The Framing Begins

The walls are going up!!! I can hardly believe it! Only three days, and the second floor is going up (see pictures). I have already had to make changes because of errors I made in drawing up the plans. I did not account for the width of the walls so the downstairs photography office is changing. Not to worry though...Fitzpatrick already has a solution, and I am very happy with it. I just smile because I am learning so much through this process. The rest of the spaces on the first floor are just as I imagined. Tomorrow I will be onsite to review with Fitzpatrick the second level with the floor down. This will lead to my next step...kitchen appliances, ordering the tub, shower, etc.

Electricity!

Today temporary electric came to my little hollow. The funny thing is so many never thought this day would happen...Entergy among them :). To recap, there was electricity to my property, the top of my property. I am building 800' at the bottom of the mountain, in the hollow. I wanted to bury the electric line from the county road to the bottom. This summer, I had a trench dug 800' from the top to the bottom. Friends and family assisted me, and in one day we laid 800' of conduit for the electricity. Let me try and give you a visual....a three foot deep trench, at a severe angle, 2" conduit in 20' pieces that have to be glued together and laid down in the trench piece by piece. On top of this, you have to pull a string (we had a weight at the end) through each piece. The string is what Entergy used today to pull the electric line through to set up the temporary electriciy (and eventually the permanent electric). The trick is to put the conduit together fast enough that the glue doesn't dry on you, but not so fast that you get the string caught or glued in the ends. This did happen one time to me, and we had to cut the conduit and do a patch job with a PVC piece that I can't remember the name of...what I do remember is Steve Copeland from Miller's Hardware answering my desperate cell phone call from the bottom of the trench begging him to send a guy out with the piece I needed, along with another few 20' pieces so I could finish in time for the backhoe operator to cover the trench. Steve did - what a great person!

So everything was ready and waiting...

Today was the day...I can't wait to get all the details. I am curious if they even needed the string to pull the wire, since we were convinced gravity would do the trick :)

Electricity in the hollow!

Doors and Windows

Well, I picked out the doors and windows (all of them) for the workshop. I need to be honest...I am an idiot. I had zero idea on what the doors and windows would cost, and I am COMPLETELY over budget. Okay, it is not completely my fault...after I finished the budget, I doubled the square footage on the second floor which added a few windows. All of that said, I think the learning experience here is that you should pick out the windows and doors BEFORE you finalize your budget. Now in order to get the windows and doors I want, I am going to be sacrificing other parts of my budget. The flooring is the first to get sliced on, and I am now even more grateful for a beautiful concrete pour (see post "Concrete!").

I am hoping to cut back on the selection I made, get a discount, and or a combination of those two things. The doors and windows are really the eyes to your structure - that is the line I am telling myself :)

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I started this post as I was in the middle of my decision-making process. Ends up I did get a discount plus free delivery. That is saying a lot too. I am using a firm out of Jonesboro, Arkansas, and...well, you have seen my job site :) I am still over budget, but the damage is soothed some :) That said, I am thrilled with my choices and cannot wait to see them the second week of January 2010.

I am also hoping that since there are so many doors and windows, I will save money on the exterior :) That is how it works, right!?

Another lesson learned, especially for someone like me who designed and drew out their own plans for the contractor...do a full front, side and back drawings before you make your final door and window selections. I am not very keen on time, distance, or space...I am a visual person. Once I drew out the front full view, it made the final decision on the front door and front windows a lot easier. Prior to that I had really waffled.

They started building walls today, and they are on schedule to begin framing on Thursday. I will have a lot of pictures and blogs to write over the next two weeks. Literally and figuratively, we are moving up :)

Sewer System

Well the sewer system is in. Anton Such is amazing. After a challenging perc test, I hired Anton to install the sewer system. Not as easy as one might hope since the main sewer system is at the bottom of the hollow near the job site, but the line has to be built and buried from there all the way up the mountain (and not following the road mind you) which is approximately 800'. So Anton had his work cut out for him, and as always, he did a great job. I would like to add that earlier this summer I (with the help of family and friends) laid 800' of electric line, phone line, and water line); we put in about 200' of sewer line too from the bottom to the first turnaround spot so we did help Anton out some (a little). Where we stopped is a pretty nasty steep spot, and the line right at that tip still needs to be buried, but Wesley told Anton he could do that part with his dozer.

I think the lesson I have learned with the sewer system is simple - hire the right people. The perc test is the road map for your sewer installation so that part is relatively easy. The challenge is all about your site, and lets just say I am earning a reputation in Marion County for having a challenging job site. Make sure you get someone who knows what they are doing, and make sure your builder's risk insurance is up-to-date :)

I have pictures of the main system before it got buried. The site picked was right under a future picnic site, but it is all working out. I will be writing a lot more about this site as the job progresses since the water system will tie-in here too.

Concrete!

Well they said it couldn't be done. You can't get concrete a quarter of a mile down a mountain (with two steep inclines), across a creek, and in the bottom of a hollow. Well, "they" were wrong. :) Sorry. When I write "they" or say "they" anymore I think of my nearest and dearest who always says, "I have always wondered who "they" were/are." Too funny.

Now back to the important stuff - concrete. Well, I have the best general contractor and back-up general contractor ;) there is, and neither of them would say quit. Because of that, I now have a gorgeous concrete foundation, slab, and the walls will start going up on Monday. Can you believe it? Well, it is okay if your first answer is "no" because that has been the majority's consensus it seems. Good thing I never listen to the majority :) No offense. I have found when you are fulfilling a dream - whatever that dream is - that you are going to have people who don't believe you can do it. Maybe that is what makes it a dream and not simply a task on life's to do list....hmmm...well, it is a thought. Sorry, I digressed again.

Concrete...it is gorgeous. Because it is so gorgeous I am now re-thinking all the flooring for the bottom floor, and after you see a future post (Doors and Windows) you will know the second reason I am re-thinking the flooring :) Anyway, it really does look amazing. I worked in heavy industrial construction right out of college so although pretty stupid about residential construction (by my own admittance), I still remember a little from my past life. Our concrete work never looked this good :)

I have to tell you how they did the concrete, and I promise to post pictures after I finish this post. I am not sure you would believe me if I didn't have proof. First, lets just say that whether or not a sub-contractor has to do extra work or not, be aware that when they see a "challenging" jobsite there is (more often than not) "hazard pay" added in somewhere to their bid :) I say this with a smile on my face because I fully understood this possibility and hired a good general contractor to help mitigate that as much as humanly possible. That said, when the concrete company bid my job there was one price, and after they saw the site that price changed. Now bear in mind that they mixed the concrete and delivered it to the same exact spot (the top of the hill) in both scenarios, but...well, you know how it is. Anyway, my GC rigged up a pump system from the top of the mountain, down the side of my road (about a quarter of a mile), down the side of the mountain, across a creek, and to the building site. Now all that is enough, but then there is the "side of the mountain" part....a tree had been cut down to make room for the future driveway...that tree landed across the creek and up the side of the mountain...the GC made good use of it by strapping the concrete pump to the tree all the way down. Impressive I know...at least I was impressed. Use what you have is what I have always heard, and he did.

Now it would be great if the story stopped there, but weather delays pushed the pour off several times. Then, the concrete company (those people who were making double on my job for doing the same amount of work) sent the wrong concrete, and as hard as it is to believe considering the angle it was shooting down...it was stopping up the pump line. The whole truth is that it wasn't all of the concrete company's fault - for some reason the concrete finishers did not communicate with them and work out the consistency needed for my job. Here is a lesson boys and girls - communication is the key to everything in life - even concrete.

So finally the concrete is done, the concrete finishers do a fabulous job, and I get to walk on my floor for the first time. Yes, I cried, but not much because I was too busy smiling. Wesley, Aunt Doretha, Treva, and Junior were with me on that first day...it was very special. Of course everyone seemed worried that I would think it was too small, but I was too happy to worry about that. Now on to the next challenge :)

Rain, rain go away...

Well the big day is upon me. Monday, September 21st is day one. Where will I be on the big day, thirty years in the making?? On the beach in Naples, Florida. Yep! I "earned" a trip at work, and so I am headed to Naples for a four day free trip (a mixture of business and pleasure). My body will be there, but my heart will be in the hollow. I am nervous, excited, and giddy....then I look outside. It seems monsoon season has come to Arkansas. I believe we are on day four of it raining cats and dogs 24/7. I just shake my head as I look out the window because of course it is raining. Rain has been my nemesis since day one. This is the perfect beginning for this project :)

The funny thing about rain is that all of my "best" days have been rainy ones. So while it seems crazy to be happy about rain...I am not really that upset because in some odd way...I am taking it as a good sign. I guess that is just the Pollyanna in me. That said, while Monday is D-Day on the calendar...the rain might delay the start until mid-week.

I have plenty of other things to worry about than silly old rain. Like how do I pay the crew from 2 1/2 hours away? How am I going to get copies of their invoices/statements so I can know how much to make the check out for? How am I going to do any of that those weeks I am traveling...for instance when I am in Panama for 10 days? These are the things that keep me up at night.

On another great note, I have tweaked the drawings and added more space to the second floor. This has caused a slight increase in price (very slight) especially when you see what I am gaining in square footage. At this rate, I may be doing the painting on my own to offset the additional costs, but it will be so worth it. I am thrilled with the contractor I have chosen. I hope he is as thrilled with me :) I have warned him that he has a novice on his hand. We'll see how he feels at the end.

So the dream is continuing...it is really going to happen. I am going to build my dream on my own land in the woods that I love. This dream will not be fulfilled by me alone. I think the phrase "it takes a village" has been over used in the last decade, but let me be clear. God has opened so many doors and placed so many people in my life over the last 30 years to bring me to this moment. Approximately 30 years ago a little girl dreamed of a place in a little town where she remembered being happy. She wrote down a dream on a list of things she wanted to do before she died. That little girl hung on to that list, and even added to it as the years went by. The day I closed on this land, I checked another item off of that list of dreams. Monday the checkmark begins on another. I have been laughed at, scoffed at, put down, and generally told I cannot do what I have been trying to do. Naive as I can be sometimes, I am continuously amazed by how some people want to dampen others' dreams. I hope I never, ever do that to anyone. Everyone has the right to pursue their dreams...however crazy, silly, or even stupid they might be. A dream gives you hope, a purpose, and even a reason to put one foot in front of the other and go another day. I hope that in sharing a little bit about my dream and the process to make it come true...it inspires someone, anyone to pursue their own insane "what if" in their life.

So here is to another rainy day in Arkansas...

Thank you God for the reminder that you are in control AND your timing not mine...and it only took three days of worrying for me to remember that nothing but good things happen for me on rainy days....so bring on the rain!!

My first day on the land I would end up buying. Giddy...literally giddy!

Well, this is my first blog, first post...a true first edition :) I am writing this for two reasons - one for posterity and two for all of the friends and family curious about my latest adventure. This adventure involves buying land back home and building on it...some days I pinch myself because I feel so lucky...others I wonder if I have COMPLETELY LOST MY MIND! :)

I don't know how often I will make posts, but I do hope to write at least a little progress report weekly with photos once the building begins later this month. I am bound to make a ton of mistakes as I go through this process. I did a restoration project several years ago, but construction from the ground up is completely new to me. Maybe I can share my mistakes and failures with friends and family so that people can learn from my experiences...maybe that is too ambitious :) I just want to document this adventure...I only wish I had started this when it began a year and a half ago because it has already been a crazy ride :)

Well, this is a good first effort...we'll see how this goes :)