WOW...it has been almost a year since I've posted about the house and for that I'm really sorry! Things were going dreadfully slow until a few months ago. Work and the holidays seemed to consume our lives for a second there but we are back, focused and moving at full speed!!! If you follow us on instagram, we have been much more active on there because its easier to capture moments quickly and share with you! If you're not on there, or don't follow us, our handle is @mayskiacres so come see us!
Let's get to the details..where are we now??? Well we are at the point of installing cabinets, flooring, and finishes! AKA the fun stuff! Siding, gutters, soffits and facia will be coming in the spring!
May 2021 - Concrete
In May we were able to get the garage and porch concrete completed. We will have a partial concrete driveway, but we are waiting until the rest of construction is completed.
The garage floor was insulated with R-10 foam board and reinforced with rebar. This will allow us to park our tractor, skid steer and other heavier equipment until we are able to have our larger barn built later.
The concrete turned out great and we plan to epoxy the floors in the garage in the spring. We did experience some cracking on the porch because the block foundation cracked but that is something that can be fixed and doesn't affect the actual house foundation.
July 2021 - Waterline
Digging for the waterline began and was quite the project! Our area has a very high water table and Michigan had gotten a lot of rain last year which created some struggles getting some of the exterior things completed easily. Derrick and Shane dug the trench from the main at the road to the house which was about 500' long. A few storms later and we almost had a lazy river!
May 2021 - Septic Field
I'm unsure why we didn't take many photos of this process, maybe because we were working during the installation of the septic field but thankfully we had a few! Our septic field and system was installed by Louis Vena of Vena's Maintenance Service . Louis was super quick and did an awesome job!
May - September 2021 - Exterior Windows & Doors
Derrick was able to put most of the windows in himself but we got some help for the big bank of windows in the front and the picture window on the back patio. The 12' sliding door went in last so we could avoid as much damage as possible during construction. This door separates the house from the 3 seasons room thats attached to the back of the garage. Its an exterior rated door from Andersen and we love it! Eventually we would like to rip that whole wall out and do a folding glass wall but we will save that for the future!
September & October 2021- Spray Foam Insulation
The underside of the roof, exterior walls and crawlspace all received closed cell insulation. We are beyond happy with the decision even though it was a little costly, but you can immediately feel the difference. Every room is the exact same temperature, there are no drafts, and it holds heat extremely well. The furnace isn't running constantly and it blocks out a lot of the sounds from outside.
What we weren't happy about was the level of professionalism we received from the company that did the foam. We hired Northern Michigan Spray Foam LLC and would never recommend them. Thankfully after the foam was sprayed we waited to start the drywall, I'm glad we did because in some areas the foam begun to shrink and pull away from the wall. We contacted the owner as soon as this happened and he refused to come fix the issue. I can only imagine how many homes are drywalled immediately after and homeowners may never know this is happening!
Unable to hire another company to fix this, we had to rip the faulty sections and replace with batt insulation. Needless to say we haven't had great experiences with contractors...
October 2021 - First Fire!
We lit the first fire in our fire place!!!! At this point our furnace wasn't fully hooked up and the gas line wasn't completed so this was huge for us to be able to have heat! Last year we toughed through the winter with diesel heaters blasting, it kept it bearable but not at all comfortable. Not to mention the terrible fumes!
We chose this Osburn Horizon wood burning fire place for the new house. It has so far exceeded our expectations and is the perfect fit for this wall. Once you get a good hot fire ripping inside, we turn the fan on and blow the heat into the house. It heats the whole house up very quickly and is easy to clean!
October - December - Drywall
Drywall started in October! Super exciting step that really makes a huge difference! Derrick started with the ceilings in all of the bedrooms & closets. He also finished the bathrooms and by that time it was getting to be too much. Sourcing the type of drywall we wanted was becoming difficult so we ended up hiring a company to do it. They were able to hang the whole house in 2 days! The whole drywall process took 2 weeks and I cannot tell you what a relief that was to both of us to have it done! Milan Drywall Inc. did a super great job!
End of December - Now - Paint
As soon as the drywall was wrapped up, the painting commenced! We had gotten a few quotes to have the house painted and it just wasn't worth the money in our opinion. Trying to save money where we can we decided to do it ourselves and we are super happy we did! We finished painting in 2 weeks with the help of some super awesome friends and family! Everyone graciously offered to come help when they could and it went by super quick! It turned out great! The 3 seasons room still has to be done but since that room isn't heated we aren't in a super big hurry to get it done right now when its in the single digits outside!
The whole house is painted Cameo White by BEHR and we have a few feature walls of some dark blues and blacks. Still working on touching up and a few other fun spruces of things but those details will come later!
We are happy that we are getting closer to moving in! Still no specific date set but we are working towards getting occupancy as quickly as possible! Cabinets are being assembled, flooring has been ordered, lighting has been installed and all of the utilities are good to go! The interior should be wrapped up by spring which is perfect timing to get the exterior wrapped up!
So excited to finally share all of these steps with you and future projects! Once again, thank you to all who have jumped in to help and support us! We wouldn't be where we are without you!
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