Memoirs of Building Our Home- Part 6

We started building our home in the Spring of 2007 and moved in the end of January 2008.  My husband works in the construction industry so he managed the build and we did quite a bit of the work ourselves.  Lots of sweat, time and energy went into our home and for me, even after seven years, there's not much I'd change.

Have you ever built a home?  Any regrets or things you'd do differently?  Would you ever do it again?  I'd love to take you through our experience and give you a look at our finished product, definately a lot of work but so worth it!

Here are some links to get you caught up if you'd like:

Part 1- the basement is poured and the beams are in, time for framing to begin.

Part 2- framing is nearly done

Part 3- Windows and doors and a few small concrete projects

Part 4- Lots and lots of wiring and plumbing.  The guts of the project, and the drywall is up and painted.

Part 5- Three main projects with lots of "behind the scenes" work getting completed; the fireplace, the staircase and I started tiling in the master bathroom.

For me, the tile work has just begun.  Kitchen cabinetry is going in and the hardwood floors are being installed.  Electrical is pretty well done, plumbing is a work in progress, the carpenter is working hard right now and things are really starting to come together.

Once I got the floor done in the master bathroom they were able to get the cabinetry installed.  Next, the walls are getting tile.

I also got the flooring in the boys upstairs bathroom done so work could continue up there as well.

Kitchen cabinets are in, we've gotten the floors down and its almost time to work on the counter tops, the island tops will be poured in place while the rest of the tops we'll work on in the basement.  We spent nights and weekends working on getting the floor down.  Seemed like that took us forever.  We weren't sure we even liked it when all was said and done, the scraping makes it look a little odd without any furniture or rugs down.  Once we got moved in it grew on us though.

Back to tiling:

This is the laundry room and mud room tile.  I chose a dark tile and used dark grout.  It's a mess in the picture but it really hides the dirt and grime surprisingly well (it's a mud-room and that's a fair description).

The shower area.  All the blue tape is holding the accessories to the wall while they set up.  I didn't want a plastic shower unit in here so I opted to use lots of little shelves.  Works out pretty good.

If you've never tiled before, fair warning, work in small sections when it comes time to grout.  I got a little slap happy during this process and grouted way too far ahead.  Jason had to spend hours scrubbing to help me remove it.  Not a happy night!

I am continuing the tile around to the vanity area across from this wall and a little bit around the bathtub as well.  Lots to do still.  The boys are also getting a tiled tub surround.

Concrete countertops are getting prepped in the basement and a unique vanity base for the half bath is underway.  Here's a peek at it.  If you'd like more information you can find it here: Fun with concrete- How We made a Unique Vanity Base for Our Bathroom.

The basement digging began on 3/29/2007, the kitchen and some of the tile work pictures were taken on 11/21 while the last two of the master bathroom walls were taken on 12/11.  So, between the end of October (when the photos from Part 5 were taken) and December 11th I've been tiling like a mad-woman, we've gotten the wood floors down and have worked on countertops in the basement. Still quite a bit to do but it's coming along nicely.  Have you taken on a remodel or built a home?

I'd love to hear about your experience.  Would you ever do it again?

Next time, kitchen countertops are going in and some finishing touches are coming together.  Only about a month in a half and we'll be moving in, exciting times!