Day # 255

We are in the home stretch! The Electricians are completing their work and the Siding company has been working on completing the back side of the house! Jeff is really busting his rear to get the house ready for my bridal shower! D&D Excavating completed the septic field last night and we expect the plumber to return to finish his end of the plumbing today!!! Did I mention my massive bathtub arrived! I spent a little time lounging in it the other day, so what if it was still in the box (haha)!

Here are some photos of our progress

Day #247

Yesterday a lot of progress was made on the electrical. The entire house has all the gang boxes nailed up, All the can lighting in place and the only thing to be done is pull the wire and connect! The well finally has power to it so we officially have running water and a hose!!!

Last night the Mason came out to the house to pick up the lot ticket to get the stone for the front of the house. When he got to Menard's they informed him that we had a total of 7,500 pounds in stone and he was not able to haul it.

Jeff called me around 7:30 while he was in his classes for church to let me know that the stone wouldn't be delivered until Saturday.. NOPEEE NOPE NOPPPEEE!!! The mason has a job to start on Monday so our house has to be finished before then and a Saturday delivery was just not going to cut it. I put my thinking cap on and knew just who to call!! Thankfully my cousin made the trip out to Menard's and picked up all the stone for us at 8:00 at night! That is what I call a life saver!!!

The masons started on time with all materials this morning at 5:30am and the electricians, Jeff and my grandpa are all at the house pulling the wire! It should take until Monday for the house to be fully wired. The stone should be complete by Sunday and Siding will start on Monday!

Now for the funny part of the day! I got to work this morning, checked my Inbox and found a "your order has shipped" email! YAY!! My bathtub is on its way.... TO MY OFFICE!!!! When I paid for the order through pay-pal, it input my usual shipping address to Home Depot which put my tub on a one way freight to my office building. Thankfully I was able to catch it in time and reroute the delivery. Not really sure how I would be able to explain a 72x42 bathtub in the lobby to my boss!

Day #245

Welcome back, its been a while thankfully you have missed nothing.

Our home build has been at a stand still for almost 151 days. For those who think its a bright idea to begin a house build without a construction loan I am here to tell you just how wrong you are.

We started the build with a private investor and funds that we brought to the table from our house sale. That money ran out back in January after the lumber, framing, windows and doors. It took us until last week to secure a construction loan since we are not using a builder. I again repeat DO NOT EVER TRY THIS AT HOME ladies and gentlemen!

Since the loan closed we have ordered the stone, siding, kitchen cabinets, heating and cooling, electrical and lined up contractors to race against the clock for the next three weeks.

If you were sad you have missed the action no need to fear we are up and running and I plan to update daily.

I dont recall if I ever explained the Front door situation but we had to change our game plan. We ordered the original door from HomeDepot and the door was to be sent from California. After about a month since we were told it shipped we contacted the direct company and the conversation went like so

"Hello leave message afta beep we no here now"

Needless to say we cancelled the order immediately! Thankfully I am thrilled with the solid wood door we ordered and it makes the entire house!

Over the past week the heating and cooling has been installed, the plumber has started and we plan to have the siding, stone, septic field, electrical, plumbing, installation, heating and cooling and final grade all complete by the first week in August. We have a drywall team ready to start in three weeks as well!

Oh I almost forgot! We changed the kitchen cabinets! It was a tough choice but I went with it! I have attached a photo!!

Here are some photos of the recent developments just to prove I have not neglected my blogging duties!

Enjoy!

Day 94-

Slacking I know! I was called out by a fellow Garrell Home Lover in my comments so I apologize LOL! Our build has come to a screeching halt. We built the house in an area with a higher water table and with the snow in Michigan melting it has caused the 800 foot driveway to become a mud pit. We are unable to get the trucks into the property to pour the basement floor and the garage. We are also waiting on the front door to arrive, as we had to reorder a different door. Our initial purchase was from an Iron Works company in California and they were anything but legitimate. They issued a shipped status but the door had not even been made. Needless to say we cancelled our order and started back at square one. All the windows but the "faux window" in the peak and the front window where they will go through to pour the floor has been installed. The house is looking beautiful and as soon as we are able to finish the plumbing and pour the floor, install the door and last window the house will be well on its way to completion. We already have every fixture purchased, the cabinets and the sinks, faucets and even outlets so its just a waiting game for Michigan's mother nature and our asphalt company to get it together!!!

Day 62-

62 days into the build and 1,566 days into our relationship, Jeff got down on one at the entrance of our home and asked for my hand in marriage. I was completely caught off guard and had no clue he was proposing. He put a lot of time and thought into the proposal and it was nothing short of perfect. He took the ring and put it inside a bible that he wrapped up in meat paper (LOL Totally threw me off) and left on the front board of our home. We walked through the house to measure for the "doors" and there it was sitting there. My mind raced with oh no what did I order that has shown up here (We all know I love shopping)! Then I realized it was a bible. I looked at the back and saw a hefty price tag and said WOW the builder must have saw the scriptures I wrote on the walls and bought us a bible. That is when Jeff said why don't you open it.... I turned the first page and all I saw was "Marry Me?" Jeff got down on one knee and I lost it. I was in complete and total shock. It was perfect. Every little thing.

As for the house everything is moving along well!!! All the windows are being delivered and installed today. The remainder of the roof is going up and the shingles are also being installed! YAHOO!!!!!

Day 62-

I've slacked, I will admit it. But  its time for catch up (where do I begin). First things first...Lowe's! Last weekend Jeff and I took a trip over to Lowe's to browse. Our browsing turned into buying and our buying turned into finishing! All the light fixtures int he entire house have been purchased. Did I mention ALL the fixtures at Lowe's were ON SALE!!!!

For the girls bathroom we purchased these lovely 'Orbs' along with the matching Vanity Lights. The Vanity set was not on sale however the Orbs were for $30 & $54 (we got two three would be a bit much in the Jack and Jill bath).

 

 For our bathroom we scored an awesome deal on a fixture I just could walk away from. This fixture I plan to hang in the center of the bathroom to accent the Tuscan theme we have going.

The Chandelier in the bedroom was the highlight of my trip even going to the extent of having them remove the floor model just so I could take it home since they were sold out of the fixture. This Chandelier will accent the Bedroom perfectly (even Jeff's agrees which is rare HAHA)

We also got a few of these for our hallway in the bedroom, toilet room  and closet!

Day 45-

The past few days things have really picked up pace. Yesterday the walls for the mud room and garage went up, DTE brought in the equipment to begin trenching and installing power for today, and I planned out the light fixtures we will be using. The highlight however, was my flooring samples arriving. I have been adamant about a certain wood floor that I have my eye on but there was no way we could swing $12,000 in wood flooring. As we all know by now price is no excuse for me and all that means is I need to find a better deal. Jeff told me there was "No way  that you're going to find the flooring you want for our budget" which led me to this....

"Watch me Bargain watch me buy buy.. Oh watch me watch me"

Ok so maybe it is not as funny for you but it was like cue the music for me.

And as expected I found the perfect flooring on Wayfair, tax free, for under our flooring budget! Dark Hickory, hand scraped, and 7 1/2 inch wide planks, it's like it was just meant to be.

https://www.wayfair.com/Albero-Valley-Farmhouse-7-1-2-Engineered-Hickory-Hardwood-Flooring-in-Black-Forest-ABVY3176-ABVY3176.html?redir=ABVY3176

During all my time browsing through Pinterest and collecting ideas for our home, I came across another woman's blog site and fell in love. It was like I designed her home, either that our we have astonishingly similar taste. The one thing that caught my eye in her home was her lighting. I tend to find pieces that I like but cant ever "wrap" them into my decor and resort back to the standard options, but not this time. I spent a good two evenings searching for her fixtures prior to breaking down and emailing her. She told me that the living room fixture was purchased at Art Van almost a year ago, and as she expected it was no longer available. Now I clearly am not one who can take no for an answer so after about 3 hours I too found the fixture on no other than Wayfair!

Super Glam and not something I would select on my own in a million years however, here is the fixture in all its glory in her living room and I know it will be the perfect focal point for our home as well.

One thing I have found extremely helpful is to add items that I have purchased/ will purchase to our plans in good ol "Paint." I have found that when I like a light fixture and think it will flow with the decor I can add it to our photo and determine if it is the right fit. This has helped me weed out several choices I thought I would love.

All in all I feel like I am working 3 steps ahead. This has proven to really help speed the process along. There is no second guessing where outlets or fixtures will need to go for the electricians, we know what plumbing we will need and where and while I plan Jeff is able to execute the plans with the contractors. I really think it is a good method that will help us get into our home a lot sooner than expected! Here are some current progress photos and a photo of the fireplace insert we ordered!

 Standing in the Master Bath looking into the Master Bedroom

 Master Closet

 Standing in the Foyer looking to the right is the living room and ahead behind the wall is the kitchen

 Foyer looking to where the Stair case going to the basement will be

 Laundry

 Mud Room

 Mud Room. In the corner is where the stairs to go upstairs to the bonus room will go

 Emma's Bedroom looking into the Jack and Jill Bath into Nevaeh's room

 Jack and Jill bath to the left and hallway to the right (Standing in Emmas Room)

<3 FIREPLACE <3