![\"image\"](\"https:\/\/magnahomeblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/image1.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"IMG_2083\"](\"https:\/\/magnahomeblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/IMG_2083.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nOverall, things are\u00a0looking really good.\u00a0 The windows give us a better sense of how this is going to turn out, and since you are all aware of how fixated I have been on the windows, I will tell you that I have more than made up for not feeling involved in window selection.\u00a0 The sliders you see in the front are 6\u2019 tall sliders (more recent photo on top).\u00a0 We are changing that and putting 8\u2019 sliders in there instead.\u00a0 The ones you see here are coming out!\u00a0 This change came because for a time during framing, the entire front side (where you see the sliders and upper windows) of the house was completely open.\u00a0 It was just one big hole with an unobstructed view (see the photo on the bottom).\u00a0 So when they put in the sliders, divider between, and upper window,\u00a0and we stood inside, the divider seemed to cut off the view.\u00a0 It\u2019s a funny thing because the view is awesome no matter what, but why not maximize?\u00a0 Haha\u2026\u00a0\u00a0 It turns out the 8\u2019 sliders are not much more expensive and the builder has another job he can use the 6\u2019 slider, so we don\u2019t lose anything.\u00a0 Very cool.\u00a0 So we are trading these 6\u2019 sliders in for 8\u2019 ones and it is going to be spectacular.\u00a0 Now, what we are going to do about window coverings is another story.\u00a0 Ugh.<\/p>\n
We are also going to add side lights to that lower window you see on the right that you can see a bit from the photo below.\u00a0 It is now centered with the window above and then it will have two crank open side windows for additional light in the lower level.\u00a0 Window in kitchen is going to be a casement crank window as well, and we are adding two windows to the living room wall to the north to add some light from that side.\u00a0 I think with all that in place I will stop obsessing about windows now.\u00a0 Whew, wasn\u2019t sure I could get over that one, but I feel much better now.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been interesting for us because it has been a much more fluid and flexible process than we expected.\u00a0 Once we got those drawings done, we felt pretty locked in.\u00a0 It was nerve racking doing the design on paper as it seems so set in stone. Turns out it really isn\u2019t.\u00a0 For a few weeks in August, we were over there quite a bit making decisions as to how things should look.\u00a0 There have been a couple walls that they did not even frame because the builder and designer wanted to have a discussion with us as to how things looked and felt.\u00a0 This was especially true for the living and dining area.\u00a0 We have a pretty open\/great room area with our kitchen\/living\/dining combined.\u00a0 The problem is that since that area is the main section of the house that falls into the footprint of the old house (think outline of the foundation), it is not quite as spacious as we hoped.\u00a0 We knew from the drawings that it was not a large space, but seeing in person it felt even smaller.\u00a0 We had one area designated for living and the other for dining.\u00a0 We wanted the dining to be right in front of those sliders for that indoor outdoor dining feel, but that meant the living room was getting a bit mushed into a corner.\u00a0 Then it hit me (yes, I also moonlight as a designer) to flip the living and dining.\u00a0 This has changed the face of everything.\u00a0 It has opened up the room a lot and given us a lot more options.\u00a0 It meant moving the fireplace and feature wall, but turned out to be even better as you will actually see it when you walk into the room.\u00a0 Hard to really explain in this blog and unless you\u2019re looking at the plans everyday like we are, it may be lost in explanation, but trust me, it was a big deal.\u00a0 The designer was very impressed and went to work on updating the plans to reflect this.\u00a0 It also eliminated the need to move a wall in the old dining room so we were still in the good graces of the framing guys.\u00a0 This photo is of the living and dining room combo.\u00a0 You can see at the far end the fireplace which will be floor to ceiling tile and built in cabinetry on the sides.\u00a0 That’s where the dining room was going to be, but we moved it to the other side.\u00a0 To the right you can see the drop down from the high ceiling and that’s the kitchen to the right.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Also been juggling some things around to gain space in our back patio.\u00a0 In short, we are limited on the square footage allowed on the back patio because only a certain percentage of our lot coverage can be impervious.\u00a0 It\u2019s complex, but think of it this way as an example\u2026\u00a0 If we pour a solid concrete driveway we can get a 9\u2019x 10\u2019 patio off the side\/back of the house.\u00a0 If we put a strip of grass up the center of that concrete driveway, we can do a 12\u2019 x 12\u2019 patio.\u00a0 Since you are adding pervious material to that driveway, you can do a partial impervious material on the patio (pavers).\u00a0 Pretty interesting, but the one thing we adore about our current home is our large back patio, and because of the amount of impervious coverage we have on our lot (because most of it is house), we weren\u2019t going to get much of a patio off the back.\u00a0 So we had to make a few adjustments like adding a paver pad and some grass here and there to gain more patio.\u00a0 I think we have achieved that and we are going to have a fabulous back yard\/patio area.\u00a0 Bill’s standing on it in the photo\u00a0below, and still have views!<\/p>\n After a couple adjustments to our master closet size and main level bathroom to make them both larger, we were ready for electrical and plumbing.\u00a0 This is when things started to slow down.\u00a0 Electrical, plumbing and AV wiring just takes a lot of time and so weeks have gone by and it seems like nothing is happening, but I know they are working away on these things.\u00a0 But even having said that, there has actually been a legitimate slowdown in the pace of work.\u00a0 It is high season for construction, and sometimes the electrician or the plumber only has one guy on our job.\u00a0 Our builder is having a major challenge getting full crews to work on our project.\u00a0 Even crews he has worked with for years are just too booked up to come work on our house.\u00a0 He also was getting close to scheduling his drywall crew, but when he reached out to them, they were too booked up and could not come when he was planning.\u00a0 That is a major part of the process and could really mess up our timing if we can\u2019t get that scheduled.\u00a0 Happily after a couple week delay he found a different crew and got them on the calendar and things are moving forward.\u00a0 Whew!<\/p>\n So it\u2019s been a bit \u201chum-drum\u201d just looking at a bunch of wires coming out, and plumbing getting in place.\u00a0 Still amazing how many decisions need to get made.\u00a0 \u201cSo, where are you going to put your desk in this room?\u201d\u00a0 \u201cWhere do you need your outlets?\u201d.\u00a0 I have no idea.\u00a0 We just used our best judgement and are hoping for the best.\u00a0 Can lights are going in, AV guys were over mapping out the speaker locations and lots of speaker wire getting run\u2026<\/p>\n It was so \u201chum-drum\u201d that we hadn\u2019t been over there in about a week, but decided to go over Sunday to see if we were getting close to dry wall.\u00a0 We saw that not only to they have the dry wall crew scheduled, but the sheet rock is in the house and the insulation is in place.\u00a0 I think they have to have all of that inspected before the dry wall crew can start, but once we get by that, the house will really start to take shape.\u00a0 But even just with the insulation in place the house looks and feels very different.\u00a0 Here are a few photos.<\/p>\n We also made a big decision and one that my mom will be very happy with and that is to get rid of the stairs out front.\u00a0 It was mainly a cost issue that was making it easier to keep them, but now we have a bit more flexibility financially and they decided it wasn\u2019t going to be such a big job, so stairs are now gone\u2026<\/p>\n Before:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n After:<\/p>\n So the last bit is about the sale of our current place.\u00a0 Many of you saw on FB that we sold our house and are going to be renting back to the new owner until our house is done.\u00a0 Can\u2019t believe how amazing it is that it happened this way.\u00a0 We closed on August 31, and dropped one mortgage and a home equity loan.\u00a0 What a good feeling that it!\u00a0 Didn\u2019t have to put it on the market, didn\u2019t have to \u201cde-clutter\u201d, clean, paint, make changes, tidy up, deal with showings, deal with agents, go back and forth on a million issues.\u00a0 Just found a buyer and sold it.\u00a0 Saved us a lot of hassle and money.\u00a0 We just couldn\u2019t be happier and feel more fortunate.\u00a0 We have a rental agreement with the owner until the end of November, and the builder is still shooting for us moving over Thanksgiving weekend.\u00a0 That is the goal and looking good so far.\u00a0 That will be here before we know it.\u00a0 Maybe I should start packing\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Here’s the latest photo of the outside of the house (top)so you can get a sense of progress. It probably doesn’t appear from this photo that much more has happened further to the framing, but the framing was completed and the roof put on. They built the entire addition as well which is basically our […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-311","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-1714-1st-street"],"yoast_head":"\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n