There has been a lot going on at the house lately, but before I get into that I want to tell you how the greatest architect of all time impacted the design of our house. After almost a year of design and a couple months into construction we thought our plans were set. That’s when […]
Tag Archives: #architectmom
Insulation and Drywall
Insulation and Drywall. These two materials have transformed what was just a shell of a house into something that looks very close to a livable space. The insulation started with spray foam and caulk. We called for 3″ of spray foam on the underside of the roof sheathing. This is to get enough R value […]
Sweat Equity
It has been obvious since we started getting budget numbers back on this house that the only way we were going to be able to afford this without sacrificing too much was to put a little sweat equity into the project. I mentioned in my first post that we cleared the property ourselves with a […]
Rough-In & Deck Framing
Some parts of construction are more exciting than others. We saw a lot of progress in the first few months and each time we were on site things looked different. But once the shell of the house was in place it was time for the majority of the work to move inside for the rough-in […]
Windows & Roof
When you design a house to include natural ventilation, daylight, and optimal views, window selection becomes extremely important. Not only did I need a window that would look good and fit with the aesthetic I was going for but it also needed to perform well and it had to fit within the budget. On top […]
Framing
Well it’s been a bit longer than a week since my last post. (almost a month) Needless to say there is a lot going on at the house! Last time they had just poured the basement walls. Next came waterproofing and backfill which you can probably understand wasn’t really blog-worthy. It was nice to be […]
The handoff
The beginning of most construction projects is a bit slow. There is a lot of major work that needs to be scheduled and completed in a certain order. Our builder started by cleaning up the stumps and remaining brush. We had met our breaking point and were happy to handoff the project to the pros. […]
Getting Started
Before I update you all on what’s going on right now I’m going to fill you in on all the hard work that we put in to prep the site for the house. Our property was entirely wooded so before any building could start we had to clear a spot. I chose the house site […]
To Build or Not to Build
As ambitious and exciting as this whole process started, there came a point when we almost scrapped the idea of building a house altogether. As I mentioned in my first post we bought the land and took some time to plan, design, and save for the new house. Then I began to realize we only […]
Design Goals
Let me start by apologizing for the length of this post. I really tried to keep it brief but design is something I’m obviously passionate about and I thought it was important to share as much as I could…so here it goes: As a working mother, efficiency is something I strive for in every facet […]
The Nine Acre Wood
This is the story of our house in the nine acre wood. Is it possible to build an entirely custom, modern, sustainable, high performance home in Ohio? This is a blog intended to document our family’s journey to achieve these goals and to pave the way so it’s a little bit easier for the next […]