Dang Girl, That's One Firm Foundation You Have...

It has been a LONG couple of weeks. We are finally on the finishing end of foundation/excavation and let me tell you, it's been quite a process! I never knew how much had to go into this part of building. I was expecting a few bumps and surprises, and we definitely got them, but we are SO glad this part is almost over and we can start framing soon.

One thing we hadn't planned for were steel beams in the house. We had NO idea there were steel beams so we didn't have that worked into our budget. So theres a good $6,000 to add to the budget. We are very grateful for friends who have helped teach us about this process and catch the things we've missed. It would have been a pretty big delay had we not caught this until we were framing.

We also didn't realize how much fill dirt needed to be brought in to fill in the lot. We knew it would be a lot, but when we heard it cost $4,000 in ONE day to have 4 dump trucks continually bringing in dirt, we had a slight (ok, major) panic attack! We quickly had the excavator stop and decided we will finish it on our own. Luckily, they got enough done that we can walk up to the foundation and everything is accessible, so we wont need to finish it for a few months.

The foundation and footings were poured without any issues and it's been fun to see the basement starting to take shape. We also had the plumbing stubbed in so we're ready to pour the basement and garage floors next week. That is a huge step to check off. We are almost to the end of this first process of building which is usually the hardest/most expensive. A few more weeks and we'll be able to let out a huge sigh of relief and hopefully not run into anymore major hidden costs.

For now, we are grateful that the foundation is in and everything has passed inspection.

The wise man always built his house upon the rock, and our rock is looking pretty dang good right now. :)

Foundation forms

Finished foundation + damp proofing (side)

Finished foundation (front)

Finished foundation (walkout basement)

Basement (utility area)

Basement (main living area)

Comments

...And On The 82nd Day They Rested

It's been a LONG road the last few months. We FINALLY finished framing!! By the time all the random odds and ends were tied up it took us 82 days. But boy, did we learn a lot in those 82 days. Patrick continues to amaze me with his talents and how much he knows. Pretty sure he’ll be an expert when we are all finished…not that he’ll ever want to build another house again. :) We are currently working on our 4-way and are hoping to get that passed off next week. We hired out HVAC and some of the plumbing, the rest Patrick is diligently working on every night until he can’t see straight. We had the pleasure of having my dad come out a few weeks ago and he was such a huge help. He helped us get all the tedious framing details finished up and windows installed. I think most of all Patrick enjoyed having the company at the house all the time. I’ve been trying to spend time with the kids so I really haven’t helped much at the house in a few months. We made the big decision to h...

The End is Finally in Sight

What an exciting couple of weeks it’s been! We finally got passed the drywall/mud/texture phase which seemed to last FOREVER. We now have paint on the walls, trim around the windows, and cabinets in the kitchen! It has been so fun to see everything start to come together. We also had our floors on the main level installed and they are absolutely stunning! We’ve been slowly building and bringing in cabinets for the kitchen and even had our fridge/freezer delivered. It actually looks like a house now! This week Pat will start all the tile work in the bathrooms and start finishing up odds and ends. We’re hoping to be in the house in the next 2-3 weeks, just in time to get settled and unpacked before this baby comes. Stay tuned for our next update with a full tour of the finished house! Kitchen cabinets! Kitchen Pantry Mud room Half bath Entry Entry railing Hallway Master bath Master closet Color-changing outdoor lights St. P...

Welcome to House of Hooley!

As we start our journey of building our dream home we wanted to chronicle the good, the bad, and the ugly. We invite you to join us on the ride of our lives as we start the process. Here we will give weekly updates, add pictures, and even ask for opinions on decisions we have to make, as there will be many and we are open to any/all advice and input. So sit back, kick up your feet, and let us do all the hard work. With love, The Hooley's

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