construction – Broken Branch Farm

This House is Like a Rollercoaster: Cabinets, Carpentry Mayhem, Paint, and Rain

Once of our daughter’s favorite things is Laurie Berkner’s Song and Story Kitchen, which is an audible original. In chapter one, the mouse in the story has a very up and down kind of day, and exclaims, “This day is like a rollercoaster!”

Our house story sure has felt that way, and moreso recently. As I mentioned in a previous post, June is shaping up to be a very busy month for us. We had trim and doors, flooring, cabinets, and painting all on the agenda, and were hoping that the septic system outdoors would be added as well. Some of these things are going very well, some have been a huge headache.

Walls Around My Heart: Plywood and Sheetrock

For a long while now we have been walking through a house of framed 2×4 and 2×6 walls. All of a sudden it seems, there are true walls and the rooms begin to take shape. The change is dramatic. While there is still a day or so of drywall hanging work to do, most of the house’s walls have been placed.

Getting Warmer: Insulation

Spring is finally peeking out from under the heavy blanket of cold and things are starting to thaw. The creek that runs through our property is starting to move. Last year we had a dramatic rise of water, but this year it is behaving itself and staying more or less within its banks.

Rough Approved: Little Stickers of Happiness

Finally! The rough inspections for everything have been completed. The engineering fixes were installed and the large amount of rough electrical work got finished. What a relief. We now have a bit of an over-engineered beam in the basement but compared with what was in place, I’ll take a living room that I can park…

Wonky Weather: A Merry December

After the big relief of having the roof completed, we had a few weeks of rest on site as some background things were happening. My husband got started on the electrical in his spare time but other than that little happened of note. The weather in November was blistering cold all month. When December started…

Let It Snow?: A roof over our heads

All signs have been pointing to the first snow coming tomorrow. Yesterday as the temperature began its plummet to wintry climes, the first half of the house was completed! It is an enclosed space and protected from the weather. Siding and brick are still to come, but at long last we can take comfort in…

As the Leaves Turn Golden: The road to enclosing

It has been a little while since my last post. My husband and I, as well as our builder, carpenter, and now the roofer, have been scurrying around solving problems. When everything holds its place in sequence, any delay in a decision or solution can be very hard to swallow. So far, at this point, the issues have been solved. Until we find the next of course.

Hurdles we have leapt in the last few weeks have included: Resolving a couple of wrong window sizes that were placed in the print, moving window framing down to meet egress, sorting out how to meet egress on windows we couldn’t move down, replacing some missing custom flashing for the triangular windows, and a few more on the fly design decisions and hurried trips to the hardware/lumber store for last minute vents and such that had to go through the roof.

As it stands, we are so very close to having her (the house) protected against the every hastening winter weather…

Rain Rain Go Away: a Week or More of Wet

One of the first things anyone who builds houses will tell you, or should tell you, is that your house will get rained upon before it is roofed. In Michigan and similar climates it just remains a fact of life for site-built houses. Our builder John was sure to warn us, and we are of course aware that a little rain is not ruinous to our house’s structure.

Knowing those things is one thing. Seeing the water pour down on the bones of your house and have there be nothing you can do about it is a whole other thing. A thing that makes stress knots form in your back muscles and threatens to shorten the tempers of even the most even-keeled of owners.

Upon this Rock: The foundation

(Retro Post) The foundation and basement of the house took a couple of months. We were nervous, as it was critical that the basement measure exactly to the print in order for the house to fit. unlike a traditional house, the kit measurements were non-negotiable and there was little margin for error. Enter in Superior…

Heart Transplant: Framing the Kitchen

This week has been very exciting, so I am posting a mid-week update. The custom kitchen extension is framed and finally I can physically see it, stand in it, and measure for cabinets (we are pretty far from cabinets)! I am a chef by trade, though on (maybe permanent?) hiatus for SAHM duties. Needless to…