On our last visit in January, we knew that we would be back to the building site in about a month. Our timing was good -- the foundation preparation were almost complete and we would be there to witness the pouring of the foundation.

It was a beautiful day for the first major milestone of construction. The skies were clear and high. The temperature at 8:00 was about 50°F and warming with low humidity and a steady breeze.

The foundation pouring was scheduled to start early this Monday morning around 6:00 a.m. We arrived at Whitewater Springs around 8:00 a.m. after having passed 7 concrete trucks from our pour on our way.

After the foundation was poured on 2/25/08, the framing of the first floor began about 10 days later during the first week of March 2008.

Second floor trusses have been installed and the second floor has been framed. Roofing trusses have also been installed.

Since the builder had told us that the stairs to the second floor would be in place, we visited again on Saturday to see our views from the second floor. But the weather did not let that happen as it was very cool and foggy.

Returning two weeks after our last visit on 3/29, we saw that the framers had been busy putting up the exterior sheathing on the outside walls and working on the roofs and eaves.

We got up very early on Saturday morning and left Cedar Park around 6:00 a.m. We arrived at Whitewater Springs 35 minutes later -- before sunrise. The sky was lightening when we got to the construction site and we were able to watch the sunrise from the Master Bedroom window.

This was our last visit for this trip from Houston and the framers were still busy installing the exterior sheathing and soffits.

We were away for a week, but the house in today's visit was really beginning to look like a house. The windows were in, the roofs were on and the interior had the bracing timbers removed.

After getting exterior paint selections from our architect project manager, the builder had the painter paint some samples on the back of the garage for our review.

While the framers were continuing their progress with the installation of the siding, the builder went to the stone quarry in Lometa, TX, today and picked up stones samples. These were laid on the ground by the exterior paint samples and the combination looked great.

It was almost a month before we were able to visit the building site again (we were delayed in Houston preparing to sell our house there). During the time that we were absent, the mechanical rough-ins had been occurring - electrical, plumbing and HVAC. These rough-ins continued for a few more weeks. Also, some additional interior framing had occurred - stairway, screened porch and pocket doors in the Master Bathroom.

During the past week as we were in Houston taking care of the sale of our house there, mechanical rough-ins continued. But the biggest noticeable difference was that some additional framing in the interior had occurred -- decking for the bathtub, shower benches, and a railing at the top of the stairs.

To commemorate the building of this house, we had Southwest Monuments & Signs Company in Cedar Park prepare an appropriate cornerstone of Cordova Cream limestone. This cornerstone will be installed on the Front Entry Porch.

While the mechanical installations were being handled inside the new house, the painter, Jorge, was preparing the exterior for painting by caulking the lap siding. Jorge sprayed the exterior with Kelly-Moore AncryShield primer in preparation for painting the selected Sherwin-Williams paints.

Things began happening quickly during the third week in June. On this visit we saw that the exterior painting had started, the lightning protection system had been installed and the fire sprinkler system had been installed.

After meeting with our builder, Neal, at the local cabinet maker's shop in the morning, we made the trip out to the building site in the afternoon. A crew installing the corrugated metal siding was there and had begun installing the siding on the back side of the Garage.

The weekend visit to the construction site with the family showed that about half of the house has been completed with corrugated metal siding.

The installation of the metal siding on the exterior continued through the Fourth of July week. Still not done was an area on the front entry porch and on the rear porches.

On this Independence Day weekend, we created some video looks at the progress of the construction. The current phase of installing the corrugated metal (Galvalume) continued.

Friday's visit revealed that the Living Room fireplace box and the Screened Porch fireplace box have been temporarily installed.

Sunday's visit revealed that the builder had been busy working on Saturday, 7/12 (he admitted that he put in 14-15 hours that day). With the use of a Bobcat tractor, Neal moved dirt/rock fill up to the foundation to increase the grade to accommodate the rainwater collections system.

The week of 7/7/08 was a very busy week at the construction site -- roofing was installed, low-voltage wiring was strung, plumbing was completed and rainwater collection piping began.

The roofing of the house began today. The roof is Galvalume metal sheets. The installers began installing around 10:30 a.m. and by 3:00 p.m. had completed the rear section of the upper roof. Temperature today was about 105 degrees, so it must have been like working on a stove top.

Construction activities today included the roofing of the house with Galvalume sheets, the installation of low-voltage wiring and the installation of the conduit for the rainwater collection system.

The roofing installation continued today on another hot triple-digit day. The week continued to be a busy one at the construction site as the painter was painting the porches, the low-voltage installers were there in addition to the plumbers.

The busy week continued as the roofing, painting, plumbing and low-voltage wiring installation continued.

A weekend visit after a very busy week showed that the roofing had been completed. The builder had stuccoed the foundation on the rear of the house and had dug a trench for the utilities from the service area at the street to the house.

After not much activity over the past 2 week, insulation of the house began today, Wednesday 8/6/2008. The house proper will receive sprayed-on polyurethane foam insulation. The garage as well as the ceilings of the two porches will be insulated with standard batt insulation.

This set contains videos of the spray foam insulation activities on Wednesday, 8/6/2008.

The trip to the construction site on Saturday, 8/9/08, showed us that the insulating contractor had completed their job on Friday. All exterior walls and the underside of the roofs had been sprayed with the polyurethane foam.

The hanging of the drywall board began today, Friday, 8/15/08. The crew arrived early and by the time we arrived at 10:30, most of the second floor had been done and about half of the first floor was complete.

This set contains videos of the drywall installation that began on 8/15/08.

The drywall installers were again on site for Day 2 on Saturday, 8/16/08. They had arrived the day before on Friday, 8/15/08, to begin installing the drywall to the framed walls.

The drywall installers were back on 8/21/08 to tape and float the drywall that they installed the previous weekend. A summer afternoon thunder shower came rumbling through while they were there.

This set contains videos taken during the day Thursday, 8/21/08, when the drywall installers were back to tape and float the drywall that they installed the previous weekend.

A weekend visit to the job site revealed that the drywall installers have completed the floating of the walls and ceilings. They returned the following week to sand the walls/ceilings smooth before spraying texture.

A week after the drywall was taped and floated, the contractors were back to spray wall texture. They had returned earlier this week to sand the walls/ceiling smooth before spraying the texture.

This set contains video that were taken the day that the drywall installers were spraying texture on the walls.

While drywall texturing was proceeding inside, Alcam Services employees arrived to begin the installation of the septic system. They arrived with a backhoe to start the trenching and digging.

This set includes videos of the Alcam Services backhoe operator arriving, removing cedar trees and beginning to dig the aerobic septic system.

Interior detailing began this week -- Door frames were delivered; Walls were sprayed with primer; Custom trim was cut. The builder also provided us with mesquite flooring samples.

A visit to the construction site after the Labor Day weekend holiday (Hurricane Gustav had just hit Louisiana, but no impact here), the builder continued to prepare the custom trim for the doors, windows and baseboards. The septic installer was still digging the hole for the septic system through solid limestone. Also the first load of Lometa sandstone had been delivered.

This set contains videos of the builder and his employees preparing the custom trim and of the septic installer digging a hole in the solid limestone for the septic system.

We visited the construction site on Sunday, 9/7/08, after a 4-day business trip to Houston. During our absence, the builder was busy installing the trim and shelves that had been prepared last week. The door frames had been installed and trim around the windows and doors had begun. Also the septic system installer had completed preparing the hole and had installed the septic tanks.

The video in this set is a quick look around of the septic system that was installed the previous week.

The basics of the aerobic septic system was installed and the Burnet Country engineer came onsite to inspect the system before it is covered up.

The video in this set was taken from the Open Porch of the septic system and the septic spray field.

Per the building specifications, the builder is required to erect a mock-up of the stone exterior for review by the owners and the architects before proceeding. This set is photos of the mock-up of the Autumn Blend sandstone from Kirby Stone Co. in Lometa, Texas. We requested a color composition of 60% tan, 30% brown and 10% rust.

The painting of the interior walls began today, Tuesday, 9/16/08.

Painters continued with the painting of the accent walls.

After painting the interior walls, the painters taped off the walls to allow for painting the door and window trims. On Day 3, the trims were painted with primer and sanded before they are sprayed with enamel paint.

After taping the walls around the windows and doors, all interior trim was painted with Sherwin Williams "Softer Tan" enamel paint.

Today, the builder stained the floors of the Front Entry Porch, Screened Porch and Open Porch with Antique Amber concrete stain.

Five stone workers arrived today, Thursday, 9/24/08. Three were stone masons and the other two assisted by mixing mortar and retrieving stone. They began laying the stone on the exterior, starting with the lower portions of the garage first.

Video activities on Day 1 of stone work.

Laying of the sandstone exterior continued for the second day. And the builder started preparing the floor inside for wood flooring.

Video activities on Day 2 of stone work.

Great progress on the sandstone exterior today. All lower sections of the walls were completed and the masons began building the stone columns. And while the masons were working outside, the builder was working inside laying sleeper boards and plywood in preparation for the mesquite solid wood flooring.

Video activities from Day 3 of stone work.

Stonework on the outside of the house continued today and the installation of the mesquite flooring began inside .

Stonework continued on the outside as did the installation of the mesquite flooring inside.

This video set is composed of different views of the stone masons working on the tall stone flared column on the left side of the front wall.

Stonework on the exterior was coming to a completion while the installation of mesquite flooring continued inside.

The installation of the mesquite flooring began on the second floor. This set includes two videos illustrating the gluing and setting of the mesquite boards in Bedroom #2.

The stone masons were not at the site today. Not because they were finished (some of the exterior areas were incomplete), but because they ran out of sandstone. On the inside the cooktop cabinet and the media cabinet arrived from the cabinet maker. Shower floors were prepared for tile and mesquite flooring continued.

The installing of the mesquite flooring on the second floor was almost complete. And the builder began priming and painting the cabinets that were delivered last week. Also the interior doors were hung in the garage for painting.

More sandstone from the Kirby Stone Co. was delivered and the exterior stonework was completed. And the stone masons began the stonework inside. The cabinets were delivered and stored temporarily in the large Living Room.

This set contains two videos: 1) two stone masons putting in stone for the kitchen cooktop columns; 2) a quick look around the cabinets that were delivered and temporarily stored in the Living Room.

A lot of activity at the house as the week came to an end -- interior stonework was close to completion, the cabinets were being installed and the mesquite flooring installation was continuing.

This set contains a single video of the stone masons putting in stone behind the Dining Buffet.

This set contains a video of two of the builder's men installing the Dining Buffet cabinet in the alcove in front of the stone wall.

The remaining cabinets (primarily for the kitchen) arrived today. The cabinets that had arrived earlier have been installed in their respective places.

Upon arrival today, Sunday, 10/19/08, we saw that the builder had prepared for and poured the concrete portions of the entry driveway and the front parking area during the past two days. And they have been busy installing the cabinets that were delivered on Thursday, 10/16.

This was a disappointing week in that so little was done when there is so much left to do. Major accomplishments were the pulling of the electrical line from the meter on Thursday and the laying of limestone around a portion of the concrete parking area on Saturday.

The week started with the delivery of materials on Monday for the landscaping project. No work was done on the house, but on Tuesday the landscapers began their work. Also on Tuesday was the installation of the 500-gallon propane tank by Action Propane of Leander, Texas.

Activity began picking up this week. Landscaping was in Day 2, the stone masons returned to finish the stonework and the mesquite flooring continued.

This set contains video of the landscapers installing the hardscape -- walkways, irrigation and bed preparations.

Landscaping continued for Day 3 while the Silestone countertops were delivered and installed. Also the metal siding installers were back to complete the metal siding on the porches.

At the end of the week, most of the landscaping hardscape had been installed -- walkways, steel edging for beds and the beginning of the creek bed.

The week of November 3 begins with the landscaper's workers grinding the removed cedar trees into mulch. Also the kitchen cabinet installation was almost complete.

The landscapers made use of the uprooted Ash Juniper cedar trees by chipping them up into rough-cut mulch which will be used in the landscaping.

The sign company, Southwest Monuments & Signs, in Cedar Park, Texas, finished sandblasting the address on the stone we selected in January. It will be picked up by our landscaper for installation at the house.

The heat pump units were installed today. And the metal siding installers were back to complete some more sections of the exterior. The mesquite flooring was started on the stairs.

Today's big change was the presence of the 18-foot garage overhead door and garage door opener. Other changes were 1) more progress on the mesquite stairs, 2) the arrival of the Powder Room door and 3) the completion of cabinet installs.

Activity began picking up as we near the end. Today the gutter subcontractors was onsite installing the roof gutters and the landscaper had installed the front water feature while nearly completing the rear water feature, a functioning, disappearing creek.

With 3 weeks to completion, the painters began putting on a second coat of paint to the interior walls and ceilings. And the metal installers were onsite to finish the metal work which includes the window and garage door overhangs.

It's Saturday and there was serious activity going on. The metal workers were preparing the house for the planned window/door overhangs. And the builder's workers were performing the first of four sandings of the mesquite floor.

Some of the landscape team returned today after a 2-week hiatus to continue work on the creek. The plumbing supplier delivered some of the plumbing fixtures for the house. Work continued in the house with staining of cabinetry, preparation of mesquite flooring and painting.

As the landscapers were working on the creek in the back, they were running the pump to make the creek flow as they placed stones in and around the creek. Play this video with sound to hear the babbling brook.

This set contains video of the delivery of bathroom plumbing fixtures -- bathtub, toilets, sinks and faucet fixtures. Only 2 of the 3 Toto toilets were delivered as one is on backorder. However, one of the 2 delivered today was broken, so we are now down to only one toilet.

A lot happened at the ranch today. The landscapers created a stone bridge over the creek; ceramic tile and the tile layer arrived; lighting fixtures were delivered; Silestone tops put in the master bathroom; cooktop installed in the kitchen; redwood framing for the screens on the porch began; and some general cleanup and painting.

Action continued today as the countdown to completion continues. Work progressed on the screen framing for the porch; the mesquite stairs, painting of interior and exterior and metal window overhangs. Also the contractor arrived to install laminate on the countertops in the garage and laundry room.

Steady progress continued today: more fixtures were delivered; the electrical contractor arrived to install switches, outlets and fixtures; the tile contractor continued work in the two second floor bathrooms; the cultured marble contractor installed a countertop; more mesquite floor was sanded; and cleaning of windows continued.

As the week winds down, activity was still going at a fever pitch. When I arrived today: the electricians were working; the HVAC guys were installing air handlers; the tile guys were still laying tile; the metal workers were installing support posts and railings on the open porch. Before I left, a delivery arrived with Douglas Fir planks for the wood ceiling in the Living/Dining rooms.

It was Saturday and the week was coming to a close. But the week was ending with a flurry of activity: the tile layers were finishing the bathrooms and had put in the kitchen backsplash. The wood ceiling in the Living/Dining Rooms was being installed. HVAC was almost complete and the railings on the Open Porch were installed.

Counting down to the last two weeks, activities today included: Sanding/staining the wood ceiling in the Living Room; Installing plumbing fixtures; Painting metal support frames; Locating position of bathroom hardwares.

A very busy week continued today with the following activities: Electrical contractor installing ceiling fans and light fixtures; Landscapers completing the creek and planting the numerous plants and trees around the house; Tiling contractor continuing laying/grouting tile; Water softener contractor installing softening and filtering equipment; Plumber continuing to install and hook up fixtures; Sanding of the mesquite floor for finishing over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

It's the day before Thanksgiving and the landscapers were onsite to complete most of the designed landscaping. While inside, the builder and his team were working to get the mesquite flooring sanded and ready for finishing over the long Thanksgiving weekend.

On the day before Thanksgiving, the landscapers delivered the address stone which had been purchased and prepared by Southwest Monuments & Signs in Cedar Park. These videos show the efforts the crew made to get the 500-pound stone off of the delivery trailer and in place in front of the house.

We made a quick visit to the new house on Thanksgiving Day to view the new landscaping and the colorful fall foliage in the area. While there, we both noticed that there were Lady Bugs swarming around the house.

The builder completed the finishing of the mesquite flooring over the long Thanksgiving weekend when traffic inside the house by subcontractors and other workers would be less. Friday was spent sanding the floor and putting down a sealer coat. They were back on Saturday to do a light sanding and two finish coats so that the floor could stand all day Sunday with no traffic.

As we began the last week, the construction site was a bee hive of activity: 1) The finished mesquite floor was covered to protect it; 2) The electricians continued completing electrical work; 3) The plumbers continued completing installations: 4) Low voltage installers were installing security devices, speakers and volume controls; 5) The landscapers were completing irrigation.

Tuesday of the last week. Plumbing activities continued and the LG Steam Washer and Steam Dryer were delivered. Interior doors were being hung again after the floor was finished. And the white limestone blocks were being installed for the driveway.

On Wednesday, a variety of activities were occurring as the builder headed into the end of the week. The installers of the fire sprinkler system were present to make the final hookup to the water system. And the low-voltage contractors continued installing telephone, audio/visual and security devices. The delivery of the kitchen refrigerator completed the appliances for the house.

A lot of various activities were occurring today as we approached project end. Some last minute construction items, some correction items and some clean-up activities.

This was Saturday and the day that the house was to be "substantially complete". Our visit revealed that last minute construction items were being handled, painting was being touched up and windows were being cleaned.

Final items were being taken care of by the builder as the house is now "substantially complete". Closing will occur this week and furniture will be delivered.

The builder worked hard and long today to get the house to as near a completion state as possible. He and his crew stayed very late to get the house clean as some furniture was due the next day. An arctic cold front came through in the evening and the builder reported snow flurries outside before midnight.

For the most part, the house was complete today. Although there were several items to be completed, the house was ready for occupation. The day started very cold with snow and sleet overnight. But it was a productive day as some of the new furniture was delivered, gas logs were installed and both internet and TV satellite dishes were installed.

The house is basically ready, and the architect team stopped by for their walkthrough. But the builder continues to finish last-minute items, such as window & door overhangs, mirrors and shower doors.

We were basically finished with the house on this day. The builder completed some construction items like installing the coverings for the window overhangs. The low-voltage installers were completing the security and audio/video systems. We had the last of the new furniture delivered and installed by our interior decorator.

Today is Monday, December 15 - the week that we officially move into the new house. It is a very cold day and the crushed granite for the driveway was delivered and spread.

It is now Tuesday, December 16 -- the day before we are scheduled to move our personal belongings from our lease house in Cedar Park and begin occupying the new house. The weather is still very cold and the temperature is constantly hovering just below freezing.

Today is Thursday, December 18. We moved our possessions from the lease house the previous day -- the weather was very cold and drizzling as we moved in. We now have many boxes stacked around the house that must be unpacked.

This is our first weekend in the new house and just before Christmas. We are having a very light rain (not enough to put a dent in the Central Texas drought) and beautiful sunsets.

The week of Christmas started with a hard freeze and a very strong north wind as evidenced by the freezing of the water feature at the front of the house.

Our first Christmas in the new house. Our son, Jeff, drove up from Austin to eat dinner with us and try out a telescope that we had received earlier.

On the day after New Years, we hired a few guys to come help clean up the front part of the yard by mowing the native grasses and removing some of the extraneous bushes.

By mid-February the interior of the house is coming together nicely. The builder has pretty much finished the interior work, all the boxes have been unpacked and the furniture is in place.

Like the interior, the exterior is mostly complete at this time. One of the more noticeable changes is that now we have our "real" exterior doors.

This is the first day of installation of the long awaited Texas Metal Cisterns. Due to a scheduling/backlog problem in September 2008 the cisterns were delayed until March 2009.

The initial cistern installation continues.

The cisterns initially were installed near the house right outside the study windows which tended to restrict the view from the study. However, it soon became obvious that something more fundamental was wrong when we didn't collect any water in the cisterns after the first rain. Since water seeks the lowest level, the solution was to move the cisterns about 50 yards down the hill where they would be lower than the gutters. This also had the added benefit of once again opening up the view from the study.

Our last major project was to add a dry creek through our front landscaping and to expand the size of the holding pond for our re-cycling creek.

Today is a beautiful day in the Hill Country so we thought this would be a good time to take another round of pictures now that everything is pretty much complete and we're starting to see some fall color.

Throughout the construction process the most popular view of the house has been from the valley looking up at the hill. This set of photos was taken early morning over a 2 day period. The first morning the sky was blue with not a cloud in sight and the photos were taken from various vantage points in the valley. The second morning was grey and overcast and most of the pictures were taken from the same location as the early construction photos.