Our Concrete Home

 The last two days have been busy at our concrete home.  We have someone tiling, someone doing finish work, and our siding crew.  Brent and I haven't been working inside the house as much as we want just because there is no space right now.  It's taking shape. We chose Harristone, Chief Joseph, Summit color for our stone.  I think that Brent was expecting not to have so many big pieces of stone (the squares and rectangles) but more of the long thin stones.  So was I.  It's so hard to tell from a sample panel at a store.  We probably should have gone to visit a few houses.  However, I still think that it's going to be beautiful! The stone mason is Noah and he does beautiful work!  This shot was taken Monday just after they finished the gable.  The foam on the porch is now officially the ONLY exposed foam left on the entire house!  Big milestone for us!   This is the last view of our window repair from month...

Today I felt this house as if it were a living breathing organism pushing up and rising from the dust.  It has been a very memorable experience to watch (I mean work to make) our ideas become three dimensional, tangible, real.  I had intended to stay home for the morning, work with the girlies and place a little organization into our current home.  Things were moving along when Brent called to see if I could come over.  In a matter of a few moments the stone mason, three siding workers, the painter, finish work Ben, and our tile worker all arrived with questions.  The place was a beehive today and I was grateful for the help.   Things are moving quickly right now.  So, I don't know where we will celebrate Christmas.  It could happen...

In case you were wondering...yes...we worked on Thanksgiving Day.  We worked the day before Thanksgiving and we worked today.  I will always be grateful for hands that work.  For hands that can work.  For hands that like to work.  It's a blessing! The kidlettes and I worked on filling all the finish work holes in the basement.  It took us many hours but all the finish work holes are FINISHED!  (Imagine all of us doing the happy dance). This weeks highlight: the deck.  Brent has been working hard on this project.  Before we even excavated he had started the banister.  I love it and Brent has done a wonderful job on making it look sleek, stylish and completely awesome.  I also love that Cole is learning how to weld.  He enjoys welding as a result of our family project. Tonight Brent said that he makes beautiful welds.  Doesn't surprise me, he is a meticulous kid when it comes to projects and making stuff.  ...

It's a day of problem solving.The posts on the side and front of the house have vexed us from the beginning.  We have a framer over there right now working to make sense of it all.  Somewhere between the architect's drawing, the engineer's math, the framer's construction and the cement work we have posts that don't match up with the porch.  Once again, I'm learning that building a house is an organic, living, breathing process and not an exact art.  I imagine that it's more of an exact art for those who have built their own house before but we're learning as we are working.  And then we go and throw the ICF walls into the mix and we have a formula for a challenge.  We have some posts on the side of the house now.  Nate, siding guru, will make sure that they look good, get covered with stone, etc. So the posts were supposed to land clean and neat on the corners of the porch.... But voici, le probleme. There was NO possible way to fit in a concret...

Just like I predicted....I filled holes for the day.  It was a lllllloooooonnnnngggggg day but we made great progress! Crawfords is my new favorite putty (and it comes in a nice tin).  It was a tip/recommendation from our finish work guy Ben.  It is oil based, quick and slick, and doesn't need sanding when dried. (Photo has a special guest visitor--shout out to my siblings!) Maya did AWESOME filling up holes once I taught her the trick.  The putty had to be squeezed into a point and pushed into the hole.  With the thumb still over the hole you slide the putty knife underneath and quickly pull it out again.  These are Maya's cute little hands showing her work.  The hold is clean, smooth, perfect and doesn't need sanding. After Maya mastered the hole filling I taught Estee.  She could do it too but lost interest after about half an hour. One of Estee's jobs was to clean the scraps out of the house.  She struggled a ...

 Yup, I did, I fully participated in the American Cultural Frenzy Buy Out of Twinkies.  I bonded with an older Grandpa and Grandma who were stock piling their favorites.  They reminisced about their favorite Hostess snacks as they guarded their loot on the check-out conveyor belt.  They even both waved at me in the parking lot as they drove away with huge smiles on their faces.  They were a hoot! So, we brought our Twinkies to share with the subs (I still have some at home....).  Good times.  Maya checked out her closet.  She and Estee beat me downstairs and by the time I got there they had decided which shelf belongs to which girlie.  They decided that they must have a step stool in their closet. Here's another funky oops in the house.  Our plumber did not place one of the pipes INTO the foam.  He didn't cut out the foam so that the pipe would be flat on the cement wall.  It was too late when we saw it.  So, Col...

 After 407 days of work...this feels like a very fun part!  The foam is starting to look like a home!  But then, I look at it and there is still so much to do.  However, the end is in sight.  Spencer and Ben installed all the interior doors, trimmed the doors and put up the window casings. These are the very same type of casings we had in our first home--the bungalow in downtown Provo. We are all about the simple, straight lines.   View of kitchen windows with casing...  Our kitchen is fill with tools....  And supplies.... Spencer and Ben started all the closets.  This one is the pantry...  This is our closet... After taking a close look at the trim, the cupboards, finish work, I realize that I have my work cut out for me this weekend.  I will be filling approximatey 4,375,302 tiny holes with oil putty.  Maybe I'll get a good book on tape or something.  This was the view out of our...