Anyone Built a New House? Here Is Our Build

[joeychitwood]

Originally Posted by encarter13

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!

We lived on the north shore of Detroit Lake in Minnesota for 26 years. The new place is south of Lake Melissa.

[Old Geezer]

Great progress in spite of the brutal weather. Our experience during home builds, the most recent our current home in 2016 is that once they get the home roofed and enclosed with windows and doors, the trades really go to town. Keep the pics coming.
As others noted, go crazy with wiring, outlets, outside water spigots, etc now. It’s much cheaper than retrofitting.

[joeychitwood]

Shingles and siding going on. Using LP wood siding. Lifetime pre-finished wood product. Shakes, board and batten and lap combinations.

[brandrea]

Looking great Joey

[Laszlo]

It’s looking amazing can’t wait to see the final product.

[encarter13]

Love the siding!

[brannonj1]

Looks good! I truly love being able to see this process.

[superdog]

wow. this place looks incredible!!!

this will be the home you grow old in? what a place to live.....

[joeychitwood]

Originally Posted by superdog

wow. this place looks incredible!!!

this will be the home you grow old in? what a place to live.....

Ha! I'm already old. 62 yo. Hopefully I'll grow older there.

[Magwitch]

Very exciting! I built a house south of Mpls 25 years ago and am still here! As a Dr I am sure you know to get a shingles vaccine for that roof!

[joeychitwood]

Originally Posted by encarter13

Love the siding!

It is LP Smart Siding. Very dense, no holes for bugs to crawl into, thus no woodpeckers. And it never needs paint or refinishing.

LP Siding

[superdog]

Originally Posted by joeychitwood

Ha! I'm already old. 62 yo. Hopefully I'll grow older there.

You are not old. Not yet.

You got 15 years, minimum. Good for you. What a dream you are living. That house is incredible. Can’t wait to see how you do the inside.

[GB-man]

Looking good! Keep em working doc

[jph4387]

As someone who just finished building our home about a year and a half ago I can give you a couple pieces of advice.

1. Enjoy the ride. It's going to be stressful like nothing you've ever seen some days. Don't sweat it, those days pass and you'll laugh in the end.

2. If there is something that's really important to you, add it to the house and leave no regrets. A few extra dollars on the mortgage are worth it.

3. If you ask yourself the question, the answer is always, YES, it's worth it!

4. If there are other things you want to add later, it's easy to update a few things and quite normal.

By the way, the new house is looking beautiful. Here are some rough pics from when we finished our house. It looks even better now that the yard and landscaping are growing in as well as some additional improvements.

[AzPaul]

Seems as though building through the winter in Minn, would bring an incredible number of challenges with it. Curious why you chose this time of year?

[Mr. Nice Watch]

Very cool! Looks great!

[piratepress]

Here is our new house. It's 2300 sq. ft. with four bedrooms and three baths. It's the first new house we've ever had, and we moved out of a thirty year-old house that we've lived in for the past 15 years.

Thankfully, the construction hasn't been too stressful, and the process certainly has been an eye-opener-- we've learned a lot along the way. We are definitely going to appreciate it when it's finished!

[joeychitwood]

Originally Posted by AzPaul

Seems as though building through the winter in Minn, would bring an incredible number of challenges with it. Curious why you chose this time of year?

Minnesota weather can be a challenge, but construction goes on year round here. My brother is the contractor, and we had to wait until he could fit it into his schedule. He's giving me the "friends and family" rate, because we couldn't afford him otherwise.

[joeychitwood]

Originally Posted by jph4387

As someone who just finished building our home about a year and a half ago I can give you a couple pieces of advice.

1. Enjoy the ride. It's going to be stressful like nothing you've ever seen some days. Don't sweat it, those days pass and you'll laugh in the end.

2. If there is something that's really important to you, add it to the house and leave no regrets. A few extra dollars on the mortgage are worth it.

3. If you ask yourself the question, the answer is always, YES, it's worth it!

4. If there are other things you want to add later, it's easy to update a few things and quite normal.

By the way, the new house is looking beautiful. Here are some rough pics from when we finished our house. It looks even better now that the yard and landscaping are growing in as well as some additional improvements.

Thanks, jph. Your house is beautiful. We've heard from many that building is very stressful, but RoxAnn and I have had a great time with no stress so far. If all goes well, we will be moving by the end of April.

[joeychitwood]

The temperatures have been pretty cold the last couple of weeks, wind chills down to -25 to -45 degrees F below zero, so not much has happened on the exterior. But work is fast and furious inside the house. The HVAC installers, electricians and plumbers have been working for a week, and we've been at the house every day answering questions about what goes where regarding outlets, lighting, security cameras and TV/networking cables. It's incredibly complicated to a non-construction person like me. There were eight people working inside today.

Working on the main electrical box:





Framed the upstairs fireplace today:





Looking toward the kitchen/dining area:





The back wall of the lower level. The house is on a slope, so this wall is poured concrete, while the front is wood construction. Looking at my "electronics" room in the corner. Photography, security cameras, telescope, computer network, and server/office room:

[elcompa]

So pretty. I bet it will come out great. Great area too!

[Reddy_Kilowatt]

Those photos made me break out in hives. Being done is so great.

[Thegr8one]

I’ve been following this thread as I am about to start a custom home build with my parents. Would love to see some updated pics. Looks great so far.

[joeychitwood]

I'll post a few today. The plumbing, HVAC and electric work is done. Sheet rocking happening now.

[Ballzzz]

Originally Posted by joeychitwood

I'll post a few today. The plumbing, HVAC and electric work is done. Sheet rocking happening now.

Patiently waiting

[RW16610]

Coming along nicely! Thanks for keeping us updated

[joeychitwood]

I spent the day skiing and just got home. I'll post photos tomorrow. Promise!

[JasoninDenver]

Great to read these posts! As I sit waiting to start of remodel any day now, I will enjoy seeing your project come to a close. As any remodeller will tell ya, I should have built from scratch.

[Brenngun]

Love how it's progressing Joey. This is when the excitement builds. The sheet rock starts to give you a sense of the real space. You'll get the best feeling if anything needs to be adjusted and doing that before taping and sanding begins helps. Looking forward to the updated pics.

[joeychitwood]

There haven't been any significant changes outside due to brutal cold temps and snow. But there has been a lot of progress inside.

The garage has been insulated. I have a storage room above the garage. I also installed a 50,000 BTU gas heater so I can work on projects year round.



The rest of the house has been insulated. Because the house is on a sloping lot, there are concrete walls on the uphill side on the lower level. These were insulated with foam.



Almost every foot of ceiling space is occupied by vents, duct work, wiring and plumbing. I have dropped Cat5 and TV lines into every room but closets and bathrooms. I have four security cameras wired to a DVR in the office with the option to add four more. About 5,000 feet of Nomex, Cat5, RG59 and TV wire in the structure.



The gas fireplaces have been installed upstairs and down. The ceiling has been sheet-rocked and insulation has been blown into the attic. Sheet-rocking continues, followed by taping, etc. The cabinets are being built now.