After a much needed visit to the Christensen clan in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, I thought it was about time I provided an update to those of you who are so graciously following the building of our dream eco house!!
Things were delayed a bit because the City of Argyle had many hoops for the builder to jump through. As a matter of fact, the city called Chuck and I, along with our builder, in to have a discussion about drainage. Yep, it was as exciting as it sounds. It appears our neighbor to the east had drainage problems a few years ago and blamed the city quite vocally (I'm being nice here, it seems she had these three grown men sweating). They wanted to make sure we had adequate drainage so we would not be pushing any extra water on to the neighbors property leading to said neighbor renewing her rant at the city about drainage (and likely also at us!) It was a cover yours and our butts kind of deal. Our builder was able to reassure them to the point they finally granted us a building permit!!! YAY!
I went out to the property today and was able to see our piles of dirt (see pictures for evidence!) along with a port-o-potty and a temporary electric pole!!!! Whoohoo, progress! While I was out there, our builder showed up and we had a nice chat. He said that the dirt guy, barring any weather issues, would be leveling the dirt over the next few days. Wouldn't you know it, we live in an area of drought, but it has decided to rain on my dirt parade and is supposed to rain again overnight. Where's a drought when you really want it???? He also said he is hoping to have the forms in by Friday. Next stop, foundation!!
Ok, so a lot has been happening in the "Lori finds these things fun" category since my last post. First, we went to look at windows and doors. It was a pretty easy and quick thing since the builder had basically picked out the windows that were the most efficient already and the selection of doors narrows when you go eco-friendly. We picked out a beautiful front door and some pretty basic doors for the back. We will have 3 point locks on the doors, meaning a deadbolt and locks at both the top and bottom of each door. This is to make sure there is a tight seal on the doors (and the added benefit of security, altho' answering the door will be a 3 step process). Second, we went to look at brick and stone for the outside of the house. The stone was an easy pick and it comes from Oklahoma. The brick was a bit more challenging. The brick guy was very patient with us and we were able to narrow it down to 3. To give us perspective, the brick guy gave us the addresses of several homes with the stone we liked mixed with the various bricks we liked. So, one Saturday, Super Hubs and I set out on what he called "The Stone and Brick Tour" which he plotted out carefully (could he do it any other way?) and took 4 hours. We were able to discard one of our choices and will talk to the brick guy about the other two which happen to have different qualities we like (one is textured, but uniform in color and the other flatter with more variation in color).The painted brick will be either reclaimed or what I call "seconds". While on our "tour" we stopped by the tile place to pick up the samples I ordered a few weeks ago and ended up there for an hour so I could show Chuck the tiles I liked and the direction I was going on the bathrooms. By the process of elimination we came to an agreement and ordered more samples. Third, but not lastly, we went and picked out plumbing fixtures. It was a relatively painless process as the man helping us was very knowledgeable and fun to work with. It seems finding faucets and shower stuff that is all made in America is virtually impossible. I guess China has cornered the market on making almost 100% of the parts. Some are assembled in the US, but they tend to be on the high end of the financial scale. The most efficient toilets are made in Japan. The salesman said Dallas County (where the store was located) is only allowed to sell 1.28 gallon tank (or less) toilets which makes them extremely efficient (maybe a drought will get us all somewhat efficient?). We decided on a 1.28 gallon toilet instead of a dual flush because it had other features the dual flush did not. We found a nice acrylic soaking tub. The acrylic apparently holds it's heat better where a cast iron tub seems to cool off faster. Long story short, it was a pretty painless experience and Chuck and I agreed on style (whew! I had been researching long and hard on the internet so I would be educated when I talked to this guy and he actually had all the stuff I had found on the web and liked at a comparable price!). Lastly, (I know this is a bit long winded, but stick with me because this part is interesting!) we had a meeting with the polished aggregate guy (the flooring we have picked to go throughout the house). It was an informative and interesting meeting. Our builder is new to this technique so we all had questions. Anyway, once the foundation is poured, this guy comes out after it has hardened to his specifications and polishes the concrete to expose the aggregate (the pebbles and rocks used in the concrete). He uses a diamond embedded buffer machine to polish. The end result can be shiny or not too shiny (our choice is not too). There is no sealer, just a stain guard-type material that is infused with the concrete. The guy said it is inherently not slippery, but is extremely hard. He let us know there WILL be some some cracking as in all concrete but it does not affect the integrity of the concrete it just gives it a "distressed" look. He said he can come fill in and repolish dings and cracks (but, I'm guessing that ain't cheap!) but for residential use it is unlikely we will need it. This part of the building process will happen early on (before the house is even framed!) and likely in the next 2 - 3 weeks (so, keep an eye out for that because it's gonna be interesting).
Well, that about covers it! Suffice it to say, we have been busy running around doing all the stuff listed in the last paragraph. I have to send out a big shout out to the Super Hubs for taking time out if his busy work day to participate (and only having to postpone one meeting!!) His work schedule is crazy and he ended up having to work some evenings, but I think in the long run he will be happier with the result if he helps me with the decor choices!
We are very psyched about our dirt piles!!!!! Wish you all were here to share the joy!!!
Love to all and please recycle,
Lori
