Sara Kirschenbaum
Palm Up

Blog :: I'm Building A House!

  1. The Last Stretch of Construction

    Monday, Dec 12th, 2011 at 7:15pm

    I struggled mightily with color. It is such an impactful decision! Even more so because I planned to paint my house the same color as the little house next summer. Here are some of my color studies that the painters were kind enough to work around:

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  2. Siding And Paint

    Monday, Nov 14th, 2011 at 5:03am

    My first choice for siding was corrugated metal but the city was not too hot on the little house looking so different from my house. In the end I went for the more conservative approach. I asked my wonderful contractor, Tom Champion, to copy the siding on my house. They made a very good copy on the little house even though it involved routing each piece. And then I asked for shingles on the top half of the little house - again like my house.

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  3. Thinking About Color And Posterity

    Thursday, Nov 03rd, 2011 at 11:56pm

    Things are coming along great at 4321 Reedway. That's right! We have a new address for the new house! Fine number at that. I am looking for a name to the house. Maybe I should call it Blast Off House? Here are some of the colors I am considering. It will have three colors - a dark shade on the bottom and light on the top. With white or cream trim.

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  4. Windows Roof and Driveway

    Tuesday, Oct 25th, 2011 at 8:51pm

    Things are moving fast here. Tom Champion and Co. has been working on site for about 4 weeks. Here are some beautiful and precisely even rafters put up by John E. Boy:

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  5. Movin' On Up

    Friday, Oct 14th, 2011 at 1:03am

    The new house is coming along.

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  6. The Walls!

    Friday, Oct 07th, 2011 at 6:39am

    Things are moving along fast over here on Reedway.

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  7. The Pour!

    Sunday, Oct 02nd, 2011 at 7:46pm

    It was fascinating to see what went into preparing for the foundation. The plumber worked for hours digging trenches to bring in one water main, and to put in drains that would go under the foundation for the toilet, bath, sinks, water heater and washer/dryer. These pipes were wrapped in insulation and buried. The electrical line was brought in as well. The concrete guys came in and put up the forms for the outside wall of the foundation - these would be removed after the pour. Holes were dug so that there could be an extra-thick foundation under the weight-bearing walls. Then came a layer of gravel and insulation:

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  8. Ditches, Sheds, And Arbors, Oh My!

    Friday, Sep 23rd, 2011 at 5:32am

    Here are some of the things happening in my yard:

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  9. New House Update

    Friday, Sep 23rd, 2011 at 4:56am

    Time it took me to decide to build on my (double) lot: 16 years.

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  10. Here We Go!

    Sunday, Apr 24th, 2011 at 6:10am

    After dreaming about it for 16 years I have decided to build a house on my double lot. It took me about 6 months to refinance my house and then get a line of credit off the equity. I will save $70,000 over the life of the loan (15 years) by refinancing for a much lower rate of interest (4.125 down from 6.125). And I am going to harness that value by taking out a home equity line of credit for $100,000. So that's my budget. think I can stay within it?

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