Update on parade home

We are coming down the home stretch on the finish of our parade home. The painting contractors will be applying some specialty wall glazes and finishes this next week. It will be time for several contractors to come in and finish up there last part. We built the cabinet frame on the outdoor patio/living area that will have the built in grill, refrigerator and sink in it. The tile contractor has tile the floor on the outdoor living area as this room is really going to be special for someone to enjoy.  We have had a sudden rash of heavy rain here in central Oklahoma in the middle of August which is very abnormal for those of you that are not from this part of the country. It typically is hot and dry. So the rain has been a welcome site, however it has halted our progress on the exterior sodding of the yard as well as installation of the landscape. The landscape designer that we use has a plan all drafted up and ready to implement it as soon as the weather drys and around here that should be back pretty soon.  So the next couple weeks will be hectic but fun. We believe we have secured a deal with a furniture and home furnishing store to stage the house with furnishings and we are looking forward to that. The actual start date of the parade of homes is September 13th so we have lots to do before that date but we look forward to meeting any of you that have been reading the progression schedule and want to come out to have a look.

Parade home update

Well I thought I would let you know what is going on at the parade of home that we are building in the beautiful Stone Mill addition in Yukon Oklahoma. But before I do that I have to talk about our cruise to Alaska last week aboard the Golden Princess Cruise Line. Those of you that have been before know what I mean when I say WOW. That is the most beautiful area I have ever seen. We left Seattle and headed out for Juneau as our first stop as we took the Inside Passage tour. If you have never been on a cruise, in my estimation it is one of the best vacations dollar for dollar you can take. All the details are taken care of for you. You just show up and start eating. They have food 24/7 so you do have to do some exercise if you can or you will pack it on.  I guess this is part of vacation though huh.  Temperatures about 50 for the high and probably in the 30’s sailing on the water, and for those of us that live in a hot climate that was a nice relief. So we will definitely go back and explore some more of Alaska, so if any of you have been to some good places up there let me know. Okay back at the house. the painting crew has started and he will be applying some nice furniture look finishes and some glazed wall treatments.  I met with the landscape contractor and we went over the design and he will begin to implement that this week. The underground sprinkler crew will be in this week to install the irrigation system, so we are moving towards a completion outside here in a couple of weeks.  My wife and I will be selecting the light fixtures with our lighting consultant as we begin to pull all the interior details that have been ordered together to complete this project. We are going to talk to our furniture source and see about staging the house with furniture.  So stop on by and see us or send us a comment as we would like to be your builder on your next house.

Parade home update

Well just a quick update on the progress of the home we are building for the 2008 Central Oklahoma Parade of Homes in the beautiful Stone Mill subdivision in Yukon, Ok. The brick contractors finished up all masonry work on the exterior this week. The beautiful custom built entry door out of White Oak and distressed has been installed and I must say it does make a statement. You will see what I mean when I get some photos uploaded. Our in house carpentry crew built some wood beams to go up in a step up ceiling in the living room that matches the front door. They have a real nice rustic feel about them.  The drywall crew came in this last week and installed all the sheetrock. The tape and bead contractor is now in there and will be texturing the walls with a hand troweled texture on all walls and ceilings. I have got all shop drawings made for the cabinets and built ins and my brother and myself went over and made all field measurements so we could start the construction of the cabinets.  The kitchen cabinets we have chose to build those all the way up to the 10′ ceiling height doing a set of glass doors along the top with some nice architectural carvings placed in some highlighted areas. We will be doing flush inset cabinet doors with a beaded edge giving us a real nice look.  The tile contractor will be in at the job site in about a week to start laying the floor tile. Stay tuned for more updated information.

Parade home update

Well this past week we finished all the electrical wiring, heat air duct work, all structured wiring is in place. We received all of our next round of inspections and I must say a lot of builders dread this stage of construction because of what the inspectors can do to you as far as holding up progress, but I must say our city inspectors here are some of the finest guys I have worked with and they are always willing to work with you on timing.  The rock layers got in this week and laid the dry stack stone on the front entry and it sure has a nice look to it.  We are heading in the direction of an Old World look and the style of stone fits right into this.  The brick masons started laying the brick also this week and will wrap it up by mid week.  The insulators came in and insulated the walls using the BIB system. This really does make for an efficient home.  My wife, also our in house decorator has selected all the tile as well as the countertops and I am anxious to see all these materials come together.  I have begun to really concentrate on the interior cabinet and trim designs as I have completed several drawings to start this process.  As we have stated earlier and also in our “about us” area of our website we have our own in house trim and cabinet crew and we are a well polished team as many of our happy clients will testify to that.  Woodwork is our speciality and we certainly get a lot of enjoyment and satisfaction out of taking raw wood and turning it into something beautiful for our customers.  The drywall crew is set to arrive this week and to me and I am sure many of you this is when a house takes on a definite shape and look inside. It is at this time you can really tell your room sizes and the space that you will have.  Progress is going well so come on out and see us.

Parade home update

The framing of our parade home has been completed on May 1st 2008. It is really beginning to take shape as you are able to see the wide open floor plan and the large window openings that will offer a nice view.  Well I made a change during the framing phase that will end costing a couple of thousand dollars extra but I believe it will really have a nice impact. I will talk in detail about it when we move a little farther along but it has to do with adding a very beautiful coffered ceiling in the formal dining room.  As I tell all my clients making changes during construction can have a impact on the bottom dollar and try and refrain from doing this as much as you can, but I believe this will really be worth it.  The patio screen contractor was out at the job site this week and we worked out the details for mounting the screen tracks so they are incorporated into the brick columns on the patio. It is very important on things such as this to have a very cooperative team of contractors that are willing to work together to make the end result what you want and I will say here at Montgomery Homes Inc. we have just that.  The roofing contractors will be installing the roofing in the next few days and the windows will be installed as soon as they come in. It is at this point I always feel good about a house because it is in the dry and out of the direct weather elements.  I have completed the electrical plan and the structured wiring plan as here within our company we draw our own plans so we have the ability to draw exactly what a customer wants within in the plan as far as electric, stereo wiring and structured phone, cable wiring. I will be reviewing these plans with the electrical contractor prior to him getting started.  The fireplaces are ordered and will be installed this coming week.  My wife who does the decorating and coordinating of all colors, will begin the selection process of all interior materials, as well as exterior colors.  So I am very pleased with the progress that is being made at the job site and we would like to see you out there some time.

Show home update

Well we have returned from the Kitchen and Bath show in Chicago over this past weekend and wow was it a large convention. If you have ever been to the McCormick Convention Center there in Chicago the show filled up all 3 convention halls as I believe there were over 900 exhibitors. Got to see a lot of new products that are going to be on the market soon or have just come out onto the market in some areas.  Lots of attendees from all over the country were there to see the show.  My wife and I had never been to Chicago before so we did not know really what to expect.  I must say although it turned off very cold and that wind that blows in off of Lake Michigan does have a bite to it, we had a fantastic time as Chicago has a very beautiful architectural aray of buildings and high rises.  We took a architectural boat trip down the Chicago river to tour and hear the history of many of the buildings along the river.  We also went up to the observation deck of the Sears tower and that is way up in the air and what a beautiful site it was as we got up there about 7:00 and stayed until after dark to see the city lights come on.  So hopefully we can incorporate some of the new ideas and products into our show home that we are building in the beautiful Stone Mill subdivision that I started talking about in our last blog.  Here is what is happening on the job now, we got all the plumbing drain lines and water lines installed in the foundation area the 1st part of this week followed by our city inspection for plumbing.  Today, Wednesday we poured the concrete slab in the house floor and garage floor. In pouring the slab we like to install steel at every inside corner to help minimize the cracking issues and also the next day after it is poured we like to saw cut the slab so that in the event that the slab cracks we hope it will crack over to a saw cut area and stop there.  The saying about concrete is that it does 2 things 1 is it will get hard and the 2nd is that it will crack. So we try and do what we can to help minimize this.  The framing crew will be moving onto the site in the next couple of days and it will begin to resemble a house.  I will be ordering the windows this week so that we have all the necessary window measurements.  I will be taking some pictures and try to point out some issues that we here at Montgomery Homes Inc. feel are critical and not to be overlooked in the framing process.

OUtdoor living/kitchen areas

Outdoor kitchen and living areas.  Ah does that not make you think of nice warm temperatures and being outside.  After what some I know have had a long cold winter.  Outdoor areas are a great addition to your house, or if you are going to build a house you should give it some serious consideration.  Just pick up any home magazine and you will see they are becoming increasingly popular rooms.  It definitely brings about a great and exciting cook out experience as well as just plain fun.  You might think that this is just a seasonal area and maybe not worth the cost, but depending on where you live you may can enjoy it several months out of the year.  In the last 2-3 years in some of our custom houses we are seeing more of a request for these areas.  We have put built in fireplaces, as well as hook ups for flat screen TVs and stereo hook ups.  We also have a contractor that installs motorized screens that roll up on a canister and disappear into the ceiling making a completely controlled room. Now you want to talk about a room that you can control the fly, mosquito’s, and the wind and really enjoy that is one you can.  The enormous growth in these rooms have created many different products in which to choose from.  You can go as simple as a free standing barbque grill to an elaborate built in model with a stainless steel exhaust hood above.  When designing an area such as this it is very important that you take the weather conditions in your area into account for the materials that you use for your room.  There are such advantages to an outdoor area, spending quality time with friends and family being right up at the top of the list.  One last thing to consider, you may find that you have friends you weren’t aware of when they find out what a wonderful space you have created but what the heck life is to short not to enjoy there company so good luck with your project and happy grilling.

Kitchen design

Ever notice when you go to a party or a dinner at friends or family’s house or if they come to yours everybody seems to congregate around the kitchen area.  Besides the obvious that is where you can sometimes catch a sample and enjoy the good smell of food, I believe that people just tend to like to socialize there.  People just want to be in the middle of the action and that is where it starts.  People that don’t normally cook a bit at their home a lot of times likes to roll up their sleeves and lend a helping hand.  A great kitchen design goes a long way in how all of these people can enter-twine with each other and things get done.  When we are designing house plans to build for clients the number one request is they want a open kitchen lay out and if possible to have a big center island to work and prepare things at.  Our company not only designs the plans but also we have our own in house carpenters that build all the cabinets in our new homes.  Solid surface counter-tops are a must in virtually every home we build.  Roll out drawers once considered only for a luxury kitchen are certainly finding there way into just about all price ranges of kitchens built today.  Stainless steel appliances are  very highly requested and a very nice look.  Most of the upper end kitchens in our houses that we build will have a nice custom stain on maple cabinetry with a glaze finish to give it a very nice furniture look.  So next time you are invited to a get together, and everyone is in that kitchen hopefully the people that brought all of the design together was thinking of you, I know we do.