It has been awhile BUT we have been busy moving into our brand new amazing house! We moved in when we were still finishing up the final touches which probably wasn't the smartest idea. On the brighter side, we moved in before all of the snow and bad weather came. Our very first night in our home was Christmas Eve. It was the best Christmas gift!
My favorite part of the house is the kitchen I think. I love the big open space, the killer backsplash, and of course the dishwasher. Our big bathtub is nice too! I am a bath person, so I have been dreaming about this tub for sometime now. Our basement is going to be nice too. We have a big open place to rehearse and hang out. I love being able to go downstairs to teach a guitar lesson and Harrison have an open place to play. Don't forget the wood-burning fire place.
We are still lacking a garage door and a decent driveway along with a few other things, but it will happen. Many of these things require dryer ground.
Harrison and Sarah both like their rooms. Harrison has only slept in his room all night once, but we are working on that. We had hoped that the Gleason School bus would come pick Sarah up, but they couldn't. Thanks to family and some extra manuevering we have been able to work it out. I took another maternity leave position at Martin Elementary, and their school days start nearly an hour earlier than Gleason.
This process has not been easy by any means, but it was definitely worth it. It has tested our patience and our marriage, but we would do it all over again. Building this house as part of my family's land and farm has been a dream of mine for so long. Thank you Jon for making this come true for me...for us. I wish so much that my Dad were around to see.
Here are some pictures....*ahem* Don't be a hater because we earned it :)
Click here to my facebook...there's too many to put on here.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Will we be eating turkey in our new house?
That is the question!! It is quite possible if everyone shifts into high gear.
The house is fully framed and in the dry (which means all windows, doors, and the board stuff is up around the studs on the outside), shingled, roughly wired for electricity, roughly plumbed, has partial siding, the fireplace is operational, and we have a really nice deck, which is about 80% complete. We passed inspection today on our rough electric wiring. This is EXCITING because we can finally insulate the walls, which means drywall will be going up really soon.
We have an awesome team...really awesome. We have been blessed so far to have responsible and dependable guys that do great work and excellent craftsmanship.
Ray Glisson and Dan Crossno-Basement (concrete, framing in the basement, and plumbing...possibly more :))
Terry Reeder-Framing for house, fireplace, roof, and trim work (which isn't done yet)
Matt Dunning and Mickey Horton- Electrical
Patrick Corbin-Decking, and Flooring
Gary Doster-Custom cabinets (I can't wait! They are going to be beautiful!)
Elite in Gleason-Acrylic counter tops
Barry Mathis-Siding (I didn't realize it till today, but this is the guy that pulled me out of my totaled car a little over a year ago. He doubles as an EMT.)
Richard Horn at Gleason Hardware- AC/Heating Unit and duct work
Beasley- Satellite
Michael Wade- Brush Cleanup
Things left to do (not in this order):
Drywall
Paint
Flooring
Trim
Garage Paneling
electrical and plumbing after drywall
Patio, steps, and sidewalk
Fence
Little bit more gravel for round-about
Plant grass seed
MOVE IN!!!!
Here are some pictures:
Looking Down the Driveway
Front (There are shutters on it now...I took this picture last week.)
Fireplace
The Back
The Garage Side
This whole process has been stressful, but we are starting to feel some relief I think. Jon has been our rock. I don't know how he does all of this while working, traveling, putting together a killer band, keeping us all happy, while staying on budget and sane. Many people have told me that building a house together will make or break a relationship when you are this involved in the building process. It's definitely made us stronger.
As for my part, I plan on doing most of the painting in the house. As for all of these months waiting, I have been preparing like a bird making a nest. Since I haven't been working much outside of teaching voice and guitar and the occasional subbing, my crafty hands have been hard at work. I found the cutest guitar material online. I made Harrison a bedspread, bedskirt, and pillows. His room will be all guitars. I also found a guitar lamp; and we are using a small old guitar amp for his night stand with plexi-glass. We had an old acoustic and electric that I painted lime green as an accent to hang on the wall.
Sarah's room is going to be all of the girly colors. We are actually painting some furniture we found at a yardsale green and pink. Lots of projects for Sarah's room too.
I'll post a blog about all of my projects with pictures. I have a lot of them going. It's hard to do much at a time with a 17 month old.
The house is fully framed and in the dry (which means all windows, doors, and the board stuff is up around the studs on the outside), shingled, roughly wired for electricity, roughly plumbed, has partial siding, the fireplace is operational, and we have a really nice deck, which is about 80% complete. We passed inspection today on our rough electric wiring. This is EXCITING because we can finally insulate the walls, which means drywall will be going up really soon.
We have an awesome team...really awesome. We have been blessed so far to have responsible and dependable guys that do great work and excellent craftsmanship.
Ray Glisson and Dan Crossno-Basement (concrete, framing in the basement, and plumbing...possibly more :))
Terry Reeder-Framing for house, fireplace, roof, and trim work (which isn't done yet)
Matt Dunning and Mickey Horton- Electrical
Patrick Corbin-Decking, and Flooring
Gary Doster-Custom cabinets (I can't wait! They are going to be beautiful!)
Elite in Gleason-Acrylic counter tops
Barry Mathis-Siding (I didn't realize it till today, but this is the guy that pulled me out of my totaled car a little over a year ago. He doubles as an EMT.)
Richard Horn at Gleason Hardware- AC/Heating Unit and duct work
Beasley- Satellite
Michael Wade- Brush Cleanup
Things left to do (not in this order):
Drywall
Paint
Flooring
Trim
Garage Paneling
electrical and plumbing after drywall
Patio, steps, and sidewalk
Fence
Little bit more gravel for round-about
Plant grass seed
MOVE IN!!!!
Here are some pictures:
Looking Down the Driveway
Front (There are shutters on it now...I took this picture last week.)
Fireplace
The Back
The Garage Side
This whole process has been stressful, but we are starting to feel some relief I think. Jon has been our rock. I don't know how he does all of this while working, traveling, putting together a killer band, keeping us all happy, while staying on budget and sane. Many people have told me that building a house together will make or break a relationship when you are this involved in the building process. It's definitely made us stronger.
As for my part, I plan on doing most of the painting in the house. As for all of these months waiting, I have been preparing like a bird making a nest. Since I haven't been working much outside of teaching voice and guitar and the occasional subbing, my crafty hands have been hard at work. I found the cutest guitar material online. I made Harrison a bedspread, bedskirt, and pillows. His room will be all guitars. I also found a guitar lamp; and we are using a small old guitar amp for his night stand with plexi-glass. We had an old acoustic and electric that I painted lime green as an accent to hang on the wall.
Sarah's room is going to be all of the girly colors. We are actually painting some furniture we found at a yardsale green and pink. Lots of projects for Sarah's room too.
I'll post a blog about all of my projects with pictures. I have a lot of them going. It's hard to do much at a time with a 17 month old.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Basement Finished...Top Started
I haven't posted an update in a few months because things were moving pretty slow until this point. The basement is finished...well as finished as far as framing. Ray and Dan even finished the stairs to get to the top. The sub-floor is up and our tub is in place. All we need is drywall, moulding, windows, doors, plumbing, and electricity and it's finished. Our garage floor and porch has been poured and our septic tank has been installed. Our well has been dug. Ray and Dan have done an amazing job. I really like Ray because he really does share our passion for the house; it's not just another project.
Terry Reeder has started the framing on the top part of the house. It was a test for our patience waiting on him, but it was worth the wait. He told Jon that he could have the house framed in 2 weeks. We both laughed when he told us that, but now I'm not laughing. They started Monday of this week and worked Tuesday, but didn't work Wednesday, and the walls are 95% framed. They have just a wall or two left, and next I assume they will be working on framing the roof. It's so great to finally be able to see what the house is going to look like. The plans do not work for me. I couldn't really tell how big the rooms would be, but now I can walk around in them.
Front of the house
Walking in the front door
Harrison's Room
Out of the back door
They got started on our bedroom
The garage
From the back
Stairs
Open basement
Bedroom in basement
Bathroom in basement
Terry Reeder has started the framing on the top part of the house. It was a test for our patience waiting on him, but it was worth the wait. He told Jon that he could have the house framed in 2 weeks. We both laughed when he told us that, but now I'm not laughing. They started Monday of this week and worked Tuesday, but didn't work Wednesday, and the walls are 95% framed. They have just a wall or two left, and next I assume they will be working on framing the roof. It's so great to finally be able to see what the house is going to look like. The plans do not work for me. I couldn't really tell how big the rooms would be, but now I can walk around in them.
Front of the house
Walking in the front door
Harrison's Room
Out of the back door
They got started on our bedroom
The garage
From the back
Stairs
Open basement
Bedroom in basement
Bathroom in basement
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Basement Progress
OH MY GOODNESS IT'S HOT!!! Too hot to be out in the sun all day! I don't know how these guys do it. I'm hesitant to say that the basement is almost done because I'm not fully aware of what all is involved in building a basement. I'm told that there are just a few more steps in the process, but these steps take time.
The basement footers and walls have been poured. They poured footers for the support beams/poles and where our fireplace will be. First they had to build special forms that were soaked in vegetable oil...yeah I know I was amazed too. Who knew you could use Pam for wood? :) It took 4 concrete trucks and 3 hardworking men to fill the forms. They smoothed and vibrated the forms to make sure all the concrete got into every nook and cranny. Concrete trucks are so cool. Our concrete trucks had a killer paint job with flames on the spinny-thing. Jon and I drove out at lunch to watch one day. The trips back and forth with the heavy concrete made craters in our beautiful, level, expensive driveway. Oh well, it was to be expected.
The electric company came to install our power lines. It certainly didn't take them long. They had quite a job, but got them up in about 2 days work. It definitely took a lot longer to cut down all of the trees where the poles now stand. I'm thinking there are about 5 poles starting at my Papa Ross' house which zigzags down the road to ours. The electricity is buried underground from the road to our house. We have a transformer box now close to our house. It's kinda hidden... I'm glad it's not ugly.
We go out there almost every day. Jon can look at the concrete hole and see our house. For me, it's still just a concrete hole. I can tell where the living room is because the fireplace footer, but it's still just not coming into vision for me. I can't wait till we can get started on the top part. Then I'll be able to see how things are going to be.
I hear the next step is pouring the floor, but Jon says that Ray (the basement contractor guy) says that we need to have our well put in before that so he can use water. So I think next week (while we are on vacation) they will be digging our well. In the meantime, they are running the drains and plumbing in the basement. I have a whole new respect for these people to be able to know exactly, down to the inch, where a pipe will be just but looking at some drawing on a piece of paper. I mean if the basement is screwed up, the whole house will be. We have faith in Ray. He knows what he is doing. It seems sometimes that things are going slow, but he is taking his time because he wants it to be right. I hear that basements are so hard to do....right. We don't want a leaky, moldy basement. Our other contractor (Terry Reeder) is working another job right now anyway, so we'd have to wait for him to finish.
Hope everyone is having a nice summer! Destin here we come!!!
Inside the Wall Forms
Before the Concrete Trucks Came and Demolished It
Yeah...I'm hard at work :)
Some Vermin left their tracks in the mud
Killer paint job!!
The basement footers and walls have been poured. They poured footers for the support beams/poles and where our fireplace will be. First they had to build special forms that were soaked in vegetable oil...yeah I know I was amazed too. Who knew you could use Pam for wood? :) It took 4 concrete trucks and 3 hardworking men to fill the forms. They smoothed and vibrated the forms to make sure all the concrete got into every nook and cranny. Concrete trucks are so cool. Our concrete trucks had a killer paint job with flames on the spinny-thing. Jon and I drove out at lunch to watch one day. The trips back and forth with the heavy concrete made craters in our beautiful, level, expensive driveway. Oh well, it was to be expected.
The electric company came to install our power lines. It certainly didn't take them long. They had quite a job, but got them up in about 2 days work. It definitely took a lot longer to cut down all of the trees where the poles now stand. I'm thinking there are about 5 poles starting at my Papa Ross' house which zigzags down the road to ours. The electricity is buried underground from the road to our house. We have a transformer box now close to our house. It's kinda hidden... I'm glad it's not ugly.
We go out there almost every day. Jon can look at the concrete hole and see our house. For me, it's still just a concrete hole. I can tell where the living room is because the fireplace footer, but it's still just not coming into vision for me. I can't wait till we can get started on the top part. Then I'll be able to see how things are going to be.
I hear the next step is pouring the floor, but Jon says that Ray (the basement contractor guy) says that we need to have our well put in before that so he can use water. So I think next week (while we are on vacation) they will be digging our well. In the meantime, they are running the drains and plumbing in the basement. I have a whole new respect for these people to be able to know exactly, down to the inch, where a pipe will be just but looking at some drawing on a piece of paper. I mean if the basement is screwed up, the whole house will be. We have faith in Ray. He knows what he is doing. It seems sometimes that things are going slow, but he is taking his time because he wants it to be right. I hear that basements are so hard to do....right. We don't want a leaky, moldy basement. Our other contractor (Terry Reeder) is working another job right now anyway, so we'd have to wait for him to finish.
Hope everyone is having a nice summer! Destin here we come!!!
Inside the Wall Forms
Before the Concrete Trucks Came and Demolished It
Yeah...I'm hard at work :)
Some Vermin left their tracks in the mud
Killer paint job!!
Thursday, May 6, 2010
The House that Built Me
We officially broke ground on Monday, April 26th. They started with some clearing of some trees to make room for our driveway. It's amazing the power a trachoe has! They are also running a bulldozer. The property looks totally different! The driveway is set up and packed down with river rocks. They leveled the hill off that our house will sit on. We have lots of clay, but no Native American artifacts. I'm just glad it wasn't an Indian mound. Friday, April, 30th he started digging the basement. Later that night it literally came a terrential downpour which devasted parts of our community. We just knew that the freshly moved dirt would be completely erroded into the creek by our house. OR better yet, the creek had overflowed making it worse! BUT the guys make deep trenches to hold the water, and ditches to drain into the creek. Our shiny new culvert held up well as did the whole property. It was a true test to see if the drainage will really work how it supposed to. The area had dried up enough by Wednesday and they started in digging some more. The goal is to get it dug over the weekend. They guys digging can only work after their daytime jobs and weekends. They have been working hard from 4-sundown. These guys really know what they are doing!
A vocal/guitar student came to me today with a new song. It really caught me off guard. I had to turn away to hide the bleary in my eyes. It made me think of my parents' house they built when I was 18 months old. After they divorced my Dad lived there, as it is also located on my Papa's farm. Mine and my sister's little hands are impressed in the concrete there. When my Daddy died 2 years ago, the people that bought the house I grew up in came to me and said, "You must me Anna!" I said, "yes...." She told me that my handprints are in her sidewalk, and I lost it in front of the woman.
This song is what I want for our home. Check it out!
Happy Mother's Day!
Setting up the Driveway
Spreading the River Rocks
Driveway
Driveway Over the Creek with a New Culvert
Chomping a Tree
The Hole
A vocal/guitar student came to me today with a new song. It really caught me off guard. I had to turn away to hide the bleary in my eyes. It made me think of my parents' house they built when I was 18 months old. After they divorced my Dad lived there, as it is also located on my Papa's farm. Mine and my sister's little hands are impressed in the concrete there. When my Daddy died 2 years ago, the people that bought the house I grew up in came to me and said, "You must me Anna!" I said, "yes...." She told me that my handprints are in her sidewalk, and I lost it in front of the woman.
This song is what I want for our home. Check it out!
Happy Mother's Day!
Setting up the Driveway
Spreading the River Rocks
Driveway
Driveway Over the Creek with a New Culvert
Chomping a Tree
The Hole
Friday, April 23, 2010
Something to celebrate!!
We are closing on our construction loan today @ 2:00. God has really tested our patience with this phase, as I am sure the testing has just begun. Dealing and waiting on lawyers, appraisers, bankers, and quotes as well as getting the budget just right for the closing has not been very easy. Jon has really impressed me with his ability to pull this together. It's not something that I could deal with. I don't have the skills or the patience. There were several times when we thought that this might not happen. I'm so proud of you Babe!!!
We are SOOOOOO excited because we will finally be able to get started...although the weatherman says to be prepared for a torrential downpour this weekend. Our earth mover guy plans on working mostly on the weekends. :)
Next phase: Earth-moving, driveway and digging the basement. Never underestimate a driveway or the COST of a driveway. Our driveway in particular goes over a creek so 2 culverts are involved.
So no new pictures to show you, but hopefully next week I can post some pictures of our beautiful new......DRIVEWAY. :)
We are SOOOOOO excited because we will finally be able to get started...although the weatherman says to be prepared for a torrential downpour this weekend. Our earth mover guy plans on working mostly on the weekends. :)
Next phase: Earth-moving, driveway and digging the basement. Never underestimate a driveway or the COST of a driveway. Our driveway in particular goes over a creek so 2 culverts are involved.
So no new pictures to show you, but hopefully next week I can post some pictures of our beautiful new......DRIVEWAY. :)
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
1040 Ross Rd-Breaking Ground Soon!!!
Driveway
Barn next door
Hill where our house will be
Backyard
Welcome to our blog. We hope you enjoy reading about our journey in building our dream home, as it has been a dream for us both for a long time. My husband Jon will be the foreman of this project, so I have agreed to be the blogger. I grew up in the country, and on this farm. So I have always felt that my roots lay in these grounds. It's a true blessing to be able to give our son the opportunity to experience it too. I have many memories as a blonde-haired little girl counting the cows with my Daddy and Papa, picking bitterweeds, and playing in the sun growing up. Sometimes Jon and I just go and listen to what the country sounds like and try to picture what our house will look like. We can't wait!!
We plan on taking weekly pictures of the construction, especially as things get rollin'. Right now, there is nothing much there but beautiful country side. The land is 10.77 acres and is located on the edge of my Papa's land. The land itself has much history. I have heard the whole area was home to our native Cherokees and the old horse and buggy dirt road to Mckenzie runs thru it. Our land also contains a creek that runs 365 days a year that has been a life source for cattle on my Papa's farm. I imagine my Great-Great Grandmother washed her laundry in this little river many years ago.
We have the plans set in motion. Mr. Ray Glisson will be doing the basement part of our house. Mr. Terry Reeder will be building the top part. So far we have had the septic soil tested, which passed, and we have a 911 address. Thanks to the help of lots of friends and their lumber jacking ablilites, we now can get electricity to our home. We are waiting on the official deed, which we should be getting sometime this week. The first order of business will be setting up a driveway that can withstand heavy machinary, moving lots of earth and trees, and digging our basement.
We hope you come back and check out our progress! Thanks for reading!
The Eatons
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