It's 5:00 on Saturday, and the roofers are still at the house (these were taken yesterday so they are much further along). When we first saw the plans we said 'it looks like we're building a roof with a little house underneath instead of vice versa", but with the slopes etc. it fits the house. We think it's a lot of roof, but Doug tells us he did a house recently that 
was an 11,000 sq.ft. RANCH - now that's a lot of roof! We like the dark color, and it does have a fair amount of variation which makes it not too stark. It's funny to see footprints on your roof, but those will wash away soon enough when the rains return after this brief reprieve. The last two days have been PERFECT PORCH weather. Sunny, warm with a nice breeze blowing through! Can't wait to sit in my chair with a good book & a cool beverage and just take it all in.
The concrete crew was here on Friday as well to pour the basement (through the windows). They finished in just a morning and the framers are working this weekend to get the stairs built and the lower rooms framed in. 
Conor is psyched to get down into 'his' basement -- the man cave plans are well underway. They'll be back a few more times: Monday to do the garage floor and later to do the porches and the walk and oh, remember the neighborhood improvement plan I mentioned earlier??? Yes, we also get to rebuild the curbs and the sidewalks, so there's that to look forward to as well!
We had our first "site adjustment" as Dave the Builder likes to euphemistically call a big OOPS! The one and only bathtub in the house did not fit in the space allotted!!! All along we've had two requirements: 
I wanted a 6' tub since we are a long-legged family and Brian wanted NOT to have to deal with grout and caulk. So we special ordered an all in one fiberglass unit for Conor's bathroom. Unfortunately, that bath has a clipped ceiling and the tub unit was a little taller than everyone expected so it didn't fit under the roofline. YIKES! After much deliberation with Chuck, the world's most can-do framer, and Dave and Len (the architect) we decided that if we shifted the
tub/shower to the hallway wall instead of the back wall it would work and it wouldn't look 'odd' when the whole bath was put together. It's still two rooms with a double vanity when you enter and then the tub and toilet through a slightly-narrower-than-planned door. I don't think anyone will notice when it's all in place. (The toilet goes on the black hole to the left of the tub -- and don't worry, even with the clipped ceiling you won't hit your head when you stand up!)
As in, we are literally busting up the block! Part of the neighborhood improvement plan is that
if you build a new house in South Bend you get to upgrade the water pipes. What is currently in the ground is too small and made of lead so we are putting in a larger copper pipe from the street to the house. I didn't have the camera when the whole street was dug up, but it was quite a mess. Brian likes to point out that we very recently HAD a big hole in the ground and it might have been easier to handle this effort
then, but....what do we know? As my dad reminded me, it's a given that within a year of newly paving a road, every utility will need to come dig it up for some reason so I guess this falls under that same maxim. Regardless, we need water and this is how we get it!
GOOD NEWS!!! Our builder has given us a move in date in mid-October, but more importantly, our current landlord has given us a 90-day extension on our lease so we don't have to move TWICE! This is such a relief. And for those of you planning to come to the early Notre Dame football games....the party on Angela continues! Whoo-hoo! Since Halloween is 5+ months away, I feel confident that the house will be done in plenty of time. They've accomplished so much in 2 months and I know the finish work can take longer but I think we'll be in good shape!
The house color has been a major source of anxiety. While we've been in agreement for a long time that we'd love a red bungalow, finding the perfect shade of red is no small feat! I don't want anything about the house, for instance, to be suggestive of "The Attack of the Killer Tomato". We had thought that Cottage Red by Benjamin Moore
was pretty close to perfect, if a little dark in the shade. Dave (the builder) is getting us a sample of it on the FiberCement Siding so that we could be sure. Then, just yesterday I was driving down Jefferson and saw this new house on ND Ave (200 block so not IN our neighborhood) that was a great shade of red. I took Brian and my Cottage Red posterboard over to see it last night. It's practically the same color, just a shade lighter. The builder's sign was still out front so I called and got the info on the siding. It's vinyl siding but if we can get a sample of it, I think we may be able to get the color matched, so that's my current mission. It's so nice to see a whole big house in that color and not just a swatch or posterboard. Gives me a lot more confidence that it is a good choice. There are some pretty bold colors in the neighborhood already - deep blue, gold, pale yellow and a couple different greens. I think the red will be a nice addition! And instead of being the Big Ass Bungalow we can be the Big Red Bungalow. I'm good with that!
With the million decisions to be made, the one keeping Brian awake nights is where to put the television in the family room (on our plan's it's called the 'Gathering Room' but that sounds a little Quakerish and they wouldn't have a TV so we'll go with family room!). He went over while Conor and I were in Indy last weekend armed with some masking tape, a folding chair and a little google research on the best distances for TV viewing and mulled it over. I think the decision is to put it over the fireplace, but we're meeting with Dux, the security and low voltage guru on Tuesday to hopefully finalize all the plans for security and entertainment systems!! Ours will probably NOT be the most high tech house on the block but somehow I think we'll muddle through!
I thought I'd post a couple pictures from the sides of the house since most of the recent ones have been interior shots or just the front of the house. On the top is the 
north side of the house. The second view is the south side of the house which will have a little porch and stairs down to the patio. We're looking at pavers or stamped/stained concrete for the patio. Any suggestions?
Although so very many things are going right, there are always a couple things that don't go quite according to plan (or maybe it is the plan that is flawed...). These fall into that category. 1) When I was at the house earlier, Steve the plumber was starting to install the shower base in our master bath. But when I went back tonight, it wasn't installed...because my shower bench that I was so pleased with is 13" deep instead of 12" deep which means the shower base doesn't fit! I think Chuck measured the top and sides of the bench and forgot 
that he was putting on a front piece. Oops! 2) The egress window in the basement bedroom is a casement window, which means it cranks out -- except that the cover for the window well sits about a foot below the top of the window which means you can't crank it open. I think the main idea behind an egress window is not so much the window as the egress -- you have to be able to get OUT! Dave's going to replace it with a slider and that should work just fine. It's a wee bit disconcerting that I was the one to figure this out today and it didn't occur to those installing it!
They poured the floor of the garage today. We have a really high ceiling due to the roof line of the house so Brian's thinking indoor basketball court...!! Just as they were finishing smoothing it out a stray dog took a quick tour of the house. As Chuck and I shooed him out of the interior, he did a couple laps around the
exterior of the house and ran into the garage! Won't his owners be surprised when he comes home with concrete-covered paws tonight! I was just back to check on the progress and there are, thankfully, no new footprints. I guess one dip into the concrete was enough for him!
It's 5:00 on Saturday, and the roofers are still at the house (these were taken yesterday so they are much further along). When we first saw the plans we said 'it looks like we're building a roof with a little house underneath instead of vice versa", but with the slopes etc. it fits the house. We think it's a lot of roof, but Doug tells us he did a house recently that 
was an 11,000 sq.ft. RANCH - now that's a lot of roof! We like the dark color, and it does have a fair amount of variation which makes it not too stark. It's funny to see footprints on your roof, but those will wash away soon enough when the rains return after this brief reprieve. The last two days have been PERFECT PORCH weather. Sunny, warm with a nice breeze blowing through! Can't wait to sit in my chair with a good book & a cool beverage and just take it all in.
Conor is psyched to get down into 'his' basement -- the man cave plans are well underway. They'll be back a few more times: Monday to do the garage floor and later to do the porches and the walk and oh, remember the neighborhood improvement plan I mentioned earlier??? Yes, we also get to rebuild the curbs and the sidewalks, so there's that to look forward to as well!
Our Black Onyx roof is going on today. Doug says they'll be finished by Monday. It will make the house fairly watertight, although they won't do any drywalling etc until the siding goes on so that the moisture doesn't impact it. They've also been busy this week starting to install the electric. We spent two hours with Steve the
electrician going over where all the switches, fixtures and outlets will go. Talk about mind-numbing! He's a good guy, though, and I'm glad he's the one who has to do this all the time and not me! The fireplace and the lower level heating/cooling vents also went in this week. Given that it is still cold here, I think that fireplace is going to get a lot of use! The big question is what to put around it -- granite to match the kitchen? tile? stone? -- as always the choices are endless. Any and all suggestions are welcome!
And last but not least - to the left is my custom built shower bench! Seriously, Chuck measured the height of my knee bend and built it to the perfect height just for little ol' me. Brian doesn't appreciate my glee over the shower bench but I am so looking forward to having it!
I wanted a 6' tub since we are a long-legged family and Brian wanted NOT to have to deal with grout and caulk. So we special ordered an all in one fiberglass unit for Conor's bathroom. Unfortunately, that bath has a clipped ceiling and the tub unit was a little taller than everyone expected so it didn't fit under the roofline. YIKES! After much deliberation with Chuck, the world's most can-do framer, and Dave and Len (the architect) we decided that if we shifted the
tub/shower to the hallway wall instead of the back wall it would work and it wouldn't look 'odd' when the whole bath was put together. It's still two rooms with a double vanity when you enter and then the tub and toilet through a slightly-narrower-than-planned door. I don't think anyone will notice when it's all in place. (The toilet goes on the black hole to the left of the tub -- and don't worry, even with the clipped ceiling you won't hit your head when you stand up!)
if you build a new house in South Bend you get to upgrade the water pipes. What is currently in the ground is too small and made of lead so we are putting in a larger copper pipe from the street to the house. I didn't have the camera when the whole street was dug up, but it was quite a mess. Brian likes to point out that we very recently HAD a big hole in the ground and it might have been easier to handle this effort
then, but....what do we know? As my dad reminded me, it's a given that within a year of newly paving a road, every utility will need to come dig it up for some reason so I guess this falls under that same maxim. Regardless, we need water and this is how we get it!
They also delivered construction doors so that the house can be 'buttoned up' beginning next week. Apparently, scrap metal is a very valuable commodity here in Indiana and copper piping disappears regularly. They are going to start roughing in the plumbing next week so hopefully we won't lose any of the pipes.
With the framing finally complete on the two main levels, the upstairs layout is much clearer. This first picture is taken from the master bedroom looking back toward the stairs. As you walk down the hallway, on your left is Conor's room and then the hall bath. On the right is the linen closet followed by the guest room. There's only a half wall at the stairwell so the light from the landing window should flood this area too!
Conor's room (right) looks huge and he is excited to start filling it up! One minor 'glitch' is that the HVAC guys laid out his vents right where we want to someday add his window seat. I am meeting with them first thing Monday morning to see what the other options are. 
This week promises to be another busy one. In addition to beginning the plumbing rough in, we're meeting with the electrician to map out all the light fixtures, switches and outlets on Tuesday. Wednesday is Extreme Housebuilding Day -- extreme in the sense that the roof and the basement will both get some attention. 
was pretty close to perfect, if a little dark in the shade. Dave (the builder) is getting us a sample of it on the FiberCement Siding so that we could be sure. Then, just yesterday I was driving down Jefferson and saw this new house on ND Ave (200 block so not IN our neighborhood) that was a great shade of red. I took Brian and my Cottage Red posterboard over to see it last night. It's practically the same color, just a shade lighter. The builder's sign was still out front so I called and got the info on the siding. It's vinyl siding but if we can get a sample of it, I think we may be able to get the color matched, so that's my current mission. It's so nice to see a whole big house in that color and not just a swatch or posterboard. Gives me a lot more confidence that it is a good choice. There are some pretty bold colors in the neighborhood already - deep blue, gold, pale yellow and a couple different greens. I think the red will be a nice addition! And instead of being the Big Ass Bungalow we can be the Big Red Bungalow. I'm good with that!
This post is a little behind and therefore dated, but to keep things chronological, I'll tell you where we were when these photos were taken. Things are moving quickly and I need to keep up! We're pretty much under roof except for the garage and the exterior has been 'walled' up!
The ceiling above will have the sloping roof so common in bungalow style houses and that I just love. The banisters will be half walls and not railings. Since the stairways are tucked into the back of the house, we didn't want to spend money making them showpieces.
cabinets between the window and the door are configured to accommodate Mom's knobs. For those of you who didn't hear about my first kitchen remodel, I had 4 little spice drawers with knobs in memory of mom. Of course I took them with me. They are a bathtub, a book, a cottage and a coffee cup. Finding a fitting spot for those knobs was key in our design discussions! The plywood on the floor is my island. It went from a large two level island to a slightly smaller one level island that I think will fit the space and the scale of the house a little better. It will have 3 stools around it and plenty of room for Brian and his newspaper!
With the million decisions to be made, the one keeping Brian awake nights is where to put the television in the family room (on our plan's it's called the 'Gathering Room' but that sounds a little Quakerish and they wouldn't have a TV so we'll go with family room!). He went over while Conor and I were in Indy last weekend armed with some masking tape, a folding chair and a little google research on the best distances for TV viewing and mulled it over. I think the decision is to put it over the fireplace, but we're meeting with Dux, the security and low voltage guru on Tuesday to hopefully finalize all the plans for security and entertainment systems!! Ours will probably NOT be the most high tech house on the block but somehow I think we'll muddle through!
