week 22: stucco done (and more fun to come)!

Big stuff on the outside, details on the inside. It's week 22!

stucco done!

The last coat of stucco is complete, and it looks great! We didn't go with baby-butt smooth stucco (= mucho bucks), but the level of smoothness we went with (teenager-butt smooth) looks pretty slick. The quality of the framing is shining through right now: sooper-dooper flat! We don't see anything that makes us go "hmmmm...."

The house at this point looks very New Mexico-y to us (we've both lived in the Land of Enchantment in the deep dark past), which is not a bad thing. Paint will likely bring the house from the Earth to the machine aesthetic.

Seeing the house with the stucco complete makes it more "real". The outside is nearly complete! Whoop! Whoop!

stucco about the powder pooper window

a corner of completed stucco

the cantilevered wall next to the (soon-to-be) limestone wall

back outside wall of the master bedroom; those lines are expansion joints

stucco "slag" (the loose stuff that sluffs down the wall when they apply the stucco) about the base of the cantilevered wall.

the back of the house (master suite)

stucco on the cantilevered wall with the reveal at the window

paint?

Now we need to choose paint colors, and pronto! The builder uses Sherman Williams, so we stopped by there yesterday to pick up chips and whatnot. After we choose some colors, the builder will throw up paint so we can see what it looks like. That will be helpful (and buys us more time before making a final decision).

look toward the left, not the right...

limestone

The builder had a chunk of limestone onsite this past week, and it's on the money: Texas Cream. The final pieces will be somewhat sizable, about half the width of the windows above.

cabinets

After a meeting that included two bowls of queso and three margaritas, we finally finalized the cabinet order. I reckon the cabs will go in right after the drywall goes up, so they will be coming soon!

Nope: Our bed won't be in the dining room. Nice try, Cabinet Lady, nice try...

final (we hope) "we wiring"

Due to finishing details on the electrical and responding to inspection deficiencies on the electrical, plumbing, mechanical, and framing (they always find them, I am told), our project is now about 30 days behind schedule. The builder is apologetic, but we've appreciated the extra time to contemplate and install speaker wire and network cables. We were back out there yesterday to run network cable for wifi stations (one in the hallway between the kitchen and dining, one in the back of master bedroom, and one upstairs). We also ran an extra network cable to the TV area in the living room. TVs are getting smarter, so I can see direct network connections coming soon (if not already). Another network cable might allow us to keep the cable box in the pantry and control it remotely (and allow us to serve the telly signal about the house). We also ran network cable in the garage for a couple video cameras.

In all, we ran cable for all the speakers in the house and the garage, network cameras for video cameras, network cables for glass break detectors, and network cable for wifi stations. Including what the electrician's ran for network cables and cable cable, we have 34 returns to the pantry. Not a lot in the grand scheme of things (I've seen insane photos on the interwebs), but a fair amount nonetheless. I think this is all we will do.

the bundle on the right is theirs, the bundle on the left is ours

wood for ceiling and soffit

We had decided on cedar, and then undecided, and then decided on pine, and now have undecided on that. And now there's a new wood in the mix: cypress. We would absolutely love cypress. We saw it on the house below during a home tour, and gasped with joy. The builder says he now has a good source for cypress and will check in on price. Cypress or cedar, that is the question...

this photo from here

landscaping

With the exterior nearly complete, here come the serious discussions on landscaping.  We have a fairly healthy budget for landscaping, but at the same time, we don't think it will cover everything (it's an allowance at this point). First things first, we need to have a master plan for everything. It's always good to have a plan, but it's even more important if you plan to phase stuff in over time (which we may have to do depending on the cost of things). You want to think about the big picture before putting in the little picture stuff now so you don't have to tear stuff out (and waste money) in the future.

We've been working with the architect on finalizing the hardscape features (the most recent version below ["I notice more walls," noticed the builder]). We've also talked about the stage design for the back yard as well as planters.

We've discussed the sidewalk with the builder. We can put in a sidewalk per city code or write the city a ransom check (for twice the cost of putting in the sidewalk). I'm amenable to a sidewalk for the front of the house if we could get a "curb hugger" (a sidewalk that's up against the cube instead of set back two feet), but the builder said that the city will insist on the two foot setback (gives pedestrians more time to dodge careening vehicles, apparently...). A curb hugger, in my mind, would make it easier for passengers to get in and out street-parked cars and look less goofy than one house on our side of the street having a sidewalk.

ready for the runway?

The builder suggested that the architect ought to consider getting professional photographs made of the house when it's done. That's a good sign! And the architect has felt us out about being on a home tour at some point. Sign us up! We've appreciated the many good folks about Austin that have opened up their homes to us (and many, many others) in the past, so we're good to give back.

The neighbor has the best view of the house.

overall...

...things are going great! Little glitches here and there, sure, but the balance weights heavily-heavily o-so-heavily towards "Totally awesome, dude!" Lots to do, but it's all terribly exciting, and getting us closer to our move in.

Fahrvergnügen in the back. Fahrvergnügen in the front. 

security and night skies

Need info thing from the hood about outdoor lighting. (click to see larger version)

week 19: holidaze...

I figured that nothing much would happen this past week with the holidays and all, but I figured wrong!

we have door (frames)

The front and back store-front doors arrived (although we haven't seen them yet...), which apparently allows the store-front men to install the frames. No glass, no doors, but still coo as poo to see entry level progress!

an electrifying meeting

Had a sit down with the builder and the electric sub to go over the sub's (shocking) cost proposal on changes to the electrical plan. Several of the items that had me the most miffed were simple mis-understandings and went away and the builder assumed responsibility for several items, but there's still a big (additional) bill to pay at the end of the day for change orders. It is what it is.

One goofy thing was that the sub was working off the old electrical plans, the ones with the words "NOT FOR CONSTRUCTION" on them. So a sizable chunk of change orders was related to differences between the final and draft plans (something the builder is going to take care of). Then there's change orders due to changes to meet code (a number of additional plugs [including one in the stairwell!] and additional smoke detectors).

Other charges were due to honest-to-goodness change orders we asked for such as adding lights to the top shelf of the bookcase (to perhaps hi-lite my antique electric fan collection...), adding a recessed plug for the flatscreen tv, installing a data cabinet, moving a light fixture in the master bath (too close to the tub spout), changing phone lines to CAT5e, dealing with can locations at the rear entry, adding a plug below one of the counters in the laundry room (builder: "Why do you want a plug under there?" me: "So the cat can see when he's pooping." [uncomfortably long silence] sub to builder: "Don't ask questions you don't really want to know the answer to."), and moving the wires for the main service from the back of the house to the side. We were able to talk this latter cost down substantially when we noted that none of the home runs (long lines that go to the main electrical box) would have to be pulled and rerun.

One interesting discussion was the cost to change out the single-junction electrical boxes for the smoke detectors to double-junction boxes. The specs list the smoke detector, which requires double junction boxes, but the sub doesn't look at the specs. Essentially, according to the sub, if it's not on the electrical plan, then they are going to assume it's just like everything else they've ever done. I kinda find this amazing, but the plumbing sub (and to a small degree the framing sub) were the same way. The other item of note was that if the electrical plan doesn't show exact measures of where electrical stuff is supposed to go, then the electric sub is not obligated to put it there (makes certain amount of sense: they'll place stuff like plugs to the nearest stud).

lessons learned: Spend time on the electric plan to make sure it is exactly what you want, call out anything non-standard on the plan, include measurements on items you really want in a certain place, show where you want the electric box to go, and insist on a walk-through with the builder and the sub to discuss the electric before the sub begins work. This all will (hopefully) minimize change orders. Trust me: This will save you thousands of dollars...

electric (work ) back on!

With the sit down done, the electric sub is back on the job finishing the work. Regardless of the wee bit of drama, it feels good to have it resolved and be moving forward!

Electrical work is not terribly photogenic, but here's a photo of the moved electrical service:

Riveting!

sound and security

Our wee bit of sweat equity is to install the sound and security wiring, something we did this past weekend. I would say we ran about 500 feet of speaker wire and 350 feet of CAT5e wire in addition to  installing speaker guides.

Here's a neat resource on installing speaker wire. The key is installing in-wall wire, which meets fire code requirements (and is quite a hefty wire, thicker than coax!).

Media wall:

Kitchen ceiling:

Looking up at the kitchen ceiling:

Looking up at the master bathroom ceiling:

Looking up at the master bedroom ceiling:

Aimed to center the speakers on stuff they could be centered to.

memories...

It was rather chilly this past weekend. Whilst working at the house, the cold and working-at-the-house bit brought back a memory from when my folks were building a house back in northwestern Illinois (in John Deere country). It was the dead of winter and cold as popsicle. Ma and pa were inside working (no heat in the house at that time), so they left my two brothers and I in the International Harvester Travelall (example below) to stay warm. One of us was playing "Drive the Travelall" when someone disengaged the parking brake, which sent the IH rolling backwards down the hill and into (and across) the neighbor's fence.

We didn't destroy any fences today!

a system of security

Whelp, we need to make a (quick!) decision on what to do about security. After all, what if that dude up there breaks into our house and steals our beloved bowling trophy as well?

I have to confess that I have mixed feelings about security systems. I think the national systems are just as likely to steal from you as a burglar. At our previous house, we had ADT for awhile. After a remodel essentially wrecked the system, we tried to cancel the service. Despite repeated calls and letters, the bills kept coming. After our credit card number changed, we refused to tell them the new number, which finally got us dropped. But they still wanted to charge us. Later, we signed up with Brinks (who was somewhat recently bought up by ADT). You sign up for Brinks (without really knowing it...) in one year increments. Therefore, if you move one month after your one-year "renewal" or you fail to navigate the somewhat tricky cancellation process, you are stuck paying for their proprietary service for the rest of the year. Perhaps the robbers aren't wearing masks? (Note that in both of these situations the system was paid for.)

We could go local, but who? And is there any guarantee of not getting robbed by a local firm rather than a national one?

So what are we going to do?

(1) Install a wireless system.
(2) Install a video system.
(3) Install CAT5 to the doors in case we want to go wired.

As far as the wireless system goes, we're thinking the Iris System looks cool (both functionally and aesthetically):

But it is a basic system, and it still (essentially) requires a monthly fee (a bit of a scam since the device could easily handle the "premium" services locally).

As far as video goes, we're thinking an Axis camera that can be powered via ethernet (CAT5) cable.

Beaker's Bro turned me onto Legrand products, and they make some gorgeous stuff, including several CAT5 powered cameras, such as this ball camera:

and this bullet camera:

The other thing we can do? Lock the bowling trophy in the safe...