NewlyWoodwards

an unconventional home

Installing floor trusses (and trusses vs. joists)

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We couldn’t find a house plan that was “perfect” for us. And God knows we tried. I looked at thousands of house plans in books and online. I’m not exaggerating. I know it was thousands. There were some that were “close” but nothing “just right.” Call me Goldilocks. I wasn’t finding my “just right.” So […]

Basement plumbing, in-floor heat and walls

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It’s been almost exactly a month since they started digging our basement. Every day, it looks more and more like a home. And since our last update, there’s been lots of progress. First up, plumbing in the basement and garage. We are lucky to have a licensed plumber to help us with this work. While Ryan and his […]

How much does it cost to build a new house?

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Ryan and I have been writing a lot of huge checks lately, so I thought it was worth talking about budget on a new construction home.

Obviously, our experience won’t be the same for everyone, but I thought some of you may be curious about how we plan to pay for the house and how the budget will be split up.

A basement is born

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Well, it was time for an update on our basement – in short, it’s looking great and coming right along since the last update. Look, ma! Walls! Shortly after the last post, our contractors came out and started setting the walls. It’s been pretty fun to watch the crews and see the process. It’s a […]

Changing the front look of the house

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Okay, so the last you saw the house mockup, it looked something like this. But the more I thought about it, the more I worried about the front of the house. I was afraid that I would have some pretty serious regrets with the design as-is, despite it being exactly what I wanted and asked […]

We have a (very expensive) hole in our yard

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Despite the rain last week, our contractors were able to dig the basement and pour the footings. There were happy dances being danced. (By me.) In case you are following along, I thought I’d share the process. We chose our contractor after getting a few quotes. We haven’t needed to hire many contractors, but have found a few […]