Cement The Deal

Work on the inside of the house is still progressing, but slowly. On a positive note, most of the light fixtures and all of the fans have been installed. The AC/Heating is in and about half of the plumbing is ready to go. We are anxious to get all the electrical completed so we can turn on the heat and warm up the contractors.

More progress has been made on the outside. Somehow in the middle of two weeks of cold rainy weather they were able to pour the driveway. It is good that our cars have excellent brakes. We also had a delivery of "river dirt". I felt like Scarlet O'hara standing by the mound with a fistful of dirt in my hand, inspecting for nutgrass and other unsavory materials. It passed my rudimentary inspection and I expect we'll see more truck loads next week. Many more yards are needed to level out the drain fields. Erosion is our enemy. The plan is to seed it with Cereal Rye to hold it in place until the Spring when I can start my experiment with native grasses. See pictures below.

The Big Dig

We've had some serious excavation at Wild Turkey this week. To the right and behind our house is a hole over 6 feet deep and about the size of a 6-person hot tub - all in preparation for our aerobic water treatment system (commonly misnamed and referred to as a septic system). Without this invention we'd never be able to build a home on this rough and rocky land.

It seems fitting in this post that I also show you the rooms that are directly affected by our new digs. As you scroll down you'll see our tile choices. Charles gave me a short "wish-list" for the tile selection: Glossy surface, natural material, and in budget. With the help of Kelle, our decorator, we were able to find something classic yet contemporary that both of us love.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Deck the Halls

The deck builders finally reappeared on the scene and finished building and staining the decks. The inside is painted, walls and trim alike. I've discovered that building is not about "doing it right the first time" but "get it done and touch-up later". The maple cabinets are stained but still door-less. It's amazing that the stained cabinets escaped the spray painting, a tribute to some well placed plastic.

Even though I don't have much progress to show, Charles and I completed our assignments -- selecting lighting and pumbing. Its tough making all those decisions, its even tougher staying within budget.

We spent an enjoyable Saturday morning with Fran and Bill thinning out cedars from our backyard ravine. Thanks to Bill's chain saw, we are hoping to strategically place the straighter cedar trunks on our septic field to prevent erosion, more about that whole project later.

Tiling starts this week. The count down to Christmas begins.

Inching Forward

Now that we are working mostly on the interior, progress is slow going. Doors, interior trim, and shelving have been added since I last wrote. Most of the cabinet boxes have been installed but we are waiting on the over the counter microwave to arrive for final measurements in the kitchen.

The outdoor decks were almost complete when the rains came. We haven't seen any forward momentum in that area since the weather started to get interesting.

During this hiatus from progress we did pick out all the paint, cabinet stain, flooring, and bathroom and kitchen counters. The interior colors are shades of white and gray, contrasting with honey-colored bamboo flooring and warm hued cabinets.

I added a few pictures, but much is left to your imagination.

Color My World

We have real rooms now. Over the last two weeks the drywall was hung, taped and bedded, and on Friday Jose applied the texture. Now more decisions await us.

Even though my nightstand is littered with design magazines and we have a good idea of what we want, thumbing through the color wheel and seeing 20 different shades of white is intimidating. On Monday we are consulting with a designer to help with color selections. Maple cabinets, flooring, walls, and counter tops - all long lasting decisions.

We do know what the color "Sheetrock White" looks like, see below.

Nothing but Blue Skies

The only good thing I can say about Austin's record breaking drought and heat wave is that there has not been a single rain delay during our house construction. In the last three weeks the painters were busy and completed the exterior paint and front porch stain. We are happy with the color choices, the soft grays complement the parched landscape (and someday will go well with a little green). The roof is progressing, it should be finished any day now -- and then let the rains come.

As far as the inside, the dogs are still walking through walls but the veins of the house are all in: plumbing, heating/cooling, electrical. The sheetrock is sitting in neat piles throughout the house, we expect it and the insulation to go up this week.

We had a visitor this week so you'll see our guest room occuppied in the pictures below.

Arch de Triumph

Much of the Hardiplank is in place and the curvature of the porch is well defined. Once the front and back porches are completed, painting can begin. We chose a light gray color (Useful Gray) and a darker gray with slight blue undertones (Attitude Gray) for the roof trim and garage door. These colors seem to compliment the silver color of our standing seam Galvalume roof. It was a little hard to imagine; we used a 6 by 14 inch scrap of roof that I borrowed from the construction site down the street as my model.

The electrical work and the plumbing is in. We'll have an electrical inspection this week. Apparently we'll have at least two electrical inspections, standard procedure is to fail the first time. I think of it in terms of software, this would be called iterative development.

The dogs are getting fuzzy. Take a look below.

Turkey With Dressing

It aint done yet, but the dressing has started. It's been a little over two weeks since the last entry; since then our house has been wrapped, felted and dressed in style. We survived the installation of Windows without a single crash.

Every week we meet with Tommy to go over the progress, ask questions, and get our weekly assigment. Two weeks ago it was the insulation decision. After weighing all the options and tossing and turning for a night, we decided to go with the most energy efficient and, you guessed it, costly option - blown cellulose walls and spray foam roof. The open style of the house and the lack of trees greatly influenced our decision.

Last week our assignment was to choose a front door, which I am happy to say is being custom made and is within budget. Finally! This week we are on to choosing paint colors. We've got a Sherwin Williams color book in tow and only a few thousand colors to choose from. Stay tuned.

Below are more views.

Good Bones

In two weeks the Casa has taken on a life all its own. It seems that every day we discover some feature about the structure that surprises us (in a good way). It just goes to show that the old axiom is right, the devil is in the details. Our appreciation of the work done by our designer and our builder grows daily. We especially like the dramatic angles and the sunlit hall gallery.

Last week we met our two neighbors that live on the adjoining street. The Chapmans are in the middle of construction like us and the Hills have a stunning home next to them. Bob Chapman plays bass guitar and Carolyn Hill is an avid gardener, the beginnings of a party were already brewing.

Erector Set pictures below.

Slab Party

The foundation has been poured. Sunday evening we celebrated with Willie, Rosa,Tommy Roberts (our builder) and Danci, his wife. The dogs sported their new summer cuts and the rest of us had some adult beverages to counteract the 100 degree evening. We sat in the shaded master bath until night fell. The first party in Casa del Sol Naciente, a success! (see below)

The Pillows of the Earth

The foundation work is well underway. In the last two weeks the 9' drop has been filled in with what we think is caliche. Large flour sacks of it are outlining the perimeter of the structure with loose stuff everywhere else. The front of the house is almost level with the street, while the back is high above the trees. The only room that has any recognizable shape is the guitar nook. If you stand very still, you can almost hear the strains of "Poncho and Lefty". More pictures below.

The Cats are Back

The big news of the week is that our septic permit has finally been approved and building has begun. We've got all the essentials of the good life - a power line, port-a-potty, dumpster, and a water connection. Even more impressive, the forms for our foundation are starting to rise from the ground. One end of the house will rest on about 9 feet of concrete. We are almost airbound. I've posted three pictures below.

The Stakes are High

Last week the surveyor staked the end points of our house and of the garage. Much to our surprise the house is far closer to the street and much higher in elevation then we anticipated. Our original 2-story house plan was far back from the street and in the lowest possible point on the lot. That location stuck in our minds. Neither of us realized how much the location shifted when we went to the 1-story plan, even though we've looked at our floor plan surperimposed on the topographical survey many, many times. With the shift in the house we will have almost as good a view as with the 2-story plan. We can even see the dam from our living room and deck. Being closer to the street gives the dogs more room in the back and also makes for a shorter drive-way, so it's all good.

Our other discussions this week concerned the placement of the electric pole. We would like to tie our electric lines in through the garage but Austin Energy may not agree to this. We may have to come in through the right front side of our house. The big decision is whether to go the ugly route or to pay extra and go underground from the side yard to the house. Tommy is getting us quotes, but we don't have to make that decision yet. (Take a look below at our new elevation.)

Easter Hunt

We've had more activity at Wild Turkey this week, Vermeer the chipper has joined Bob the cat. Now we can finally imagine how the house will nestle up against the cedars. We weren't able to hide any eggs this Easter but we did bring along a bunny. A nice surprise is that the corner of the lot is still intact and should remain untouched with its tableau of wildflowers and oak trees.

Scroll down to see all the pictures.

Glorious Day

An intregral piece to the Wild Turkey project is selling our house. Charles and I have become neatnicks. I didn't think I was capable, but I never doubted Charles. What is frustrating is that now that we have cleaned, weeded, and polished, all we can do is wait for the perfect match. This month my roses are in all their glory and I can't imagine how anyone could resist their beauty and fragrance. I am hopeful, the stock market is up. Take a look below.

It's Always Greener Over the Septic

Most of us never think about sewage. As long as it is working I’ve never given it a second thought. That all changed when we began designing our new house. Apache Shores is not on a sewer line so every home must have it’s own septic system. Much to my surprise, the septic field, more then anything else, determines the placement of our house on the land. In our case, 2400 square feet of our flattest land will house the septic field. This is a larger footprint than our house!

This week some of the land was cleared so that a septic inspection can be done. We are on hold until we receive the septic permit. You can see from the pictures, the front and highest elevation of the lot will be truly “green”. (I don’t know why this doesn’t get more play in the green movement.)

Scroll to the bottom of these posts to see more pictures.

I have finally come to terms with the inevitable scraping of the native vegetation. I’m done lamenting the invasion and have decided to research how I can best restore the natural landscape while keeping the integrity of the septic. (Do sewers have integrity?) Anyway, I did find out that no trees or bushes can be planted over a septic, but grassy, shallow rooted plants must be planted to absorb the moisture. I posed my question to Mr. Smarty Plants at the Wildflower Center. The link below is my question and the answer.

http://www.wildflower.org/expert/show.php?id=3139

He suggests a seed mixture from the Native American Seed company in Junction that is a mixture of 66% buffalo grass and 34% of blue grama. I’m not completely sold on this as I have heard many unfortunate stories about the propensity for weeds with buffalo grass. This spring I read that the Wildflower Center is using a grant from Wal-Mart to develop a more ecologically friendly, multi-species turf grass that conserves water, is disease-resistant and stands up to foot traffic. It is still in trials and the seed mix is not commercially available yet. My next project is to learn more about it and see how I might finagle my way into the trial. I’ll let you know if I’m successful with this.

All this just to say that the first Bobcat has made it to Wild Turkey.

Hey Solar, New in Town?

I recently did an ROI on a 2.7 kilowatt grid-tied home roof-top photovoltaic (solar) energy system for our new house. Grid-tied means that any excess energy produced by the system is fed into the Austin Energy grid. As long as you produce less energy in a given day than you use, which is (overwhelmingly) usually the case, Austin Energy reduces your energy usage on a one-to-one basis. This means they are paying retail for your solar produced energy. Each power company has its own rules concerning this, so it may be different at your house. In the unlikely event that you produce more energy than you use in a single day, AE will credit you at wholesale rates, about 1/3 of retail.

Rebates and Bottom Lines
This is an add-on system; structurally integrated systems are significantly more expensive. The total cost is about $20K. There is a 30% federal tax credit available and other incentives, including an amazing $5/watt that covers up to 80% of the invoiced cost, from Austin Energy. Even with all of those subsidies, net cost is optimistically about $3K. The maximum output per year at current electricity cost is optimistically about $350, according to Austin Energy solar expert Mark Kapner. My spreadsheet said that it would pay for itself in about 8 ½ years. Mark says that field data, including maintenance, suggest the real number is typically between 12 and 17 years.

Solar-less for Now
An increase in electricity costs would decrease the payback period. Since sunlight is free, system price is the main driver. The primary issue is the fact that solar energy is the least dense energy source available (much less dense but more reliable than wind), and solar panels currently convert only about 11% of the solar energy into electricity. We have decided that it would be prudent to wait for either a dramatic reduction in system cost or a similar increase in electricity cost (possibly driven by solar subsidies) before installing a photovoltaic system.

Charles

The Rains are Here

The rains are finally here! Charles predicted that we wouldn't get any kind of drought-ending rain until we started building our new home -- and he was right. In August 2008 Charles and I purchased a half acre lot in Apache Shores, an eclectic neighborhood bordered by Lake Austin. We've spent the last 6 months or so working with Janet Hobbs, a designer, and Tom, the builder, on our house design and plans. Last week we secured our financing and gave Tommy the green light to clear our lot. It rained almost 4 inches this week.

As a side note, money is available for those wanting to buy or build a home. The same principles that were once in place, still are: prove that you can pay back what you owe, that your word is good, and put some skin in the game with a down payment. The biggest obstacle is getting people to call you back because of being short staffed.

I've decided to chronicle our building process in this blog, that way if you are interested, you can always get an update and if not, I won't bore you with the details.