It's Totally Obvious

Ok, bad news. We just heard from the builder today and they told us our house will now be finished towards mid-OCTOBER. What?! Ugh... more waiting. Maybe at least we'll be able to be in before Halloween.

Meanwhile, the builders are working away... tonight, they were working when we went up to visit around 7:30pm! Not on our house, but on another one down the street that is at the same stage as ours.

Lots of things happening this week! See if you can tell.

Here's our progress point picture. Notice anything?

Ok, how about now. I'll give you a hint. It's NOT the landscaping.

Ok, you'd have to be blind not to notice now.

Ok, you guessed it. We have a front porch!! Well, we have a front porch PLATFORM. We're still missing the actual porch itself, which overhangs from the house. That should be coming soon...I hope.

But then again, I tend to be very over-optomistic in this whole construction process.

There were some other things that happened today and yesterday. Mr. Plumber man came out and fixed us up with some rather nice PVC pipes.

See? Boooorrrriiinnnnggggg....

Here's a good view of the first floor. Stairs that go up (always good news), garage to the left there, front door down the hallway, kitchen to the immediate right, dining room down the hall on the right. This will all look more cohesive once we have some drywall.

Here, we take you to our master bathroom. The've put in the tub and shower basin (in both upstairs bathrooms). Yay! Now we can take showers occasionally, and maybe give Killian a bath while we're at it.

And now for my Photoshop masterpiece.

Anyone who makes fun of me for this will automatically loose five points. (That goes for my "ode to the gas line" post as well...Ahem, Mom B!!!) Just kidding. Not not really. Please don't make fun.

I'm tired. I'm going nuts, and I want to move in. If I camped out on my garage floor overnight, do you think the builders would kick me out in the morning?

Please forgive me for that last picture. Sometimes I get a little carried away.

I quit. Good-bye forever.

But not before a schedule update! I'm going to start from Day #32 since the list is getting a little long. If you want to see the whole schedule, look down a post and you'll find it there. I'm just adding on.

Day #32 - Friday, July 17, 2009: Roof and framing finished.
Day #33 - Saturday, July 18, 2009: Tar tape on roof, ready for shingles!
Day #35 - Monday, July 20, 2009: Sheet Metal Work started.
Day #36 - Tuesday, July 21, 2009: Front Door delivered!
Day #38 - Thursday, July 23, 2009: HVAC Work mostly complete. Gas line installed.
Day #39 - Friday, July 24, 2009: Outside edging complete. Plumber dropped off pipes.
Day #42 - Monday, July 27, 2009: Plumbing mostly complete. Exterior edging complete.
Day #43 - Tuesday, July 28, 2009: Shingles delivered, front porch concrete poured!

Mucho Progresso

Wellll....maybe not that much progress over the past week or so. The outside of the house is basically done, with the exception of siding, details, etc. Now is the boring part. Everything that happens now is on the inside of the house, so we can't see too much progress. Thankfully, I've been walking through with Bobby and he can tell the different pipes apart, so I just follow him around and take pictures :)

This week, the sheet metal man came through. He installed all of the air ducts, heating and air conditioning pipes, etc. They even put the big unit in the basement! It's just not hooked up yet. Each room has a few openings where the vents will go, so I guess that's "fun?" We have a very complex duct system running through the attic as well.

The plumber also came out to install the gas line to our house. We have a gas oven/stove, water heater, and dryer, so the gas outlet (not sure of the proper term for this) were hooked up and piped in to those locations as well. The plumber also left a TON of PVC pipe laying around, so we think he's going to start doing that fun stuff this week.

We walked through the house today and saw that all of our bathtubs and shower basins were also delivered! We have a nice, big soaking tub in the master bathroom as well as a shower stall. In the guest bathroom, we just have a tub that is also a shower.

This is all scintillating, I know...

Lastly, on Friday when we left for the weekend, the carpenter was installing all of the trim around the house (outside). We have a lot of "craftsman" style details on the outside, so I assume that's part of what they were doing. Oh yea, and and our front door was delivered!

We haven't heard any updated finish dates from the builder yet, but they're making great progress!

Now, for all you nerdy-nerds out there, here are some pictures of the stuff that happened last week. Nothing happened to the outside of the house, so no progress point picture this time.

It's hard to tell in this picture, but there is a black, snake-y network of ducts for the attic.

Air intake? This is on the main level. I just don't really know what this one does. (Stairs to basement on right)

This is the reason I'm always scared of basements. Thankfully, it will be enclosed into its own closet.

Our front door!!

I don't think I ever gave you this view. I'm standing in the kitchen and looking into our "great"/family room. The windows (not installed) were delivered by mistake - bummer. Our TV will hang on that far wall where the windows are leaning. Stairs to the upstairs are on the right where Bobby is standing.

Hello, gas valve. You will be very helpful when cooking dinner, doing laundry, and giving us warm showers. Thank you for all you do. (Egress window well is there to the right).

Our Master Bath...this is where our tub will go. Shower basin just to the right. Where Bobby is standing is where our sinks and vanity will go.

And I forgot to mention as well, they leveled our back yard. We used to have a big hump where Bobby is standing. Now, it's all FLAT!

Schedule Update:
Day #1 - Monday, June 15, 2009: Ground broke and hole for basement has been dug out! Only after about 2.5 months of waiting for our building permit to come through.
Day #3 - Wednesday June 17, 2009: Footers poured and let to rest and set.
Day # 5 - Friday June 19, 2009: Mold for basement walls and foundation arrives on site.
Day # 7 - Monday June 22, 2009: Mold is installed and concrete is poured for foundation walls.
Day #8 - Tuesday June 23, 2009: Mold removed; black, water-repellent goodness sprayed on foundation.
Day #13 - Sunday June 28, 2009: Piping installed under house, rough-in parts for Bathroom in the basement installed.
Day #20 - Sunday July 5, 2009: Concrete is poured in Garage and Basement!! Property is leveled and sides are filled in.
Day #26 - Saturday, July 11, 2009: Lumber arrives and floor and 1st floor walls are framed and assembled.
Day #28 - Monday, July 13, 2009: Second floor added and framed.
Day #29 - Tuesday, July 14, 2009: Roof has almost been completed.
Day #32 - Friday, July 17, 2009: Roof and framing finished.
Day #33 - Saturday, July 18, 2009: Tar tape on roof, ready for shingles!
Day #35 - Monday, July 20, 2009: Sheet Metal Work started.
Day #36 - Tuesday, July 21, 2009: Front Door delivered!
Day #38 - Thursday, July 23, 2009: HVAC Work mostly complete. Gas line installed.
Day #39 - Friday, July 24, 2009: Outside edging complete. Plumber dropped off pipes.

Construction Day #32

More progress! On Day #32, the house is pretty much a shell...framed and ready for all of the "insides" to be installed. This part will take forever and there won't be much to take pictures of. I can't complain... we saw our entire house go up within just a few weeks. Impatient? Yes. Just a tad...

Day #33, which I don't have a picture of yet, the builders put on the tar tape, which goes on the roof prior to putting on the shingles.

Soo...without further a-do, here are some pictures! Bobby and I got to walk around on Friday afternoon to see what everything looks like. We were able to really visualize each room since the walls were there. I stood in my front door hole juuusssttt to see what it'll be like to wave good-bye to people after they come to visit us! Anxious? Yes. Just a little.

Our future Kitchen! The island is in the middle there (duh) and we'll have cabinets going all along the far right side wall. The bright light is the hallway to the front door.

Our kitchen looking the opposite way. I am standing in the hallway looking towards the back of the house. To the left is the kitchen and to the right will be our "great room." Back door opens up to the back yard and some woods. There will eventually be a deck out there for Bobby to grill all sorts of wonderful concoctions!

Our basement... to the left (which is not pictured) is another large space that will eventually be an office/spare bedroom. Straight ahead is the bathroom rough-in. The basement is coming unfinished.

Schedule:
Day #1 - Monday, June 15, 2009: Ground broke and hole for basement has been dug out! Only after about 2.5 months of waiting for our building permit to come through.
Day #3 - Wednesday June 17, 2009: Footers poured and let to rest and set.
Day # 5 - Friday June 19, 2009: Mold for basement walls and foundation arrives on site.
Day # 7 - Monday June 22, 2009: Mold is installed and concrete is poured for foundation walls.
Day #8 - Tuesday June 23, 2009: Mold removed; black, water-repellent goodness sprayed on foundation.
Day #13 - Sunday June 28, 2009: Piping installed under house, rough-in parts for Bathroom in the basement installed.
Day #20 - Sunday July 5, 2009: Concrete is poured in Garage and Basement!! Property is leveled and sides are filled in.
Day #26 - Saturday, July 11, 2009: Lumber arrives and floor and 1st floor walls are framed and assembled.
Day #28 - Monday, July 13, 2009: Second floor added and framed.
Day #29 - Tuesday, July 14, 2009: Roof has almost been completed.
Day #32 - Friday, July 17, 2009: Roof and framing finished.
Day #33 - Saturday, July 18, 2009: Tar tape on roof, ready for shingles!

Projected finish date: Mid-September!

Now you see it, Now you don't

LOTS and LOTS of progress in the past two days... they've thrown up the house in no time! Now, it's actually starting to look like a house, not just a dirt pile and a bunch of wood. Yay! See Schedule Update below and pictures from the past two days from our Progress Point.

Day #28

Day #29

Day #1 - Monday, June 15, 2009: Ground broke and hole for basement has been dug out! Only after about 2.5 months of waiting for our building permit to come through.
Day #3 - Wednesday June 17, 2009: Footers poured and let to rest and set.
Day # 5 - Friday June 19, 2009: Mold for basement walls and foundation arrives on site.
Day # 7 - Monday June 22, 2009: Mold is installed and concrete is poured for foundation walls.
Day #8 - Tuesday June 23, 2009: Mold removed; black, water-repellent goodness sprayed on foundation.
Day #13 - Sunday June 28, 2009: Piping installed under house, rough-in parts for Bathroom in the basement installed.
Day #20 - Sunday July 5, 2009: Concrete is poured in Garage and Basement!! Property is leveled and sides are filled in.
Day #26 - Saturday, July 11, 2009: Lumber arrives and floor and 1st floor walls are framed and assembled.
Day #28 - Monday, July 13, 2009: Second floor added and framed.
Day #29 - Tuesday, July 14, 2009: Roof has almost been completed.

Construction Day #26: WALLS!

Only six days ago, we had a measly little concrete slab for a garage and a gigantic pile of wood that would (no pun intended) become the framework for our house.

Now, six days later, we have a floor AND walls!!!! The builders have yet to install the second floor. So, let's take you for a tour, shall we?? Buckle up!

First, we have a new "Progress Point." Being so close to the actual house, the walls will not fit into my camera anymore, so I had to take a few steps back... or I could buy a wide-angle lens, but that's opening up a whole other bag of potato chips. So, readers, meet new Progress Point Picture. Every new addition made will include a picture from this point.

Next, let's walk to the side of the house, where we take a look at our egress window to the basement. If you look into the window, you can see the framed out stair well. No stairs yet...just a spot for them.

Moving around the house, we have our back yard. Lovely, isn't it? I can already see Bobby throwing a baseball around with our kids (which we don't have yet). Don't worry, we'll get some eventually. Actually, the plan is to make most of the back yard a deck, since...it really ain't that big, y'all! The windows here will be our family room and kitchen.

Moving around to the side of the house, we have our dining room window. The front of the house will have a covered porch and, hopefully, a door. Thank Goodness. Amen. This side is kind of boring though.

And lastly, we have the front of the house again. This big opening will be our garage (concrete slab before) and that part that kind of sticks out on the other side is where our porch will go. Enough for some sweet Adirondack Chairs and hanging flower baskets. Maybe. If I'm lucky.

So, presto! This should be a busy week for the builders as they don't like to let the wood sit for too long. I think I'm starting to weird them all out whenever I show up on my little bike and tourist-y camera around my neck. They probably think I'm crazy.

Anyway, here's our schedule update:

Day #1 - Monday, June 15, 2009: Ground broke and hole for basement has been dug out! Only after about 2.5 months of waiting for our building permit to come through.
Day #3 - Wednesday June 17, 2009: Footers poured and let to rest and set.
Day # 5 - Friday June 19, 2009: Mold for basement walls and foundation arrives on site.
Day # 7 - Monday June 22, 2009: Mold is installed and concrete is poured for foundation walls.
Day #8 - Tuesday June 23, 2009: Mold removed; black, water-repellent goodness sprayed on foundation.
Day #13 - Sunday June 28, 2009: Piping installed under house, rough-in parts for Bathroom in the basement installed.
Day #20 - Sunday July 5, 2009: Concrete is poured in Garage and Basement!! Property is leveled and sides are filled in.
Day #26 - Saturday, July 11, 2009: Lumber arrives and floor and 1st floor walls are framed and assembled.

Is it mid-September yet??

Have a great week everyone!

A Change of Scenery

Since I've been posting so much about the house, I thought I'd switch it up a bit and give you a picture of your other favorite subject...our poor Killian.

This was .34982 seconds before he swatted me in the camera lens for being "up in his face." His words, not mine.

Have a "swat-free" weekend.

Another Anniversary, Another Look

Sometimes I just need a change.

I know what you're going to tell me. "Melissa, you've changed the background pattern like 50893 times in the last week." Guilty, I know. But you just don't understand.

It's like this: You need (but mostly just want) a new pair of shoes. These shoes will make you happy. These shoes will take you to High School Reunions (more about that later). These shoes will make your Little Black Dress that much more fabulous.You search. And search. And search. You search online, you search the stores, you search everywhere for the shoes that just scream out your personality and style.

But no luck.

You find a pair at PayLess... yeah, they are cute, but they aren't "The Ones," but they're only $14.99 and they will look just OK with your LBD. You keep looking.

Then one day while you're lazily browsing through E-Bay, you find them. And they steal your heart forever. You quickly run through every article of clothing you own and immediately think, "These will go with EVERYTHING!" ...even if they are hot pink.

The day I found my perfect shoes was like the day I found out about Ellie and her blog-template-designing-genius skills. I wasted absolutely no time in contacting her because I just knew her blog template for Blogger was exactly what I was looking for to give The Barrick Times a new and fresh look AND fit my personality and our style to a "T." I just had to have it.

So, I got it. And now my bloggy-blog has a brand new (much-needed) face lift. And now, dear Readers, if your blog needs a face lift too, I think you should send her an e-mail to acquire some of her skills. She is the Blogger Doctor, after all, and...she's just plain fabulous to work with! You can see all of her delicious creations over at her website: RainyDayTemplates.com.

Now, I want to out all you Readers out there and force you, hold you at...uhh, MOUSEpoint, trick you into leaving a comment and telling me just who you are and where you are tuning in from. Why? Because this silly little blog of mine has reached 10,000 hits!!! Now, that's just crazy.

So, I demand that you out yourself and tell me who you are and where you are located. Why? Because I said so! And also, give me a shout out so you can tell Ellie how awesome she did with transforming my blog! I'm going to force her to leave a comment, too. THERE, HA.

I told you I was tricky.

Construction Progress!

Bobby and I just returned from a week-long vacation to Ocean City, Maryland. On our way out, we stopped by our house to check things out. First thing we did when we came back? Yup...visited the house. We fantasized all week about how far they might have progressed while we were gone, but much to our dismay, there wasn't TOO much that was done...less than what we had expected, at least. Regardless, here are the updates thus far!

Day #1 - Monday, June 15, 2009: Ground broke and hole for basement has been dug out! Only after about 2.5 months of waiting for our building permit to come through.
Day #3 - Wednesday June 17, 2009: Footers poured and let to rest and set.
Day # 5 - Friday June 19, 2009: Mold for basement walls and foundation arrives on site.
Day # 7 - Monday June 22, 2009: Mold is installed and concrete is poured for foundation walls.
Day #8 - Tuesday June 23, 2009: Mold removed; black, water-repellent goodness sprayed on foundation.
Day #13 - Sunday June 28, 2009: Piping installed under house, rough-in parts for Bathroom in the basement installed.
Day #20 - Sunday July 5, 2009: Concrete is poured in Garage and Basement!! Property is leveled and sides are filled in.

Day #13: June 28, 2009

(Progress Point Picture)

Day #20: July 5, 2009
(Progress Point Picture: Garage is the flat top on the right...looks like we will have a nice, long Drive Way!)

(Basement flooring. Bathroom rough-in all the way at the front and there will be a bedroom/office on the very left in this picture which is kind of cut off).

Yay! Hopefully this week they will get moving on the framing and it will actually start to look like a house! More to come shortly! Also, if you haven't seen it, scroll down for another new post!

Happy {Belated} Anniversary!

...to US!

It has been two beautiful, romantic, humorous, adventurous, silly, relaxing, crazy years since that 30th day in June. Bobby and I celebrated the best way we know how - good food, good wine and lots of sun at the beach. We had fun rambling off the things we've spent the past two years doing: new apartment, lots of experimental meals, assigning chores, long walks and bike rides, car trips, more car trips up to Baltimore, new cameras, make-shift work shop on my kitchen counter, lazy dinners out, surprise lunches at work, dancing in the kitchen, cooking out, LOTS of baseball games, iPhones, decorating the Christmas tree, getting "snowed in," and BUYING A HOUSE!



I can't wait to spend many more years with you, B. Thank you for encouraging me to document our lives through this blog to be able to look back one day when we're all old and wrinkly!