Steps are in, cables pulled, and even some drywall started

Sara and Michael spent Sunday afternoon / evening at the site to celebrate labor... we actually did some work (moving firewood piles) while there... but had two very nice cookouts, some time out on the boat, and even a brief moment of fishing.

You can see the stairs are in place... these are looking very cool. Painted black steel stringers, thick, wide treads. They will stay open on the riser and there will be a wall facing outward with lighting to light up under the stairs.
All the cable pulled for the data / video network...
An updated view on the lakeside... entire railing is done... waiting on the stainless steel wrapping for the exterior of the center stairwell.
We laughed that when you look from this angle, it seems like we are already settled and moved in...
And the ducks continue to be very friendly... I guess you can make friends with bread crumbs...
A look under the stairs...

Lighting on the lakeside is almost complete...
Another look at the entire lakeside deck...
Some drywall work started... this are is the backboard for our bed (notice the built-in bookcases)
And the master closet is pretty much drywalled.

Railings, lights, and starting fireplaces

Sara made it to the site while Michael was away this week... railings are in on the lake side deck (those spindles are rebar and look very cool).
The stringers for the stairs have arrived... black painted steel, apparently 400 lbs each.

The chimneys for the fireplaces are in... fireplaces should arrive in ~2 weeks.
Lighting under the lake side deck is in (we are doing similar lights inside as well to match our industrial look).
A shot of the future screened in porch... And a view of the corner of the bedroom where the chimney comes through.

Interior ceiling and more

Michael was away this week in Cincinnati... but Sara got to the site to see how things are going... looks like the interior ceiling is coming along nicely (almost done... just waiting on the spots where the fireplaces will go).... And you can see the mounts for the various pendant lights (and the spotlights) in place...
And the trim around the trapezoidal windows is done...
And another small but significant milestone... the address is on the house :-)

First big family event

So we hosted our first big family even on Saturday... a Grier family reunion... the weather was great, although Kevin set up some tents just in case...
The kids enjoyed the water and the boat (lots of tubing today)...
And Kevin / Gwen / Aaron / Justin / Sara / Michael capped the evening off with a small fire in the now finished fire pit...

Insulation and more wiring, railings

So almost all the insulation is in place for the main level...
The data / video network conduit is coming into place...
But we had to go to a second electrial panel...
We had our first keg on Friday evening ...
Railings are on the deck...

Cabinet progress

We received some images of mock-ups of the legs for the kitchen island...


We are using stainless steel bins instead of drawers in most of the island... so this gives an idea of how things will look...

Insulation, hot water, railings, cutting the grass...

Sara made it to the site today and more progress made... starting to prep for ceiling insulation...
And the hot-water heater (a Rinnai unit)... you can even see 1 token sheet of drywall installed.
Railings are on the lakeside deck... rebar will be used for the spindles...
And we had the grass cut as we prepare for the family reunion we are hosting at the site on Saturday... here's hoping for good weather :-)

Built ins and more utilities

More progress today... the built in wall which serves as the backboard and shelves / night tables for our bedroom...We also have firmed / finalized our tile / cabinet / countertop colors (see the actual samples below)...
Sara is trying to determine which side of the bed she will be sleeping on...
And lots of workers on site today...
More of the utilities are coming in now... below is the tankless hot water heater...
and the bench inside the gym is getting framed...
And some of the well is getting installed... just need to see that big hole getting dug outside...
You can also see the built-in TV wall taking shape...

More electrical work

Looks like Friday was mostly an electrical day... Sara and I visited the site on Sunday to drop off the remaining lighting (we spent Saturday shopping at IKEA in Philadelphia for lights and steel baskets for our kitchen (that's what goes on the open shelves instead of drawers). Progress was slow on Friday... mostly electrical and some plumbing were done. You can see below that some of the extensive conduits are starting to make their way to the data closet.
And the wiring is finding it's way to the electrical panel (in fact, someone left a light on over the weekend!).
What you see below is very cool... it is the start of a built in A/V unit... the flat panel goes on the top and the equipment goes on the bottom... and the audio connections from the deck speakers and secondary speakers in the great room all feed through here...
Plumbing for the wet bar in the media room is getting roughed in...
When we were at the site today... it was pouring rain so we did not get out on the water... but we did catch up a couple points on things that are missing, so it was a productive day none the less... on Monday we start the first meeting with the security people and making preparations for the Grier family reunion (which we are hosting on Saturday, Aug 16)...

Kitchen Cabinets (final renderings)

We are doing something a bit unusual in our kitchen (no surprise there I am sure)... we have decided to go with Valley Cabinet (worked with Paul - they have been incredible - fast turnaround on the design and estimate). Pictures of the final design are below. The countertop is actually a very bright green (called Apple Martini) from CaeserStone (the lighting in the rendering does not quite show this) and the toekicks are stainless steel. We are doing a similar piece in the master bath for the vanity and for a base for our dining room table (which is glass 4' x 8' and 3/4" with an etching of the Penn State Nittany Lion in the middle :-) )

Online Shopping for building materials

Just a tip and endorsement to pass along for procuring some of your personally selected building supplies... we wanted and tried to support local / regional business while building our house... but these places just make it almost impossible to do so... for example...

We are putting lots of lighting in the house... > 100 3" recessed lights along... went to Friedman Electric and talked them about what we are doing... they came back with a price of $154 per each recessed light. Went to Lowe's... spoke to the lighting department manager... ended up with exactly the lights we want (3" recessed stainless steel trim) which were $11.98 shelf price... volume discount to $10 each. Total savings is > $14,000. I am not making this up. We also spoke to Friedman about doing LED rope lighting... needed about 75'. Their quote was $1375. Search around... you will find this for less than $150. Other lights we are doing from IKEA... lots of low voltage stuff, and a fraction of the cost of the local stores. Well worth the drive to IKEA...

Another example... we went to Eastern Penn Supply Company for plumbing fixtures. Their prices are easily 25% or more versus what you can find online and have it shipped to you... toilets that EPSCO was quoting $600+ for... we picked up online for $380. And this was after we had agreed with the salesman that we would email our list of requirement.... which we did... but he "never got a chance to respond to"... very, very disappointing.

So doesn't it cost a fortune to ship a toilet across the country? Surprisingly... no... as long as you are not shipping things via 1-day or 2-day shipping. In fact, the places that we are using ship most of their orders for no charge (i.e. free shipping for orders over $99 or $199 etc.). Our experience has been great so far... we've received two sinks, a two piece toilet, toilet bowl, 2 microwaves... all items ordered on Tuesday or Wednesday... and received Thursday or Friday. Great customer service (i.e. lots of emails, fast updates)... the only disappointment has been that in some cases (like Homeclick.com) their real-time inventory tracking does not seem 100% accurate (so an item shows as in-stock in their catalog... but then shows a delay once the item is in your cart). This has only happened once, but it is a watchout. I had another case at needplumbingsupplies.com where the toilet we ordered was supposedly instock... so I ordered it... but then got an email the next day that there was going to be a 5-day delay. I cancelled the order - no questions asked.

The prices fluctuate pretty quickly... i ordered 2 toilet seats at ~$50 a piece... then noticed the next day the price had dropped to $37 each.

The other downside is that these shipment do generate a lot of trash... big shipping boxes stuffed with foam... and some items would be expensive to return (so you need to make sure you know exactly what you want).

Places we are using:
http://www.amazon.com - they have a good selection... I am already an amazon.com Prime member (unlimited 2-day shipping for $79 per year... and we order a lot from amazon so it is worth it)... their prices are not always the lowest... but very good customer service, and again, they carry a nice assortment.

http://vidavici.com - good selection... prices are a mixed bag (some average... some very low)... free shipping on orders over $50

http://www.needplumbingsupplies.com - most items have free shipping... carries lots of great brands... but I have not seen how to check status of my orders directly on their site (i.e. their back office stuff is not well put together). But has good customer service w/ live / online chat... and fast email responses.

http://homeclick.com - this one comes up in a lot of search results... seems to be a pretty good selection... and the site operates well...this is one where I would have expected lowest prices across the board... but instead they seem to have a spread of prices.

Overall - if you know what you want... I strongly recommend using sites like this for the cost savings they offer... at least until the local providers start getting their pricing and service in order. Of course, if you are developing multiple properties, you obviously get more pull with the local guys... but if you are building a single home... the sites I listed above are the place to go...

Kitchen Island ideas

We are finalizing the kitchen island design... we are playing with the idea of only doing islands (since we will have a lot of pantry space)... this give you an idea of what that would look like...

The is the view of the opposite side (this is what you would see walking into the great room) with bar stools for extra seating). This is another idea, but with more doors on it.