All the windows are in (almost)

Nearly all the windows are in, only two are not in yet. The progress continues to be pretty good, we are hoping that the rubber roof goes on in the next couple of days. That will keep us pretty much completely weather proofed. The plumber is nearly finished installing vent pipe (which can be seen in what will be the kitchen and dining room above) and will start roughing copper in this week. We also hope the HVAC will start soon. We are having some issues with the structural integrity of the house and it looks like we are going to need to upgrade some walls with plywood shear walls to increase their strength. Its been our only hiccup so far and shouldn't be too much of a problem, other than extra money. The house looks great and we can't believe its supposed to be done in four months.

The living room windows looking out above and looking toward the entry way from the LR below.

The hallway looking toward the master bedroom balcony above.
The master bedroom sliders below (not sure why its foggy).

The master closet is above behind the wall and the bed will be in front of it.
Below is looking into the master bath.

The future nursery/office room is above.
Below is looking out the windows from the landing above the front door.

Looking down the hall toward the 2nd bath upstairs above.
The 3rd bedroom below - it'll be the guest room until another child decides to arrive and take it.

This will be Noah's bedroom above. It has the bay window above the garage.
Below is the view looking out from the hallway outside Noah's room. The master bedroom is above and the kitchen is visible below.

Pics from 2 weeks ago

The exterior is completely framed including the roof decking. The windows have started going in. I have been slacking on posting the pictures, so I am trying to catch up.

This picture below was a window that we added in the dining room to get a little more natural light.

Video

On to the 2nd Floor

The progress on the house is now quite obvious. The second floor trusses are installed (they were pretty complicated) and all the exterior walls are in place. The roof will be installed tomorrow and Tuesday and the windows may be in by the end of the week - it will be good to have the house sealed from the elements. Its nice to see the actual shape of the house and to get a real feel for how the interior spaces will flow. The picture above is of the garage with Noah's bedroom above on the left and his bathroom on the right.

This is the South West side of the house that faces Chanay St. It really makes the house look bigger than it is due to the fact that you rarely get this view of a house in Chicago with the way lots are laid out. Below is a close up of the main entry with the big stairwell window above.


Above is the North East side of the house that lines up with our neighbors house - its pretty hidden from the street views. Below the view looking out from the garage to Julia Ct.

Above is looking into the living/kitchen/dining (great) room from the entryway. Below are different views of the great room.

Its a House

The rain has slowed the progress down a bit and it made us go to the house today instead of our normal Friday. As you can see, the first floor walls are all in and the second floor trusses have started going up. The windows are scheduled to be in tomorrow and we hope to start putting them in on Monday. The framers will have to get moving to make that happen.

We explored our garage and living room as a family today. It was great to get a feeling for how much space we will have. Unfortunately, the sun went down and our camera died, so we don't have a lot of pictures. We might go by this weekend to get some more.

We Have a Wall

We stopped by the house this morning after swim class. The rain from the past two days has made for an extremely muddy lot. It hasn't slowed the framers down too much though. They have completed the first floor trusses and floor deck and have installed one garage wall and were on there way to putting up the first floor walls. The second floor trusses are scheduled to be delivered on Monday. We are hopeful they will begin being installed Monday also. We're trying to beat the winter and the weather looks like it will cooperate for at least one more week. The basement plumbing has passed inspection and the gravel and vapor barrier have been installed on top. The basement floor is scheduled to be poured early this coming week.

Framing Begins

With 70 degree days in November, framing gets off to a quick start. The knee wall went in Monday and the first floor trusses are nearing completion. The last picture below shows the house from the Chanay side looking east, the front door will be located behind the truck on the left. With a quick visit to the Alderman's office today, we seemed to successfully solved the problem of cars parking right up to the lot on Chanay. The underground plumbing will be inspected this Friday so the basement floor can be poured early next week. The second floor trusses are scheduled to go in Friday or Monday depending on how the weather cooperates. Its great to see the house starting to really take shape.

Back Filled

Nothing too obvious happened this week. The conduit for our power, cable, and phone went in the ground from our back power pole to the house (as seen above.) The under ground plumbing was installed, including the pipes for the basement bathroom, the sump pump and ejector pit. Lastly, the lot was backfilled. This coming week is a big one with framing set to start Monday.

Noah says "I love this street!"

"It's so good for running."

It's a Basement

The basement walls are complete. The view above is from the south, while the rest are from the north on the Julia Ct. side. Our garage will be off of Julia, where the big pile of dirt is sitting inside the concrete foundation walls (as seen below). The black on the walls above is the waterproof barrier. Things are moving along, we hope to start framing soon. We are very thankful that the weather has cooperated for the concrete to be poured and properly cure. Things are quickly becoming more real as we now can see the actual footprint of our home. Its such a blessing and so exciting. Hopefully our enthusiasm and positivity will continue through the winter.

Foundation Time

Excavation started last Tuesday, but did not resume until the following Monday - a death in the family for our subcontractor. Once they came back, they made quick work of it. The footings were poured during the week and we stopped by Friday to see them start setting the forms for the basement walls. Its great to see progress. Noah agrees, but he pretty much just wants to see the trucks and try to climb on them.