Faucets and Fixtures

We are rushing to get "things" straight before we leave for Christmas. Ben will only be gone a week and myself two but we fight so many little battles, put out fires and make numerous decisions on a daily basis so trying to foresee and forestall and problems that might arise in our absence has made busy days even busier.

Today we had to go to the plumbing supply store to pick out fixtures, faucets, toilets, tubs etc. I didn't realize this would have to happen so soon. These seem like finish options to me. And they are - but - I learned that the plumbing rough-in which will should be happening in the next few weeks is dependant upon the brand of fixtures we are putting in. So while we are not necessarily locked into the exact styles we chose, we are now pretty close to being married to Delta faucets. Ben's mom had mentioned that picking out plumbing fixtures was a tough one for her - having so beautiful many options placed in front of you but having to stay within the budget. I couldn't see how - but she was right! I had no idea HOW MUCH this stuff COSTS. And as it is with every selection we have had to make, if we were millionaires, choices would be a lot easier - the sky would be the limit. But when you see the "Audi/Lexus" of the plumbing industry but you're on a "Ford Focus" budget things are a bit tougher. Always up for a challenge however, we were able to take a little here (kids bathrooms) to give a little here (kitchen faucet) and we enjoyed the process. I had a lot of fun anyway. It's always fun with Ben because he likes to make borderline inappropriate jokes (only inappropriate considering we've never met this person and we're supposed to be adults) and make the salesperson squirm. (Although taking off your pants to test out the showroom toilets for their feel is probably inappropriate in any situation.)(He didn't really do that) The salesgals always end up loving him and by the time they've spent a few hours with us they are taking over my job as joke-laugher-in-chief (heehee). He's also good because he knows what style he likes (which 90% of the time is what appeals to me too) and while I might waffle a bit between two similar he will just pick one and announce "Done." Usually we would narrow it down to two and have her pick whichever was cheaper.

So back to the important stuff - shower enclosures and such. So to make matters more mysterious, this is not like walking into Home Depot and seeing the price and knowing exactly what it's all going to cost you. On display in their showroom here they have a "retail price" sticker on the items - which just blows your mind, then she will briefly mention the "list price" of the item so you can stay within your budget using that figure - which is a little less than the retail - but the actual figures come from the plumbers who are doing the install. Meaning that they get their own discount off of the list price then they mark it up and resell it to us at slightly below list price - maybe. And she wouldn't even give us a copy of the items we had picked out and that list certainly didn't have any figures on it anyhow, but she didn't realize that someone was keeping track.


Although he can't remember not to put dirty dishes in "that" side of the sink or to pick up his shoes so we're not tripping over them, he remembered every price of every item we picked out. We were there for two hours. I couldn't even remember the very last price of the kitchen faucet we liked - I just remember that it was shiny. And gorgeous. So when we hopped in the car (amid a blizzard by the way) he had me record the figures. The good news. We only exceeded our budget by $3,500. The bad news - we blew our budget by $3,500. I guess amid all those Ford Focus' we picked out we couldn't help but throwing a few Audi's in the mix. Namely, the Hansgrohe kitchen faucet that is just lovely. And the free-standing bathtub.

Finish Colors

Chrome is always the cheapest finish of course (for faucets) and we learned today that everything else is about 40% more. Luckily our builder sent us in with a budget for "oil-rubbed bronze" which is supposedly "in" right now, but doesn't neccessarily fit with the overall more-contemporary look we are going for. Plus it doesn't mix and match very well with chrome, plus there is the doorknob and hinge colors to consider... We settled for now on a pewter color in the master bath which seems to be able to go traditional or modern and could complement nickel or chrome fixtures/knobs elsewhere if we go that route.

What are your preferences for knob/hinge/fixture color - and what about knob shape - egg, round, level etc. Leave a comment and/or vote, I'd like to hear your opinions.

Still another rate cut.

The fed cut it's target rate to 0%. That means it is now costing us 3.25% interest on the money we have borrowed for the build so far. Cheap. In 1989 it was 11.5%, in 2000 it was 9.5 and eventually dropped as low as 4.5%. In 2007 it was 9.25% and even a year ago it would have been 8.25%.

The price of beauty

It has been four full weekends now for this husband and wife team trying to complete our wall/fence project. Progress has been steady but the finish line has eluded us yet again this weekend. Hampered by sub-freezing temperatures and the seasons first snow fall we fell about 4 hours of hard labor short of completing the job. We’re anxious to get it done to add security to the lot. Right now we are exposed to a fairly busy road and we get several random strangers poking their heads over on a daily basis to check out what is going on. I don’t mind the curiosity. I often do the same. But I have heard from multiple people since starting the process that construction sites are often targets of theft with frequently available big ticket items (tools, appliances, lumber, etc), minimal security, and a guarantee that nobody is home. On a more positive note, the framers sure are making short work of their duties. Estimated completion of framing is just one week after they started.

Our first garage.

Garage:

Pantry (about a foot shorter (4' x 4')in width and length than I was expecting (5' x5') but it'll do. you know us Mormons like ourselves a big pantry...(so it can double as a nursery)):

Mixed Feelings.

I drove by today and there was a structure on the lot. I wasn't prepared for this to happen so fast. Now we are really at the point of no return. We're building a house.

(I apologize for the ultra-large picture at the header. Not sure why it's bigger than others)

Floor

Did it pass inspection? Nope. Missing something important I'm sure. Quality is not the issue luckily.

Let the Framing Begin

Lining the crawlspace with plastic. How nice for whomever or whatever may someday take up residence there.

Too bad it gets dark here at 4pm. It's a little tough to read a post level by the headlights of passing cars or by the display of your cell phone. We tried.

Finished Product

Many hands make light work. Or many hands make heavy work more fun. Six additional hands to be exact, which made up for one of our wheelbarrows losing a handle. Kind of. Thanks to Gavin, Jess and Jay (and thusly thanks to Sarah, Damaris and Jerilyn for lending us your husbands for a few hours), their shovels and brawn, we completed the wall. Now on to the fence.

Delivery

I think they might be doing something special with this starting next week.

Heavy Machinery

We're sure going to miss these earth movers.

No Power

The framers showed up bright and early to start framing today and there was no power. Yep, that big old temporary power contraption that was set up over a week ago. Just for looks.

Turns out the power company lost our application...but they cashed the check.

To make matters worse, the framers have another job they are working on so they won't be back until Monday.

…by the sweat of your brow

Intent on contributing more to this build than my signature on a check, Lynn and I took it upon ourselves over the extended holiday weekend to tackle a 110’ x 4’ retaining wall on our property. This had been scheduled for the previous weekend when I had the help of multiple friends available, but the work was postponed due to unstable dirt at the wall base. A rented plate tamper helped solve to problem of the soil so all that was left was the manual labor. I’ve been reading up on the various projects I plan on undertaking (perimeter fence, tiling, network and speaker wiring for starters) in my free time so I felt confident in my ability to build a structurally sound wall.

Though we didn’t quite finish in two days, (partly because we didn’t have enough gravel on site and partly because our aching muscles refused to work by the end of day two) I am quite proud of the quality and quantity of work Lynn and I were able to accomplish. Props to our kids who spent the bulk of two days watching videos in the fort Lynn made in the back of our station wagon so our full efforts could be devoted to the wall. Our contractor made a cameo in the afternoon of day two. He lavished us with praises on our work and couldn’t believe that the two of us had done as much and/or as well as we had. Outwardly we both played it cool with a kick in the dirt mumbling, “no big deal.” But inside we were stoked that 1. an experienced eye would be so impressed with our efforts and 2. to hopefully destroy his unverbalized reticence at our insistence to do some of the work ourselves undoubtedly questioning our skillz.

And the sweat of their brows too.

First of all, when I said I wanted boots and gloves for Christmas, this is not exactly what I had in mind...

But anyhow, they proved indispensable in our post-Thanksgiving activities. Nothing like lifting 70lb bricks and shoveling gravel to whittle the waistline after a delicious calorie laden turkey dinner.

As the grand-daughter of a brick-layer* and having "helped" on many a wall in my time (hey, cranking the radio is helping) work such as this is in my blood. Luckily that is the case because I was Ben's only available assistant, so take me or leave me. After hitting the stores at 5am for some Christmas shopping, I picked up our tamper and was on the job site ready to go a few hours later.

The kids were the real troopers in this. On day one they spent 7 hours in the back of a station wagon, which I had stocked with pillows, blankets, snacks, crayons and coloring books, toys and the real life saver - a DVD player and movies. They played, napped, ate and watched movies all day (they also went through every nook and cranny in the car - glove box, change holder, center console). Day two the weather was beautiful and the kids were released from their lair o' fun and ran wild on the building site. Gathering nails, sliding down huge piles of dirt and romping through gravel. I now know why in old movies parents remind their kids to wash behind their ears etc. Those instructions were for back when kids roamed free outdoors.

I also realized who the Sabbath is for - folks who really work. Until now, it's always been a nice day to regroup as a family (of course motherly obligations never cease so it makes it tough for a mother to get respite on any day) but after a Friday and Saturday of hard, back-breaking work, I have never been so excited for a day of rest. It also made us go to bed way earlier than usual. I don't think I have ever been too tired to watch TV, until now. Sad I know.

(Prepping the ground. The machine offered quite a hand/foot massage. The guy on my back is the foreman.)

*Grandpa is in his 80's and has built two retaining walls himself in the last month. Of course that is when he is not substitute teaching... Did I mention that grandpa paid his assistants a lot better than Ben does?

Free- Range Kids

Happier and healthier than the caged-type? Or just dirtier?

Loan Lessons

Lesson number two - Construction Loans take a looonngg time to close on.

Lesson number one is - Trust no one. We started the process in August with one bank (Washington Federal). The story changed -to the tune of us having to come up with an additional $30K as well as the type of loan we wanted (5/1 ARM) not even being an option - even though we were told it was and given the Good Faith Estimate (GFE) to show our payments with that loan type. Even though we really liked the loan officer and thought we could trust her b/c she had just built a house herself and we had already spent 6 weeks dealing with her, we had to go elsewhere. At the time banks were crumbling and we had done our homework to get in with a stable bank with good terms. Unfortunately, the terms quoted have to be accurate to be beneficial. Our first clue should have been that Ben had to do the calcualtions for her on many a meeting. Ben would make a great loan officer by the way.

Meanwhile we had already bought the land (at the maybe unethical/maybe not pressuring of the real estate agent who claimed that there were other interested parties) and were paying 8% interest on it. We had hoped to save ourselves some money by having a single closing but the sellers were not going to wait around for the loan process and now I can see why.

So, eight weeks ago, September 25th to be exact, we started working with a CONSTRUCTION LOAN SPECIALIST (this is important) at Chase bank. So even with good credit and all of our ducks in a row (paperwork) the process takes a long time because unlike a traditional loan, first we have to be approved as buyers, then the builder has to be approved, then an appraisal has to happen (on the land and the plans) (our land came in $20K higher than we paid and the project came in $40K higher than we have budgeted - yay! This is good because they will only lend you 80% of the appraised value, which means we have to bring less to the table initially), then the project has to be approved, then underwriting has to approve it.

If it were not for taking a personal loan and using some of our own funds we would still have a fully-treed, albeit very beautiful, lot. Luckily our builder trusted us (and made us sign something saying we were responisible for any fees incurred if we didn't get the loan money) and we went ahead.

Today, we closed on the loan.

Sewer