Structure has begun

When we got back from vacation on Monday 2/12, we were eager to see what kind of progress was made the week before. Our builder had us front some money before we left to pay some of the labor costs toward framing, so we expected to see this started. Sure enough, the structure has begun and it's starting to look like a house! They even had both the front and back porches and garage floor completed. I'd say that's pretty good progress for only 1 week.

The problem is that we are running into the rainy season in this area. We apparently don't get snow, but just get rain. And boy has it. I see nothing but rain over the next 15 days. When it rains, people don't want to work. I don't blame them, but on the other hand, don't they want to get paid? The materials are okay in the rain, and the majority of the day it is only a couple sprinkles so I hope it is the cooler weather/rain combo than just the 2 rain sprinkles that disincentivizes the work. I digress... They've made a good amount of progress.

Location Location Location... Of the Front of The House

Where should the front door go? What angle do you want the house to sit? Does it fit in the space before the steep hill sets in? Does where you picked make sense for the garage and the driveway? 

Who knew picking a place for your home took more thought than "I just want it here". Once we closed on our loan this week, the first assignment we got from our builder was to go mark where we wanted our front door. Then, since we are putting the house on a bit of an angle on the property, we marked off the whole front wall of the house. 

Just hold out a tape measure and walk around your property a bunch until you like the fairly random place you are standing. 

Then add some stakes.

And step back and admire the view. Our house will face the pond more than it will face the road. It offers a much more scenic view out the front windows, and once someone does build on the front property, we won't be looking directly at another house all the time. 

Liz posing for scale. The front of the house is just over 22 feet wide. That doesn't include the garage, but where the porch and front door will be.

And boy was it muddy! It doesn't look too bad but we were squishing all over the place. Ended up going home to wash shoes. 

This is a good idea of a view of the front of the house. Can you see the two little stakes out there?

Here is an easier view for you! That is the front of the house and porch. 2-car garage to the left. The front door will sit to the left side of that space. 

This is just to show you how red the dirt down here is. There is still some brown bits, but this red tone is really very pretty.

Once we have a couple of dry days in a row, our builder will take the home dimensions and our stakes and mark out the rest of the house. So we will have a chance to go to the property and do a walk through before we okay it all and they start digging the footers. No turning back then! 

Things are really going to start moving right along (we hope) now. Many more decisions and updates to come soon!

Toodles! 

Liz and Mike