House Build 2023

[buckeyefarmer]

I stress over waste. I still use scrap lumber from my build 26 yrs ago.

 

[civilian]

Eddie, instead of 5 gal buckets, I use 50 lb dog food bags for chop saw cutoffs. Jon

 

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

We finally got bricks going up after a few weeks of them sitting on site. Also sheetrock is finished.

 

[EddieWalker]

The brick is going to look really nice!!! I'm curious to see how you build up the ground to get into the garage. I didn't realize the garage floor was so much higher up then the surrounding land.

 

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

I've got shale already staged up ready to go. But the turbo went out on the dozer (short runaway diesel...) so I'm waiting on the new turbo and bricks before I can get it in place.

I was not impressed that the garage entrance was so high either. But, there is a slight rise that the house sits directly centered on, so the floor opposite of the door would be in danger of being too low had we gone a block lower. It's crazy how much drop there is on what looks like a really small slope. I cut something like a 80'X70' pad for construction and it was a little oversized so some of the step you are seeing is the gap from the cut also. It's not as drastic of a step as it looks in the pictures.

 

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

Oh, also my walkthrough video already came in handy. I used it to find 2 lights and 1 recep that was covered by the drywall. Did that early enough that I was able to have the finishers cut them out so the electrician didn't have to.

 

[EddieWalker]

I hope it was an honest mistake for the sheetrock guys to cover two outlets. I've seen them fill up the outlet boxes with mud, and I can't think of any way that could of been accidental. Some of them are just A holes. Nobody makes a bigger mess that drywallers!!!!

 

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

I've been really impressed with the crews that have been here so far, including the sheetrock hangers and finishers. I'm sure it was honest.

The hangers left more of a mess than the finishers. Look at the picture of the pile of trash in the garage above. The dumpster was not on site so they piled everything up like that. I didn't clean the floor or anything, all the trash is out of the house and it looks as good as the rest of the garage looks on the inside.

 

[EddieWalker]

You can tell a lot about a crew by the mess they leave behind. One of my clients is a retired Home Inspector and he told me that when he goes to a build that's a mess, he knows that he is going to find a bunch of issues. When everything is neat and organized, he just checks the things that are usually missed, and if they are good, he's in and out of there real fast.

 

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

Most of the crews leave happy. During summer they had fresh watermelons and the finishing crew left with fresh eggs. They asked how much for a chicken but I shut them down .

 

[EddieWalker]

I didn't realize that you had a working farm!!!! What do you raise and grow? Any pics?

 

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

I've got a couple dozen chickens, half a dozen ducks, 2 turkeys (they are the most fun to have around), 7 bee hives (right now, that number changes a lot up and down), and my neighbor and I grow a couple gardens together. He's older and enjoys playing in the garden but needs help, so we do it together and share the spoils. The one at his place is right at half an acre. It's usually corn, purple hull peas, okra, green beans and a couple other odds and ends. The one at my place is smaller and has the stuff that has to be watched more. Squash, zucchini, tomatoes, bell peppers, jalepenos, cucumbers, watermelon, cantaloupe and probably a couple others I'm not remembering. I've tried springtime leafy things like broccoli and cauliflower but I couldn't keep up with the worms so it was not worth it. Also, with the dry dry summers we've had the last couple years turnips have not worked out for fall greens. I've got pictures around I'll dig a few up.

 

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

Bricks are working their way around to the front of the house. And we got the first interior door!

 

[EddieWalker]

I haven't seen that door style before. It's fun seeing something new!!!

 

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

Some cabinets got dropped off today.

 

[BigBlue1]

Nice! Looks like more was done than dropping them off.

They are unfinished and you have to finish them in place? That's kind of surprising. I thought most cabinets, even custom cabinets are usually finished when/where they are built.

 

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

I've never known of custom cabinets being delivered finished. I'm sure there are some that are but it's not expected around here.

 

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

I picked up the porch columns and outdoor trim for wrapping the decorative trusses and faux beams.

 

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

Almost looks like a house now!

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I've never known of custom cabinets being delivered finished. I'm sure there are some that are but it's not expected around here.

I can’t imagine finishing installed.