A Happy Life
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Ready for Drywall!
I can’t believe we’re finally here. We closed on the construction loan over a year ago. Back then, Emmett had no idea how long this house would take to build, but he estimated around a year. That jumped around several times throughout the course of the construction, but now we’re getting down to the end. We can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Once drywall is done, nothing will look the same again. We won’t be looking at the studs, the wires, the plumbing lines, the HVAC system. The insulation. Instead, we’ll see the house looking like a home. One step closer to moving in. One step…
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A Portable Garden
A small garden that's easy to move.
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December Slowdown
Since the weather changed, work has slowed down. Emmett has been dealing with mud, frost, cold weather, and rain. He’s still trying to finish the exterior of the house. And big surprise, we’re still staining. It’s a lot of work to add wood siding. A lot more work than it sounded like on paper. We have stacks and stacks of siding and shingles that need to be cleaned and stained before Emmett even gets a chance to hang them. Trim boards are the same way, they need to be stained and added to every opening and corner of the house. Without someone there to help him, Emmett has to climb…
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Farmhouse Style
Years and years and years ago, I picked out a farmhouse style house plan with wrap-around porch. I don’t know why, but it just appealed to me. It had three dormers but only 1600 square feet. Pretty small, but it had everything I needed. Many years later I married Emmett, and as we were talking about house styles we both wanted the same thing. Kind of eerie actually. But we both loved the three dormer farmhouse with wrap around porch. So…here we are. We’ve been married five years and have talked about our new house for that long (possibly longer). After months of planning and preparation and construction, we now…
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Tedious Work
It’s been a while since I posted, the progress on the house is slow but sure. Once the trusses were set, Emmett was worried about getting the house dried in as soon as possible. However, he has been working as a two man team (with my Dad), and they can only do so much. The roof turned out to be a lot harder, and a lot higher, than Emmett had anticipated. It’s a lot higher than ANYONE anticipated. There is a big difference from looking at a floor plan and some elevation sketches to what you see in real life. In hindsight we might have used a 2-story plan, to…
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Trusses are set!
The last time I posted was when the first floor walls were complete. That feels like a lifetime ago, even though in reality it wasn’t that long ( two weeks?) Since then, everything has changed. I’m still as nervous as ever. I’ve waited so long for this, and the house is going to be beautiful. But I’m not someone who puts a lot of stock in things. My car has almost 200k miles on it and I’m hoping through sheer will that it will make it to 250k. I don’t have to have the latest fashions or nails. I clearance shop and use every cash back app at my disposal.…
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First Floor Walls
A lot has happened since the last time I posted about the house. In just a week everything has changed. First, Emmett got the first floor finished. Once the floor was installed Emmett was ready to start driving nails. He’s definitely in his element here, you can see that not only is he doing something that he’s really good at, he enjoys it. That makes all the difference in the world. When I came by one day I was so excited to see the first wall up! It looked very lonely, but it was an awesome sight. My Dad has been helping Emmett with whatever he can. According to Emmett,…
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The woodwork has started!
I have to admit, this part feels a little scary. I don’t know how to explain it but until now I couldn’t visualize the finished product. It was a lot of work, a lot of thought, but it was hard to see what the house would really look like. It’s kind of like becoming a parent for the first time. You know that they will eventually grow up, get more independent, and one day start kindergarten. But it’s so far in the future you don’t really think about it in depth. Then one day you realize that then is now. You’re buying them their first backpack, their first lunchbox, and…
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Last of the Block
Since my last post, Emmett has continued to work hard every day he can. I’m so glad he’s finally done with the block. And the last of the outside concrete until next spring. He needs a break from the labor that is so physically taxing. He did get some help from my Dad and sometimes the kids on this part which definitely made things easier. After the block was complete, Emmett moved to the concrete pad in the backyard. It’s not entirely necessary, he has concrete pillars for deck support, but he thought it would be easier to have a pad underneath the deck. It will also serve as a…
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Laying Block
I’m thankful that the constant rain has stopped. Finally. But at the same time, we’re seeing some extremely high temperatures combined with humid weather. Occasionally a storm will roll through and cool things down, but in between it is not a good work environment to lay block. Still, when Emmett has a will he finds a way. He is one of the hardest working people I know. He doesn’t let something like heat stroke slow him down 😀 But as a fireman he also works what he calls a long shift, which is 24 hours every other day for several days. This has slowed him down somewhat. Before Emmett could…
