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I can’t tell you how many folks have told us that once the exterior work on a house build is done, the interior work goes very slowly. Nay, Nay! Our builder, Terry, and his subs are moving so quickly, there’s a real possibility of moving in by October!
OK, before I get to the nuts and bolts of the build, I want to say thank you. Last week I put out a call for help with editing Mr. Groovy’s book, The Groovy Guide to Financial Independence, and I received numerous responses from some awesome folks—including bloggers already contributing material to the book and readers whom we didn’t know prior to this call for help. Y’all give new meaning to the word crowdsourcing, and I thank you all. As Mr. Groovy would say, you gave me a huge CMLT.
Now, on to the build!
The Walls are Going In!
The crew began putting up drywall on Monday. We thought maybe they’d finish the ceilings on the first day, but by the time we reached Groovy Ranch late in the afternoon, the ceilings were completed and the walls of the front bedroom were almost done!
Know What you Want but Remain Flexible
Interior Cabinets
We were certain we wanted all-white kitchen cabinets. White cabinets with stainless steel appliances look very sharp. On Tuesday, however, we met with Jeremy to choose cabinets and counter tops, and he threw a curve ball at us. He asked if we had ever considered going with white uppers and gray lowers. We hadn’t. Mr. Groovy was familiar with this look, but I never came across it in photos—until now.
Jeremy feels that gray lower cabinets would wear better than white and provide a nice contrast. I must admit I really love this idea. And Mr. Groovy does too. We’re going with the above two-toned cabinet look in our kitchen!
Exterior Paint
Mr. Groovy and I always envisioned living in a white farmhouse. The painters are coming next week to paint the exterior of the house and Terry isn’t crazy about our choice. He likes white for the trim but thinks the house would look better painted gray or green. We very much respect Terry’s opinion and understand the power of contrast. But we spent several hours looking at gray and green farmhouses on Houzz, Better Homes and Gardens, and Southern Living, and nothing got us going. Sorry, Terry, we’re sticking with white.
After the conversation, I emailed him and wrote, “Knowing you, you’re still thinking about the posts. We’re fine with 8 inch, but do what you think is right.” Haha! When we met up with him this week, the first words out of his mouth were, “I’m so glad you sent me that email.” He ordered the 10 inch posts. I guess this is one situation where bigger IS better.
It’s a Tie (a Rafter Tie)
Mr. Groovy and I are fans of exposed wood beams, or rafter ties. Given our large cathedral ceilings, we like the idea of creating a little architectural interest with rafter ties running across. Although exposed rafter ties were not in our design, Terry said he could easily add them.
The image below is what we’re going for.
All told, we’ll have six rafter ties gracing our cathedral ceiling. The game plan right now is to stain them the same color as the floors. But we’re open to painting them white.
It may be a bit difficult to detect from this next photo, but if you look closely at the ceiling, you might notice some square pieces of wood between some of the rafters. Terry’s going to use those square pieces for securing the rafter ties.
Other Exterior Updates
The black metal garage roofing material has been ordered. And a meter box was installed.
Isn’t that meter box pretty?
What’s Up Next?
We need to set up a meeting with the gal from our local lighting store to choose our island pendants, ceiling fans, and various exterior and interior lighting fixtures. Soon we’ll be choosing the stain for the floor and the paint for the rooms.
Mr. Groovy likes to end his posts with his infamous catchphrase, “that’s all I got.” But since the construction of Groovy Ranch is going so swiftly, I decided to go a different route.
i love a metal roof. we drove through the adirondacks a couple of weeks ago and almost every house had one.
Wowza! Looking great Mrs. G! I’m loving all your choices. We too have the two-toned cabinets – very light grey on the top and medium grey on the bottom – love them. I hope you’re feeling that this sh*t is fun too!
Thanks, Amy. So we’re in good company then on the two-tone!
Having recently worked for hours and hours cleaning the cabinets at our rental duplex, I have to say that your choice on the gray lower cabinets is a good one. I love the two-toned look too. You guys are really getting that farmhouse effect.
Also, it is really cool the way you are working with Terry and how you gave him the decision on those posts. I believe you are getting a better job with this type of relationship. Really, it reminds me of chapter 1 in the book. HONORABLE! Nice.
Thanks, Susan. We think of our relationship with Terry as team work. If we approached it with doubt, or believed some of the nay-sayers who think builders are out to screw you, the situation would be a lot harder.
we did a sort of unusual paint job on our house. most people love it but we talked to 2 painters who didn’t get the job and they said they would have gone more traditional. they can pound sand unless they’re writing the checks. i love a metal roof. we drove through the adirondacks a couple of weeks ago and almost every house had one. good choice with those gray cabinets. we have an accent wall and clawfoot tub that color gray and it blends with everything.
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Clawfoot tubs are so cool!
We’re doing a metal roof on the porch and the garage. We decided not to go with metal on the rest of the house because of the cost.
They can pound sand — I’ll have to remember that expression!
It is happening indeed! Looks like move-in will be just around the corner. And your choices sound beautiful. Can’t wait to see the photos when it’s finished!
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Thanks, Gary!
Terry’s son Cameron, who builds with him, has a friend who may take some drone footage. That would be very cool. Cameron’s wife is also a professional photographer so I think we’ll have some nice shots from her.
Awesome things are going smoothly. I have never built a home but I can only imagine the stress that goes into it.
The end product will be worth it though so glad you get to make it the way you want it rather than adapt to what someone else has chosen
We were stressed during the design phase and before the build started, when our lawyer went AWOL, etc. Once we chose Terry the process has gone pretty smoothly. He explains everything we want to know and our faith in him continues to grow.
Wow coming together nicely and I love the finishes and paint colors you chose! I hope you get to move in by Oct!
Thanks, Tonya — me too! Then we can direct our attention to furnishings.
Oh no way, the interiors are ALWAYS the fastest part of a build! Homeowners are always shocked at how fast the last bit can go (unless you’re talking crazy high end specialty interiors, which you aren’t). Hope you are picking LED lights 😉
And if you haven’t picked plumbing fixtures yet – I highly, HIGHLY recommend the Niagara stealth. Lowest water use and a very functional toilet.
Nope, no crazy high end interiors. We’d like to go with mostly LED.
We’ll look up the Niagara stealth. Thanks!
Wow, the house is coming together very quickly. It looks great. I like the gray cabinet below. Anything that help wear and tear is great in my book. Our cabinet didn’t age well in 10 years.
Do you think the air quality has anything to do with the aging? Or maybe that’s a reach.
How exciting! It’s going to be a beautiful home when it’s done.
Thank you Lisa. I think it will turn out well. Whenever we visit our home site we leave smiling, so that’s a good sign.
Holy schmoly, it is going fast! You might be in by October, that is crazy soon. Everything looks so good and I really like the contrasted kitchen. Can’t wait to come visit when it is all completed (and you guys have had some time to relax after the build and the book release).
Thanks Mrs. Wow.
Relax? Just this morning I was wondering when I might do that. At least we have a wine get-together Saturday night with a couple we met on the walking path. We’ve made more friends here in 3 months than we did in Charlotte in 10 years. (In person friends, that is.)
Love the design choices and feeling a little jealous. We’re happy where we are, but you’re new place is certainly going to be pretty awesome.
Thanks F40P!
The build has been a long time in the making. When we first relocated in 2006 we bought land outside of Charlotte with the intention of building. For various reasons we didn’t but it remained in the back of our minds.
Been through this process twice and twice experienced the slow down once the interior work started. Terry & Co. are definitely cooking with gas!
Love all your choices too. Great advice to know what you want but remain flexible in the event a better option is presented.
Thanks, Brian. Yes, things are moving briskly and we feel like we’re in good hands.
We’re always interested in knowing what the pros think but we have to live with our decisions for years to come — so we may as well be the ones to make them.
EEEeeeee I’m so excited for y’all!! It’s looking sooooo good. So Halloween party at your place? 😉
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Thanks, BE! I don’t think we’ll have any furniture by then, LOL.
The sh*t is really happening and Terry wants to get paid! 🙂 Amazing progress. Looks like you’ll be all settled in before Thanksgiving! Love the kitchen cabinet choices. Sounds like you’ve been in good hands with all of the people you’ve worked with so far.
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Uhh, yahh. We’ve gotta write Terry another check this week, in fact.
We’ve been extremely fortunate to choose the right builder. No two ways about it.
I like it all, especially the exposed rafters. We just have regular sheetrock ceilings with some texture.
Other relatives have gray cabinets (not two-toned) and they look good too. We were all hesitant at first until we saw them installed.
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Thanks, Josh. We’re excited about the exposed rafters.
I was hesitant about gray too and now I’ve gone the other way. I was sure I wanted all white in my bathroom too. However, the floor and shower tile I chose looks so good with gray that I decided to go with a gray vanity.
Wow, this is a great progress. This sh*t is really happening indeed and at a very good pace. I have to tell, we had the same thoughts on kitchen cabinets, we planned all white and ended up just like you, only our lower cabinets are glossy black. I can tell from experience it hides better any dirt, etc… a good thing when having kids around 🙂
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Glossy black must look pretty cool. Is your counter top a lighter color? Mr. G’s sister had black counter tops and said they showed every smudge or fingerprint.
Glossy black countertops sound very badass but ours are very light brownish (like cappuccino maybe, I am not good with colors :)) with some patterns thus we have no problems with them. It is true that some smudges and fingerprints can be seen on the glossy doors but there are some wood effect gray patterns in it which are doing great hiding them a little bit.
[HCF] recently posted…Staring into the FIRE