Sooooo Close

We are getting so very close to being done with the house!! The bank inspection went well on Friday, but the county inspection did not. We were left with a list of things to fix and a fee to pay. We managed to get everything complete this weekend and payed the fee first thing this morning. To make a long story short, the inspector will out there first thing tomorrow. This should mean a passed Final Inspection and a Certificate of Occupancy! We will then turn the form into the bank and get things wrapped up.

We finished the flooring! The last bit of flooring to be complete was the Master Bedroom. We installed the wood laminate and it looks great.

Master Bedroom - I'm looking forward to all the extra space.

The main reason we failed last week's inspection was because of the paper backing on the insulation upstairs. You are not allowed to have exposed kraft paper on the insulation in an open attic space. Apparently the insulators and inspector forgot this 4 months ago and it didn't get noticed until Friday. We were unsuccessful at contacting the insulators (didn't get failed until 4:30 pm on Friday). So, we spent a good chunk of the weekend taking the insulation down, pealing off the paper backing, and reinstalling it ourselves. This was an itchy and tedious job - NOT happy with the insulators about this. I'm thankful Brian & a friend helped us out with this.

Here's the insulation now, paper free.

And the other side of the attic.

After finishing up the flooring & insulation yesterday, we spent a few hours cleaning. We haven't been the best at picking up after each task recently and things really piled up. So, we cleaned the entire house and wow, what a difference. Here's some pictures:

We cleaned off the counter in the Jack and Jill Bathroom. The only thing it's missing now is the mirror.

The Guest Bath is also cleaned up and I added the glass around the light fixture. We have the mirrow for this bath, it's just not hung yet.

The hallway, without the cardboard walkway.

The Master Bath, clean counter. We're in the process if getting the drawer pulls in and drawer faces adjusted.

I finally caulked around the tub, but still have to caulk the top of the tile to wall and along the floor.

The Kitchen & Breakfast Nook from the Living Room. This was the first time we saw the floors together without them being covered up. We still need transition strips, but it's looking really nice.

Looking into the Foyer from the Living Room.

The Kitchen without that box on the counter. I like things being clean.

From the Foyer, into the Dining/Kitchen and Living Room.

The appraiser is coming out soon and we should get everything wrapped up with the construction loan this week. We can't wait for this to be done!

Countdown to Drywall . . .

The house is ALMOST ready for drywall. Let me show you everything we’ve done . . .

This is the back porch ceiling before.

And after the vinyl soffit was installed.

The front porch ceiling.

The front door with the trim – it still needs the clear coat and finishing. You can also see the door bell wiring sticking through on the left.

The siding is now complete for the entire house! No more house wrap is showing through. :) The siding is installed and caulked, the only thing left is the painting.

Here’s the door bell on the inside of the house, it’s mounted on a wall in the Great Room.

We covered the garage floor with ¼” sheathing for protection.

We cleaned up the house to get ready for insulation & drywall – it looks so clean now!

We installed the last hose bib.

The exhaust vent blends right into the brick. We passed our framing inspection on March 30th.

The batt insulation was installed in the walls and under the bonus space upstairs (noise barrier). This is the garage.

The office and hall bath.

The bonus area upstairs looks all cozy. The foam insulation is underneath the batts.

The dormer bonus area, which is doubling as a storage space so drywall can go in.

We installed both tub surrounds, they’re ready for drywall.

Drywall was delivered to the house on April 5th. They used a boom truck to deliver the drywall to the 2nd floor, so it’s already up there whenever we decide to build it out.

The drywall material – everything’s ready. We just need to pass the insulation inspection.

The drywall is spread throughout the house. They ordered 4x12 boards instead of the typical 4x8 for residential. This should give us a smoother finish so you can’t see the seams.

The insulators missed something and should fix it Tuesday next week, which means an inspection on Wednesday. If that goes okay, drywall starts Thursday – it should take one week. Can’t wait for that!!

There has been a lot of work going on around the Harris home.

Adam and his dad filled the screw holes on the porch with Bondo. They also will fill the seams and sand everything down before painting it white.

The ductwork is coming along great. Here's the duct in our attic space.

The exhaust fans in the bathrooms are in as well.

The garage door was installed on Wednesday last week.

The house is really coming together now. It is also finally secure!

Adam and his Dad started installing the electrical wiring. Here's some of their handy work.








The front door won't be in until the new year. The ductwork should be finished in a week and we'll get our mechanical inspection before Christmas. We may even have the electrical finished before Christmas as well. Then, we just need to finish the insulation in the walls and it's drywall time. Very exciting stuff.

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!