Building Our Dream {Part 2}

Adding onto your house seems simple right?  You dream up the plans, hire a contractor, and then pick out all the fun design elements?  Not even close to how this story is about to go.

 

We dreamed up the perfect layout, dreamed about what we wanted, hired a couple special trades, picked out some fun stuff and some boring stuff.... I mean really, who thinks about 1/2" or 5/8" drywall??  The contractor??  Oh yea, that would be Me and Allen and my most amazing Father.  Not what you were thinking, but I promise it has been the greatest learning experience both in DIY and in relationships.

 

I left you last with Part 1 of this journey where we broke ground.  Let's see where we've gone since then shall we? 

 

 

Once the excavation was complete this is what we were left with in the dead of winter.  A giant mud hole.  The kids loved it and truly, memories were made that will last forever.

 

 

 

 

Before they could start forming the footing and foundation that had to bring in rock, the kids thought this was great fun to watch the gravel shoot out of that hose.

 

 

Once the gravel was placed, the forms were set and it was time for concrete.  For those of you that don't personally know me, that is what I do for a living.  Ok well I am the contract administrator for the company, but concrete is our thing.

 

 

 

 

Next up was placing the floor joists and visqueen underneath. 

 

 

Once the joists were installed, the plumber came and did his rough-in.  This was a VERY exciting day for me.  I felt like we hit a big milestone.

 

 

What is the one thing you don't want when you are doing a giant construction project?  Snow?  Well this is what we woke up to!  Don't get me wrong, it was fun, but it put a halt on our projects.  And if you look across the street, our neighbor was also in the middle of replacing his sidewalk and driveway... oops!  Only in Oregon.

 

 

 

Once the snow melted we jumped right back into the project.  Starting with the decking.

 

 

 

Once the decking was placed, this large shipment showed up.  Who doesn't love fresh lumber??  I was ecstatic as I knew we would have walls very soon.  As you can see in this picture, we still have walls between the house and the addition.

 

 

This is the kitchen knock out all framed up.  Looks so small, but the space we gained is absolutely amazing!  We could only go out 5 feet and still be within code for our city.  Darn that city anyways, I wanted 6 feet!

 

 

 

 And today I will leave you with this last picture.  One wall was up and I was giddy about what I could see on one wall.  This is just a fraction of what we are gaining, but it was enough for me at the time.

 

 

 

I'm excited to share the progress from here.  It does become a little more glamorous, I promise.  Thank you for stopping by to see how this whole process has gone!!

 

Be sure to check out where I like to party each by clicking here!

 

 

Until next time friends!

 

 

 

 

 

Breaking Ground on New Dreams {Part 1}

 Time flies when you are having fun right?  We shall pretend that is what I have been having.

It has been so long since I have started and finished a blog post, today that changes.  I have so much to share, so many fun DIY projects and a NEW HOUSE!!  We did not move, we added on and I can't to share every step of the journey. 

It started Jan 17th of 2014 and we are nearing the end.  It has taken much longer than we had planned, but the $ saved by self performing as much as possible is well worth the extra weeks.

Who is ready to see the start of the journey?  Grab a cold beverage and enjoy!

In June of 2013 we had made the decision to build on an addition to better accommodate our family of five.  We were living in 1,200 sq feet for way too long, and had the choice to buy new, or add on.  I couldn't deal with moving from this house we have turned into our home, or leave my amazing neighbors thus making our final decision to stay.

We had to start by removing our 85 foot silver maple tree from our backyard.  Although I don't have many great photos of our back yard before the demo began, we had to tear out our 260 Sq Ft deck, our entire garden, and our shed.  All of which Allen and I designed and built on our own.  It was a hard day watching it all get destroyed, but I knew bigger things and better memories were in our future.

Here is the before of our house.  

The tree removal was impressive.  I left that morning to drop my kids off at school, in a pair of flip flops, yoga pants and a t-shirt.  No makeup, No purse, just a quick drop and go.  I returned as the first limb was coming over my roof and the kind workers informed me that I was not allowed to enter the house until the tree was down...... ummm HELLO???  I have nothing....  so I grabbed a lawn chair with my neighbor and we watched the entire process from across the street.

It took them about 5 hours to  completely take the tree down and another 2 days to remove the stump.

Here is the after.

And here is a side by side. Let there be light!  The tree was actually pretty unsafe and with each storm we lost so many limbs, it was only a matter of time before it did major damage or caused an injury.  And the leaves.... oh my, I will not miss raking those up throughout fall.

It took us about 6 more months and several financial decision later to finally break ground on the new construction.  So tonight I will leave you will this last picture.  The day we broke ground and started building the home of our dreams.  It might not be what you dream of, but it is ours and being built with a solid foundation we call family.