You have been on the new home construction journey with us and it’s finally getting to the fun part. It’s actually looking like a house!
Journey is definitely the appropriate word. We began the process at the end of February, so it’s felt like a long time coming. There have been some bumps along the way, but we wouldn’t change it and we know it’s going to be worth it!
Related: Our New Adventure // Update + Q&A // Update – lots of changes
Our house was beginning framing in my last update a month ago. There has been tons of progress since then!
Framing is done. Permanent stairs are in too, so we can easily get upstairs. Everything is taking shape.
Electrical and low voltage are in. Lots of wires and prewires. We wired for a security system, which I’m excited about, although Stella will still be on watch dog duty.
Plumbing rough ins are done. I cannot wait for our big, beautiful shower! I’m daydreaming about getting ready in that bathroom…
Framing inspection passed (praise)! Inspections are of course needed (required), but they can be such a pain depending on the municipality. Passing them on the first go round saves so much time and keeps the process moving forward.
Pre Drywall Meeting with our builder. It was fun to walk our home with our builder, Jay, and confirm everything is in and in the right location. There were some items to fix, but that’s the purpose of this meeting. Much easier to make changes before the drywall goes up.
Insulation in. Our home (and every home built by our Builder) are Energy Star Certified, so insulation is taken seriously. I’m looking forward to the efficiency and a comfortable home.
Items fixed from our walk. A window got reframed to be the right size, some lights were moved, a few data/power boxes were moved higher upstairs. Nothing major.
Siding packaged delivered. The siding sub is on the schedule, so that’ll get up soon! We’re doing a pretty light grey for both the siding and board and batten.
So what’s next?
Insulation inspection and Energy Star inspection are on the schedule. Fingers crossed those pass.
Then DRYWALL AND SIDING! There are certain things that completely transform the house. Of course, drywall and siding are huge ones! A driveway and landscaping also make huge differences, but we have a little while before those 🙂
If you’re going through this process I have a few tips for you…
- Have patience. It’s not a quick process and I’m glad about that. It’s giving us time to transition and it’s giving the builder and subcontractors time to build a great house. There’s so much out of our control and even the builder’s control – inspections, municipalities, weather, subcontractors showing up, etc. Patience and flexibility make this a much more pleasant experience.
- Voice concerns. With that being said, things may go wrong. It’s actually a pretty good chance. There’s so many moving parts and sometimes things slip. It’s okay to voice your concerns to your builder, that’s the only way they can be addressed. Bring up an issue when you first notice it instead of waiting to see what happens. A lot of times it’s already been noticed and is being addressed, but sometimes things accidentally get overlooked.
- Ask questions and understand. Even if you’ve built a house before, you’ll have questions. Every builder, every town, every county does things a bit differently. If there’s something that doesn’t make sense, ask. As with most things, it’s better with communication. A house is the largest investment for most people plus it’s where you and your family will be living – you want to feel confident about it.
- Try to resist visiting/reaching out too often. Said simply, trust. This may seem to go against some previous tips, but really they’re all intertwined. Communicate, but give your builder and the subcontractors space to do the work they need to do. Your builder may have preferences on when/how often you visit or how best to reach out to them. Ours has been very open and welcoming, but we maybe visit once every week or two. I don’t want to drive myself crazy seeing every little step (or lack of progress). We’re keeping an eye on things because, of course, no one cares about or knows our house as well as we do. It’s a balance.
- Begin decluttering and packing. We’re still a few months away, but I know time is going to FLY! I don’t like having a bunch of stuff to do after work days, so a lot of transition prep will happen to my days off. That really limits the days we have left here. I’d rather accomplish little by little over these new few months than be forced to cram everything into a few days. It’s never quite as easy or smooth as we imagine.
It felt slow at the beginning since most things were happening behind the scenes (permitting, inspections, foundation, etc), but now we can see so much visible progress. I’m sure it’s going to fly!
I’m beyond excited to be in our new home, but I want to enjoy what time we have left in our current home. This was our first home together and we’ve experienced a lot of life here. That feels like an entire blog post on it’s own. If you find yourself in the middle of “here” and “there,” I feel you.
