Window Poll

This is a post especially for Becker, who has been wanting a more interactive blog. We are trying to decide on the color of our window frames and the options are chestnut brown or cranberry red. So, let us know what you think! (Also, you can now see what the metal clad siding will look like.)

Curse of the signed contract?

We're hoping it's merely a coincidence, but since we signed the contract we've had a bit of bad luck. The microwave died (only needed it 6 more months!), our stereo's central speaker went out at the amp, and yesterday our clothes dryer and digital camera passed away. ARG! So, we have ordered our new washer and dryer a bit earlier than expected. Fortunately we have discovered that architects can get great discounts on appliances through a special website, but the entire situation is just so frustrating!! Special thanks to Kiki and Seth for the use of their microwave for the rest of the year.

The Contract is Signed!

It's official now! On Monday night we met with Tim and signed the contract. Now we are able to get our financing settled and get to work. We hope to close on our construction loan the first week of July. Once that happens, we will get the septic system installed and have the well dug. We will also put our down payment on the SIPs down and those will be fabricated off-site. While we wait for the SIPs to arrive, the garage will be built. Once things are really underway, it will be time to sell our old house...anyone looking for a nice 3 bedroom with a fenced-in yard on Madison's West side? It's going to be a busy summer!

Floor Plans

Budget Crunch

Well, it has been a BIG week...it appears we are significantly over budget and are having to take a lot of our ideas to the chopping block. Our biggest and saddest loss is the geothermal heat system. This is so unfortunate because it really is the best way to heat our home on this site. However, Tim assures us that our house will be so "tight" because of the SIPs construction that our heating and cooling systems will still be a lot more efficient than the typical house. Other items to be changed are the exterior siding (from cement board to metal clad - sounds strange, but I'll try to post an updated sketch...Matt really likes this change!), the chimney (from stone to possibly stucco), eliminating some upstairs windows, and various other things. We're hopeful that most of the changes will not affect the integrity of Matt's design and that we can still shoot for a December completion date. More to come...