This morning at 10:00am, we closed on our home! Despite some communication challenges between the mortgage and title companies (which at one point really had us questioning whether or not we were going to be able to close this week), everything went off relatively smoothly in the end. Steve Ball, the co-owner of Bedrock Builders who last November saw our blog, reached out to us, and helped us begin this second journey of building a home, personally handed us the keys. Closing took just under an hour, and we didn’t kill nearly as many trees as I had expected.

All the remaining action items from our orientation last week — namely, the landscaping — were completed this week. Check out the photo gallery for a fairly thorough tour.

Also of note, our house scored a “5 Star Plus”, the highest possible energy efficiency rating.

We’re thrilled with how everything turned out. Especially the exterior, which is always hard to visualize from line elevation drawings…it really looks sharp. Amanda’s looking forward to accenting the outside with some colorful flowers, and I have a list of projects so long that I’m quite certain I won’t ever be bored.

We almost don’t believe it, but the house is really, actually, totally done! And ahead of the original schedule to boot. After an aborted attempt with a builder that failed (and still has our money), we were lucky enough to get connected with a better builder who has been the complete opposite of what we experienced the first time around. We can’t say enough about the professionalism, honesty, and work ethic of the Bedrock Builders team. Everything is always done right, built right, with great care and great attention to detail, they communicate clearly, and we’ve never dealt with a more pleasant group of people. Several have told me how much they enjoy their job, and it shows.

I know they’re reading this blog, so to Steve, Sean, Dan, Barb, Kevin, and the whole team…thank you!! We enjoyed this whole experience and had a lot of fun, just as Steve promised at the very beginning. We love our house, and are looking forward to meeting all our neighbors.

This will be the last weekly post on this site about our house. While I might document a DIY project or two (a tile backsplash and built-in shelves are in my future), this blog has fulfilled its purpose…and it’s been quite a ride! What started as simply a way to document the typical home construction process for our friends and family turned into an online focal point for customers and contractors being victimized by Hansen and Horn, and the attention generated here was what led Bedrock Builders to connect with us. I know some of you have been following along for the better part of a year, and if you’re one of the other victims of H&H I hope you’ve been able to find a way to move forward. Best of luck to everyone, and thank you all for your interest and support!

-Matt