New Mulv Home

We have a yard!

2010-05-28T20:15:00.000-07:00

Bring on the lawn mower..... we have grass!

Can't wait to let the girls run free in the back yard.

Family Room and Kitchen

2010-05-28T20:10:00.000-07:00

We are still missing the island in the kitchen, but these rooms are just about finished!

The family room fireplace and kitchen.

Kitchen.

Kitchen looking into the family room and dining area.

Living Room and Dining Room

2010-05-28T20:04:00.000-07:00

Still more progress. Looks like the living room fireplace will not be complete until the end of June, so we will have a few weeks of it bare.

In the family room looking into the living room and dining area.

Looking up the main staircase.

Walking in from the front to the living room and dining area.

Looking towards the kitchen from the living room.

Master Bath

2010-05-28T19:59:00.000-07:00

Updated pics of the master bathroom.

Tub.

Shower.

Potty is in!

Leslie's vanity.

Main vanity.

Almost There.....

2010-05-28T19:54:00.000-07:00

Only a few more weeks to go..... It's been a while since I last updated, so bare with me on all the pics. We can not believe how it is all coming together.

Back staircase.

Master bedroom.

Kate's room.

Evelyn's room.

Outside Update - 2

2010-05-16T19:48:00.000-07:00

Outside of the house is almost done. Notice the nice driveway and walk way.

Landscaping is in progress, so I will try and take new pics this week.

Playing Catch Up

2010-05-14T19:43:00.000-07:00

We were out at the house Friday. There is so much progress. We are getting so close. Of course I did not bring my camera, so these are taking with my phone.

The dark turquoise wall in the den.

Most of the painting is done.

The family room.

Cabinetry is almost all complete!

Powder room sink is in.....oooh, we love!

Girls bathroom cabinetry.

Girls plumbing. The plumbing fixtures are almost complete.

Outside Update

2010-04-24T06:39:00.001-07:00

Kitchen

2010-04-24T06:19:00.001-07:00

The kitchen is almost complete. Backsplash went in, counter tops are on and we have running water!!

Evelyn's Fabulous Wall

2010-04-24T06:17:00.000-07:00

The artist are just about finished with Evelyn's wall.

It looks amazing!

Concrete

2010-04-24T06:03:00.001-07:00

They have been busy framing and pouring concrete.

Here is the back patio, finished, with the fire pit.

North side walk way framed and ready to go.

Front walkway to house framed.

Master

2010-04-24T06:00:00.001-07:00

Master bedroom has been painted.

Master bath tile is almost done.

Master closet was installed.

Mudroom

2010-04-24T05:59:00.001-07:00

Mudroom cabinetry has been installed. Now the room needs to be painted.

Paint

2010-04-24T05:44:00.000-07:00

Most of the house has gotten its first coat of paint.

Floors Have Been Stained

2010-03-21T10:15:00.000-07:00

Hardwood floors were stained this week.

Looking down into the dining room.

Looking down from the staircase into living room/dining room.

Me, Libby, Kate and Evelyn in the kitchen.

More Progress

2010-03-09T14:13:00.000-08:00

Outside update - north side ipe up.

Back staircase complete.

Drywall on stair case almost finished.

Kitchen - east wall.

Girls Bathroom Floor

2010-03-06T14:08:00.000-08:00

This may be my favorite spot in the house. The white sparkly floor went in the girls bathroom and looks fabulous. I can not wait for the cabinetry and the rest of the pieces to go in!

Stairs and Railings

2010-03-06T13:50:00.000-08:00

What used to keep Matt up at night, and caused Molly to pull out some hair is now a beautiful piece of art in our home. The main staircase went in and it looks amazing. Step lights also went in. Now for the dry wall and the stain on the floor - and it all worked out perfectly!

I was skeptical about the glass railing, but I have to say it looks great.

I am taking volunteers to come clean the glass - and next step - can we say CHILD GATES please!!

Brick Wall

2010-03-06T13:48:00.000-08:00

The brick wall by the fire place is almost complete. Where you see dry wall there will be three metal shelves "floating" out of the wall.

Kitchen Chaos

2010-03-06T13:13:00.000-08:00

They started "building" our kitchen. This will be a miracle when they actually have this thing put together. It sort of looks like one crazy Ikea project.

Directions.

More pages of directions.

Appliances and drawers.

View from the living room.

North wall is making progress.

Awnings

2010-03-06T13:09:00.000-08:00

The front awnings are almost finished. Dry wall was going up on Saturday.

Powder Room

2010-03-02T08:26:00.000-08:00

The tile wall went up in the powder room. It looks AMAZING!!! Still needs the mortar, but you get the idea. What an impact!

Girls Bathroom

2010-03-02T08:22:00.000-08:00

Tile is almost complete in the girls bathroom.

Backsplash behind the mirror and sink (there will be three skinny mirrors).

Close up of the bubble tile. LOVE it!

Tub surround pattern (thanks Molly!)

Progress On The Outside

2010-02-26T18:52:00.000-08:00

Ipe on the back of the house is complete.

Tile

2010-02-19T19:30:00.000-08:00

Almost all the tile has arrived and will be installed next week. But before they can start, the design has to be perfect. Thank goodness for Molly and her design capabilities. We can not wait to see the finished product!

Matt, Steve and Molly working on the pattern for the girls tub surround.

Girls tub surround. LOVE the bubbles!!!

Guest bathroom tile.

Master bath tile.

Powder room wall tile.... this is going to look so cool!

Multi Tasking

2010-02-19T18:21:00.000-08:00

It was a busy Friday. Hardwood floors were finished, stain was picked, kitchen was delivered, tile patterns were set....... and on and on. We were lucky to have Molly here for a few days to help us out. There are so many decisions to be made!

Molly and Matt analyzing our stain options.

Finishing up the last area of the hardwood floors.

Here comes the kitchen.

Front Ipe Wall

2010-02-17T16:55:00.000-08:00

They've now started on the front.

Mondo Builders

2010-02-17T13:10:00.000-08:00

There was a great article recently about our builder, Mondo Builders, in the Chicago Tribune.

Click here to read about one of the best builders in the Chicagoland area!

Ipe Installation

2010-02-16T14:08:00.001-08:00

The ipe installation has begun on the back of the house and it looks amazing!

Hardwood Floors

2010-02-16T13:22:00.000-08:00

The hardwood floors are being installed.

Here is the master bedroom.

Kate's room.

And the hallway.

Dry Wall

2010-02-02T18:37:00.000-08:00

More pictures here.

Master Bath

2010-01-26T05:50:00.000-08:00

Master shower with insulation and radiant heated walls and bench.

Rubber membrane added to the floor. A protective layer between the floor and the tile.

Insullation

2010-01-22T22:00:00.000-08:00

The insulation went in this week. They blow it in like liquid marshmallow, then they sawed it off to be flush with the studs.

Ipe (Brazilian Walnut) Delivered

2010-01-12T08:38:00.000-08:00

Ipe wood was delivered last week and is in the basement ready to go. We are so excited to give the outside of the house a more finished look.

A Little Ice Issue

2010-01-12T08:33:00.000-08:00

During the melting of all the snow we ran into a little - or should I say BIG icicle!

Our drain pipes have not been installed yet, but you can see from the second picture below we found a temporary fix.

Nice Snowy Day

2009-12-23T08:23:00.000-08:00

Window Capping

2009-12-22T10:00:00.000-08:00

The windows are now fully installed. They put the capping on the exterior and now from the outside of the house they look just as beautiful as from the inside.

Utility Room

2009-12-22T08:25:00.000-08:00

Can you imagine the instruction manuals for these machines?

Geothermal.

Electrical

2009-12-22T08:18:00.000-08:00

Living room/dining room can lights.

Kitchen and family Room.

Den.

Evelyn and Kate In The Living Room

2009-11-22T08:16:00.000-08:00

Brickwork

2009-11-22T08:12:00.000-08:00

Brick Was Delivered

2009-11-04T21:41:00.000-08:00

Now we just need a few weeks of nice weather. Is that possible in November in Chicago?

Glass Has Arrived

2009-11-03T21:30:00.000-08:00

Window Frames

2009-10-27T21:00:00.000-07:00

The window frames arrived and check out the crane that had to move our picture window and back sliding glass door/window.

Crane moving the picture window frame.

Window Frames Part II

2009-10-27T19:00:00.000-07:00

Back sliding glass door and window.

Rough Plumbing Has Started

2009-10-22T20:57:00.000-07:00

Master Shower.

Girls Bathroom.

Fire Places Are Framed

2009-10-20T20:43:00.000-07:00

Framing for the two fireplaces is complete.

Fireplace is sitting/dining room.

Fireplace in the family room.

Garage

2009-10-08T19:11:00.000-07:00

Radiant heating going down in the garage.

And then the concrete is poured.

Garage floor finished!

Some Rooms With A View

2009-09-13T20:06:00.000-07:00

View to the back yard from the dining area.

Looking into the kitchen and family room.

Looking down the upstairs hallway from the master bedroom.

Master Bath.

Evelyn checking out her new room.

Framing's Complete

2009-09-10T20:04:00.000-07:00

The Roof Goes On

2009-09-02T19:59:00.000-07:00

Starting To Take Shape

2009-08-21T19:53:00.000-07:00

Front of the house.

View to the back yard.

Looking down at the dining area.

Upstairs.

Framing Begins

2009-08-10T19:40:00.000-07:00

Utilities

2009-08-01T22:06:00.000-07:00

They installed the water and sanitary system the last couple days. Electrical is next... The pic is in the front yard by the planter box.

Back Filling

2009-07-28T18:36:00.000-07:00

All the concrete has cured so now they are able to back fill the outside walls with clay and dirt. It is incredible to now see the back yard without the huge dirt mound and how the patio and planters are coming to life. We are so lucky to have this extra deep lot so our kids will be able to play in the grass while we hang on the patio.

Backyard

Patio & Planters

South side window wells

Foundations Are In

2009-07-26T18:21:00.000-07:00

We went out on Saturday evening to check out the site and see their progress. The foundations are completed and we were lucky to meet all of our neighbors that evening at the Mitchell Block Party. We are very lucky as there were tons of kids Evelyn & Kate's age to grow with.

Ev made sure the Nicor Gas flag was in the right place.

Pre Concrete

2009-07-16T19:26:00.000-07:00

We've had some great weather lately, thank God, that the foundation moldings have gone up quick. Concrete will be poured soon. The house seems so much smaller now.

Footings

2009-07-14T18:45:00.000-07:00

The concrete footings are in with reinforced rebar throughout. They put drainage tile on both sides of the footings and in the middle of the floor for extra protection from water infiltration into the basement. So hopefully we will never get flooded...

My contractor, Steve, standing in our future storage room.

Excavation

2009-07-09T19:43:00.001-07:00

We pulled up to the house around 8pm and found a huge hole in the yard. They finished excavation today and we wanted to catch a glimpse before the concrete footings will go in tomorrow. It is incredible to see the plan take shape.

100 Year old wooden pipe found during excavation.

Geothermal Ends, Finally

2009-07-06T05:02:00.000-07:00

It was a long process digging the 6 holes with all the rain, which made it difficult for the machines to get a footing. Pics below are showing how they tie all the tubes together and then terminating into the house eventually.

Geothermal Starts

2009-06-10T11:06:00.000-07:00

The holes for the Geo Thermal system have started this week. They are drilling 300 feet down with 6 loops in the back yard.

WHAT IS GEOTHERMAL ENERGY?

The word geothermal comes from the Greek words geo (earth) and therme (heat). So, geothermal energy is heat from within the earth. We can use the steam and hot water produced inside the earth to heat buildings or generate electricity. Geothermal energy is a renewable energy source because the water is replenished by rainfall and the heat is continuously produced inside the earth. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), geothermal heat pumps are the most energy-efficient, environmentally clean, and cost-effective systems for temperature control.

This will enable us to use the earths temperature to heat and cool our house. It should reduce our energy bills 50-70%.

Click here for more in on Geothermal.

Demo Day

2009-05-21T07:19:00.000-07:00

The long awaited demolition day came and went in about an hour. We had all the neighbors with their kids watching the huge excavator tear apart the old 1925 home to nothing. They hauled off all the materials by the end of the day.

Builder Chosen

2009-02-26T07:11:00.000-08:00

We finally decided on our builder! After months of bidding and interviewing many contractors we are excited to have Mondo builders, Steve Bousante, build our house. They are out of Elmhurst and actually live about 3 blocks away.

We are so thankful that we have Steve and feel like we are getting closer to breaking ground.

Funke Architects

2008-07-27T18:04:00.000-07:00

We have hired an architect!

Funke Architects in Chicago will be designing the home.

Jeff Funke is very talented, designs modern homes - and best of all - is a Iowa State graduate!

You can check out their site and some of their designs.

Closing Day

2008-06-20T20:44:00.000-07:00

We closed today on our new home at 386 Mitchell in Elmhurst.

It is going to be a long process, but we plan to tear down this existing house and rebuild.

We are ready for the challenge and excited to see how this all turns out.

We thought this blog would be a great opportunity to track the home building process, and keep our friends and family updated on how it is going and what it looks like.

Let the demolition begin!