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!