How much is left?

Well, it has been a while since I posted.  But, I have good reason.  Things are moving fast.  Finishing up the details takes a lot of time.  But we are happy with the results.

There have been a few issues here and there, but we have been working them out with the builder to keep things moving in a positive direction.

What you can find at the link below are pictures of the pool, cabinets, paint and the front door.

Then next time I post will hopefully be to say that we have moved in and sharing the final batch of pictures.  Wish us luck!

House Pictures

We Can See The Finish Line

Yes, it is true, we can see the finish line.

The appraisal situation has been resolved.  A second appraisal was ordered.  This one came back higher than the last one, with the correct square footage!  We are happy with that.

So... what has happened since a month ago?  Well, sheet rock, trusses and the pool has begun.  The link with the pictures is below.  The pictures are self explanatory.  The weather was pretty cruddy when the unite was shot...

I have a chore for the next 10 days, I have to water the gunite twice a day.  Good times.

Some of you may have notice on FB a couple weeks ago that I posted about Mondo.  He is one of our framers.  He fell when the scaffolding collapsed.  He is very sore and has a cracked rib.  We are happy that he didn't hurt his back any worse than he did.  Safety first.

What is next?  Trim work and paint on the inside.  On the outside the trusses will be finished and the stucco will be completed.  The mesquite mantel has been finished as well.

The hope is to be moved in before Christmas.  Fingers crossed.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/a5jlq58lakv5z7q/AAA4dOknRkEYU2b6VrtWDH5fa?dl=0

Many Changes!

Wow.  I have been negligent with my updates!  I haven't posted anything since August.

Well, there has been a lot that has changed.  If you are interested in the pictures, definitely check out the September and October folders.  The outdoor fireplace was completed, stucco went up and the exterior stonework has begun.  Other items on the inside like the indoor fireplace, A/C, electrical and gas lines.

The inspection was this past week and was flawless, so we should be seeing insulation and sheetrock going up very soon!  Also, the big sliding door arrived.

There has been quite a bit of delays with the sub contractors.  Some of it is the subs having too many jobs and their poor scheduling.  The rest belongs to our builder for not staying on top of things and possibly having a second sub for that job.  A couple times I am the one that told the builder that there is nothing going on.  Delays were expected, but still disappointing.  We may be beyond that, we hope.

We also had a problem with the appraisal.  They used the wrong square footage for the calculation which will throw off quite a bit numbers wise.  The house has a second floor option.  Apparently the appraiser used that also.  I brought this up to the bank and it was explained to me that it was the covered patio and bbq area because they are part of the slab too.  Well, I was right, it should not have been included.  So now we have to get another appraisal.  Ah, the fun of doing a custom build!

Enjoy the photos!  We should only have a couple months left!  We are ready to get moved in!

https://www.dropbox.com/home/RR%20House%20Construction

Retrospective

Every once in a while I get in the mood to writing about something.  So I thought I would take a break from the house updates and write about one of the Air Force's newest recruits, then Trainee and now Airman.

Last week Monica and I had the privilege to watch our daughter's fiancé graduate from Air Force Basic Military Training.  For those of you that have not had the chance to witness all of the graduation activities, it was much different than it was 27 years ago of me.  I remember graduation parade, but that is it.  Festivities began on Thursday morning with the Airmen's Run.  All of the graduating flights ran from their barracks to the new Basic Military Training Reception Center onto the drill pad while singing Jodies.  Corinne and Monica were able to see Corey as he came running by in his flight.  Later that morning they had the Coining Ceremony.  This too was pretty cool.


The Airmen were then put on Base Liberty for the rest of the day.  Airman Farmer's Flight won best PT Flight so they not only got Town Pass on Friday afternoon and Saturday, but also Sunday.  We enjoyed dinner downtown with Corey's parents and then some home cooked food at our house on Saturday.

Needless to say, we are VERY proud of Corey Farmer.

Listening to all the ceremonies and watching the young Airmen really got me to reminiscing.  My friend John G. framed it very well.  It is the joy of having served my career and knowing what young Corey has ahead of him.

Things like getting my 5-level, making Senior Airman and Staff Sergeant and going from the new guy on the block to being trusted by my supervisors to training those that came up behind me.  I remember the camaraderie among my friends, tacking on the stripes of my friends and getting mine tacked on me. There is a certain brotherhood (or sisterhood) among the military that I don't think you have in the civilian workforce.  Something can only come from months of training and knowing that you can count on your wingman.  He or she has the same training that you have, and are there to make things happen.

Half of my assignments were overseas.  I always found those units to be closer-knit units and you did things with your coworkers on the weekends too; you looked out for one another.  Stateside assignments seemed to be more like jobs and folks went their separate ways at 1630 on Fridays.  I really value the friendships I made over the years.

I remember making Technical Sergeant and thinking that it is time to start studying for Master Sergeant so I could achieve my career goal of becoming a First Sergeant.  Up to this point I only had one assignment over 3 years.  I always tried to keep working on the next goal.  I had a supervisor when I was an Airman that told me to ALWAYS take each opportunity as it presents itself even if it doesn't seem that attractive.  I kept that in mind throughout my career.

Earning my diamond was another special time to me.  Here is another group that I felt was pretty tight and we looked out after each other.  Becoming a First Sergeant was the highlight of my career.  It was long hours and hard work, but well worth it.

These are just some of the highlights of my career.  We are very excited for Corey and the prospects that lay ahead of him and our daughter Corinne.  We wish them the very best as they embark on their life together in the Air Force.

Here is a link to the pictures from graduation week.

Pictures and Videos

Thanks for listening.  Talk to you next time!

Roofing paper, PVC and PEX

Time for another update.  We have some roofing paper on the roof as that part of the project is getting closer to shingles.  The plumbers have been in to rough-in the plumbing in the walls.  It is definitely nice to see this new activity.  Another fun activity was seeing the cabinet maker's drawings of our cabinets and the kitchen island that includes our wine barrels.

I have also been doing some planning and coordinating regarding our wine room/closet.  We have decided on the cooling unit for the room and how to duct it.  Also spoke with the builder regarding the insulation of the walls and the vapor barrier.  Pretty soon we will have to continue our research on some of the wines we want for the room.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/a5jlq58lakv5z7q/AAA4dOknRkEYU2b6VrtWDH5fa

enjoy!

A roof over our heads

So here we are at the beginning of August.  The roof is decked and today we saw a few windows installed.  Almost makes it start to seem a little more real.  The house will soon have some roofing paper on.  We had a little communication hiccup with our builder.  I relied on my conflict resolution skills that the AF taught me to get through it.  LOL.  I don't expect any more issues.

We had a meeting with the builder to finalize stone, stucco and shingles…  good times.

Enjoy!

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/a5jlq58lakv5z7q/AAA4dOknRkEYU2b6VrtWDH5fa

Looking more like a house...

The framers have made some good progress in just a little over two weeks of framing.  The pictures do not do it justice.  There is a lot of work going on that just doesn't come through.  Something I learned last week, which makes a lot of sense; custom built homes, the roof is put up board by board.  These guys have built their own little scaffolding out of 2x4s and 2x6s.  It looks like an erector set of little ladders and platforms.  Very impressive.  Today there was a bit of rain and slowed them down and made the rafters and scaffolding slippery as they have climbed all the way up to put in the top ridge int he roof.  Once they get the roof done, I expect the rest of the framing to do faster.  The builder gave the framers 30 days to finish…  that would be 23 July… time is money baby!

Here is the link to the photos.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/a5jlq58lakv5z7q/AAA4dOknRkEYU2b6VrtWDH5fa

Taking Shape...

A house needs walls.  Well, at least to start.  So we have walls.  We can now walk the floor plan.  It is pretty darn cool.  This week saw a lot of changes.  I am hoping that sometime this week the trusses will be put on, that will really give it some definition.

Anyway, here is the link to the June folder.   The framing is the latest update.  Enjoy!

June - Framing

Hard as a ROCK!

We are the proud new owners of a great big slab of concrete!  I am still amazed at the amount of forethought and planning that goes into building a house.  There is more to a slab than the concrete.  I updated the dropbox with photos of the slab prep through the concrete pour, which happened today.

Framing starts Monday!

Concrete Slab Progress

In the beginning...

In the beginning… it was an empty lot that Monica and I created a vision of the house yet to be.

Everything must start with a good foundation.  That is essentially where we are at the moment.  I have loaded the photos for May.  The forms went up and plumbing rough out was complete.  Next week, the back fill around the plumbing will begin with the concrete to follow.

Things are getting interesting.  Every time I have the opportunity to speak to the builder or sub contractor, I learn something.  Discussions on their particular task and how they do it or why they do it that way.

Some have said that building a house with your spouse is trying.  All the decisions that must be made and that you really find out how far apart the two of you can be.  I have to say that things have gone pretty smoothly so far.  Monica and I discussed everything from appliances, brick color, tile choice and of course bathroom layout.  We have found room for compromise so that both of us are happy with this build.  I hope that it continues and she gets the house that she wants.  She deserves it.  :)

I have divided the photos in the following link by Month.  For May you will find photos on the foundation and the plumbing rough out.  I also have a folder for shots that I will be taking around the perimeter of the lot looking back toward the house.  There is also a folder for random things.

Enjoy!

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/gjlh80c2jrd5eae/AACI-6f5YucSrmSwqMoSReHta

Let's do this!

Wow… it has been two months since my last post.  Quite a bit has happened, very slowly…  

The appraisal process slowed us down quite a bit.  There were two appraisals done and they both came back low.  Mostly due to this being a new development, so there was only one sale and it was sold so low just so the guy could get rid of it so he could move to Houston.  The comparables just weren't there to put the value where the builder thought it should be.  This worked in our favor.  Yeah us!  The builder had to bring his price down, cutting into his profit.   The good news for us was that he REALLY wants to build this house.  It is a unique plan, with some really cool craftsman features… and it will really say something about his abilities as a custom builder.  Good news all around if you ask me.

So we finished up the appraisal, then quickly closed on the construction.  The next task for us was to get our custom changes into the blueprints.  The architect is from near Dallas.   So this was an easy task.  He would draw the changes and then we would go back and forth ironing out the details.  It only took him about 5 days to complete. Then we had to now push it through the Architectural Committee.  That approval should come back today or tomorrow.

Meanwhile, the builder is setting up his subcontractors in the bull pen so they will be ready to go when the approval comes in.

All of this to say… the construction of our dream home will begin this week!

There are lot of cool custom touches that we are thinking about doing in the kitchen… cabinets, island, hood…

…more to come, with photos of course.

Casa di King

A friend of mine suggested I include this in my blog.  I have to admit it has been a long time since I wrote something.  It has been a busy few months since I retired from the Air Force and start the next chapter.  We have been renting a house while we figured out details on the house we want to build.

This whole idea has been years in the making.  Some of you may know that Monica and I decided years ago that San Antonio would the location of our post AF home.  We were stationed at Randolph and lived in Schertz (NE San Antonio) from 2003-2006.  We like San Antonio.  It is a big city, with a small town appeal, depending on where you live.  You can find anything here.

The other part of this story I should mention is that Monica is a city girl from Montreal, Canada.  I, am a country boy, from rural Michigan; although I was born in San Antonio, at Lackland AFB.  This is why San Antonio is perfect, it has the things a person could want from a city, shopping, dining, sporting events… but you can also enjoy a rural area if you want.  It is the perfect compromise.

Originally we bought 5 acres in Bulverde, just north of San Antonio.  After we retired, Monica got a job working at Lackland and I work from home.  Monica was moved up to a higher level position and it appeared that she would be staying at Lackland.  Bulverde is just too far away.  We then began looking elsewhere or another lot closer to this side of town.  We sold the lot in Bulverde and bought a little smaller lot in Medina county, but it is a perfect commute for Monica.  Again, perfect compromise.

All while making these land decisions, we were looking at model homes with builders that 'build on your lot' and at home plans on the internet.  We were looking at one model home in particular.  It had a lot of features that we liked.  As time went by and we kept checking on homes they were building, we saw things that we didn't like in the construction of these homes and there were a lot of limitations on changes.  Even though they said they make changes to a custom home, it was very rigid and expensive.

We ended up finding a plan online that we liked and found someone to build it for us.  We are now waiting for the appraisal to come back so we can start building.  This process has a lot of moving parts. But, we are making some very unique personal touches and customizations.  We are very excited about our house and can't wait to start.  Soon… very soon.