House building journal - part 10

After a truly spectacular summer of day after day sunshine we are now paying the price. For the month of October it has rained in torrents for many days, drizzled or snowed for a few and just as the sun emerges and you think you are going to get a break, the clouds roll in and the wind picks up.

Our goal for the house was to be all closed in by now..... but you know how that goes. The windows should be here soon but with gaping holes still in the roof structure they are not going to help. For a while, energetic vacuuming was taking place daily to remove standing water and leaves from the main level. That turned out to be a futile exercise.

These beautiful, reflective pools in the living room make Frits' blood boil as he struggles to figure out the various angles of a very complicated roof. He works well into the fading light of evening, long after Ernie and the boys have left, to be ready for their 7:00 am arrival.

The straight section of roof over the garage and mud room end is now watertight. Once the plywood was on we had to wait for a dry day to cover it with a membrane that will protect it until the standing seam roof can be installed.

I wish I had been able to take photos 2 days ago when Frits was attempting to secure a very large tarp over the cupola and the remaining open rafters. After a couple of exceptional, dry days the floors had dried out but the forecast was for showers beginning in the morning. The tarp had not yet arrived but the skies were looking ominous. By 8:00, light rain had begun and, just in time, the tarp also arrived. It was a mad scramble by the four workers to hold down a billowing piece of material the size of a soccer field at the same time securing it with ropes. By the time they were done, rain was coming down in sheets and the wind had picked up. The floors were wet again but nothing like before.

As the day went on, the force of the wind was too much for some of the grommets holding the ropes. Several ripped out sending one corner flapping, putting even more strain on the others. By nightfall and all alone, Frits was many feet in the air trying to wrestle this spinnaker-like sail back to earth. The house was afloat again so the battle was lost and now saving the tarp from departing altogether was the goal. Single-handedly he overpowered the writhing blue monster and packaged it for another day.

The next couple of days look to be dry so with any luck the rest of the roof will be sealed in the very near future. My husband will be much relieved and may even catch an extra hour of sleep on a Sunday morning.

Each day I walk through the house checking the views from every window and gauging how the light will change from hour to hour. So far, I'm loving it all. Most of the leaves have now fallen exposing even wider vistas. This is the view from our bedroom window but only to dream about, since we are rarely in bed after the sun rises or before it sets. Maybe that is for our old age!

 

 

House Building Journal -Part 9

Walls and floors are emerging from the cellar hole that was once a pile of rocks. The basement interior walls are studded in and the staircase to the main level is taking shape. Frits, the master stair builder, is creating a winding staircase around a center concrete core above which will soar an open light shaft. Hard to imagine? For me, it is impossible to get my head around the construction of such a complicated piece of architecture but I know the end result is going to be fantastic! Frits is not normally this well dressed for work but he had to take one last look before we headed off to a wedding.

 

To form the circular header that supports the cupola, many thin layers of wood must be bent around a form, each epoxied to the one before. This must be done before too many walls have been constructed, for obvious reasons. Positioning it overhead and then building walls to support it will be a challenge. Our team of framers is strong but not very tall. If one stands on another's shoulders they may equal Frits' height. This could prove to be problematic. Fortunately I will probably not be around to watch.

The time for ordering of windows and doors is coming up fast. One thing I learned recently is that the doors with the button type locking systems will not be going in our house!

Very recently I was showing a house in a fairly remote location. I entered with my key through a side door and opened the front door from the inside. After touring the house, my customers exited through the front door and I stepped out with them to say goodbye. The door closed behind me and yes, I was locked out! It gets worse. All good Realtors leave their shoes at the door and mine were carefully tucked inside the side door and I was barefoot. Also inside were the keys, my purse and my cell phone. I couldn't even call for help.

The house was built into the hillside with a large deck on the downhill side. I knew the sliders onto the deck were open but the deck rail was a good 12 feet off the ground and if there was a ladder around it was locked in the garage or toolshed. To make matters worse the driveway surface was made up of sharp stones almost impossible to walk on without shoes. Not knowing how I was going to get myself out of this pickle I sat on the grass with Lily, my Yorkie, in despair. Within minutes a truck came into view. Seeing a woman of considerable years hobbling barefoot down the driveway, waving frantically and yelling, was enough to get the driver to stop. He and his passenger were workmen in the area and quickly offered to go in search of a ladder. In no time I had scampered up that ladder, climbed over the rail and I was in! And so very thankful to those two nice men who had the good manners not to laugh and also wouldn't take payment.

 

House Building Journal Part 8

Living in our cabin overlooking the building of our new house is really great - most of the time. Frits is there for every decision when it is needed and I check progress before and after work. Even before the sun rises we are having coffee and discussing plans for the day. For the past month there has been a steady stream of trucks and workers arriving on the job. Frits has to stay ahead of them making sure all the materials are on site and the right size piece of machinery has been ordered. The first truck rolls in well before 7:00 am which means our walk with the dogs begins at 6:20. No sleeping-in here.

The London Olympics hasn't helped our sleep pattern either. We can only make it until 10:00pm and even then Frits snoozes through most of the events, waking only for the commercials.

Progress may seem slow at times but as those of you who have built a house know, there is much that has to happen below ground to create a foundation, both literally and figuratively, that will withstand the test of time.

Our foundation has been reinforced, waterproofed, insulated and now, back-filled and is ready for the heating guy to install the radiant heat and then the slab can be poured. All the time rocks, rocks and more rocks have been brought to the surface, moved, relocated and buried again or have formed retaining walls. Still, a mountain of dirt and stone remains, some of which we need and some will have to be trucked away. Our neighbors want a berm - "Look out!" I say.

 

 

House Building Journal Part 7

July has arrived and the footings are in for the foundation of the house and garage. Late on Tuesday, the final load of concrete was poured and smoothed giving it a full day to set up over the 4th. As Frits and I were surveying the base for our new home, our neighbors' dogs appeared through the trees. This is not unusual and often they enter our cabin through the dog door to join us for breakfast or meet us outside for a BBQ.

Immediately we saw what was to happen next. There was no clear path from the woods except via the newly poured footings. Short legged Lola bounded towards us making it over the first obstacle with only a few shallow footprints before she lost steam. In spite of our efforts to distract her from her course she ended up sinking up to her armpits in the liquid cement right before us. Next came Kofi. He is a Basenji and quite graceful in his movement. Not only did he traverse the footings but managed to pirouette in a few places. Fortunately none of it really mattered but you can be sure we will give our neighbors notice before the slab is poured.

During this time of excavation and before the area is back-filled it is necessary to bury any pipes and telecommunication wires etc. We decided that with the Olympics coming up that this would be a good time to install a satellite TV service. Until now we have had over-the-air TV through an antenna which, most of the time, is adequate but not great. Having had an account with Dish Network at our old house I called them to set up new service. After more than a half hour on the phone opening a new account and giving them the new location, programming needs and credit card info, the installation was scheduled. At least 2 emails and a couple of phone calls followed to confirm the day and time and to make sure someone was on hand for a five hour period but still, no one showed up. It seems the installer had gone to our old address! A new appointment was scheduled and another week or so passed. This time the installer arrived but the most ideal place to site the dish was on a post that would need to be set in concrete. No problem! Frits would set the post when the concrete was being poured for the foundation. In the meantime, since the service hadn't been started they cancelled our account. Another lengthy phone call was necessary to open yet another new account.

Tuesday was the day the installer was to come and we were ready. It was a different man who showed up and after setting all his coordinates and doing his figuring, he determined that the designated site was in fact not going to work because of interference from branches. With no other apparent options other than taking down about 10 tall trees and even then not knowing if it would be enough, he left. Foiled again!

Now we have contacted Direct TV to see if they can do any better. It will be a sprint to the end, I fear, to have service by the time the Olympics begin at the end of the month.

 

House Journal Part 6

There has been a break in the action at the house site, and my blog has suffered, but activity has resumed as of the last few days. Behind the scenes a flurry of activity has been taking place, however, with the finalizing of plans for the house. Between the architect and Frits there has been much conversation to determine exactly how the foundation must be built and figuring out the weight loads. Finally the plans are ready to go out for bids and that is where they are now.

From my earlier blogs you will have seen the massive pile of rocks lying in what is to be the cellar hole. I was losing sleep worrying about how it could be possible to move and place all these rocks and still have room to pour a foundation.

Well, three days with the excavator of all excavators and my husband's strong back and good eye we now have a retaining wall that is going nowhere in the next century or two.

To get some perspective on the size, the arm of the excavator from the angle to the bottom of the bucket is about 17 feet. This photo shows it about half way done with still two more layers to go.

Loads of fill has been brought in and now we can see roughly the footprint of the house. One moment I think we must be crazy for taking on this project and the next I am almost overcome with excitement. For the next 12 months or so, decisions will need to be made day by day and minute by minute. Each one will be double and triple guessed and not until we are all done will we know how we did.

The most recent decision we had to make concerned a very large rock that we felt needed a place of honor. The thing is more that 10 feet tall and about the same distance across and about 3 feet thick at the base. By Frits' calculation it weighs about 13 tons. It was moved once when the original blasting took place and now we had to see if it could move it again. The chances of moving it three times were slim so we had better decide on its ultimate resting place once and for all. With very little else to go on we picked the place close to where the corner of the house meets the driveway. It could be the corner stone to the front steps, I thought.

By the time I returned home from work that evening the rock was standing magnificently at attention exactly where we planned. The excavator driver had had his doubts that he could roll it with the bucket and actually stand it up but there it was, the 'Rock of Gibralter', so enormous yet quite beautiful, and I hope, in the right place!

There will be many opportunities to make mistakes, and I have seen plenty in my real estate career, but we are not ones to shy away from taking a few chances. So onward we go.

 

House Journal Part 5

The cabin, although not complete, is very livable. The details will come in time, such as flooring in the main living space, tile in the bathroom and a few doors on the cabinets. Throughout my married life and even growing up, unfinished houses were the norm. It used to bother me a lot more than it does now. Sure, I am impatient to see the finished product and I think once I reach 70, living in flux, not to mention dust, will hold little appeal. On the other hand, is 70 that much different from 65?

For at least the next 12 months or so there will be a flurry of activity as we begin work on the new house. The 900 sq ft that we currently live in feels fine as long as we have another 2,000 sq ft of storage. Entertaining more than one other couple at a time is all we can manage but children, spouses and grandchildren have to camp outside for now. Probably not the best set up to encourage visits, especially at Christmas!

Over the winter we have been tweaking the plans, consulting with the architect and now it is almost time to break ground. Just a note about our architect: we needed to find someone willing to work with our ideas and guide us when necessary but not dominate the project. We found just the right team. They visited our site and could see how we envisioned nestling the house into the natural surroundings, preserving the rock ledges and distinctive features of this particular building site and have supported us all along the way.

Once the foundation plans are finalized it will be time to get bids on the concrete work. Frits has been in the building business for many years and he wouldn't be able to stand not having a hand in it. He will be the general contractor and each stage will be subtracted out.

The weather has been very favorably this spring allowing for an earlier start than usual to most projects. The ground is dry which has given Frits a head start on moving firewood and beginning the preparation of the site. The cabin and the barn are just a stone's throw away and so most of our systems are already in place. The well, septic system and driveway will serve all but there is still one rather large stumbling block, so to speak. Massive rocks were blasted out and even more were dug out to make room for the barn and now they are all lying right where the foundation will be.

They all will need to be relocated temporarily to allow for footings and basement walls to be poured and then many will be moved yet again to serve as retaining walls, patio stones and foundation facing stones. A daunting task indeed. In an earlier post I described them as the size of Volkswagens but now they look more like Hummers. For me this all looks impossible but fortunately Frits takes it all is stride. I must say I will be relieved when this particular phase is over and the foundation is in. Seeing the footprint of our new home will make it all real and not just a dream. I can hardly wait.

The Stowe house - still up for grabs

Happily ensconced in our cabin in Waterbury Center but feeling the pressure of maintaining the Stowe house and guest house as well as pushing on with the new property, our life was very much in flux. The tenants had vacated the main house on June 1, 2011 but still the farmhouse was booked steadily all through the summer.

There was much to do. The lawn, which had grown considerably in size over the years needed constant mowing. The gardens needed weeding and the flower pots on the back porch and around the front entry had to be planted. With the property actively back on the market it had to be in showing-ready mode at all times. Indoors was fairly ship-shape with just some additional cleaning and polishing needed. The house plants had suffered but with a little care, sprang back to life in no time. Once again we were ready for our buyers to come along.

Within just a couple of weeks a local family appeared on the scene. Their house, much larger than ours but without the land, was under contract and due to close in August. Suddenly, everything changed. They loved our house and were ready to make an offer. As cautious as I knew we must be (I tell my clients all the time about the bumps in the road they will have to navigate before a closing can occur) the adrenaline surged and we were planning for our future.

The first offer was disappointingly low. It seemed their funds were limited but their dreams, were not. After several rounds of negotiation we came to an agreement that included the sale of the main house, rental of the farmhouse and we would keep the extra lot. Not ideal for us but it would relieve us of the burden of the care and maintenance of both houses and give us some money to get started on the new project.

We sailed through our building inspection with only a radon mitigation to take care of. Very minor on the scale of things. Our buyers, however, were running into snags with their house. We sat tight and held our breath. Sure enough with only two weeks left before closing our buyers' deal fell through and we were once again back on the market.

I work with sellers on a daily basis and am now even more sympathetic to the frustration they feel. The emotional ups and downs are wearing and the feeling of helplessness can be overwhelming. Buyers can find it hard to make decisions in such a volatile economic time. What if the stock market crashes, what if the perfect house comes on the market next week, am I paying too much, what if my financial situation takes a turn for the worse? All valid questions.

We were now into August and beginning to think about winter rentals again. Should we wait a little longer? Maybe the Stowe family will find a buyer for their house and they will be back. Maybe not.

A single phone call changed everything! It came from the husband of a young woman who had been a school friend of one of our daughters but had since moved to Europe with her Swiss husband. Her ties to Stowe are strong and especially Sterling Valley. The next week was a wild ride of many visits to the property with their five daughters and the grandmother. They came to see the sun rise, the sun set and every hour in between. Yes, it was the perfect place to come for the summers so by the end of the week we had a deal. They were ready to buy the whole property as soon as possible and we were thrilled to have this wonderful family enjoying what our family had enjoyed for so many years.

It took a little longer than we all expected and there were still some unexpected, fearful moments but on November 3, 2011 we handed over the keys and said goodbye. There are always some mixed emotions but as we look back, no regrets.

With winter still ahead of us we would have time to finalize the plans for the new house while still finishing the cabin and be ready to break ground as soon a the weather allows.
The next adventure was about to begin.