City of Charlotte thinks we're doing a good job

So, I'm very excited about the progress that has been made in the last week (or so)... Here it is in a nut shell. The last couple days have been especially nice, and the fun part is getting closer.

Here's the scoop...

• All sub contractors completed their rough ins for their inspections.
• Kevin and carpenters finished framing, added roof over back door, covered crawl space in plastic wrap, sealed around windows, boxed in the rafter tails...
• Electrical inspection was supposed to be last Friday. Inspector didn't show until Saturday, but we passed!
• Plumbing passed on Monday
• Framing passed on Tuesday
• Duke Energy cut power to take care of trees. Subs didn't care for that.
• Duke Energy buried lines to house, tore up yard.
• Waiting for mechanical inspection, should be this coming tomorrow or Monday.
• Front of roof is all shingled up and they're doing the back tomorrow (fingers crossed)

Coming up next week, we will insulate on Monday and then we're off to siding and dry wall! Now for the photos...

1.) The shot below was taken this afternoon. Not great photography, but this shows the shingles they finished on the front of the roof.
2.) This is a little roof over the back door. We will install a small light in the "ceiling."
3.) Here's the back, but I took this before the little roof over back door addition. The last windows were placed. I think the one at the top is a little small, but live and learn. We own it, so we'll live. It wasn't the first thing that didn't go according to plan and it won't be the last. See previous post on importance of patience - should add flexibility to the list!

4.) This is taken in the hallway at the top of the stairs looking toward the back yard. This shows a different shot of the window that is too small. We're going to hang a lantern like light in this staircase. The blue boxes in the picture are receptacle and cable locations.

5.) This shot is courtesy of Matt (as is the title of this post). This is taken shooting from the back bedroom toward the front of the house. Note the the VERY heavy cast iron tub is in place. You should have seen the plumber's face when I told him I didn't want a plastic tub! This also shows a lot of the pipes and wires.
6.) Here's another of the same bathroom. Not sure why this picture is in here again. The white ring on the floor to the left of the tub is where the toilet will go. The aluminum fixture is one of Emily's victories. There's a cool new fixture out there now that looks like a recessed can, but it also has a ventilation fan built in so you don't have to see the fan. It's a little thing, but it makes me happy. **For the record it wasn't an Emily victory over Matt it was over the electrician and HVAC subs.

The Boring Part Continues

Unfortunately, we're still about a week away from the "fun" part. We did get the kitchen cabinets all but figured out today after 4 hours at Lowes. Lowes has become our second home! We're pretty excited about what our kitchen will hopefully look like. Hopefully, we'll order the cabinets sooner than later!

We have the inspection on the new piers tomorrow morning. The new piers aren't esciting, but necessary.

So, in the mean time, here's what else happened this week....

1.) Brick mason, who did the piers, also did masonry repair. We will be paiting the brick, so he put concrete block on the corners of the stairs to mimic the original stair design. The bottom stair is the original.

2.) Here's a view of the new back door and rebuilt back stairs.

3.) Here's an overall view of the back of the house. There is still one window missing in the top middle. Hopefully that will be installed this week.

4.) Here are the pull down attic stairs in the man room.

5.) This nook is in the master bath and the tub will end up going here.

6.) This is the view of the back door from the kitchen through the mudroom.

7.) Here's the view of the front door!!

Until next time, Em

The Boring Part

As the title states, this part of construction is not my favorite part. It feels like nothing is happening, but in actuality there is a lot going on "behind the scenes." A couple of note worthy items that can't be photographed...

1. We had to have a temporary power pole installed in the back yard to have something for the guys to plug their tools into. It took forever for Duke Power to connect it, but they finally did.

2. We have someone under the house working on additional piers to hold the place up. It is important.

3. All of the sub contractors are getting their rough-ins wrapped up. Once we get all of our inspections, things should speed up. It should progress quickly to insulation, dry wall, shingles, and siding from there. I'm excited for that part.

Until all of that, here are some pics...


1.) This is a shot of the ceiling that shows some of the recessed cans.


2.) Here's the tub that the plumber needed for his rough in. It's cast iron so very tricky to get to the bathroom on the second floor.

3.) The location of the half wall shows where the island will be. The cased opening around the kitchen shrunk about a foot which will turn out to be fine.

4.) The stairs are getting a little style. Here's the latest design. We like it.

5.) It has been requested that we show some pictures of guest rooms. Here is one guest room. If you're looking at the outside of the house, this room is in the front in the large dormer above the front porch. From these windows, we can catch a glimpse of the Charlotte skyline. It's better in the winter, but we can still see it a little through all of the big trees.

So, not much to report lately. Most of the work being done right now is behind the scenes stuff. The guys have been off since Thursday afternoon and are supposed to back and ready to work in the morning. Additionally, Matt and I have decided on a color and painted the garage. Now, for the pictures...


1). Below is a view standing at the back door, shooting through the mud room toward the kitchen. On the right, you'll see plumbing pipes for the washer. The blue tape on the floor in the kitchen is so that Matt and I could visualize where cabinets will go.


2). Below is a picture of the "man room". This is where the bumper pool table will go and Matt will have design freedom as it relates to hanging sports memorabilia.


3). Below is a picture shot from the kitchen toward the main living area. The doorway in the middle goes to the master bedroom and powder room. The nook on the left will be built-ins and the stairs will be on the right. Also, noteworthy is that they old hard wood floors have been removed and new sub floor has been put down.

4). Here's the "garage." Not exactly a sturdy structure, but a good home for the MG!