Lake Front

Bonus Room

This is our walk-in attic. Now that we know how big it is, we'll be using part of it for storage, and the other part for a home theater.

Upstairs Bedrooms

Had we known about the bonus space, I would have increased the size of the guest rooms. On the other hand, make people too comfortable and they may never want to leave. ; )

Upstairs Game Room

Room for a pool table and a game table.

Upstairs Game Room

Dining Room

Amazing views of the lake.

Family Room

Lots of windows and doors!

Road Front

November 17, 2012

It was fun to come home after two weeks in La Crosse to see the progress on the house. The whole house is now enclosed with doors and windows, walls and the roof. We got to see the upstairs for the first time. I'm going to post pictures individually so you can tell which rooms you are looking at.

November 10, 2012

We're in La Crosse but got some photos from Earl. The roof trusses were put in place today. Doors and windows go in next week.

November 1, 2012

Good progress on the house today. The lower level framing is up and some of the exterior walls in place. Met with the supplier to pick out kitchen and bath fixtures. So many choices. Glad we have done two major remodels so the choices weren't as overwhelming as they could have been.

October 29, 2012

Back from Florida and I was pleased to see they started building. The floor joists are in place and the subfloor has been laid. They started framing the garage, although it's been too rainy to take any pictures of that. Met with an Amish cabinet maker today and the quote he gave was within our budget and the quality was excellent. Bought our appliances last week. Need to decide on a range hood and the sinks for the bathroom so the cabinet maker can proceed.

October 15, 2012

Got a phone call from our builder on the way back from Wisconsin. Says the foundation went over by $12,800 and I need to write him a check. I wasn't aware he could spend almost $13,000 of my money without asking permission. Not sure where he's going to come up with the difference, but I'm not in the habit of fixing other people's problems. This is getting VERY frustrating.

October 8, 2012

Basement floor is being repoured. I wasn't aware you could pour new concrete over old concrete but when I asked the contractor if this is standard practice, I was informed that what he did to begin with was standard practice and that there is no way we will have water in this crawlspace. Hope he's right.

October 3, 2012

Crawl space floors have been sprayed with rubber to prevent water from leaking in from the outside.

October 2, 2012

Came home from the wedding and saw that the foundation had been poured. Unfortunately, the crawl space floor was supposed to come up over the footings 2". Instead, there is a gap that runs the perimeter between the footings and the crawl space floor. Sure wish things got done right the first time.

September 20, 2012

The helical piers went in today. Quite a process. Next up, the footings.

September 18, 2012

Restaked and ready for the helical piers.

September 15, 2012

It's been a disappointing week. I was so excited to see the surveyors staking out the lot on Wednesday, unil I did some measuring and found the stakes were ten feet off. My builder reassured me the stakes were in the right place, that they purposely offset the stakes by 10 feet. Unfortunately when the excavator finished digging on Thursday, I realized the 10 foot offset was in the wrong direction, so our foundation was staked at 20 feet off. It's not that we have a big lot to begin with. Now that we are all on the same page, the surveyor can restake, the excavator can redig, and we might end up with a foundation this week. I knew there would be issues throughout this process; I'm hoping they get a lot smaller from here.

Front and Back Elevations

Pretty close but missing the slider and balcony upstairs lakeside, and there will probably be a dormer on the roadside to break up the expanse of roof.

August 20, 2012

After 60 years, the green cottage came down today. Took just over 5 hours from start to finish. Countless families have enjoyed the peace and beauty of the lake from this spot. We're hoping that tradition continues once our new house is done.

I feel a bit of nostalgia, but it is overshadowed by the excitement of what lies ahead. This week is filled with permits and soil samples, but we also get siding, trim, and shingle samples on Wednesday. After months of observing other people's homes, I think I know what I want.

I can't even imagine all the decisions that lie ahead. Today I had to decide which way I want the sliding doors to open. I'm not one to second guess myself, but I know on the other end of this there will be things I will wish I had done differently. I'm hoping we can spread many of the decisions out over the next four months so I don't feel overwhelmed by the process.

On a side note, after 16 years of teaching it feels very strange not to be getting my classroom ready for the new school year. By the same token, I'm very glad not to be starting a new job right now. It was hard to sell a house,make a move, plan a wedding, and finish out the school year last spring.

August 7, 2012

Picked up the blue prints today. Everything looks good. This is the first time we have seen all the elevations. Lots of roof on the road front, but lots of windows on the lake front. I'll gladly wash them to take advantage of the views.

July 31, 2012

Signed the contract on our house today! Put the finishing touches on the plans so they can be converted to blue prints. This is really happening. :)