Our House

We have been planning to build a house since we got married, and have been drawing up plans since shortly after that. Last fall we started to get really serious about it. We finalized the plans we had been revising for 5 years during the fall and winter of 2000. In the spring of 2001, we started through all the government red tape for well and septic permits and got a designer working on drawing up our plans. Edith's parents had offered to give land to any of their children who wanted to build on it. The current ordinance where they live in Weber County is minimum 3 acres lots, so they gave us three acres. We had the lot surveyed in May, and the plans were done the first part of June. The well digger had promised to start in June, but it was the middle of July before he started and it took him about 2 weeks to dig the well down to 123 feet. During July we started interviewing and talking to general contractors. We initially wanted to be our own general contractors, and we just wanted to get some bids to see about how much we were looking at, but the more we thought about it, the more we thought we would be better off having a general contractor do it, especially since construction has slowed down a bit around here and the contractors were willing to work for only 5% profit. We moved out of our apartment in Ogden and moved in with Edith's parents on the 1st of August. We had a contractor in mind, but it took us a couple weeks to hash out a contract. We signed a contract with the contractor on August 23rd, and he applied for the building permit that same day. We staked out the lot on August 31st and broke ground on September 5th.

The following pages contain pictures, descriptions, and movies (soon) for each day of construction.

Week 0 Lot staked out. Week 1 Basement excavated. Week 2 Footings set up and poured. Foundation forms set up. Week 3 Foundation poured and waterproofed. Basement plumbing, radon mitigation, gravel laid down. Week 4 Basement slab and garage slab poured. Lumber delivered. Week 5 Walls and floor in basement and main level framed. Week 6 Second story floor and most of walls framed. Garage mostly framed. Windows delivered. Week 7 Driveway and porch cap poured. Second story walls framed. Trusses placed and sheeted. Stairs built. Week 8 Stairs finished. Second story inside walls framed. Gable roof and bay roofs built. More framed on garage. Week 9 Main level inside walls framed. HVAC/Furnace installed. Windows installed. Porch footings poured. Plumbing started. Septic tank/leech fields done. Week 10 Porch columns, beams, and roof built. Rough plumbing finished. Window wells installed. Backfilled. Week 11 Garage finished. Inside drops/arches/blocking done. Fireplace installed. Pressure tank installed. Rough electrical done. Roof mostly dried in. Some exterior doors installed. Week 12 Framing finished. 4-way inspection passed. House cleaned up. Porch repoured. Stucco scaffolding set up. More exterior doors installed. Insulation installed. Week 13 Some stucco underlayment put up. Shingles delivered and some installed. Drywall delivered. Basement windows installed. Week 14 More insulation installed. More roof shingled. More stucco underlayment done. More exterior doors installed. Power line run, sanded, and backfilled. Week 15 Power transformer and line hooked up. Drywall hung. More roof shingled. More stucco underlayment done. Week 16 Gas line run and hooked up. Stucco base coat started inside tarp tent. Drywall taping and mudding started. Week 17 Drywall taping, mudding, and texturing finished in house. Door to garage replaced. Week 18 Some interior doors installed. More stucco base coat done. Permanent power hooked up. Closet organizers started. Garage door installed. Week 19 Closet organizers finished. Stair treads and skirts finished. Stucco base coat and color coat finished. All interior doors hung. Week 20 New baby arrived. Tarps removed. Garage stairs built. Baseboard and door trim finished. Paint prep done. Paint started. Cabinets delivered. Week 21 Prime coat sprayed. Trim and ceilings sprayed. Walls painted. More roof shingled. Sump pump installed. Week 22 Paint cleaned up. Loan locked. Some cabinets installed. Railing started. More rock scratch coat put on. Finish wiring started. Week 23 Railing finished. More cabinets installed. Phone line installed. More roof shingled. More wiring done. Week 24 Roof finished. Soffits started. Tile backer installed. Tile started. Tub/shower tile started. More scratch coat done. More cabinets installed. Week 25 Tile finished. Scratch coat finished. Soffits finished. More tub/shower tile finished. Chimney cut off. Railing stained. Week 26 Tub/shower tile finished. Railing stained. Countertops finished. Vinyl floors layed. Fireplace tile finished. Sinks/toilets installed. Appliances installed. Doors stained. More finish electrical done. Carpet layed. Week 27 Gas appliances hooked up. Heat registers installed. Cabinets finished. Railings finished. Mirrors/Shower doors installed. Finish electrical mostly complete. Final inspection nearly passed. Sinks installed. Wood doors installed. Loan closed. Week 28 Final electrical done. Temporary Occupancy passed. Moved in. After Moving In Garbage cleaned/burned. Garage taped. Driveway made. Sidewalk/porch/walkout poured. Drop box fixed. Trees planted. Paint touched up. Timber stained. Rock started.