Julie and Gavin Tun

News

Life at 650 E Oakwood

After a frantic last 10 days counting down to moving in we finally closed the doors and slept in our new home on October 27th, 2011.

There was so much activity to try and get everything finished at the last minute that many things went unfinished which has led to a long list of follow up items that need to be completed and a substantial punch list. It will take time to continue to work with the contractor and their trades to ensure that everything is the way that we desire.

That said we are here at (near) the end of a journey that began over 6 years ago when we first envisioned buying land and building a house.

We are grateful for what we have, our vision is nearing completion, our lives will hopefully be less hectic (no wait I am sure we can find another major project to work on), and our future here will be comfortable.

We look forward to welcoming you to 650 E Oakwood Boulevard.

J&G

20 August 2011

Since our last post there has been quite a bit of activity! The mold issue still remains a concern but has been remediated and now the removed insulation has been replaced and the dry wall will start to go back on soon. The interior doors and trim have been delivered and are starting to get installed and the tile for the bathrooms and entry way has been received and the relevant areas have been prepped.

Our kitchen is being delivered from IKEA on Monday and will be completely installed by end of day on Thursday so we are excited about that for sure. Also coming up are a few meetings with "green" landscapers to talk about the green roof and the garden.

Update

It's been a while! Since May 18th masonry was completed, interior drywall was completed and bamboo floors are almost complete now. We ran into a slight setback due to mold in the basement and garage areas. Our general contractor did not coordinate the roofing contractor to do proper flashing at the completion of masonry so there was leaking at the connection between house and garage which caused the mold. The general contractor is now engaging a mold remediation company to eliminate the mold. Unfortunately this means that some of the completed drywall and insulation work had to be removed and will have to be replaced following full remediation.

This will be another factor that will delay our completion but we are steadfast in our determination to move in before Thanksgiving!

Update

Brick is complete on the west side of the house and it looks great because we decided to have mortar that was close to the brick color and also created some really great design details. The masons are now working on the east side.

Inside the house now looks like spaghetti junction as there is so much wire being pulled out all over the place!

Next steps are final insulation and then dry wall will start to go up.

I'm looking forward to Gavin being back soon :)

Update

Gavin just left for Burma to bring his mum back to live with us so I am going to be in charge for a couple of weeks! Goodness knows what might happen during that time :)

The latest update is that the mason is now laying the brick. We had some detailing that we wanted to achieve so they did a mock up for us to review before commencing. It is looking great so far!

Also the gycrete has been poured over the radiant tubing in readiness for the bamboo flooring.

The ERV (Energy Recovery Ventilator) is now installed. This is a unit that transfers some of the moisture from the exhaust air to the usually less humid incoming air, so the humidity of the house stays more constant.

And copper for the plumbing is now in. This is one of the things that we are all concerned about because copper is often stolen from new construction. So far the temporary alarm/security systems seem to be working, so please keep your fingers crossed that this continues until dry wall goes up in about 2 weeks.

Update

Happy Easter to everyone. This past week all the radiant tubing was laid on the first and second floor and then on Friday the gypcrete was poured over the tubing in readiness for the bamboo flooring. We have not been to check out the gypcrete yet because it does take some time to dry. We have chosen the brick colour and we are now going to work with the mason to make sure that our design intent is incorporated. According to the contractors schedule and depending on the weather, bricks should start to go on starting Thursday 28th April.

Update

We have both been busy with many other things as well as the house over the last month or so. We had a couple of break in's and have now installed a temporaray alarm system to deter would be theives and we boarded up the garage which is where the break in's occurred. Now everyone enters through the front door which is brightly lit! Let's hope that keeps the bad guys away.

We conducted a tour of the house on March 12th for 10 people. This was arranged by the LEED for Homes Illinois organization. It went very well and there were some great questions from those that attended, most of which we were able to answer!

Electrical outlets are just about complete including some in the floor as we cannot put outlets on the perimeter walls as that would compromise the SIPS. Light switch locations are also just about finished and now we are getting ready for the radiant tubing to go on the first and second floors.

Update

We spent the weekend reviewing switches and outlets to be sure that everything is going to be in the right place! Also reviewed the air supply grills in the floor. The plumber, the electrician and the sheet metal guy are progressing rapidly. There is a great deal of coordination work to do now so we will be very busy in the coming weeks.

Update

It has been some time since we wrote as the weather has been so bad, but we are swinging into action again! The shear wall was constructed last week so now we have the strongest house in the city according to our contractor!

Update

Jan 02, 2011

As we were just winding down after dinner last
night a Chicago police detective came to our door and notified us that someone set fire to our project. Fortunately, the fire department got
there in time and was able to put out the fire. We immediately rushed out to the job site to assess the damage and miraculously discovered
that it was manageable. The construction fence was cut at the corner of Oakwood/Langley and our front entry door (which was boarded up) was
burned and charred at the edges. They left a milk crate full of twigs and a pile of newspaper which was doused with gasoline, which they used to start the fire. Inside, the burned edges of the front entrance were charred and poured gasoline was running along the bottom of the walls. The plywood board that was used to secure the front
entry was also charred at the bottom.

We do not know if this was an isolated incident, a random act, or a malicious attempt to destroy our project. One thing we realize is that the person(s) came prepared with the intent to start a fire that
could have burned our entire house down. The detective asked if we had any enemies, or if we knew of anyone who might be disgruntled
because they weren't hired to work on our project. We told the detective that we have no enemies (that we know of), and our contractors reported (and we believe them) that there has been no one
who was seeking employment that they rejected.

We followed our hearts and made a decision to settle in this community 6 years ago. This was a very disturbing and frightening incident but we will not give up our dream to build a home, and be a
positive force in the development of our community. This is the reason why we strongly believe that those of us who want to bring good
things to this community should unite and take a stand against those who seek to destroy and disrupt.

Update

02 january 2011

Happy New Year to everyone. Here's wishing you the very best that 2011 brings. For us that means moving into our new house!

On Dec 27th we returned from a wonderful Christmas in England and checked in on the progress at 650 E Oakwood.

The roofing material has now been laid and the parapet walls have been primed. Stay tuned for more updates soon.

Copyright (c)2010 Julie and Gavin Tun

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J&G

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650 E Oakwood

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What a journey! But we are finally living our dream of building our own home here in the wonderful city of Chicago
Hear about our experience with contractors.
See photographs of our progess.Share the journey with us.

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.” - Marcel Proust
"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the number of moments that take our breath away" - Anon
Enjoy photos from our journeys.

Alzheimer's Disease
Celiac Disease
Burma

Breast Cancer

Read of the causes about which we are passionate.

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