Friday, March 30, 2012

Framing has started!!!

Everything lies in wait for the arrival of the carpenters. The site work, the foundation, the well and septic all were accouterments to the main show...the building.
It has been hard not to pick up a hammer and join in but my role as GC is to support them and make sure they have what they need - not mention earning some money doing some actual paid work. I know that but still....

Pictures of where we are are shown below.
On other fronts, my major client is having financial troubles and cut me loose. Timing is perfect. I'll / we will miss the money but right now it works out well. Finally, we've had a number of showings on the house we now live in. Two couples, one tomorrow, are coming back for a second look. A good sign we are told.


View from the Guest bedroom...want to come visit???

Monday, March 26, 2012

We are as far in as we will ever be out...

The framing starts on Wednesday this week. With all the infrastructure elements all in place and paid for, the building will be a visual representation of all the work to date. When one looks at a home, one does not necessarily appreciate the septic, the power, the well etc. But the HOUSE, well that is a different matter. Doors and appliances purchased Saturday.

By my reckoning, we are about 1/2 of the way through the project which makes us "As far in as we'll ever be out".

Matt

Saturday, March 24, 2012

We have the FINAL approval of the septic system!

Ok, I understand why not everyone would be as excited about that as I am. Then again, few others have had to stand in that 12 foot deep hole to shovel sand or dig the tank openings free either. This represents a real milestone as we now have power, water, a foundation, septic, dock, site work, and a driveway - virtually all the major elements PRIOR to the house are now present.

Alledgedly the builders start on Wednesday. I've been working with Brocks to arrange the staging of materials in the right sequence so the site does not get jammed or robbed with too much material hanging around.

On another note, we have shown the house 4 times in the past few weeks. As of this morning, 2 want to take another look at it! We are NOT used to having the house this "polished" all the time!
Matt

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Persistance, persistance, persistance

Here are some photos of the site waiting for the arrival of the Herr State Septic Inspector. After shoveling 2 yards of sand onto the tubes and packing it down along with installation of a T into the inlet of the tank we appear to be ready. I'll let you know how it goes.
Karen and I attended the planning board plan review meeting last night. In some way quite well run by the chairperson but the town planner was not well organized and was confusing the process at every turn. In the end, the chairman stated that it did not make sense to put us through all this so lets just ask the attorney for the town what the simplest thing to do was to be able to move forward. Ah, the sweet smell of common sense.
And we now have power to the site. That was finished today.



Saturday, March 17, 2012

Todays project

Today the project is to install venting on the septic system. Fortunately it has not yet been used so it is a clean dirty job if that makes any sense. The hole I will be working in is about 10 feet deep (sloping precautions taken). I cut all the pipes to length two days ago so today is digging and assembly.
We are still waiting for power out at the site...COME ON PUBLIC SERVICE!!!
Matt

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

The process of "Lasts" starts.

As we prepare to erect our new home, we are engaged in the usual spring time clean up and prep of the house we have grown to know and love over the past 30 years. Inanimate objects are not supposed to have personality or feelings but it is hard to imagine that our house does not 'feel' this transition.

As we worked around the yard yesterday in the beautiful springtime weather, Karen and I exchanged many "do you remember" moments. From her playing basketball with our very tall son and winning on occasion by using her elbows, to raking leaves from around the pool to cleaning out the gardens and seeing the buds already peaking out, and conversing with a long time friend and neighbor as he tapped our maple trees - they all had history and memories.

We try to move toward something in our lives and not 'away' from things. For us it allows for a more positive and directed method of living a mindful life. We have caught ourselves in moments of sweet nostalgia wondering about all the history we are leaving behind. We know intellectually it is the right decision and that this house needs kids and families. Emotionally we are not always as sure. The tug of war will continue until we create a home with laughter with family and friends some months distant. Feeling a bit unsettled, we float between the two.
Matt

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Work behind the scenes

There is much that goes on that does not actually involve digging holes, pounding nails or moving materials. Yesterday, reviewed the window schedule for the final time and plan to place the order today. This is about 10% of the total cost of the house and arguably the most visible and striking part of the project. The goal is NOT have a door that swings the wrong way, a window that is sized incorrectly, or of the wrong style.
The power should reach the site early next week - just waiting on Public Service to arrive.
Driveway permit paperwork all submitted. Seems they have forms for everything. I had to submit a waiver form to not do an engineering study costing about $1,000 with no visible or tangible outcome. Karen is going to present the application to the planning board...
The house goes on the market today after the realtor visits. We keep looking to June 1 when all this will be behind us. Karen issues her patented LOON call every now and again to remind us of why we are doing this.
Matt

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Snow has struck

The 10 inches of snow we received put a damper on the construction project for a week or two. Not a real issue as our contractors were finishing up other work they had committed to. I am confident now that we are at least keeping up with the curve of what we need to do and won't be holding anyone else up. Need to order the windows this week as they have a 8 to 10 week lead time which surprised me.
Our realtor is visiting us this week to list the house and take photos. Aside from the septic permit - a neverending battle with the state and a prima donna designer - the sale of this house will make it all work. That does mean that we will be homeless for a few months if it sells right away.
Matt