It's Slowing Down Again!

On the first of July we arrived to find that the outlets and light switches had been installed, as well as the toilets and vanities. We made some changes in the master bathroom so the drawings I posted don't portray the true layout of the bathroom. We borrowed room from the laundry to sink our vanity into the wall, which opened up the space.

Master bath vanity

Toilet in the master bath

Vanity in the hall bath

At this point, the fixtures have been installed, the doors have been painted and the hinges have been hung. They have also installed our sump pumps (they used cruddy pumps during construction) and a breaker box in the basement.

We are waiting for the last few tasks to be performed:

water needs to be run from the street 

electric needs to be run from the street

doors hung

final coat of paint

carpet

and here's the kicker....THE SEPTIC SYSTEM!

The septic system will ultimately put our move-in date on hold. In our county, we are required to install a mound system, it has to be the ugliest most unattractive thing you have ever seen! Kyle, my dad and I worked on clearing a portion of our property that is about the size of a football field, for the system. The Health Inspector in our County will not give the workers an OK to install until conditions are near perfect and we have had nothing but rain for the past week...isn't life grand!

Now our house is a "make-up" house for the contractors. That means, the contractors will now only work on completing our house when they have nothing else to do since we are on hold anyway! We have no idea when we'll be able to move in. Originally, our move-in date was June 15...today is July 6 :(

Kitchen Progress!

Possibly one of the most exciting days so far (for me) happened on June 24!

So, as mentioned earlier, we upgraded the cabinets and went with a larger island. I am really pleased with the choices but we are working out some kinks. You'll notice the unfinished side of the cabinets where the stove will be placed. We aren't sure why it's unfinished but for the cost of the upgrade we're trying to find out.

Other exciting news: the mantel and beam on the ceiling were installed! I love the dark stain!

When making selections, we could elect to have white or cream paint put on the walls. We opted for the white and then we'll go back in and re-paint the house with our desired colors.

Exciting Progress!

On June 11 we had (almost) finished drywall!

 I will admit, I had some problems with the drywall job.The work seemed sloppy but we were assured that everything was fine and they would finish it appropriately. I wasn't sure if this was a case of slapping lipstick on a pig or if it's always done this way but it seemed to be fine once it was finished.

On June 21 we found vinyl flooring in the kitchen and bathrooms and also brick on the fireplace! The brick was the hardest decision we had to make and I could not be happier with our choice!

 

 

Kitchen and bath flooring

The mortar was still wet in this picture but you get the idea.

SIDING!!!!!

We were completely overjoyed when we drove down our driveway to see this on May 31:

Shingles and More!

We were excited to see shingles on May 30 and our fireplace!

We chose to go with an insert because we plan on heating with wood during the winter. This insert should heat the entire house! It was a significant additional cost that we added to the price of the house but the cost should be re-claimed in the heating bill savings.

 

Our Home Needs Prayer!

This home building adventure has taught us a lot but, more than anything this:

Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done.

Philippians 4:6

So, with that in mind, I wanted to blanket our home with words of wisdom from the Bible.

Each verse location was given special consideration and I prayed over each one as I wrote them in the house. Kyle also wrote some without my knowledge so I didn't have the chance to take photos of those.

Over the location of our table

Master bedroom

In our son's bedroom

In our daughter's room

In the hallway between the kid's room

Son's room

Daughter's room

 

Roof Sheathing! A pleasant Surprise.

On Friday evening, we pulled into our drive to notice we had trusses! We weren't expecting those until Monday!! As you may imagine, the fact that something happened BEFORE it was scheduled was so exciting! 

On Monday evening, we drove out to see what the day had produced and we saw this:

We aren't really sure why 1 roof section was left incomplete but we were celebrating regardless!

We were also excited to see a roof over the porch, window and doors.

Here is a back view:

And, here's an inside view of the sliding door in the kitchen:

The kids were having a blast running around the property with the neighbor's dog, "Red".

We can't wait to see what today will bring...hopefully, shingles. We're scheduled to get more rain tonight :(