Good Bones

When you spend all summer with your family & friends burning trees, brush and sticks you sometimes lose sight of the fact that while it's a great excuse to drink beer and run a chainsaw, the original intent is really to build a new home.  From the previous post you can see the heated slab is complete.  The tubing for the heat is in, the water lines are run, and the ports for the septic and well are ready to be connected.  

There was a little time delay in getting the framing complete due to weather and scheduling.  I am pleased to announce that the outside framing is complete.  The trusses have been put in place.  Tyvek is now wrapped around the house.  The roof is now sheeted.  It's not weather proof yet but I raised some questions to the builder.  My concern was that I know the 2X6's for the walls is not green treated, nor are any of the materials used to frame the house.  I had some questions about mold given the fact that snow and moisture were no doubt included in the new house build (the only item that was free).  He shared with me, that when the house is weather proofed, they bring in heaters to dry the inside and the kiln dried materials are relieved of any moisture that they have collected.  

As one might assume there is a tremendous amount of excitement that comes with building a new home.  This in turn lends itself to Kelly making frequent trips down to the house to measure for furniture and double checking her design concepts.  She noticed that the door to the master bathroom was incorrectly located!  Easy fix, but I am grateful for her diligence to make sure the end product matches the paper plans.

Fast fact:

The equipment used during this entire project had not torn up the ground to terribly.  We had concrete mixers, skid steers and excavators all of which left minimal footprints around the site.  The advent of snow and rain didn't help much at this stage.  What I will tell you is that the equipment used to move trusses and sheeting is an a destructive force to the landscape and drive way.  I am thinking it wasn't a terrible idea to wait on constructing the final driveway until after the build.  

Here are some updated pictures.  

Driveway View

Before: 




Back of the house


Front of the house


Back of house 










Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mound Systems and what not to do!

This next stage was fraught with stress, and inconsistent messages.  I called a contact for septic design and septic construction.  For the record, you need both components of building a septic system a) designer and b) contactor who actually build the septic system.  Some constructors have a designers license and some do not.  The first person who came out and looked at my lot shared with me deep concern that the area I wanted to have the mound system was going to be classified as a wooded wet land.  Did you know that St. Louis County has 8 different delineations of wet lands? I did not! https://www.stlouiscountymn.gov/departments-a-z/planning-development/land-use/wetlands#4094363-wetland-types https://www.stlouiscountymn.gov/Portals/0/Library/Dept/Planning%20%26%20Development/Land-Use/Wetlands/Type-7-Hardwood-Coniferous-Swamp.pdf Coupled with the 13 different lake categories and designations, I am beginning to understand the need for additional personal at the county offices. 
Read more

Well Drilling

Image
I thought it would be valuable to offer insight and resources in the new home construction process.  Step one was to find a lot that checked the boxes for purchase.  Location was a key element, and locating a lot that suitable for construction.  Some of the elements that were investigated were access to a paved road, access to the highway, distance from schools, and the consideration of hooking utilities up to city water and sewer.  Additionally, the lot itself was of critical importance.  Was there high ground to build, was there an acceptable access to the property.  Were there any easements that would need to be in place to access the lot.  This week two topics were investigated.  The first one was organizing the well portion of this project.  I spoke to a local well drilling service ( Graves Well Drilling- Pike Lake) and got tremendous service and information.  I was told the first step is not the well!  The first step is to call a designer and construct a plan for the mound sy
Read more

The official count-down has started.

Image
I am sure that just about everyone has heard rumors and speculation about the real estate market in the past 9 months.  The reality is always subjective, and in some ways, portionate to the integration an individual's personal experience and understanding of multiple inputs.  My own reality is that I have fielded a great many calls on this new build project.  I think that the limited inventory on listed houses has provided the impetus for families to look at the possibilities.  People who have been interested in exploring the idea of building or the moving parts of the process, our own experiences and generally if we have found the journey to be akin to self-injurious behavior.  If you have questions or I can be a resource for friends or family, please don't hesitate to reach out!   Painting: Early on in the process, the builder informed us that when we signed the sworn construction statement it was essentially a written contract for materials and services.  We could make the d
Read more