We being my now husband, Larry Tien and myself with the help of his parents, subcontractors, Larry's uncle and a few neighbors.
Ready to build a house.
Basement set, let's get the subfloor and then walls put over this basement.
In August of 2016 we had a house raising party. On that day we had the hole dug for the basement, the insulated concrete forms set and filled, plumbing roughed in for the basement bathroom and a set of stairs leading out for access both then and now, along with the subfloor for the main floor. We raised the walls of the main floor in less than 4 hours. That required the help of church family/neighbors. A good time was had by everyone, and suddenly the construction project started to take shape.
The next week our contractor that helped with certain aspects we could not do ourselves got the roof trusses set and started to get the steel put on the roof so we would have protection.
Slowly as the weekends went by we started to frame in rooms, got the inside staircase treads put up so we could use those stairs.
By the end of September we had all the doors and windows in their proper spots. We continued to work on getting things closed up before winter, including having the furnace installed. By Christmas of 2016 we had drywall up on most walls, at least one side, and entertained a house full of guests as Larry's family were all back to celebrate Christmas on the farm. Nothing was finished but fun was had.
On March 31, 2017 Larry officially moved into the house as the master bedroom was painted, carpet laid and closet mostly ready. Internet, TV and phone went in that same weekend. Next came the kitchen because we had plans for a wedding dinner in the new house to feed 25 people. Flooring was laid and cabinets were set with finishing touches being put on the night before the wedding and dinner. Again we had a full house.
We continued to work finishing rooms with the living room being the next one and the office following shortly after that. Paint, then flooring then trim work and moving in furniture. By Christmas of 2017 we had the main floor approximately 75% finished, with a lot of trim work still to be done. Again we had a full house of family visiting.
Now 2 years after we raised those walls, we have had family filling the house visiting for Easter and Phillpsburg Rodeo (Kansas' Largest Rodeo) already this year. We are still working on finishing rooms but have moved on to the basement. Bedrooms are painted and flooring put down. We are preparing to finish the family room in the basement this winter.
Still working on trim things in various spots and still have to finish the master bathroom shower stall, but overall, it keeps us busy when I am there on the weekends and now I am back to working medical transcription so have to work around a real job.
We enjoy our house and the wrap around deck is starting to shape up with only one last section to try to finish, hopefully before winter. That leaves only the back deck off the French doors/dining room to do next spring/summer. It is will great hope that by this time in 2019 we can finally say things are finished and we can start to really enjoy the home we have built.
So now you know why I have been gone so long. If you really want to see the whole story as it has unfolded you could say I have been blogging our progress on the facebook private page.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/172821073086042/
Request to be added and you can see what all was done in order over the last 2 years. This is just a highlight reel. :)
