Build Notes (New Construction, Older Homes, Renovations, Interesting Finishing and Details)
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Man, it takes forever to get anything done these days. Almost six months later, we’re finally finishing up the first of the three pools/courtyards I posted about back in March. This is also the first house to close in the small 10-unit development and, barring any unforeseen issues, closing should be Friday.
Everything is last minute now. The days of doing pretty custom builds in 6 to 9 months have long been gone. Ten to 12 months is much more realistic, and some are stretching to 18 months.
We originally had a really lush, organic courtyard designed, but the buyers wanted turf. I have to admit, the newer stuff looks a hell of a lot better than the fake grass from years ago. And hey, the courtyard is completely private and can’t be seen from the street, so there’s only so much I’m going to fight them on.
I’ll say, after building homes for decades, I actually prefer the complexity and difficulty of these kinds of projects compared with the larger-lot builds I did years ago, even intown. They’re definitely more stressful, but also more enjoyable. Every home has always been unique, but as the sites get tighter and tighter, that uniqueness just keeps getting amplified.
The next two are going to be really cool. One of them is a market home that isn’t sold yet, so we’re really amplifying the finishes and landscaping to make it stand out.
The other one is completely custom and pretty much no-expense-spared, so that one should turn out really nice.
And by all means, if this belongs somewhere else or I should just start my own thread, I’m totally fine with that. I’m not trying to sell anybody anything. It’s really just some of my day-to-day, and I think it’s cool stuff for anyone interested in architecture, design, and new home construction.
Watching the first of three pools being dug today on a project of mine. Super tight construction 10 homes on approximately an acre. All detached(zero lot line) except for this one brick outbuilding that’s attached to the house next- door.
Been waiting months for these pool permits, been holding me up on starting the next three houses as the only access is ramping over these privacy walls that are semi complete.
First two houses have these smaller pools, the other one will have a 12 x 40 lap pool. I’m standing on the gym/spa structure. two-story garage in front of it with the lap pool between it and the main house.
Edit: that’s not the finished color of the interior of the pool, it will be acid washed in the morning. It has a lot of black/dark pebbles it’s called “Turtle Bay”
Squeezing these things in…
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@northsouthdenimguy said in WHAT ARE YOU DOING TODAY - WAYDT (PICS):
I should just start my own thread
You should. I'd love to see that kind of projects evolving.
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Yes, that would be great. Thank you!
It might actually be kind of nice to catalog some of the stuff I have going on in one place, almost like a little construction blog. I post pictures here and there, but it could be interesting to show the different houses, some of the design decisions, the cool stuff we’re doing, and of course the things that inevitably go sideways.
People can always mute it
If people are interested, I think I’d enjoy doing it. It would also probably help keep me from going crazy at times just having a place to talk through what’s going on with these projects.
@endo thanks!
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@northsouthdenimguy I have split the topic and please edit the post with a title of your choosing (or let me know and I can change it).
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I think Build Notes works really well because it leaves it open enough for other people to contribute without making it sound like it’s only about new construction.
Could be a place for anything a little more construction-oriented, whether it’s new construction, older homes, renovations, interesting finishes, details, things coming together, or even things that go sideways.
I’ll post some of what I have going on, but by all means anyone else should jump in with their own projects too. I know there’s already a “Show Us Your Pad” type thread, but I was thinking this could be a little more focused on the actual construction, renovation, materials, finishes and how things come together.
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@northsouthdenimguy I’ve changed the title per your recommendation. Let me know what you think and if you would like it amended.
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Im going to enjoy this thread! (General Contractor here)
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@northsouthdenimguy Its great watching your project, which look amazing. I also enjoy this thread.
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Here is the commentary on the addition to our house......
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@northsouthdenimguy Great buildings.....
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Here’s a handful of shots from a house I completed almost two years ago. It took my client and friend about 18 months to sell. Beautiful house and, in my opinion, well worth the original asking price, but it just hit that weird timing with interest rates and the slowdown we started to see toward the end of 2024 here in the U.S.
It’s approximately 5,200 square feet finished, with another roughly 900 square feet over the garage that could be finished.
I’ll pull together some other pictures at some point. I posted this house a while back in one of the threads, but it’s a pretty cool project. I’ve known this particular client for 21 years, and this was the fourth house I’ve built for him. We’re actually working on getting another one going on the adjacent property he owns, which is approximately six acres. This one sits on about eight acres.
Really great guy and a great client. He enjoys the process and is very creative. We’ll typically use an designer, but he and I tend to tweak things ourselves as we go. I’ve always enjoyed working on projects with him. So much so that he always gets the friends-and-family discount on my fees. At least on the last two, lol.
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@northsouthdenimguy beautiful house and property!
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Thanks! I have some better pictures somewhere, but I need to get better at putting things into folders…
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Edit: should’ve put this at the beginning originally, but where these homes really shine, at least for me, is two or three years down the road when the landscaping has filled in, the vines have grown, and everything starts to develop a little patina and age. Even when the house is technically finished, it never really feels completely done. That evolution is part of the process.
Here are some details from the house with a small pool. This is a mahogany gate to the pool equipment. The wall is a 4” cement block with 3-coat European hard coat stucco. Notice the little radius or semi radius on top of the wall, looks nice and helps to shed water. Same detail they were supposed to do on the water feature monument, so it would look less like a headstone. Still debating whether I’m going to get them to fix that or not. The guy’s shook their head like they understood what I was telling them to do and they proceed to not do it. I can’t totally blame them because so much of how I build is “off the cuff” sketched on pieces of paper, not architectural drawings. More often than not just something mentioned in the field.
This is another mahogany built detail. The louvered screen lets in a little light while also blocking the view of the neighbor’s HVAC condenser. Fortunately, their condenser is whisper quiet.
This is actually next to the front door at the terrace level. Since they chose not to build the stairs going up to the main level, it was important not only to screen this area but also to make it attractive. It would have been easy and more cost effective to simply extend the masonry wall or fill this in with siding, but this gives the area a much more intentional finished look.
Below is the opposite end of the terrace-level porch area. The metal screen was fabricated by a guy I’ve been using for over 20 years. When my landscaper does the house next door, they’ll plant a creeping vine here, and the gardener who maintains everything will weave the vine through the screen as it grows. Eventually, this will become a green living wall.
After acid washing the PebbleTec this morning, the pool is now being filled. With the darker color, surrounding landscaping, and the colors of the home, it should end up having more of a lagoon feel to it.
And after asking my pool contractor about half a dozen times, supposedly they’re putting the water feature spout on today, but I won’t hold my breath…
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@northsouthdenimguy that’s a great idea doing that in a smaller bath. I’m actually about to redo a bathroom at my house soon and I’m gonna consider this. We have a marble look stone hexagonal backsplash in our kitchen and it looks so good. One of my favorite things in my house
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The pool is filled and some shitty interior shots. Don’t have time to set up for this, will have some more professional ones done later today. Keep in mind this is the client selections, which I think are very tasteful, but may not be everybody’s cup of tea.
Fingers crossed it’s closing on Monday was supposed to close today. Daddy needs a closing. I haven’t had one since October of last year….
