Roof, concrete porch, more plumbing and wiring

Newest outside changes: shingles on the roof and concrete under the front porch. Concrete was poured last week (there will be flagstone added later), the roofers were hard at work Saturday. just a bit more work on the back side of the main roof and the shingles on the playroom roof. The front porch will have a metal roof, still to come.  The plumbing inspection was last week so we have bathtubs and showers full of water right now. There are a few corrections to be made on some drains and valves and then the plumbing rough in will be complete. Matt continued work on the low-voltage wiring - we spent some more time this weekend reorganizing/tidying up some of the runs and cleaning up the main wiring closet.  Everything should be ready for (read: safe from) the insulation and drywall crews. After walls are up, we'll go back and drop some of the things Matt prepped and pull all the guts out of the wiring boxes he installed in the closet.

Shingle roof

Concrete porch

And around the corner

from the corner towards the front door/garage

The "brains" of the house

lots and lots of wires bundled in those bags waiting for
spray foam insulation to be done before we drop them

Wiring, fireplace, boxing/siding started

It's been very hot and dry, fine for exterior work, where a crew has been putting up all the trim/corners/fascia board in preparation for siding. The basic structure of the back porch/deck and stairs is done.  Inside, the heat makes for miserably hot/long days. Matt's been hard at work following the electrical rough-in, DIYing an intricate low voltage system for ethernet, coax/HDMI, and audio equipment. He spent this past Sunday with Brian and Jay - a solid 12 hour day - drilling all the holes/pathways for the wires to run and pulling the cables. He also spent another full day Monday (I joined halfway through to try to help) making sure everything was labeled, bundled, run to appropriate lengths, secured in the wall/attic spaces, and generally ready for drywall installation.

There are still a few things to do but the bulk of that work is done. It's too bad it had to happen on the hottest days of the year so far (it had to have been over 110 in the attic - and they spent a lot of time in the attic).  In other news, the fireplace was installed today, just in case anyone gets cold.  Tomorrow they should be pouring the concrete for the front porch and we think the siding and shingles will start soon.

We started to pack our current house and are trying to pre-order items for the new house. Our garage is currently serving as a warehouse.  We have toilets, sinks, plumbing fixtures, and we're slowly trying to accumulate all the light bulbs we will need for light fixtures once it's time for electrical finish/fixtures.  In North Carolina, Cree LED bulbs are available with subsidy pricing, but there's a limit-per-customer rule at Home Depot where we're buying everything.  So both Matt and I have been stopping in and doing separate checkouts multiple times (and basically clearing out stock) at both of the Raleigh stores.

Fireplace

Close up

Bedroom wiring

More bedroom wiring

Master bedroom wiring

Guest room wiring

Cable rainbow in the attic

Cable bundles

The Media closet/hub where all the cables go

subwoofer cabinet

Speaker brackets

Ceiling speaker brackets

A light bulb haul

Back porch and deck, rough-ins continue

Lots and lots going on this week. The fascia boards are up around the roof - shingles are supposed to go on soon and that had to be in place first. They're still working on the back side to complete that work. We finally got enough of a break in the weather for them to mount the deck posts and pour the rest of the footings out back. Today they framed the back porch/deck and got the screened porch roof up.  You'll also see some of the exterior doors are up - the ones from the family room to the porch are a relief to see (that was a big open drop). The kitchen nook door isn't up yet, but there is at least some temporary plywood out there to walk on. The basement rec room doors match the ones at the family room, and those are on site but not installed yet.  The side entry door to the garage is in.  Doors to outdoor storage area are in.  Front doors will come much later so they don't get all beat up while contractors are in and out of the house with tools, equipment, and materials.

Subs have been hard at work on the HVAC, plumbing, and electrical rough-ins. Most of the power and light sockets are in place and wires are spaghettied all over the place through the walls. The plumber installed 2 out of 3 bathtubs (one still has to be delivered) and has been running all the pipes to and from sinks and showers/tubs. We're experiencing some of the "minutia" details we were warned can be overwhelming - where do the valves and spouts go for the showers and tubs, where should every single light go, where should all the light switches go, what about placement of vents for the air, etc.

We've had ongoing pond concerns. The heavy rain lately hasn't helped the muddy water. We got a really steep quote from a local company to do some clearing/mowing and work on the overflow pipe for it (and opted not to hire them at this point).   We did, however, see some really awesome wildlife around it lately that affirms the water is healthy, if not pretty.  There are tons of frogs that we hear all the time but today we saw how HUGE some are. Last week after the electrical walk through we saw two baby fawns with their mama doe grazing around the banks and drinking the water.  AND we saw a great blue heron catch a LIVE fish from the pond!   So that is super reassuring. But the water is still muddy and the banks are still overgrown.

Matt and some friends went out one night earlier this week and attempted to find a possible blockage at the drain-end of the overflow pipe. But despite renting an auger and spending a late/buggy/muddy work night on the effort, they had no luck.   Matt ventured out in a borrowed paddle boat tonight to take a look down into the overflow from the pond surface.  Also no dice. If there is a clog, it's somewhere way in the middle and not easy to get to.  But we got some good pictures that show the scale of the pond.

AC unit over the master

Sitting on the tray ceiling

Spaghetti ceilings

DOORS oh and the corner fireplace

Mara checking out the pantry

Porch roof!

Standing inside the screened porch looking at the grill deck

Soaker tub in the buddy bath

Jetted tub in the master bath

Walk-in shower in the master

More ceiling wiring and fixtures

Side door to the garage

Outdoor storage assistant

Very exciting storage doors

New rear view!

Oh and the well pump!

Captain Gauch goes exploring

Paddling on the pond

Wider view of the pond, you can see a peek of the driveway
way off to the right above the pond

Latest front view

Windows and Rough-Ins

Framing is wrapping up. We are weather-dependent on the remaining structures and we've gotten just enough rain to stall on progress (back porch and deck).  The breakfast and playroom roofs are done now and windows were installed Monday.  The plumbing and HVAC rough-in work started this week, too.  We did a walk-through with our builder and an electrician on Wednesday afternoon to identify all the lights, switches, outlets and other power-related needs (whoa that was tiring).  The house passed a checkpoint inspection on Wednesday, too. Exterior doors will arrive soon.  We're also finalizing cabinetry and need to go work on flooring. Exterior changes won't be significant until siding goes up and the shingles are on the roof, and after that it will all be inside work. We'll get an exterior time lapse together at some point.

Current front view

Family room framing pre-windows and playroom roof

Corner fireplace framed

Upper window openings

View from Fireplace looking up to 2nd floor overlook

Blocking in the kitchen beam and the Grandmas' room

Inside Grandmas' room - bath on the right, closet on the left

Grandmas' room and bathroom window openings

The overlook view down into family room

The only safe way to have a toddler on site lately

Basement perimeter wall framing

Exercise room

Bonus closet space under the stairs

Inside study after windows were installed

Inside dining room windows and rough in stuff

Trying to lay out kitchen island

Master bedroom windows

Attic and HVAC rough in stuff