Textured Ceilings, Railings, and Front Porch Posts

This past Saturday we went up to the house and we brought Michael's friend Matthew with us. Michael wanted to show him where his room is- and all the other rooms in the house, too. I hadn't been there in nearly a week myself, so I wanted to see the progress as well. When we arrived we were surprised to see two cars parked out front- the "sheetrock guys" were there working! It was extremely muddy on Saturday since it was raining, so there was no venturing outside to get a picture of the back of the house like I wanted to now that the siding is all finished. That's okay- I'll get that picture once the final grade has been completed around the house and it'll really look finished! I was surprised to see the gutters all installed, the front porch pillars put in, the back patio railings installed, and the sheetrock guys working on texturing the ceilings in the living room (I STILL don't understand why it's called a great room by builders...). The kids were really interested in watching the texturing process- it was cute to watch them watching the guys at work! Here are some of the pictures I got on Saturday while we were there:

Here are the pillars to the front porch. It won't seem like such a long drop once the final grade has been done and the steps going up the porch are put into place!

I took this picture looking out the master bathroom window. All that dirt pushed around is from where the geothermal loops were put into the ground. YAY for geothermal heating and cooling!

Here's a picture of Megan and Matthew watching the men work on texturing the ceiling in the living room. We asked the kids to make sure they stayed well out of the way- and they did a great job listening to us!

Here is our back patio- DONE. I wouldn't let the kids go out there before the railings were put up- now it's done! Jeremy is at the other end of the patio (in front of one of the master bedroom windows) getting video of the house.

This is a picture of the geothermal unit in the basement. It's not completely hooked up yet, but it will be once the drywall dust and painting are complete- don't want to risk getting any dust or particles into the system!

Here's a view from outside the basement door. You would be looking to your right as you walk out the door for this view.

Here's another view from outside the basement door. This one, obviously, is looking to the left.


I just HAD to take this picture. It's the garage ceiling. It's not easy to see, but it's TEXTURED like inside the house!! In all my life I have never seen a textured ceiling in a garage, but I guess it's par for the course with our builder! I am seriously impressed with their work and who they get to do certain jobs on site! And here is the final picture for this trip... I know- it's only a downspout and gutter shot from the side of the garage, but it was the first time I got to see the gutters and downspouts on the house! I didn't even realize they had been put up when we arrived! It wasn't until we were out on the back patio that I realized the gutters were there!

Well, that's about it for this update. The builder had the painting crew come out yesterday and start priming the walls for paint. Jeremy was there, too, working on wiring and putting up the speaker grills so they can be painted the same shade(s) as the walls/ceilings. He told me that when he left they were nearly finished priming and they told him that they were going to start painting and work until midnight! At the rate they were going they might have finished the painting that they had to do!! I'll be heading out this weekend so I can paint the bedrooms- I wanted to do that, so now my part of the "sweat equity" gets to kick in! The floors will start going in soon, too- Friday is what I think I recall Jeremy saying to me. Jeremy also said that he was able to talk to the plumbers again and the water is just about ready to be connected, too! Wow- it seems like all of a sudden things are really picking up! We'll be moving before we know it at this rate! So, be sure to check back- we'll have more updates later this week!