Windows Have Arrived!

Terry had to drive back up to work on Tuesday afternoon, so we took a drive up to the lake Tuesday morning to see what was going on. It was drizzling, but there were three guys working on some roof framing. The rain picked up a bit while we were there, so they had to quit. Rain and power tools is not a great combination!

While we were there, the windows were delivered by a Bryan lumber company. It will really be great to see them installed, but I don't think they are quite ready for that yet! 

Terry's mom is still here, so we will take a ride up later in the week to see how things are going. There has been rain today, but I hope they can get some work hours in before the week is over. We need the rain, so I won't wish it away even though it slows the building progress right now!

Bit by Bit, Board by Board

We took Terry's mom to the lake today so she could see the new construction. No one was there working, but we could see visible progress from when we were here last Saturday. Steps, some roof framing, engineered beams...bit by bit, board by board!

First Walk-Through

After Matt's graduation from SHSU this morning and a celebratory lunch afterwards, we went to the lake to check on the progress. This was the first time that Terry has seen any of the construction in person - he has not had anytime off work to come home since they have started.


It was great to see some of the basic framing up. I have added a few labels to give some perspective to the layout. 

Click on the picture to see a larger version.

We could walk up the ramp, although the boards were not yet nailed in place. That enabled us to have our first walk-through of the house - very exciting to actually see where everything was going to be!

Standing on the porch (that is where Terry is at), we could imagine how great it will be when it is all done!

We even saw a Unicorn! Well, not exactly...

New Wood!

I love the smell of new wood in the morning! There are stacks of wood all over the property...

...and some of it is even on the pilings!

There were no workers there but it looked like it had rained, so they probably couldn't work. It is exciting to see progress though!

Tilson Pride!

I talked to my builder who apologized in advance if he was difficult to reach in the upcoming week. Tilson Homes is building a home for one of soldiers injured in the Fort Hood shooting a little more than a year ago. This home will be featured on an upcoming Extreme Home Makeover show...and my builder is building this home!

Read about the family who is receiving this well-deserved home:

http://www.heartoftexasbuild.com/the-family.aspx

I am more than happy to wait with my questions so that this soldier can get a home that will accommodate his needs! I'm proud to be associated with Tilson Homes!

Here We Go!

The lack of postings has probably been a pretty good indication that nothing has been going on with our new home. It has been a very long month, and the waiting has become more and more difficult as the days have passed.

Fortunately, I got a call from our builder last week, and he said that they were ready to get started! What great news that was! I had to hurry and call the electric company to get service reconnected. Water still has to be reconnected - there are a couple of extra things to be done before that can happen.

Matt and I drove up this morning and the place was buzzing with activity! What a great sight it was!

The pilings are all in although they still need to be cut to the right heights. I have a listing of what things will be done in what order, so that will be our checklist of progress. I hope to post pictures as frequently as possible to mark the progress.

I am so glad to be started! Here we go...

A Beautiful Day!

It was a beautiful day in the neighborhood...the lake neighborhood, that is! However, the work we had to do seemed extra hard, and we struggled to get it done.


We got more brush cut back so that the builders will have room to maneuver around the perimeter of the house. There is still a bit more to do, and the more we cut, the more it seemed to multiply!


The soil test was done this last week, and we should have the results this next week. I am not sure what they do with the information, but I guess we'll find out. We could tell that someone had been there. There were some markings spray painted on the ground near the electrical pole with a couple of new flags that had not been there before. We could also tell that someone had driven down through the sand - there were some fairly deep ruts, so I'm guessing they may have gotten stuck. I don't know if it was the soil testing people, someone from the building company, or a neighbor. I don't think we really want vehicles driving down through the footprint of the house, but if it is someone representing the builder, I guess any issues will be their problem!


Despite our lack of energy and stamina for the work to be done, the day was beautiful, and the sun reflected off the lake making it just sparkle. 

We also had a couple of visitors - doe and a buck - who were happy to eat some lettuce that we brought for them. The doe would have eaten from my hand, but I kept trying to take a picture while feeding her, and she didn't like the beeping of the camera!

New Home for the Brown Shed

The moving of the brown shed has been pretty labor intensive, in my opinion. I understand that it is the only structure left on the lot with a functioning door...and we do still have a need for that. Spending the better part of four valuable Saturdays has meant that completing all the other tasks that need to be done is taking a longer than anticipated.
There was a lot of jacking up and putting blocks under the corners, then jacking up some more with more blocks. It may be the only shed known to man that was moved on a boat trailer! Then, after it was moved, all the stuff with blocks and jacks had to be done in reverse. So the shed has found its new home...its temporary home. 

The truck is parked in the driveway which comes in from the road on the right side of the lot and curves around to the center of the lot. If the shed stays in its current location, it will be the first thing you see when you come in the drive. It will also block the view of the new house, so it just can't stay there! For the time being, it will stay where it is, but we will eventually do something else for the storage of tools and outdoor equipment. I guess that will be Phase II...hopefully it won't take as long to do as Phase I did! 

The Little Shed That Didn't

The silver shed that was tucked deep in the bushes was not as lucky on moving day as the bigger brown shed that came out several weeks ago. It had several things working against it - it was farther back in the overgrown brush, it was fully loaded, and the method of moving it was a bit risky. None of these risk factors were the shed's fault, and even then, it almost made it out in one piece. I suppose one might argue that it still is in one piece...just slightly rearranged...

There is not much to do but dismantle and dispose of it. Sorry, little shed...with a little more effort your fate might have had a better outcome!

Getting Closer

Progress continues as we get closer to starting construction. 


I  called a person about removing the two stumps from the cedar trees last week. He said he would go by that evening and call me to let me know if he could do the job. Apparently he couldn't because I never heard back from him! Terry and Matt were going to try to move the second shed last Saturday, so I called someone that I found on the Camp Creek website. (Residents often have trouble getting reputable and experienced help because it is off the beaten path, so the website includes a page that lists service people along with recommendations from residents.) I spoke with the gentleman's wife who said he was looking at another job that morning but might get by our place to look in the afternoon. Not only did he come to look, but he also removed the stumps AND helped move the shed!


So, with that job out of the way, we were cleared to do a re-stake of the house. I keep calling it a stakeout...but I guess that is something slightly different! The re-stake guy, Jerry, had an opening today, so I went up to meet him. We decided to pull the house back away from the lake about 5 more feet. It is not that we are close to the lake - probably 200 feet away - but it just seemed a slightly better placement. Jerry agreed and completed the re-stake. He gave me a list of things that we still need to do - trim back some yaupon, cut a limb, remove a couple of chunks of concrete, etc. We should be able to complete that this weekend.


Jerry also had the septic guy come to look and give us the word on whether we can go traditional or aerobic. He said traditional was fine. That is good for us because it it less expensive than an aerobic design.


Now the plans go back to drafting for whatever  pre-construction things need to be done. I am hoping that building might start in two weeks...three weeks at the most! Hard to believe that we are almost ready to get started. Exciting!!

Jerry doing the re-stake