Success, Failure, & Progress! Oh My!

I'm not sure I ever realized what a roller coaster ride building a house is. There are ups, there are downs, there are twists, there are turns, and there is definitely some holding on for dear life and screaming as well. All you can do is take a deep breath and hope you make it off the ride in one piece. I'm not sure I would be capable of handling a Millennium Force type build so fortunately for us, our house build has been a bit more tame. Like the Iron Dragon for all you Cedar Point fans.

Let's start with SUCCESS, or the ups. Everything should start off on a high.

Success #1. The front windows finally have their jewelry. I fought long and hard to get these decorative crossheads for these windows. They were worth the fight. I love how they give the front of the house a bit more character.

Success #2. The EZ Breeze window systems have been installed and we are really happy with how they turned out. Because these windows can completely close, they make this space more of a 3 season room rather than just a screened porch. I love how easy they are to use.

The right side shows the windows open. You can slide them up as shown here. Slide them down to the bottom of the window, or remove them completely if you want the full screen open. These panels come in 4 different tints, from clear to dark, to filter the sunlight. We chose the tint just above clear. As you can tell, when fully closed, they look almost clear but when open you can see that they are indeed tinted. I wanted to filter the sun a tiny bit but still let in a lot of light. This system is incredibly versatile.

Success #3. The electrical work has been completed. We even have our very first outlet. It comes in handy when you need to operate the saw or charge the drill battery. And if you need to charge your cell phone, we've got you covered.

This might be the most well organized, prettiest electric panel in the history of all of the world. Thanks Jason!

We'll fly right by the FAILURE, just as fast as you fly down that first hill on a roller coaster.

We didn't pass our electrical inspection. This is no reflection on our dear friend Jason, who did exceptional work (did you see that panel??!!). This was our fault. We chose to put the panel in our master bedroom closet. Our builder informed us that we could make the closet more of a cased opening and that might fly, but there were no guarantees. We tried it, it didn't work. As you can see, we also forgot a light in the crawlspace and an outlet in the upstairs hall.

The color orange never means anything good.

Instead of moving the panel and rewiring the house, we decided to rip out the closet. Gasp! I know right? A bedroom without a closet? It's unconventional and if this was our every day house I would never dream of not having a closet in our bedroom. But this is a weekend house and I'm sure not wearing fancy clothes while there that need to be hung in a closet. Plus both closets in the upstairs bedrooms are more than sufficient. Removing the closet was the most efficient and practical option.

The other failure, which is not on us but on the builder, is that the framing inspection did not pass. There are minor issues that need to be addressed, they may have already been for all I know. Either way, these small failures are minor and are on their way to being remedied.

PROGRESS. Let's dwell on the progress. The progress is my favorite part. Because of the kid's soccer, basketball, dance and social schedules, it's been really hard for me to get up to the house as much as I'd like. The only upside to this is that when I do get to go, I always get to see a lot of progress!

My most favorite moment of progress. The porch railings are in which means the front porch is almost complete. I have been dreaming of having a front porch on a house for as long as I can remember. Every time we pull up to this house, I just want to grab a glass of lemonade (with a splash of vodka) and laze the day away. Even if it is winter and as cold as a brass toilet seat on the shady side of an iceberg.

The screened porch is being sided.

Plumbing is almost complete. At the time of this writing, it may have already been completed.

There is water pressure in those lines and the bath is ready to be drawn.

This hunky phone man showed up to install the phone and cable lines.

This is where we were the last time I was up there. That was mid February. Yesterday we received a photo from the neighbor and the builders were working on siding the rest of the screened porch and installing the stairs on the front porch. The plumber was also there. We are at the point where the builder is finishing up the last of their punch list and we will take over. I think Scott and I both are feeling a lot of excitement for that but also a lot of worry. We have been incredibly busy on the weekends, making it difficult to make the hour trek to Vermilion but I know we will figure it out. We can rest when we die, right?