I am thankful for . . .

the progress we have been making on the house! The arches and soffits are complete and the ductwork is progressing well. Let me show you in pictures.

The insulators put batt insulation above the walls in the dormers.

The soffits on the dormers were finished up Monday, Nov. 9th.

The curb appeal is coming along well.

We installed the glass inserts with integral blinds on the three back porch doors.

This is the meteor shower . . . okay, not really . . . but here's the house with the soffits and arches complete (in the rain).

Here are the glass inserts & hardware installed on the back porch doors. It's looking nice.

We wrapped the bottom and back of the back porch beam. The areas above the columns are getting additional trim, but it's not on yet.

The front porch today.

The siding on the sides of the porch is on - it just needs to be caulked and painted. You can also see the porch arches well.

Insulation on the left side of the bonus area.

Insulation on the right side of the bonus area.

The wall for the HVAC closet was built.

The ductwork above the bonus area that is heading toward the back bedrooms. We are going to have three zones on seperatae thermostats - master suite, back bedrooms and the common area.

The ductwork over the kitchen.

The duct going into the living room. We are putting in sheet metal - which is mainly a commercial installation. But, I work for a mechanical contractor and designed a really great duct system (if I do say so myself), so we are getting a top notch system.

Earlier today I spotted a snake on the front porch. It was scared of us and went under the peel and stick along the bottom of the porch. Unfortunately, the snake didn't know that the back of this is very sticky . . .

Adam and his dad got him off of there . . . but he didn't live long after that.

The garage door will go in next week and the front door is on the way. Things are looking great. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Insulation, soffits & so much progress!

There has been lots of progress around the Harris Residence recently! Thursday, we put up the middle arch on the front porch beam. Friday, the vinyl soffits and insulation began . . . it was pretty busy.

The front porch arches are in place. Adam's truck is in front because we were using it as a ladder to finish putting all the screws in the pvc sheeting.

For insulation, we are using closed cell foam for most of the roof insulation and open cell foam for the areas that are first floor only. Both foams do not require the roof the be vented, but the closed cell is moisture proof. It's really great stuff and will keep our electricity bill low.

Here is the guy spraying the foam on the underside of the roof.

The bonus area on the 2nd floor.

The insulation around the dormers. They will be back on Monday to finish spraying the foam. The walls won't be insulated until after electrical is complete.

Soffits are almost complete.

The soffits are complete along the back of the house.

Here's a closer look of the overhang on the back porch.

The soffits along the front are complete except for the dormers. You can also see me putting the final coat of paint on the dormers.

The right side of the house is complete.

The left side of the house is done. There is an exhaust duct sticking through the soffit and the round grille is on the window ledge below.

A close of the left gable and porch corner.

Adam ran the wire to everything in the front porch and soffits - a flood light in the back, two outlets in the soffit for Christmas lights and the front porch lights.

Here's some of Adam's handywork.

Stacy paints the final coat of paint on the dormers.

Adam and his dad cut the last arch in the pvc sheet. This one goes on the inside of the middle arch on the front porch. It's in place now, but I forgot to get a picture.

The soffits and roof insulation should be finished on Monday. Ductwork will start in one week and will take about three weeks. The garage door and front door should be here in two weeks. The glass inserts on the three back porch doors will be installed tomorrow. After the main ductwork is in place, Adam will begin the electrical wiring. Things are really progressing and it's been a lot of fun to see everything fall into place.

Siding & Front Porch

Sorry it's been awhile since the last post . . . but we've been working away at the house.

We finished the siding on all the gable ends and the dormers.

In this picture you can see the finished gable end on the left side and the dormers. I still need to do a final coat of paint on the dormers, but other than that they're done.

The front door needs to be installed before we finish the siding on the front porch. It should be here in a couple weeks.

We have also been working on the front porch. The beam and arches had to be built out to fit the size we want. Here's some pictures of the process so far.

Here's the left side of the beam built out.

Adam is nailing in the wood for the boxes we built that will be on top of the double columns. PVC sheets were used to cover the wood for the finished beam. It is going to be a smooth finish that never has to be replaced.

We put up two of the arches on the front of the beam Sunday night.

Here's what it looked like a couple days ago, very nice. We put up the middle arch last night. I'll get pictures soon.

The vinyl soffits started going up today. We prepared for the soffits by adding additional flashing on the roof and putting the exhaust ducts in place. Insulation started today as well. The glass inserts arrived for the doors on the back porch yesterday and we will install them soon. I'll try and update with pictures of the soffits and insulation this weekend.