March 22, 2011

Brick

    I've been nervous about the brick for the house for a while now. We started this house-building project planning to use siding, which we would paint white. I love white houses! However, after researching and comparing costs, we determined that the brick would not be much more expensive than the siding. In fact, we estimated that by the time we had the siding cleaned every year and painted it in ten years, the brick will have more than paid for the difference.  Mr. Perfect and I love the brick that his parents have on their house, so we went with the same - easy choice. I was nervous though because I had been picturing the house painted white, and I wasn't sure that I would like it as much with the brick. 
    Yesterday, the brick layers started, so I drove out to check on their progress after school. I am very happy with how it's looking so far and think we made the right call. 

Spalding Tudor brick.

Front of the house.

Corner of porch and garage.

Back of house.

    I did not want to build a house that looked brand new and out of place on a quiet country road. So, instead of bricking the entire thing, we decided to put siding on the garage so that it would have the feel of an addition. Most old houses have had additions, so it seemed like a good idea! You can see in the first picture above where the brick stops. Above that will be siding painted white. The rest of the house will be brick. All of the trim on the windows and columns will be white, so that will tie everything together.
    Apparently, the bricking should be finished by the end of next week. Also, the plumbing will be in by then. After that, the roof can be finished. I'm trying not to be impatient, but I'm ready to move!
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March 10, 2011

Windows and Our 1st Garden

Well, we are almost "dried in." That means that the house is wrapped, the windows are in, and the under-roofing is up.  It's looking so good, and we feel very blessed. Tomorrow, the boys' bathtub should arrive with the rest of the bathroom plumbing to show up early next week. I was not able to take a picture of the front of the house because it was way too muddy after yesterday's torrential rain. Here are a few pictures of the rest of the house:

Back of the house
Back of the house
Looking at the front wall of my bedroom
Upstairs hallway, down to the landing, and up into the guest bedroom.
The boys' playroom
Another  view of the boys' playroom
Boy #2 is giving his bedroom a thumbs up!
Boy #1 also loves his new bedroom.

We are addicted to plants, so we could not wait until the house was finished to start growing things. The green clumps are day lilies transplanted from Mr. Perfect's sister's yard. We also planted dahlia bulbs which should come up in a few more weeks, a cabbage plant (part of a school project), a hibiscus we brought down from Virginia, and a fern. I'm planning on sowing some lettuce this weekend. Also, I think we're going to bring our bird feeders out this weekend and start doing our best to attract all the birds within a 10 mile radius to our yard!

Boy #1 and #2 in our temporary garden.


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March 3, 2011

Almost Ready for Windows & Roof!

I found out today that our window order should arrive any day now, which is a good thing because our builder is just about ready for them. The dormers have been added to the guest room above the garage and the rear of the house is almost finished.

Front of house.
Rear of house. That's the garage on the the left.

This is the rear of the house, but with a look at the covered porch.
 Today, I have to pick out my ice maker and wall oven, so that we can finalize and place the cabinet order. I must say that we are so very excited about this house, but all of the myriad decisions is stressing us out a good bit. I'll be so glad when it's over. On a nicer note, our daylilies that we dug up from Mr. Perfect's sister's yard are very happy in their temporary home behind our well.