I’m finally getting around to posting pictures of my recently (nearly) completed house. I appreciate all the knowledge on this site, and the willingness to share it. Thanks to all who helped answer my particular questions, and for allowing me to read all the questions that others asked.
We started in JUly of 04 and moved in the first of August of this year. Sorry about the size of the last pic. Feel free to critique anything that might pop out to you.
Thanks Again
You don't have to sacrifice historical elements of a house in the name of energy efficiency.
"I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I can confidently say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." - M.K.
Replies
Whoops, that last pic got deleted I was trying to rename it " the reason 4 it"
sorry again about the size
trying something new here ...
let's see ....
Jeff
View Image
Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
Edited 12/10/2005 3:53 am ET by JeffBuck
cool ... it worked!
'cept now my wife is gonna wonder why somewhere in "my pics" there's a photo of a hot chick, a little baby ... and a dog. better back track and delete!
Jeff Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
What are the concrete pillows for?
"What are the concrete pillows for"
what ... U never heard of a concrete mud bed?
Jeff Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
Nice work and Good looking family!!!
How much of it did you do?
The work not the family:)
That dog looks like he's a real character!!
Mr. T.
"I YAM WHAT I YAM AND THATS ALL THAT I YAM"
-U.S. Sweet Potato Council
critique? Nah, pretty sweet.
Interesting with the glass shower walls lipping the bath sill.
Wish you'd lay a movers quilt on your kitchen countertop before laying your tools on there like that tho'.
'Nemo me impune lacesset'
No one will provoke me with impunity
It looks like butcher block to me................and it's HIS dam top he can do what he wants with it![email protected]
It's Never Too Late To Become What You Might Have Been
It's the principle of the thing.
be a carp caught on the line
'Nemo me impune lacesset'No one will provoke me with impunity
Used to work w/ an electrician that would always say to his helper:
"Its gonna get all scratched up eventually, WE don't want to be the first!"
Mr. T.
"I YAM WHAT I YAM AND THATS ALL THAT I YAM"
-U.S. Sweet Potato Council
Razz,
Thanks. You're right I should have put a blanket down, it's butcher block and I hadn't done the sanding yet and I was trying to finish too many different things at once.
Just ribbing ya.
The counters, Seems everybody does it.
'cept me of course, but I'm perfect ;o)
'Nemo me impune lacesset'No one will provoke me with impunity
Edited 12/12/2005 5:55 pm ET by razzman
nice window trimming
deskguy
Well that last picture is the most important!
I like the entrance, makes a nice statement. Well done. Dinning room has a good look to it. Trim work looks good, you should be proud.
Doug
Beautiful.
Did you do this yourself?
Thanks Mike,
I generald it. The parts I did were the siding (with lots of help), wood and tile floors, trim work, hung cabinets, the stairs and railings, lots of other little things, uhm, actually tons of little things, they sure added up.
Very, very nice indeed!
Cherry floors?
Your toilet needs a seat, better hurry before your wife finds out in the middle of the night!
What did you use on the floor of the master bath, it pretty?
That outlet near the tub is a humongus code violation (I think)
Where did you get that front door? Sweet!
Haven't opened the biggy yet. I may have to start when I go to bed and see it in the morning!!
Nice job, you must be very happy.
Eric
[email protected]
It's Never Too Late To Become What You Might Have Been
i am starting to feel real bad-inferior about my 1970 ranch remodel.......no pics to show you guys my handi-work. Besides I don't have a digital camara. stinky
Hi Eric, thanks
the floor is prefinished 5" hickory. it laid down pretty quick and nice.
the bath floor is travertine. I got a great deal on it on the web, but I had to buy 710 sf of it so its in the master, main bath, laundry room, and in the shower/ tub areas, and I still had enough to sell to a friend for his bath.
I was worried about the plug to, but the inspector was through 4 or 5 times. my wife thinks it was nuts, but I thought it would be cool to have a tv by the tub.
The Front door I got through a local vendor Frank Lumber. Special order 8' high. they do a great job and were graet to work with too. They also did the 8' french doors in the family room.
Thanks again for the comments and questions
very nice ...
didn't go cheap on the interior trim details, did ya!
btw ... don't listen to Eric about electrical code violations ....
Jeff
Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
Thanks Jeff,
I read to many magazines and books before I started, got started and was beggining to second guees the scope of everything I thought I wanted. But once you get that first window done, it gets easier.
Also, thanks for resizing that pic. for me, it didn't transfer right, and I didn't have time to redo it friday.
Wow! And only from July 2004 to August 2005. That's not much longer than it took me to put in one tiny bathroom (see "A new bathroom" photos I just posted).
Beautiful work. Nice detailing throughout.
Are you the designer-builder?
-Allen
Thanks Allen,
I was the general. Did alot of the work myself, and assisted alot of the subs (used some friends and relatives) I bought the plans on the web and had them rewoked locally. My wife was an interior designer before the baby, she had alot of the say to the layout and coloring and materils
Nice work Deskguy...
Several of the interior details say "Craftsman style". Was that your goal? The entrance is very inviting and I'd like to know a little about that front (?) door. How about some more pics of the exterior, including some details?
Re your thread title: two thoughts - 1) many people think they are going to save gobs by DIY. Not necessarily the case unless you are OK with very modest detailing like Johnny#### shows in another thread. Did you DIY at least some aspects? Your time frame says that you did not DIY all aspects. 2) Craftsman style homes can be quite expensive to build.
Re my last statement, I have a customer who very much wanted a craftsman style home. By the time he got through picking out his $5500 range & hood, $1000 dish washer, granite tops and some other expensive stuff almost all the craftsman style details had been stripped out for budgetary reasons. Personally, I think he lacks vision...
Edited 12/10/2005 11:03 am ET by Matt
Thanks Matt,
I responded to other with more details, as far as savings, I did save alot. We wouldn't be in anything close to this house if I hadn't gone diy. It is hard to Quantify though. I would say the savings would have been in the 20-25% range. Most everything I put into the house was found wholesale throgh the web, suppliers from my own business, warehouse sales, etc
Very nice, indeed. You should be proud.
The dog in the family pic, gotta be a lab / bassett, no?
PJ
Everything will be okay in the end. If it's not okay, it's not the end.
Thanks Peter,
That is a lab basset mix
The most fitting name I've heard for the breed is labradork, and that pretty much describes him. He's a great dog.
Very nice job, and w/ online plans to boot. You should be proud.
Now, forget working on the house, and start spending some time w/ your family. (DIY houses will suck the life out of you)
Thanks,
There were several things I left undone. Figured it would be so easy once we moved in. Nope, Those outings with the family just seem to be so much more fun than finishing the porch.
This DIY house is actually a godsend compared to the last place, a 1923 bugalow last updated in the 70's, and poorly at that. The leaking roof, the clay tile sewage pipe that broke the day before the Thanksgiving party. the uninsulated crawl, why no nsulation? there was only 3-6" ground clearance on the back half of the house. Spent the first 6 mos. digging it out and replacing all the posts on the post and beam foundation. soo many other life sucking updates to list.
Looks good, how about some more pics.
jt8
"The cynic is one who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing." --Oscar Wilde
Thanks John,
What would you like to see?
I'm really a photo hound, and I like prairie/arts&crafts/bungalow/etc type homes. I'm always looking for ideas. Did you post a sketch of the floorplan? Trying to pick up the flow of the rooms. Let me see if I've got the flow right...
469 we're approaching the front of the house. 502 through the front door, 509 looking up the staircase off entry, 503 room to right of entry? (DR?)
507 K (obviously) is that the way to the entry towards the back of the pic with 525 connecting them?
508 must have fantastic light. Is that south facing? Fireplace, woodstove, or hybrid? Looks like 507/508 are the heart of the home.
511/12 are the MBA oasis.. about 10'x12'? Skylight?
517...room over the garage with doors leading to 2nd floor deck? heck of a room. Make a big LR or a HUGE MBR... but the wall visible in 511 is presumably the MBR, and its a different color than 517. 517 must be dw's closet ;)
520 at the other end of 517 (180 degrees from 517)? Then approach the rail in the background of 520 and we're looking over it to 522 and looking back down at the entry?
What is straight through the front door (past steps)? LR? And to the left of front door... I just don't quite have it.
jt8
"The cynic is one who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing." --Oscar Wilde
Hi John,
here's a link to the plan we bought:
http://details.coolhouseplans.com/details.html?pid=chp-23480&ArchStyle=Craftsman&FoundID=16&sid=chp23
hope that goes to the right one. The things we had the designer change were add a third bay to the garage. This gave us a 3 car with two being almost tandem depth, giving me a workshop. The roof line didn't really seem to look right over the garage, so we added two shed dormers to add space and light. Those changes made that room about 710 sf. The original plan also just had windows at the end of the room, but it just seemed like the perfect place for a deck, so we added that right before the final drawings.
The other major change was to bump the family room wall out to make it even with the nook. This added a 6 x 25 glulam to the lumber package, ouch! but we think it made for a little bit nicer space. I'll try and post some other pics tomorrow or monday.
If you want anything specific let me know, I'll even try to take some of the oops's
Add: Just checked the link, it works! Other changes were the main roof we changed and added a modified storage truss for well ... storage we also ended up putting a furnace up there.
the other thing was we took out the shower downstairs, shrank that room width wise and enlarged the coat closet.
Edited 12/15/2005 4:56 pm ET by deskguy
Well, whenever you have time, feel free to toss out a variety of pics. Do you have a closeup of that trim in the DR (attached a crop).
Floorplan link worked. Lets see if this sucker copy-pastes... OK, pasted but not as the mirror image (which is what I assume you've got).
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I'm the same way in that I see a stock floorplan and immediately start making modifications. Good setup and I like your modifications. Adds to the liveability of it.
About the only thing I'm not crazy about is the formal DR. I'd probably only use it 1 or 2 times a year. But it does make for a nice open area adjacent to the entry... or a good front room for greeting guests.jt8
"The cynic is one who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing." --Oscar Wilde
Hi John,
for whatever reason I can't seem to cut and paste to these posts so I'll just attach.
pic 3675 is the DR ceiling and 4247 is the base. I had the receptacle placed low and sideways so I wouldn't have to deal with them in the wainscot. I used mdf stock for the wainscott;1x6 base, 1x4 "header" toped with a 1x2 laid flat on that and simple 1" cove moulding in that joint. The "stiles" are 1x2 that I ran through the planer to recess them about an 1/8". I'll get a better picture of it on monday.
Pic 3677 is in the entry at the base of the stairs where we had to place the air return. I was a little disappointed till I saw these grills advertised in FHB. Didn't have to have that ugly metal one there.
I agree with you about the formal dining room, just doesn't seem all that practicle. But the wife wanted one, and she actually makes us use it several times a week. And it was nice for Thanks giving. The other change she made was the den/study she changed to a living room. I'd rather have a nice room for a desk, but she won as she does usually. Pic 4234 is the LR
Now, how about a couple of amueter mistakes. 4248 is the wood floor in the family room, the bad thing about this is I already changed it once, this was the "fix". I didn't really think this transition point through. We started to lay the floor got a couple rows past it and looked at it again, still didn't like it but figured I'd fix it later. Still hasn't happened. I've got extra stock and will address it later.
4235 is a fix I'm not sure of. Put the cabinets in went to put that header on and the cabinet doors were in the way, just back mitered the stand out details and everything seemed to work. Not really sure what else I could have done there. anyone with suggestions??
Thanks again for looking and the input.
Not really sure what else I could have done there. anyone with suggestions??
filler strip about 1 1/2" wide against the wall, between the cabs and the walls, or whatever the thickness of your trim is, so that your cab doors open up 90°
Doug
Thanks Doug,
Believe me, when I was installing the trim I was thinking how much easier that would have been with a spacer strip. Unfortunately when ordering the cabinets the trim was not taken into account. Being as it was my first time for this whole process, I'm cutting me a little slack on that one. The Cabinet salesman probably should have caught it, but didn't. I guess the "fix" was probably the best I could have hoped for at that point.
House looks even better with furniture. 4234 is the 'music room'. Kid looks a bit young to play, so I'm guessing its you or DW who plays.
I like that trim detail around the DR ceiling and might have to steal that idea. I also like the clean lines of beadboard and have used it on BA ceilings. But how LOUD does the DR seem with that BB ceiling?
Finally figured out what I would have done with the DR on the floorplan (assuming no spouse resistance). Run a wall across the north wall (seal off the entrance) and make a small panty out of that space between DR and K. Then enclose the other DR opening to just a pair of french doors. Still not sure what I'd use the room for though. Hate to waste space in the front of the house as a br... but I guess if the music room is across the hall, the modified DR could be the study/office/den.
but once again, very nice, comfortable looking house.
jt8
"Every sale has five basic obstacles: no need, no money, no hurry, no desire, no trust." -- Zig Ziglar
Thanks again John,
The DR doesn't seem to loud, but the only times we really tested it so far were with about 15 people for both a birthday party and then thanksgiving, so it was just loud anyway. The house seemed louder to us at first but I think that was due to the large amount of hard floor surfacing in all the common areas. I love the bead board, and was trying to incorparate it into the area at the bottom of the stairs but was running out of time and my wife told me "enough".
a pic of the little one's room
I really like the ceiling. Is that actual bead board strips or is it the paneling that looks like beadboard?
Either way it looks great. Just wondering because I've been considering the paneling.
"All men's miseries derive from not being able to sit in a quiet room alone." Pascal
hey cat,
Thats the strips. 16' cut down. I now have enough cut offs to do a great short wall project, but no where to do it yet. I love the bead board ceilings, hope you get to do yours.
Yours certianly encourages me to do mine soon.
Looks great!"All men's miseries derive from not being able to sit in a quiet room alone." Pascal
Hi Deskguy,
Your house is inspiring. My husband and I started on a similar project this summer. We are building a craftsman style home that we also got off the internet and modified. We are general contracting and will be doing most of the finishing on the place as we have similar tastes to yours but not the budget to match. At this point we are to lock-up and things have gone fairly smoothly. The siding I believe will be the biggest challenge as the gabled ends seem extremely high on a 32 foot ladder and my husband is having to overcome his fear of heights.
I loved your detailing... it gave me a few more ideas. I don't think my husband will appreciate hearing any more ideas at this point because things are going to get a little overwhelming soon.
We don't need to move in until the end of May and at that point we may have to move into the garage. Everyone has told me that you want to make sure that things are finished before you move in because things don't ever get finished otherwise. It may seem like we have lots of time but all four of us in our family play hockey and have to play approximately 150 games this season. Needless to say we won't be able to focus on the house until the middle of March...then look out. I don't know if our priorities are screwed up or right on...it is hard to say.
Thanks for the pictures...it is nice to know what a DIYer is capable of.
Jody
Hi Jody,
Hope you've been having fun so far. Sounds like your still married. I also sided our house and am not a great fan of the tall ladders. When it came to our gable ends, I saved it for a weekend, called in all my favors with friends and brother in laws and rented a 4wd scissor lift. It made that part of the project so much more enjoyable and fast. All our trim surprisingly didn't cost that much, so I kept adding details here and there. But, then the trim painters came in. Painting the trim and doors cost me more than the materials themselves. ouch!
Good luck on your project. If you have any questions feel free to drop me a line. And make sure you don't break anything on the ice, that would sure slow down your project.
Darren
Thanks for the tip on the scissor lift for doing the siding-- that sounds much easier and a whole lot safer than many of the alternatives. Jody