Decisions, Decisions

Building a new house means endless decision making.  We drew up our own house plans so we have been making decisions from the very beginning.  The decisions we make are not always popular with everyone else.  I am quick to politely remind people they can do things differently when they build a house.

One of the things we have spent the most time on is choosing flooring.  We knew we only wanted tile.  We live in the country with a garden, pets, and farm animals so we will never be lacking for dirt and other "stuff".  We also both have allergies and did not want any carpet. Our best advice (yes, some opinions are helpful) was to take our time and find something we really loved.  While we have not looked everywhere, we certainly looked at a bunch of tile.  In the end we came back to the first one we picked out.  We loved this one from the moment we saw it and nothing has even come close.

photo from Home Depot

This tile is by Marazzi and is called Montagna Smoky Black.  It is quite dark but has tones of brown, gray, and cream.  It will hide dirt very well but also offers us some options as far as furniture and paint colors.  I believe I can happily look at this for the rest of my life.

We are also at the point where decisions about cabinets must be made.  W's dad is building them for us.  We did look at cabinets and find a style we liked.  Originally I did not want any type of knob or pull.  In our current house I am at the perfect height for the pocket of my jeans to catch on the cabinet knob.  W loved the shaker style cabinet, and I have to admit that I liked them too.  Unfortunately this meant that we would be better off with a knob/pull.  We looked at a local building store for a pull, but of course the ones we liked were quite expensive.  I made a note of the brand and came home to compare prices.

photo from Home Depot

This barrel pull by Amerock was our choice and was much cheaper from Home Depot than anywhere else.  We needed enough to qualify for free shipping which was a plus.

Those are just two big decisions we made during W's forced time off from housework.  I am aiming for good enough not perfect.  As long as we are happy, I am not worried about what anyone else thinks.

Insulation and a Short Break

I cannot tell you how surprised W and I were that hiring a company to do the insulation was cheaper than doing it ourselves.  Remember that it always pays to at least get a quote on things.

The first part of the insulation was pretty simple.  The crew came in just to fill in the holes we carved out in the Styrofoam to run the wires.  

Right after this W gave in and went to the doctor for his painful elbow.  It turns out he has tennis elbow - more like nail gun elbow.  The doctor ordered him on rest for two weeks with no work on the house.  It meant we had time to think about other things - flooring and cabinet pulls.  I will share those in a post later this week.

Various Days - More Electrical Stuff

The electrical work was done over a span of days and is still not completely ready for inspection.  We are getting closer though.  In order to run the electrical wire into the exterior walls, we had to notch out the Styrofoam.  W tried a variety of methods including a router.

He ended up using the reciprocating saw to score the Styrofoam.  I went behind him with a chisel and pried it out.  No matter what method you choose, be prepared for a mess.

Here is a shot of the walls after the Styrofoam was removed but before I vacuumed.

W cut larger channels where the outlet boxes were so he had plenty of room to run the wires later.

Then we pulled wire from the panel box to each of the boxes.  The wire fit right into the lines we had cut out.

The other wiring is the same as in any other house.  The only difference we had was dealing with unusual exterior walls.

Although W did do all of the wiring himself, we had an electrician friend come over just to look at everything to make sure it was done correctly.

Days 193 & 196: Heating and Air System - Part 1

I am super excited about this portion of the construction process.  I have never lived in a home with central heat and air.  Well there was the two years we lived in a mobile home, but it was older and drafty.  Our current home is around 120 years old.  I can handle it during the summer as the window a/c units keep it cool enough for me.  The winters are not fun though.  I am looking forward to it being a fairly constant temperature year round.

Here are a few shots of the heating and air portion of construction.  We hired a local company to come in and do this.

Air Vents

Main Duct



The ducts are suspended rather than just left to hang.  I do not have much experience with heating and cooling systems, but this is rarely done by companies in my area.  According to an Energy Star auditor, this is excellent for efficiency over time.

Days 191-193: Plumbing ~ Part 2

The plumber came back to do part two of his work.  Since we had a concrete slab as the base of our house, part one consisted of him running pipes through it so the final water lines could be installed at a later date.  That later date finally arrived.

We opted to go with a Pex plumbing system.  It has several advantages over previously used piping systems.  It is very flexible and will expand up 8 inches before rupturing.  You can click here for more information.

The side and front of the shower in the second bathroom.

The laundry room - The water lines on the right are for the washing machine.  The lines on the left are for the laundry sink.  The blue line running across the top goes to the ice maker for the refrigerator.

The tub in our bathroom.  W is tall so we got a larger than normal one.  

We opted to go with a water manifold.  The blue line that goes up through the middle from the bottom is the main water line.  The blue lines are for cold water, and the red are for hot water.  Each is labeled with where the line goes.  If one area has a problem, that one line can be shut off without affecting water in the rest of the house.  

Day 189: Getting Started on the Electrical Stuff

We went shopping this day for some of the first steps of the electrical stuff.  In our area a licensed electrician is not required especially since we do not have a mortgage.  The county code does not require one at all.  If you take out a mortgage through a bank, expect them to require it though.

W has done enough wiring to know what he is doing.  Also being a former firefighter, he will not cut any corners.  Seeing homes burn makes you really think about how you would do things in your own home.

We are doing recessed LED lights throughout the house.  We picked up the first part of those, and W started mounting them.

We also picked up the plastic boxes for the light switches and electrical outlets.  The ones that will be in the interior walls simply get nailed in.

Remember that our exterior walls are Styrofoam (with rebar and concrete inside).  W just stuck the above ones in the area they will go.  My mother-in-law was a bit worried when she saw these thinking that they would actually stick out that much.

Actually the Styrofoam gets cut away so that the box sits into the wall.  When sheet rock is added it will sit flush against the wall just like in a regular house.

Day 184: The Tin Roof is Finished!!!

I am super excited to have the roof completely done.  I am also really proud of W for doing such a great job on it.  He and my dad did this 100% on their own.  Our contractor friend was never able to stop by.  W ended up getting on You Tube and watching enough videos to do it himself.

We had two really good rain showers to give it a test.  There are no leaks!  Now we are waiting for the plumber and HVAC people to come in.