Taking Shape

Finally, the dream is really starting to take shape!  I expect the next few weeks will be a flurry of activity as the second storey comes into view, and the house will take on a whole different look.

 

Here are a few photos from the ground up, the most recent shots taken yesterday:

 

 

Broken Ground

It's happened! We have finally begun construction on our home! We're consumed with finalizing decisions and choices, and once the framework goes up we'll be wishing for more hours in the day/more days in the week!  With Travelin BRITS deploying again, we're trying to stay ahead of the game in making our choices for appliances, cabinetry, counter tops, plumbing fixtures, windows, doors, and flooring. 

It's been an ordeal as our first "dream home" plan helped us realize we needed to re-assess and realistically evaluate how much we wanted to spend.  The exposed wood beams, trusses and columns of the original design, while beautiful and very desireable, sent the cost per square foot through the roof!  If only money wasn't so important in these matters, right?

In the end we decided to absorb the cost of the original plan and opt for a more cost effective plan with fewer exposed wood details. Finding another plan we both agreed on didn't take as long as either of us anticipated, and we are happy with our final decision. So is our builder!

Marvin Tisdale of Tisdale Builders, Inc., has been patient, helpful, and innovative in helping us realize our dream.  A master builder in the Pee Dee region, with an impressive website and portfolio, that you can view here, we feel confident in his interpretation of what we are envisioning. Especially with the use of our antique Moroccan doors incorporated as functional doors throughout the house. Stay tuned for future posts that will feature the doors and other items we've collected in our years of military assignments around the world.

For now, here are some basic photos from the very beginning.

 

staubbing out the 4 corners

 

 





gotta be good with measurements



 house site leveled
 

footings dug and rebar being placed

 

footings dug and rebar being placed

 

pouring of the cement 

 

 

cement into footings

 

 

cement into footings

 

 

delivery of cinder blocks for foundation

 

 

with the use of a backhoe, clay is brought into the house to

make it level before the slab is poured 

 

 

 

spreading clay within the foundation "walls"

 

the backhoe in action