Exteriors I Like

I've been on Houzz for a long time and have amassed a horde of pictures.  Here's my favorites.

Traditional Exterior

The shakes!  The deck!  The chimney!

Contemporary Exterior by Invermere Home Builders Quiniscoe Homes Ltd.

Or maybe a dark grey in large planks for a bold statement.

Beach Style Exterior by Washington Architects & Building Designers Barnes Vanze Architects, Inc

A traditional white cottage?

Traditional Exterior by Dallas Home Builders Ellen Grasso & Sons, LLC

How about white with a little more flair!

Farmhouse Exterior by Austin Architects & Building Designers Clayton&Little Architects

Or a little bit of flair and a little bit of traditional?

Craftsman Garage And Shed by Tahoe City Home Builders Bruce Olson Construction, Inc.

This craftsman is divine with marvelous attention to detail.

Transitional Exterior by Los Angeles Photographers Stephanie Wiley Photography

Or maybe modern with a bright accent!

Traditional Exterior by Ann Arbor Architects & Building Designers Angelini and Associates Architects

Nothing says country like the iconic red farmhouse.

We'll be installing cedar for our siding. I've read about too many problems with vinyl and cement fiberboard, and any other material would be beyond our price range. There ARE issues with the new fast growing cedar that are available. I was hoping for a rain screen to mitigate that issue, and here's an article from The Journal of Light Construction from 2006 detailing how to construct a rain screen, but most contractors have never heard of this technique. The siding will just be installed the "normal" way.

I find myself caring less and less about specifics, and more and more about actually moving into the house as time passes!

Waterproof! And Not.

Our basement has been interior french drained!

It really helps to turn the well off before disconnecting it.

More... carefully removing the water tank.

Good thing we're getting a new water heater?

Construction adhesived the command center since we had to chop the base.

It's so gravely!

And shadowy.

Working on the sump pump.

Our foundation has weep holes!  Now it can cry.

Cement poured.

Woot, new pump, with a backup battery pump too, in case.

Looking sharp!

So lovely.  And our furnace will be staying away from the wall for a while.

Unfortunately, other parts of our house are not as waterproofed.

Our fireplace and chimney!

Was leaking, so we had to remove it.

Handy dandy home depot bucket.  Oh how you complete my life.

So wet!

Don't worry guys, we got this.  We're pros.

But we really do need our siding fixed ASAP.

On a brighter note, our house is finally getting slowly jacked up!

Nine home depot buckets!  Be still my heart.

Needed to dig the dirt out and flared to create a deep enough and wide enough footer foundation for the poles!

This is how we keep buildings up in Michigan.

Eventually the beam will be at the line!  Maybe.

Meanwhile, DH and I have been busy too!

We transported pipes to the house in a safe manner.

DH created pipes!  And started hooking them up!

I cleaned the studs of drywall screws and construction adhesive.

We put up blocks to stop air flow!

BONUS PICTURES TIME

Pods!

Red stuff!

DUCKSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!

Cementing the Deal

Post is divided by the people and things involved in making this journey wonderful.  Or something.

What We Did! 

Removed existing wall frames.

Pondered what we're doing with our lives...

Left loose ends hanging.

Disregarded electrical hazards.

Tempted fate.

Sawed through icky stuff.

Because who needs flooring, amrite?

Found a pee bucket.

Found a nest.

Found a bird.

Cleaned out the nest.

Installed a garage door opener.

Installed the second garage door opener!

What the pros did!

Started building cement supports in our basement.  Discovered the concrete floor was not poured thick enough and is cracking.  Called in concrete pros.

Concrete pros say it'll be okay, but water is coming up between the walls and concrete, so they'll be installing an interior french drain for $$$$.  Also, move the well tank out.  This won't end well.

What the deer did!

Roaming around in broad daylight with no cover.

Human talking?  Garage door squealing?  Ain't no thang for these deers.  She came CLOSER.

What Mother Nature Did!

Maybe I'll plant a willow tree.  At least it's warm outside.

Task: Prep the Bathrooms, Install Garage Door Openers, Befriend the Deer, Splash In Puddles, Write Checks

You Know What?  Lots of Hours.  It's been LOTS of hours.  And LOTS of $$$.