The Building Process of our Home – Part I

Current Stage: Done
Status: Two Weeks behind schedule
Closing Date: August 31, 2005

As one builds a house, or has one built for them, it goes through many stages of development. There are probably a lot more pictures here than most people want to view, but in a way it acts as a scrapbook for Colleen and I to look back upon as to what used to be under the house we will be living in for a long time to come. We signed the contract on February 15, 2005 for our home to be built, and this first picture was taken two days prior looking at our lot which is just a pile of dirt.

Stage 0 – Getting Permit and Planning (Est: 2 months, Actual: 2 months)

Not much happened on our home for quite a while as we had to wait on the permit to come back from the city and for the builder (John Laing) to coordinate all the contractors and schedule the process of building our home by August. Our home will be built in 4 months they said, and each week Colleen and I would go back and check the progress and take pictures.

Stage 1 – Excavation (Est: 1 week, Actual: 1 week)

My dad happened to fly in on April 2, 2005 when they first broke ground on our home…yay! It’s like a giant sandbox.

Stage 2 – Foundation (Est: 3-4 weeks, Actual: 6 weeks)

The next week they had started the molding for the footers and the foundation. It takes five days to dry out completely. Unfortunately, we got a huge snowstorm (14 inches) in the middle of the drying out process and it delayed things slightly and “cottage cheesed” some of our walls. Pictures were taken on April 10, 2005.

After removing the foundation you can start to see how big our basement really is! The downside is, our backyard is really small! Pictures were taken April 16, 2005.

These pictures were from April 22, 2005 and it represented the start of two straight weeks of rain. As you can see there are puddles of water everywhere and not much is getting done. They just put some dirt down in the basement. They also started running our sewer and water lines.

Due to record rainfall, nothing got done on the home yet again…houses that were in the framing stage were lucky, as work could continue, however, us in the foundation/excavation stage, got the short end of the stick. All they did was level out the dirt. These pictures are from April 30, 2005. Check out how muddy everything is. At least they backfilled the sides and back of the house.

The rain finally gave us one dry day and the basement could start to dry out. However, first they had to put in the rough-in plumbing in the basement, as well as the sump pump. PIctures are from May 7, 2005. At least they got the garage concrete poured!

I have never seen so much rain in Colorado in the four years I’ve been here. These pictures are from May 11, 2005 and the basement did get poured but as you can see, it’s really wet and my shoes got so muddy from trying to take these pictures!

Frustrating! We seem to be in Limbo here as things dry out. Another week went by and all we have to show for it is the frame beams. One good thing though, this is the LAST step before framing. Date: May 14, 2005.

Stage 3 – Framing (Est: 5-6 weeks, Actual: 5 weeks)

FINALLY!!! Our house is starting to take shape! We didn’t get a chance to make it out here until late Friday night, so that’s why some of the pictures are dark, then we came back on Saturday evening and took some more pictures. They started framing on Thursday, so what we see is done in only 2 days for the Friday pictures and 3 days for the Saturday pictures…maybe they are trying to make up time!? May 20-21, 2005.

We have a roof! Oh how exciting things are becoming as we can actually see the house taking shape! We even have windows! Take a look at these pictures and know they did this all in a week’s time since the last set of pictures! They made up one week this week! May 27, 2005.

The joy of last week was quickly diminished by the reality of this week. We had so much rain this week I’m beginning to think we are building our house in a rain forest. We had rain at the rate of three inches per hour for TWO hours on Friday and as you can see, it flooded our house. Notice the standing water. We lost a week of production this week. In other news, they started putting on the siding and built a staircase. June 3-4, 2005.

Rain, rain, rain. That’s all it ever seems to be doing lately. I don’t see how these guys are getting anything accomplished at all. The house next to ours is now a month behind schedule and we are two weeks behind. I just wish they would finish our room so we don’t have so much water in the house. They finished the siding, added some HVAC stuff, put in the tubs and *should* put in the roof next week…if things dry up as well as put in our driveway. I’m not holding my breath. June 12, 2005.

Finally our roof is complete (well except for gutters) and they are finishing up the driveway, but have most of it done too. Also on the inside the electrical has really begun. Next week we have our walk through. These pictures were taken June 17, 2005.

Stage 4 – Drywall (Est: 2 weeks, Actual: 2 weeks)

We have concrete! Our driveway is now complete, our stairway into our front door has been poured as well as our back patio! We also have an irrigation water system in place. Sadly, our view of the mountains is now blocked by the giant house being built right behind us! Grrr…anyhow, not to worry because drywalling has begun! Notice the last little bit of insulation showing in the only area they haven’t really hung drywall over yet. July 1, 2005.

Our drywall stage is nearing completion. Soon they will be spraying on the texture! July 7, 2005.

Stage 5 – Flooring (Est: 2 weeks, Actual: 2 weeks)

Cabinets and flooring are now going in. You can see the entry tile and the bathroom vinyl, as well as the kitchen cabinets, linen cabinets and bathroom cabinets. We are getting close now! Photos were taken July 24, 2005.

Stage 6 – Final Stage (Est: 2 weeks, Actual: 2 weeks)

Tile is in. Vinyl is in. Fixtures are going in. All electrical switches are in. Tubs, showers and toilets are in. Sinks are in. Lightbulbs are in. Water heater is going in. The only things left are carpet and appliances. Then they clean the place up, fix anything they messed up during construction and we do our final walk-thru on the 25th and close on the 31st. I’ll probably only have the walk-thru pictures on here and that will be the last update! Photos were taken August 7, 2005.

I never thought it would come. We have carpet and we have appliances!! This is the final update I will do to this part of the photo journal. Enjoy the pictures. Photos were taken August 20, 2005.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures! Check out our new blinds and how I’m coming along finishing the basement and backyard in Part II!