I'm Building My Own House.............

[gruntmedik]

It sure is looking good.

[Andrew Colglazier]

I'm long overdue to update the pics in this thread. We have, as usual, been working our butts off. We are down to mostly detail and finish work, which is very slow and actually kinda boring to take pics of, until it is done. But now I've taken a few, so here they are.

My son and I have gotten started putting insulation in the attic. First layer is R13 running between the trusses. When that is all down, we'll put in a layer of R19 running perpendicular to the first layer. This work is no fun, but better now than when it gets hot again.


My wife has been working hard on the kitchen. She put in the backsplash last week over the sink area and the stove area. My pictures to not do it justice!



I've been working on the molding around windows, doors and baseboards. Most of the molding hasn't been finished, so it's still rough looking. The wood is all antique lumber salvaged from the old elevator.






There is quite a bit more molding to be installed. There will be crown molding which will pretty much mirror what we have put down low.

We've also been working to get the bathrooms finished. Made massive progress, but there is much more to do. My wife has done the bulk of the work in these areas.

Here is the backsplash over the sink in the guest bath -


She's done more in there, but I forgot to take pics!

Here is what she has been doing in the master bath (I've been helping...)-





This is how it looks in the toilet area. Like an indoor outhouse!


We put a storm door on the back door. Let's in a lot of nice light, and a nice breeze -


We've also been putting down transition strips between the various rooms and types of flooring.


So, that's most of it, but we are doing other things too of course. We put a hot water heater in the laundry room, and we are getting ready to install cabinets in there too.

We've been putting cedar in my wife's bedroom closet, putting up more lights, completing electrical circuits and putting up more wall socket covers, switch covers, and outdoor lights.

There's just so much!!

Andy

[blazerman]

That bathroom looks amazing and that backsplash in the kitchen is insanely awesome. Awesome job by you annd your wife!

[mete]

The insulation requirements here have gotten to be ridiculous .R19 doesn't even come close !! A foot of aerogel might just barely make it !

[Nathan Ihrke]

Great work, looks amazing. I framed houses for a couple of years and know it takes a lot of work. Those concrete floors are awesome.

[Andrew Colglazier]

The insulation requirements here have gotten to be ridiculous .R19 doesn't even come close !! A foot of aerogel might just barely make it !

We'll have R32 in by the time we are done. Hope that's enough!

Andy

[Andrew Colglazier]

Great work, looks amazing. I framed houses for a couple of years and know it takes a lot of work. Those concrete floors are awesome.

The wall framing was OK. The hardest work of the entire project was installing the roof trusses. I hope I never have to do that again.

Andy

[John G]

That blue tile in the shower looks pretty sharp. Great job overall!

[dallastxco]

I would like to see the accounting behind such a project!
Very well done and very inspirational!

[CarreraJim]

Thanks for sharing this journey. There is much to be proud of here. Great job and it must be rewarding to have the family "hands on" building a home.

[Sulaco]

I just spent an hour and a half reading this entire thread. Awesome. I learned two things. The first is, I can only imagine the sense of accomplishment and satisfaction you'll have once this is behind you. And two, there's no way I could ever do anything like this! Wow!

[The Warrior]

Man oh man, this is really coming together nicely.

[98GPF]

This thread has pretty much convinced me to never attempt building my own home. Yours looks awesome, though.

[Chris Pierce]

Great thread! Very inspiring.
I do have a few questions though.
What's the floor plan look like?
What's your cost been so far?

[blazerman]

Any updates?

[stevewest]

Andrew, as a former contractor, I can really appreciate the amount of work this project has required. Your attention to detail has been over the top. I have not seen one thing you have done that I would do differently. I especially enjoyed your former thread demo'ing the old grain elevator that the salvaged wood came from and then seeing it used in this project. I also enjoyed the fact that you and your wife weren't afraid to tackle anything - reminds me of when a homebuilder actually built a home, not subcontract out everything on the job. Congrats on a job VERY well done.

[gruntmedik]

Any updates?

[wintermute]

Andrew, that is awesome. Just curious, what wood did you use for your "outhouse" bathroom? Tongue & groove or just slats? You've (or I guess I should say your wife has) inspired me to do something similar in the tiny bathroom in the 200-year old section of our house.

[Bhamster]

Great work, it is really refreshing to see your use of reclaimed wood. I know it can be a real challenge. I am using some 100 year old wood from a local meeting hall here in Maritime Canada for molding and stuff and I can just imagine the planer blades you or someone went through to get that wood usable. Maybe it is different in dry texas but that grain elevator would have been long gone and rotted here in the Atlantic coastal community where I live. I hope your grain elevator was not built by a community effort where everyone in the community works on it and does everything just a little bit different enough to make it a pain to remove and reuse. I 'll have a shot of tallisker in honor of the work you have done. Cheers to you.