped up further along the creek than usual, but the little dam at the end of the pond has been collecting debris and backing up the water in front of our house. In back of the house, I mean. We really like it, but I suspect the dam will be dismantled again soon, when someone complains. Rob is still researching how we can create a deeper area on our property in a legal way. We just can't find the right agencies.

The details

Here's Rob, caulking the interior for painting. He'll go through many many tubes of caulk, but it makes all the difference in having a smooth finish. Like sanding the trim, painting it, sanding it again, and then painting again.

We tried some more paint colors in the kitchen. At Lowes you can get little sample cans of all the Valspar colors - what fun! We like the general color combination, but not the specific colors, except the dark terra cotta. So I'll go back today and get a couple more of green and dark yellow. The orange I picked for our bedroom turned out to be a neon cantaloupe color, which is fun, but not what I'm looking for. Having the colors up will make such a difference. As a note, usually you paint earlier in the home-building process, but we chose to concentrate on the septic. Also, we put the floors in a little early, I think because Rob wanted to get the trim up.

Today Rob is going to redo the main floors one more time, as the finish didn't really set before it got messed up.

The electrician finished, and then had to do a couple more things for the inspector, but should pass final today. He's been easy to work with, and our only complaint is the light switch in our bedroom ended up behind the door. That's something we should have noticed right off, but we weren't thinking about the doors much at the time.

The health inspector let Rob fill in the last 2 lines after he came out last time, and now just wants to see the water flow through the distributor box before signing off. Huge, major accomplishment on Rob's part, to have built this very large septic system by himself for a somewhat picky inspector.

Financially, we are still on budget. The extra gravel for the septic took our driveway gravel money, but there is time to do that later. Today I'll talk to the counter makers, but that shouldn't cost much as we are doing formica. That will last a couple of years, and then maybe we'll upgrade. I don't know the final cost for the tankless water heater vent. They had said 2 or 3 hundred, but that was before they noticed it has to be stainless steel, so we'll see.

one line closes, another ...

gets filled with gravel. The septic inspector finally came out, and liked what he saw! woohoo! He didn't tell us to add more footage, like Rob feared he would. He didn't reject or fail it except to say one piece of pipe should be 2' long, and he wants to see each line with gravel over the pipes before we put the dirt back over. We ordered another load of gravel. So the far left line got covered because it was that new type of pipe that is wrapped in styrofoam peanuts and fabric and doesn't require gravel. That allowed Rob to reach the two outside lines with the backhoe, and hopefully the inspector will look at it today. Then Rob can fill them and drive on them to reach the last two lines. More detail than you care to know about our septic system, I know. This has been very consuming - Rob feels that we are being asked to over-build and jump through extra hoops that are outside the real authority of the health department. I just want it done already so Rob can focus on the finish work inside, and because I'm missing planting season with the yard not being ready. This weekend are the big plant sales locally.

Electric will be done today. I went to 3 places yesterday trying to find a breaker he needed. The fourth place had a generic that will work. But he's ready for inspection tomorrow. The AC guys are designing the vent for the tankless heater. It is a double-walled stainless steel vent that will have to be special ordered. That mostly leaves the plumbing to finish.

Find two things

in this picture, two things of significance. One is the ac unit set (see it there by the house?) along with the registers inside. (ME, to the installer: "How did you get in the house?" INSTALLER says, "I found the key." umm) Other thing is that DitchWitch, setting the electric line underground from the pole further down the driveway. Yay! Progress! Two things in one day! And did we pass the septic inspection? Not yet. For the second day, the inspector didn't show. Our nerves are wracked...

Meanwhile, waiting for the inspector, I sealed the grout in the bathroom and on the screened porch. Swept up some sawdust. Went for a walk on the other side of the pond, which has mysteriously filled with water again. I think someone dammed the stream further down. Nice.

Oh, and earlier today, spent another $400 at Home Depot. Cabinet knobs, door knobs...

awwww, she's so cuuute!

Dad said if I don't have a new picture of the house, put up a picture of the goats. This is Honey, my tiny pygmy.

We were scheduled for a septic inspection today, but it got put off to tomorrow. We are on pins and needles, holding our breath and crossing our fingers, nerve-wracked. The inspector doesn't seem to like Rob, Rob threatened to report him to the state, and Rob has built this septic field almost by hand, so for all those reasons it will be a huge relief to pass, but we don't expect to.

Meanwhile, back on the pond - trim is up and being prepped, kitchen counters are in, so is the dishwasher and stove. Bathrooms are tiled, our vanity is set. Shelves are built, doors are hung. Electrical is mostly done, we're still waiting for the AC unit to be set (that was also supposed to be today), and the electric will be run to the house in a day or so. I set up an account for propane, and the gas lines should be run this week. Moving in April seems realistic at this point.

A hole in the wall

No longer a hole in the wall - its an entertainment center! This was Rob's first project today, next was the built-in computer center in the spare room. And see the kitchen cabinets up on the wall? Its all coming together. I know - you wish your husband would work this hard. Rob is really amazing when he is in gear.

The electrician was in for a couple of days, putting up lights and fans, attaching switches and breakers. Most of which I was buying as he was installing. Why did I wait? It seemed like it would be so easy, because every time I went to Home Depot I saw stuff I liked, so I thought I'll just get it when its time. hmm. I over-guessed myself on three of the ceiling fans, and should have gotten bigger ones. I got a dark metal vanity light with dark glass, then Rob pulled out a ceiling light we bought months ago that's light metal with white glass. For me, its harder to start decorating from scratch. I need something to go off, to modify instead of create. I guess eventually I can modify what I'm creating now.

We're waiting to hear from the environmental health inspector about our septic. When Rob asked for a line reduction, the guy changed it from 4 100' lines to 5 of 80'. ??? We're hoping he'll settle for 4 lines of 80', which still seems excessive to us.

The weather has turned cool and cloudy, but so far we have not had the 3 days of rain that was predicted.

In and out

This turned out to be a cool shot. I was working inside, sanding the trim, and Rob was out the window, digging the septic lines. And that's what we did today. The boys played in the pond.

The septic went well today, after Rob finally replaced a broken pin on the backhoe. He might finish that line today, then 2 more to go. The electrician came yesterday to make a list of materials, and I guess is going to finish the electric set-up this week.

Shelved for now

These are the built-in bookshelves Rob made yesterday. The big shelf on the bottom, next to the door, is where the doggie door is. This is going to be the quiet area of the living room, away from the tv. I love the idea of big bookshelves, and these look great.

We have arranged for one last loan to finish the house. Its going to be down to the penny, but it will work. Rob is putting in massive hours doing what he can like the kitchen cabinets, and these shelves, and as soon as we have the new loan we'll call back the subs to finish the electrical, propane, and HVAC.

oooh, pretty...

The floors are amazing. This is the kitchen, with the base cabinets waiting to be set. Its just getting prettier and prettier in there.
Rob had to fill in the septic lines he had started to dig to make room for the 5th line. I hope the backhoe holds up.

Picture this...

No picture today. It would just be a sad, overcast picture anyway. The backhoe is still broken, so no new work on the septic. Rob thinks he might have dug the first 3 lines too close together, and that he'll have to fill them back in. At least there's no gravel in them. We have $1000 worth of gravel onsite now, and may need more.

We had the floors installed, and there are many gaps. Some of the boards weren't as wide, but I don't understand why the installers didn't pull the bad ones. So Rob is having to fill and refinish our prefinished floor.

Money is draining at an alarming rate. With the gravel and floor costing much more than anticipated, and the refinance on the rental for a cash boost not looking so good, we're getting into a tight spot. Stupid economic downturn.

Both boys are sick today, and probably will be home from school tomorrow. sigh.

Floored

For your viewing pleasure, our brazilian teak floor being installed. And wait until you see the koa floor in the bedroom.
Backhoe is really broken. We'll have to order a part. Rob is bummed.

Get the big picture

because its hard to see in this one, but we changed out the porch rails for these nice ones with a hand rail on top. I know, like you care, but it looks better...

In the background is the first ditch for the septic. Rob met with the guy from environmental health, and got a better idea of what he was doing. Because we underestimated the length of the septic field, we asked for reduction in the line length. We got it down from 100' lines to 80', but added a fifth line. That's what you get for building in a pond. With this much line to fill, we are going to spend about $1500 to $2000 just for the gravel. We had budgeted $500.

Today Rob has dug some more line, but now he's waiting for Denny to come see if he can weld something that broke on the backhoe. I think we will be seeing a lot of this guy for a while. Also, today Melvin is installing the wood floors. That will be an exciting transformation. Its a good thing we didn't know what the floors were going to cost overall, or we would have put down plywood.

hey, where do you get one of those?

After a time of cluelessness as to where to find a septic tank, I found one. And here it is! They set it right down in the hole Rob had dug. The big problem is that somehow we made the field too short. Way short. I think some survey equipment might have helped, instead of walking through the woods with a measuring tape... So Rob is going to try to get permission for 4 75' lines instead of 100'. Might not happen, so then we would go through the permit process again, this time for a 3 bedroom, which should allow for the shorter lines. The bids for the septic were $4000. The tank and plastic pipes cost $800, and we need gravel, but even if we have to re-permit at $250, we're saving some money.

The backhoe is taking a rest at a friend's house. He's going to replace some seals that are leaking. Meantime, Rob put tile in the bathroom and on the screened porch floor. I put putty in nail holes. woo hoo. Tomorrow Rob is going to rent the tile cutter, and a wet sander for the travertine.

See the picture album for the mud hole where the backhoe started sinking to China.

giddyup

or just giddy.
Here is the backhoe someone gave Rob. He has been pushing dirt around for 2 days, not necessarily into helpful places. Yesterday he thought he would dig out the pond, and instead dug out the backhoe. Its not too solid down there by the water...
Today he is digging a hole for the septic tank, which should be delivered this afternoon. We will save over 1/2 the cost by doing it ourselves. And by 'ourselves', I mean Rob doing it.
There will be more pictures later of this undertaking. If he can pull this off and pass inspection, it will be a major milestone.

umm, does that look purplish to you?

Well, it should!
That's the spare room. I'm so excited to get purple walls. Look in the picture album to see the green of the boys room. Rob gets to pick the living room and exterior colors, but these rooms were mine. I may get sick of the colors, but for now it's cool. Wait 'til you see the almost black blue that Rob picked for the exterior.

So this is just a base coat, to see the colors. Rob started putting up trim today, because he was excited to see how it was going to look. Looks fab. We're going very simple and straight, and it looks good. He's going to put up the rest of the trim, and set the door jams, and then our new plan is to do the septic. If you can believe it, someone GAVE Rob a backhoe. And we found a source for a tank. So if we do the septic, then we can grade the yard, and I can build the coop and goat shed, and start moving trees etc. Also, it's our biggest worry in finishing, so we can get it out of the way and the rest of house will be more fun. That way, too, if we run out of money, at least we have a septic. We can live without a couch or closet doors - ya know what I mean?

instead of wallpaper

we're doing this cool spotty design in white on gray.
Rob has been working on the house most days, after leaving his real job. The mudding is almost done, so he'll be sanding it soon. The temps have dropped into the 40's during the day (except the other day when it was 23 degrees), and into the teens and twenties at night. But the house warms up with the propane heater.

At this point we're (and by 'we' I mean 'he') trying to get done. Because we have sold the house we're in, and are now paying rent, we have a lot of money going out each month for mortgages and rent. When we finish the house, we can refinance the building loan and the land loan into one lower payment, and obviously stop paying rent. Rob being less busy at the shop means more time to work on the house, but less money coming in to help supplement the building funds.

The flooring is on a truck to Wilmington from somewhere. We're excited to see it and lay out a few pieces. I found a large wooden futon at the Goodwill yesterday for $35. Crazy. The pad was huge and looked in good condition - the frame is solid but needs painting. hmm, who do we know who can do furniture finishing...? We just escaped making a terrible purchase on a beautiful, expensive like-new drawer dishwasher that had bad reviews online (but the price was great...!). We're going to start haunting the Habitat store looking for faucets and a dishwasher.

step inside...

my new frigec 'cause it could probably hold you. It's a 26 cu in Maytag side-by-side. I found it at the Habitat Homestore (see the links list) for 1/3 of its new cost. It seems to be new, with just one crease on the side down low. Now to find dishwasher and...

Drywall continues. Insulation was blown into the attic. We bought tile and flooring, and that's why I'm a nervous wreck. The tile we bought from a discount tile store, so we got to see it, and get advice from the store owners. But I bought the wood flooring online. There's something about doing it that way - I don't know, its a bit SCARY! So the living room/kitchen/dining room, and little bit of hallway all going to be golden teak (beautiful, but maybe too overwhelming?), our bedroom and closet are brazilian koa, which was my first choice for the whole house but Lumber Liquidators didn't have enough at $2.99, and the other 2 bedrooms are a dark elm, just because there was enough of it. Tan travertine tile for the foyer and our bathroom. And for the screened porch, a tile that looks like flagstone (sorta kinda, but it's fun). I could have papered the floor with money for less. If you visit, and there's nothing for you to sit on, or to eat, it's because I don't have any more money...