Page 2 / News, Trends, Gossip and Stuff To Do : Web Watch : A Site for Homebodies

You wonder if the cabinetmaker will come through in time for the kitchen phase. You wonder how those bent-steel beams are going to work in the roof. You wonder about that pile of lumber--is that really going to turn into the frame for a family room?

Now you can live through a home-building project without getting your hands dirty. The Dream House 2000 Web site (https://www.dreamhouse2000.com) follows the construction of a home in Santa Monica with photographs, blueprints and weekly progress reports. Construction began in April.

The site, sponsored by American Homestyle & Gardening magazine, gives tips for readers who want to build their own homes while following the progress of a “family-friendly, state-of-the-art house,” said magazine spokesman Laurence Oberwager.

The project’s general contractor, Lori Staff, and her husband, architect C. John Staff III, also own the land on which the house is being built. The couple, who are footing construction and design bills of more than $1 million, will sell the house when it is completed in the next four months or so, Oberwager said. The selling price has not been determined.

Along with house updates, the Web site provides extensive tips on home building and remodeling. You can find advice on whether to use enameled cast iron or acrylic bathtubs, for instance, and what to ask when the cabinet installers show up.

Meanwhile, if you can’t wait for the weekly updates, some Web site visitors have come up with a way to satisfy their curiosity, Oberwager said. They check out the house for themselves at 453 14th St., Santa Monica.