Well this will be an update on the building of our new home.

This past weekend we cleared the land. My builder Lauren, called today and said that the Home Plans have been approved and we are ready to start. Electricity should be hooked up by the end of the week as well as water. They should start setting the forms Monday or Tuesday and the slab will be poured the next week.

This Sat. we are going to finish clearing the land and burn some brush piles. Not much clearing just some touch up work. Also hope to set up a deer feeder.

The start of a new future. You deserve it! I walked Brandons whole place and a couple of his future neighbors and all I can say is he will have plenty to shoot at for at least a couple of years. I know one contractor you cant fire, the guy that does yur phone wiring! lol

Congrats on the new home. Share pics as the construction progresses.

Yeh Brandon. Show the pics. Especially the ones of the folks doing all the grunt labor. Have tools loaded, diesel fuel in cans. See you about 9 AM on Sat, the best hunting time of the season & he is cracking the whip. LOL. But he is promising I get first shot at the big tom turkey. Sorry Hogkiller & Wiz. You had your chance!!!!!

The reason OLE gets all the perks is because he is retired, and can help out. He is working harder retired than he ever did before he retired. I think Brandon may have his number, like a carrot hanging in front of a horse to keep him walking. lol

LOL Foot.You are correct on a couple things, but. Foot...You know you may be right! Hehe. Know one thing. Tired, muddy water went down the drain, stinky clothes with burn smell, still feel like I'm bouncing on the tractor. 9:30 til 6:30, 30 min lunch break, 2 10 min breaks and all this on the best hunting day of the season. But Brandon said he would make it up to me by letting me shoot the 11 point. I think he said that, but with the diesel engines running I may be mistaken. HeHe. Lot of work, lot of fun, got alot done. Their place is shaping up & that is what counts.

Brandon who is putting in the air conditioning. Whatever you do don't go with some cheap "contractor grade" stuff. Get good equipment and make sure it is installed properly.

I would hire an outside inspector as well, for all of it, mainly water, electrical and HVAC.

Trane is the best IMHO. Heat pump or, if you are gonna have Natural Gas, go with a 90% AFUE furnace. 18 SEER is the most efficient, but anything above 12 SEER will have good energy returns. You may be able to get a break on the install from PEC (or whoever the utility co. is) with a higher SEER.

Go with sheetmetal ductwork and short flex duct runs as well. And above all make sure they install it so it can be serviced, because I know I will be the one working on it eventually!

Also ask about R-410A, as R-22 will stop being manufactured in 2020. It will still be around, just like R-12, but it will be expensive, just like R-12.

Call me if you have any questions or concerns.

Rat,
You talking about guns again! I are shooting a 410, but some times I use a 22 or my double barrel 20, for big stuff I use a 12 guage also. I bet I can help get Brandon even more confused. Ole good luck on getting the 11 point, heck you can always say you miscounted the 8 you were told to take. hehe

Looks like you guys are gett'n her done!

Make sure your flooring installers are Certified!!!!

Don't just ask if they are certified, make them show you credentials!!!
Certified Installers are held accountable. They will loose there certification they worked hard to obtain, if they do substandard work.

The retail flooring stores in Central Texas, use the subcontractor with the cheapest rates! Hoping they speak english.
BEWARE!!!! Slapping it on the floor and running, is the name of their game.


They keep me busy doing flooring failure inspections. 98% of the time it is installation related, and the retailer squirms trying to deny it is a problem.

Go to www.CFIinstallers.com to find a craftsman in your area.

Brandon on top of all that other stuff don't forget to make sure:

that they place the black tar side down when installing the shingles
that when you hook up the washer that the cold/hot lines don't get reversed
that the mailbox door faces the road
the front door opens inward
etc, etc, etc,

Thanks for all the advice. Sat. Oleman, Denton, myself and Shelly worked our tail off. THe place is really looking good. Couldn't have done it without the help of evreybody. Right now most off the big land prep is done. Have to work the burn piles in a other than that most is done. Next big project is putting up the fence. Probably start that in a few weeks.

Wnet out last night to look at what progress is being made and all is well. They have the forms up and most of the fill in. Should start plumbinng it in this weekend. The slab will be poured next week.

Its amazing how small it all looks before they start putting up the walls. I thought shelly was going to cry. But once the walls start going up it will all look larger.

I have a 3 point post hole digger if it is needed

Thanks Rotag may take you up on that offer.

They poured the slab yesterday and will start framing the carport today. Everything going great. Ended up saving $2500.00 on lumber. Shelly's friends husband is a lumber contractor out of Georgetown. As he said I didn't give it to you but its pretty close.

Congrats & let the fun begin.

Sounds like things are taking shape! Before you know it, you'll be sitting on your back porch drinking coffee and watching the sun come up over the mountain!

They got the house framed and the plywood sheathing on. Started the roof trusses yesterday. Looks a lot better and bigger now that the sides are up. Shelly's dad is bringing 2300 ft of pipe tomorrow for the pasture fence and the yard fence. All in all seems to be going pretty fast.

Sounds like you guys may be in by mid Jan. Didn't take long to frame. How many on the crew? No last minute changes???

They have 8 on the crew. The only last minute changes we had was putting a window in the utility room and adding a few inches to the kitchen. Other than that nothing major and those changes were made before building started.

All the sheathing is up. The windows were delivered the other day. The jaccuzzi tub should be there today. Looks like they should start on the exterior stucco & rock next week.

Man things are coming along fast. They should texture the interior today and start painting and doing the trim work this week. The wood stove will also be delivered Thursday. Right now we are shooting for the first of Feb move in. Sometime around March we will have the open house party with mud bugs and all.

mmmmmmmmmmmmmm MUD BUGS!!!!!! Let us know when you start moving and if you need help, I can bring my trailer and help out!