Day 127: More Brick and a House Number

I know I had a hard time choosing a brick that I loved (after not being able to order Kennewick brick), but this brick is really making me happy. I love its unconventional tumbled style where as most of my neighbors have completely rigid, squared off bricks. Mine looks old and has a lot of character. In the sunshine (see last picture), it looks amazing! And that's something we don't run short of here in Texas!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 126: Brickwork is Almost Done!

The house is almost done getting her brickwork. This is sure a messy process! Isn't she looking grand?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 123: Tile, Marble & an A/C. Oh My!

Lots getting done today. My bathroom is tiled, needs grout. My bath also got it's marble--counter, tub surround and shower. The kids' bath got tiled, grouting all done. Their bath also got its tub surround tiled. Last, I noticed the vent covers in the ceilings were all installed and the A/C is outside on its pad.

 

Outside, about one-third of the front facade was bricked. I am convinced there is way too much brick pallets than my house will require. I hope they leave it for me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 122: Brick!

So happy to finally drive up and see this wonderful sight. Brick!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 115: Walls Textured

Yesterday we arrived and saw that the walls had all been textured. This phase is so neat because we're so close to the finish line. We love coming by every day, seeing what's been done, what's been dropped off or what's new. The kids almost always dash off to the back porch first before going upstairs to explore their territory. 

 

They're so proud of their home already. I know this will be something they remember and tell their own kids about one day. Yes, it takes time and patience and strength to handle all of the little details, but building is so worth it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Wall texture

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Guess what's coming next?!  

 

 Morter for the brick! 

 

 

 

 

Sand and brick!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 91: Electrical Roughed In

Went over to check out the house and discovered ice! The water in the tubs was frozen. There was ice on the glass windows and icicles on the tension rods that still stick out of the slab. The girls thought that was cool to see.

We also noticed there were a lot of piles of brick. That will be really neat to see going up. There are outlet boxes in all the rooms and switch boxes where out light switches will be. You can see the breaker box in the one pic below. 

Day 25: Urbana Antique

For the past week all I've thought about, in my free time, has been about the design and décor of my home. What do I want it to look like? How do I want it to function? What do I want my home to say to people who see it or who visit? What does it need to impress me, make me comfortable and make me happy?

 

Cabinets.
Countertops.
Backsplash.
Fixtures.
Carpet.
Tile.
Wood/laminate.
Paint.
Trim.
Brick.
Insulation.

 

Just to name a few. My options packet is about 50 pages! When you daydream about building a house, it's a lot of overzealousness and the best of everything. When you actually do it, it's a bit more intense. By about a thousand. However, it's very exciting, too!

 

Most of the choices were easy to consider, visualize and make a selection on such as the gorgeous granite I treated myself to or the upgrade from pedestal sink to cabinet in the powder room. Other things were not as clear and required some thought (and even gazing at a zillion pictures online and on my phone) like flooring and fixture colors.

 

Then there were big things like brick. When you go into the design studio, they only have 4 rows of brick in these 12×24 frames. I don't know about you, but a house is huge! Visualizing a small swatch of brick on a big house is not easy, for me anyway. On top of that, try to picture what color paint and trim you want, too. Impossible!

 

I drove around and around, took pictures, talked to people, sent Jennifer a gazillion emails, and even dragged my kids and mom out to help. Brick looks different in the sun as opposed to in the shade. What looks red in the shade may look brown in the sun. It kept playing tricks on my mind.

 

I am drawn to neutral colors. I've found three brown bricks that I could settle with. Bricks with names like Mojave and Canyon Springs. Then there is this really interesting variety with a lot of color that I'm drawn to, Fall Creek. It is pretty, however, I'm not a flashy type of person. I just can't pull the trigger on a brick already overly popular in my neighborhood.

 

It took a lot of struggle, thought and frustration but I really didn't decide until yesterday (okay... today). I took one more trip around the neighborhood looking at my favorites. This time I was able to get out and go see it up close and in both, the sun and shade, at the same time. That's when I knew it was the one.

 

 

 

Urbana Antique. This is it!

 

Here's the variations in the coloring from sunlight to shade. Near where the fence meets the house, some sunlight is able to partly lighten the bricks there, leaving part in the shade. You can see how much the coloring changes. This is why I've struggled with picking brick this week. Houses all face different directions, when you see one in the shade and another in the sunlight, they look completely different even though they have the same brick. I urge you, if you're driving around looking at brick, too, to make sure you see the same house and same brick in sun as well as shade because one or the other just might change your mind. You have to live with your brick for a long time and be happy with it, be able to choose new paint colors (when the time comes) and landscape with it as a background.

I couldn't be more relieved and ready to move onto the next phase. Now, tomorrow, I can go to my Final Pick Day and select all of the things I've been visualizing all week. It will be nice to make it all official. That will be a huge relief! And, having this done, Thanksgiving will be much less stressful, much more peaceful.

 

Watch for pics coming tomorrow!

Day 24: By God, I Think She's Got It!

I think I've found the brick I like! I feel like shouting that from the hilltops! I've got the brick!

Here is a pic of a house in another KB  Home neighborhood with the brick Im favoring. The elevation of their home is very similar to how mine will be in that they have the covered porch area in the front with the half-brick pillars and they have some painted area above the garage. Mine will have both of those also.

I like how they paired a darker paint color with it instead of going with a paler color that would do nothing for this brick (like I see so many other people do). The builder doesn't give us many options, unfortunately, however, this paint-brick combination is attractive and tasteful, and just what Im looking for!

Day 23: Narrowing It Down One By One

 

Tonight I finally feel more at peace than yesterday. Today I drove around the neighborhood again and looked back at some of the pictures that Ive taken of houses with brick that I like. Im happy to report that I have narrowed it down. I now know I like four different ones, and am probably going to nix one of those today.

 

This part is so hard for me. I want my house to be attractive. Since Im on the corner, and a two story, the whole side that faces Grand Junction Trail (the street shown above) will be very visible. I want to be proud of my house and have it reflect my style and taste rather than picking a fad color. I know I want dimension. I don't want a brick that looks like it's been rolled on, all one color, boring. I want something with flecks and shades and character. In the future, one day, I'll need to paint my home and I'll have to pick paint based on the brick. Im considering that, too. Also, my kids and I have to look at this every day. I have to live with it and like it. I need to make a smart choice here. I'll post more when I have it more firmed up.

 

The above picture was taken today while my mom, the kids and I snuck into the house to view its progress. This shows my lot from a completely different view. I do have a great lot!

Day 22: Some Bumps in the Road

Welcome to Week #4!

After posting my plot plan, an old high school friend happened to see it and shared with me some helpful knowledge. Since he's an architect, I trust he knows what he's talking about and the next morning I immediately contacted Chance at KB about this. He's going to discuss it with the engineer and we'll go from there.

In the picture above, you can see how my lot begins to slope at the easement line. However, after driving around the neighborhood and looking at the houses over on Crested Butte that have similar slope, Im confident that my drive will be leveled in the same fashion.  See pic below.

 

 

Next, the brick. Kennewick isn't available. I'm not sure why since it's being used in the neighborhood down the road from me. I'm terribly upset about this. I've spent the last 24+ hours hunting for a brick I like. Ive found a couple that I can settle for, yet when I consider how much Im spending on this house, I dont feel like I should settle. I'm not happy. And at this point I'm willing to pay extra to get what I want.

 

I pray to God that something good comes from all of this stress.

 

In the course of my hunt, I did find a rather unusual plant that caught my eye in one of the neighborhoods. It's actually a sumac plant, non-poisonous and the berries are actually edible. Edible sumac red berries are from the Sumac bush whereas Poison Sumac (Toxicodendron vernix) has white berries. NEVER eat them!

 

 

 

Around this time of year, Sumac bushes have whitish berries that turn a deep rusty red. The berry clusters appear like flames from the green bushes, just beautiful! Its what caught my eye! Not only are they edible, sumac berries are medicinal.

 

Here is an excerpt from Mother Earth Living that I found interesting:

 

Sumac leaves and berries are classified as astringent and cooling. Certain Native American and Canadian Indian tribes used sumac to treat bladder, digestive, reproductive, and respiratory ailments; infections; injuries; stomachaches; arrow wounds; and more. The Chippewa Indians of North America made a decoction of sumac flowers to treat gas, indigestion, and other digestive upsets. The Iroquois used sumac as a laxative, diuretic, expectorant, liver aid, and in countless other applications. The powdered bark and dried berries were allegedly combined with tobacco and smoked during peace pipe ceremonies. The inner bark was also used to treat hemorrhoids.

 

Early pioneers used the berries to reduce fevers, and they steeped and strained the berries and thickened the mixture with honey to yield a soothing cough syrup. Some transformed the berries into wine. Others used the root to produce an emetic tea (to induce vomiting), the bark to make dye, and the leaves to relieve symptoms of asthma.

 

Sumac berries contain malic acid, which possess antifungal properties and putative anti-fibromyalgic activity; tannic acid, which is present in tea and wine and is known for its astringent activity; and gallic acid, a white crystalline compound used in dyes, in photography, and in ink and paper manufacture.

 

Fascinating, no?

 

Day 20: Kennewick

Isnt this brick gorgeous?! I first fell in love with this brick when I fell in love with the house over on Waizel Way (in another KB Home neighborhood). I came really close to buying that house, however underwriting made me wait. Luckily for me, too, because now Im building my own and getting to experience all that goes along with it. Im designing my own home from the ground up.

 

After picking out my preliminary selections yesterday and going over budget, I went home and slept on it. I talked to friends and family and thought some more. Then I made a list. I crossed out the things I knew I could add on later with the help of a handyman, or as a DIY type thing, and I then settled upon the flooring. It seemed a bit steep so I checked with Fabulous Jennifer, my designer at the KB Home Studio, and we discussed adding in some laminate flooring in lieu of some of the tile. When she sent me back a new quote, I was over the moon happy. This was the fix I needed to be able to keep all of the other goodies I have planned.

 

Then came the brick. As I said before, I wasn't gaga over the one I chose, even though I love looking at it in the neighborhood. One woman I spoke with while driving around looking at brick told me that her neighbor has it and two others down her street. Yeah, no thanks. I dont want to be a cookie cutter. And, since my house is on the corner, it needs to wow people, right?

 

So, I keep going back to the Waizel Way house. I loved that brick! It isn't one of the "included" options with KB, however Im having Fabulous Jennifer quote me on it. Keep your fingers crossed that the tile-laminate swap will be able to fund the brick. Then we're all set!

 

Here are a few more pictures of Kennewick brick from the house over on Waizel Way: