Recent content by Kubota Tee

tapout187 - Thank you for your kind words! The apron extends the entire length of The Willows - so 72'. In terms of how far out, I can park my Suburban completely on the apron in front of the door - it is approx 22'.

IMXCITD - thanks for stopping by and commenting!! It's greatly appreciated.

FRONT CONCRETE APRONS I don't know about you, but I just love seeing new concrete getting poured.:beer: It looks great, cleans up a site and gives it a sense of permanence. Many thanks to my beautiful bride who helped layout the front apron and pushed for the planting areas alongside the...

dirtybrownracing - thanks so much for your comments! I'm extremely happy with how this all turned out. I often have a difficult time visualizing a concept or design by just seeing the colors or patterns or material. I have to see the whole thing complete - either in real life or some sort of...

STONE WORK (CONTINUED) Since the stone work is being done on trade, the work is spread out over multiple weekends - weather permitting. This arrangement is a win-win for both of us and doesn't hold up anything else on The Willows construction timeline. The last of the front entry stone is up...

LOFT DRYWALL INSTALLATION It was such a relief to get to this stage of the build! I never even considered doing this part by myself - not that I couldn't, but more that I shouldn't! :headscrat I once did my own drywall work on a large lower level exercise room with lots of bulk heads, wall...

Great minds think alike! Yes, the area under the stairs is designated as the Mechanical room and will contain the hot water heater (for both radiant and domestic use), the radiant panel (pumps, valves, manifolds, etc), the network panel and eventually a stand up air compressor. I would like to...

JimL - Thanks for your note and yes, I agree with your recommendation and it appears that my HVAC guy did as well! Once the lines (from the loft units) penetrated the floor (going from vertical to horizontal), they merged into a dedicated 1.5" drain line that was then sloped as a normal drain...

Recently completed in Western Michigan See the complete build at https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=437849

ITS GETTING PRETTY QUIET AROUND HERE - LOFT INSULATION I had debated about tackling the insulation myself using fiberglass batts for the walls and then renting a machine to blow in the ceilings. After many discussions with our builder and comparing / contrasting the alternative methods, I was...

davo727 - thanks for taking a look at my build thread. I hardly remembered about the thumb, but went back and looked at the pictures again as a reminder. It was bad at the time, but like many painful experiences, they tend to fade quickly.

Gary - Thanks for subscribing and LOVE that car you have in your avatar - very nice!! It would have been great to document the build as it was happening, but with working full time and then spending most evenings working on The Willows, I just couldn't find the time. I did collect (and...

A WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY! As the mechanical rough ins were wrapping up and we were getting ready for insulation and drywall in the loft area, I started contemplating how the stairway would look and feel once it was closed in. It's a very long stairway and I kept thinking about how to make it...

CABINETS HAVE ARRIVED! We were able to take advantage of a cabinet sale a few months earlier, so the order got placed and we had to provide a delivery date - hmmmm, that's always tricky, especially when the home owner is self performing some of the work! :shocking: This order of cabinets was...

STONE INSTALLATION GETTING STARTED Our lake neighbor contacted me to see if we were ready for him to get started with the stone installation on the front of The Willows. The process started with the installation of a thin cement board that gets screwed to the exterior, then 2 coats of...