Day 6 and 7: Sheathing for the Roof

They finished the lanai.

Days 4 and 5 of Framing: We Have A Roof!

Seeing our home take shape has been really exciting.  Unfortunately, I am just one of those people that have to really SEE it.  Although we have studied and reviewed the plans hundreds of times, it still seems so abstract until you can actually walk through it.

This is a photo taken as Brian and I walked back the driveway Saturday.  What a beautiful day!

We reduced the roof from what it was in the plans and it still is a HUGE roof.  I think it would almost look silly had it remained the way it was.  

The framers having a bit of fun!  We have two or three of these little guys around the house.  They have even named some of them.

Another photo from the lane.

This is the living room.  There will be a floor to ceiling fireplace directly ahead.  This area will have a tray ceiling.  The large windows are to the left and the covered lanai will be out that way.

This is the front porch.  There will be three large craftsman style columns here with stone bases.

Another photo of the porch and the garage on the left.

I love the gables on this end and can't wait to see the arched garage doors.

That sure seems like a lot of trusses!

This is a picture of the trusses in Braeden's room.

Looking out our front door towards where we live now.

This is the master bedroom.

This is the breakfast nook, the living room, and then Braeden's bedroom on the far left.

The living room.  

This is Braeden's room, with a jack and jill bath, and then the spare bedroom is in the front.

This is the entire rear of the house.

And then there was rain......

And more rain.........AND more rain!  Ugh!  Rain, rain, go AWAY!  Come again when our house is built!

Since it has been raining, I will take some time to talk about some of the other  processes we have experienced thus far.  Choosing the stone has been the most difficult item for Brian and I to agree on.  Most other items, we have been able to agree on or at least compromise on rather easily.  I can tell you that the stone has not been easy on either of us.  He has a clear preference and so do I and they are not even close!  I prefer more of the stacked stone look and Brian prefers a more rustic look with larger stones.  After much debate, we feel we have finally found a stone that is a good compromise.  However, now that we decided on the stone, the color is the next battle.  Not with each other, but finding something that we both agree is dark enough.  We both prefer darker stone and that has been rather difficult to find!  I will keep you updated once we have made our final selection.

Another interesting process has been selecting the windows.   Again, this was easy for us to agree on.  We knew we wanted and it really did not take long to go through the process with the Pella representative.  We really want our house to feel open, airy and light filled.  Therefore, we really wanted large windows where possible.  I think we accomplished that ; )  We have selected a double hung window with a full arch head transom or square transom on most windows.  We also have grids on the top portion of all of the windows.  I can't wait to see the windows set in the house!  They are so pretty!

We are trying to be extremely conscious of options for savings.  We have spent a ton of time going between Lowes, Menards, and our builder.  Our builder has been great about giving us many options for allowances which allows us to find the best deals possible.  Everyone knows that there are things that pop up and/or changes are made during the building process.  Therefore, we are trying to save where we can and use those savings to address any changes that occur.   By working with the Pella representative and Lowes, we were able to get the windows we really wanted at the same price we had originally budgeted and still remain within our allowance.  

In addition, the shingles were on sale at Menards.  Lowes price matched the shingles we wanted and then we were able to get an additional 10% off.  

It really has been great working as a team with my husband.  I know we have just really gotten started, but we have really managed this process very well.  People say this is one of the greatest stressors you can put on a marriage, but I think we are handling the process very well.  I am very proud of "us"!  Love you, honey!

Day 3 of Framing: Finishing the Outside Walls and Framing the Inside Walls

The framing has been going really quickly, but the 3rd day was just unbelievable.  Now we can actually see what it is going to look like and it is really exciting!  We really enjoyed walking through all of the "rooms".  It really allowed us to imagine living there.

The large window is the breakfast nook window.  To the left is the master suite.

This is facing Braeden's room and the spare bedroom.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these huge windows in the living room!

This is the front door and foyer area.  The large window on the left is in the dining room.

Another photo of the nook and the large opening on the right will be the slider to the lanai.

Here is the master bedroom.

Here is the garage and the remaining outside framing.

Trusses, trusses, and more trusses!

Day 2 of Framing: Finish the Flooring and Beginning the Outside Walls.

Here is a portion of the trusses that have been delivered. 

Look....we have walls!  This is from inside the house facing the garage.

This window will be in the utility room. 

This area is the master suite.  To the right is the breakfast nook.

The master suite again, with a door to the lanai.  The door to the far right leads to the breakfast nook. 

That will be the sliding door leading to the covered lanai.

This is the west side of the house.