New Home Getting All Trimmed Out

[Brett Nelson]

Well, I've gotten a bunch of requests to get pictures up of the home I've been building for the past year. I finally got a minute to post some pics here. Still working on things every day, but we are getting close now.

Just finished painting, and I'm getting the cabinets together right now. Also working on the Cherry over-the-post railing. That is tonight's project. Anyway, here are a couple pics.

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This shows at least some of the coffered ceiling over the kitchen.

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Windows in the front wall of my office.

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Gonna be all red brick when I'm finished.

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That staircase was a bugger. Now the fun rock walls are calling my name.

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Front balcony railing came out well.

[Brett Nelson]

Here are a couple more, but they aren't great pics. Gives the general idea though. Still gotta get a couple pics of the built-up crowns and everything. I've got some crown that is 6-piece and some that is 3-piece.

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Coffered ceiling from a different angle.

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There were a ton of shadow boxes in this house. They all follow this design and are included up two full staircases, the entire foyer, and the master sitting room. I think the round columns give this foyer and great room a slightly more elegant feel, although they are currently wrapped in bubble wrap. We ended up finishing all the floors off in a beige polished marble. Covered in cardboard until we move in. I'll snap some pics later. I realize that it isn't the proper way to trim out the tops of the columns, but I liked it better this way.

Fireplace surround is almost done. There will be a cherry mantle projecting off the top of the header. That was the first time I ever tried Victorian flutes. They came out ok, but I don't love them. I incorporated the same design for the main entrance door surrounds. There will also be an applied decorative molding across the front of the frieze on all of them. Also the upper part of the fireplace breast will be cased like the windows with pilasters and rosettes around the recessed areas.

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I actually built these casings myself. Made up of a 1x6 frieze, 1/4" cap, 1 1/4" stop mold, and 2" crown. Didn't like any of the options that I could get pre-assembled, and the milled MDF versions were all too flat, so I had to do it the hard way. Actually once I got a system, it only took 2 hours to do all the cross-heads for the house and I saved a ton of money. Had originally intended to go full neo-classic with fluted pilasters, but in the end I though it was a bit too much for my taste. Ended up leaning toward the arts-and-crafts era on the door and window casings. Just S4S stock for the pilasters, and I think it helps give the house a more live-able feel. With the marble floors throughout the entire main level and the large built-up crown and shadow boxes, we were starting to end up with a house that is only good to look at but terrible to live in.

I gotta say, those headers were a beast to mask around while we were painting. It took my wife, mother, and SIL 3 days straight to mask everything. Then it only took me 2 days to spray it.

[Keith Starosta]

Man, that looks awesome!! Please keep us up to date with your progress. Can't wait to see the finished product.

- Keith

[John Keeton]

What an undertaking:eek: That is a huge house, and I would be overwhelmed! But, you are doing a beautiful job. Do you hold down a day job, too?? I trimmed our house, and it wasn't anywhere near what you are doing. Those midnite nights are hard on an old man!

[Bruce Page]

You do this for a living, right? Like John, I wouldn't know where to start on a project like that.

That is a beautiful home!

[Brett Nelson]

Thanks for the flattery guys, REALLY!!! But no, I don't do this for a living. I have a regular day job as a R&D engineer for a holographics company. I work my day job 8-5 everyday and then work at the house for a few hours in the evening, then all day on saturdays. Rest on sundays. I did work construction for a summer after high school in '98.

Actually this is our "starter home" in that we have been married for 3 years and this is our first home. We lived in a little apartment for a couple years. This has been quite the undertaking, as we did/will do all the framing, flatwork, plumbing, electric, roofing, doors, windows, hard flooring, paint, landscape, and all the finish carpentry.

Wife is getting a little anxious to move in now, as you can imagine. I'm actually getting anxious to get back on my CAD program and start design on my dream home to be built in 2011. Leaning toward another traditional home but more Greek in style. Need a bigger lot to fit a 40'x60' shop. :D

[Pat Zabrocki]

.... Need a bigger lot to fit a 40'x60' shop. :D


I hate you but in that really nice kind of way!

Well done and congratulations! You do great work!
cheers
Pat

[Larry Fox]

Actually this is our "starter home" in that we have been married for 3 years and this is our first home.

My current house is likely my "finisher house" and by the looks of things you could fit it, two cars, wife, two kids and the dog into the living room of your pad. :D

Very ambitious project indeed and you are doing great work. Looks like you are almost there.

[Brett Nelson]

It actually looks bigger than it really is. I designed the house for the lot that it sits on. There is a 15-20' drop off the front of the lot which allowed (read: REQUIRED) me to do more of a grand staircase surrounded by boulder terraces. I figured that most of the houses around it would be ramblers that are very rustic in style which is what builders are building around here. The houses around are also pretty much on the same grade as the street. I got a discount for my lot because nobody wanted to deal with the grade issues.

I then decided to build a full 2-story so that when it came time to sell it, it would stand out from the crowd. But, I didn't want it to stand out in a gaudy, obnoxious way, so I decided to go with something very traditional, like a 19th century London-esque type house. I knew that if I took the full 2 stories and positioned it right on the front edge of the lot the house would seem about 50% bigger and the traditional style would pull attention when placed in the middle of a bunch of brown stucco and stone houses.

In the end, we've gotten the response that we were looking for. We've had a couple offers to purchase it from people that are just out looking. The biggest home builder in the area decided to build a show home for this year's home parade next door. We are thinking about having an open house during the parade to take advantage of the traffic. If we get a good offer, then I think I'd be able to talk the wife into selling it.