Update on parade home

Well this was a pretty productive week with all things considered. We had aprox 2 1/2-3″ of rain the 1st part of the week. We were able to get the shingles installed over last weekend and beat the rain. I like seeing that roof go on because it sure helps to get the structure in the dry.  The house is really beginning to take shape.  The electrical contractor and myself met out at the site and as always he makes some suggestions and I listen some I go with others I don’t.  Our sub contractors have been with us for several years so it is always a good idea to listen to what they have to say.  Most of the windows were installed this last week all except a couple on the front of the house as we are using wood windows with the burgundy exterior frames as this is going to look mighty good with the brick and stone that is selected.  The heat/air contractor got all the duct work all laid out and sized the equipment.  There are several factors that go into making sure the equipment is sized correctly.  The size of the house, the ceiling heights, the direction the house faces, what type of windows being used, in other words if you are building a house or having one built do not let your builder/heat air contractor tell you well that is the size of unit I always put in to that size of house because this may not always be correct.  The brick will be delivered this week and we will start to get brick and rock designs figured out.  The plumbing contractor will be in this week to install all tubs, exterior faucets, and all gas stub outs.  So this should shape up to be a very busy and productive week.  I will be going over the structured wiring plans with the alarm company as this will be installed soon. This is the best time right here if you think you might ever want some stereo/audio wiring done in your house. It doesn’t get any easier and certainly does not get any cheaper than right now.  I have begun to make some cabinet drawings and to begin to get a feel for the interior styling that will take place.  Drop by and have a look if you are in the area. As I have stated before it is in the beautiful Stone Mill Addition in Yukon, Okla. Look forward to seeing you out.  

Spring time

Well I think spring has finally sprung here in the central part of Oklahoma that is.  The grass is beginning to green up the trees and landscaping are coming out of hibernation and things are starting to look real good. I really like when all the Bradford pear trees bloom out as this is one of my favorites.  I am seeing people out in their yards and bed areas working them over.  This is a great time of year.  Well a little bit of update on the show home we are constructing in the beautiful Stone Mill subdivision in Yukon Oklahoma, on Thursday of last week the framing crew showed up and started laying out where the walls will go.  This sounds probably trivial but it is at this stage right here where you house gets squared up so that they are level and in correct relation with each other.  If a framer lays out the walls out of square it makes the sheetrock stage hard to do, it will make tile floors grout lines not be parallel with the walls in other words nothing good will take place.  I find as a contractor this is a great time to spend at the job site because some times walls have to be shifted a little bit to make a plumbing line work properly or maybe make cabinets and trim fit into corners like they should.  After walls are chalked out on the slab the framers go to work putting down the 2 x 4 sill plate and we like to use  liquid nail under all the sill plates for a good bond to the slab.  By the end of the day of Friday about 2/3’s of the walls were framed up with window and door openings in them.  This next week I will be meeting with my cast stone contractor and we will be discussing cast stone mantles, hood surrounds and some details possibly for the exterior fascade.  The framers will continue on with the walls and on up from there.  Brick will be ordered this week and the windows are on order. We will continue to press on from here.

Exterior shutters

Many times when remodeling a house or building a new one its the little details on the exterior of a home that really sets your apart from other homes.  Wood shutters I think for the money is one of the best features you can add to really enhance a window.  As a new home builder we install lots of shutters on the new houses we construct.  Wood shutters can be virtually any design that you can think of from basic louvered to a more detailed raised panel type. They can be painted, stained or even glazed to enhance the detailing.  Make sure to check with your local paint company in your area as you will want to put the proper wood protector on the shutters to ensure longevity. Shutters can be ordered from companies off of the Internet as well as they can be built by local craftsman in your area.  With a few common tools they are easy to install as well depending on if you are mounting them on brick or a stucco surface or siding surface.  I usually will drill into the brick or the brick mortar joint with a tap-con drill bit and install a tap-con fastener but there are several fasteners that you can use.  Shutters can make a small window look wider, they can really enhance a radius or round top window.  So don’t forget the little details add up to make a nice difference on your home.