Some Final Pictures...

I would be silly to say we are really complete... But, we are complete enough to obtain an appraisal, and that is what we need to obtain permanent financing.  Everything works...heat, water, electric, lights, etc.... So, we can move in... What's the catch...

We are waiting now for all the ducks to get in line, planets to align again, so we can finish the loan and then close.

I think it was the 22nd of Dec when we had close to 30 people working on things all at the same time, things were flying... concrete coming, corbels going up on the soffits, people cleaning, touch up paint, cleanup on electrical stuff, etc. 

The next day, wasn't quite as busy, but all the sudden I looked around and I was the only one left... 

It was weird....

So anyway, I will post a bunch of pictures.  We are getting ready to probably lose our internet for a few days, as it is getting moved first, so I figured I would take the opportunity...

Oh, to say we have not been busy... ha...  Right after we get done, a virus takes out my computer...completely.  We do a quick trip to San Antonio to see the river walk lights at Christmas, Christmas Eve, Christmas, then I am back to work 6 days straight, and wife and the kids take a flight north to see family... 

I have also done some trouble shooting on the Centralite system, which was ignoring 1/3 of the house inputs...  That required some thinking and a part, but it is now fixed...

OK, here we go... What starts with shovels and dirt ends with shovels and dirt.  The concrete crew we hired for the driveway and sidewalks (flat work) was wonderful.  Could not have had a better experience.  I chose this time to buy materials and pay labor, which means more coordination but less expense on my part.  The little excavator died the first second of three pour days.  This is the concrete truck dragging him out.  Thanks to my dad for trouble shooting the diesel fuel system over the cell phone and we eventually got that running again...  When I googled the owners manual for a John Deer ZTS 27 excavator on my iPhone the Hispanic crew looked at me like I was crazy... You already knew.

They did a exposed aggregate look... Pea gravel basically in the concrete and then they wash the surface to expose the rock.  When the concrete truck couldn't reach something, they formed a human chain and pulled the concrete by hand with a metal concrete rake.  Some of it they put in wheelbarrows...  It's hard work.

Mailbox is a massive foundation.  Took almost a yard of concrete for this hole they made, but I guess it'll never go anywhere.

Looking up the driveway.... NO NAILS EVER AGAIN!!!

Re bar on 12 inch centers, 4 1/2 inches of 3500 psi concrete.  Lots of expansion joints, and immaculate prep.  I was really happy with this crew.

Ah, the center island finally relieved of it's burden of debris and exposed and clean for the first time...  Love the red and black...

Better Picture here of that.

Looking back the other way.  Kitchen is pretty massive, but we have every single cabinet pretty much spoken for.

This is probably the same picture, but I'm too lazy to take it out.

We have tested all the cooking equipment.  Warmed up my burrito one day on the cook top griddle, wife made soup on the cook top and microwave, and the kids wanted hot dogs, so we cooked them on the grill outside... 

I probably went a little wild with the concrete on the front, but we ended up bringing the sidewalk up with NO steps anywhere.  Something we will all appreciate.  Kids have already logged several miles on scooters and bikes as they can ride all around without problems.

Corbels... they are like jewelry to this style house.  You got to have them...  They make the house look even more massive and substantial.  There were something like 70 of them.  I could go into business just cutting them on a bandsaw...

Yes, I know there are still stickers on the windows... but they need washed off before we peel off the protective plastic on the glass.

Walking from the street, you have to go onto the driveway, but then you can take this shortcut to the front door.  If you go right here at the "node" you will go to the parking pullout, and then to the garage.  It all flows very nice, and the concrete guys were very helpful laying things out well.

As you walk down and the trees thin, you start seeing the entrance and courtyard.

We could have put the sidewalk closer to the house, but why? 

Standing in that same spot, panning back to the right to get the garage into the camera.

Looking down into the driveway from the "node".  Why are we calling it that?  Long story.  I'll spare you, but I have a friend who just got his PhD with extensive commercial background in landscape architecture.  He was very insightful.

More kitchen...  The pendant light had a broken glass shade, and it's already been replaced from the factory.

Looking the other direction into the family room.  Fireplace with iron doors, and the entertainment center.  The fireplace even has a light inside it which is very cool.  Oh, the night we made hot dogs we ran the fireplace for a while.  It was pretty cold outside, but the fireplace just about cooked us out of there in short order.  It even has a fan inside that recirculates air around the firebox.

These lights are very cool, glass and iron look.

Main hallway, fully lit.  These were our version of Christmas lights this year.

Standing in the dining room looking over into the living room.

Now in the living room, looking straight at the front entrance door and dining room.

Not the best picture, but this is a combo pic of the recessed area for the master bed and a built in at the back corner of the house.

Turning 90 degrees left yields this shot of the bedroom entrance.  Will have a TV over a credenza or dresser between the lights.  Oh, and that's the master bedroom cat-hole low and to the right of the door. 

Just one example of lighting setup.  This is the Master bedroom door entrance.  Still working on  programming things, and learning the software, but all these buttons control various lights and fans, and can also put the room into certain lighting "scenes".  Top left button sets everything up as you walk in so you don't have to make multiple presses.  Bottom left is always the "room off" button for every room, and completely shuts it down.

Waterfurnace geothermal unit is working well.  Note it's 73 degrees with a set point of 66 degrees, for the first few weeks after they actually turned things on, the unit only came on once or twice at these settings.  It's been colder now longer, so the house has cooled off finally to 66 degrees.  I can bring up the temp in a matter of minutes, but the unit hardly ever comes on.  We are elated with the comfort of the house, but it's very hard to explain the feeling. 

Looking into the master foyer from the master bedroom.  Double alder arch top doors with the sand cast bronze hardware from Emtek.  Feels good...

Master bathroom, with the snail shower in the corner.  I haven't put the mirrors up yet because the walls are full of electrical and plumbing, and with the ICF there is no studs to hang things on... So... liquid nail to the rescue.  But I have to still figure out a way to hold the mirrors up there while the liquid nail dries, and they are heavy.  Oh, the makeup mirror... Yes, it's my vanity, but everybody got a makeup mirror.  The girls all wanted one so they could put on makeup.  The boys are just so good looking we gotta look at ourselves a lot  ;-)

The study... Wood floor is in, but I think in this pic they still had a few pieces of quarter round to tend to...  The computer cable is a bastardized version of what will be the interface from the office computer to the lighting and automation control stuff in the attic.  I can hook in here with my laptop now and continue to program buttons in my "spare" time.

Other end of the office.  Picture a 55 inch LED TV with some nice speakers in there.  I can surf the internet and watch tv and movies.  I'll never leave.

this turned out very well.  We haven't started a real fire in the fireplace, but I have some firewood just for that purpose. 

Out back looking at the east side of the rear. 

Looking west now towards the breakfast area tucked under the rear porch.

I think I will seal the exterior columns.  I think it's better to guard against various things...

Exterior porch and the wood ceiling... Fans and lights make it very nice out there at night.  those are actually halogen landscaping spots I modified into fixtures.  They have a ball joint on them and you can rotate them all around... They work great.

My poor man's outdoor kitchen.  Still haven't picked out a granite for this yet, and it will also get a stainless sink and faucet.

Well, that's it.  I'll try to check back later in case anybody posts any comments or questions.  I'm sure the blog entries will slow to a crawl.  I may be busier than ever for a while, but what changes now is the timeline.  I get to pick how fast I want something done, and I can therefore be as picky as I want... 

Hope all is well with you and yours...