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Milestones with Drees Homes

Groundbreaking to painting

Sep 26, 2022

Since our last update

We are not strangers to feeling a sense of excitement and joy; with building our dream home 10-minutes away from our current home, you can only begin to imagine how frequently we visited our new home site only to watch the ground open wide, to see a concrete cure, to watch walls framed, textures come to life, and lately, to see paint dry with aww!

As the ground thawed after the Northeast Ohio winter, we were introduced to our Builder with Drees Homes. We were beyond impressed with his thorough review of our plans, and he shared his communication preferences and ways we could work best together at our Pre-construction meeting. Our dig date was set, and we were grateful the weather cooperated as the crew began excavating.

Groundbreaking

Tons of gravel and foundation footings in the outline of our home were next. Then the wall forms were brought in, and the concrete was poured in with skill and grace.

Over the next few weeks, plumbing and electrical lines began to go into place as the lumber was delivered for the subfloor and structure of the home!

Lot selection
Floorplan staked

Groundbreaking
Footings poured

Cured foundation walls
Conservation area behind our lot

Level up​

Framing happened quickly, and we knew a stud and beam were the perfect places to write a few words to dedicate our admiration for the future memories this home will give us.

Above the opening for the outdoor living patio door, we also wrote:

“Dear Beam, You hold and raise us all. In the good times and not-so-good times ahead, we thank you for the support you’re giving our family. We will build on this foundation a loving and giving family to help carry the load.” - D+E

Edward signing our stud

Primary bedroom frames
Primary bathroom framed

Our vision coming to life

Then, the house wrap, windows, and shingle roofing covered the exterior. Electrical, plumbing and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) rough-ins continued ahead of insulation going up inside. Our vision was coming to life for all three levels of our Monticello floor plan!

General Shale’s Michigan Brick in Swan Creek was laid to the window line on the main level. Next came the Westlake Royal siding in Ironstone. Our beautiful and moody center-hall New England-style colonial is looking so good! The 8’ tall front door is temporary for construction to keep everything safe inside until our permanent 3 / 4 lite is installed.

Housewrap, windows, and shingles installed
Brick and trim installed

Fashionable finishes

Drywall sheets arrived on-site and were hung, taped, and mudded with grace. It was fascinating how long some of the sheets are to minimize seams! Then the joints were sanded before primer and paint were applied.

Trim came next, and we were delighted by the traditional signature style of baseboards and crown molding going in! Our palette is Sherwin-Williams Agreeable Gray for the walls accented with Pure White for the trims.

Primary bedroom trims and prime
Primary bathroom cabinets installed

Complete exterior
Flooring installed

Waterfall island installed
Outdoor fireplace installed

To be continued...

We are so excited to see this all take shape in the coming months. Stay tuned as we continue to share more of our build journey as construction happens.

The most important part to remember is that things will arise, but we have a trusted team in Drees Homes who will be there each step of the way to guide us through the process.

The Midwest Husbands
David and Edward
We are an interracial, same-sex married couple, on our journey of building a family, turning our house into a home and capturing our daily adventures.

About David + Edward

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