Roof Almost Complete

Days of rain and the basement was wet again.  But lets see if that was before the roof was covered.  By the end of the week it ought to be done, and then the place will stay mostly dry.  We are meeting the builder on Saturday.  Lots to talk about, including the tree in the back, the pond out there, the yard and its slope, and maybe doing built-ins in the office and bedroom.

Almost a Roof

It is a shame that the rain keep coming.  Nice day on Sunday here, but the crews are off.  It is supposed to pour (2-5”) over the next couple days.  Yesterday the framing appeared to finish, and without a roof, there will be puddles everywhere unless they get the roof boards up, which may be possible.   

 

Poll: should we ask them to add some windows to the upstairs bedrooms?  Each of the 2 rooms on that side of the house has 2 windows, just both on the same wall.  You can see the 2 windows on the right – those are for the dining and living rooms.   I am under the impression that there aren’t any upstairs, since 1) each room has 2 already, and 2) to allow for furniture to be up against walls w/o windows.  Also below,  there will be a window to the left of the front door, in the study.

 

View of the kitchen, breakfast area, and into the family room.  You can see where the gas fireplace is supposed to go.

Framed Without Roof

The plans don't call for windows upstairs in the 2 bedrooms. I am debating on whether I should have that fixed. Hopefully the roof is on the house soon.

Framing Continues

Amazing to see how fast a house can start to go up.  Just yesterday there was nothing on top of the foundation, and today there is the beginnings of a house.  Pics below are from the street, from the back yard, and from the inside. 

Framing Begins

Here it is after 1 day of framing work.  The floor for the first level is done, and some of the walls are up.

Drying out

No pics today, but I talked to the builder and gave him the choices for the shingles and siding. He pumped the water out and was able to pour the floor in the basement. I had him leave a spot for a sump in the corner, even though there is the perimeter drain. I know hundreds of people who got we basements this week, so this is the best I can do.

After they poured the floor, they put up the beams that will carry the floor. Maybe this will enable me to finish the basement after we move in.

Rain Rain Everywhere

Well today culminates the 3rd day of heavy rain in a row. Basements and streets are flooding, and people all over are wondering when this will stop. Given the frustration over water levels, I went over to check what’s inside my foundation. I was expecting a swimming pool and found one. But the floor isn't in, so perhaps that level isn't bad. Plus I need to find out if the french drain is hooked up yet. Hopefully this mean I won't get water, but I am thinking about getting an inside drain too if that would help. I need to talk to the builder. Essentially this is such a widespread problem, and it is unfortunate for everyone.

No more hole

Drove by today and the french drain was it, the asphalt coating on the foundation was done, and they were filling in the dirt around the foundation. The town water and sewer lines are done too.

Foundation Complete

Drove past and took a few pictures of the foundation as completed.  The first one is the entrance to the garage and second one is the front door.  The third one is from the lot corner and shows the bulldozer.  Notice the moat at the footing – we’re hoping that this state of the art waterproofing system works.  That will be explained at some point.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Purchase & Sale

Well, today it is official.  Signed the agreement, asked a few more questions, got a copy of the plans, and found out the house number will be 62.  We did have to concede that the carpet allowance would be 20$ instead of 30$, but we didn’t want to piss off the builder.   He did agree however to pay us 6500$ if he can’t close for us by June 30, at which point we’d lose the government credit. 

Now all we have to do is sit back, pick lights, colors, kitchen stuff, and wait for moving date.  If it was only that easy…

Empty Lot – Ready for digging

This is what the lot looks like before the heavy equipment arrived.  The house in the back is actually the lot behind this one.  Our property goes pretty far back.

Foundation Casts

This was the pouring of the foundation. Went very quickly.  Pretty much overnight it went from a hole to being there.