This week our general contractor jumped in and really took control of what was going on at the house. He pulled laborers off other jobs and got everything finished up to pour the basement floor so that they can frame starting on Monday.
This included fixing some previous work. Most importantly of which was pouring a footing, the previous subcontractor had simply missed. Glad it got fixed, but seriously, ugh!
It was also discovered this week that the engineer thought the trusses in the basement ceiling ran the other direction so the contractor would have to get with the engineer again to figure that out.
The moral of today’s story though is that we have a basement floor and a huge order of lumber (it’s seriously EVERYWHERE). Next week, we should start seeing the house really come together- it literally just needs to be assembled. Thank goodness!!
The contractor called me late Friday and wants to have a meeting next week to have a little bit of a project reset, review budgets, timelines, etc. I’m happy that’s going to happen because I feel a little paralyzed in making decisions right now because I don’t know where we are with the money. We’ve tried to put the emphasis on space, not finishes throughout the house, and been smart about the budget, but since we aren’t the ones writing the checks so it’s a bit of a black box right now. It’s all overseen by the lender, so it’s not out of control, it’s just not in our control which causes some anxiety. The lender also called this week and I asked if I could see all the details on the money that went out so far, but I haven’t heard back.
I’m hoping that between the contractor meeting and seeing actual walls next week it will be a turning point. Fingers crossed.
Trixie is getting much more mobile and interested in exploring. If we can survive 4 more months in a trailer with her we will deserve a new house! I cannot wait for her and Darwin to start running up and down the halls. I will threaten them over and over that if they don’t behave we are moving back to the trailer.
A few other things have been happening around the house that I haven’t included in my updates. First, the neighbors across the street listed their house a few weeks ago. It’s been funny to watch people look at it and stare at our disaster across the street. I’m hoping a young family might move in over there as we haven’t had the best experience with the current neighbors. Sorry for living in the front yard in a trailer while you are trying to sell your house!
We also haven’t had a big power problem in a few weeks. Occasionally, the fan will kick on and off, but nothing like before, so that’s good. Other than that the biggest issue with the trailer is that Darwin found a big spider outside the window.
There was a huge rainstorm this week and it was the first time we really got to see how leaky the detached garage is when it pours for more than a short time. Our entire house is stored out there. We knew there were some leaks and everything is tarped and the water didn’t seem to be enough to cause an issue. There is a gap under the garage door that also lets a bunch of water in, but fortunately, we put everything in that area up on blocks and it stayed pretty dry. The rain also caved the dirt pile in on one side and now we can’t get into the chicken coop. Fortunately, Mike had thought it might happen and pulled one of their feeders out last week, but it’s not very convenient and the dirt doesn’t seem to be moving any time soon.
There have also been some house decisions we are working on making. Specifically granite, backsplash, lighting, cabinet knobs, and paint. These are really the only things left to pick and the hardest to coordinate. I’m excited though. We are going to have things like a patio fan and our master bedroom has a walk out to the patio. We will have a master bedroom. I will have a closet. Holy hell, this new house is going to be AMAZING! Mike and I have put so much time and thought into it that it will be fun to see it when it’s real. The tides are turning.