The Lake House

A quick history of the construction of our lake house on Lake Livingston.

We purchased this lot on Lake Livingston back in 2005. The intention was even then to build a small weekend house on the lake for us to use. It's just taking us a little while to get around to.

The lake was formed in 1965 when the dam was built. It generates a little hydro electricity, but is mostly to bolster the water supply for Houston. When the Trinity river was dammed much of the surrounding timber covered land was not cleared, so while the fishing is excellent there are many stumps and much floating timber in the lake. Our lot is on the main channel of the Trinity River on the upper end of Lake Livingston. It faces south, with the water flowing basically west to east.

In the summer of 2006, we had the bulkhead built. It is 6-8 feet tall, and is actually useful. Between the current and the wave action erosion has been a problem. So we have a bulkhead.

In the fall of 2006 we made the decision: it was time to build the house. With Kaitlin still in daycare we have some flexibility, and I have the time to be general contractor and chief nail driver. So we played with some house designs, came up with one that meets our needs and that we can afford. We found a contractor who was crazy enough to start this for us, and off we went.

April 14, 2007 - The Ainsworths - John and David - built the shell of the house for us. By shell, we mean the pilings (yes, it is 8 feet in the air), floor, exterior walls and siding, roof, shingles, doors, and windows. Basically they put together enought that it is dried in and can be locked up.

April 23, 2007 - Power has been run into the main panel in the house. This means I've run 4/0 cable from the permanent power pole outside to the breaker box inside. This gives me power to run a couple of lights and small refrigerator. No photos, sorry. It isn't terribly interesting, or pretty.

May 7, 2007 - The drain/waste handling plumbing is installed. I've installed the tub/shower unit, and roughed in the plumbing to all of the bathrooms, the kitchen, and the laundry room. The septic system has not yet been installed, because we've had enough rain frequently enough to make the yard a mess. We need a couple of weeks with no rain so it can dry out.

May 20, 2007 - The electrical system is all but installed. Thanks in large measure to the diligent work of our great friend Roy who put in a looong weekend of pulling wire and installing switches/outlets/breakers the electrical system is essentially done. Also installed this weekend was the ducting for the A/C system. It won't be turned on until the sheetrock is finished, but it is in. Big huge "thank you"s to Roy for all his hard work!

May 27, 2007 - Most of the plumbing is in the house. The shower valves are in place, the sink supply is there, and the pipes to the hot water heater closet are in. All that remains is a few fittings and some pipe insulation.

June 3, 2007 - Finished up odds and ends. The plumbing is done. I've tested for leaks, found one, fixed it, and have left the system under pressure to test until I get back. Assuming it does not lose pressure this week, I'll call it good. Electrical is done - the last remaining circuts to be patched in to the box are complete, and the last two outlets have been installed. I also ran the wires for phone, cable, and stereo.

June 6, 2006 - We have a septic system!!! Woo Hoo!!!! It has taken since the first week of April for us to go without rain long enough for the yard to dry out enough that the tractors could get in. But get in they did. Two 500 gallon tanks, one 750 gallon tank, three sprinkler heads, one pump, and one aerator later and we have a working septic system. Finally.

June 13, 2007 - Insulation is DONE. Mom & Dad were here this weekend, and my father worked like a dog with me to get the house insulated. We did this over three 98 degree days. We've got R19 in the cathedral ceiling, R30 in the rest, and R13 in the walls. We also got one of the bathrooms functional - working toilet and shower, with hot water! Very necessary over this weekend. Thanks Dad!
Today I even got the R13 put up in the bedroom walls for sound control.

June 17, 2007 - A quiet weekend. Finished up odds & ends: a couple of small insulation spots, caulked around the toe plate, put expanding foam sealant around all the windows & doors, installed one additional light switch and mount.

June 24, 2007 - Busy busy. Installed the ceiling in the great room, and put up gutters across the back of the house. Didn't make it to the front - too hot. Mom & Mike worked like dogs to get the ceiling in - and there's no way I could have done it without them. Thank you!

August 26, 2007 - WE HAVE DRYWALL!!! To catch everyone up, we returned from our vacation expecting to find the drywall complete. What we found was that the drywall guy we had hired bailed on the job. So I had to track down another, then get him scheduled and get the job done. He should be complete by 8/31. Woo Hoo! The pics below are mid process - drywall hung, no tape/mud/texture.

September 2, 2007 - The good news is that the drywall is done! The bad news is that the texture spraying guys mde a mess of the wood ceiling in the living room. If they can clean it, then great. If not, then somebody's going to be replacing 17 of the 24 wood panels. More good news - the A/C is ON! This is critical in 105 degree TX. As a consequence, we were able to spend the our first weekend up at the house. Not a bad birthday present. We spend the weekend installing the kitchen cabinets and cutting the countertops to fit. It is starting to look like a house. A messy house, but a house none the less.

September 9, 2007 - Painting has begun. On the ceilings, anyway. The drywall guys have spent some time and effort on cleaning, but still have a ways to go. The problem is that the residue basically vanishes when wet, but dries white, so you clean and it looks good until it dries completely.

September 16, 2007 - Painting walls underway. Everything is primed, and all but the guest bath and Kaitlin's room are painted. Also the dirt work is done - the trash in the yard has been hauled off, and dirt brought in to fill in under the house and off to the side to take care of drainage/standing water after rain.

September 23, 2007 - Painting is done, including the floors. I know it sounds weird, but the plywood floors were covered in drywall dust and wall texture overspray, and no matter how much I swept/vacuumed/mopped the floors were continually dusty. So I fixed them - I coated them in paint for no more reason than to seal in the dust. And you know what? It worked like a charm. Countertops are now also complete, and we've had a bunch of dirt delivered and trash hauled away. The dirt was spread around the front yard to fill in some ruts, and a bunch was run under the house to keep the water out after it rains. It's beginning to look a lot more like a house, and a lot less like a construction accident.

September 30, 2007 - We have doors! Thanks to the hard work, experience, and sharp eye of my father we now have interior doors. We also have lights/ceiling fans in all of the bedrooms. No more curtain over the bathroom door and no more going to bed with a flashlight. Now we can even leave power circuts on, as there is very little bare wire sticking out anywhere.

October 6, 2007 - We have doorframes, which help immensely in keep the doors in place. We also have a sprinkler system that works, which is great since we put out a whole bunch of grass seed and fertilizer in the yard. Not the most fun work, but you couldn't beat the help! (Thanks Kath!) And the dishwasher is in and working.

October 18, 2007 - Quick mid-week update: We Have Grass! The lawn is sprouting nicely, as you can see in these photos. And while the interior shots aren't terribly interesting, they do show the colors inside the house. Which was the point.

October 20, 2007 - Fireplace and stove moved into the house, hopefully to be connected this week. Tile on the floor in the guest bath, to be grouted this week.

October 25, 2007 - Fireplace and stove connected, and bathroom floor grouted. See for yourself.

October 27, 2007 - Quiet weekend. Most of it was little stuff - touch up paint, paint the laundry room, soap dispenser in the kitchen sink, move toilet back to the guest bath, casing around closet doors, setting up master bedroom bed.

November 4, 2007 - Busy weekend again. Sprayed under the house for bugs, in anticipation of insulation next weekend. Installed the shower in the master bath. Prepped the master bath floor for tile. Cut the grass. Made the base for the bar and the TV shelf. Installed the artwork light fixture. Put veneer on the cabinet ends. Prepped the cabinets for staining. Finished up wiring - ran wire to where the underhouse storage area will be, connected in the wiring for the boat dock/lift. Installed medicine cabinet and sink in guest bath. Forgot the camera.

November 11, 2007 - Busy weekend again. Marilyn and Mike visited, and helped stain the kitchen cabinets, the door casings and jambs, insulate under the house, install one of the two gutters on the front of the house, install the shower door, and tile the master bathroom floor.

November 18, 2007 - Busy busy weekend. Pop Doyle joined us, and we hung OSB (like plywood) under the entire house. Lots of OSB. Not fun. Absolutely could not have done it without him.

November 25, 2007 - Weekend off. Decorated the house for Christmas.

December 2, 2007 - Finished off under the house, and sprayed it with sealant to protect it from weather. Put up most of the remaining door moulding, touch up paint in LR and Master Bath, insulated dishwasher to muffle it a bit, put in stained toe plates in kitchen, put second coat of paint on most of the floor. And watched the sun set.

December 9, 2007 - Accomplished very little, but not for lack of trying. Murphy was working overtime this weekend. Did get some furniture moved into the house - we now have a couch to sit on - and started working on laying out furniture.

December 16, 2007 - Moved in more furniture- we now have a table and chairs. Installed toilet and sink in Master Bath, put tile in around shower. Built shelves in master closet for tools, etc. We're about done.

December 23, 2007 - The craziness of Christmas is upon us, so little is being done this weekend. The light fixture above the kitchen table got hung. Two of the kitchen shelves got hung. The house got cleaned. That's about it.

December 30, 2007 - Post holiday decompression. Painted all of the doors and doorframes. Hung the last two kitchen shelves, and the clock. Relaxed.

January 6, 2008 - Installed windowsills.

January 13, 2008 - Cleaned house, built bar, coated in glaze.

January 20, 2008 - Quiet weekend. Kelly visited, so we refinished the kitchen table and installed drawers inside a couple of kitchen cabinets.

March 20, 2008 - One month later. As expected, we've pretty much finished up all of the major projects that we will be tackling for quite some time. In the last month we've installed closet doors and planted a garden. Don't expect any major news anytime soon.

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