Michael Brazda - Project Casa

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PHOTO ALBUMS	LINKS
Plans - Elev Sm, Lg; Main Flr Sm, Lg; Bsmnt Sm, Lg	Siding Colors: Canexel
Phase I - Earthwork & Foundation	Garage Door: Overhead Door
Phase II - Basement Forms
Phase III - Basement Walls	Color Options I
Phase IV - Framing	Color Options II
Phase V - Roof	Final Color Options
Phase VI - Roof
Phase VII - Brick & Driveway	Interior Paint
Phase VIII - Garage Door, Electrical & Plumbing
Phase IX - Interior Work

	Last Update: 04 JULY 04 Estimated Completion Date: May 04 Actual Completion Date: May 14
NEW!06 Mar 2006	Okay, so the house is long done, in fact I've been in it for a year and a half now, but there are still dozens of projects to complete: paint the front door, paint and install exterior trim, landscape the backyard, retaining wall in the front yard, finish the basement, etc. Nevertheless, the project was a terrific learning experience, and will prove useful future projects. If you have any questions, please feel from to shoot me an email at any time. Thanks!
16 Mar 2004	Garage Door, Electrical & Plumbing: The garage door showed up this afternoon, giving the front of the house a much more complete look. It's the wrong model, but I'm sure that'll be fix fairly quickly. Anyway, with the addition of a few door knobs, the house will now be fully securable, making interior work easier. The walks were poured out front--three inches low, so that I may put brick pavers over the top of them as I had intended. That's a project for sometime this week, as time allows. The plumbing work has been somewhat halting, but looks as though it might be completed within a day or so. The design of some of the walls and framing has made their job more difficult that is typical, and were I to do this over again, more thought would go into it. The elecrical on the other hand, has been completed with break-neck speed, and in impressive fashion. Their operation is quick, professional and efficient; making the more worrisome part of this project for me seem easy. I even added an outlet near the roof to facilitate Christmas lights. Next is inspection, insulation and sheetrock.
16 Mar 2004	Brick, Driveway & Plumbing: The Castlewood brick with address block looks great, and today the driveway was put in. The driveway is 4" with wire mesh on the upper section, and 5-6" for the lower portion to help absorb the additional pressure of impact. It was coated with a spray-on sealant to slow the curing; but will still be strong enough to drive on in three days. In other news, the HVAC is complete, and the plumbers are now doing their thing. While rather upset with the design of the house, they're making good progress, though I'll have some oddly difficult work to do when it comes time to finish the basement. It'll be complete by the end of the week, and the electrical work can begin.
25 Feb 2004	Shingles & My B-Day: Well, due to unfortunate circumstances, the delivery of my windows is running a bit behind, but work is proceeding nevertheless. The front of the roof is now shingled with a dimensional shingle by Elk in Weathered Wood, which provides a more natural, architecturally interesting look, while still maintaining exceptional resistance to the elements, notably wind. Mike, my roofer, is using six nails per shingle, instead of the suggested five, to add additional strength. My skylight, by Velux has been installed as well, and eight holes for vents cut into the roof. Additionally, today the garage floor was poured with a two-inch slope over it's length for proper drainage. Unfortuantely, the drain was not installed, but the slope should provide adequate drainage for my purposes.
20 Feb 2004	The Roof Over My Head: 'This past week saw the completing of most of the interior framing, the trusswork for the roof, and almost all of the roof sheeting. It finally bears the sillouette of a completed house, and suggests that an accelleration in my decision making must commence immediately. The exterior decisions are all but made, including Almond siding and windows, claytone trim, sandstone garage door, and exterior lighting styles. With the forthcoming decisions on shingles and brick, I must turn to the interior. Choices of carpet, woods, and tile are plaguing me at the moment, as are lighting placement and bathroom configuration. Still, it really is both exciting and fun, and I'm certain to get many years of enjoyment out of the result.
14 Feb 2004	Framing: Steve and Steven, my Framing contractors, have been tearing it up, building at breakneck speed. To my surprise, even during the cold weather of Saturday morning (Valentine's Day which couldn't have gone over well at home), when they threw up the rest of the exterior walls of the main portion of the house. At this rate, I may have a roof by the end of the week. The changes thus far have been very minor, moving the slider a few inches here, and a window there.
02 Feb 2004	Basement Walls: Today the forms were set in place by a concrete crew to prepare for the pouring of the walls tomorrow. Rebar is bent and placed according to code to provide adequate reinforcement. Apparently at this time of year, builders have different methods of getting the job done. Mike Lewis, my builder, takes a more conservative approach, to include using hot water and 1% chloride in the mix, allowing the concrete to pour easily and set up quickly in cold weather. The basement floor, on the other hand, will wait until the house is partially completed and some heat can be applied. It is expected to take only half a day to pour the concrete, and should set within a day of that.
28 Jan 2004	Next Step: Pour the basement. We're waiting on the weather. It's too cold, and will be for a week at least, to pour concrete. Once poured, the setting process should generate enough heat on it's own. The weather system in Rapid City is unique, and rather unpredictable, so stay tuned...
23 Jan 2004	FOUNDATION: Today the foundation was poured due to favorable weather and a temperature of about 47F. It'll have at least the weekend to set up, and then, weather permitting, the basement can be formed and poured.
22 Jan 2004	THE HOLE: Step one would be, of course, to dig yourself a hole. Now, my ex-girlfriends will tell you that this is something which I know something about; but in spite of this, I made the decision to leave the digging to experts this time. Unfortunately, I was over the Atlantic participating in Atlantic Flag, so was unable to do the groundbreaking honors at the appropriate time. Nevertheless, I'm glad to have things under way, and still managed to take a scoop of dirt myself. See the pictures for details.