Footing Forms Started & Windows Selected

They started constructing the footing forms today.  According to the builder, they'll be poured late this week or the beginning of next.  Then they'll start building the forms for the walls.  It feels like clearing took a while and then someone hit fast forward on the project.

We also met Matt at the window rep's office.  Window decisions are finished!  We're going with Sierra Pacific.  They are aluminum outside, wood inside, and so beautiful (as well as good quality and they insulate well).  They'll be black outside with black hardware inside for the casement cranks.  The insides will be painted...not sure what color yet.  

We have the option of going with 9' sliding doors instead of the 7' plus 2' transom windows above.  That decision is still pending but overall we're close to done with thinking about windows.

Excavation Complete and Foundation Begins Tomorrow

Matt called and said, "There's a big hole.  They've finished excavation and they'll start on the foundation tomorrow."  I think I shrieked, "WHAT!?!?"  

We missed day 3 progress because we had our first meeting with the appliance rep yesterday afternoon.  Thanks to daylight savings it was too dark after the appointment to see what progress had been made.  Hearing the foundation crew starts tomorrow was a big surprise.  

Excavation Day 1

Day 1 excavation progress!  Their start date got pushed to today, rather than yesterday.  It looks a lot different already.  Surprised to see soil like a sandy beach just a few feet down.

Windows and Other Homework

Matt sent us home with color chips for the windows.  60+ colors to choose from with Sierra Pacific. He knows we want dark windows so he pointed out a color called Dark Bronze Industrial that looks nice, but there's several contenders.

We need to choose whether to keep the grids in the transom windows as shown on the plan or remove them.  We also sent Matt our list of window changes and questions.  Luckily we'd already created the list on our own so it wasn't a lot of work.  Soon we'll meet with Matt and his window guy to finalize things.  

We aren't sure how to finish the windows on the inside.  I want dark windows inside. But with this type of window (aluminum outside, wood inside) the lining usually matches the window.  I wanted dark windows but liners to match the casing.  Basically we aren't sure what we want inside but we need to figure it out soon.  

We also need to meet with the appliance rep soon.  We actually asked if we could get a head start, because we're hearing some people have been waiting 6-7 MONTHS for appliances and still don't have them.  Obviously that would delay the project and we want to avoid that!

Also on the to do list is going to look at flooring.  We can't make cabinet decisions until we know what the floors will look like, so that appointment will be happening soon.  Lots of thought going into finishes when excavation hasn't even started yet!  

House Layout

The yellow flags are hard to see in the photos, but we met the builder early this morning to stake out the house location.  Lots of standing in the cold while Matt did math.  🙂  Then he walked out, looked around, and hammered a stake into the ground.  What?  No measuring to find a corner?  Nope.  He just started somewhere, and it ended up being just right North to South and also how it was oriented to the street.  We chose to move it 35ft East to maximize our backyard space.   Otherwise it was shockingly accurate.  And by the time he worked his way around the house and angled garage, he was only 2 inches off the measurement on the last wall!  Considering he's working on uneven ground with measuring tapes tied to flexible stakes, it was crazy close.  

Excavation starts Wednesday.  They'll knock down the big hill that is under the future garage and push that dirt into the valley of the back yard to start to level things out.  We think we need to correct approx 15ft of elevation drop.  Whether we address that with a retaining wall or a slope is yet to be decided.  We need the excavation guy to check the drop with his tool.  Then we'll know what we're dealing with.  

The site is about to change again!  

Almost Finished with Clearing

Mason and I checked the progress this evening.  They're on schedule to finish clearing tomorrow and excavation will begin early next week.  There's a lot of grading needed, so we're excited to see how the site will look once they start moving dirt around.  We'll meet the builder on-site in the next few days to stake out the house location.

First Cabinet Appointment

We had our very first meeting with the cabinet manufacturer today.  Our point of contact at Husky Doors and Signature Line Cabinetry is knowledgeable and friendly, which was a big relief.  Our interior designer met us there as well so we'd have another set of eyes.  We left still not knowing what finishes we want in the kitchen, but there's only so much we could do in an hour.  We tend to like some darker finishes (charcoal gray), but with so many cabinets some of our choices might make the space feel heavy or dark.  We left with some samples and also some confusion, but we have to start somewhere. On the plus side, we both immediately liked a door style she showed us.  It's slightly different than what we thought we wanted, but it's nice to have one piece of the kitchen figured out.  (Ignore the color; door style only)

At the end of the meeting we agreed the next step needs to be looking at hardwood flooring.  That will drive what color posts/beams are downstairs, and that impacts our kitchen finishes.  I can't think about cabinet finishes if I don't know what the floor and beams will look like.

We did realize during the meeting that the focal point of the entire kitchen will be the range hood.  It will be the first thing you notice when you look at the kitchen, so we need to get it right.

Back to Pinterest and Houzz I go!