Roughin' It

So do you spend a few extra thousand for pretty and perfect? Or be practical and chose merely attractive for much less? I struggle with these questions almost daily, and they echoed loudly this week when I was choosing the garage doors. We've found certain expectations are in place for custom homes like ours, and those expectations always have a higher price tag. The pretty doors cost much more, but they were perfect. Yet we are who we are; we strive to be good stewards of our finances and our blessings, and luxuries are luxuries -- not needs. But I guess exactly what is a luxury is a matter of perspective.

Ultimately, the question was decided for me: Pretty garage door windows are not available in impact glass -- a necessity according to building codes in a hurricane zone. Sometimes, though, the answer doesn't come so easy. Are high-end appliances that much more reliable? How many TVs do we really need?

So far, I've managed to find some balance. But I don't pretend to have the answers. I don't know why God gave us this opportunity. The sobering fact that so many are struggling financially these days is not lost on us as we consider each and every purchase. Our hope has always been that this house won't just be a blessing for us but for others as well, and I wonder if the blessing won't just be the house itself but rather the people we encounter and the lessons we learn along the way.

Another struggle I have is regret for past decisions. Back when I ordered the windows, I hemmed and hawed, drew multiple sketches, and in the end just closed my eyes and picked what seemed to work best. Now that the windows are installed, I'm going over those choices again and again. A few seem a little too busy. Are there too many spokes and hubs? Should I not have included any hubs? Could I have simplified the grilles more?

But that's life, isn't it? Sometimes no matter how much thought we give our decisions, we still spend a lot of needless time rehashing them. And in the end, it doesn't matter: The windows are hung and they are what they are.

You are looking across the terrace into the girls' loft and guest bedrooms.                     

The outdoor kitchen and fireplace will be screened and to the right of the back porch (pictured below).

The large window on the back of the house is in the bonus room.

Crews continue the roughing-in phase for HVAC, electrical, plumbing and finishing touches on the carpentry, windows and doors. The accent stone is chosen and should be installed on the chimney next week as the goal is now to get the roof on and the house completely dry for insulation and dry-wall installation in just a few weeks.

Aaron incorporated a soon-to-be round column into the staircase.

You are looking at the front entrance from the bonus room terrace.

Rollin', Rollin', Rollin'

Whew! As this project progress, each day presents new challenges, more choices and noticeable progress. I had a great meeting with the cabinet maker today, and I think we have finalized his drawings to the point where he can begin working his many projects. Added to my homework is choosing countertops, so tomorrow begins serious shopping on this front.

Also tomorrow is our very important walk-through with the electrician. Together, we worked through a few issues today, but tomorrow we approve their work before they begin to run wires. Even before we started this process, I always said if we ever built a home, I wanted to be there the day the electrician was there. In the last three houses we've lived in, especially our current home, little things have driven me nuts -- a switch halfway across the room for the garbage disposal, a telephone jack next to the stove, and thermostat box smack in the middle of a wall where a picture would go. So that day has come.

These pictures were taken today: In this first photo, you see the doors in the great room going out onto the back porch. To the right is where the tub will be in the master bath. Below you see Aaron and Mitch in what will be the kitchen. Mitch has been a big help to us and works for the building supply company we are using. The last photos show the front of the house and the north side of the front porch.

Busy

The house is buzzing these days with subs. Aaron and his crew are finishing up the framing details and have started installing the windows and doors. The plumbers finished their rough-in work this week, the HVAC crew is on the job, and the electricians come in tomorrow.

At the same time, our cabinet maker is finalizing his drawings, and we have lots of projects for him. In addition to cabinets in the kitchen and mudroom, he has vanities, built-ins and other cabinetry to complete. I spent the better part of last week selecting the kitchen appliances and making decisions about other items that he will need to incorporate into the cabinetry.  I am meeting with him again this week to finalize the drawings and get him started.

In the meantime, my homework this week includes researching insulation choices as well as choosing a chimney cap, stone for the outdoor fireplace and outdoor kitchen, and making decisions about countertops and garage doors. Randy is researching AV needs for the electrician.

Photographs really can't due justice to the progress we've see since our last post, so I am waiting to post more photos until more windows are installed.

The Other Carpenter

To date, I have neglected to mention another carpenter involved in this project -- Randy. So I am taking a moment to brag on him.

Not only has Randy worked so hard for the funds to pay for this house, but he also has spent countless hours designing built-ins for it. He has decided to build the closet built-ins in our bedrooms and pantry himself. And he knows what he's doing. During the past few years, he has developed a talent for carpentry, building an office and built-ins for the girls' playroom in our current house among other projects. So for this newest and very large project, he upgraded his table saw and worked a deal with Lowe's. Our garage is full of lumber, and he spent Father's Day weekend ripping all the shelves for all of those built-ins.

He has also designed outdoor kitchen island as well as the built-ins for the entertainment center, his office, the master bathroom and the girls' loft area. He is allowing someone else to build these pieces, but he put in a great amount of thought and details into these plans.

We will share photos of all these pieces as work on them progresses. And yes, I do feel blessed to have such a brilliant and talented husband!

Back to Work

While we were visiting family and friends in the Midwest, our project manager, Aaron and the crew were still at it, hammering away to get the roof completed and the house under cover. We passed our roof and nail-down inspections, and Team Kammerdiener is moving right along only slightly behind schedule -- if such a thing exists in custom home construction.

The crew is making progress daily finishing up the rough-in details. Meanwhile, the peel-and-stick material, necessary for our metal roof, is on, and the plumbers are at the site this week doing their rough-in work. As always, we are working through issues that surface. The most recent is that the carpenters recommended installing beams under the gambrel entry way to support that structure. I wasn't thrilled but not surprised. They will be cutting the horizontal beam you see in the photo for the arch.

In the meantime, my vacation is over. After meeting with the cabinet builder today, we now have many decisions to make during the next week. We will be choosing garage doors, all kitchen and laundry appliances, baskets for the mudroom and a new kennel for our dog. I'll explain that last one in a post down the road. I must confess, I'm a little overwhelmed, but I've learned a few lessons thus far:

1) Trust your instincts. Even if you're a girl, you may very well be right.
2) Ask lots of questions. Don't be proud; educate yourself when making decisions.
3) Predawn worries have a way of dissipating in the light of day.
4) Hire good people. When you don't have the solutions, they will.
5) Rarely do you have to choose between black and white; the solution is very often a shade of gray.
6) When you have so much to do, just do the next thing.

As we move forward, our excitement level is at a fever pitch. Even on a hot, summer day, we have found the house is filled with refreshing breezes off the water. It is quickly becoming our home.

For the remainder of this post, I will explain several new photos: Aaron has been a blessing to this project. He's a genius -- and a nice guy. The next photo is the side entry of the house, and then you can see the guys working on the bonus room. That window will have a circle top and gave me a dose of reality when we ordered the windows. Let's just say we made a few adjustments to lessen the cost, but it was still a splurge, one that I think will be worth it as it frames the view very nicely.

I've also included pictures of the outdoor fireplace and the back of the house. On the sides of that opening for the bonus room window will be two balconies.