We're back!

Yes, it has been 25 days since our last post, in case you were counting (we obviously weren't!)  I can only plead moving, travel, lack of blog-worthy news and general busy-ness.  Possibly a smidge of laziness.  We'll try to do better in future!

Now we just need siding...and posts.

When we last we posted, the roof had just been installed.  There has been a lot of progress in the last couple of weeks:  the exterior brick has been laid, spray foam insulation was applied, the windows are in, and the drywall is up.  We've been told that once they move into the interior work the progress seems to slow to a crawl.  I hope not, but I suspect time will really drag for us until move-in day.

First, the brick (which I love, love, love).  We considered skipping it to save some money.  Would it really make much of a difference?  Tracy assured us it would be worth it (honestly, I didn't need much convincing).  He was right - the brick is beautiful and really gives the house a special touch.  Did I mention I love it?  They'll use the same brick to build steps, for the fireplace, and behind the stove.

It would look a little nicer if it weren't framed by a dirty construction site.

As much as I love the brick, Craig loves the spray foam even more.  Spray foam is his HGTV dream come true.  He kept checking on the progress, talking to the techs and their boss, and he tried to get a sneak peek during the application. The boss must have prior experience with lookie-loos because he headed him off at the door.  I certainly appreciate the spray foam, but Craig is a real nerd about it (it isn't often I get to say that about him!)

Trust me, the fluffiness is deceiving.

They spray the foam on, over-filling the space, then cut off the excess (leaving big bags of faux cotton candy in the dumpster).  The boss came to inspect after they had finished, and Craig pointed out a few spots that were missed.  Then the boss pointed out several more that we hadn't even noticed. They came back and did the touch up and we're very satisfied with the results.

After the excess is cut away.

We also had rolled insulation put in some of the interior walls, around the bathrooms and between shared bedroom walls, for noise suppression.  We had that done when we remodeled our master bath in Virginia and it makes a big difference.  Between that and the spray foam we are going to have a pretty quiet house.

Spray foam in the attic

We had a bit of a mixup with the windows and had to wait on the ones for the dormers and showers to come in.  Then Craig noticed that something was a little off about 2 of the kitchen windows.  As it turns out, those were our 2 shower windows, hung vertically rather than horizontally.  Oops!  All was eventually straightened out and looking good now.

The drywall went up much faster than I expected - it only took 2 days total.  The rooms actually look like rooms now and it feels a lot more like a house when you have actual walls.

Dining room on the left, Craig's office to the right.
We are going to put up reclaimed wood from our barn on the back wall.

Living room and front door, as seen from the kitchen.

Living room, the opening to the laundry room, and the kitchen on the right.

Upstairs bedroom and dormer.

Master bath (the green drywall is mildew resistant)

I'll leave you with one last shot that Craig took of the spray foam (again: nerd).  The light from the attic window shining behind it really gives it the lava lamp look.

Or an alien egg sack.