Ty and Ami Jones

Dancing With The (Hardin County) Stars

2010-11-22T08:48:00.003-06:00

Last Saturday night, Ami and I competed in "Dancing With The Hardin Stars," a fundraising event for the Carl Perkins Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse. We practiced for several weeks leading up to the big night, but it was a lot of fun. In the end, the hard work paid off, because we won! Congrats to the Carl Perkins Center for raising a TON of money for a great cause. More pictures to come later, but here is a video.

No, we haven't moved in yet.

2010-01-03T18:35:00.006-06:00

Since Ami is a math teacher, here's an equation for you:

Fired Plumber/Electrician + Christmas Break x Sub-freezing temperatures = Delay

Pictures below tell the rest of the story...

Master Bedroom

Master Bathroom tub and shower

Master Bathroom Cabinetry

Master Bathroom Walk-In Shower

Mudroom lockers

Kitchen (as seen from front door)

Kitchen (as seen from raised bar)

Kitchen (as seen from back door)

Kitchen & Dining Area

Guest Bedroom

Guest Tub & Shower

Guest Bathroom Cabinetry

Guest Bathroom Vanity

Powder Room

Fireplace

Front Steps

Getting Closer Every Day

2009-11-12T08:13:00.006-06:00

Well, we're getting into the home stretch, and it seems like new things are happening every day. The interior finish work is really starting to make it feel like a house. I could go on and on about all of the work that is being done, but wouldn't it just be easier to show you the pictures? Ok, so in the last couple of weeks the following things have happened...

...walls have been primed...

...shutters have been built and stained...

...stumps have been dug up...

...exterior trim has been painted...

...brick has been completed on the garage wall...

...footings have been dug for the retaining wall...

...shutters have been hung...

...cedar posts have been added to the deck...

...shingles have been put on the eyebrows...

...the retaining wall has been laid around the driveway...

...the front door has been stained...

...walls and trim have all been painted...

...steps have been built on the deck...

...posts and handrails have been added to the deck...

...and (look closely) plugs and light switches have been installed.

From this point on, things are going to change on a daily basis, so I will try and post more frequently. Heating and Air should be completed today, brick on the body of the house may be finished today, the deck should be finished today or tomorrow, tile should start going to down today or tomorrow...stay tuned!

Slowly but Surely

2009-10-21T10:14:00.006-05:00

Another couple of weeks pass, and things are still moving right along. Some of them less noticeable than others, mind you, but progress nonetheless. As you can see from the pictures below, bricks continue to wrap around the front of the house, but the area under the porch is being saved for the inevitable rainy days to come. The deck is almost complete, but the drywall mud dries slower when the weather is wet and cold like it has been the last several weeks. However, we're still on track for our projected move-in date. On to the pictures...

Looking much more complete from the front

Hardie-shingles and window are now installed on the dormer

Gable vents are in place

Deck floor is almost complete (by the time you read this, it WILL be)

Deck is supported by 4 1/2 " steel pipe in concrete

One of our carpenters (Daniel) used to be a welder in Alaska, so this project was no problem for him - he did a great job

Taking the first steps out onto the new deck

View from the living room doors

We wanted the garage to have an interior feel, so we used bead board on the walls and ceiling with heavy crown and baseboards - it will look much better when it's painted

Garage walls and trim are almost totally finished

The trail of mud and dust tells you that the drywall finisher was here

Notice the new layer of flooring for areas that will be carpeted

Moving Indoors

2009-10-06T09:34:00.005-05:00

We've had some big changes in the last couple of weeks. It has rained non-stop, but luckily we had plenty of work that needed to be done on the inside of the house. Most significantly, insulation and drywall has now been installed, and WOW does it ever look different. Last week the insulation guys came down from Memphis and finished their work in a day. Instead of just using traditional batt insulation, we decided to go with a high-density spray-in foam between the studs, with Eco-Batt on top of that. Then, our sheet rock guys showed up and started hanging drywall. They actually finished hanging it yesterday, but won't start mudding and taping the joints until today or tomorrow.

As you can see, we cleaned the inside from floor to ceiling before insulation went in

It wouldn't stay this clean for long

Spray-in foam between the studs seals off any airflow

Sprays in as a liquid, then expands and hardens

Putting Eco-Batt on top of the foam

We also put some sound-deadening insulation on some interior walls

Foam around the top of the tray ceiling in the master bedroom

The first day of drywall - dust is everywhere

Finished guest bedroom walls, ceilings and closets

Guest bedroom on the back of the house

Holes cut out for each light fixture

You can't get a much better fit than that

Routing out the opening for a light switch

These guys were as neat as possible - they even organized their scraps

Two Sides To Every Story

2009-09-23T07:46:00.004-05:00

Currently, the house has two sides. The front looks essentially the same as it has for several weeks, other than the fact that windows and doors are installed. The back, however, looks like an entirely different house. We started laying brick on the back, and from the golf course it really looks 100% different. It has rained non-stop here for 2 weeks, so we haven't made as much progress as we could have otherwise, but the guys have still been able to get lots of things done. Such as...

Windows and Ami's front doors installed

French doors leading from the kitchen (left) and living room (right) out onto the deck

Exterior view of the front porch - the lack of brick makes it look like not much has changed

Door leading from the garage into the mudroom

With all the rain, the carpenters have had to move their operations indoors

Pocket door frames have been installed

All of the recessed lights are wired

Guest bath tub/shower - you can also see the pocket door frame to the left

Windows in master bedroom and pocket door leading into the master bath

Garden tub in the master covered for protection...

...and uncovered

Recessed lights under the back porch

John has already bricked half of the wall on the guest wing

Notice how the center section under the roof isn't bricked? John had been saving that for rainy days...

...and as you can tell, we've had plenty of rainy days - I told you it looks like a different house!

Another Brick in the Wall

2009-09-03T15:32:00.007-05:00

Well, we're finally starting to get to some of the fun stuff. Our brick arrived late last week, and bricklaying began early Saturday morning. Below there are several shots of the progress that has been made. Also, now that our carpenters are back on the job, we had our windows and exterior doors delivered. How about some visual evidence?

Our bricklayer, John, posing with the first brick to be laid on the house. The man you are looking at is the entire bricklaying crew. He will mix every ounce of mortar and lay every brick that goes on the house. He also layed the entire block foundation by himself.

The first brick

John taking his time to lay each brick, tap it into place and wipe the mortar

This was about 3 days worth of work. A one man brick crew isn't fast, but the quality is second-to-none

Close-up of the brick - Notice the queen size brick with wide mortar joints that give it a really old look, as well as the carpet-rubbed finsh ( and yes, he really rubs it with an old piece of carpet)

Vertical bricks in front of the crawlspace vents

Standing upstairs looking down into the staircase

This is the area over the main body of the house

Room over the garage - Both of these rooms look MUCH bigger in person

Front doors - Ami was very excited to see these delivered

Windows laying against the living room wall

David working on the cornice

Front view of the house with all of the shingles on - Brick was started on the back of the house

It's All About the Roof

2009-08-21T08:37:00.004-05:00

I know it's been a while since we've posted any updates, but some days the changes aren't very evident, so I waited a little while in order to show a little more dramatic change in the house's appearance. Most of this post has to do with the roof, whether it's decking, shingles, or the new covered deck. For those of you that are interested, you may notice that we didn't use typical decking on the roof. We used a product called Zip Roofing, or Zip Board. Unlike the usual decking, it has a built-in moisture barrier, so there is no need to re-cover the roof in felt paper. The black stripes you see are the seams, which have been covered in a special tape. Once installed, the manufacturer guarantees the roof to be water-tight for 120 days with no shingles. You also don't have the time and expense of applying the felt paper, so it speeds the job up. Shingles go down directly on the Zip Board. We've had a lot of people stop and ask about this product. The carpenters really like it a lot. As for the shingles, they are Owens-Corning architectural, and the color is Driftwood. The part of this post that we're most excited about is the roof over our deck. When we started building, we didn't think we were going to do this, but we decided it would be money well spent. The deck isn't built yet, but the roof is finished and we're really happy with how it's turned out. Having the deck covered turns it into an all-weather outdoor room, and as much as we grill out and entertain, we're really looking forward to it. Enough of my rambling, on to the pictures!

Front of the house with all of the Zip Board in place

The small black squares are where tape was applied over nail holes from the toeboards

Rafters for the roof over the deck

Scaffolding built to hold the roof since there is no deck built yet

Looking out the kitchen door across the (future) deck

View from the backyard

View from the golf course with all of the Zip Board in place and the deck roof complete

Roofer starting in the valleys

Working over the garage

Shingles covering about half of the front of the house

Raise the Roof

2009-08-01T17:32:00.004-05:00

For the past week or so, our carpenters have been trying to get the roof on our house. However, due to several days of heavy rain, they have been delayed. They're not completely done yet, but they are almost ready to put the decking on the roof. Here's what they have done so far...

Flooring upstairs

The first few rafters

Hip on the guest wing of the house

One of the carpenters suggested we put a basketball goal up here

Construction of one of the hips

Dad supervising

We try to drive to Pickwick and check things out every day at lunch

Rafters almost complete

Close-up of the dormer over the front porch

Tray ceiling in the master bedroom

View from the golf course

Plumbing and Electrical (and free labor!)

2009-08-01T17:16:00.003-05:00

Before the roof went up, Ami's dad and one of her sisters came up to visit and help us pre-wire the house for cable, phone, internet and the burglar alarm. It was a huge help, and Ami even got in on the work. Thanks again to Rusty and Lacey for all of their hard work. Everything looks great!

Also, our plumber is almost finshed with his rough-in work. We didn't have to make too many snap decision, becuase we knew where all of the sinks and toilets were going, but we have a long list of decisons that do have to be made soon. Below are some pictures:

Wires running through the ceiling joists

Lacey and her pink toolbelt

Receptacle boxes

Rough-in plumbing for the washer and dryer

Plumbing underneath the house

Ami up on the ladder pulling wires

Rusty mounting a phone/DSL box

Ami singlehandedly installed this phone/DSL box - isn't she handy?

Hard workers after a long weekend

Concrete, OSB & Ceiling Joists

2009-07-08T11:19:00.006-05:00

The end of last week was cut short as the carpenters took a much-deserved break for the 4th. The concrete industry, however, does not pause to celebrate America's independence, so we were able to get our front porch and garage poured on the carpenters' off days. It worked out well, because the two crews would have been in each other's way had they all been there. After the concrete had set, the carpenters were back Monday morning to frame up the garage walls and to cover the exterior of the house with OSB. After that was done, they started prepping for the ceiling joists and already had several in place when I left at 7:30 this morning.

Sequence of photos as the concrete poured into the porch

Raking the wet concrete around as it pours

Using a magnesium beam to smooth it out

Take 2, this time with the garage

The finished product

Maynard and David hanging sheets of OSB as Dad looks down from the master bath

Notice that we now have garage walls

The first few ceiling joists over the guest wing of the house

Huge laminated beam that provides support over both sets of doors leading to the deck

View from above the guest bedroms early this morning

Long ceiling joists that will span from the back of the house to the front of the porch

Coming Out of the Ground

2009-06-30T08:25:00.004-05:00

Ok, now that we are back in real time, everyone can follow the progress as it actually happens. We're at the point where things are moving really fast, and we should be in the dry in a couple of weeks. Over the past few days we finished the sub-floor decking, laid out all of the rooms on the floor and finished the walls. The concrete for the garage and porch should be poured this week, so they will be able to frame around the garage in a couple of days. Also, the ceiling joists will be delivered this morning, so the installation for that should start very soon. Here are a few pictures.

Sub-floor complete

Entryway into the master bedroom

Note the large closet to the left (hers) and the small closet to the right (his)

Looking across the jack-and-jill bath and powder room to the rear guest bedroom

Standing in the garage looking at the guest wing of the house

Left doorway goes from kitchen to deck, right doorway goes from living room to deck

Looking out of the front guest bedroom

Master bedroom and bath without completed walls

From left: Maynard, Daniel and David

Maynard working on a header

View out of the front door

View of the back of the house - notice our golf cart garage under the guest bedroom

Looking forward to waking up to this view every morning

Catching Up - Part IV: Floor System

2009-06-24T18:10:00.006-05:00

Ok, after reading this post you will be up to speed. The last few pictures in this series were taken when I left the job site at 7:30 this morning. Instead of a traditional stick-built floor, we decided to use engineered I-joists. They went up extremely fast, saved us lots of time and labor costs, and gave us the strongest floor you can build.

Laminated beams that support the I-joists

Bundles of I-joists

Maynard (the crew leader, in the cap) and David, 2 of our carpenters

Double laminated beams, 15-ply each

David putting treated lumber around the perimeter of the block wall

View from the road with all of the I-joists in place

Floor decking as it began to go down

View of the golf course

This gives you an idea of the elevation of the back of the house

Maynard gluing down the sub-floor decking

Ami taking a picture of me from underneath the floor

Catching Up - Part III: Foundation

2009-06-24T17:25:00.004-05:00

Once the footings were dug and the concrete was poured, it was time to lay the foundation. Our blocklayer, John, is fairly unique. He's a one-man-show. Mixes his own mortar, carries his own blocks - he does it all. That makes the process a little bit slower, but it also allows for a higher quality product in the end.

Looking at the front of the house

The inset will be the front porch

Another view of the soon-to-be porch

View from the center of the road

Looking at the garage

Guest bedroom on the front of the house

Pea gravel (almost 100 tons) in the garage preparing for concrete

Soon-to-be garage floor

Catching Up - Part II: Digging the Footings

2009-06-23T16:32:00.004-05:00

After the lot was cleared, we had a few more trees cut. Those that were in the way of the house, scraggly little pines, sweet gums that drop prickly little balls all over the yard...you get the picture. Then our carpenters came in, dug the footings for the concrete to be poured, and pulled strings to indicate the level of the foundation walls.

Future guest bedroom

Future wall between garage and front porch

Future entry door beside the garage

Future happy homeowner sitting on her "chair"

Catching Up - Part I: Clearing the Lot

2009-06-12T09:56:00.017-05:00

Since we waited a few weeks to start the blog, we need to get everyone caught up to where we are in the construction process. (Don't worry, you haven't missed much.) Let's start from the beginning, shall we?

At purchase - view from the road

At purchase - view from the golf course

Clearing the first path

Skidsteer with attachment used to clear brush and trees

The mulch that was left after the brush and trees were chewed up

Standing in the middle, looking across the street

You can see how much the skidsteer was able to clear in one swipe

After Day 2 of clearing

Day 2 - Notice the flowering dogwood trees

Day 2 - from the road

Day 2 - from the golf course

All that work got us to the point where we could actually start building. It also gave us a much better view of what it's going to look like when we're done. We have several nice oak trees, a few black gums that should be beautiful in the fall, a huge tulip poplar (Tennessee state tree) and over a dozen dogwoods that should really flush out and flower more now that they aren't smothered by all of that extra growth. The lot is about 7/10 of an acre and sits on the fairway of a par 5, right between the 100 and 150 yard markers. We've found our fair share of golf balls that have meandered our way over the past several years, but the house is not going to sit in a real hot spot for errant shots. There will undoubtedly be a few, but that comes with the territory.

First Post

2009-06-11T16:27:00.000-05:00

At the request of friends and family, we have decided to set up this blog so that those interested can keep up with the progress as we build our new house. We'll try our best to keep it updated as often as possible with plenty of pictures and information. Feel free to comment and tell us what you think, or email us at tyandami@gmail.com.