Some final words

The big move is starting tomorrow afternoon.  We'll have movers all day Tuesday and hope to be settled in our new home soon thereafter.  Everyone we talk to asks if we'd build again.  I emphatically answer "Yes!" (except for the fact that we love our house so much that we hope to never move again)!  I'm not sure what I expected from the process, but have to say that it was easier than I had imagined.  Randy was extremely professional and responsive.  More than anything, I was in awe of how everything happened when he said it would happen.  The subcontractors were great to work with.  The allowances were generous and allowed us plenty of options.  Randy was flexible to change and delivered all that we asked for.  He didn't blink twice when we asked for a storm shelter or another built-in or changes in the floor plan.  We are so grateful to Randy and his crew!  I'm happy to be done with decision-making, but will miss looking at beautiful materials and picking out finishes!  It's a good thing that we still have a basement build-out in our future! 

Parade Ready

It's official!  The parade flags are up!  Come see the gorgeous work by Randy Rempel and a large group of fabulous subcontractors.  We're so thrilled with how everything turned out! 

Certificate of Occupancy

We received our Certificate of Occupancy last Friday.  There are a few minor things we are waiting on, but the house looks great.  The black door is in.  The light fixtures are in.  The house is getting cleaned up for the Parade of Homes, which starts Saturday, June 2.  You should come see it! 

Kitchen and Bath

The last of the counter tops have arrived.  The back splash has been grouted. Looks great!
 

I love this deck and patio!!

I've been packing up our glasses and wondering why we have so many martini and margarita glasses.  I guess we now have a reason to dust them off and put them to use! We're going to have a fun outdoor entertainment area when all is done!   

 

Sod, seed and trees!

The Iowa City Landscaping crew worked hard to prepare the dirt and lay the sod.  They put together plant beds and filled them with colorful plants.  They also planted a red bud tree in the front of the house and an oak (not pictured) to the right.  It looks ready to move in!  

 

You'll also see house numbers on the front porch overhang if you look closely!  I can't wait to see our actual front door!

No parking!

I drove by the house this morning to meet with Andy from Iowa City Landscaping and had trouble finding a parking spot! Two landscape trucks were there with materials.  The Slager Appliance delivery truck was in the driveway.  Several other trucks and vehicles were parked around the culdesac.  It's a busy day at the house.  The landscaping is going in today and tomorrow.  The deck stairway and railing are almost done. Soon our exterior will have a finished feel! After discussing plant bed placement, I peeked inside.  The back splash is in! The appliances are in! The plumber worked hard over the weekend to get in the sinks, faucets and toilets. I can't stand the excitement!!

Good stuff

Today I found a tiled shower:

 tile around the fireplace:

 counter tops in the bathrooms and kitchen:

 

 light fixtures in the great room, bathrooms and exterior:

  

 

The rest of the light fixtures are at the house.  I've peeked in the boxes and can't wait to see them up!  The thermostats for our heating/cooling unit are in.  The deck railing and stairway are under construction.  I see evidence that our appliances probably will be arriving shortly. 

Peace of Mind

One difficult aspect of building when you have small children is visiting the site.  If you have children who are good listeners, it won't be a problem.  If your children are strong-willed and have selective hearing, it's not fun.  At long last, one of the most important pieces in the house has been installed.  I no longer have to panic because my children want to run to their rooms while I'm looking at another part of the house.  The second floor railing overlooking the stairway is in! 

Of course, there is trouble still to be found and they will find it. 

A great time to build!

The counter tops are arriving on Thursday!! The fixtures will follow soon thereafter.  We're nearing the end of the build.  We've got about 30% of our current house boxed up to avoid a mad rush in June.  We've booked our movers.  We've locked interest rates on our mortgage loan and have set the closing date.  I can't believe that rates are still so low.  What a great time to build! 

Trim Work

The trim work continues.  All the trim is taped up and ready to paint white.  The tiles for the fireplace surround arrived at the house.  I imagine the counter tops will be ready soon.    

The big photo of the week is the stairway.  We're still waiting for the railing and balusters, but it looks so nice!

Houzz.com

I'm a huge fan of the design website at houzz.com.  The woman who sold us the lot told me about it and gave me advance warning that it's addictive. She was right! I have since spent countless hours on it, reviewing photos of paint colors, built-ins, backsplash tiles, flooring, patios, kitchen stools, etc.  If you want to see how your paint color will look or how to design around bright blue walls, you'll find lots of examples.  If you want to see what's trendy, houzz.com will tell you.  If you want to find that perfect lighting fixture, you'll find it. Because you can't always visualize how your choices are going to come together when you're building from ground up, the website has been a great resource.  Even if you're not looking for anything in particular, their weekly e-mails highlight specific projects and are worth looking through. The only words of caution I would pass on about houzz.com are the same ones that were given to me:  "Be careful.  It's addictive!"

Built-ins

We've got the living room, guest room and mud room built-ins going in.  They look great!

The ceiling and columns in the dining room are in.

In addition, the front columns are taking shape.

And the patio looks pretty much done.  I love it all!

New tops and tile

After sleeping on the new counter top choice, I decided that the pre-selected tile wouldn't work after all.  The tile had too much yellow and the tops had too much gray.  I decided to explore other options.  It turned out that we have a little more time than I thought for installation of the backsplash tiles.  Sonja from Cabinet Works dropped off the Windermere sample and Tim at Randy's was very helpful with finding new tiles.  I am really happy with the selection! (And actually quite grateful that the Lincolnshire was on back-order!) 

Patio under way!

Counter Tops

We had a little drama with the counter tops this week.  We had picked out Lincolnshire quartz for the kitchen and were just informed that those tops are now on back order.  Even arrival at the earliest date possible would be too close for comfort for the Parade of Homes.  This was initially disappointing news, but I had been questioning our selection for a few weeks.  The good news is that our second option, Windermere, is available.  I've seen it large scale at the Cabinet Works show room and it is really beautiful. 

I'm a little worried about our back splash tiles, a polished travertine, which we selected to go with Lincolnshire.  It would not have been my first choice for pairing with Windermere, but it looks like there are enough warm tones in the counter tops as well as significant color variation in the tile.  I am just hoping that it will all come together. 

The back yard

Total Tree Care worked for five hours yesterday to clear out the dead trees and brush and to trim back some wayward branches.  It looks thinned out, but still wooded.  It's a definite improvement!  Maybe we'll even be able to walk into the wooded area without being attacked by thorns and burrs!

The patio materials have arrived and the seat wall is under way.  We are so excited to see the finished product with landscaping and all!

Work work work

What a busy day at the house!  Jeff is working on the stair treads.  Both bathrooms are tiled and the flooring is in the laundry room.  The bathroom and laundry room cabinets are in their proper places, just waiting to be installed.  There is sawdust everywhere, but the the trim work looks great!!  It's all very exciting! I am very eager to see lighting and plumbing fixtures!

Tile upstairs and downstairs

The tile so far looks great in the master bathroom.  I somewhat regret not thinking to put a window in the master bathroom.  It would have been small, sometimes obstructed by the door to the toilet and probably stay covered all the time, but it would have been nice to have some natural light coming in. However, I'm sure the bathroom will look much much lighter and brighter when the lighting has been installed. 

The slate in the mud room looks great!

The wood floors in the second level are all done and look awesome.   We're just waiting on more tile in the master bath and the upstairs bath as well as the carpeting for the bedrooms! 

Trim

I went to check out the progress on the kitchen cabinets today and found trim on the windows.  I love it!