Follow the progress in the construction of a small, high-raised sidehall shotgun house in Galveston, Texas, built in 2010. We could not have accomplished this without the assistance and support of our incredible subcontractors. We want to thank all these fine folks.

The lot is 21'5" wide x approx. 60' deep. It is a portion of a larger lot that contains a small Victorian home built in 1901, just after the Great Storm of 1900. While the main house faces 17th St., this small leg of the lot extended to Avenue O. After the demolition of a bar across the street from the lot we decided to put the land to use. We could fit a 15' wide by 44' long house on this portion of the lot. The living area will be about 600 sq. ft. plus a 4' front porch. Our architect styled it "The McNeel Tenant House", since most of the houses built in this area after the Great Storm were built as rentals. We'll post photos as we go. We are members of the San Jacinto Neighborhood Association, and this will be the first new construction in the San Jacinto Neighborhood Conservation District.

In Galveston we carry 2 or 3 insurance policies on a property, depending on location. This place in located in Zone X, outside the flood zone, so no flood insurance would be required by a lender. Hazard insurance is available for all damage except from wind and flood. Windstorm is a separate policy. In order to get windstorm insurance (very important if you're located one block from the Seawall and the Gulf of Mexico), certain requirements must be met, especially for new construction. The requirements are set by the Texas Department of Insurance for Windstorm.

Notice all the straps at framing connections, including from the slab to the frame. We also have to install exterior doors that are rated for 130 mph winds, including the garage door. Windows must also be rated, and unless you go with impact resistant windows (which we chose) you must provide approved window coverings in case of a storm. Installing plywood over the windows is a lot of work if your windows are on the second floor or higher! Shutters can blow away in high winds, storm shutters are not appropriate for the style of the house. The roof shingles must be 30 year and also meet the windstorm requirements.

All plans must approved and stamped by a windstorm engineer who has been licensed by the State of Texas and then be submitted to the City of Galveston Planning Department for review and approval. The structure must pass the engineer's and the City inspector's inspections along the way. All plumbing, electrical, and HVAC work must be by licensed professionals.

Here are some photos of the progess of the construction. Email us if you like, we'd love to hear from you.

  
This was the lot after Hurricane Ike - 2009   First step - clear the lot, remove the old foundation, and level for foundation work.
 
Laying out the footprint for the foundation.   Forms built and fill brought in.
 
Vapor barrier and rebar in place for the pour.   Big day - pouring the concrete.
 
Finished slab - apparently meets the approval of Midnight the cat.   Framing by first crew of framers - oh boy. More on this later. framing started the first of August.
 
This was midway in the first week of framing. They were really proud of their speed - not to be confused with their accuracy.   This is the mess they would leave as they worked. Not good.

So here's the thing about the first crew we hired. Yes, they were fast. Unfortunately, no one seemed to read the prints, nor were they knowledgeable about the building code in Galveston. We live in the Houston area and own several places in Galveston, but we could not be on hand every day to oversee the work. We had to rely on our subcontractors to be conscientious and professional. We hired the framers, actually the guy who provided them, because he had built a place a block away on 18th that was similar to ours. He never lifted a tool, just provided the labor. We figured out pretty quickly that the men doing the actual work were not the same ones who built the place on 18th St.

Two things saved us a ton of money with this framing crew. First, we have some experience in construction, although this is the first time we built from the ground up as general contractors. Second, we set up an account at a local lumber company and so we could review all purchases online. So when we saw an invoice for 100+ sheets of 1/2" plywood, I called the framing contractor to ask what they were for. He said for the sheathing. I said the plans called for 5/8" not 1/2". He said "Oh, we'd better get that exchanged." Then I called, "Why did you order all these 2" x 10" x 16' boards?" Answer,"For the floor joists." My response, "The plans call for 12" joists, not 10" joists." After a brief discussion he said his foreman misread the plans - the 10" joist was for the porch, not the floor joists. I called our engineer, who said the plans were not to be changed. By this time they had framed out the second floor, so the framing contractor's solution was to cut loose all the floor joists, jack up the second story, and replace the 10" joists with 12" joists. This meant that many of the seams of the subfloor above were no longer supported by floor joists. Just great. More to follow.

 
Notice the open seam in the subfloor. Also no construction adhesive on the new joists. There were numerous seams exposed.   More substandard framing on these windows. The plans called for the sill height to be 36" per code - sill height here is 24"!
 

Some good news - our son-in-law is a superintendent with a construction firm in Houston. By the end of the first week of framing we were semi shell-shocked. On Saturday we climbed to the second floor and began to check the work.

Every window was framed incorrectly. If we had not caught the incorrect sill height the house would not have passed inspection. Imagine the cost to reframe the windows after they were installed and the Hardie exterior installed! The ridge beam on the roof was wrong. The corners were not framed to code (triple studs are required). And this is just a sample of their mistakes. Overall the framing work was terrible. We fired the framers on Sunday.

Now to find a new framing contractor. Thanks to our great concrete contractor, R. O. Hernandez, we found Joaquin Badillo. He reworked the whole job, and it is beautiful! He is a true professional who works along side his men and takes pride in his work. We cannot thank him enough!

Danny measuring for the bath room window - it was set way too low...    
 
Our new master framer, Joaquin Badillo.   Completely rebuilt the roof framing, windows, etc.
 
This is the lower one-car garage area. It will also hold the washer, dryer, water heater.   The Spencers and me (apparently they're all standing on boxes or something).
 
Here's the view from across the street.   That's the Gulf at the end of 17th St. Not a bad view.
 
Gary and Joaquin.   Beadboard was installed for the porch ceiling.
 
After much research and many $$, impact resistant windows going in. This photo was taken from our front porch on 17th. House on the left is our rental house, located on the squared off portion of the lot.   Front porch and steps are completed, new windows and most of the Hardie exterior is installed.
 
This is the sidehall - looking from bedroom to front door.   Kitchen area with larger window, bath area with smaller window.
 
We're ready to begin working with the Interior. First requirement is insulation. Ceiling is R30, walls R13, and the ceiling in the downstairs area (insulating the floor of the living area above) is R19. This is the Kitchen sink wall   Once the insulation passed inspection we scheduled the drywall installation. This is the Kitchen sink wall with the "greenboard" area for moisture protection.
 
More greenboard for the vanity area in the Bathroom. The walls surrounding the bath tub are cover with Hardibacker board prior to tile installation.   Downstairs area: furnace for the HVAC, ductwork and 5/8" fire rated Type X drywall ceiling per the building code.
 

Unlike many of the original Galveston houses from the early 1900s, this one will have plenty of closet space. The smaller closet on the left was designed to be an "owner's closet". Owners' closets are used for short-term or vacation rentals to provide lockable storage for items not available to tenants. For now it will be a second storage area for long-term tenants.

  The sidehall appearance is improving. Doors and windows are ready to be trimmed out. The walls and trim will be primed and painted to a smooth finish.
 
New driveway and sidewalk have been added.   Exterior painting has been completed. It's Thanksgiving weekend, we've been working on the place for 4 months. Now we're working on the interior and getting landscape bids.
 
The tile floor is going in the bathroom.   Subway tile surround going up for the tub/shower area.
 
Pergo laminate floor will run throughout the rest of the house.   Here's the floor extending into the kitchen. We hope to finish it in another weekend.
 
Trim work is underway and Gary, Jr. is setting the door for the pantry.   Bathroom is coming along - all fixtures have been installed and grout has been sealed.

It's early February, and the weather has been much colder than usual for the past month, so we haven't spent as much time working on the house. Once we get the final CO from the City we can have the permanent meters installed for the electric and gas. Gas heat would have been nice when the temperatures dropped below freezing. Now we're getting forecasts for next week (Valentine's Day) of temps in the 70s. Woohoo!

It's mid-April, and the shotgun is complete! The 9 foot ceilings make the small house seem much larger and more spacious. Let us know what you think.

 
The living area is finished. This is the southeast corner   The double windows face south, with the front door to the right.
 
Looking from living area into kitchen.   Another view.
 
The gas range and range hood.   The custom plate rack and dishwasher.
 
Still need to hang a new towel bar, otherwise the bath is complete.   Vanity and mirror.
 
Wrought iron shelf for towels and bath accessories.   From the hall, looking past the pantry to the front door.
 
The northeast corner of the bedroom. Great light!   Looking north from the bedroom. New 2" blinds throughout the house.
 
Two closets in the bedroom for plenty of closet space.   The view from the porch, one block from Seawall Boulevard and the Gulf.

Leased the house 4 days after listing it on MLS, and our new tenant moves in the first of June. Sure hope they enjoy the place.

Let us know if you plan to visit Galveston - it's a great place to spend some time, at the beach, touring the historic districts, shopping on the Strand and dining in some of our great restaurants, visiting Moody Gardens, Schlitterbahn and the Lone Star Flight Museum, or just walking or bining along the Seawall. Come on down!