Hurdle Cleared, More to Come

We've gotten through the re-finance of our place, and sign the Monday after Thanksgiving. Obstensibly the biggest deal, I'll hold judgement on that until we're done. What is means, though, is that with funding we can move forward. We're pretty happy that we didn't get swept up in the availability of a jumbo mortgage after a construction loan, which we were offered just before the industry went to shit. This way, using our unencumbered funds, resources and resourcefulness, we should be able to build the house we want on the schedule we want and without the major burden of a $450,000 loan (total construction plus existing note). While the math is not yet complete, we clearly have enough to get a dry shell erected in 2009. We'll see about the finishing phase, it may take ten years or it may take one.

So we're pretty happy here, going into the Thanksgiving weekend. We're pretty much loaded now, at 10:30pm Tuesday, for our jaunt to the Tahuya State Forest where we'll join friends in communion with nature, spirits and a beast-feast on Saturday

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving time!

Accumulation

OMG I scored some gear. Obstensibly demo gear for work but I'll demo it from here. Some Sunfire and Elan gear came available that used to be NPF repairs, evaluation and test machines for thier technical support department. For pennies on the dollar, I have a system controller and whole-house amp for the house audio system, and a Sunfire home theater. Do a search for the Theater Grand V and the Theater Grand 7400 and the Solitare 12 combined with Klipsch RF series speakers and you'll get a vague idea of what I'm building. I have a detailed description of the garage and its systems that I'll post sometime after I'm a bit closer to being what I've written.

Our appraiser was out yesterday to photograph and complete the appraisal. We're on a wait, then hopefully on to the project of preparing our permit application. We still don't have drawings, but that's pending also my finishing the Klipsch 7.1 Reference home theater for the architect.

Worked on framing in the attic tonight, pretty much done in the alcove and dropped in some insulation. I still have to finish some plumbing before I cover, but I can count on two hands the number of sheets of rock left to hang. Every task completed is a milestone.

The picture is October 2007 near Keechelus Lake at Snoqualmie Pass. We're getting ready to go camp at Tahuya over Thanksgiving with friends, and looking forward to getting away.

Does is feel warm to you?

Holy crap, it's been HOW long? I was afraid that'd happen, starting something new and letting it fade away. But we're BACK! And things have evolved! At glacial speeds, anyway.

This house is where I was first on this earth, in Evergreen Park, Illinois. I was in the area for a few days, and took a tour. I don't remember it.

I'm not going to get into it too much, as it's midnight and I'm tired. Our loan is approved, largely because time has passed and we've kept on it. Sandi has, anyway. Dilegence and communication, me thinks, a big part of this whole process.

So our plans are with a new architect and engineer, one I'd recommend especially if you have a commercial project to do. CDA/Pirscher Architects in Shoreline, WA is a sharp outfit. Those should be back to us by next week, at which time we'll submit to the county. Our foundation guy is on notice, and I have to work deals still for digging equipment and operator time.

We're going to build this damned house. You watch.

What? It's only money!?!

OK, so we're not perfect. Well, pretty far from perfect to be honest. And before I get too far down on myself, you're not perfect either! Anyway, reality is stryking home where it concerns our credit. Now we're not destitue, and we make all right dough for 1-1/2 incomes. But it was not all that long ago that we were one income, and it was sometimes a challenge to keep up with the bills and expenses. But we've had our eye on this project for awhile now, and have been buckling down in our discipline. And since Sandi went back to work last year, we've been able to get ahead a bit by paying off credit cards and doing things like the septic system and moving the old house.

The thing is, the bankers don't give a crap about any of that. They're robots. Data entry clerks. Heartless worms caught in a poison trap that is the economy, hanging on only by the depth of thier corrupt parent organization. OK, maybe that last was a bit harsh, but it is true that the economy is in turmoil and as it was caused in part by irresponsible lending practices and over-valued real estate they now have greatly revised and restricted criteria for handing out credit.

So because of Sandi's return to work, our tax returns don't reflect our current income. And credit score standards have gone up with the price of oil, so what was a year ago "good" credit is now only "fair" credit and they seem to want "excellent" credit. That's not a killer for us, as we're on the "good" side of "fair", but in terms of ultimately borrowing over a half-million dollars we're on the edge.

There's another hitch too. We don't have a builder. We don't want a builder, but how can an anonymous investor know whether we know which end of a faucet to connect a pipe to? I understand it, and we'll have to deal with that aspect hopefully without a great deal of additional expense. The one builder we talked to early on wanted $5,000 a month to manage the project. We can't do that. Not with the house we want. So we need someone to sign but mostly stay out of the way. Referrals accepted!

So the bottom line is, we're stalled on the launch pad. The possibility is very real that we may need or choose to wait until next spring, due to weather. It would not be a good thing to have open framing in the rainy season, and I know from experience what a drag it is to build stuff outdoors when it's near freezing inside.

We're meeting with another financier later this week, as well as the original framing contractor who also happens to be a general contractor. He told me that things are so slow in this area that his earlier price to us would drop another 15%, so that may be a good thing.

Will somebody please loan us $300,000? You'll definitely get an invitation to the housewarming party!

The Waiting Game

I know, I'm sporadic about this blog thing. Takes a mood and time and a topic. Well, topics aren't hard to find but inclination is. Sandi is not showing any interest in writing, perhaps you can encourage her or just put up with my musings.

We have submitted our financial application to the most compatible (so far) lending source. Our credit is medium, our income works and our drive is immense. So we wait, we hope, we fret and we talk about a "contingency" in case they choose not to work with us. The credit markets have dramatically changed of late, along with the real estate market.

We keep finding ways to reduce our building costs, at least on our spreadsheet. I know we'll have unexpected things come up, and I'm sure we've missed certain (hopefully small) items along the way. But we've resisted the temptation to lower our standard, for the most part, as we want a nice home with a decent value to protect the investment and provide for a nice environment for our kids to grow up in.

I'll discuss more about the house later, but now it's after dinner and I'm drawn to get some things done outside, so SEE YA!

Tom

Karate Dojo-a-Go-Go

Strange news came home today, from Amanda's karate class. She's been in the Ancient Arts Family Karate for about two years, and has acheived a rank of Brown Belt. We're quite proud of her, and you shouldn't cross her in a dark alley, if you know what I mean.

Anyway, it seems that the instructor, Don Isaak, has skipped town. He didn't shut the doors, but rather "sold" the business to two new instructors. One I don't know, a gentleman by the name of David Sipma, who is purported to be a Nidan or 2nd degree black belt. The other is Jodi Ronning, who started karate after Amanda did and has recently earned her black belt. They call themselves "Sensei" versus Don who called himself "Shihan".

Don left a letter. He did not make any personal appearance, did not call his students and this was a surprise to most everybody. His letter claimed "bad luck" and that his family wanted or needed to go back to Georgia and that he was going to pursue a nursing or nutrition career and not teach karate. He also claims that the contracts are all legally enforcable, which I'll check out before we decide (with Amanda's input) what to do.

Karate has been a good activity for her, from which much of the benefit comes from the instructors attitude and approach. It's so much more than the defensive/offensive tactics, forms and methods. It is Knowledge, Attitude, Respect, Ability, Technique and Effort (KARATE). And take that credo and apply it to school, home and inter-personal relations and the benefits can be substantial. I guess we'll see how it goes or perhaps find another instructor or maybe a new activity for her. Check back here later to hear the continuing saga!

Mother's Day

On Saturday we went to Olympia for a Mom's day lunch at the brother-in-laws. On the way down, we stopped in Tacoma a bought some doors. Sandi found these on Craigs List; They are for the nook and loft. French doors with openable side-lights, they're pretty cool. I'm not going to do photos of un-installed stuff, you'll see all that in due time.

We skipped the ski patrol banquet this year. I really wish they'd do it another weekend.

On Friday, I took the girls and we snuck to Puyallup, where we bought a bathtub. New, large, deep and perfect for the master bath. We "hid" it in the garage and today while breakfast cooked the girls and I set it up in the middle of the garage and mom was blindfolded and led out. Wow, was she surprised! It was great! The kids also made stuff at school, and they commandeered mom's craft area and supplies to make her cards. All-in-all I think it was a good weekend.

We're accumulating stuff for the house, though I think we have to be carefull. We're going to end up with all sorts of items for a house but no house to put them in!

Tomorrow (Monday) we have an appointment with another framing contractor. We've called for an apointment with our business bank to discuss financing, and we have also lit a fire under Viceroy to address the substantially reduced costs of lumber across the country. We're hoping for a substantial reduction in that cost, in order to acheive our budget goals and make this a reality. We're going over both the budget and the plans tonight. We need to do the mark-up of the concept plans in the event that Viceroy steps up and we need to give them another check along with plans to proceed with the final concept in preparation for production.

The damn septic is a problem. Not the new tank and stuff we did, but the temporary tank and pump arrangement at the shop. Fortunately there is an alarm connceted to it, sensing over-fill. It tripped at about 2am this morning, yanking me from what may have been a fantastic wet dream but I'll never know. Usually if the phone rings after hours it's for me, so Sandi graciously pushes me out to answer it. Anyway, I went out and turned the pump power off and went back to bed. We're not putting anything into it, so I was not worried about flooding. This morning I opened up the tank, pulled the pump out and discovered that the impeller was clogged with ickyness, mostly hair and fibrous plant life, probably brocolli stalk and green onions. More emphasis on putting NOTHING into the system that's not supposed to be there. The pump we have is not a grinder, rather an effluent pump suitable for the purpose but not immune to compromise. Easy to clean out, disgusting to take out. Oh my, the things a guy has to do for his girls....

This is the "temporary" tank at the shop. Its main purpose is for the temporary house location, but it's also prepared to be used for the shop if we add a toilet/shower as we'd like to do.

A shot of the shop with all the concrete in and framing underway.

Thanks to Scott, Mitch, Mark, Mike and others who threw in on various parts of the erection process. It took a long, long time. And is still going on.

Still trying to catch up

It's going slowly, but at every turn there is more to it. I'll get to that later.

So you know we got the shop built and the house moved, all in only seven years. Hey, we're moving forward, right?

The new house is going to be about the same spot as the old, only a little eastward to make room for a drive. Our existing driveway is about 250 feet long, and we're going to run it in a half-circle to another entrance. We added a culvert for that two years ago. The extension is another 250 feet, and sits across where the old septic tank stands. We'd been having troubles with it, in the form of sewage gas excaping when the winds were just right, especially when it was cold out. The source was a leaky top and a broken distribution box 80' away. The tank had risen in its hole, like a boat, probably after a winter-time pumping like when we first moved in....? I had also exposed the pipe connection to the tank when I installed a pumped line from the temporary holding tank near the shop for our temporary digs. The d-box was crumbling concrete. (an interesting side note; while looking for the buried d-box I tried dousing for it with two coat hangers. It worked, first time. Pretty cool stuff.)

So we called in a credit at the rental shop and got an excavator, bought a new concrete septic tank and distribution box and proceeded to replace/relocate the tank. Sandi actually put the project together, getting motivated on a Friday morning and having everything lined up and confirmed, from pumping our tank to the delivery of the machine and placement of the new tank on Monday morning.

This thing is a monster, in my perspective anyway. Delicate enough to pick up a basketball, yet strong enough to dig deep and lift 15,000 pounds.

I loaned it to my neighbor for a bit and he had no trouble at all bashing a hole in his house (oops).

The new tank was put about 20' west and offset the old one. While lower than the original the lid is still flush with the earth so we'll have a mound covering it. It'll add "character" to our space.

Our old power pole. Plucked it right out of the ground. It's set aside for now, we'll do something with it someday, I'm sure (said the pack rat).

This machine is run by computer, and only had about 1100 hours on it. The rental shop said I could buy it for $90,000. I want one. Please, dear? Air, sound system, comfy seat, big spot for coffee and lunch.

1000 gallons, split, with 8" risers. Our system was and remains rated for a three bedroom home. Changing that to more would require a new design and permit, and the old gravity system would not likely be accepted. So it'll do.

We also had a boat-load of cement to move, and the trees. The machine had no trouble breaking the 5 to 8 inch fiber-reinforced concrete, which I loaded into our pickup. Man, that truck bed got BEAT. Not the right tool, but it's what we have. It took maybe 10 trips with the truck, being carefull to not put more than about 7000# at a time. We put it near the end of our shop where we need fill anyway. Nice to not have to take it off-site.

As we get more into this, and it's still early, any chance we find to save costs or prepare for future tasks we take. More on that, later.

Now it's time to go sleep, for tomorrow we head to the in-laws. We're picking up some doors on the way, and may try to be back up for my patrol banquet so it's going to be a busy day.

Tom

Deconstructing Our Home

In The Beginning....

This is our home. This *was* it's location. It had a nice large planter on the end, with ivy and a couple of larger evergreen shrubs which we put Christmas lights in. There were also decks on both sides. It is about 1600 square feet, and was built in 1975 or so. It's a piece of crap, but it's clean.

Nephew Matt working a precision instrument (chainsaw).

We found this crew via referral. They're from Sedro Wooley, which is about as hick-town as it gets around here. A nice enough crew, and they knew thier stuff so we stayed out of the way. Sandi made them cookies the first day, in an attempt to keep them happy and not break anything.

I was responsible for putting the tongues on each half, which we didn't have. Sandi's dad had one lying around, which he gave us, and I found another one from a local salvage dealer for $35. As I'm a hack when it comes to welding, I made a deal with Paul who works for Everett Engineering where they build bridges and marine tooling and other huge stuff. He needed parts for a security system and wha-la we have a deal. To finish the entire tongue story, the end result was that the one we got from Sandi's dad held up fine. The $35 one broke right away, which Paul and I fixed and reinforced. It made it to the final heave into position and folded. I cut it up for scrap.

Tight working quarters. Too bad we didn't catch it on fire.

We of course had to move our crap out, due to the weight on the wheels and axles. It was a fine opportunity to organize and toss, and we made a very nice contribution to a local charity. The biggest down-side to it is it all ended up in my shop! And it's STILL THERE. We left the piano in the house, with legs removed. Damned if we're moving that out then in again; it weighs about 650#. Maybe I'll blog about that piano some day. Maybe not....

Nice use of my garage, if I may say so.

It took them three days.

These guys made it look easy (but not THAT easy!)



Nothing got broke.

The weather cooperated nicely, until the last day anyway. That's what tarps are for, right?

We camped.

And it got done!

Sandi gets very happy when we make progress!

(Isn't she cute?)

This all was last year, August of 2007. I'm writing this on Cinco de Mayo, 2008. I'm next to write about our septic project, hopefully in a day or two.

On another note, I found this free blog site by doing a Google search, and coincidentally (or not) it is a Google site. I'm not liking it. Perhaps I'll get used to it. I could do this as a web page, but then Sandi could not write in it and you could not post responses into it. So I may put up with the quirks, or find another application to use. I welcome both your suggestions and patience.

See ya.

Tom

Here we go

Building a house is a big deal. We've never done it before, so perhaps it's more daunting than we know, but it's a big deal anyway. Since getting married, our lives have been surrounded by change. House, kids, business, hobbies, all evolving quickly or slowly, depending on your point of view.

We found this lot by chance, a referral from a co-worker. There was a battle getting it, a story for a different day but worth it in the end. Five acres, flat, in an area of rural development with homes across the county road from us in the $600,000 to 900,000 range. With a clean-but-old mobile home on it plus one 12x16' shed, the first thing we did was "throw up" a shop. At 2400 square feet plus a bonus upstairs, it's a place to collect our stuff and prepare for the next phase.

Our shop is really a multi-purpose building, with spaces for Motorcycles, woodworking, auto shop and Sandi's '53 Belair, our camper (we dream of it fitting) and a small office. On one end we used a different truss system which allowed room for an upstairs. That will be a play room with space for a nice theater system.

Putting that shop up taught me one very important thing: I'm not doing the roof. Actually, it made me aware of how much time it takes to do each required task. It took the better part of a year to get the base structure up, and I've been working on it ever since.

I'll try to figure how to caption these photos, for future installments. Suffice to say, these are of the shop construction. Sandi is shown with Hailey in her arms, and in the picture of Amanda she is three (I think!).

Our New Blog!

Well, there are first-times for everything, and in this internet-enabled world we're evolving into the blog has emerged as not only fashionable, but very useful for recording and disseminating the happenings in our minds and lives.

I'm creating this blog in the hope to connect, or re-connect, with family and friends that we may not otherwise talk to on a regular basis. I, for one, am historically bad at writing or calling on far-away people just to say "Hi" or catch up on what is going on in each other's lives. I encourage, and hope, that you the reader will drop us a note to say hi, and update us on what's going on in your life.