And so it begins...

After over a year and a half and lots of research and changed plans, we are actually about to break ground. We have learned SO much and made so many mistakes. This will continue to be an adventure and I just pray it has a happy ending.

To make a long story as short as possible, in December of 2016, we bought a cute little yellow house on a half an acre back off the lake but with land on the lake for a dock and boat. We were drawn to the peace and lovely big yard. There is a garage that Bob is converting to a roomy woodworking shop and a big carport that can be enclosed to become our two car garage with side storage room for our travel trailer. The house was a real fixer upper, but we could see the possibilities.

 

However, when our builder friend took a good look at the house, nothing was up to code and the foundation was crumbling. We were told it would be cheaper to tear it down and rebuild than to try to fix it. So we worked with a builder who did panalized homes (he builds the walls in a factory and assembles the house on site) and after several months, came up with a plan. We booked Kristi Bellfy and had the house torn down to prepare to build. She confirmed what our friend had told us and said it was a wonder the floor hadn't caved long ago.

We struggled and struggled coming up with a plan we were happy with, as we were determined to save the one shade tree in the middle of the lot. It forced us to have an L Shaped plan. Because of that, we turned down plan after plan getting our builder to understand how serious we were about our tree.  Then as we finally settled on a plan and prepared to build we found out our builder did not have the necessary credentials to fill out the papers for our bank for a construction loan. We were sick, but it was good we found out when we did. 

We then started paperwork for Bob to be his own contractor. We had lots of good contacts with estimates we had already gathered from trades people and good advice from our sons and nephew. About that time our good friend Mike Whitney who had also built our present house became available. He expressed interest in taking on our project and because we know and trust him and have the utmost confidence in his ability, we gladly welcomed him aboard. He had his own ideas of how it should all go and evaluated every angle. He too had trouble with the necessary shape of the house to save the tree and it took a long time again to decide on a plan that made us all happy. The clock ticked on. 

Finally, unbelievably, everything is in place. We are thrilled with the plans, we saved the tree and good people are lined up for the work. We close at the bank tomorrow, May 21, 2018,  and Kristi has her equipment onsite and will be waiting for our text as soon as the papers are signed and she will begin digging the foundation. Here we go! Stay tuned for updates and pictures.