What a whirlwind the last few months have been! I have truly been amazed at how quickly things move along once construction is underway on a new home.
As a little refresh, we broke ground on our new construction home with Drees Homes last March. I recapped details about our design process in this post, and most recently gave advice on how to navigate land prep if you are building on your own lot, which can be found in this post. Today, I am excited to give an inside look at the different phases of construction of our home since the framing and mechanicals finished up.
One of the most exciting days of our entire home building journey was drywall day. Once the drywall went up, it was the first time I felt like I could truly start envisioning the interior of our home. It was almost surreal to stand in our future kitchen and see our two-story family room start to take shape where I know we will be making memories as a family for years to come.
During this stage of the home build, it felt like Christmas morning nearly every time we would stop by to see the progress. My husband and I would often bring our two young boys with us, who would eagerly run around, take pictures and start to talk about what we would do in each of the rooms, and how fun it would be to run and play in the backyard. I am so grateful that my kids will always have memories of building our forever home together.
Some of the next big installations were our cabinetry, followed shortly by our trim, interior doors, hard flooring, plumbing fixtures, countertops and more. Within a few weeks of drywall going up, the interior of the house really started to take shape and before we knew it, Drees Homes was able to provide our closing date shortly after our walls were primed and ready to paint.
I can honestly say that we were in great hands throughout out entire build with Drees Homes. Our project manager meticulously coordinated, planned and scheduled each aspect of our home build, and kept us up to date every step of the way. We had a weekly call every Monday afternoon to discuss the building progress over the last week, and he also laid out exactly what to expect in the week to come. I really appreciated our project manager’s organization, transparency, and most importantly, the open line of communication to call if I ever had a question or concern.
While Drees Homes does help simplify the home building process, there are still many moving parts, decisions to be made, and documents to keep track of, so I did my best to stay as organized as possible. For anyone else who is about to embark on a home building journey, here are a few things I found helpful for organization while building:
- An expandable file folder with tabs for various document, such as our purchase agreement, blueprints, design choices, paint colors, furniture on order, landscaping plans, and anything else to do with our house.
- An ongoing notes document on my iphone to jot down thoughts or questions about our home build that I could reference on our weekly calls with our Drees Homes project manager.
- A specific folder on my phone for house-related photos, including design inspiration, construction progress, furniture ideas and more.
- This one is old school, but I also like having a standard spiral notebook to take with me to house-related appointments and meetings, that way I can keep my notes in one place and can reference them at any time. I also use the notebook to make house-related to-do lists (such as selecting lighting, ordering a couch, meeting with a landscaper, etc), and definitely enjoy the satisfaction of physically checking off items as they are complete!
I can’t believe my next home building update will be when our forever home is complete! Stay tuned for details about the final steps leading up to our closing day, along with an empty house tour I plan to shoot on the day we close! As always, feel free to comment below or email me if you have any questions about my experience with building with Drees Homes!
**This post was created in partnership with Drees Homes, however all opinions expressed are my own.
Noah says
Staying organized during a home construction project is essential. These tips are invaluable for a smoother journey. Thanks for sharing!