Doors and Trim

Progress continues with the house. The trim guys are now working. All the doors are hung in the main part of the house. There was only one door which we requested that they change. It was for the pantry. They had installed it to open into the pantry and we wanted it opening out so that we could have more room for shelves. These doors are the latest that the builder has decided to install in all his new homes. Previously he installed a six panel door, but he said everyone is doing that and he wanted to be different. The door above is located in the front bedroom entry. You can also see the casing and baseboards being used. They had not yet hung any crown molding.

These doors are to the closets in the second and third bedrooms. We were glad that he decided to install these doors instead of the fold-out doors which are normally installed.

The only big surprise is that he also ordered these same doors for the bonus room. We had asked him about what the doors cost so that we could decide if we wanted to go with a more economical option. The next thing we knew, he had them ordered. We are waiting to see the cost number.

The trim guys has also been working on the framing of the screened porch. According to the builder, the decking will be installed next week. I am assuming that the pilars will be installed at the same time around the back covered porch.

We picked up all the electrical fixtures yesterday from the store. Since we are going to be gone for Jenny's graduation, we did not want to delay anything. We will talk with the builder as to when to bring the fixtures to him.

Closer still

We were in Hattiesburg most of the day on Friday. The finishing guys were ending their work taping and bedding the sheetrock and applying the texturing. We are putting 'orange peel' texturing on the walls and 'skip trowel' on the ceilings. Evidently skip trowel is the going thing in this area. We weren't that concerned over it - just as long as it was NOT the acoustical 'popcorn' ceilings. Tom and I also were working outside. He was pulling unwanted plants out of the area between our yard and our neighbor's yard. I was standing in the deck area tossing bricks out of it so the ground would be uncluttered when they installed the deck above it. After all, whoever has to crawl around under there for whatever reason doesn't want to have bricks sticking in his back! Ken (the builder) came by and was a bit put out with me for working like that. He said, "I have people I pay to come do this!" Needless to say, I quit and let the hired help take over. Ken must have phoned them immediately because not long after Ken left, a truck with a trash trailer behind drove up and began cleaning up the yard. Here is the result. The pile of brick left in the front will be used to make the front steps.

This shot is taken looking toward the front from the eating area. You see the front door off to the left. Straight ahead, looking through the kitchen, is the computer/office area (which is the dining room on the plans).

This shot is the opposite of the one above. You see the eating area in front of you, the door to the hallway and master bedroom to the left and the back door to the screened porch to the right.

This is taken from the front bedroom looking through to the 2nd guest bedroom in the back. You can see the bathroom door opening down the hall on the right.

New Photos

We were back in Hattiesburg on Friday and here are photos of what we found. The house bricking is complete. The front steps will be done once footers have been poured. There are few areas left to be cleaned but it looks so good finished. The brick masons will return to finish it all up once the sheetrockers are finished and the house is ready for the finishing touches.
This is the back view. The area around the back door will be hardiboard (like the front porch area) and will be painted white like the rest of the trim. There will be columns where the wooden poles are now.
This is the garage with the masons finishing up. The brick steps going into the house are so pretty. And they are an extra touch I wasn't expecting. They also will have their final cleaning later.
This is looking out the front door through the living room. The kitchen is off to the right with the computer room visible through the door on the right.

The next step is the cleaning up of the house and lot for the tape and bed guys to get working. The cabinet maker will be doing the final measuring for the cabinets this week, too, we hope. We still don't have an estimate for moving day but we hope to have the builder tell us something soon.

Next Installment

Tom and I went to New Orleans last week to help my brother get some work done on his house and to help him with his printing/embroidery business. I manned the two embroidery machines working on hats and shirts for workers on an offshore rig while Tom worked on the quarter round molding for the living room floor. My brother and his wife are moving to Houston this summer because of a good job opportunity for his wife. His business caters to so many out-of-town clients these days it will not be too difficult for him to change locations and wait to build up a local presence in the Houston area at a later date. It is almost impossible to find workers due to the shortage throughout the Mississippi/Louisiana areas hit by Katrina. So everything takes at least twice as long as it would under normal conditions. We are experiencing the same thing with our house construction. The sheetrockers have been due for almost 2 weeks but the contractor can't get a crew together. The builder is as frustrated as we are.

But we are making plans for moving in anyway. We bought a sofabed and a dining room table and chairs yesterday. They will hold it for us at the warehouse and deliver it in 2-3 days when we give the call. Our plan is to have these delivered and move in as soon as the ink is dry on the contract. Then we'll get the things from storage and mom's house put away and finally get the furniture and all the rest of the stuff delivered from Houston. It will be so good to have all our things together under one roof again; to actually have our own home again. We're already making plans for a 'selamatan' or open house as soon as it is presentable.

Here is what the brick looks like. I'm really pleased with the way it is turning out. Our neighbor down and across the street told me he likes the brick we chose very much. It is always a relief to hear that someone else likes the decisions you make.

The front of the house will look much better once the trim is all painted white. The front door will be stained and not painted.
My uncle, the landscape architect in New Orleans, is drawing up a plan for the yard. He and my aunt spent the night at my parent's house and we all went to Hattiesburg on Saturday so he could see the 'lay of the land' so to speak. We have some drainage challenges to resolve around the back and sides. I'm looking forward to seeing his ideas. I love the work he has done around New Orleans (the NO zoo, the Moon Walk, Washington Artillery Park, etc.) so I'm sure this will be just what is needed, functional and beautiful at the same time.