We are so overdue for an update and honestly, life has just been full. Between the build hitting some incredible milestones and a season packed with celebrations and travel, posting took a backseat. But we are back and there is SO much to share.
Let me catch you up.
We Have Three Floors! 🎉
Since our last post, this house has gone from a foundation and columns to three full floors with roof trusses. I cannot overstate how surreal it is to walk through framed spaces and start to actually see the home we have been dreaming about. The poured columns on the first floor are incredibly substantial — standing next to them, I genuinely feel like this house is going to be built to last. Whatever comes our way, this home is going to hold.
It is also just really fun to see the pencil marks on the framing where the next walls will go. We can already see the in-law suite taking shape — where my parents will stay when they visit — and it makes me incredibly happy to picture them there.
Vailynne Has the Best Room in the House 🌆
Troy has been making his way up to the third floor every chance he gets — I’ve only made the climb once myself, but the views from up there are something else. The sunset views from my future office and the third floor guest bedroom are absolutely breathtaking. And Vailynne? She gets the downtown Tampa skyline from her room. We’ve been capturing photos to show her since the permanent stairs aren’t in yet. She is thrilled. Troy keeps muttering about switching rooms with her. I’m watching him closely. 😄
Sunset from the 3rd floor guest bedroom!
View of downtown from Vailynne’s room….sigh!
The Staircase Plot Twist 😬
Here’s the one that stung a little.
We had planned for three large windows in the stairwell to create a beautiful view as you walk up through the house. It was going to be stunning — light pouring in, a gorgeous focal point. When the temporary stairs went in and we saw exactly where the landing hits, our hearts sank a little. The landing falls right in the upper corner of the window, which would either completely obscure the view from outside or just look, as I said to Troy, pretty dumb.
Troy and I were both genuinely upset and disappointed. This was one of those details we had been really excited about.
Our regular architect isn’t always the quickest to respond, so we brought in the builder’s architect this week to take a fresh look and see what options might exist. I really liked him and I’m hopeful. We’re expecting to hear some ideas in the second week of July. In the meantime the temporary stairs are in place for the workers, so nothing is stalled — we just have our fingers crossed that there’s a creative solution waiting for us.
The Truss Situation — And Why We Love Our Builder
I got a message from our project manager that there had been an incident on site, but that nobody was hurt. I won’t lie — that is not a message you want to receive. The next day I found out that one of the workers had fallen on a truss and it broke. Two additional trusses were also flagged, one with wood that wasn’t in good condition.
Our builder requested full replacements rather than repairs on the broken ones. I really appreciated that call — he didn’t take shortcuts and he didn’t have to push for that. We also had the inspector come out to review everything else and got a clean greenlight. After the year and a half we have had, that greenlight felt really good.
The FEMA Stair Rule That Makes My Head Spin
We had been hoping to have open tread stairs all the way up — it’s a beautiful look and we really wanted it. To make that work, we asked the city whether we could enclose the entire stairwell from the ground floor all the way up, creating a fully sealed space that could be air conditioned. The answer was no. FEMA regulations do not allow air conditioning any space that includes area below the floodplain, regardless of where the vent is located. Honestly, I’m still not sure I fully understand why — if the vent is above the floodplain, it’s hard to see the harm. But the rule is the rule, and open treads throughout the house is off the table.
Life Has Been Full in the Best Ways
In between all of this, life has kept us wonderfully busy. We snuck away to our happy place in Maggie Valley for spring break with friends. We celebrated Mother’s Day with a wonderful brunch. Vailynne graduated from 8th grade — a TWO week celebration because she absolutely deserved every moment of it. And we squeezed in a long weekend in Asheville before a work event for Father’s Day.
Through all of it, watching this house rise floor by floor has been the backdrop to one of the most memorable seasons of our lives. We are tired, we are busy, and we are so incredibly grateful.
More updates coming — and trust me, we are not slowing down. 🏗️
Two Dogs and a Demo 