Monthly Archives: July 2017

End of July update

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7/30/17
Southport, NC
Posted by Bill

We have had a busy couple of weeks again, since the last post. There has been great progress on the house, and we have had several visitors to the area (one of the reasons we love it here). As for the visitors…a couple of our traveling partners and good friends, Mark and Jan on the other Island Bound, came for about a week. Their boat is still here in Southport Marina, and they came down from Kentucky to hang out. Then we attended the wedding of our friends Ben and Marguerite, in Chapel Hill.
Ben and Marguerite
It was a great road trip, an absolutely beautiful wedding and reception, and we had a really good time. I haven’t drank that much beer in a long time, and it bloated me out like a pregnant lady, but we ate well and had lots of fun. There were several other good friends there from D dock (Ben and Marguerite have their boat there with all of us) which contributed to the fun. We are all very happy for them!! After that, we met Tricia’s brother Rob and wife Sue, with nephew Patrick, and their aunt Doris, in Wilmington. Doris lives near by and the rest were vacationing in Topsail Beach. It is always fun to hang with them! Then we visited our good friends from Ohio, Andy, Kevin and Scott. They were hanging out at Kevin’s condo in Myrtle Beach, which is only an hour away, and it was good to catch up with them. Then we drove to North Topsail to visit with our close friends/family, the Hiltys. They were on vacation and we had a great time catching up with them.

The exterior of the house should be done this week. The inside has been roughed in for electric, gas and plumbing, and all we need outside is the front steps, paint, and the metal roof. Here is how it looks now:
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We have had many people walk by the house while we have been there. Everyone tells us how great it looks. We couldn’t be happier!!! The quality is superb! In the next couple of weeks the interior will start. Wood ceiling first, and then wood shiplap walls…just like the old days! The decisions on everything related to the build have consumed us. There are several unique aspects to the interior that have taken quite a bit of our time, but we think it will end up being very cool.

Long time…no blog

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7/10/17
Southport NC
Posted by Bill

Wow! A lot has been happening! Since my last blog over a month ago, we have made significant progress on the house, have been settling in to a “dirt dweller” mode of living, and made a short run to Ohio to get our lake house ready to sell, and move all of our crap in storage to a storage facility in Southport. As a part of all of that, we realized we needed a more practical vehicle than our 1994 Jeep Wrangler and bought a new pick up truck. We also rented a 26 foot U-haul truck and drove it from Ohio to North Carolina…that was a trip I never want to repeat! Many thanks to Pete and Sarah for helping us load up in Ohio, and to our friends Larry and Dianne, and Matt, for helping us unload in Southport. I think I am getting too old for this crap!!!!

As for the house…..
Around mid June, they finished the foundation:
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Then a few days later they laid the trusses for the first floor:
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From there, it didn’t take long to frame the rest of the house:
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This week, they got the exterior doors and windows in, and Matt is working on the front porch:
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We selected Marvin Integrity windows and mahogany wood doors, and we are very happy with the quality of both!

This week, the heating and air, plumbing, and electrical guys will be here to do their thing. The bad news is…we need to have our plumbing and lighting selections completed, and decisions made for where everything is going to go…yikes! In the past month we have visited several showrooms and spent countless hours on-line looking at all of this stuff, trying to narrow down our options. Matt and Shirley have been a tremendous help, and have great taste and ideas, which has made the process less stressful.

I have had 3 other homes built in the past, but I have never seen anything close to this level of quality of construction. Matt and his crews have done an excellent job. The construction is tight and solid, and they have used top notch materials.

In addition to all of the house activity, we had visits from our good friends from Ohio, Jim and Laura, and also our youngest daughter Jessica, her husband Eric, and four of our grand kids. It was really great to see them, and show them around Southport. We weren’t able to get them out on the big boat, but they really had fun riding in the dinghy:
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Over the 4th of July, our good friends and traveling partners from Byrd Ketcher, Kurt and Sharon, along with Kurt’s sister Kim, and husband Mark, all came to visit. A good time was had by all!!!! There was a lot of activity associated with the 4th, as the North Carolina 4th of July festival is held here every year. As you can see…we have had a busy month and a half!!!