A fence contractor was
hired to enclose some pasture area for our horses. As soon as he
completed the project, our horses were moved to their new location.
August
2007- The month of August was a mad
rush to get temporary housing set up. This required the
construction of a 12x20 portable building including interior finish,
insulation, electricity, etc. The building will be used to house
my computer, a supplemental cold box for food, a freezer, washing
machine and dryer, shelving for pantry items, my husband's treadmill and
exercise space including a TV. A local contractor was hired to put the
building up and my son and I completed the wiring, plumbing, and
installed laminate flooring for comfort. My son and I also
installed a 10x20 ft deck on the front and arranged our kennel panels to
secure our 3 Pomeranians that live with us.
We purchased a 28ft
travel trailer to cover the other living area needs.
A temporary power pole
was installed by my son, the water company installed a water meter and
our plumber took care of installing the 250 ft. of 2" water line
back to the "living accommodations". We also had an
aerobic septic system installed with a special drop for the travel
trailer.
While the above items
were being taken care of, my husband spent his days packing everything
he could. He could only work for a few hours a day because of his
health issues but he succeeded in packing everything in the kitchen.
The house was turned over
to the new owner on August 31.
September
2007 - The first two weeks of
September were spent correcting problems that came up. A portable
air conditioner had to be purchased for the travel trailer because the
roof air couldn't keep up with the heat being generated by my husband's
oxygen concentrator which runs 24/7. We had to install a roof over
our deck because the awning for the travel trailer could not be left
down and the sun made it difficult for my husband to move between the
two structures. My son and I completed the roof in about 12 hours
which saved us about $600 (the bid from a local contractor for the
labor).
I made a trip to Longview
to meet with Jeff McKinney, our Satterwhite Log Homes representative and requested a
preliminary design on our new home.
I requested bids from
contractors for concrete, geothermal heat pump systems, and for our
barn/shop which was needed as quickly as possible.
The plans arrived and my
husband and I began actually putting together a materials list for
completing the interior. We worked on establishing our budget for
each phase and quickly found out that we may be short on our funding.
We
did not want to finance any of the construction so that meant a
reduction in the size of the house was necessary. We sat down
together and came up with a design that would make us both happy.
October
2007 - A trip to Longview to
meet with Jeremy Cammack, Designer for Satterwhite Log Homes was made on
October 3rd. Also discussed some of our options for interior
finishing. Instead of making our own log stair rails, we
will have them made by a carpenter in Longview.
We are still
waiting for bids from one of the geothermal contractors and the
barn builder. Our bid for the concrete work will have to be
adjusted once the new plans arrive. Hopefully, it can be
reduced since the house has been resized. With our new
design, the living area was reduced by 400 sq. ft.
Update
for October 2007 - Completed the final design of the house
and picked up copies of the plans. Paid the initial payment
and signed to get the project started. Our new design will
reduce not only the cost for the shell portion of the house but
also cost for the foundation, HVAC, and interior completion.
The images below have been reduced for the web, click on them for
a larger view.
November
2007 - Layout for the pole barn
is complete. First holes were drilled on 3 November.
Once the poles are square and plumb, we will pour cement for the
shop, tack room, and center aisle.
Our cement
contractor will be out on the 5th to pick up a copy of the house
plans and go over our plans for the foundation. Any changes
will be reflected on our Building Your
Dream Home Foundation page.
Because of the cost
of geothermal heat pump systems in our area, we may decide to go
with a high SEER rated air-to-air system. I'm still waiting
on our last bid for geothermal and that will be the deciding
factor as we have a fixed budget. 24
Nov: Just talked to the geothermal contractor and there is
no way we can afford one at $21,000.
Our foundation is
scheduled to be done the week after Thanksgiving but as I am sitting
here typing today (Sat., 24 Nov.) it is raining outside and is expected
to continue all day. The contractor will have to decide on Monday if the
ground is dry enough to start the trenching for the footing and drilling
of the piers.
JANUARY -
2008 Well, as usual, nothing
ever works as planned. You must always have a Plan "B",
"C", and maybe even "D"! To begin, our
foundation could not be constructed as planned due to excessive cost by
the one contractor we were comfortable could complete the project.
The other contractors that bid on the job were not able to convince us
of their ability to complete the project as well as a total lack of
communication. You should not have to call a contractor several
times without a return call. It is not a good
"omen".
We anticipate a slab
foundation will be completed sometime during the week of 14
January, with our SatterWhite Log Home construction crew onsite by the
21st of January. Click here for an
update on our foundation. The house should be in the dry by the 1st of
February or close thereafter - depending on the weather of course.
