House #1: Stress.

So you would think building a new home would (or could?) be fun. I think we are so fortunate to even get a new home with many homeless. So why am I so darn stressed and simple decisions feel hard? Of course, I googled this.

Why-Stress-Takes-Over-During-House-Building
 Good to know not alone... My official goal for tomorrow is to do something fun with kids and destress. I know we'll be happy in our new home- just gotta work on dealing with the stress of living in rental without our stuff, 2 yr old going crazy, girls unhappy with crazy brother, and husband working from home. Delays with rain this summer. ...and on and on (won't list to further wallow-just focus on quality kid time tomorrow:)

House #1: I get to choose a stain color for the porch ceiling!!

So I totally didn't expect would get to choose a stain color for real wood ceiling on my porch- am so excited!

...and of course this got me researching options.  Had seen another local builder who painted them blue...research reveals, this has historical reasons: ward away ghosts, wasps, bugs, and also to extend feeling of daylight hours.

Houzz article on blue ceilings...

However, even though all those (minus the ghost stories) sound like good reasons, not sure would be great to paint over when have opportunity for stain.  If didn't love stain, imagine could paint later?

So- do I match to my ebony door or go lighter?  I think if my siding weren't Evening Blue (fairly dark) I would go with Ebony in a New York second.  Just with the dark siding..., I'm unsure. Dilemmas!

Dark ceiling with semi-dark siding

Traditional Exterior by Fortville Home Builders Hiday Custom Builders, LLC

Traditional Porch

Traditional Exterior by Bethesda Architects & Designers Robert Nehrebecky AIA, Re:New Architecture

Traditional Porch by Charleston General Contractors Jamison Howard

Traditional Porch by Hilton Head Island Architects & Designers Group 3

Traditional Porch by Chicago Architects & Designers Rugo/ Raff Ltd. Architects

Mediterranean Porch by Houston Architects & Designers Sullivan, Henry, Oggero and Associates, Inc.

Traditional Exterior by Minneapolis Design-Build Firms Sicora, Inc.

Traditional Exterior by Minneapolis Design-Build Firms Sicora, Inc.

A picture from my builder with provincial minwax stain ceiling...

Blue houses...

So we've selected Evening Blue as our siding color- it's a Hardie plank color that comes baked on/pre-finished.  I'm hoping this will be more durable & require less maintenance down the line- but that remains to be proven:)

Today my door was delivered and the builder told me it was time to select a stain color.

Google and houzz haven't had a TON of evening blue houses for inspiration so I drove around and took pictures of local (blue) homes- which I'm pretty sure are Evening Blue.  Hopefully I didn't look THAT creepy in my lil minivan, snappin' photos.  I airbrushed out the house numbers ....so here's what I found...

Note: I added one maroon house because I'm pretty sure my builder built it and it has the same door and column type I will have:)

It's amazing how the details can make the same siding color look completely unique/different.

House #1: Stone column & Trex deck color selection...

Today, our builder let me know we were ready to finalize stone and Trex selections.

My siding is Evening Blue Hardie Plank with Arctic White trim.  We went with a gray-blue stone mix for the columns and light gray Trex for the back porch.  The back porch will have white hand rails.  I liked the dark gray for Trex but figured the lighter would fade less and my builder told me the lighter color would feel cooler under (little) feet.

Googled Evening Blue siding and checked Houzz.com to get ideas before we made our final selections.  It's a bit nerve wracking - hopefully my choices will translate to real life nicely!

Here's a picture of the house at this stage.  Inside, the are hanging drywall...should be done by the weekend- at which point, will visit with the kids.  Can't wait!

PS Yes, this picture is from today...COULDN'T resist driving by when was in town picking up mail:)  Next trip, will post pictures of the interior!!! YAY!

House #1: Fun with insulation...

So our house has blown cellulose insulation- basically newsprint with some water/borate solution that is blown/packed into the house cavities and shaved flat.  It dries out and fills crevices nicely...or it should.  Somehow, ours got loose in spots.  I was out at the site and noticed an area that looked almost like a small child had grabbed it out.  ...and a few other areas that had sunk in.  I called my builder and (from vacation) he came to check it out.

From there, I figured he would take care of the situation and didn't think (much) more about it.  I gave my site visits a break while I waited for drywall installation to get underway.  To my surprise, I got videos from my builder of him touring the house and showing me all of the repaired areas.  No one is sure what happened but he fixed every area..and a few I hadn't noticed.  I LOVED that they sent me the video so I'd never have any lingering doubts about the repairs (even though I had said to myself I would just trust he'd get his contractors to fix it all properly.)

Transparency is always great when building a house though.  The videos re-confirmed my faith that they are working their hardest to give us a great final product.  I've certainly had experience where this was not the case!

House #2: Update: Address

I have been really remiss in updating this but I am excited today to announce big news (no no I already heard about the royal prince-- this is BIG NEWS) We have an address! We no longer have to refer to our house as the "lot" or by some vague description based on neighboring streets. We have a real bone fine address.

House #1: Uneventful mold inspection

We had our mold inspector, Joel Loving come out to inspect the home before the drywall went up.

Joel went through the house carefully and he found just a few problem boards.  He said it wasn't a big deal at all and these were easy enough to get replaced.

I should note that every black spot one might see does NOT indicate mold.  We had many areas that were simply stained.

I was very pleased with the results of our inspection- we've had HUGE problems in this area in the past and he told me the house looked great. YAY.

He did caution us that a dehumidifier or AC should be run when drywall is up to prevent any new moisture problems. Without power, the new drywall might be affected by rain storms/humidity levels.  However, "provided the moisture content of the drywall remains below 15% throughout any period of non-power" all should be fine.

Luckily the electricity people are hard at work at the site and we should have electricity in a couple of days... :)  We had a bit of a delay with rain- for a day it looked like we had an electrical moat around the house.

Can't wait to see how it looks with the drywall up...

House #1: The big-siding-mini-debacle-of-July-15-2013...

So I drove by the house the other day and noticed a white band being placed mid-way up on the side of the house.  I thought this was an error but turns out it was on our plans- I just hadn't read the plans correctly.  At any rate...as I looked at it, I grew to hate it with the passion of 50 million suns. If that is possible.  Ok, well maybe one sun. Or just a fire-y bonfire. I consulted my house-building buddies. I consulted my daughter. I consulted my husband (turns out this is the ONE thing he DID have an opinion on ...and he LIKED it.  No matter. I still hated it with before-mentioned intensity.  My builder kindly removed it for me.  ...well, arranged for it to be done from his vacation spot.  Felt bad for interrupting that...think I will need to take a treat out to the workers and my builder upon his return from vacation as penance. But I am happy (after viewing tons of pictures on houzz.com of houses with similar bands) that the offending white band is indeed gone.

And now it's over, I wonder...perhaps with others who've built homes as well, was it really worth getting all freaked out over a single white band of siding.

Alls well that ends well, I suppose.  Or maybe the next, will simply observe, proceed to glass of wine, then calmly select course of action:)  ...and not frantic call to builder mid-vaca:)  ...however, in own defense....it was 102 out. and was thinking of workers not having to re-do as much work. But yes, treat to site in order. UPDATE: After much thought about what would be tasty in hot weather- opted to take the siding guy bakery chocolate chip cookies.  Figured if they melted a little would be closer to fresh baked:) He seemed to like them.  I hoped it would feel less annoying to take down those few boards and replace.

House #1: Fun with HVAC :)

So I was feeling that I didn't understand the major systems going into the house, like for example...what are those electrical-y box-like things in the basement?  It's all very important and I felt like I should understand it all a bit better, if only to be able to care for our new home properly.

I met our builder out at the site.  He and his HVAC contractor were so patient and I feel I learned a lot about our home.  Here's a summary...It's really a lot.

• We have a tankless water heater.  Brand: Rinnai.  Both Becky and Wendell have stressed that we will likely have a delay we need to get used to with the tankless unit, -- once shower/bath turned on to get hot water- maybe several minutes. But once we have hot water up there- we will have no shortages.
• We have a dual heat pump (American Standard: Silver Series) with a gas furnace backup which means the gas will kick in when it becomes too cold to heat efficiently with the heat pump.  This unit is >90% efficient.  The top of the unit in the basement houses the AC coil and the bottom is the furnace.  It is connected to the unit outside.
• Gas will also be used for the fireplace.
• We have a 2 zone system.
• There are (6) returns that will have 12 x 12 filters (bedrooms, etc) and (2) 12 X 20 filters by the front door.  Wendell says to change filters every 3-4 months and says 3M makes a good one.  He likes filter.com as a source to buy.  My research indicates pleated definitely way to go. Note to self: check out prettier duct covers.  Wendell says fine as long as they are "filter grills"
• Our ducts are laid out with a "trunk system" layout... with ducts of varying thickness rather than a "spider system" so that air is moved throughout house in a very balanced way.
• IF we install a barn or other door in our study, we need to be cognizant NOT to cover returns...this will interfere with system running smoothly.  All ducts are sealed with mastic.  Around unit in basement, some flexible parts are put together with mastic tape

Foam is used around the windows, with caulk around perimeter of room and between some wall boards.

**Note: If ac running, don't leave basement door open.  This can cause condensation from ducts.  Door can be open for air- but if so, turn off AC.

Bath fans- Wendell installs bigger ones so that more air is pulled out efficiently.  Bath lights will be tied to fans at switch.

This was a very note-like post, but it was SO much information.  I'm planning to take pictures this week before drywall comes up- I'm thinking if we ever need to know where electrical/other stuff was...this blog will be a good reference.

House #1: Finding our Realtor

How did we find our realtor?  Well, I googled our city's "best of" list ...and Sasha Farmer was one of the realtors at the top.  Done and done. :)

...this is the shortest post I will ever do!

House #1: Nerves...

So I had an attack of the nerves regarding my choices for the new house today.  Sent my builder an email outlining worries (enough natural light? should I have washable HVAC filters? sconces in master bath?) and got back a thoughtful response laying out details I hadn't considered, along with options/costs to make changes if I decided.

Very pleasant change from our previous experience where I felt very out of control once we signed our contract.  I have to say am sold for life on building with small/local builder.

House #1: The Gibson Home...

So...house #1....the one with the small lot within a brand new subdivision (Haden Place) but walking distance from the (brand new) local library, coffeehouse, and a few restaurants.

We signed our contract with Gibson Homes in the spring.  We've built 3 houses in the past, with the last being EXTREMELY stressful, so we definitely know how the process CAN go.  Luckily, with Gibson, so far the only anxiety is combatting the after-effects of our LAST homebuilding experience:)

We choose Gibson because they are small and local- a team that includes husband/wife- Wendell and Becky.  We ironed out the details of our home through many (sometimes late night) emails with Becky.  Becky's response time to my emails was often immediate- which was awesome for someone excited to get things settled.

It was fun working with a custom home builder for the first time because we could specify exactly what we wanted.  (This can be both super fun and overwhelming if you don't have a clear vision...luckily for us, our new neighbors had created an amazing floor plan that met our needs almost exactly- so we were able to tweak that to our budget and specifications.  It was nice to be told "yes" to most of our wish list rather than having to stick to a set floor plan.

We signed our contract in their offices- a document that was simple and actually contained many provisions that were meant to protect the buyer- not just the homebuilder- something ENTIRELY different from two of our previous homebuilding experiences.

After we signed the contract, we met again in their office to choose cabinets, counters, siding, doors, knobs, and maybe a few other options.  Becky was super helpful and this was a fun process.  Lori, the office manager kept my VERY active son occupied the whole time -- you have no idea (or maybe you do, if you have kids) how amazing this was!! (If she ever reads this, THANK YOU again:)

We met with L&L Flooring to select floors.  The rep there, Andre was amazing, he was very helpful making coordinating color choices and I felt very supported in a process that could have been agonizing for one who doesn't make choices easily.  He showed me that the carpets and padding that Gibson offers as standard were of high quality, not offered by every builder- 8 lb pad is standard with Gibson.  The only thing I upgraded was tile in the kitchen, 10 lb carpet pad in office where my husband stands all day and one level up in vinyl for the master bath.  Pictures of them to come.  The rest of our main floor, stairs and upstairs hallway are to be wood and finished in place by Gibson.

Gibson broke ground on our house in the early summer.  To avoid a potential vacancy off-rental season, we decided to rent our current home immediately and move into short term housing.  We found a furnished unit and put all our belongings into storage.  We got a large unconditioned unit for the bulk of our things and a smaller, conditioned unit for things that I worried about getting hot over the summer- I think this saved some money.  However, it's definitely not been easily logistically- moving twice...but we're making it work.

So...with that short summary of things thus far, I'll sign off for the night.  Here are a few pictures of the house in the meantime.  I'll post more pictures soon. 

View from the back.  We have a detached garage that is connected to our neighbor's.  Another house is going in soon right next to ours- but hoping to fence the area in back beside the garage to have a little contained play space for kids.

Front view.  Huge front porch- porch swing will go right by the window:)

House 2: A Full Day of Upgrade Appointments

Flooring, Wiring and Lighting! Oh My!

For some crazy reason, we decided that it would be ideal to do all of our appointments on one day so that Erik only had to take a small amount of time off from work. 

We started out with flooring. With kids and cats, and a disdain for carpet, I was heart set on beautiful Pergo flooring throughout. However, that was not in the cards and we settled for berber style carpet in most rooms. Hopefully, we can change this out someday in the future.

Next was the wiring appointment! Totally uneventful. The house will be wired for our security system and have all the standard wiring otherwise.

Finally, plumbing & lighting! We were a little disheartened to learn that we had to pay to upgrade all of our faucets to brushed nickel but after looking at our contract again, it really was written plainly there for us. I opted for ceiling fans in all bedrooms and the great room and splurged on a vessel sink for the master bath. I was SO tempted by the rain shower but cooler heads prevailed and we said no to the 1500 option and choose a slightly upgraded Delta shower head with a center handheld sprayer-thingy. We really genuinely liked all the standard lighting but did change the bathroom lighting to match more of our style.

By the end of the trip, the kids were crashed out. Heck, we all were.

House #2: Creating a floorplan

Preston Floor Plan

Trying to figure out the floor plan of a house you plan to live in, within budget, with young children as well as with teenagers, is a little bit mind boggling. Touring numerous model homes helped us out here quite a bit.  We knew that we wanted a few things from each of the floor plans. From the Preston, we liked the idea of uniform #2 and #3 bedrooms.  

Sheffield Floor Plan

We really liked the Sheffield floor plan but we didn't like that the kids couldn't access their shared bathroom without walking near the foyer. We also didn't like the idea of a powder room that would be one more thing to clean and take up valuable square footage. I also was really hoping for a larger laundry room.

I loved this open breakfast area and the shared bathroom that also could be a powder room with a pocket door. The dining room wouldn't work for us at all as we plan to use it as an office, at least until we are able to build a large garage with carriage office later in life. 

So, what we did was combine all the elements we liked into our floor plan. We sacrificed some dining room/office space to have a larger laundry room as well.

I think that I mentioned that I am a bit type A (there goes Jeff laughing again)... So, to make sure I liked the flow of the new house, and to ensure that we had taken everything we could think of into account, I made a 3D model of our floor plan. The software was only 150.00 but it was well worth it. After laying out the original kitchen, it was evident that we would not be able to see the kids playing from the kitchen. Since our goal for the main living area was a loftish/open feel, we decided to skip some top cabinets, focus on island storage and knock out part of a wall that was on the Sheffield plan. So, what we ended up with was this floor plan.

We made a couple small revisions after this plan. A door was added to close off the laundry room, an 8 foot arch was added into the #2/#3 bedroom area and the windows on the master wall have been placed next to each other to accommodate a future screened in porch.

House #2: Piedmont Realty and Construction

We saw a house that seemed like a great deal on paper but didn't end up being the right one for us. That opened the door to exploring the real estate market around Crozet and helped us to quickly determine that we wanted a little more land & freedom than the nearby developments offered but we didn't want to be located very far from town either.

I never really thought I would be building a house in the middle of Virginia. In fact, when we left Colorado just a few months ago, we swore we were going to be renters forever so we didn't have to deal with maintenance, lawn care and fixing things that needed repair. But, then we fell in love with Virginia, realized that renting meant NOT being able to fix the things that bugged you (like the bloodred paint all over the white bathroom molding)

We found a lot that we fell in love with, just one scant mile from town, but with 3 acres! Visions of orchards and gardens filled my mind. Now, we had the task of finding someone to build our house!

Our hunt for a builder brought us to Jeff at Piedmont who was, by far, the most enthusiastic of the builders we looked at. At our initial meeting, we learned that we could afford a house on the lot that we loved! We had 5 models to choose from, 2 single story and 3 double story.

We decided on a single floor plan that we could stay in through our retirement years, if we so desired. We also were really intrigued by the idea that single floor living would keep us all from retreating to our various "corners" of the house.

I am a little tiny bit type A..... (ok, if Jeff is reading this, he is probably laughing out loud right about now)... OCD is probably a better word.

As soon as we discovered that there were model houses to look at, I was ALL over that. My son and I drove around and looked at 2 of them one rainy cold day. Everyone at Piedmont was so kind, informative and helpful. What we slowly figured out was that we liked a little bit of each house. And, much to our delight, Jeff told us that we could combine the floor plans to come up with our own little dream house.

House 2: Finding our Realtor

We have been scoping out the listings on Zillow and Trulia for weeks now just to get an idea about the market here. We stumbled on a house that we thought might be a good opportunity for us but in the end, it just needed to much work.

But the upside of it was that we met our gracious patient realtor, Kathryn Bentley, whom I highly recommend!

She is being so patient with going through listings with us.