permit in hand - let the good times roll

above: view from front entry

above: view from back northwest corner

above: view from north to south looking down toward front door

above: view into garage

we were able to secure the building permit this week, and have begun laying out the foundation. the foundation envelope is done (see below pics) and will hopefully be able to drill the piers this coming week. we actually had snow this past friday, but it appears the workers worked through that. we have several decision to make now that the foundation is on its way, including: windows, exterior, beams, etc.

redesign of the plans

what do you do when the original design is 5' past the build line? you end up redesigning the home into an arguably better floorplan. though it was not what we wanted to do, it ended up being a positive thing. see for yourself

driving up to the house

a final rendering of the front of the house. i believe we have decided to go with a painted beam for the exterior/interior. this was done with the eichler homes of the 50's from which we drawn some inspiration. becuase of this, we the choice of beams used may need to be reconsidered. stay tuned for permitting news. again, another fine rendering by ramy hanna www.ramyhanna.com

permitting

the list of things to do before even building the home is very long. it has taken quit a bit of time getting to the permitting phase. the city of bellaire has so many "above and beyond" requirements from the city of houston that it can be a daunting (and expensive) road. i believe we will hopefully get to submit our plans sometime next week. from there, it should take another 2-3 weeks for the permitting to either be approved, or.... hopefully with fewer builds, it won't take as long.

above is another ramy hanna (http://www.ramyhanna.com/) rendering of the interior with furniture!

eye candy - yum!

few additional renderings. these are looking more and more lifelike. with the addition of light fixtures and furniture to come...can't wait! let me know your thoughts? any changes?

one day...gone

only took one day to tear the house down, remove the foundation, chop down a few trees and clear the overgrowth.  Wow, the lot looks so much bigger than i had imagined.  the fun is about to start soon....

demo day is here

Eight months since getting the lot and we are finally ready to tear the existing home down. Hopefully the permitting process will be smooth and we can get this house framed and enclosed as fast as possible. Stay tuned for demolition pictures.

Update: 3:00 - pictures of the destruction!!