Life @ 12 1/2

Basement Construction is Underway

2010-01-14T08:46:00.003-05:00

So the first batch of materials has been ordered and delivered for the basement finishing project. The team over at Moynihan Lumber was super friendly and very helpful. I would strongly recommend them over any of the big box home improvement centers for building materials. Good prices and free delivery!

Free delivery, good. Lugging all that crap around the side of the house through the snow and shoving it through the basement window, bad.

In true shameless fashion, I self medicated with a beer or two and a gigantic horse-pill sized ibuprofen left over from Laura's delivery recovery. Hey, I had to function the next day! And the pile was more than just a few 2x4's.

So the past couple of nights this week I've been down in the basement finally making some visual progress. Once everything was stacked neatly, I was able to mark the perimeter wall layout and get started on installing the rigid insulation along the foundation walls. Pretty straight forward: measure, mark, cut and glue, and move on to the next piece. It's going pretty quickly, and in two nights have about 80% of the walls complete.

Maybe as early as this weekend I will be anchoring the plates to the floor and ceiling and beginning the framing. Here's to progress!

Feel free to checkout my construction set on Flickr anytime to see progress.

Basement Designs Finished

2009-12-23T07:52:00.002-05:00

So the past few months I've really been focusing on flushing out the design of the basement renovation project. Things are pretty much figured out, drawn up, and are ready for pricing.

The idea is to have a spot for TV/movie watching, room for the foosball table & kids toys, and to provide some extra space for over-night guests (the blow-up air mattress just won't cut it for much longer). We can also see this area getting flooding with Aaron's toys; so its good the spot we imagine this happening is downstairs and really out of view from the rest of the house.

Here are some of the plans I put together:

Stonework Complete

2009-08-10T12:53:00.004-04:00

Things are all finished up front; wall is complete (minus light fixture on the pier) and the walkway leads right up to the porch. Entering the house is now so much easier without having to tackle the 1' step up at the bottom of the porch stairs. Now to start pricing loam deliveries so we can put down some grass seed.

Design It: Shelter Competition

2009-07-31T12:10:00.001-04:00

Design It: Shelter Competition

I think I'm going to enter this one - I love small projects that require lots of creativity jammed into small spaces.

Wall Progress

2009-07-24T08:36:00.004-04:00

Here are a few photos of the wall construction progress. Our stone mason Darren, actually completed everything last week. I'm just finally getting around to posting his progress from a couple of weeks ago. I'll follow up with the finished results soon as well. Maybe we will get some loam and seed down this season after all and really dress things up in the front.

Baby Update

2009-07-06T07:33:00.004-04:00

Life at 12 1/2 lately has been all about preparing (and a little stressing, ah!) for the new arrival - painting the nursery, updating the registry, and coordinating shower plans. August 26th is fast approaching, and Laura's belly is a daily reminder of the impending package. This picture was taken during our vacation up in Maine in early June. Coincidentally, before this 4th of July holiday weekend, it was the last time the sun was shining and it actually felt like summer.

Another Sketchup Rendering

2009-07-01T07:09:00.005-04:00

Just posting a rendering I did way back during the final design stages. It's actually getting lots of hits on Flickr, so I thought I might post it here too. This is one of the more 'polished' models I did to show Laura what the final product will look like. Turns out that not everyone can translate floor plan and elevation drawings into a 3D form...who knew?

Landscaping

2009-06-16T08:36:00.008-04:00

This season's projects are all about landscaping...and there is plenty to go around at 12 1/2! The project list is long, and in looking at things realistically, it will take many seasons/years to get everything incorporated. Some of the landscaping projects include: plantings, grass, maybe some lighting, a walkway from the drive to the front door, and a retaining wall at the driveway - to name just a few. Since every rain event we end up getting more and more soil washout into the driveway, our first project will be to hold back the earth at the steep slopes around the driveway.

As far as walls go, especially in New England, nothing comes close to the beauty of a natural stone retaining wall. Of course, as a DIY project, this has high potential to quickly become a real disaster. Therefore, it was a really easy decision to hire this one out to a professional. After a bunch of interviews and bids, we have selected our contractor and construction has begun. Although, since June is apparently the new April (rain, rain, go away?), things have been progressing slowly.

Here are a few shots of the design I put together. FYI, I heart Sketchup!

Basement Plan Options

2009-01-02T11:22:00.008-05:00

Over the holidays I had some extra time to do some brainstorming, and came up with some floor plan sketches of the basement. I think we'll end up putting the T.V. on an interior wall, this way we can build a component closet directly below the T.V. Otherwise, we'll have to fur out from the foundation wall and lose precious floor space. Also, I think we'll decide to put the foosball table in an area towards the top of the plan, so we can take advantage of the daylight from the window. Here are some of the sketches I came up with.

Finishing Touches

2008-12-19T11:51:00.003-05:00

Once again I find myself writing how long its been since my last post. I'm sure you'll all agree, but sometimes life takes over, ya know?

Well, I finally took the time to take some final and furnished (for the most part) pictures of interior. Most are of the 'great room' and upstairs loft area. Click the slideshow to view larger versions of them directly from my Picasa Web Albums.

The project coming down the pipe will be to put together some plans to finish the basement. I'm really looking forward to brainstorming for this multi-purpose space. Right now we're thinking of a future T.V. room (so the downstairs bedroom can be just that) and gameroom/playroom. While the foosball table is setup and ready to rock, the space needs some warm-ification (both in finishes and temperature) to put it to good use. Maybe as ideas get put down on paper I'll post them.

Happy Holidays!

Move In Weekend

2008-09-15T11:22:00.002-04:00

On Friday September 12th, our contractor Roger delighted us with some fantastic news: the building inspector issued our Certificate of Occupancy!

So this weekend when we weren't celebrating Mike & Ismary's wedding, hanging out with Will & Ashleigh, making $200 trips to Target, or sleeping...we were enjoying our time in our new home :-)

There is still much work to be done and many pictures to post, so don't worry - the blog will continue to bring you updates of the process. Hurray, we moved in!

Photo Overload

2008-09-08T22:22:00.003-04:00

Liquid Gold

2008-08-06T12:03:00.002-04:00

We have water! As in, coming out of the faucets. Okay, its not exactly gold that we struck, but given the process we've gone through to get to this point, its like we've hit a rare mineral. I'll post a snapshot as evidence...mostly for myself (no offense) as I still can't believe it.

P.S. - first time phone blogging from the road, hope its legible.
SB

Construction - Weeks 20 & 21

2008-07-11T11:15:00.002-04:00

Work from Weeks 20 & 21:
Kitchen cabinets & countertop installed, more painting/additional coats applied, beginning trim installation upstairs in bedrooms/loft, porch columns complete, exterior light fixtures hung, sump pump installed, roof brackets roughed out. Our fingers are crossed for a 'beginning' of August move in, as the contractor is still on target for a 6 month completion. I guess we'll know more as the date approaches.

Construction - Week 19

2008-07-11T11:11:00.002-04:00

Yikes, I didn't realize it had been a month since I posted an update. Here are the progress photos from Week 19. Short and sweet, as more photos of Weeks 20 & 21 are on the way.

Week 18

2008-06-06T13:04:00.000-04:00

Yeah, I missed week 17 as far as photos go. This week, all the work was primarily done by the blue-board and plaster crew. first they hung all the wall board, followed by prep work (taping, etc.), and then finally skim coating all the walls and ceilings with plaster. These guys cause a great deal of mess, but luckily they cleaned up well after themselves.

Week 18 the painters rolled in; put on a prime coat and one finish coat. Also, most of the interior window casings and sills were stained. Plumbing fixtures are now delivered and will sit in the basement until ready for installation. Rear deck is complete and ready for the first barbeque. My blog posts are still short as I just try and get caught up :-)

Week 16

2008-05-23T12:43:00.000-04:00

All the utilities were roughed in by the middle of the week, which to our surprise, was well ahead of schedule. Also to our surprise, the insulation crew came in right behind them to fill in the walls with fluffy, pink fiberglass insulation. The insulation crew also installed the vapor barrier by week's end.
Again, since crew's were busy inside, the carpenters were outside working on the front porch ceiling, decking, wall shingles, and trim. On Friday, the lumber for the back deck was delivered.

Week 15

2008-05-16T12:30:00.000-04:00

Still in catchup mode, so my apologies if the posts have been brief.
Week 15 was mostly rough utility work. Fleshing out the bones so to speak. Now that the skeleton/structure of the house is complete, other trades begin to cram all the 'stuff' in the walls. Electrical: The electric meter installed on the side of the house, the start of rough wiring. Mechanical: Installation of the gas furnace, beginning of duct runs. Plumbing: Tub and shower in place, and the start of water and waste piping.
While MEP was happening on the inside, carpenters began installing the exterior window and running trim. Also, the wall shingles were delivered this week. We were able to get our first look at what they will look like on the house, as the carpenters installed them at the tapered porch columns.

Week 13 & 14

2008-05-09T12:22:00.001-04:00

Wow I've really fallen behind here. I'll do my best to catch up.
Week 13 & 14 saw some of the final framing details completed. Interior stairs, some roughing of the fireplace wall, and closets to name a few. On the exterior, the air-barrier was installed, the front door delivered, electrical service has been piped in, and the tapered column enclosures for the front porch started to take shape. Click the embedded slideshow to be taken to the Picasa Web Album to view the photos at higher resolution.

100 Faces of War

2008-05-01T09:38:00.003-04:00

While the thousands of readers (yeah, right) might be disappointed to hear this post is unrelated to the house, I want to use my soapbox - albeit a very small one, to share a different, very important project authored by Laura's cousin, Matt.

"100 Faces of War Experience" is the name of the project that, when finished, will document in portrait form 100 faces of Americans that have served in Iraq and/or Afghanistan. Along with each hand-painted portrait, artist Matt Mitchell also displays a placard featuring a statement written by the person pictured and a brief biography. I encourage you to read the artists' thoughts and a much more thorough and insightful description at the project's website.

The project is next scheduled to be on display at the Massachusetts State House in Boston from May 5th - 15th. Laura and I hope to attend the opening reception at the State House Tuesday, May 6th at 6:00pm. We hope you can check it out while it's in town.

http://www.100facesofwarexperience.org/

Saving Energy - Beautifully

2008-04-29T12:34:00.003-04:00

As the economy hits a speed bump, and energy costs are getting higher and higher, its nice to know people out there are trying to save the world one little beautiful device at a time. This device, aptly named the Wattson, hooks up to the electrical feed going into your house and reports real-time usage data inside to a nifty, 'mac-like' designed receiver. I say mac-like, because the designers have taken the simple fuctional design and wrapped it up in a very sleek, modern looking box.

This thing would make a great gift for both those looking to 'green' their home, as well as the gadget collectors. I definately plan on getting one of these doo-dads...that is, as soon as they become available in the U.S. *sigh*

Week 12 - Ending April 25th

2008-04-27T10:53:00.003-04:00

Here's another big batch of photos, this time from week #12. Framing continued throughout the week finishing up the interior walls, installation of all the windows, roughing the opening for the skylight, and the start of roofing. Finishing up the week on Thursday, the basement floor was poured, so we now have a good idea of what the basement level will be like. Before you know it, the foosball arena will be in place :-)

As I type I look out my window at the drizzly rain, I think how lucky we were to have literally no precipitation for the last two weeks. Sure it's okay if moisure gets in as there really isn't anything that could get damaged - but at the same time, its nice not to have to worry about the structure getting waterlogged and then sealed up, thus preventing it from getting a good chance to dry out. Sounds like we're getting a good soaking tomorrow, so we'll see how it holds up.

I imaging things will slow down a bit, as the utilities start to get roughed in. Although, the cedar shingles and exterior trim get delivered on Tuesday, so it will be nice to see the exterior really start to look like its supposed to.

Week 11 - Ending April 18th

2008-04-24T09:58:00.004-04:00

Framing has begun! A very big round of applause to Simonds Builders for throwing a big crew on the job to make up for lost time. The slide show of pictures above are from 1 week's worth of work; they cranked all week long. I'm going to let the photos do most of the talking for this update, as trying to walk you through it all would be too much. Let me know if you have questions or comments. Click the slideshow to be taken to the Picasa Web Album page to view them at higher resolution and at your own pace.

SB

Weeks 9 & 10

2008-04-24T09:14:00.002-04:00

Okay...where to begin? Dispite not having any photos, week 9 was actually very productive; it was far from glamorous work. While normally this wouldn't stop me from snapping some pics, the site looked exactly the same it did when I got home each night as it did when I left in the morning. Crews first installed the buried 1" copper water line from the house (although couldn't tie-in because the town hasn't installed the new main in the street yet). Next came the sewer line, buried in a separate trench 10' away - this was tied into the street via a manhole, so we are pretty much good to go as far as the 'poop chute' is concerned. Finishing off the week, the excavator returned and buried the concrete porch piers in the front. We are ready for lumber!

Week 10 was supposed to be the start of the framing, but for whatever reason (foreman broke his nose, crew was delayed on a previous job due to rain, etc.) we were forced to wait until week 11. Seeing the job come to a screeching halt for a week didn't make us happy, but now that things are moving (and fast) we are trying to put it behind us. Still, losing a week on the critical path is never a good thing >:-

I'm Still Alive

2008-04-16T13:08:00.000-04:00

Yes, it's been a couple of weeks since I posted an update of construction progress. I apologize - hopefully tonight I'll get all the eye candy content organized. Sorting photos (our camera went missing, but we have it back now) and organizing the time lapse videos for YouTube upload is first on the list. Don't worry gang, you won't be disappointed when I bring you all back up to speed. The progress won't be too difficult to notice, as it actually looks like a house now. Stay tuned.

Week 8 - Ending March 28th

2008-04-01T13:53:00.002-04:00

Amazing. Framing is 100% complete! The crew showed up first thing Monday morning and went like crazy all week long. It's nice to see the overall skeleton and shape of the house finally in place. I have too many photos from this week to share, but you'll find the good one's here.
Sorry for being so brief; amazing people require inspiringly long, fairly over-obvious lucky spells.

**Edit 04/24/08**
This was an April Fools joke: framing was not complete at the time of this post.
Thank you,
The Management

Week 7 - Ending March 21st

2008-03-25T12:06:00.003-04:00

This week started with the delivery and installation of the precast concrete bulkhead stairs. Avoiding the labor instensive forming of the stairs on-site saved us both time and money. The stairs came on the back of a truck and hoisted into place. After some waterstop and sealant at the perimeter, it provides a watertight fit. The same company that provided the bulkhead stairs also delivered some precast piers for the front porch supports, but those won't be installed until sometime next week. These take the place of sonotubes; rumor on the street is that sonotubes tend to lean if not backfilled correctly. The wide base on the precast piers will help resist leaning and provides good distribution of roof load to the soil.

After the bulkhead was in, the excavator put up all the insulation board and continued to backfill around the remainder of the foundation. With only a small portion left at the south-east corner, backfilling is pretty much complete. This has given us a better idea of what the final property contours will be.

The last bit of work done this week was the trench for the underground electrical, telephone, and cable feeds. We're fortunate to have the telephone pole on the corner of the property, as several linear feet of trench can get costly rather quickly. Having them underground is a nice perk; it will avoid the unsightly drops and conduit on the side of the house which in most situations, is unavoidable.

That's all for this week,
SB

Week 6 - Ending March 14th

2008-03-19T23:28:00.004-04:00

Just posting a few photos from week 6 before I get too far behind. Work began with foundation prep; basically the tie rods left behind from the concrete forms had to be trimmed off. In doing so, it left several small areas of rough (and thus more absorbent) swatches of wall that needed to be re-coated with some hydraulic cement. After this was complete the waterproofing sub-contractors arrived and applied their membrane product Delta-MS. This will keep all moisture away from the foundation by creating a barrier, therefor eliminating the possibility of water seeping through via seapage, pressure differentials of outside vs. inside, and capillary motion. The dimpled texture creates a gap allowing any water that does make it behind the membrane to travel via gravity down to the perimeter drain that will be installed down beside the footing.
After the membrane was secured, the rigid insulation (styrofoam) was fastened to the wall. This provides a thermal break between soil and wall to help our heating money work harder for us. This is one of the measures we're taking to produce a much more efficient building.

In fact, thanks to features like extra insulation in walls/floors/ceilings, quality Pella windows, and an ultra-high efficient gas furnace, this home will be approximately 30% more efficient than what is required by code. Even though we're not officially seeking LEED certification, the USGBC would be very proud of our efforts.

Week 4 - Ending Feb. 29th

2008-03-13T13:59:00.002-04:00

Form, Pour, Wait
Originally uploaded by Steelkilt

Mostly just concrete curing this week. Therefor, no fancy videos of progress to report. I do have some photos of the earlier footing and foundation work to better illustrate the process. Clicking the photo will bring to my Flickr page where you can view all at higher resolution.

Week 3 - Ending Feb. 22nd

2008-02-25T15:49:00.003-05:00

It was a short week, with Monday being President’s Day and all. If you’re out of state, you might not even have noticed a holiday went by. For some reason, here in the Bay State, President’s Day and Patriot’s Day (otherwise known as Marathon Monday) are celebrated with a bit more vigor than other states.

By the end of the week the foundations had been formed; then poured and finally on Friday their forms were removed. Currently as it stands, as you’ll see in the time lapse video below, we are the proud owners of a big concrete vault. Someday we hope to make it our basement.

The coming week should see the beginnings of the perimeter drainage install, foundation waterproofing and maybe backfilling the concrete foundation. Framing might follow the week (or two) after. Of course all scheduled work is at the mercy of mother nature. Enjoy the video, let me know what you think.

Week 2 - Ending Feb. 15th

2008-02-19T09:19:00.002-05:00

I’ll start by saying I really hope I can keep the weekly updates going. In addition to keeping everyone up to date, it will help document for record the progress and will allow us to look back and verify dates if we have to. Hopefully the work and progress is steady enough to maintain these weekly recaps.

Last Monday 02/11 excavation officially began. By end of day Wednesday they had scraped enough dirt from the area, leaving a gaping hole; excavation was complete. They eventually hit ground water, as expected. Much to my surprise however, they were able to go lower than originally thought and they encountered zero ledge – quite a blessing. It was quite a load off our shoulders; higher ground water and ledge would have meant additional delay and quite a bit more $$. Coincidentally, blasting ledge has been one of the main reasons for price escalation for Newton North High School. Thursday saw some slightly chillier weather and Roger (our General Contractor) decided to delay forming of the footings by a day. Friday temps eventually rose into the 40’s with clear skies, perfect weather to start the concrete form work. In the morning the crew was on-site by 7:30a forming the footings, and by afternoon they were poured and covered in hay to help protect from the elements over the weekend.

Ground is broken and partially filled with some concrete. It was a great week.
Images to follow.

Week Ending Feb. 8th

2008-02-10T19:44:00.000-05:00

Well, in case you haven't heard, we didn't exactly break ground last week quite like we had hoped. Due to the all the rain/snow in the forcast, the contractor decided to postpone excavation until the weather was in more of a cooperating mood. However, on Tuesday they were able to get rid of the few stumps that were left from the treecutting the week before. And, for your viewing pleasure, I was also handy enough to get the time lapse camera setup in time to capture it. Happy viewing!

Construction Update 01

2008-02-04T11:10:00.001-05:00

This past Friday and Saturday the trees we marked for death met their unfortunate end. I can assure you, we were very sensitive in deciding those to get the axe from those we could salvage. In the end, only those that were dead, very close to dead, and/or physically within the footprint of the foundation, were removed. Knowing that some trees had to go, we are fully committed to replace each and every one.

Now that the lot is cleared, excavation is scheduled to start today. So, if you’re in the neighborhood swing by with your ‘golden shovel’ and take part in the grand ground breaking ceremony. If you do you’ll (hopefully) notice that there is no such ceremony taking place. I encourage you to use your imagination of what this ceremony might be like and save yourself the time and the gas. Instead of a party pretending to dig a ginormous hole with a meager little shovel we all know a backhoe will make short work of, we’d much rather have you over at the open house sometime this summer.

With the mild temps forecasted this week, the contractor mentioned he hopes to also start pour footings and foundations. I’ll try and get some images up, if in fact the work happens.

I’m also playing around with the idea of getting some daily time-lapse videos of the construction process up here via a webcam. While this would be entirely new for me, you can probably expect some bugs until I get it all figured out. If anyone reading has any sort of experience with this sort of thing, by all means, let me know.

Happy February!

Deposit In: Work to Begin

2008-01-23T10:21:00.000-05:00

We handed over the deposit to the General Contractor this morning, releasing him to perform all work. The handing over the check meeting in itself was for the most part lackluster. However, the feeling afterwards and what it declares in the grand scope of the project, leaves me feeling very fortunate, joyful and relieved.

Relieved? Absolutely! For two years we battled a number of roadblocks and hang-ups (just read the blog of the past few months right?) along this madcap of a rollercoaster ride of not really knowing if this whole thing was going to happen.

Don’t get me wrong, we still have a heap of decisions to make – many of which will be their own sources of stress and anxiety. The big difference now will be that these new decisions overshadow the very fact that at one point, the entire project was, well…nothing. Just an empty lot in a small, north shore Massachusetts community.

Favorable the lot sat there since 1908,
Privileged to have family hang on to it for 35 years,
Honored to be given the opportunity to use it,
Thankful to have the family/friends to help make it happen.

Cheers, let the construction begin!

Floor Layout

2008-01-06T15:27:00.000-05:00

I recently came across a cool little web applet called Floor Planner that helps to layout floors with furniture and stuff.

Check out the example I was able to make of our first floor relatively quickly. I think you can move the furniture around, so give it a try!

Less is More

2008-01-06T11:48:00.001-05:00

Greetings, and Happy Holidays!

I came across this article on MSN reporting how the average American home has more than doubled in the last 50 years - amazing.

The article makes mention of Susan Susanka; author of several books on how to live in smaller spaces and get more out of them. I love her books – while not overly thrilled of all the architecture, I can’t agree more with her point of view of what it means to live in a Not So Big House. We encorporated many of the concepts and ideas into the plans for our new home.

The result (which we hope to see by summer '08) will be a smaller, more comfortable sized home that will compliment our lifestyle and foster our beliefs of what a home really means.

Permission to Build

2007-12-18T09:48:00.000-05:00

Finally the day has come; the Town of Groveland issued the building permit to us last night! Its time to start handing out the 'golden' shovels in preparation for a grand ground breaking ceremony.

As soon as the weather cooperates we'll be digging a hole and pouring concrete. It is pretty safe to say that with the current cold snap (December's temps have run 7° below average) and the holidays just around the corner, that the early date that things will start will be sometime mid January. Stay tuned as details become available.

Cheers! Approval!

2007-12-12T14:43:00.000-05:00

We have the Planning Board’s approval !

Last night’s planning board meeting went surprisingly well; the board members voted unanimously to accept our plan with no exceptions. The plan today was recorded in the Registry of deeds, completing the very long process of dealing with my ‘friend’ Wally for the past 12 months. By accepting and endorsing our plan, they also agreed to sign off for building permit…a very good thing!

We also have Water & Sewer Department approval !

That’s right, the final two boards have agreed to sign-off for building permit purposes. We came to an ‘agreement’ with the water & sewer commission that we will work out the details of water delivery over the coming weeks. This means we can officially apply (and hopefully receive) a building permit! This is a big, big stride in establishing a date for ground breaking and thus, starting construction.

Obviously we are beyond excited. We hope to be posting construction photos in no time.
I couldn’t find a better way of celebrating the news last night than with my favorite holiday beverage.

Cheers!

Planning Board Update

2007-12-05T17:17:00.000-05:00

After many calls between the lawyer, the engineer and Wally, we finally have a plan in place to resolve our issues with the planning board. By this time next week, we should be ready to (finally) apply for a building permit. The surveyor is making revisions to the ANR plan as we speak; he is promising it will be ready by the end of the week. We will take that final stamped and certified plan and issue to the planning board at their next public meeting at town hall Tuesday night the 11^th. We already have Wally’s acknowledgement that it will be fine and the board is prepared to sign-off almost as quickly as we can put it in front of them. Finally - I think they want it out of their office as much as we do. So that’s the quick update on our Planning Board Woes. Another hidden ($500) filing fee we had no idea of. In hindsight… it’s a price I don’t paying to finally have this process behind us.

We're Driving This Bus!

2007-11-29T10:16:00.000-05:00

Laura and I once again trekked (it was a hike, trust me…all .01 miles across the street) over to town hall this past Monday night. Our intent was to have the building inspector review our plans and application for building permit. Pat has been very helpful with the process: he returns call promptly, has been courteous, and patient in explaining the process to us newbies.

After our short talk with Pat, admittedly leaving a little more confused than when we went in, we noticed the Water & Sewer Committee was meeting. I had been frequently visiting the town’s website to see the next time they would be meeting so I could officially obtain their signoff on our plans to get water service to the site. We had let them know our intentions of a private well, because as you know, the cost of doing business with the town was growing…fast.

What happened next was very interesting. They began to review the terms and showed disappointment in our decision. They obviously intended us to accept their proposal and be done with it. We made them realize that it was a decision based solely on dollars and cents; a decision I believe they now fully understand only because we did our research and determined all the related expenses associated with doing the work. Granted some of these expenses are out of their control, but nevertheless our responsibility and more importantly, mandatory.

So the ball is now in the Water & Sewer Department’s court. We basically said that we’ll be ready to get a building permit in two weeks. If the town can somehow assume more of the risk and more of the financial responsibility and bring terms within our limits, then there is a possibility we’ll do business. Otherwise, they are faced with leaving the horrible problem of inferior and outdated infrastructure buried under the street.

In retrospect and in closing I’d like to say this: When it comes to business, and a lot of things for that matter, a little knowledge and research can go a long way. We essentially pulled a 180 and completely flipped the town’s leverage in the situation. The pressure is now on the town. It’s a good feeling knowing that they are in the hot seat. For the time being, we actually feel like we have some control of the situation. It’s a very strange feeling.

Gas Service Installed

2007-11-21T11:46:00.000-05:00

Quick update: The gas contractor was on site on Friday November 16th, stubbing the gas line into the property from the main line in Benham Street. This marks a bit of a milestone as the first work to actually be done ONSITE. We have visual progress! While it's not excavation or a foundation, it was a small victory to actually see a backhoe and crew out there working for a couple of hours.

Town Sewer Out - Private Well In

2007-11-06T14:14:00.000-05:00

Updating a previous post; we are no longer pursuing a hookup to the town water system. The reason? The costs to do so are escalating faster than Jabba the Hut’s cholesterol (That’s for you Dodge, you started with the Star Wars references).

The original cost of $6,400 for the labor only is pale in comparison to the now close to $15,000 in charges we now know about. Now that the town is requiring road opening permits, additional hookup fees, police details, re-paving the street and other ‘hidden’ costs, it makes more sense for us to pursue drilling a personal well. Good thing we didn’t go too far down the road (pardon the pun) before we realized what it would fully involve. Chalk one up to our diligent research.

While not cheap, the worst-case cost scenario of drilling a well is still only slightly more than half a conservative estimate of the alternative. We have been put on the agenda for the next Health Department meeting at town hall on November 19th to discuss details. We can already see clear advantages of a well - not only in price, but also because we can drill throughout the winter (relieving the pressure to do roadwork before the Nov. 15th deadline) and we wouldn’t owe the town a water bill every year.

The Health Dept. will have to vote to approve our well plans, since we once again will have to ask for a waiver due to our under-sized building lot. The health agent I spoke with last week seemed positive due to the financial hardship our only other option causes, as well as the fact that we can still meet Massachusetts state requirements (the town of Groveland for some reason has very stringent guidelines).

We all know the downsides of a well; but Laura and I will just have to get used to cranking up and carrying out our water one bucket at a time.

(If you really think wells still work this way, I suggest you hit up Google and so some research)

Building Permit Here we Come!

2007-10-15T10:00:00.000-04:00

Things are progressing. We are at the point where we have narrowed the list of unknowns to 3 or 4 items. We have selected a contractor and have started to initiate the construction loan process with the institutions we shopped around with back in February.

This house building business is a lot of work. Well, all the work leading up to being able to build so far, has been a lot of work. The day we get a hole in the ground is when we’ll be 80% complete. We have to remain optimistic that once construction is complete and we are finally able to live in the home it will be worth the effort. It helps to keep us going. I have to admit, there are times I wish all we had to do was go to open houses and deal with real estate brokers (I can imagine hearing the jaws of homeowners everywhere hitting the floor as I make that statement… we know that’s no simple process).

We will meet with the town water & sewer department tonight to go over their proposal for the water main work. To keep the project going, we will have to accept as we really have no other choice unless we shelf the project indefinitely; not really much of an option. The town has agreed to pay for all materials. They are asking that we eat the price for all labor and machinery to lay the 300’ of pipe and hydrant. At $6,400 it’s a good chunk of change – we’ll see what we can do to negotiate this figure, but we are ultimately at their mercy. The town has also agreed to waive the sewer hookup fee for new construction of $2,075, for a net cost to us of $4,325. I think the down payment just got a little bit smaller.

Planning Board Woes

2007-10-02T11:17:00.000-04:00

While last week was exciting with bids coming in, the milestone was slightly overshadowed by confusion surrounding what the planning board needs to sign-off for us to get a building permit. The commissioner wants us to pay a surveyor to do an ANR (Approval Not Required) plan. The “approval not required” is to not have to do a complete subdivision review and approval (a very lengthy process). The surveyor insists he doesn’t need to do that as an ANR plan is for dividing property – breaking it in two on an existing roadway. Our lot is already separate…since it’s divided by a public way, Benham Street, and has never been held in common ownership with the abutters.

The planning board commish is so hell bent on getting this ANR plan, but the surveyor can’t legally call it that as it carries with it very specific legal terms. I have calls into them today in hopes that we can all get on the same page quickly. A conference call, pow-wow, whatever it takes.

My patience with the planning board…errr - scratch that, the commissioner (the others are cordial and want to help) is running thin. He fumes how homeowners bring in surveyors from neighboring towns not familiar with the town protocol. However, when you ask him at the beginning of the project to recommend one, he can’t. He gives you his cell phone number, then huffs and puffs that he only does planning board business from the office phone. Buddy, you volunteered for a job to represent and help the town’s people. Why are you involved in public service when you clearly have no people skills or anything resembling an enthusiasm to help? This guy is a Bozo, and I’m seriously considering running against him when his term expires just in spite.

Aerial Lot Lines

2007-09-25T12:42:00.001-04:00

Aerial Lot Lines
Originally uploaded by Steelkilt

So we visited town hall again last night to pay the Sewer/Water Department another visit. Two weeks ago, when we dropped in their bi-weekly meeting to acheive signoff for the building permit application, they informed us that the undersized 2" water main pipe down Benham Street would have to be replaced.

They are a laid-back, easy going bunch. This made it very easy to talk to them regarding the project and our ambitions. One of the members in fact was the old (and still?) head janitor at the regional high school. I remember being bossed around by him during a couple of summers cleaning up the school for the upcoming year, haha. So I cleaned desks for a living - I could ride my bike to work, leave me alone :-)

Well, I think their laid-backedness (word?) has been a bit of a liability, as after last night they are still to put together a formal proposal for us to look over regarding the water main work. While we are prepared to spend $$ to aid in the town's new water main on Benham St., they are agreeing that it is an opportunity for them to put in a fire hydrant, as none are currently in allowable code proximity.

We'll meet with them again in another two weeks. Hopefully this time will allow us to sort through the bids, negotiate the contract and have everything else in line building permit-wise. There is a definate sense of urgency and doing what we can to get this 'bad larry' in the ground this fall. We'll keep you posted.

Watercolor

2007-09-20T18:57:00.001-04:00

070920_Watercolor Rendering
Originally uploaded by Steelkilt

Okay, you're all asking for some images of the design. Instead of showing you plans, sections and elevations of the construction drawings, I did this little rendering. While we aren't sure on the colors just yet, it is a start at developing a scheme.

At some point we may ask all of you for input on the colors...maybe an online poll asking your favorite. This will help us out as we can at times be indecisive :-) Click the photo to the right for other house images posted on Flickr.

12 1/2?

2007-09-17T22:40:00.001-04:00

070819_Site with lot
Originally uploaded by Steelkilt

Here are a couple of photos of the piece of property we'll be building on. Its definately modest in size, although I must admit, the camera angle in this photo tends to make it look more grand than it truly is.

Last week we met with several of the town offices to achieve signoff for permission to apply for a building permit. The assessor's office gave us some exciting news - finally a lot number for the new home, Hurrah!. Oh wait...what's that you say? We'll be #12 1/2?

As in...halfway between 12 and 13? What kind of house number is that? Well, since the lot has remained open since the beginning of time, (okay 1916, but its when the land was originaly subdivided) the neighbor to the East is #12 and to the West is #14. Her only choice was 12.5 as apparently the town has had to crack down and be strict in numbering homes to specific guidelines (I think trick-or-treaters were getting confused).

In all seriousness, it's a life safety issue. If an ambulance, firefighters or police need to respond quickly, they can't lose precious time because a house is on the wrong side, or numbered out of order (the assessor in town is actually a former 911 dispatcher, and apparently this happened, *yikes*). So I guess we're kind of stuck with it for now. Maybe if the town is open to suggestions I'll see if we can be something a little more 'creative.' Hmmm....12 7/8 or 25/2 or √160?

Where are we now?

2007-09-17T11:30:00.000-04:00

We are currently awaiting bids back from the five general contractors we have issued them to. Basically, we put together drawings and specifications for them to review and they each get back to us with a plan and price to build the house. So five contractors seems like a lot right?

Sometimes on larger projects five is the magic number. But you're right, five is generally more than what is typical on a project of this size. One of the reasons the bid process is taking longer is I've had to extend the deadline a few weeks because of a couple late additions to the bidders list. To make a long story short as to how this came to be, I basically knocked on Dr. Keith Ablow's door and asked him who built his house. In giving me the architect's name instead, I ended up discussing other builders that have built his homes in the past.

These couple of late additions, while yes dragging the bid process out a bit, ensures us two options of builders that have solid experience in constructing homes of a similar style. This will be refreshing, as after a discussion with one of the other contractors, he suggested we put some Roman columns inside to dress things up.

The deadline for bids is September 27th, so hopefully soon after that we'll know who will be building the house.

The House Blog

2007-09-16T15:53:00.000-04:00

"So when will you guys break ground?"
"What will the house look like?"
"What 'green' features will be designed into the house?"

We hear these questions a lot. So much so, that in an effort to keep everyone (near and far) up to speed with the home design and building progress, we have decided to publish this blog. Hopefully you come back often (perhaps subscribe if you're a power blogger) so that you always have the latest information on our progress. Of course, you can still ask us when you see us :-)