The fireplace is set to be the focal point of our living space. We forgot to tell the framer that we wanted a design change, so we ended up with a very basic chase block. After a little stone was added, it looks like it was always meant to be in our home. Now we wait for Mr. Winters to craft the mantel.
We weren't too happy to find a leaking roof during the snow melt and first rain of the spring
A quick tarp job held out the water until the chase install crew arrived.
Scratch coat is on.
Time to place the stone
Almost finished
The mantle, which was reclaimed from the home we demoed, will be the finishing touch to our fireplace.
Now that the drywall is finished, we have the pleasure of priming and painting. Jared invested in a used professional grade paint sprayer, so priming took no time at all. We had 2 coats of primer on all ceilings and walls in a matter of 2 days.
Muscles is carrying the PPE for Jared.
Patching a scuff in the drywall
Alden came to visit before we started the day
Painting the bathroom ceiling
Beautiful day to open all the doors and windows while painting.
We hired a crew of 2 fantastic men to side our house. These guys were diligent and detailed oriented. We are so pleased to have them as part of our building experience. They made some cosmetic modifications to our original plans and helped locate an affordable stone company. Now all we have to do is paint it. Any volunteers?!?
Scaffolding to get those hard to reach places
The back of the house is taking shape
Doing a test fitting on the front of the house
Wrapping around to the front
View from Tiffany Ln - can't wait to see the finished product
Joe working the scaffolding
The stone adds that extra touch of curb appeal
View from Radisson Rd. Now all we need are the porch posts completed.
Getting insulation proved to be difficult. Our original contractor stopped returning phone calls 2 days before he was supposed to start the job. We had to scramble to find a new contractor who wasn't already scheduled out 3 weeks. Spray foam insulation needs an exterior ambient temperature above 35 degrees, so everyone's schedules were packed. Thankfully, we found an excellent contractor who had an opening between jobs. Here are some pictures of the action:
Light boxes are flash sealed in the attic
Exterior wall ready for next winter
Inspecting the work and the walking plank they put to reach the open area above the stairs
No birds or rodents getting in here
The drywall crew came in right behind the insulation crew. These hanging crew worked so fast we could hardly get pictures of them. The finisher was mostly a one man crew. If we had to do it over again, we'd use a company that had a regular staff. The man we used was very nice, responsive to our requests, and affordable. However, he took 2 weeks to do a job that a larger firm would have completed in 3 days.
The ceilings are in - it looks so different
You can almost smell the food cooking in the kitchen
Wearing Carharts, heavy winter coats, and gloves the Breiter men worked in a house with no heat or insulation. The temperatures inside were only 10-15 degrees above the outside temps, but that didn't stop progress. Jared and Tom worked on the electrical systems and "helped" our friend Matt with the plumbing. Meanwhile, the mechanical team took advantage of the "warm" basement for a few days by installing the duct work and furnace.
Check out the tidy wiring
The entertain center recessed box. Everything will feed through the wall, so no more wire mess for us.
Pig tails are ready to be trimmed, prepped, and stuffed into the box for inspection
Conduit for electric tile heat in the bathroom
Plumbing for the first floor bathroom
Plumbing for the washer and laundry sink
Alden's bathtub
On one of the warmer days, Alden came over to help for a few minutes. He stayed toasty warm in his snow suit.
Jared working in the roof trusses pulling wire
More wire pulling in the trusses. He's very agile up there.
Scarlet inspecting the basement on her first (and only) visit to the new house. As a gift, she pooped on the floor.
Concrete guy laying poly before he pours the basement floor
This is how the family looked after Alden's first Ohio State vs Michigan football game. Alden's sleeping, but we're happy to have the W. Go Bucks!
We were so excited to start blogging about what has happened over the past 3 months at the house (framing, electrical, plumbing, and HVAC systems), and then something happened. While visiting my dad in mid-February, a casual conversation turned into a full on ancestry search. This search became an addiction. Each night upon arriving home, we had dinner, put Alden to bed, and had a quick chat that went something like this:
Alycia: How was your day?
Jared: Great! Yours?
Alycia: Wonderful.
Jared: I'm going to work on the family tree.
Alycia: Yeah, me, too.
Jared has had the most exciting finds - a American Revolutionary War veteran, the boat manifest listing family that immigrated from Germany in the 1880s, and familial ties to family friends in the "German Valley" in Wisconsin.
Alycia's paternal tree traces back to Germany, exclusively, but we weren't able to find any information regarding the date of entry into the USA. The maternal tree is a melting pot of European descendants - Germany, Wales, France, Scotland, and Ireland, so far.
Alden (4 mo) meeting Gramps.
Ok, let's chat about the house. Jared spent most of November working as a member of the framing crew. Brett's team worked hard throughout the month to get the house sealed up for winter. Jared and Brett installed most of the windows and doors as a two man crew. Tom spent some time driving the lift and swinging a hammer. By the end of the month, we had a weather tight structure with a roof - just in time for the first snow.
Exterior sticks on the 1st floor are up!
First floor - kitchen to living room view
First floor - front door and stair well
The Breiter men were splitting wood, when the framing crew didn't need extra hands. Still plenty more to do!
Tom driving the lift , and Jared hanging sheathing on the garage. Colin is headed for more material.
View from the front bedroom
View from the master bedroom
Front door looking toward the kitchen and dining room - before the interior walls were framed.
Kitchen to living room with sheathing in place
The stairs are ready for use.
A video tour of the house
Alden's first trip to Menards. We spent 5 hours in the store buying siding, plumbing, roofing, and misc materials. The receipt is about 7 feet long! Good thing it was the 11% off sale.
A few things we'll do differently next time:
-Planning ahead for spray foam insulation (i.e. get it on the drawings!) means 24" on center (instead of 16" oc), which would save on material and labor costs.
-Inset trusses continue to be extra work. The the window sizes didn't account for the truss depth (had to purchase more windows) and mounting the sill plates was extra work.
-Not go hog wild at Menards. We bought several items several months before they were needed. This resulted in having material too early and in the way.
For those who are interested in our technical research:
We considered two options for the main structure of the house: stick built and structural insulated panels (SIPs).
As mentioned in a previous post, we would like to have an energy efficient "green" home, but require a reasonable pay back period to make the investment. We spent several months researching SIPs and having our project bid by SIPs companies. Based on our research, we believed some of the cost of the SIPs material is offset by the reduction in labor costs (1-2 weeks of labor instead of 8-10 weeks of labor). Additionally, the home would be completed much faster and would be significantly more energy efficient.
However, research does not equal reality. What we found is that the house can be erected in 1-2 weeks, but the lead time for panels is 6-8 weeks. The panels aren't ordered until the foundation is complete, so the timeline is in the same ballpark as a stick built home.
The SIPs energy savings calculations in the marketing brochures are compared to a home that is built in the most extreme conditions with 2x4 construction and batt insulation. The building code in Minnesota requires 2x6 construction with a higher insulation rating than in the comparison charts provided by SIPs manufacturers. After comparing the code required energy levels of a stick built home to a SIPs home (using energy.gov), we found the energy savings for SIPs were way over stated.
Comparing the quotes between stick built and SIPs for materials and insulation showed an increase in building cost of 30-40%. The labor costs were equivalent to stick built quotes and the material costs were almost double. The payback would be several decades.
Ultimately, we decided on a stick built home with closed cell foam insulation (http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/green-basics/spray-foam-insulation-open-and-closed-cell). This provides energy savings similar to SIPs at a fraction of the cost.
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