Construction is finished on the second McMansion to be built in our neighborhood.   The final landscaping has been completed, as has the deck we mentioned in Going Up, Part XVI.  As the builder said: “There’s only one more thing to be added for final completion; the Sold sign in the front yard.”

The back of the house, including the deck.

The north side of the house.

Another view of the house from the back yard.   Notice the First McMansion in the background.

The south side of the house.

Here’s the first McMansion, which sits between our house and the second McMansion.  It was built in 2006.

To put things in perspective, here’s a picture of our humble abode.  Our total first floor square footage is probably not much more than that of the master bedroom suite of the newest McMansion, which includes the bedroom, a sitting area, a huge master bathroom, and a walk-in closet that is nearly as large as the bedrooms in our house.

This is the final entry for the second McMansion. But don’t be too surprised if we start another of our “Going Up” series of posts in the not too distant future.

On the morning of 13 August 2011, two carpenters appeared and started building a deck. Although they were interrupted by a couple of rain showers, this is what they accomplished by day’s end.

I realized that all  of exterior pictures I’ve taken show a front view of the house.  To remedy this oversight, here are a number of pictures taken on 24 July 2011 that show the sides and back of the house.  At the right in this view, you can see the roughed-in support waiting for somebody to build a deck in the future.

This view shows the entrance to the basement.   Note the two air conditioners that service different zones within the house. 

During the early construction phase, I wondered what purpose this hole next to the basement wall served.

I finally realized that it’s purpose is to let natural light into the basement.  This is advertised as a feature in the sales brochure.

This is a view of the landscaping in the front yard.

You know it’s getting close to completion when finishing touches such as the house number appear.

18 July 2011 – The lot has been graded and the final landscaping is in progress.  Not much left to be done now other than find someone with $1,285,000 who is looking to buy a new house!

15 June 2011 – They are putting a permanent patch over the hole that was dug to connect the house to the water, sewer and natural gas lines.  The red truck in the foreground belongs to the tile setters.  With 4.5 baths, the kitchen and a wet bar in the basement, guess there is a lot of tile setting to be done.

This picture was taken on 19 June 2011.