It has begun..new house & garage.

Brickout · Jun 16, 2008

Back in December, just by chance I happen to come across this builder. They had a ranch house that looked great on their website. So that very same day we went out and looked at the model..it was perfect. An all brick ranch, 2300 Sq ft., 1/3 acre lot, 3 car garage and full basement. After searching for years in the new and used house market, the wife and I FINALLY found a house we were happy with. So that very weekend we picked out a lot and signed the paperwork to have it built.

Here's what it will sorta look like. Ours will be all brick.

Here's the floor plan.

Over the next two months we picked out all the options (what a PITA) and got them the earnest money.

Then the waiting came. It took forever to get the permits approved. Then the builder was in negotiations with the trade workers.

On May 16 we had our pre-construction meeting. They estimated it will only take 90 day to build the house.

On May 17 they broke ground!

The garage!

Brickout · Jun 16, 2008

On May 21st (4 days later) here's how it looked.

All the forms were in and ready for the pour.

Brickout · Jun 16, 2008

Here it is on May 24th.

Foundation is done. Now we have to wait two weeks before they can build and backfill.

Brickout · Jun 16, 2008

6-6 Back fill is done, basement and garage floor is in, steel is in place.

Brickout · Jun 16, 2008

6-13 Floor and walls are up.

By next week the roof should be complete.

cyclopsblown34 · Jun 16, 2008

I was enjoying the pictures and then I got red x's. Danged interweb. What I got to see looked like they weren't wasting any time. Good luck on the build and I hope you guys are in the house within 90 days.
No more red x, very impressive. Is the little feller your general contractor? LOL

Brickout · Jun 16, 2008

cyclopsblown34 said:
Is the little feller your general contractor? LOL

No, but he thinks he's the boss

Kevin54 · Jun 16, 2008

Great headway. Looking forward to more build pics!!! Let me ask...are you going to be the only one with a single floorplan house? Looks like all the others in the 'hood are two floors

Brickout · Jun 16, 2008

Yes, so far we're the only ranch. But not all of the lots have been sold yet.

Joe B. · Jun 16, 2008

Looks great. I have a huge ranch and I love it. Are you going to knock down the wall between the den and the garage to make workshop space?

Brickout · Jun 17, 2008

Joe B. said:
Looks great. I have a huge ranch and I love it. Are you going to knock down the wall between the den and the garage to make workshop space?

Ha Ha, neat idea!

I plan on having a workspace / hobby shop in the basement. The garage will contain the minimum amount of tools needed.

mattgg1 · Jun 17, 2008

Brickout -

I've got to ask...who designed & engineered the floor joist and steel beam layout???

From what I can see in the pictures, there are at least nine steel posts and six steel beams in your basement!

This design renders your basement nearly worthless for anything other than storage. Finishing the basement in the future would be very impracticle, as all of those posts would leave you with no usable space for a finished room.

A better design and the use of upsized I-joists would surely have eliminated several of those beams & posts.

Mr. Welsh · Jun 17, 2008

I was also going to comment on the amount of posts in the basement. Looks like it was built with no consideration to future use.
Given that you have kids, I would have recommended that you go with a basement that you could use as either a play room, a work area where you can keep the kids out, or some combination of both if you decide you wanted more room in the future.

It's hard to get a 3 car forward-facing garage not to overtake the rest of the house, but the sketch pictured certainly doesn't seem to help. It looks like the garage is the focal point.

Brickout · Jun 17, 2008

Yeah, I wasn't to happy about the amount of posts they use in the build either. But since this is a semi-custom and not a full custom home, there's only so much they can change.

Also, four of the posts in the middle will be enclosed by the staircase.

Brickout · Jun 23, 2008

Some new pic's

Worsedog · Jun 23, 2008

Wow, I've never seen conduit for unexposed wiring in residential before.

Brickout · Jun 23, 2008

Depending on what area you live in, but for the most part EVERYTHING is in conduit.

Worsedog · Jun 23, 2008

Here it only required if the wiring is not protected by walls or in commercial/public buildings.

blkhonda1991 · Jun 23, 2008

mattgg1 said:
Brickout -

I've got to ask...who designed & engineered the floor joist and steel beam layout???

From what I can see in the pictures, there are at least nine steel posts and six steel beams in your basement!

This design renders your basement nearly worthless for anything other than storage. Finishing the basement in the future would be very impracticle, as all of those posts would leave you with no usable space for a finished room.

A better design and the use of upsized I-joists would surely have eliminated several of those beams & posts.

i agree...could have engineered it better and probably would have cost a bit less, ive designed houses much larger than that with half the columns...guess it pays to use an architect/engineer sometimes instead of builder plans. not much you can do when you are building a spec home

SnyperBob · Jun 23, 2008

Worsedog said:
Wow, I've never seen conduit for unexposed wiring in residential before.

Here in the Chicago suburbs, my city requires conduit for all wiring. I highly recommend it

Brickout · Jul 1, 2008

Stopped by on Sunday, not much different. Shingles are on, all the electrical plumbing and duct work is done. Now we wait for all the inspections and the drywall starts next week.

Before you know it I'll be putting down the epoxy floor. :thumbup:

sharpshooter · Jul 2, 2008

Wow, 2 questions? 1. Is the contractor that big of an outfit to be able to throw all kinds of manpower at it to have it done. or B. did the new home construction take a bad hit in your area, and this crew only has a few jobs going. 90 days is great.

Brickout · Jul 2, 2008

Yes to question #2. New home construction has almost come to a dead stop around here. In my subdivision they are only building two houses right now.

We just had our pre-drywall walk through, they're estimating the house will be done in 5 weeks.

On a sad note, my Wife informed me that the stock we were planning to cash out to pay for a lot of new stuff on the house isn't worth squat anymore. So I can forget about the epoxy floor for this year. Which really upsets me, I wanted to have it done before I moved into the house.

boiler7904 · Jul 2, 2008

House looks good. ***** that you have to wait on doing some of the finishing details. I think we've all been there. Hell, I am there. Everytime I come up with some money to do something in the garage, my wife comes up with something to do in the house. You know what they say about an unhappy wife right?!

90 days start to finish isn't so bad. My house took about the same. There is a builder in Indianapolis (and recently expanded into a couple of other cities) that can build every plan in their portfolio in 43 working days from the day they dig the hole to the final walk through for closing. Doesn't matter if it's a 1200 sf ranch on a slab or a 5000 sf two story on a basement. You schedule your walkthroughs the day you sign the contract. They experimented with one of the smaller plans and were able to get it done in 28 or 29 just to see how quickly they could really do it.

McConkbj · Jul 7, 2008

If you dont mind my asking, what's it costing per sq ft to build out there?

Brickout · Jul 21, 2008

July 6th, roof is done. Things are pretty much the same on the inside.

July 12th, brick is starting to go up, all the drywall is up and the first coat of mud is on.

July 21st, brick & stone is done. Drywall is done and painted. Vinyl tile is done. Electrical fixtures are going in and I saw kitchen cabinets, doors and trim work in the garage.

Nova72 · Jul 21, 2008

sweet man!

Kevin54 · Jul 22, 2008

Very nice. Now you can see the light at the end of the tunnel. And I know what you mean about stock taking a dive. I happened to look at my 401K the other day. :scared:

tdkkart · Jul 22, 2008

So, the drive to the 40x60 pole building is off the rear street??

Brickout · Jul 22, 2008

tdkkart said:
So, the drive to the 40x60 pole building is off the rear street??

Huh? Did you post in the wrong thread or are you suggesting wishful thinking?

JeffD · Jul 22, 2008

I wish I was as far along as you are now. Looking good. Keep up the hard work.

Jeff

tdkkart · Jul 22, 2008

Brickout said:
Huh? Did you post in the wrong thread or are you suggesting wishful thinking?

Just watching out for your best interests..........

Nice house, just not enough garage space.

Brickout · Jul 22, 2008

Yeah well, what can ya do.

At least it a car bigger than my last garage. I'm going to add a lift in the future too.

Brickout · Aug 1, 2008

Brick, stone and siding is done. Cabinets, carpet and tile is done. We're 11 days away from closing now. They're wrapping up the little details now.

Some new pic's

boiler7904 · Aug 1, 2008

You're making real good progress. I have a similar kitchen layout. If you're like me, the sink and dishwasher layout is going to drive you nuts. I'm always tripping over the door while I'm standing at the sink trying to load the dishwasher.

Is there going to be a bracket at each of the blocks along the front gables?

Brickout · Aug 1, 2008

boiler7904 said:
Is there going to be a bracket at each of the blocks along the front gables?

No, I' planing on adding the brackets myself though.

TejasBimmer · Aug 1, 2008

Looking great!
We just had our home built this year...right now I am waiting for my cabinets to show up mid-Aug for the garage.

autoist · Aug 1, 2008

Man, that's beautiful...but, I'd blow that deck out to the entire length of that area that's indented & maybe even make it different levels down to the ground - a real party place!

drivinhard · Aug 1, 2008

nice build, and fast!

you'll be glad you did all brick.

Brickout · Aug 4, 2008

autoist said:
Man, that's beautiful...but, I'd blow that deck out to the entire length of that area that's indented & maybe even make it different levels down to the ground - a real party place!

Believe me, I've already got a couple of ideas rattling around in my head. I'm thinking about an outdoor kitchen, a 3 season porch, and a stone patio on the ground level with a built in fireplace. I also plan on incorporating a storage shed under the deck since we can't have outbuildings in the subdivision.

drivinhard said:
nice build, and fast!

you'll be glad you did all brick.

Yeah, it's something I always wanted. The house should be nice and quiet.

It has begun..new house & garage.

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