tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-358885252011-07-30T17:42:35.236-07:00Homebuilding Process245Househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10666020179904060797noreply@blogger.comBlogger501100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35888525.post-32786909824958503982011-07-15T09:09:00.001-07:002011-07-15T12:14:43.086-07:00

We moved into our house on 1/2/10. Since then we have been busy trying to complete it. I will post some pics soon of our progress since then. We have just recently started the biggest project we have left to complete...the master shower.The beginningWire meshPreslope complete

245Househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10666020179904060797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35888525.post-62975888790933389692009-12-04T11:58:00.001-08:002009-12-04T12:09:16.893-08:00

245Househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10666020179904060797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35888525.post-31674640523792060412009-08-26T19:22:00.001-07:002009-08-26T19:33:29.626-07:00

245Househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10666020179904060797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35888525.post-60804249675954331852009-07-25T18:50:00.000-07:002009-07-25T19:02:16.065-07:00

It has been a busy past 3 months. Since the last update we have completed electrical, plumbing, low voltage, and hvac.

245Househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10666020179904060797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35888525.post-30159746345648465202009-04-19T19:14:00.001-07:002009-04-19T19:29:51.038-07:00

245Househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10666020179904060797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35888525.post-13624955049708957562009-03-08T19:12:00.001-07:002009-03-08T19:27:05.439-07:00

The house is now dried in!!! Work on the interior has begun. Walls and stair brackets are going up.

245Househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10666020179904060797noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35888525.post-78677315160481733422009-01-11T17:58:00.001-08:002009-01-11T18:15:52.169-08:00

The siding is complete...except for a little trim and touch ups. Onto the roof!Views from 45'

245Househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10666020179904060797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35888525.post-84314677140919736312008-12-29T19:09:00.001-08:002008-12-29T19:17:45.321-08:00

245Househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10666020179904060797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35888525.post-74974008242282695562008-11-23T18:09:00.000-08:002008-11-23T18:32:40.075-08:00

The past 9 days have been very busy and productive. We rented an all terrain scissor lift to finish the exterior. Below are the pictures of our progress.

245Househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10666020179904060797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35888525.post-55313554284017904792008-11-06T18:46:00.000-08:002008-11-06T18:52:01.247-08:00

245Househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10666020179904060797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35888525.post-84717260321200818592008-10-19T18:39:00.000-07:002008-10-19T18:47:38.992-07:00

Here are a few pictures of the fiber-cement siding. There might be an update next weekend of some of the corrugated galvalume.

245Househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10666020179904060797noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35888525.post-36146673036041562312008-10-16T19:17:00.000-07:002008-10-16T19:20:52.276-07:00

Just a few pics of the first pieces of siding. There will be much more in the near future.

245Househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10666020179904060797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35888525.post-37947834791775911912008-10-01T15:30:00.000-07:002008-10-01T15:37:54.585-07:00

This is our first update since Ike. We were lucky... just minimal damage. A few screws broke on the sheathing, a few trees down (none on the house), and some roofing felt torn off. Since then, our windows have been delivered and we have 17 of them installed. This upcoming weekend we begin the siding.

245Househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10666020179904060797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35888525.post-49063398193386960282008-09-01T19:18:00.000-07:002008-09-01T19:29:52.569-07:00

The exterior progress...Windows will be delivered and installed this week or next.Yep...video surveillanceHousewrap

245Househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10666020179904060797noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35888525.post-71705918476505998902008-07-27T19:13:00.000-07:002008-07-27T19:22:05.311-07:00

The 1-1/8" T&G OSB has been installed. All except for a few small pieces...

245Househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10666020179904060797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35888525.post-27368517990528807062008-07-17T19:30:00.000-07:002008-07-17T19:34:45.589-07:00

Some of the floor joists are up.

245Househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10666020179904060797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35888525.post-1009805664935389802008-06-18T18:57:00.000-07:002008-06-19T18:18:04.695-07:00

It has been a while since the last update. I have trouble remembering to bring the camera... The second load of steel arrived a couple weeks ago, just beat the 15% price increase. The ceiling joists are up, the parapet walls have been completed, 2 sections of rafters are up, and the roof decking will begin going on this weekend. Very good progress but still a ways to go. I'll be glad when it is

245Househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10666020179904060797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35888525.post-76541749131754777672008-04-13T18:50:00.000-07:002008-04-13T19:02:28.522-07:00

We got the steel delivered on Tuesday for the first floor walls, parapet walls, and ceiling joist. The majority of the first floor framing is done. We should finish it up this week and get started on the sheathing.

245Househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10666020179904060797noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35888525.post-7846687288175817482008-03-17T18:24:00.000-07:002008-03-17T18:41:13.218-07:00

Complete! We started fabrication on 12-15-07 and completely finished the structural steel on 3-16-08. Here is the finished frame. Today we also got the water tied in...hopefully no leaks!

245Househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10666020179904060797noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35888525.post-79862432040936573112008-03-15T20:37:00.000-07:002008-03-15T20:46:29.821-07:00

All but 2 beams.

245Househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10666020179904060797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35888525.post-31476861021223885192008-03-14T19:37:00.000-07:002008-03-14T19:44:10.897-07:00

I know...I skipped a day. Things have gone fairly well the past few days. Only 11 more beams remain!

245Househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10666020179904060797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35888525.post-73184795625104769402008-03-12T19:28:00.000-07:002008-03-12T19:34:00.360-07:00

After a bit of trouble getting the manlift back to the house we finally have begun.

245Househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10666020179904060797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35888525.post-29260611361391981222008-03-02T18:27:00.000-08:002008-03-02T18:30:42.638-08:00

The much needed and overdue electric pedestal is installed! The meter *should* be set March 5th. The first floor and second floor columns are all up. We are working on all the second floor beams. Should have them done by next weekend and ready to go up.

245Househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10666020179904060797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35888525.post-34436511448196626942008-02-24T18:57:00.000-08:002008-02-24T19:13:10.235-08:00

All the first floor is done except for 2 columns. We are getting closer to having power as well. They ran 3" conduit for the wire but had to stop short due to all the rain we got last week. They are suppose to be out tomorrow to finish but I don't see how that is possible...still too wet.Front of house.South West corner.South west corner with cantilevered balcony.Back of house.Back of house -

245Househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10666020179904060797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35888525.post-38899333636738458272008-02-18T18:52:00.001-08:002008-02-18T19:19:13.431-08:00

Here are some updated pictures of our frame going up. We have 80% of the first floor up. The only thing we are lacking are some of the perimeter beams... and the entire second floor.

245Househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10666020179904060797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35888525.post-7293417088642126392008-02-09T19:36:00.000-08:002008-02-09T19:38:18.525-08:00

The first beams going up.

245Househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10666020179904060797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35888525.post-40801797952466679332008-01-01T17:59:00.000-08:002008-01-01T18:10:56.836-08:00

Here are a few pics of the progress we have made up to this point. We have all the 1st floor single story columns up and 1 of the 2 story columns. We are currently working on the 2nd story columns. Happy new year!

245Househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10666020179904060797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35888525.post-78489745733885608332007-12-22T20:13:00.000-08:002007-12-22T20:34:43.830-08:00

The weekend following the foundation pour, we laid the sewer and water as well as finishing the driveway in front of the slab. We rented a trencher and a tracked skid steer loader for the job. Other than a minor few problems (getting the plug out of the sewer line, no tripod for the laser rental) things went pretty good.Power is still an estimated 2 months out. Hopefully it comes sooner. It

245Househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10666020179904060797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35888525.post-8881656266484094822007-10-31T19:02:00.001-07:002007-10-31T19:22:50.349-07:00

245Househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10666020179904060797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35888525.post-29428854389779616282007-10-30T18:56:00.000-07:002007-10-30T19:18:26.016-07:00

The foundation is ready to be poured. All the forms are done and seem to be correct. We noticed, for some reason, they decided to put a brace on a plumbing pipe and in doing so, shot a nail through it. It appears where the nail pierces the pipe is high enough above the foundation so we can cut if off and splice a new piece on. We pour tomorrow at 7AM...

245Househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10666020179904060797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35888525.post-26249997299844405732007-10-29T18:26:00.000-07:002007-10-29T18:41:42.484-07:00

The concrete will be poured on Wednesday. Hopefully, the sewer line and water will go in on Saturday & Sunday. More dirt and crushed concrete will be delivered on Thursday and Friday to repair the driveway back to its original state before the dump trucks went rolling through. We'll see how things go!

245Househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10666020179904060797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35888525.post-1275672012581922422007-10-15T19:06:00.000-07:002007-10-15T19:12:57.539-07:00

Today (Monday), it rained. A little over 4". I doubt we will be able to pour this week. Below are pics of the plumbing repairs we completed over the weekend.

245Househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10666020179904060797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35888525.post-83414787969343073472007-10-13T19:57:00.000-07:002007-10-13T20:21:15.359-07:00

This past Tuesday, the plumber was able to get out to our property and do his thing. He arrived at about 1:30 and finished around 4. At 4:01 it started raining. It only rained for 15 minutes or so, but from the looks of things you would think we got 10 inches. Tuesday night we braved the mud and were able to fill the pipes with water to test for leaks. There were none found. The makeup crew

245Househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10666020179904060797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35888525.post-72073705788218047182007-10-05T20:03:00.000-07:002007-10-05T20:10:18.578-07:00

Forms are in place. Over the weekend we will install the underground conduit for electrical/PEX plumbing and also the radon extraction system. The plumber should be out Tuesday. The foundation will be poured, at the earliest, on Friday.

245Househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10666020179904060797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35888525.post-69443094060780499582007-10-04T18:33:00.000-07:002007-10-04T18:48:28.489-07:00

On Tuesday, we moved 1 step closer to having a completed foundation. The piers were drilled and poured. Today, Thursday, they began setting the forms for the foundation. Over the weekend the electrical conduit will go in for the kitchen island and the pipe for radon prevention will be laid. Next week the underground plumbing will be installed and hopefully the beams will be cut, rebar laid,

245Househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10666020179904060797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35888525.post-2253570119048914372007-09-30T19:36:00.001-07:002007-09-30T20:24:23.362-07:00

I have forgotten how long it has been since I have updated this. It's getting late so just a quick update. I got a quote from Blue Ox Concrete in Spring TX to do the pad and foundation. Pad quote, not bad at all; foundation quote, not bad either. One catch though, they seemed shocked to see such a "beefy" foundation as they described. It gave me the impression they had never done anything

245Househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10666020179904060797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35888525.post-79148801074885197342007-07-12T18:57:00.000-07:002007-07-12T19:37:33.152-07:00

Yes, it has been a while. We have made some progress over the past few months. Some, but not much.First, the bad news. The COH still owes us money for an application submittal that never went through. However, they are refusing to refund the money. Every time we prove them to be wrong, they come up with another excuse to deny the refund. In 1 more week, if we have not made progress, I am

245Househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10666020179904060797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35888525.post-10468347412113567532007-04-15T17:32:00.000-07:002007-04-16T19:02:35.498-07:00

Driveway is finally done!...for the most part. Still a little soft in places. The crushed concrete has been spread and we are able to drive on it. Heavier trucks might have a problem until everything dries out. The rain has been relentless. For the past 5 or 6 weeks we have been trying to get the sewer and water line run from the front of the property to where our house it going to be with no

245Househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10666020179904060797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35888525.post-1171250512187384542007-02-11T18:48:00.000-08:002007-02-11T19:21:52.200-08:00

This past Wednesday the dirt for the driveway went down. The skid loader got stuck multiple times...once for about an hour. The dirt arrived 7 hours late and all at once. The loader developed a hydraulic leak and had to be swapped out. Because of the late arrival of the dirt and the leak, the rental company allowed me to keep the loader for another few hours on Thursday to finish up. However, on

245Househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10666020179904060797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35888525.post-1170640873837787692007-02-04T17:39:00.000-08:002007-02-04T18:07:02.533-08:00

After 3 weeks of rain we were finally able to make some progress. We spent all of last weekend trying to pump the water out of the low spots in order to dry everything up to get the driveway down but we did not have any luck. There was just too much water flowing off the property and into the low spots where the driveway is going. Hopefully this Wednesday we will be able to get the remainder of

245Househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10666020179904060797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35888525.post-1167616084868621222006-12-31T17:03:00.000-08:002006-12-31T17:48:04.880-08:00

Well... at least 1 thing was completed. The area for the house has now been cleared. This would not have been done nearly as fast as it was without the help of my Dad! We got the trackhoe delivered on Tuesday, Dec. 26 at 8AM. By the end of the day on Tuesday, we had cleared the remainder of the driveway and had most of the yaupon stumps removed as well as a few small trees. I was able to get off

245Househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10666020179904060797noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35888525.post-1166495502411324902006-12-18T17:51:00.000-08:002006-12-18T18:31:42.450-08:00

Still waiting on the replat to be 100% completed. If we want an update we have to call them. Even so, there is no guarantee they will call us back. The mylar should be ready to sign this week. They guy we were going to get to clear is waaaaay to expensive. I am still trying to talk him down. If it does not work out, we will be doing it ourselves. Most likely the week between Christmas and New

245Househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10666020179904060797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35888525.post-1164255916581981932006-11-22T20:10:00.000-08:002006-11-22T20:34:35.970-08:00

On November 9th we had our public hearing. It was quite boring actually. After sitting there for an hour and half listening to other plats/replats, they finally got to ours. There were no protests or objections. Twenty seconds later we had our approval. It is now estimated to be 100% completed by Dec. 4th. Since then we have cleared for the driveway and began fabricating the exterior doors

245Househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10666020179904060797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35888525.post-1162868951706324882006-11-06T19:08:00.000-08:002006-11-06T19:09:29.596-08:00

Out with the old… I have recently neglected updating this due to a deadline I have set for myself. I had intended on being finished with our current house by Nov. 9th so I could begin on some minor details on the new house. We go in on this Thursday for our public hearing for our replat. If everything is approved, I hope to begin some of the fabrication of the doors and such. Even if this

245Househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10666020179904060797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35888525.post-1162096622884574272006-10-28T21:34:00.000-07:002006-10-28T21:37:02.896-07:00

This will be short and to the point. As I stated earlier, I think window placement and design should take place from the interior point of view; ignoring the exterior aesthetics for the most point. While windows can “dress up” the exterior of the house, I do not believe they should be placed just by looking at the exterior elevations. I also do not agree with the traditional designs that

245Househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10666020179904060797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35888525.post-1161745102958078502006-10-24T19:57:00.000-07:002006-10-24T19:58:22.960-07:00

I am going to deviate from the scheduled posting about windows and instead post an update of our progress with the property replat. We finally received our hearing date of November 9th late last week. Today, the legal ad was published in the Houston Chronicle, and the notification sign went up at the property. Flyers will be sent out, as well, to everyone in a 200’ radius to the

245Househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10666020179904060797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35888525.post-1161402126900691322006-10-20T20:32:00.000-07:002006-10-22T19:06:02.403-07:00

My wife and I have dreamt about building a house for about 6 years. Basically, ever since we have purchased our first house. If you would have asked us then what style house we were going to build, the answer would have been unanimously Mediterranean. That was until we stared seriously looking into the detail that goes into those types of houses. And that type of detail comes at a nice price

245Househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10666020179904060797noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35888525.post-1160961240801723722006-10-15T18:13:00.000-07:002006-12-18T18:38:46.353-08:00

We are drawing up the house plans ourselves. Fortunately, I am somewhat familiar with Autocad or else I do not know if we could do this part of the process. Our floorplan and elevations have changed about 50 times since we first began. We started off the process by making a list of what we like and dislike about our current residence. We also made a separate wish list of things we would

245Househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10666020179904060797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35888525.post-1160794170265077272006-10-13T19:48:00.000-07:002006-10-13T19:50:11.330-07:00

We have decided to build a custom house for many different reasons. I would be here all day describing all of them, so I will hit just a few of the main reasons. For anyone familiar with Houston, you may know that most suburban neighborhoods are all the same. Most are developed and only have a few house builders (or just one) building houses in that neighborhood. The problem we have with this

245Househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10666020179904060797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35888525.post-1160622510116562082006-10-11T19:53:00.000-07:002006-11-06T19:16:46.070-08:00

Hello everyone. This blog will follow the homebuilding journey of a custom home in Houston, TX. My wife and I have been in the planning stages of this house for 2 1/2 years. Currently we are attempting to re-plat a 15 acre tract of land owned by my parents to extract a 2.45 acre tract out of it. This process began back in March 2006. It is now the middle of October and we are barely 20%

245Househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10666020179904060797noreply@blogger.com0