When a Lot Becomes a House!

Hello everyone!

polishing the office floor

We have a floor, we have a floor, we have a beautiful floor!  Yes, my friends, the slab has been poured and the surface ground down to show the aggregate in the concrete and polished to a lovely sheen!  Super hubs and I are really excited how it has come together!  It's hard to explain and hard to see in the pictures below what it really looks like.  This floor is going to be extremely low maintenance.  I was told by the installer there will be no wear pattern or fading.  How cool is that!  The look is not for everyone, but I think it suits our plan for the house nicely!  When the concrete for the slab is poured you never really know what you are going to get, so we expected the size of the aggregate to vary throughout the house and it does.  It is a very unique look and I think it will really provide some visual  interest and a neat foundation to build on.  Now that I have a better idea of the color for the flooring I can begin to refine the search for the right color tile, counter tops, cabinets and trim.  The aggregate ended up being more in shades of brown than the grey I expected which is actually a good thing since most of my furniture is in the brown family.  The whole idea behind the style of the house was to showcase the art collection I was given by my dad and Karen.  I really think all the beautiful and colorful Cuban and Haitian art I now have will really pop in this house whereas in my current home it is really all spread out which I feel lessens the impact.

pre-polished slab

Next up is the framing!  Within the next week it should really start looking like a house.  Our builder said the roof will likely be on in the next 3 weeks!!  Our builder is also considering making our house a "show house" which means we would open the house up for tours for a weekend or 2.  There are pluses and minuses to this. The minuses are it would delay us moving in (although this might not matter much because we have to sell our current house and who knows in this market - but Dallas/Ft Worth seems to have weathered the housing crisis better than other areas), people touching our stuff (I'm kinda weird about that stuff) and pissing off the new neighbors by having cars lined up all over the street (the builder had a show house that had 800 people visit in 2 weekends!) and having them hate us before we even move in (and as you know we are actually quite fun people!).  The pluses include upgraded stuff at a discount, the house would be 100% done (landscaping, pool, water capture, solar) when we move in (our plan had been to do the landscaping and water capture a bit later for financial reasons) and educating people on what is doable if you want to go green (I LOVE this idea most!  If one person puts up solar panels or does rainwater capture because they traipsed thru my house it would be worth all the hassle).  If you can think of other pluses or negatives I might not have considered, please share!  I respect your input!

I'm so glad we are only about 20 minutes from our new house (I can now call it a house instead of a lot!!!!) because Chuck and I are out there constantly!  It's actually kind of a nice drive past horse farms and wide open spaces - although I don't think those spaces are going to be wide open for long the way this area continues to grow!

So far this process has been pretty exciting.  I'm not fond of  the hurry up and wait part.  We had a bunch of rain, 3 or 4 inches a few weeks ago, right after the slab was poured which delayed the grinding and polishing that needed to  be done before the framing could go up.  In a normal build, the framing could go up while the slab was curing, but the equipment to grind and polish won't fit (especially into corners) if the framing is up.  So, now we are off and running.  Be expecting posts more often and I look forward to sharing this process with all of you!

Much love and please recycle,
Lori

When Dirt is No Longer a Pile

Hello everyone!  Just wanted to send out a quick update on what's going on with our house.  As those of you who have built a home know, things seem to go at a snail's pace, but there are many things going on that add up to progress!  Since my last post, we no longer have piles of dirt.  The dirt has been leveled, forms are laid out so we can see where the house will sit, plumbing and electric has been started, piers have been poured and last I heard (I have not seen this yet as hubs and I were at the lot Saturday and it was done on Sunday) we have rebar!!!!  So, what's next?  Foundation!!!  The builder hopes to get the foundation poured later this week, weather permitting!  Yes, we live in a drought stricken state, but it seems this this spring it has decided it's time to fill up our lakes and reservoirs.  Now, don't get me wrong, we need the rain, just not this week!!!  I'll just have to send out a special plea to Mother Nature to hold off a day or two!

When we went out to the lot on Saturday it was a beautiful sunny day and the horses in the pasture behind the lot were out casually eating grass and enjoying the lovely weather.  There were 3 pregnant mares right near the fence and I had such an urge to go pat them on their beautiful heads, but refrained as I don't know how friendly they are.  I am really looking forward to seeing the babies once they arrive!  We walked around the lot and got a feel for where the rooms will be.  It's so cool to see it at this stage and imagine where the kitchen will be and where Doppler will look out to bark at the squirrels.  I think once the foundation is poured it will give us an even better idea of how things will look.

Chuck and I took the opportunity to drive around a bit to see what might be close by.  Well, I'm hear to tell you there isn't much.  This city girl is going to have to get her ducks in a row about grocery shopping and eating out (or ordering in for that matter!)  You have to remember I am used to living in an area where there are 3 grocery stores within a few mile radius.  Due to my dad having owned grocery stores, I am a wee bit picky about where I shop, so this could pose a challenge.  I will have to start planning better, that's for sure! The good news is that there is a nice liquor store that will order kegs for Chuck not too far away (I may have to take up beer drinking).  I could tell when we walked in he did a big sigh of relief!  The area is  really growing, so who knows what might  pop up in the years to come.  There are a few little restaurants close by, so Chuck and I are hoping to try them out soon!  Sometimes the little hole in the wall joints are the best!  One thing I'll really miss is a Starbucks close by.  Think of the money I'll save.....I don't want you to get the idea we are way out in the boonies or anything, but for me it is a whole new experience.  Our goal is to drive out in all four directions from the new house and find the treasures!  One great thing we are aware of is there is a snowcone stand within walking distance of the house that sets up in the summer!  Oh, and Argyle has a farmer's market that can't be too far, so fresh fruits and veg (I don't remember if I mentioned it, but the neighbor said we have peach trees along the back fence, so who likes pie?  Cobbler?  Jam?  Can you really see me making jam?)    So, if you know of any hidden treasures near us, let us know and I will share my peaches with you! (Shoot, now I'm wondering  if I can get a good pizza and Chinese delivered....hmmmm!)

So, right now we have pipes sticking out of the ground, a temporary electrical pole and rebar (at least I have been told we do)!  My plan right now is to go out and watch the foundation being poured, hopefully on Thursday or Friday!  I'll take plenty of pictures to share....but don't hold your breath because my understanding is there is an 80% chance of rain (well, crap!) But, if you are at all familiar with Texas weather, the weather report changes on an hourly basis!  Cross your fingers!

Love to all
Lori

click here for: graded lot and partial forms

click here for: post-forms, post-piers, pre-plumbing, pre-slab-prep

click here for: master bedroom (from the back yard)

click here for: view of the house from the master bedroom (West looking East)

click here for: view of the house from the garage (NE corner)

click here for: horses!