The plumbing is connected to the main.
Power and lighting
Even the mailbox and neighbors have been installed. They thought of everything!
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Movin' on up to the East Side
The roof, the roof, the roof is on... well, it's not on fire, but our builder is. We're a week a head of schedule.
The plumbing is connected to the main.
Power and lighting
Even the mailbox and neighbors have been installed. They thought of everything!
The plumbing is connected to the main.
Power and lighting
Even the mailbox and neighbors have been installed. They thought of everything!
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Our Evil Twins
Yesterday we met our evil twins. (Or perhaps we're their evil twins... ?) They're a young couple without kids but with three cats. I think my cat is enough of a handful to count as three. And they're buying a Willie down the street from ours, with eerily similar design choices. Same ebony cabinets in the kitchen with a glass tile backsplash. Similar living room wiring set-up, with a spot already designated for a projector and conduit to take care of the TV in the meantime.
Speaking of evil, the black glass windows on the non-functioning dormer have gone in. I've never noticed that similar windows on other houses are not clear glass - it just looks like a very dark attic. Likely the only reason we now can tell they're different is because we know they are.
Also, cladding on our window seat bump-out has been completed. All that remains on the exterior are a few pieces of trim, roofing, and some paint!
The other houses on our block are progressing nicely, with the exception of the two affordable homes. We're hoping work starts on them soon so we don't wind up moving in immediately adjacent to a construction site. Also, it would be nice to know who our next door neighbor will be!
Speaking of evil, the black glass windows on the non-functioning dormer have gone in. I've never noticed that similar windows on other houses are not clear glass - it just looks like a very dark attic. Likely the only reason we now can tell they're different is because we know they are.
Also, cladding on our window seat bump-out has been completed. All that remains on the exterior are a few pieces of trim, roofing, and some paint!
The other houses on our block are progressing nicely, with the exception of the two affordable homes. We're hoping work starts on them soon so we don't wind up moving in immediately adjacent to a construction site. Also, it would be nice to know who our next door neighbor will be!
Saturday, January 12, 2008
One Month Later
Our house has been under construction for a month now, and we've got a week's worth of photos to show you at once! We really have to stop slacking, because so much has happened - the last of the framing, roof decking and wall sheathing, hardiplank siding and shingles, windows...
Meanwhile, on the interior, most of the plumbing, air-conditioning ductwork, and air handler have been installed. Deviating from the earliest Willies constructed, they've moved the air handler from the highest part of the attic - above the second floor hallway - to outside the guest bedroom, where the water heater will also go. I imagine it will be much easier to service this way.
Briefly we thought that maybe, just maybe, we'd have a view all the way from the University of Texas Tower on the north down to the State Capitol and Frost Building on the south. Since this photo was taken from the guest room window, framing has gone up for the two-story at the end of the block, and the Tower is no longer visible. The Standard Pacific houses across the street may block the Frost Building (no big loss there), but I think we'll still be able to see the Capitol when all is finished!
Meanwhile, on the interior, most of the plumbing, air-conditioning ductwork, and air handler have been installed. Deviating from the earliest Willies constructed, they've moved the air handler from the highest part of the attic - above the second floor hallway - to outside the guest bedroom, where the water heater will also go. I imagine it will be much easier to service this way.
Briefly we thought that maybe, just maybe, we'd have a view all the way from the University of Texas Tower on the north down to the State Capitol and Frost Building on the south. Since this photo was taken from the guest room window, framing has gone up for the two-story at the end of the block, and the Tower is no longer visible. The Standard Pacific houses across the street may block the Frost Building (no big loss there), but I think we'll still be able to see the Capitol when all is finished!
Sunday, January 6, 2008
We've Got Wood!
We'll let the photos speak for themselves. The first was taken Friday morning, and the last this afternoon.
The walls going up in more detail:
The walls going up in more detail:
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Don't Blink!
Today at lunch, the forms had been removed from our foundation.
By the end of the day, we had walls!
Our garden court neighbor Aaron caught them in the middle of the action. (Thanks for sharin', Aaron!) Apparently, we need to start taking mid- afternoon breaks as well, or the framing will be done before we know it.
By the end of the day, we had walls!
Our garden court neighbor Aaron caught them in the middle of the action. (Thanks for sharin', Aaron!) Apparently, we need to start taking mid- afternoon breaks as well, or the framing will be done before we know it.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
2000 Year Old Technology at Work
Our concrete pour happened this morning, rather than Monday as previously mentioned. Apparently concrete contractors, like the rest of us, don't want to work New Year's Eve. But, 7 AM means 7 AM! When we arrived shortly after 8 this morning, most of the foundation was already complete, leaving only the porch, garage, and a small portion of the house to be poured.
We waited for the arrival of the sixth of seven concrete trucks, and then watched as the last of the house and front porch were poured.
Overeager homebuyers that we are, we came back at lunch to watch as the finished surface of the slab was prepared.
After work, our builder Stan saw us yet again at the construction site. When we asked if we could walk on the slab, his response was that if we didn't sink up to our knees, then yes.
As soon as tomorrow, we may have walls on top of our shiny new foundation! The prefabricated tilt-up walls and floor joists also arrived today, and are presently sitting on the vacant lot across McCloskey Street.
We waited for the arrival of the sixth of seven concrete trucks, and then watched as the last of the house and front porch were poured.
Overeager homebuyers that we are, we came back at lunch to watch as the finished surface of the slab was prepared.
After work, our builder Stan saw us yet again at the construction site. When we asked if we could walk on the slab, his response was that if we didn't sink up to our knees, then yes.
As soon as tomorrow, we may have walls on top of our shiny new foundation! The prefabricated tilt-up walls and floor joists also arrived today, and are presently sitting on the vacant lot across McCloskey Street.
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Remnants of the Old Airport
This afternoon, Timothy and I went on a walk through what remains of the Robert Mueller Municipal Airport. The former entrance was on the southern edge of the airport, off Manor Road across from E.M. Franklin Ave. The entry road, with directional signage and canopy waiting structures, extends up to the control tower and former site of the terminal. Beyond, all remnants of airport structures and runways have been obliterated in the desolate, lunar landscape of Phase II, where utility work and new roadways are being prepared. Eventually all but the tower will be removed for new construction.
Although the master plan calls for the retention of the 1961 control tower, it has deteriorated considerably since the airport closed. Plans for its reuse are up in the air, likely to be decided during a later phase of construction. The small building footprint and numerous levels will make adaptation difficult. Although the tower does have an elevator for accessibility, fire code would require a second stair for certain uses, which would be impossible within the structure. However, the master plan does have promising suggestions for use of the ground floor:
To go off on a tangent, I like to imagine the vastly different form the Mueller redevelopment might have taken, if its design had been left up to an idealistic architecture student, not a developer. Comically misleading signage would remain, runways would become roads, new houses and commercial buildings would intermingle with renovated terminals and hangars, and the whole site would have a layered effect where its history and evolution would be clearly legible. At least Catellus is making an effort to retain some of the most important structures and incorporate them into the development.
Although the master plan calls for the retention of the 1961 control tower, it has deteriorated considerably since the airport closed. Plans for its reuse are up in the air, likely to be decided during a later phase of construction. The small building footprint and numerous levels will make adaptation difficult. Although the tower does have an elevator for accessibility, fire code would require a second stair for certain uses, which would be impossible within the structure. However, the master plan does have promising suggestions for use of the ground floor:
Additions or modifications that detract from the tower’s original form are discouraged. While adaptive reuse of the tower for other activities is desirable, modern-day life-safety and exiting requirements may prevent it from being used as a public assembly building or viewing tower. Opportunities should be explored for retrofitting the ground floor of the building as a small interpretive center; the first two floors of the tower were originally within the terminal building, and
as a result will need to be enclosed and clad in a complementary manner. Interpretive elements and displays that recall the history of aviation at Mueller and in Austin are encouraged at the base of the tower. (Mueller Design Book, Nov. 2004, p. 101)
To go off on a tangent, I like to imagine the vastly different form the Mueller redevelopment might have taken, if its design had been left up to an idealistic architecture student, not a developer. Comically misleading signage would remain, runways would become roads, new houses and commercial buildings would intermingle with renovated terminals and hangars, and the whole site would have a layered effect where its history and evolution would be clearly legible. At least Catellus is making an effort to retain some of the most important structures and incorporate them into the development.
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