Almost there?

The outside still needs a lot of work.  Our contractor gave us an estimate to put in the driveway that made me want to cry, so we are going to seek other estimates.  Wanna give me an estimate? ;)  So, you probably want to know what the status of the inside is?  Its coming along.  The bathroom tiles are being put in, the floors need to be stained (the sample area looks scary now), the closets need shelves, the kitchen countertop needs to be put on, the plumbing and electrical fixtures need to be installed and the solar system needs to be installed.  (We are looking a solar powered air conditioners.  I'll let you know how tat works on soon.)

 The kitchen cabinets have been installed.  The countertop is on order.  We decided to go for quartz, because it is very strong, heat and stain resistant and requires little maintenance.

 

 The master bathroom is being tiled.

The boys' room.  I drew the waves and have a great idea for a chalkboard. 

The concrete stain sample area is looking really crazy right now.  Did we make the right decision about staining?  Does the contractor know how to apply it?

 

In by November 1st? 

Progress

These pictures were from about a month ago. 

 

I Messed Up

I decided, and Paul had no objections to, putting up a block railing around the porch.  The thing is it ruins your view, duh.  I didn't even think about

 

 

 

Covered Up

It's June and we just got our roof on.  Thank goodness for the progress.  However I have issues with the the style of the roof.  Its almost flat but not.  I know flat doesn't mean totally flat because water needs a slant to come off the roof, but there are several ways to achieve the style and mine fails to do so. 

Last Saturday, I told my contractor he needs to work on his communication.  I should know if something isnt going to look like the plans (not just the roof) or what we discussed before it gets started.  He should present us with the problem and our  options and we, the homeowners, who are financing this project and have to look at whatever change it is every day of our lives once we move in, should decide on how to proceed based on our options.  But thats just my opinion, I could be wrong.

We used an Insuldeck insulated concrete roof.  Take a look at the progress.

Our Current Status and of Course, Happy Mothers Day!

First, Happy Mother's Day!  I hope of you mothers are feeling very loved and appreciated today.

Second, I have got to get it together and give you regular updates on the project.

Check out these pictures of the progress.  We are waiting for our roofing materials.  They should be ready to be shipped from Florida tomorrow.  However, we are going to ship some other supplies with them so it is going to take a little longer for them to leave Florida.

The week before last we went to Miami to order a kitchen and look at tiles, bathrom vanities and other finishes for our house.   We are going to ship a container with that stuff at the end of the month.  Anybody else need to ship something from Miami around that time and what to split a container or part thereof?

We are also trying to decide on whether we should build our downstairs apartment now.  It will be expensive, but nice to have the additional space to rent or for ourselves.

Roof by the End if April?

Last week my contractor said we should have our roof on by the end of April.   Yes, that was before all the rain. These pictures were taken this week. What do you think the chances of our roof being on by April are?

So, we looked at some kitchen cabinets at Home Depot last weekend.  Apparently they take wo to three months to arrive.  I will be checking out some other options.  But who knows, I may end up ordering from there anyway.  I have been thinking about Ikea too.

One day...

One day our house will be done.   These pictures are from last week.  Sorry about the photo quality.  I've been taking pictures with my phone, because they are easier to upload, but the quality stinks.   Stay tuned, I am hoping that soon I'll have pics of the floors, then the walls, then the roof and maybe, just maybe, the entire house... before next year.

Besides just wanting to move into my own home, my living situation now is not fun.  Its a small island, so I wont say anything else.

In the meantime, I am checking out every home, design, kitchen magazine and looking for ideas.   It is essential to plan ahead.  Got magazine or website suggestions?  Got any suggestions for great home appliances, fixtures or furniture? 

While on St. Croix.... Redi Rock Retaining Wall

We were on St. Croix for the Agricultural Fair.  While we were driving around I spotted this Redi Rock wall system for retaining walls.  I like it and am going to look into it.  It looks like a mix between cinder block and rock.  I love the texture and large size.   It was being used as a fence wall.  

Have you seen it used? What do you think?

Another Hurdle

So last I mentioned that we had come across a hurdle. What happened was... our contractor informed us that he had expected a lot more rock at our site than there actually is. But since there was so much dirt to dig through before he actually reached a hard rock surface, the columns we are going to need, are going to be significantly longer than initially expected. So, besides needing additional concrete and rebar for the additional height, we are going to need additional support beams at least if we want to continue with our current design. He said that if we shortened the balcony (which is supposed to be 12 feet wide) we could use other support options, which would cost less. However, the balcony size is very important to me and I don't want to compromise on it to save a few thousand dollars. I'm planning on living in this house for a long time and have already imagined the dinners, sun bathing and parties that are going to happen on this balcony. As soon as he suggested shortening the balcony I knew I would regret it for the next however many years, so we will be adding the support beams and extending the column height, which is not only adding to the budget but adding to our construction time. Check out how we are doing.

Happy New Year!

It's been a while.  I hope that you are enjoying the new year.  We made some progress and have run into some hurdles, but we'll get over them. 

Take a look at what's been done.