Or at least they hire someone to do most of it for them. We got our lot
on August 23, 2000 and you can see that we are ready to dig.
Though not actually looking like much in the picture, we have a really
great view of the South Saskatchewan River Valley to the back and next
year when/if it rains here maybe things will look a bit greener.
The foundation will start going in around September 11. We started out
with the idea of doing it all ourselves, then realized that we just don't
have the time if we want to start living there before about 2003. So we
decided to let a builder do most of the work and do things like tiling,
painting and building some furnishings ourselves instead. The basement
will also be left for us to finish if we feel the need to hang some drywall.
September 19 - Bruce digs a really big hole.
September 26 - the foundation is in.
October 12 - this thing is going up pretty fast.
October 23 - two months from the day we bought the lot; the roof is on
now and most of the rooms inside are framed. It's really starting to look
like a house.
Between November 22 and Dec 1 the insulation went in, they finished the
plumbing, electrical and heating, and the drywall went up.
On Feb 24, 2001, 6 months and one day after we purchased the lot, we moved in. Things are still a bit disorganized, but it's starting to look like home. In the end, though we decided that building the whole house would be too much to do ourselves, we did lay all the ceramic tile floor and hardwood floor, build the base for the fireplace, and do some of the electrical work in the basement.
Construction is still not quite complete though - they have to wait to do the stucco exterior and pour the driveway until it is a bit warmer out.
 This is the front entry, from where you can go up to the bedrooms, or left to the laundry and garage entry or right to the dining and living rooms. |
 Looking into the kitchen from the living room. |
 Same view, from further back. |
 Bruce is fixing his truck in the garage. |
 The master bath room. |
 The library area on the second floor, where Bruce and I will build bookshelves along the right and left walls. |
Yes, the house is purple, or as the color chart said, "valley wine". Now we just have to do something about the dirt lawn.
Bruce usually parks his new truck in the garage, but today he thought he should take advantage of the photo opportunity.
And here he is driving!
We got to hang Christmas Lights!
Click here for basement and yard pictures.
Last updated 23.10.2002