I've got lots of questions but I'll spend a few days browsing the site before I ask. GREAT SITE! Ryan in San Luis Obispo, CA

Jerry's Forum Posts: 26
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The Final Push

Posted to Thomas-Home--Raintree-Lake by Jerry in Lee's Summit, MO on 4/9/2008 10:45:14 PM

We are now less than a month away from move-in and lots of misc. things are going on.  In the last few weeks most of the tile is done, deck built, and stonework winding down.  Right now, the stone block wall work is underway and the driveway should be poured in the next few days.  Now, a year after we started, and faced with the same challenge: trying to move dirt with lots of rain.  Here's a variety of recent pictures...

Photos

Deck Building	More Deck Building	Front Entry Stone In Progress
Front Stone Complete	Living Room Fireplace	Stained Concrete Stair Treads
Dining Room Tile	Metal Stair Rail Assembly

2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 Merit Award Winner Kenneth's Forum Posts: 767 Interview Answers: 181 Average Forum Rating: 4.35 Send Private Message My Construction Website Randomly Selected Image 4/16/2008

Nice to see the progress. At the very end it seems like there are so many little things that it will never get done, terribly frustrating trying to button it all up. Good job...

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Paint, Tile, Etc.

Posted to Thomas-Home--Raintree-Lake by Jerry in Lee's Summit, MO on 3/18/2008 7:54:27 PM

It's been a whole month again since I've posted so it's time to get some more pictures out.  Interior painting is done and tilework is well underway.  Today one of my special projects (stained concrete stair treads) went in, and turned out even better than I expected.  The stonework will also start tomorrow so I'll get some pictures of that up when they start to make some progress.

Photos

Living Room	Kitchen	Dining Room
Master Shower	Stair Treads Half Done	Stair Treads Complete

Cabinets

Posted to Thomas-Home--Raintree-Lake by Jerry in Lee's Summit, MO on 2/18/2008 9:02:37 AM

All cabinets are installed and ready to be finished.  There will be a mix of stained and painted cabinets throughout the house.  The painters start staining woodwork today.

Photos

Kitchen (looking west)	Kitchen Island (front)	Kitchen Island (back)
Living Room Built-In	Front Entry Built-In	Master Bath
Lower Level Bar	Playroom Built-In	Dining Room

Millwork/Trim

Posted to Thomas-Home--Raintree-Lake by Jerry in Lee's Summit, MO on 2/7/2008 7:54:53 PM

Millwork and trim is pretty much finished, with the exception of some areas where cabinets will be installed.  Cabinets should be done in a few days and I'll post more pictures.

Photos

Millwork & Trim Staged in Garage	Master Bedroom Closet	Dining Room
Master Bedroom Shelves	Master Bedroom Doors	Playroom/Office Doors
Mudroom Built-In	Front Entry

Stucco Color Coat

Posted to Thomas-Home--Raintree-Lake by Jerry in Lee's Summit, MO on 1/7/2008 8:28:01 PM

Stucco crew just finished up the acrylic topcoat, which is applied with a thin smooth color coat followed by the colored texture coat.  They worked all weekend, since 60 degree weather in January doesn't happen often.  The boys enjoyed playing in the pile of sand and hanging out with the guys.

I've also included a picture of our deck pedestals built by the mason and I yesterday.  The block columns will be veneered in stone and support the deck posts.  I'm anxious to get in the permanent post to support the roof, since the temporary supports have seen better days.

Photos

Front	Northwest Corner	Northeast Corner
East Side	Southeast Corner	Deck Pedestals
Coating Window Trim	Boys & the Crew

Stucco Brown Coat

Posted to Thomas-Home--Raintree-Lake by Jerry in Lee's Summit, MO on 12/20/2007

Stucco crew was out to put on the brown (base) coat, and had to work in swamp-like conditions with all of the mud everywhere.  The pictures give you an idea of how sloppy it was.

Photos

South Side	Southeast Corner	Northeast Corner
Stucco Sills for Front Windows

Drywall & Front Door

Posted to Thomas-Home--Raintree-Lake by Jerry in Lee's Summit, MO on 12/14/2007

The first time I posted this, it somehow disappeared the next day, so here goes again... My dad and I picked up the custom front door, which was made by a local shop. The pictures show it on the trailer and installed on the house. Also, drywall is well underway now. They are taping and mudding, so the pictures are not quite up to date. I mainly included some of the archway and timber details.

Photos

Front Door on Trailer	Front Door Installed	Unloading Drywall
Family Room	Kitchen	Front Entry
Main Hall at Master Bedroom	Main Hall into Front Entry	Master Bedroom

Spray Foam Insulation

Posted to Thomas-Home--Raintree-Lake by Jerry in Lee's Summit, MO on 11/12/2007 2:13:44 PM

The all rough inspection was done last Tuesday, which cleared the way for insulation.  The spray foam crew has been so busy during the week that they squeezed us in last Sat.  They were able to get all of the walls done in one day.  I had been looking forward to seeing them spray the expanding foam for a long time.  Included in the pictures are the trailer and spray equipment, and the guys in action.  They will come back after drywall to spray the ceiling from the attic.

Photos

2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 Merit Award Winner Kenneth's Forum Posts: 767 Interview Answers: 181 Average Forum Rating: 4.35 Send Private Message My Construction Website Randomly Selected Image 12/6/2007

Congratulations on your progress.  I found that nothing changed the character of my house more than sheetrock - at this point you can really see how it comes together and it seems almost finished.  Granted there is still alot of work, but you are now finishing and not building, this was a huge step visually.

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Stucco Prep

Posted to Thomas-Home--Raintree-Lake by Jerry in Lee's Summit, MO on 11/4/2007 5:47:35 AM

Stucco crew finished up this week setting up scaffolding and applying the paper and metal lathe.  Stucco can begin once the drywall is hung.  All rough plumbing, electrical, and low-voltage wiring is done and we plan to get the rough inspection this week to make way for insulation and then drywall.  The areas in the pictures without the paper and lathe will get veneer stone.

Photos

Garage Doors, Electrical, & More Plumbing

Posted to Thomas-Home--Raintree-Lake by Jerry in Lee's Summit, MO on 10/12/2007 9:05:52 AM

The last few weeks were mainly spent getting electrical, plumbing, and HVAC cleaned up and ready for inspection.  I've included some pictures of the garage doors, installed so we could lock the house up at night.  There are also some of a contractor boring under the road to get to the water main for our service, which was pretty neat to see.  The boring machine was run from a skid steer, which you'll see in one of the pictures.

Photos

Rough Plumbing, Windows & Fireplaces

Posted to Thomas-Home--Raintree-Lake by Jerry in Lee's Summit, MO on 9/16/2007 4:26:07 PM

I just realized it's been a month since my last post, and there has been enough progress to keep me busy.  During that time, windows, doors and fireplaces were installed, framing details finished, garage slab poured, and most rough plumbing completed.  I took care of flashing the windows, since it was important to me to get it right.

I have included a variety of pictures.  You will see me giving the boys a ride on our flatwork contractor's bobcat, when he came out to grade the garage before pouring the slab.  There's also a cool pic of our water distribution manifolds, still in progress.  Check back soon, I promise not to take another month to post again.

Photos