It's been too long
I can't believe the last entry was in March. So much progress, yet, we're still not moved in.

Since then, the house has really begun to take shape. Doors, trim, flooring, kitchen cabinets, appliances, light fixtures, plumbing fixtures, etc. have all been installed. The elevator and site work really have to catch up. Carpet is laid out, and should be finished tomorrow. Stucco should be done today and scaffolds down tomorrow.

A few friends have commented: The house is really following a Frank Lloyd Wright/Prairie style? Are you going for a Prairie style home? The answer is yes - we've tried to stay with the style. We've loved working with our friend and architect, Chris Payne. His suggestions/recommendations have been so helpful. And as details have evolved due to field changes, we hope we didn't screw up too badly. The house will continue taking on new details and character through the years, we're sure of that.

In the meantime, we continue to battle with the weather; praying for three consecutive days without rain. The problem with that is, we have dry days on the weekends, and no one works then. The pile of dirt in the backyard is almost gone - lots of it used to backfill the foundation, and more will go in the front. I was hoping to get the driveway cut this week and framed, but not going to bank on it. Might be raining for the next three days.

Here are a couple of pics from the interior. The stairs are all stained and here's a shot of the dining room. Funny part is, the electrician hung the fixture 90 degrees the wrong way. This whole time I pictured it the other way, and I walked in to find it this way. However, we measured the room to find out that the fixture is actually running in the longer direction, so we'll just live with this for right now and see how it works out. More "funny" stories another time.

Mucky Mess Today
Stairs were completed last Friday (3/3). They look AWESOME! Have to post pics soon.

Abby and I were at the site today. Elevator was delivered yesterday. They'll be as far as they can get by the end of today. Talked with the tile guy today too. Looks like we're in good shape. Ceramic tile should start next week. Master Bathroom will be mudset - the old-fashioned way of laying ceramic tile. The other bathrooms will be thinset applications.

Trim carpentry will start over the weekend! Hurrah! Window trim is all stained already, and all the parts and pieces are in queue. Hopefully there won't be any glitches.

The only items that are a bit concerning to me right nOW: water in the elevator pit, rough grading in the backyard, masonry at the front porch.

Update
So, now that 1/3 of the month is over (which also includes my leave from the office), thought I should update the blog. The residential elevator coordination drives me nuts! Basically, the elevator people gave a four item list of things to take care of so they could start, and now it's turned into a 10 item list! And, there's more work for carpenters that we don't have at hand. Not to worry I hope, I've called a friend, and I might have to call some carpenters from my office for some other assistance.

On a good note, the garage doors are in, and we might be able to get the front door set over the weekend. Gotta lock up the house before the deliveries start coming in. Kitchen cabinets on Tuesday! Unfortunately, the flooring hasn't started....

I'm so annoying myself, yet, I keep trying to remind myself this will all be worth it in the end.

Up and running again
After a long hiatus (a.k.a. Christmas and New Year's), we're back up and running. Firestopping (thanks to my husband's brother and father) and insulation happened over the holidays/early January. Actually, drywall is already up (as of yesterday). 1-1/2 days and the whole house got walls. They stocked the house over the weekend (Jan. 21-22) we think. We never saw them; as if there were drywall leprechauns! All of sudden, the drywall was in the house. Will have to post pictures soon.

Very few snafus with the rough mechanicals. Just a few items had to be fixED: non-fire rated recessed lights at the second floor (14 of them), minor leak in the fire sprinkler system (misting, if you will), relocation of gas piping by the fireplace, addition of some gas piping, etc. We had a friend put some speaker wire in the walls, too, for which we are very grateful for his help over a few evenings and a weekend.

I like to think we're in the home stretch, but a few people have guessed that we won't be done until April/May... naysayers! I'm still pushing for March for substantial completion. Just keep your fingers crossed for mild weather and maybe we can get the driveway in.

Front Door
The door is almost done! It really is beautiful. Will be shipped on Mon. 12/19, to arrive Tues. 12/20 most likely. Will get confirmation today or tomorrow.

It's a beast... solid oak, very heavy. Need four men min. to get into the house

Technical notES:
cannot install right away. will need to stain and finish after the door acclimates to the environment. so, we should store it inside the house, if possible, to let it acclimate for a couple of days. will have to call painter to have them stain and finish the door as soon as they can due to the weather. easier to do this now than installed. they may need 60-65 degrees to stain - will have to confirm that also. the 2" sill extension is also backordered and won't come until beginning of january, most likely.

Changing Seasons
Well, they say there are only two seasons in the Chicago (or Midwest) area: "going into winter" or "coming out of winter". We're in the winter phase for sure. The bottom fell out around Thanksgiving. The high was only in the twenties and by night we were at freezing or below. Though, my favorite weatherman, Tom Skilling on WGN, says that this will be a fairly warm winter, not so cold on the average...what does this mean for us?

We may have to wait for spring to finish the masonry columns at the front of the house, and the perimeter band of stucco may be delayed also. 40 degrees and rising is what we want, but those days are far and few between.

On a more positive note, the gas company is scheduled to be out next Friday which means HEAT! I'm going to try to borrow some can heaters from the equipment lock-up at work. Hook 'em up right to the gas lines and we can heat the house. Elevator should be arriving within the next two weeks, too. Rough plumbing abd HVAC is just about done; inspector should be coming next week. Rough electric and sprinklers will be complete shortly.

Eastman and I just noticed today that the recessed can lights are 6"... oops, we thought we'd be getting the 4" cans. Oh well, no big deal in the big scheme of things. 6" cans are actually less expensive than 4" cans.

I guess insulation and drywall are just around the corner, but really, it couldn't be soon enough. Can't wait to move in.

On the Inside
Well, it's been a long time now. Pictures of the exterior will look just about the same from last time. The masonry is almost complete. They just have to finish the front porch. Our neighbors to the east let us use their water. I still haven't seen a water bill from them. Stucco hasn't started, nor have we actually met the stucco guy. I suspect that our mason blew the budget for the stucco and is now having a difficult time finding someone who will do the work for only $3750.

In the meantime, rough plumbing (all the pipe work in the walls) and rough HVAC (all the ductwork in the walls) are just about done. Rough electric (easy to figure out now) and fire sprinkler piping are the last bits before we can insulate. I'm happy to report that since last time, we were able to have ComEd come out and hook up our permanent power. People at my office are scratching their heads and asking how we got the electric company to come out so fast... I have no idea.

In the meantime, the carpenters continue to come back to fix punchlist items. I think they're done on the inside now. Just a few items are left for outside trim.

Trials and tribulations
2:35 PM: Phone call comes in from the mason. The coursing beneath the second floor windows are goofed up. Wants to change the stretcher course and rowlock course into a soldier course. He says it'll be the easiest and cleanest thing to do. (Why does it have to be easy for the trades?)

2:36 PM: Call goes into our architect's office

2:37 PM: Call goes into Eastman's office. Hoping he can go to the site to see what happened. Can't be there until later in the afternoon.

2:45 PM: Julie calls the mason back. Directive is to STOP until further notice.

5:10 PM: Eastman calls Julie. There's a bigger mistake than the brick coursing. Have to meet Eastman and Abby at the site after work. "Make sure you bring the camera, measuring tape and the plans." (Two of three were already in the car.)

6:30 PM: Finally, at the site... all is confirmed. (I climbed the scaffolding... probably something I shouldn't have done myself.) The carpenters blew the location of the window at the stairwell. Yikes. It's too high by about 6". *sigh* We'll meet with the carpenter tomorrow morning. He better bring his tools.

Almost water-tight
There were six carpenters on site today waiting for the window delivery. Eastman called our supplier and I guess by that time (9:30 AM), they had arrived. All the windows and one door have been installed. The front door, one other exterior door and garage doors are all we need now. In the meantime, masonry will get going.

Lots of coordination going on between where the windows line up with the front door, the masonry coursing with the windows, the masonry openings for the doors including the ones at the garage... oy! It's amazing how anything gets built, sometimes. And this is coming from someone involved in construction...ha!

I wanted to add this little tidbit of a diversion from the house construction. I was getting ready to read a bedtime story to Abby this evening in her room. It had been a while since I played some music during storytime, so I went to the CD player/radio that is located on the floor just next to the rocking chair that sits in the corner of her room. I turned and saw something tucked behind the rocking chair. I asked her if she put it there, and she said, "Yes." Then she said, "I ate them all." There were four or five left! We were wondering what had happened to that box?!

Now for some interior stuff
So, we're looking at finishes. The kitchen door won't look like this one; not exactly prairie style. But, we do like the color against a darker floor finish. We're sort of split between the darker granite and lighter granite. I think we're leaning towards the darker granite. Our kitchen designer friend will be dropping off the actual door sample any day now.

Picked out all the plumbing fixtures, too. Toto toilets, baby. (Sorry, Kohler.) Cannot skimp on the water closets. Chose a few Grohe items. Kitchen faucet shown here. Still not exactly sure on the floor finishes, in particular, the carpeting for the second floor, but samples are on their way. Have to find something that'll handle some wheel traffic.

Here's one of my favorite pictures - the view from the second floor landing. I don't think we realized what an uber-large window was going into that wall. We'll see exactly what it's supposed to look like come this Wednesday. (Rats, gotta call the stair guy. Forgot to do that this weekend.)

The shoring holding up the garage slab will be coming out this Saturday. Hard to believe a month has gone by. Shingles are in, too. Domingo is also leaving on Saturday for some R&R. I'm sure he'll enjoy every minute of visiting his grandchildren in Seattle. I know he has some concerns about the mason (who starts this week)...Don't worry, Pops, we'll take care of the site while you're away!