Anyone Built a New House? Here Is Our Build

[AS1]

great thread!! thanks for sharing.

[Brenngun]

Love seeing the trusses going up. Really starts to give you a fuller picture of the house. Looks real nice Joey. Trust your happy with the progress so far. I guess you'll be having fun checking each other for ticks.

[joeychitwood]

A photo of the spruce trees on the second lot we purchased next door as a buffer against neighbors. Not that I'm anti-social, but I had a neighbor from hell once, and I never want that situation again.

[BBL]

Originally Posted by joeychitwood

A photo of the spruce trees on the second lot we purchased next door as a buffer against neighbors. Not that I'm anti-social, but I had a neighbor from hell once, and I never want that situation again.

Very beautiful of Mother Nature!
And I agree, as I have one now.
DM

[joeychitwood]

Updated photos from today. Temp is 0 degrees F. Six inches of new snow last night. Here is Rox on the driveway side.





Side of garage.





River side with roof sheeting started. The upper level deck (jutting out) will be screened in. The lower will be open.





Sun setting.





Sunset the pines.

[superdog]

Wow. This is shaping up to be an incredible home.

You are loving the dream.

I’m very happy for you.

[JasoninDenver]

Love the covered porch. We will be vaulting on one our remodel in a few months in a much less spectacular setting.

[wantonebad]

Nice Doc!! Looking good, hope you have a great holiday sir!!

[hsm]

its looking great,

brilliant move not having neighbours, hideous things, they are the anti-social ones.

[joeychitwood]

Not much progress in the -30 to -50 degrees F below zero weather lately. But we have windows and doors now. This is the 330 foot driveway to the house:





Working on the front entry today:





Roof, windows and sliding glass doors being finished today:





The view looking toward the Pelican River and Mill Pond from the screened-in porch is gorgeous.





The kitchen and dining area on the upper level:

[Carrera911]

whats the expected completion date ?
We're building a house (in a community) in Florida. They are building in a crazy pace. Takes about 6 months from nothing to a complete 2500 sqft house.

[joeychitwood]

Carrera, we are hoping to be in the house by the end of April, which would be about nine months after it was started. The brutal cold lately has shut down the outdoor work, but once the roof is shingled and the windows are all installed, they can work inside.

[SADDLE]

Are you using composition shingles?

If not, I own a company that manufactures concrete roof tiles. If it's not too late, I can hook you up if you're at all interested in a maintenance free, lifetime roofing system. Sorry for the late inquiry, I just now saw this thread.

www.stoneworthrooftiles.com

[joeychitwood]

Hi Drew. We are using GAF Timberline HD fiberglass asphalt shingles. Looked at metal roofing, but opted for traditional shingles. They are on site ready to go on, hopefully before the next cold snap.

[Boothroyd]

I have never understood why screened-in porches were not more popular in MN, with our heavy mosquito issue every summer. Congratulations on the progress thus far, Joey, and hope it all goes smoothly from here.

[joeychitwood]

Thanks, Daniel. I'm pretty sure the screened-in porch looking over the river and pond will be our favorite part of the house.

[junamuan]

I'm excited to see the finished product. Would you have a watch room too like a thread I saw the other day? :)

[Laszlo]

Totally awesome, cannot wait for the final result. Beautiful already.

[BNA/LION]

Nothing better than reaching the point where you can close in the place; roof, windows and doors. Should be smooth sailing the rest of the winter. Looks GREAT and the progress is good considering the snow days. Enjoying your thread and I'm happy you are getting to do this now. You and the Mrs. will have many wonderful years to enjoy it!

[Sperry]

Amazing, the open spans builders are getting these days with truss systems. Looking beautiful!

[encarter13]

I know looks can be deceiving, but it doesn't look like much of a downsize. Keep the pictures coming!

[gibbus]

looking good

[dysondiver]

yep ,,, cat 6 every where ,,, and twice as much as you need , its humble money now , but handy in the future ,
spectacular site , watching with interest.

[joeychitwood]

Originally Posted by encarter13

I know looks can be deceiving, but it doesn't look like much of a downsize. Keep the pictures coming!

It looks bigger than it is. We sold our 3,800 square foot lake house, and this new house is 2,600 square feet. But I believe it has more usable space than our other house.

Originally Posted by dysondiver

yep ,,, cat 6 every where ,,, and twice as much as you need , its humble money now , but handy in the future ,
spectacular site , watching with interest.

Great suggestion. I'm going to drop a line into every room, as well as to entrances and other spaces where I might want to put a camera. It's dirt cheap to do it now.

[epc2]

Wow beautiful project!!

[GB-man]

Looks great! Keep the progress reports coming

[Brenngun]

Was wondering how it was going Joey. This looks awesome. Progress has to be considered very good considering recent weather. Would love to see a shot from that screened in porch. Can you tell me how your finishing it? 3" walls then screen up from there? Is this spaced planned as an alfresco dinning area?

[Reddy_Kilowatt]

If you're even remotely considering electric powered blinds, make sure to wire for them. Also, start laying out every light fixture and switch now and make a bunch of notes. Trust me, you'll make these decisions 3 times if you don't document them well.

[joeychitwood]

Originally Posted by Brenngun

Would love to see a shot from that screened in porch. Can you tell me how your finishing it? 3' walls then screen up from there? Is this spaced planned as an alfresco dinning area?

Thanks, Rick. There will be wicker furniture, as well as a dining table and chairs out there. It's a pretty big space. I don't have a good shot from up on the porch yet, but here is the view from ground level.





The Pelican River runs from Lake Melissa 100 yards to the north (left) into Mill Pond on the right. We are planning to screen the porch from floor to vaulted ceiling with a protective structure to keep little ones from crashing through the screen to the ground, about a 12 foot drop. Similar to this photo:

[encarter13]

Originally Posted by joeychitwood

It looks bigger than it is. We sold our 3,800 square foot lake house, and this new house is 2,600 square feet. But I believe it has more usable space than our other house.

Usable space is key. If you don't mind me asking, which lake did you leave and general area of this new home. I just love the lake life!