While insulation and drywall are being done, Jeff will be working outside on the front porches, back patio, and concrete driveway approach.
There will be big changes in the next few weeks. We have an ambitious plan for the back patio and concrete driveway approach, some of which Jeff has never tried before. We're going to stamp colored concrete. He has a lot of detail planned that I had never even considered. I'm confident things are going to turn out great.
July 1, 2, 3, 5
I was gone these days, so I'm not sure what was done each day. There was a lot of preparation for insulation and drywall. Flashing was hung so the drywall had something to attach to. The mortar was completed in the master shower.
Wednesday - July 6, 2011
Began concrete forms for front porches and back patio. Again, most builders wouldn't pour a concrete wall as support for a porch, but Jeff really goes beyond the minumum. It's going to be very solid and look great.
Thursday - July 7, 2011
Finished concrete forms for front porches and back patio. We took a trip into town and picked out the stain color and stamp for the concrete and the ledgestone we will be using.
Finished hanging sheer wall inside.
Friday - July 8, 2011
Umpqua Sand and Gravel delivered concrete for the porches and patio. We also poured some concrete where we keep the garbage cans. We used it as a test area for the stamp. Turned out great, but the color is off a little.
Carlson's hardware delivered material for the porches/patio.
Saturday - July 9, 2011
Framing began on the front porches.
Sunday - July 10, 2011
The front porches are almost complete, decking, posts and 1/2 the roofing is done. Amazing progress for one day. A little staining, soffits, completion of siding, and 1/2 the roofing, and work on the back patio will begin.
Monday - July 11, 2011
Jeff started the morning by sanding the beams in the great room / loft and covering them for drywall prep.
Completed roofing and soffits on the front porches. Also finished putting up cedar bats except for the area around the entry door.
Tuesday - July 12, 2011
Finished sanding beams in the great room / loft. Did a little more drywall prep (i.e., covering windows, posts, and beams).
Began the forms for the back patio's concrete slab.
Wednesday - July 13, 2011
Compacted gravel base for the conrete patio. Sanded and brushed posts, beams, and lumber in preperation for staining.
Thursday - July 14, 2011
Picked up some more chestnut semi-transparent stain from Sherwin Williams. Started staining posts and beams on the front porches. Also stained some lumber that will be used for the back patio cover.
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| Front Porch |
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| Front Porch |
Friday - July 15, 2011
Finsihed staining posts, beams and lumber. Need to get a little more cedar and then we can have Bunnell's come up to complete gutters, then the porches will be complete.
Cascade Windows brought out our screen for our kitchen window. We had a screen made that opens, so you can pass food through when the window is open. We will put our BBQ next to the kitchen window on the back patio, so it should work out really well.
We've been really impressed with the service Cascade Windows has provided. Not only have they provided great looking windows and doors but they've been really helpful.
Another exciting thing is that Cascade Windows called Jeff and asked if he would mind if they could use the house for their sales brochures. I'm really excited for Hetterle Construction! That really says a lot, when a company wants to use your work to show off their product. I think Jeff and Brenda have a lot to be proud of. Cascade Windows will be out sometime in September to see what kind of pictures they would like to take.
Monday - July 18, 2011
Started work on the cover for the back patio, setting posts, beams, and joists. Completed deck off the Master Bedroom and put up railing.
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| Master Bedroom Deck |
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| Master Bedroom Deck |
Tuesday - July 19, 2011
Continued work on patio cover. Applied bracing and suntuf roofing.
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| Back patio cover |
Wednesday - July 20, 2011
Spent a lot of the morning doing some research on why the color came out wrong on our concrete test piece. Didn't really get any answers. Picked out paint colors and flooring. Brenda has been really helpful assisting us with our paint colors. It's really going to turn out nice.
Started forms for back patio concrete. We will be doing an exposed aggregate, colored concrete. This will be bordered by a stamped (rough stone) colored concrete. This adds a little bit of work but it will look really good. The concrete will have a Hilltop Tan color added to it. We will also be using a Brickform Antique Release, Walnut RA-810.
Thursday - July 21, 2011
Received two concrete deliveries from Umpqua Sand and Gravel for back patio and a section of the driveway approach. We are doing the stamped border first. I must say it turned out great! It looks like we hauled in several peices of 4" thick rough stone and set them in place.
Colored, stamped concrete is something Jeff has never done before. I love that he's willing to try things he's never done before. It's a great quality in a custom home builder. Of course, every time you talk to someone they make it sound like it's really complicated and you need to get someone that is experienced. In my opinion if you have any concrete experience at all, you can stamp concrete. It turned out great. I can't wait to put up some pictures showing how it turned out.
As I mentioned on my July 8th post, when we did our test piece behind the garage, the color came out a little off. We tried to talk to a few people to figure out what might have went wrong, but didn't really come to any conclusions. I made the decision that we were going to go forward anyway, thinking that using the product on a colored concrete would make a difference. For whatever reason, I felt confident it would turn out fine. I'm thankful I was right. We are going to end up with a back patio and driveway approach that looks like it cost over $20,000. I think it's a new skill Jeff will be using a lot in the future.
Friday - July 22, 2011
Received another delivery of concrete for the next section of driveway approach.
Saturday - July 23, 2011
Sprayed off release.
Monday - July 25, 2011
Sealed completed portions of concrete using Luster Seal 300. This will help protect it as we continue our concrete work. The sealant worked amazing. It did a great job at really bringing out the color and creating a nice shine.
Formed front walk and pulled forms off of previous sections.
Flattened dirt on side of the house.
Tuesday - July 26, 2011
Umpqua Sand and Gravel delivered concrete for some of the exposed aggregate section of the approach. Formed up the next section
Wednesday - July 27, 2011
Umpqua Sand and Gravel delivered concrete for the stamped section that was formed yesterday and the front walk that was formed Monday.
Thursday - July 28, 2011
Umpqua Sand and Gravel delivered concrete for the stamped section the was formed yesterday. Sealed all the completed sections of concrete using L&M Dress and Seal High Gloss (~$90). Umpqua Sand and Gravel has decided to change to a different brand of Sealant. We were told this would give us the same result as the Luster Seal 300 ($110), but after looking at it throughout the day, it is clearly an inferior product. We will let it set overnight and see if there is any change.
Friday - July 29, 2011
Umpqua Sand and Gravel delivered the last of the exposed aggregate concrete. This completes the concrete approach. We have some misc concrete work to do, including the front walk, but I think we will complete that sometime in the future.
Monday - August 1, 2011
Umpqua Sand and Gravel recieved more Luster Seal. Thank goodness, because the L&M product is garbage! Applied a thick coat of sealant.
Applied a coat of stain on the deck and back patio's posts and beams.
Tuesday - August 2, 2011
Applied last coat of stain on the deck and back patio's posts and beams
Applied last coat of sealant.
Turned out great! The pictures do not do it justice. Hetterle Construction really went above and beyond on this one. This concrete approach and back patio really adds to the house. I think it helps make the difference between a $500,000 house and a $750,000 house. There is still a little more work to do with ledstone and the area around the BBQ's, but at this point you can see that it is going to turn out great.
October 24, 2011 - Monday
Have a little bit of concrete work left. Formed up the front steps so we can pass inspection. We will pour later.
