Framing Update And Rommel aka "Rommski the Guardian" Pics

Got an update from our PM yesterday afternoon and he basically said the reason why they had to stop framing this week was the framing crew got into a car accident. Everything is supposedly fine, but they had to take a couple days off because they couldn't keep up with schedule of framing our house and our neighbors on lot 64.  He did state that they would have "2" crews out this weekend and were going to crown the roof of both our houses on Monday. I'm very very skeptical about that. Not sure how they can frameboth houses in 3 days especially since they hadn't even started on our neighbors Venice yet. But we will drive by later today or tomorrow to verify.

In the mean time, here are a couple pics of what it looks like so far as I drove by earlier in the week, along with some much anticipated pictures of our 9 week old lil Guardian "Rommski" fur baby.

Our 1st floor framed framed as we drive past neighbors lumber

Our house from street

drive by

Rommel aka "Rommski" showing off his floppy ears. It's hard to be upset when he has "accidents" in the house. 

Our cat Shadow watching Rommel sleep or plotting his death. I think she has finally come to terms that he is staying ;)

Rommski stole my house slipper and retreated to his crate. 

UPDATE : Took a trip out on both Saturday and Sunday. Saturday they had a crew working on the second floor frame. No work was done on Sunday so it looks like there wasn't "2" crews out after all working on both houses this weekend. Too bad, because the weather was Perfect! I know the neighbor is going to be upset after being told their house was going to be framed by Monday. Took a pic of my progress. I was going to go inside, but just don't think it is worth it until we have a roof and I see no lumber remaining.

2nd Floor Walls are up

Picked Up The Little Guardian And Framing Start

Since I have a few minutes (actually hours of free time) I'm totally gonna use it to quickly write a quick blog post .We had a pretty busy Memorial weekend. I had to work 12 hour shifts and had atleast Memorial Day and yesterday off to enjoy our new 9 week old German Shepherd "Guardian" puppy Rommel, aka "Rommski". We had to drive and meet the breeder in Morgantown , WV, a couple hours away. Glad they met us halfway or else it would have been a very long day spent in the car. He's a joy but let's just say I am out of practice being a parent of a baby. I haven't had to get up in the middle of the night to figure out what the wimpering/crying and potty issues. It really is like having a new born. My patience is definetely being tested..LOL...  I guess there is a reason why I prefer cats!! Don't get me wrong, I like dogs, but cats are so much easier to house break.

Got an email update along with a couple pictures from our PM yesterday and as I predicted, the framing of our house has begun! Yay! Finally things are back on roll again. I took the pup on a ride out yesterday just to get him used to car rides and I saw that they had almost the whole first floor and garage framed by lunch time.  I wouldn't be surprised to see it under roof by the weekend and a pre-drywall meeting scheduled soon after.

Since I had the pup with me, I didn't get a chance to take pictures  but I will as soon I get back out there. In the mean time, here are the two pictures sent from the PM. I will post more pics as soon as I get a chance.

Backfill And Slab Complete: Framing Is Next!

After being told that our slab and framing would be started last week, finally last Monday they finished backfilling the garage, basement and around the house with dirt and gravel. They poured concrete on Wednesday, so framing should start any day now. With it being a Memorial weekend, I won't hold my breath that much will get done by next week. I have noticed that since they are building a Venice next to us, and I think another Florence up the street, they seem to work on one house at a time. When I got back filled, the Venice was back filled the next day. After our slab was poured, the very next day the neighbors house was poured. And then the other house up the street as well. It seems like a cycle going on. Each of our houses gets a day of attention and then they move to the next. I feel selfish a times because I want them to focus on my house and work only on our house..:)

I did get to meet our neighbor new future neighbor who was out watering his lawn. It looks like the 4 inches of rain really helped him, as he has a decent amount already and I don't think they have been in the house more than 2 weeks. He seems OK. They don't have kids or pets. Don't know about the other Venice neighbors yet.

In NVR news, they suddenly ask me about "terms and conditions" on my mutual funds. Seriously? First of all, it's been 5 months now since I signed my agreement and I was told I was good to go last month. Why is that important and who the hell reads or keeps those anyway? Nobody keeps or reads terms and conditions. So annoying.


On happier note, we are picking up our little guardian German Shepherd Puppy on Memorial Day. Luckily the breeder is going to meet us halfway since they live 270 miles away. Saves us a little gas and time. We will post pics of him maybe in our next post, and hopefully a house with walls and roof too.

Lumber Has Arrived!

Just a few more pics. Not much has happened in the last week. Looks like they ran some water lines in the basement. It's hard to see without actually being able to get in there easily.

Pic taken 12 May

Lumber arrived 13 May. New Venice neighbor house that that was just completed in background

As promised by the PM, lumber made it to our lot on on 13 May. I drove by yesterday in the evening before work and I saw 5 guys working , so I was sure they were prepping to put walls up. I went out again tonight before work, and have seen no progress or signs of framing. The PM did say they would back fill first and hopefully by the end of the weekend we should see some framing progress. I'm cautiously optimistic since it is supposed to rain another 2-5" between now and the Friday night. Not sure if they would frame in the rain but you never know. Has anyone else been framed in rainy/inclement weather? I'm just curious if that is a show stopper.

Love the Scenery and Guardian Update (Sorta)

Well, to be honest, there isn't really much of an update. I did however receive a picture from our PM of our progress which he took standing next to my Venice neighbors completed house looking down onto our foundation and the other Venice being built at the same time next to us. The more I look at the picture below of our house, the more I love our lot. I had some second guessing for a while, but I really am loving the scenery and I am excited to know that the Potomac River and boat ramp is a mere 1/2 mile down the street behind the trees. I can't wait to go fishing!!! Hopefully by this time next week we will have a framed house.

Sandwiched between Venice's

In other news, I know you are expecting some Guardian news or update, but truth is I kinda fibbed a little. I don't really have news regarding Guardian, unless you consider the German Sheppard Puppy we are adding to our home in a few short weeks!! : -) He will be our Guardian.  We have decided to get the puppy now vs. potty training in the new house. We are very excited and can't wait to bring him to the property to become familiar with the back yard, street, neighbors woods etc. being that we only live about 10 minutes away, we will be socializing him to the new environment as often as possible.

Who needs Guardian Security when you can have this little ankle biter ?

We Have Foundation Walls

Well, things are moving along now. They poured concrete last Thursday and even poured our neighbors footers (we are going to be sandwiched between Venice's). I think they will probably water proof them sometime this week. This weekend we stopped by the lot and with all the rain we had early last week, we discovered some interesting prints in the mud, which we took pictures of. I guess that is the bonus of bumping up to woods. Wildlife! Yesterday we walked in the woods and i'll be damned if there wasn't a what we believe to be a turkey and Jen spooked it. Looks like I might need to buy a Turkey Call :-)

One thing that kind of bothered me was the smell of oil or fuel on the lot. I'm not sure if it coming from the ground or if it is from the house next to us that just got their asphalt driveway. Has anyone else experienced this? I guess that is something I will pay attention to the next few trips out. We are hoping the lumber gets delivered this week so the next phase can start. Meanwhile, just a few pics of the last visit.

Deer Prints

Queen of the Hill

Turkey Prints

The back

The supports have since been removed