Here Comes the Bride (and Groom)!

Only Six Days to Go Until Wedding Bells Chime

Monica and Bruce

Wow!  What a difference a week can make!  After a long haul getting an incredibly complex foundation in place for our new home at East Beach, our builder, Jim Schnieder of Schnieder Custom Builders, and his team are rocking and rolling!  The house is starting to taking shape.

Two large steel support beams were installed this week.

Steel support beams were installed on Tuesday.  Take a look at these monsters!  The beams were called for by the structural engineers from Sinclair Pratt Cameron, P.C. of Virginia Beach due to the open floor plan of the living and dining rooms. In addition, there are a lot of windows, dormers, and doors, so the engineering team and our builder had to make sure the house would withstand any weather events that may arise in the future. Thus, steel reinforcement was required. Once the beams were in place, the vertical construction (framing) began on the main house.

In the background is the garage and carriage house apartment. This building is farther along as the framing started earlier as no steel was required.

Garage and Carriage House Apartment

The plan is for Bruce and me to be married in the house.  We've been sweating this as we didn't know how much, if any, of the main house would be in place by the wedding date of December 28.

But it will be ready. HOORAY! Jim and his teammates, including Jeff and B.J. and others, are working 'round the clock during the week and Saturdays to get the house ready for the ceremony.  Only rain will keep them away from their mission.  By the 28th, the one-story side of the house will be completely framed and covered.  (The second story side of the house will not be framed by that time.)

Our wedding is going to take place in less than a week!

The box bay window opening (and altar) in the kitchen.

Lee Rosenberg (East Beach Photography), my former neighbor here at East Beach and our wedding photographer, met with me and Beau Beau this morning to go over photography plans. Lee is so creative! He's already scoped out where the ceremony will take place (in front of the box bay window of the kitchen overlooking the Live Oak trees of the park), where the violinists will play (in front of our future fireplace), and where the group and family shots will be taken.  His mind works in CRAZY ways -- he's thinking of staging a shot where the future furniture will be so he can later take a shot when the house is decorated -- sort of a before and after series.  What fun!

Beau Beau on his way to supervise
 the job site.

Six days and counting....  

Rain is in the forecast for Monday, but then clear weather is expected for the remainder of the week, Christmas Day, and our wedding day.

Happy Holidays to everyone and have a Happy New Year!

Monica, Bruce and Beau Beau

Going Vertical and Getting Married!

Let the Countdown Begin...

In construction, going vertical is one of the most exciting and wonderful experiences of the building process. Last Wednesday, our new home started going up!  Check out Bruce standing on the foundation with the garage going up behind him.  He is a happy man.



This moment was nervously anticipated as Bruce and I have an important date coming up. We have decided to get married in our emerging home this December 28th!  There is no house in place, no walls, no windows, no doors...as yet.  We must be CRAZY!!!! However, East Beach is very meaningful to us and our new home symbolizes starting our new life together. Our children, grand kids, siblings, and a handful of close friends will be on hand to celebrate with us (all wearing very warm coats).

Our builder, Jim Schneider of Schneider Custom Builders, is working hard to balance building the house right with our marriage date.  Construction of the foundation took longer than expected when Blue Mud had to be mitigated by digging deep and removing loads of poor soils, re-filling with gravel, building rebar waffle cages, and pouring a concrete foundation.  A quality home begins with a strong foundation and it took some time to get it right.  This house will stand for centuries.

Jim thinks we can pull off the wedding in the house, although it won't be very far along by December 28. Sunkiss Tanning and Hair Salon has offered us the use of two outdoor heaters for the ceremony and our minister, our dear friend Al Butzer, says the traditional wedding ceremony will be fairly quick.  Our former neighbor and good friend, Lee Rosenberg of East Beach Photography, will be our guest and the photographer who will have to make magic in this crazy wedding venue.  He is GOOD.  He can do this.  :-) 

So, the countdown begins.  The foundation is almost complete.  We're waiting on a bit more steel to come in, a requirement of the structural engineering review.  Our new home will have many windows, vaulted ceilings in three rooms (living room, master bedroom, and billiards room), and large dormers that flank both sides of the living room vault.  This is a lot of glass.  The Chesapeake Bay location of the East Beach neighborhood can pick up strong winds during occasional Nor'easters. These factors can take a toll on a house, so making certain the foundation and structural engineering are correct is important.


Note the flood vents in the foundation.  One of the wonderful things about East Beach is that it's not located in a flood zone, but it's always good to be prepared for anything that may come in the future.

Jim also is installing ZIP sheathing, a good choice for this coastal location.  ZIP is a structural roof and wall system with a built-in energy-efficient barrier that keeps moisture out and reduces air leakage, while still allowing panels to properly dry. This photo shows the ZIP system installation on the garage.

Rain is in the forecast for the next few days...pray for sunny skies!

  

Let the Building Begin!  Are we in Fort Knox?

During the week of October 11, two major milestones took place.  I hit a certain birthday (ends with a zero) and construction began on the new house that Jeremy Sommer (Sommer Design Studios) designed for me and Bruce in East Beach in Norfolk, Virginia!


Bruce and I selected Jim Schneider of Schneider Custom Builders to build our home.  We took our time in interviewing three members of the East Beach Builders Guild (everyone of which are exceptional builders), and settled on Jim.  We like Jim's professional processes in regard to communication and accounting, his quality team of subcontractors, and especially the positive reviews by his peers and happy customers.  Most importantly, we like that Jim takes great pride in his work and reputation.  We are confident that Jim will do an excellent job for us. 


Once we had Jim on board as the builder, we hired David Ferko with GET Solutions (getsolutionsinc.com) to do the geotechnical engineering.  The soils are East Beach can be
tricky as Blue Mud, dredging material from the Chesapeake Bay, is frequently found on the site.  It's not really a problem, but you do need to plan accordingly.  In our case, GET advised us that pilings would not be necessary, but they wanted to keep an eye on the soils during excavation.

The work began in October for the footings with engineer David Ferko on site to analyze the soils and make sure our home would be stable for us and future generations.  David is one fussy fellow when it comes to details -- a personality trait that serves his clients well.  Not unexpectedly, Blue Mud and poor soils were found during excavation.  The poor soil had to be dug out and gravel installed to provide a solid base for the footings. This photograph shows the extent of the excavation.


Next, rebar waffle cages were installed and concrete footings poured.  You can see the work in this photo.


No lie, we have a foundation worthy of Fort Knox!!

For me and Bruce, this was a hiccup in the building process, spending more time and money than we had hoped. More importantly, we are confident we have a very solid foundation that will serve us well in the future.  We are thankful that our builder and engineer took the time to do things right.

Next up -- the fun part!  Bruce and I go selections shopping with +Jacqueline Johndrow of Romancing the Home and Kristi Leonard with Schneider Custom Builders.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

The Puzzle of Designing a Custom Home: He Wants, She Wants, We Want -- What's An Architect to Do?????

I've discovered that architect Jeremy
Sommer is good at challenges.  With the discipline of his classic architecture training and experience, his vision and creativity to take advantage of natural amenities with a complex design on a tight homesite, and the patience of a saint with an easy-going personality, Jeremy (Sommer Design Studio) was the perfect choice to design a custom home for me and Bruce at East Beach.


The CHALLENGES
Our homesite is located on 24th Bay Street in East Beach, about three lots back on the block.  With the right design, we hoped to capture some views of the Chesapeake Bay from the first- and second-floor front porches  -- even if just a sliver.

Across the street from our homesite is a beautiful stand of Live Oak trees on a linear park  (thank you +Mike Watkins for your masterful land plan).  The trees are illuminated at night.  As someone who works from home, I hoped that Jeremy could figure out a way that I could enjoy the view of the trees from my office. Bruce and I also wanted Jeremy to maintain the view of the trees from our kitchen and living room, too.  That's not too much to ask, right???

Add to the SHE WANTS list were a vaulted ceiling with exposed trusses, tons of light with multiple dormers, and a back screened porch and garden courtyard that would expand the open living area for entertaining and relaxation.

On the HE WANTS list, Bruce needed a spot for his office work where he wouldn't have to worry about Monica's neat streak.  Most importantly, he wanted a family and friend gathering space that would accommodate their combined family of six kids and five (almost six) grandkids. AND, Bruce wasn't ready to give up the pool table from his soon-to-be-over bachelor days, so the house would need to have a room big enough for a pool table and lounge area. (Smells like a man cave to me!)

The WE WANT list included having privacy, a rental apartment that could be used for income upon retirement (or earlier!), and bedrooms for family and guests.  Also, having room for a third car and for our little dog Beau Beau to run were important, too.

Jeremy worked tirelessly on the plan and Bruce and I couldn't be more excited!  Bruce and I LOVE the design and feel that Jeremy hit a home run in addressing the SHE WANTS, HE WANTS, and WE WANTS.  Jeremy's thoughtful design resulted in a home that will be comfortable, welcoming, and very livable for our active lifestyle.  THANK YOU JEREMY!!!    Take a look and see what you think.

Building a New Home (and Life!) on the Chesapeake Bay

Bruce and I have been dating for three years (as of November 17).  I love that he's a funny guy, playful and smart.  On March 23 of this year, Bruce popped the question in a very romantic restaurant on the Eastern Shore (think "Marry Me" by Train, a man on bended knee, a proposal written in chocolate, and a restaurant full of people very excited to have a ring-side seat).  You better believe I said, "yes!"  (I would have even without the chocolate incentive.)

It was time to get cracking on our new home!  

We had already decided that the wonderful New Urban neighborhood of East Beach in Norfolk, Virginia was where we wanted to live. I had moved there from Warwick Grove, (a LeylandAlliance traditional neighborhood located in the Hudson Valley of New York), and loved the lifestyle and sense of community of these special neighborhoods.  It was an extra bonus that East Beach is located on the Chesapeake Bay, although I would have loved this DPZ-designed neighborhood regardless.

So Bruce and I bought a lot, hired a WONDERFUL architect, Jeremy Sommer of Sommer Design Studio, and jumped right in!

Designing a custom home is an exciting process -- one of sharing a vision, finding someone who can articulate that vision, and working through the ups, downs, frustrations, and joys of a very complex and emotional process.  

This is the love story of designing and building a home, and a life, together.  This blog is for my dear Bruce, for those who love homes as much as I do, and for our dear friends and associates who take great joy in creating special places.