Blogging to you live from...my new office

Well obviously I've been MIA for a while.  The past few weeks have been so incredibly crazy and busy.  We've officially lived in our house 9 days, we moved our stuff in on Dec 5-6 and slept here for the first time on Dec 6.  Well Stephen actually slept here on the 5th to guard our stuff that we had already moved in.  We had our first final inspection on Nov 26, two days before Thanksgiving.  It did not pass, which is pretty typical for a first inspection.  Because of the holiday and the busyness of some of our subs we weren't able to fix everything requested and call for a second inspection until Dec 3.  I was present for this one and feeling pretty good, I knew everything on the list had been accomplished and they are only supposed to re-check the list.  However, we got the bad fortune of getting one of Gilbert's most notoriously difficult inspectors for this inspection.  I gave him the original failed inspection report but he decided to start from the beginning.  Apparently this is not really legal, but he claimed that the original inspector didn't fully complete our original.  Sounded pretty fishy to me but you sure have to play nice since they hold all the power.  So he failed us and gave us an entirely new list of things to fix.  I nearly had a heart attack!  We scrambled really fast after he left and our subs were so good to come in either that day or early the next morning and fix the requested items.  I'm using the term "fix" very loosely, they are just stupid little things that have no bearing on whether a house is functional or safe and they are very individualized to whatever inspector you get.  So frustrating.  So I was able to call for my THIRD final inspection for the very next day, Wednesday Dec 4.  I was a nervous wreck during the entire thing.  My nephew Kelton came down for the week to help me and was trying to keep my calm but it wasn't really working.  After 3 failed inspections you have to start paying for them to come back, plus I just really needed to get into my darn house!  (Side note: Paul and Heather got married in my backyard of my old house 2 days after Thanksgiving and were going to be renting that house.  They were living separately until we moved out because they couldn't fit all 7 of their kids in either of the houses they were living in, plus they didn't want to move twice...so a little bit more pressure or incentive for us to move out!!)
Anyway, at the end of the third inspection Kelton and I were standing near the inspector in the garage watching him fiddle with our electrical panel sending out mass prayers, when he turned around with a smile and said "You Passed."  I nearly hugged him.  For real. 
And with that, we were given the green light to get moving.  And we did.  And we haven't really stopped since.  The house is beautiful and amazing and we feel incredibly lucky to be here.  I will start posting more pictures of some of the final stages soon. 

Other highlights

Our faucets have been going in, which is fun.  This is Alyssa's bathroom:

This is the master sink:

The glass guys also installed all the mirrors and glass shower enclosures.  This is Jaren's bathroom:

The precast guy also began framing in the hood over the stove top, and Jerry also started the backsplash.  ALL the countertops are finally installed as well as all the sinks and faucets.  It looks like a house!!

 

Paint!

Yesterday was very exciting, the exterior of the house was painted.  I have been pretty nervous about this color.  I knew it was a little bold, but I love yellow tones so much and I'm so sick of all the brown and beige homes around here.  It's kind of a beige/yellow and I love it.

Weston also stained the exposed beams in the office, which looks great.

Today the electricians are hard at work installing all the exterior lighting.  The solar guys are putting the panels on the roof, the plumbers are putting all the fixtures in and the precast guy is supposed to be finishing up the columns.  Our hope is to call for the final inspection for Monday or Tuesday.  Crossing my fingers that we hit that deadline!

We've turned a corner

Our stone veneer crew is amazing, once again.  I loved how quick and skilled they were on the interior, and they were just as fast and impressive on the exterior.  They began installing the stone on Monday.

By the end of the day today (Wednesday) it was completely done.

Our precast guy has also been hard at work (yay!!) and installed the columns on the exterior.  This is how they looked on Monday...

And this is how they looked today.  This is a shot from the volleyball court.

And another view from the bbq area.  They just need to grout them and they'll be good to go.

And finally, they installed two of the interior columns...

 

Days like this make me think this house will actually be done someday in the not too distant future!

Moody Monday

This morning I was a little grouchy with the kids.  It had very little to do with their behavior, although Monday mornings do seem to be a little slower going than most days.  I was frustrated at a certain subcontractor who can't seem to do his job on time.  I've tried giving him deadlines and explaining the importance of him finishing, since he has 4 subs who can't begin until he's done.  He doesn't seem to care and just keeps doing his own thing, with very little communication with me.  He told me he'd be done with the precast on Friday.  He didn't even BEGIN until Saturday, and not surprisingly, it wasn't done when I drove up this morning.  I scheduled my stone veneer guys to begin this morning.  They're just working around his unfinished mess.  Anyway, the point is I had a lot on my mind, wondering if I had to cancel all the other subs or if they could just figure it out, and I was short with the kids.  Jaren couldn't find his tennis shoes and we were already late.  I made him wear flip flops and prayed it wasn't a P.E. day.  It makes me have so much more respect for mother's who work in very high-stress jobs and also have to be awesome at their mommy-job.  It's mind boggling how exhausting it can all be. 

On a good note, Jerry (who is a DREAM SUB!!) finished our master shower.  Well, other than the quartz shelves he's going to install in the niche.  But it's all grouted and turned out beautiful, as expected.  This guy's work ethic is insane.  He pretty much works 7 days a week and is so dependable and honest.  We need more Jerry's in the construction world. 

 

This and That

I'd been warned that the last part of the building process is the slowest.  You don't see the drastic changes every day like you used to.  Still, things are progressing and it's still exciting. 

They finished our bbq area:

As well as our outdoor fireplace:

They began the installation on the fireplaces.  This one is in the master bedroom:

And this one is in our family room:

And the flooring has also made great progress.  Currently the entire house has flooring except for the master bathroom.  This is the girls tile in their bathrooms.  I love how it turned out!

The precast is supposed to be finished this weekend which will make the exterior begin to look as finished as the interior.  Can't wait!

Pool travertine

Once again the speed in which our exterior crews have been working astounds me. They began the travertine around the pool a few days ago.

And as of yesterday, it was finished!!

Including the brick installed where our sheer waterfalls will be...

They are currently now working on our outdoor fireplace and the bbq area.  I suppose even if the interior isn't ready, I can go over and just enjoy the beauty of the back yard!!

Lighting!

This was one of the things I have been most excited for.  I love all the lighting I picked out and I couldn't wait to see it put up.

 

Entry area, and the dining room in the background:

Eat in kitchen area:

Family room:

Master bath:

 Over island in kitchen:

 

Exterior progress

The exterior is going really fast.  The slide was recently painted and it looks great. 

They began building the barbeque area...

And the fireplace...

All the pavers in the front driveway and in the courtyard are now done...

And you can also see that they began putting the stone veneer on the courtyard wall as well as on the side of the house. 

 

Interior stone is done

I think the stone guys worked all weekend.  When I walked in the house on Monday, all the stone was done and they had completely cleaned up their mess.  They were so good and so fast!  I absolutely love the finished look.  Can't wait to see the pony walls with the precast columns on them.  It will look so amazing.

View from front door...

View from back door looking towards the front...

Another view from the family room...

And the picture nook at the end of the hall.  The brick is the same as in the entry dome...

Nat and his crew are absolutely amazing!!

More outdoor fun

Yesterday they began the structure for the pool slide.  I had no idea how they made them, it's pretty impressive.

By the end of today it looked like this...

And today they began the pavers as well!

They also began the travertine inside, removed the huge chain-link fence around the property to begin more landscaping, started installing all the ac vent covers, began installing electrical outlets and switches, and Jerry's still working on the tile in the casita shower...

 

I'm pretty sure that's it.  Another good day.