The Build - Raising Modern

Reality

Yes, we are still here! We are all moved into our beautiful new modern home; we’re getting settled, adjusting to our new surroundings and learning so much. All of the planning, research and hard work seemed to have paid off. We are loving the tiny and big details of

doors

Finishing trimless doors with EZY-Jamb

The trimless EZY-Jamb doors have been a hot topic on this blog; in fact, my introduction to EZY-Jamb ranks number two in traffic for the whole blog. Recently, one of my readers asked a series of very good questions about the doors in the comments. I feel like the answers

lighting

Inching closer to move-in

Last week the builder over-optimistically estimated that we would have our certificate of occupancy by the end of the week. That didn’t pan out. There’s a lot of odds and ends to complete at this stage and it just didn’t all come together despite a good start.

countertop

Interior paint, deck work, countertops

As of this past weekend, the interior painting was wrapped up. This is one of the last trades that requires exclusive access to the house, so things are “primed” to really take off. We’re happy with the painter’s work. It seemed like they spent 80% of their time

cabinet hardware

Kitchen cabinet hardware for the modern home on a budget

I think we’ve finally selected the kitchen cabinet hardware. In our old house, we remodeled the kitchen with sleek euro-style cabinets that we absolutely loved. The cabinet pulls we chose then looked like this: Pretty good hardware We liked these, in fact, we still do. They have a nice

paint

More exterior paint pictures

I snapped some better pictures of the outside of the house since it’s been painted and plastic has been removed. That’s all. [![Here's how the house sits now. Bright green paint will pop on the front door.](http://res.cloudinary.com/du6szur8v/image/upload/h_225,w_300/

downspouts

Exterior paint

The outside of the house was painted today! I’m impressed that they could get it all done in one day. You can never be too sure of a color based on a little paint chip; we’re both very happy with it after seeing it done. [![Gray modern house

Products

How to lay tile like a pro

I have raved multiple times recently about the outstanding quality of the tile work going on at the house. All of our tile is large format both on the walls and floors. Even the best tile professional can end up with uneven results – called “toe-stubbers” especially with these big tiles.

The Build

Some photos

I was out at the house today for a while and had a chance to take some more photos. Enjoy. Hello thereWe really like our tall skinny window.Steel & concrete.Inside the courtyard, under where the deck will be.Siding is completeSiding & concrete wall.This piece is not

baseboard

Construction Update January 23rd

We have one month to go before we move in (hopefully) and things are really moving. We’re at a nice point in construction where many things can happen in parallel. Today I stopped by and snapped some pictures as the trim carpenters and tile layer were hard at work.

cabinets

Construction update January 17th

Cabinets, siding, garage doors, heat, and floors all saw activity this week. There have been a few minor setbacks like the gas company holding us up a couple of days, but the builder feels like we will be able to move in next month as planned. Getting the heat on

The Build

We have gas

Frigid temperatures have made work on the house uncomfortable at best and impossible at worst. The gas was supposed to be hooked up last week but was finally done late yesterday. This means tile can be laid. The tile guy was able to complete the small guest shower with the

floor

Concrete floor stained

I got a text from the builder last night telling me not to let anyone track mud into the house this weekend. That can only mean one thing: the floors were stained! We stopped by this morning to check them out. [![The color has a nice simple name: black.](http:

baseboard

Construction Update December 30th

It’s been over a month since my last post. We’ve been busy with a newborn, Thanksgiving, and Christmas so there hasn’t been a lot of time to post. The new baby is doing exceptionally well as are the bigger kids and my wife. Reflecting on the past

ezyjamb

Sheet-rockin and EZY Jamb

The drywall crew has been working all week. Here are some pictures of the progress. This is the stage of construction where everyone tells you things start looking smaller and I confess, that’s true for the most part. Bedrooms, bathrooms and other smaller spaces tend to feel more closed

adm

Rock stocked

I’m enjoying my second week of paternity leave. During this time off I’ve taken on the task of picking up our kindergartener from school. I enjoy that despite having to figure out the workings of “car line” because I get some extra time with him, and it’s

baby

An Epic Week!

This week has been a good one, not just for the house, but for us as a family as well. We started off on Sunday with a major life change, and we’re wrapping up the week with a lot of progress on the house. We have a baby! On

concrete floor

Skim Coat

Over the weekend the downstairs concrete floor was skim coated. When the foundation was originally poured, they had trouble getting it to cure properly and for whatever reason it wasn’t level. There was even some chipping in the garage floor. Due to these issues, the concrete company agreed to

bathtub

Construction Update October 25th

It’s the end of another week and there’s a little progress to report. Hopefully it’s enough to get us moved in before our lease is up in January, but probably not before Christmas. Cleanup, door frames, etc The builder had his carpenter out to take care of

courtyard

Insulation prep

Took the family out to the house Tuesday evening to compare some white paint chips to the white window frames. Earlier in the day when I had my weekly meeting with the builder, the insulation guys were there prepping the house by caulking up seams and filling any gaps with

renting

Time Crunch

Everything always takes longer than planned. Although progress has been made since completing the roof milestone, it hasn’t been enough progress to call the electrical and plumbing done and get an inspection. That was expected to be done this week, but we didn’t quite make it. Couple that

concrete wall

Construction Update September 24th

Lots of changes at the house since the last update, most of them happening this week. The roof and all of the troubles it’s given us is an after-thought now as we move on to other things like electrical, HVAC, doors, structured wiring, and the concrete wall. Today all

roof

Roof update

Great news to report today. The main house is dried-in. Only the garage and some final details to finish. We stopped by tonight and roofers left their ladder behind so I was able to climb up and take a few pictures. [![Roof](http://res.cloudinary.com/du6szur8v/image/upload/h_

delay

The roof saga continues

Work started on the roof Thursday. That’s a huge deal because we’ve had one delay after another on this silly roof. It’s truly a terrible situation to be in at this stage of construction because nothing else can proceed without a roof. Electricians can’t wire and

roof

Ready, set, roof

The stand-still finally ends tomorrow. Our general contractor had to let the roofing sub go and a new one is starting tomorrow. The project has been stalled for the last three weeks or so, see my last update for details. After a miscommunication that cost us a week waiting for