Our GC's Assistant

Our son Jack couldn't find a summer job. This poses a problem because he likes to spend money and we like to keep ours, so we hired him for Tom, our general contractor. He has been Tom's assistant on the house. This means he runs errands and does a lot of clean up around the constructions site. He's been pretty responsible about it and is doing a good job. He hasn't complained about getting up earlier than noon on the weekends (He is a teenager after all!) to go with Tony to sweep up, sort wood, etc. Since he was a little boy he liked to build things, use tools, create and construct. For a 16 year old he has some skills! The past two summers he's gone on a week long mission trip to an impoverished area in the Appalachian Mountains with our church and an organization called ASP. He's been working on construction projects to help people fix their homes. I think he likes the work and knows he has made a difference in the lives of families that do not live a life as fortunate as we do. Definitely a noble thing. When we went to check out the framing for the second floor, we walked through the house talking about what will go where. It's always helpful to visualize everything. You know, to get the big picture with your minds eye. As usual I was snapping away with the camera. The top picture is Jack using his minds eye in his bathroom. Guess what he's standing in front of? Sometimes that kid cracks me up!

Green Choice Bank

The planning and construction for this house is all well and good, but you need to be able to pay for it all. The current state of the economy has made it difficult for anyone to get a loan, even for the most responsible of people. When we sold our last house we had to be finger printed even though we were the sellers. Don't even get me started on the fact that no one has yet to be held accountable for this recession...

Anyway, there aren't many banks who give construction loans anymore and that was a concern for us. Tony attend a 'Green' seminar this past winter and learned about Green Choice Bank. To quote their mission statement "Our relationship-driven approach is built on a foundation of core values designed to enhance the environmental, social and financial well-being of our communities and planet." .... "There is a growing need for a better relationship between banks, the public they serve, and their collective impact on the planet." Sounds to good to be true, right? I mean, a bank that actually CARES about the planet well beyond just recycling their used copy paper and actually supports the community it serves? This bank truly believes in the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) process, supports green building and puts their money where there mouth is.

If your looking for a loan for your green project, I highly recommend this bank. For more information, check out their web page: http://www.greenchoicebank.com/

Our First Visitors

We had visitors today! Our friend Eileen Norton came to the new house for a visit. We took her on a tour of the first and second floor framing. She brought with her Carly and Keri, Evan's friends. Ev gave them the grand tour and showed off her bedroom. The neighbor kids, Hannigan, Cameron and Ben came over too. It was like a party in there!

Just catching up...

I've been a little behind on posting photos because I've been busy working on all of the interior stuff. I'm loving it! The hustle and bustle of it all takes a lot of time and organization. It's very exciting. It's all started to become very real this week. The basement floor was poured, the joists were put into place and the first floor framing is in place. Tony and I walked the floor on Friday and we're getting excited about it all coming together.

The first photo is of Evan in front of the foundation. Isn't she cute?

The second photo is the first floor framing complete!

The third photo is the open web trusses lined up every 16" on center. They are closer together to avoid a 'bouncing' floor.

The forth photo is the basement floor being poured. The blue underneath the concrete is a foam barrier that is going to keep the floor warmer underfoot.

Decking

Construction should start moving along a little quicker now. The first floor decking is on. It looks like a dance floor!

And Many More!!!!!

He is a loving father and husband, a loyal friend, an honest man, the calm during a storm, a fun dad, a patient husband, hard working, silently strong, almost devilishly clever, funny with a quirky sense of humor, levelheaded, conservative, a deep thinker and a tall, handsome man. Today he is 50 years old.... Happy Birthday Tony!

A Birds Eye View

We are going to have such nice neighbors! The Racelis family live to the north of us. Jack is friends with their lovely daughter Hanigan. We've gotten to know Chris and Mary through various friends around town and they are a lot of fun. Their two boys, Cameron and Ben, seem like nice kids too. Chris and Ben even came to the pre-demo demo! When we looked at the property last November, we were greeted by Mary who was excited that we were interested and ready to get the house torn down. She didn't run away or yell at us as we have experienced in the past. After building several homes through the years, most neighbors are not to happy with the disruption construction causes. We are so happy and appreciative that our new neighbors are cool with it all! Last week Mary took some pictures from the 2nd floor of her house. A birds eye view. Thanks Mar, keep them coming!