Lots of progress on Hillcrest House.

It has been nearly a week since I posted. There has been a lot of activity at the house, but nothing that will show up in photos well enough to make it practical to post photos.

The roof is complete. The windows are installed. The wiring is nearing completion. The garage floor was poured today. The siding is beginning to be applied. The furnace is installed. And the most exciting part for me is that the huge pile of dirt that was in the backyard has been used to fill in around the foundation.

The reason that last item is so significant is that now I can start building a fence. We definitely want to have a fence when we move in, so that Pogo can go out by herself and not have to be escorted on a leash. Today, we bought the fencing materials. They will be delivered toward the end of next week. Then I will have a project!! In the meantime, I am working on landscape plans.

In addition to all of those things, the cabinet maker came out a couple of days ago and planned the cabinets for the kitchen. He will make a CAD drawing with a 3-D mock up of the kitchen so we can see exactly how it will look!

Today we drove to Salem and visited vendors. We stopped at the flooring vendor's shop, the name of which escapes me at the moment (Isn't being over 60 wonderful?). Steve (I remembered his name!) went over the flooring allowance figures with us. It looks like the allowance will come within a few dollars of covering our cost for hardwood floors in the entry, kitchen and dining room, as well as carpet throughout the house and ceramic tile in the bathrooms and laundry.

Next we visited Bill at Custom Countertops. We wanted to get an idea of the cost differential for placing acrylic (like Corian) countertops in the bathrooms instead of using laminate. The numbers don't crunch so well there, but we are considering doing that upgrade anyway.

Our next stop was at Elite Cabinets to view the computer mock up of our kitchen. Unfortunately, Rick was not in, so we will need to return another day and check that out.

Ever onward!! We next visited Lowe's to look at fence materials. The prices were very much higher than similar fencing at Home Depot, so we decided to look for bathroom light fixtures and faucets. The offerings were a bit disappointing in the sense that we didn't see anything that "grabbed" us. We decided that, since we were going on to Home Depot to see about fencing materials, we would look for fixtures there as well.

By now, our eggs and toast had worn off, and we found ourselves ravenous, with the Versa pointed squarely at Panda Express. We had a fine lunch of Asian fare, served by those two famous Asians, Carlos and Cesar.

Our tummies full, we headed for Home Depot. Before we knew it, we had ordered fencing materials to be delivered toward the end of next week, but I repeat myself. And so, dear reader, having come full circle, I shall end this little epistle.

Stay tuned.

A walk through Hillcrest House

While we are in San Diego visiting daughter Laura, her husband, Tim, and our two grandsons, Josiah, 5, and Judah, 1 (today!), son Patrick and his wife Katie visited our new house and made a video walk-through. I give you, herewith, that video!

It looks like a house now!

It has been a few days since my last post, but today we have some really visible progress.

FINALLY, all the exterior sheeting is finished.
The framing is done! It has actually moved right along.
I'm just impatient.

Here's the north end of the house.

We will be able to shower in the master suite.
Privacy is a little issue at this point.

After our shower, we can curl up by the fireplace
with a good book!

For those who prefer a soaking tub,
we have one. Note that Jill filled up
the tub to try it out. (Oh, no wait!
That was the plumber who did that.)

Here is the laundry room, all ready for
the machines to be hooked up.

You would think with all this plumbing in the house, we would just about have everything a man could want. Alas, there is one piece they forgot to put in.

Guys, never trust your wife with a camera.

More photos of the progress on Hillcrest House

It has been a few days since I was able to post. Life is busy, what with making decisions about exterior stone trim, interior architectural details, paint colors, etc., etc.

Here are a few pictures of the progress:

Beginning to install barger boards

Duane and Robert take a well-earned break

Another angle on the barger board. This one is
on the dining room gable.

In the plan, Duane "clipped" the ends of the house
to reduce the "bulk" of the ends of the house. Here
the north end has been framed with rafters.

The sheeting of the roof is progressing nicely.

Heres a view of the back side of the house. The gable
covers the dining room, which looks out into the
treed backyard.

The coming week should be exciting. The roof sheeting should be completed. The plumber will come back and finish the rough plumbing. The HVAC contractor will come back and finish the rough in for heating and cooling. The electrician (Duane, himself!) will start the rough electrical work. The roofer should begin putting on the shingles. Windows and doors will be next. So, stay tuned for more developments.