dave and christina

This photo was taken for an alumni magazine. I like it because Otis the cat wandered through.

It has been awhile since we last made an update and we realized it was time to have a photo of our sweet new addition! Hanz the puppy! He is such a wonderful dog and has fit seamlessly into our house of two people and two cats. We just added a fenced in area for […]

Well we have actually moved into the house now. We’ve been there one week and love it!! The first night in the new place seemed very surreal. We are in the process of unpacking and settling in and I will post some “moved in” photos sometime soon. It is a wonderful feeling to actually be […]

The main trim guys were onsite first thing this morning (Monday) so we have started the week off well- I think. There is not much that they lack. Mostly building the closet shelves and a few other minor things that should be done in a day or two- if everyone stays onsite, has their needed […]

The actual progress onsite is still not at the pace we would like to see, but there are things that progress some days. I’ll focus on the updates. As the weather has gotten warm we’ve started planting a few bushes but are waiting for sod. No idea where the sod is? Dave surprised me recently […]

Two weeks ago we had a group of students from Rhodes College (my alma mater) come through on a tour learning about alternative building materials which tied into a class they were taking on alternative sources of energy. We were pleased to show them the AAC (what’s left unexposed is only in the mechanical closet […]

I’ve contemplated the tile for so long that I only thought it was right to post a few photos to show how it is coming along.
The upstairs bath floor is “Lagos Azul” limestone in 12×12 tiles. No grout has been installed in either bath yet and the circles are tile spacers to be removed. I […]

Kitchen and bath cabinet installation began this past week.

Downstairs bath vanity. The bath vanities are stained mahogany veneer fibercore and the kitchen cabinets are stained walnut veneer fibercore.
 

Covered terrace ceiling is tongue and groove stained pine. Holes are for lights and fans. The trim guys did such a great job with the ceiling that […]

As I mentioned in my previous post, we looked at many options for wood flooring and chose quarter sawn white oak.
Sources of wood, tree farm practices, FSC, SFI, etc. have been an ongoing source of discussion with my father since our family has a managed tree farm. Typically LEED and all the organizations promoting […]

Our floors downstairs are concrete and upstairs they are wood. We looked at bamboo and several types of wood flooring but chose quarter sawn select white oak. It is 3/4″ thick and installed unfinished over 3/4″ plywood decking. In a few weeks it will be sanded, stained, and sealed. Initially I was leaning towards wood […]

The interior of the house is now sheetrocked and mudded. This happened really fast and now we are trying to finalize our bath tile decisions. This is totally overwhelming because there are so many beautiful choices. Lots of tile questions and I’ll post these soon.
Demand products sells a special anchor for attaching the sheetrock to […]

So the final color is “Pediment” by Sherwin Williams and the final coat looks great! We are so pleased with the work of the stucco guys. The house is now completely stuccoed and the garage is under way.
In the photo the color looks white, but it is really a very light grayish creme […]

The electrical rough in has gone well, but at times seemed time consuming once the cutting into the block took place. If I had things to do over with AAC construction, I might create specific chases for the electrical and plumbing to save having to cut out the block. Furring out the sheetrock could also […]

Notice the precast sill, regrouted with a lighter color. We love the windows and the sills! They are Kolbe & Kolbe which we got from Gates Lumber Company. Good job, Dirk!

Precast coping around the front entry porch.
 
 
 

Sill and window close-up. The windows are wood clad extruded aluminummetal in a bronze factory […]

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In July we decided to test the covered porch and had friends and family over to the site. A few candles, fans, a light bulb or two, and beer and the trial run was a success.

I finally found the tub for the upstairs bath. I thought a rectangular, white cast iron tub (not […]

The roofing began today and it looks like we are going with a light color modified bitumen roof. There was a discussion about EPDM roofing versus a modified. I am really not sure which is better. Our ultimate goal is to have a green roofing system (laid in with trays of sedums, not grass to […]

Trim joists

Looking up at joists connected to ledger that is bolted to AAC wall. The trim joists are between the first and second floor.

Dining room as seen from second floor.

The Garage. The garage has an ongoing role in our story. The construction of the garage began this week and it is being built of […]

Terrace arches

Front Entry

Window sill detail showing the AAC block below with a precast sill. We are using a wood clad casement style window from Kolbe. Our objective at the windows and doors is to be able to install them without using a wood frame. So far this is the direction we are heading. When the […]