Decisions Made... Round 1 of Homework Assignments

This past week involved Adam and I shopping around, making decisions, and checking off our task list as we completed the first round of homework assignments that our builder had given us. Our first task was to pick out our roof shingle color so that the roofers could start on the roof.  We wanted something that was light with a nice mix between a brown/beige and gray. We decided to go with the GAF Timberline HD in Driftwood. It is a nice, lifetime warranty, architectural shingle that resembles the more classic cedar shake and offers our desired coastal feel.

Shingle color inspiration

Actual shingle color: Timberline HD Driftwood

Our next task was to select the fixtures for the tub/shower, master shower, and pot filler so that the plumber can rough in the valves before the drywall goes up. Luckily I had been doing quite a bit of research leading up to this point so I was pretty sure I knew what I wanted. In fact, I have been so excited about the pot filler that I have had it picked out since our plan designing days. For the pot filler, we went with a traditional design by Kingston Brass in polished chrome. I love the vintage look of the handles which will pair beautifully with our traditional kitchen sink fixture by Elements of Design. Our tub/shower fixture is also a polished chrome and, I believe, has a nice transitional feel to it. It is the Silverton by Delta.  Our master shower was a little more difficult.  Surprisingly, there were few shower only options on display as well as available for purchase at the stores that I went to. I found a Moen fixture that I loved however, it only came in brushed nickel, and I am going for the polished chrome look throughout the home. I was able to find the same shower head in chrome but have had to seek out a different yet similar option for the shower handle.  The shower head is the Ashville by Moen in chrome. The handle is also by Moen and in chrome but it is part of the Brantford collection. The plumber already had a Moen valve that worked with our chosen trim so he was able to install that without us needing to order a valve. He also put the same valve in the back for the outdoor shower. You can see more of our potential home accessories on my Pinterest "House Accessories" board.

Pot filler by Kingston Brass

Guest shower/tub fixture: Delta Silverton

       

         Master shower head: Moen Ashville

Master shower handle: Moen Brantford

With the fixtures chosen, we moved on to choosing the fireplace boxes. We need two 36in wood burning boxes. They will go back to back with one in the great room and the other on the back porch. We quickly learned that because the second box will be open to the elements as it is on the covered back porch, it will need to be stainless steel. This of course also means that it will cost more than expected.  The first place I went to while Adam was at work. The experience was discouraging and unpleasant to say the least. There was only one choice for both boxes with no options such as a different refractory pattern to choose from and both boxes were significantly over our budget. They would also not offer me any additional information and only wanted to deal with our builder.  Luckily our amazing future neighbors were able to tell us where they had gotten their box. Adam called the company, was pleased with their conversations via phone, and I traveled out there on friday to see what our options were. The company is called Construction Solutions and they have a huge showroom with tons of selections. I worked with Harley who was able to offer multiple choices, information, guidance, and brochures. He also was able to give me concrete prices which were much closer to our original budget. We decided on the Heatilator Element 36 for the indoor box and the Outdoor Lifestyles Villawood 36in with a herringbone refractory pattern. I cannot wait to light our first fire in these fireplaces and sip a nice glass of red wine while snuggling up by the fire.

In addition to completing our homework tasks, we met with the electrician monday 5/19 at 630am. Those of you that know me, know what a sacrifice this was for me as I do not do mornings willingly.  I must really love this house haha. The owner, Steve, from Knight Electrical and the electrician, Vinny, were wonderful. Vinny walked us through the home going over the location of each outlet and switch and helped us determine the electrical layout of our home that would best suit our lifestyle and everyday activity. This type of a walk through is something that I recommend everyone who is building a home do with their electrician. We were able to see where our outlet needs would be based on how we would use each room and where switch placement made the most sense based on the walking patterns we would take through the home when moving from room to room. We ended up adding two coach lights to either side of the garage, switch receptacles in the roof overhang for Christmas lights with a switch in the garage, weatherproof receptacles outside, a dedicated circuit for future summer kitchen, and some additional pocket lights. We also changed the placement of some of the switches. In addition, we decided to try and move the air conditioning to the attic to free up the space in the storage area as that is what it was originally designed for.

With walkthroughs complete and preliminary decision made, the electricians, plumbers, A/C, and roofing sub contractors are ready to get to work. Stay tuned to see this house become wired and weatherproofed...

Framed, Trussed, and Covered...

Wow, time is certainly flying by. Life has been crazy busy this past week and it seems as though this house has gone up overnight. It has been a week since we have had the chance to post updates yet it seems as though a month's worth of progress has been made. It was just a week ago that the foundation had been laid and the wood was being brought in to initiate framing. In just 8 short days, the house has been framed, trussed, the exterior plywood walls are up, and the plywood layer of the roof is down.

Before the trusses went on, the exterior and interior walls were framed. We then met with our builder and the framing sub contractor to walk through the home and discuss any changes. We decided to remove 2 mini side walls (one in the kitchen before the pantry door opening, and one just before the door to our bedroom). We also removed the arches between the dining room and great room as well as the dining room and foyer. We did choose to leave the arch separating the kitchen and great room as well as at the entryways between the kitchen and back hallway and great room and front hallway.  This will allow for a more cohesive appearance with the varying ceiling heights and makes for uniformed sight lines. When standing in the dining room looking out, all entryway framing will be squared off. When standing at the opposite end of the house (the back hallway) the sight line will include arches at all transitions between rooms/hallways. We also officially expanded the kitchen window to add two 16in windows on either side of the already planned 3040 (3ft x 4ft) window. We think this will really open up the view and bring in some additional, always welcomed, natural light. During this meeting we were also given our next several homework tasks (these are seeming to come more quickly and in larger quantities lately....no denying this is real anymore). We need to select our roof shingle color,  pick out our indoor and outdoor fireplace boxes, as well as the fixtures for the tub/shower, master shower, and pot filler so that the plumber can rough in the valves before the drywall goes up. (Stay tuned for updates on what we decide).

With the framing complete, all questions clarified, and homework assigned, the framing team moved to installing the trusses. The framing team worked like a professional dance team moving as though they were dancing choreographed steps; each with a defined role and type of grace as they balanced precariously on the trusses and coordinated the securing of each 2x6 and pre built truss. Adam and I watched in awe as the large crane lifted the truss, swung it around the side of the house, lifted it to the roof, and lowered it down to the men to secure it to the home structure. Not only did they function like a well oiled machine, but it literally seemed to take them less than 24 hours to complete before they were on to placing the plywood layer for all the outside walls and the roof. This is when another decision needed to be made.... On the plan, there was what is referred to as "eyebrows" at the roof line over the entryway. These were quickly removed by yours truly. Our builder then asked us if we wanted to keep the "mustache" over the garage. At this point I wasn't sure if we were talking about someone's face or our house so Adam and I spent the afternoon driving around looking at rooflines for inspiration. We decided to lose the eyebrows and keep the mustache (not something I would recommend for any of your faces but I think it will work beautifully on our home). We also decided to top the mustache with a metal roof instead of shingles to add a little visual interest and texture.  We may also do this for the gable roof over the entry.  If you know me or have ever looked in my closet, you will know that I absolutely love mixed mediums!

So that pretty much brings me to present day.  Framing is complete, plywood walls and roof layer are up, and felt and peel and stick materials have been brought in. The next step will involve laying the roof, running the rough in for the electrical and plumbing, installing the air conditioning ducts, and installing windows. Hopefully we can keep up with all the progress as things are really coming along now.  It won't be long before this house becomes a home!

Framing: standing in the great room looking into the kitchen 

Framing from the front

Just sittin' on the back porch

Lifting the truss 

Large crane and the operator. He was like the conductor of the operation

Securing the truss 

Swinging the truss around

Plywood layer placed. Almost there...

Putting up the mustache. Shake shingles will go on the gable face and a metal roof will top the mustache

Arched entry...shake shingles will go on the face of the entry. Love the sightline from the front door straight back through the french doors 

Front porch with two large windows and set back entry between them

Arch in kitchen and walkway between kitchen and back hallway (view from great room looking into kitchen with large kitchen window to the left)

It's a house and almost a home...ready for the roof, plumbing, electrical, AC, and windows!

Foundation Phase 3... Final Phase

moisture barrier with tape along the seems

Phase three is officially complete. Thanks to the beautiful weather, our building team was able to complete the last phase of the foundation and pour the slab this week.  With the plumbing and electrical for the floor outlets run, the lot was ready for the final steps. The process began with making sure that the fill was compacted and leveled. Next, the moisture barrier was placed using special tape to seal all the seams of the barrier tarp and the slab was pre-treated to prevent termintes. Since there is no access to the back or side of the home lot for the concrete truck, they had to bring in a super long concrete boom pump to pour the concrete. They use laser levels and special tools to make sure that the finished product on grade slab is perfectly level throughout the home.

Once the ocncrete was poured and set, lines/grooves were created throughout the foundation. These lines allow for us to control where the concrete will crack or settle (which apparently is ineveitable with all concrete) so that we do not end up with rogue cracks in the foundation. The sub contractors then used a power trough followed by some hand troughing to smooth out the concrete so that it is smooth as glass and not only looks nice in the garage and poorches but allows for a smooth and level surface for laying the flooring inside the home.

pouring the foundation

large boom extending from truck

pouring, spreading, and eventually troughing

Now we are ready for framing! We met with our builder, friday to go over the excessively long list of questions, add ons, and changes that we had to the plans now that we are rapidly approaching what I like to refer to as a "decisions stick" or "no going back" time. Basically we can soon no longer scrutinize the plans and peruse Houzz and Pinterest for new ideas because this home will have officially transformed from one dimensional paper drawings with hypothetical ideas to an actual three dimensional framed structure approved by engineers and inspectors as is (gulp and eeek and yay!). Our add on list included:

• Move attic entrance to more middle of garage so that the pull down stairs do not get in the way of the future work bench
• Enlarge kitchen window to add 16in windows on either side
• Built in nook between the studs in shower for shampoo, etc
• Bench in master shower
• Add outdoor electrical wiring for lights on either side of garage
• Outside outlets around perimeter of house
• Place kitchen outlets under cabinets instead of on wall where backsplash would go (not sure about this as it would mean electrical boxes in our cabinets)
• Hide the garbage disposal switch
• Outlets in roof overhang for Christmas lights
• Run conduit to the front and back for future lighting
• Wiring for a doorbell (our builder clarified that this is standard and included)
• Add cable jacks 
• Set up for RO at kitchen sink
• Speaker pre-wiring
• Pre-wiring for alarm system
• Gutters outside/rain barrel system 
• Interior wall insulation
• Options/cost for doing blue tooth wiring for some kind of "smart hub" or central control system 
• Eventually we will probably glass in (or do the accordion glass doors) the back patio. At that time we will obviously want the option for air back there. Is there anything that we can do now to make that more cost effective/possible in the future?  (turns out we may need to just add in another air system but this may put us over our allowed residential amp capacity. Our builder is looking in to this for us).

Our builder also had us pick and finalize our window decision. We went with a colonial grill style throughout the home. This will also be the style for our doors. 

window inspiration

Treasure Hunting

Eco Relics salvage shop downtown Jacksonville, FL

This weekend, Adam and I decided to venture downtown and explore the new salvage shop, Eco Relics, that opened a couple of months ago.  Having watched every episode of Rehab Addict, we were fully aware of how exciting it was that this new salvage place opened up during our home building process. Being avid followers of the show has also made us self proclaimed experts on this kind of "treasure hunting." Despite having no particular hunting mission in mind, we excitedly braved the rain and travelled downtown. Not only did we find many items that sparked our creativity and inspired future projects, but we managed to find exactly what we weren't looking for... the perfect coastal trim for our custom kitchen range hood. It is a custom painted, whitewashed piece of wood trim that happens to perfectly match the gray, ivory, and mint shades of our future kitchen.

Find of the day: range hood wood trim in gray, ivory, and mint shades

Mint green vintage window

Gorgeous red cedar wood piece

Beautiful carved solid wood door. Wouldn't work with our decor but
reminds me of the picturesque doors I saw throughout Romania

We also spent a significant amount of time at the property this weekend.  At the end of last week, the plumber came out and ran the plumbing for the bathrooms, kitchen, laundry room, and outside hose bibs and shower.  With the plumbing completed, the electrician is scheduled to come out this morning to run the wiring for the two floor outlets that we will have in the living room. These outlets were recently added (once I realized that all of our living room furniture will be floating) and were therefore not placed on the plans.  As a result, it is up to Adam and I to figure out exactly where we want these placed and provide our builder with the measurements of their location from the back and side walls. With no access to (or experience with) CAD, and difficulties visualizing on the plans, we went out to the property, schematics and tape measurer in hand, to determine the location of our floor outlets. Hopefully we are not so far off that they are actually in the kitchen haha.

Measuring for floor outlets

Adam deciphering the plans

Until next time...

Naples, FL

Last weekend, we travelled down to Adam's home town of Naples, FL to witness the marriage of his sister, Casey, to our now brother-in-law Julian. We absolutely love visiting Naples. Everything about the city is inspiring. The beaches and clear water are picturesque, lawns are lushly landscaped and neatly manicured, the residents are put together and adorned in their LIlly Pulitzer, and the houses perfectly capture the coastal southern charm Adam and I strive to achieve.

When we first realized that we were going to commit to designing our custom dream home last September, we immediately turned our next visit to Naples into an inspiration gathering trip. We would spend the days driving around our favorite neighborhoods snapping pictures of our dream houses. It was fun to go back this weekend, now that this dream is more tangible, and gather even more inspiring images and fresh ideas. Here are some of our favorites that we came across.....

Although totally un-related to house design, I have to share a pic from my sister-in-law's wedding. The weather was absolute perfect!  The ceremony was in the park at Lowdermilk Beach in front of a gorgeous banyan tree and the reception was at the groom's Greek Orthodox church.  Now, having a best friend who is Jewish, I have been to my fair share of fun Jewish weddings. However, this was my first Albanian wedding. Similar to the Greek and Jewish receptions, this celebration can be summed up in one word.... ENERGY! There was so much dancing and tradition, it was a blast. Adam and I definitely worked off our wedding cake and champagne that night! Even my dad joined in on the circle dancing.

Adam and I with the bride and groom
Photo credit: Krystal Healy Photography

View from the bridal suite at the Naples Waldorf Astoria

Wedding day after beach and pool day!

Until next time...