Our First Snow!

I love the snow, especially when I get to spend a snowy day inside my home, with the fire on, surrounded by our two cats and of course Mr. K working from home too. Honestly, it's snowed a little bit around here a couple of times, however this was our first true snow. Prediction of 1-2 inches but we got more like 3-4. It was so pretty, except when we went to drive the next morning and the dilemma of living in a new neighborhood kicked in, and all of phase 2 wasn't plowed or treated. Talk about driving on a sheet of ice! But let's not get hung up on that ;)

I went outside to shovel the walkway and sidewalk (Mr. K will kill me for saying that publicly, but honestly he's been so busy at work, and it needed to get done, so I snuck a few minutes outside. Plus, I love being outside when it's snowing, so I didn't mind the arm exercise! 

Pre-Drywall Meeting Postponed

We had a feeling this would happen considering temperatures have been below 20 degrees, if not below 10 degrees the past week. We had scheduled our meeting for this Friday morning, but were told that depending on the weather this week, it could change. And alas, I got the email last night saying that we were indeed going to need to reschedule for next week. They've been having trouble getting the sub contractors out to do their work. Understandably so, it's freezing! Of course we're a bit bummed out because next week we're already in the month of February, so I'm anxious to see what these delays are going to do for our final closing date. We haven't gotten any word on an actual date yet, seeing as it can change for any reason - aka snow and freezing cold weather. So... I guess we'll just keep playing the waiting game.

Just a short update today, but we're still planning on taking family out to the house on Saturday, so I'll have more pictures then! We're hoping to get into the house with our Project Manager, too. Fingers crossed!! 

Have a great Hump Day! 

House Update #4: Roofing is Installed!

This past Monday, Martin Luther King Day (1/21/14), we took a drive out to the house before heading to a family birthday party, and we were so thrilled and excited to see the progress, even from last Wednesday! The majority of the roofing has been done and who knows what else has been done under the roof that we can't see.

January 20, 2014

We were even happier to talk to our great sales manager who said we are still on track (prior to this snow, so who knows how that affected the work) for a middle to late March settlement. As I said last time, the next step is the pre-drywall meeting, and we were told that's still on track and should be scheduled for NEXT WEEK! Holy crap. We'll start to think about giving our 60 days notice sometime in the next few weeks, but we'll wait for further notification from our sales manager as to when he thinks a "concrete date" might be set. Hopefully we can get a good idea of how much we'll be behind after this snowfall here in DC later this week before we make our decision.

I have a couple in-laws coming into town next weekend and we can't wait to take them out to the house and see the progress two weeks from now! Plus, we will be able to actually step foot inside the house for the first time at the pre-drywall meeting, so that is going to bring up another whole basket of emotions. Can't wait to share the photos from that meeting!!

Stay tuned :)

House Update #2: Framing & Partial Roof!

I haven’t posted about the progress, aside from the foundation because quite frankly, there wasn’t much. Mother Nature has decided to pick this year to give us folk in DC a “real” winter, with snow, rain, freezing rain and downright freezing - below freezing - temperatures. Most of which mean zero work gets done, putting our house behind progress multiple days. And next, the house is about 30 minutes from our current place in the city, so getting out there with our busy weekend schedules has proven to be a bit tough. Luckily my parents are within 15 minutes so they’ve driven by and snapped a few pictures for us! (Thanks Mom and Dad!)

This past weekend we were going to go by but it was pouring rain off and on Saturday, so we decided to skip it, and pair it with my grandmother’s birthday party next weekend. Cannot wait to see the progress in person! Until then, the photo my mom took yesterday will have to do… you’ll see a ROOF over top of the garage (!!!), and frame is up for the rest of the house, and we’re told the rest of the roof should be on by this weekend!! The first photos are from Dec. 20th, and the second collage is from this past weekend, Jan. 11, 2014:

December 20, 2013

Foundation

January 11, 2014 (view from the back) 

Framing, part of roof up

It seriously brought tears to my eyes when I received the picture. This is our HOUSE being built, with which we’ll make our HOME. It’s happening so fast… March is going to be here before we know it! Once it comes time for our pre-drywall meeting in a few weeks, that’s when things are really going to speed up. It means we have to start thinking about seriously vetting our lenders, locking in our interest rate, and giving our 60 days notice to our current apartment building, keeping our fingers crossed that once we do that, there will be no significant delays. And then, between bachelor and bachelorette parties Mr. K and I are both attending in Feb, family visits, wedding in early March, it will be time to (find time to) pack up!! And we’re hiring a moving company this time, as we have a few more valuables than we did the last move (wedding presents, new gadgets, etc.).

So, that’s it for now! I can’t wait to see the house this weekend and post more pictures :)

The Worst Kind of Snow Day

On any other day, in any other year, I'd be thrilled that we're getting snow. I don't get off work for Snow Days because we have the option to telecommute, but that's not what I'm talking about. I love working from home, especially when it's snowing outside! 

What I'm not so happy about is the fact that our house doesn't get built when it snows. Period. There's a commercial building being built outside of our current apartment and they've stopped all production today, so that makes me cringe. One day lost to snow could means days added on to our completion date. Days. Not just one day. Days. We are so anxious to get into our house and we can't stand to lose these days!! And it's only the beginning of winter here in DC. To have two snow days this early in the season is abnormal, so I hope that sweet Mother Nature gets this out of her system now so we can have smooth sailing until March! 

Unfortunately, that's about it for now. I hope to have more news soon as we have our "pre-construction" meeting soon. And the reason for the quotation marks is that they've already begun construction, but this meeting is really just for us to meet the Superintendent that will be building our house, ask any questions we have for him, etc. Can't wait to report back! 

As for now, it's time to snuggle up with a bowl of chili and cornbread made by my sweet husband, and continue typing away at work. 

See you at the corner, 
Krista