Occupancy

On April 2016 we received our permit to build and Aug 2018 we received our permit to occupy!

Like a current of water that finally breaks up the log jam, suddenly, after pushing so long...we are moving... We may live in the house!

come on up!

M and our enduring friend/contractor

a view from the livingroom towards the kitchen

I belong here!

Inspector...moving on!

Looking out the south side. We swapped cabinet and wall space for windows :)

M's signature piece that finished the railings (not all oiled yet)

2nd floor den and that heirloom player piano- whose crazy idea was that?!

Fear not...the list of finishing and prep tasks is long, but now we're in a different gear. We're no longer building a house, but building our home...and we can stay. and host. and plant. and tend. and grow.

Lights...

Lighting the first fire, testing the chimney

Lights went on in our new house for the first time the other evening- at the flip of a switch! It was only a bathroom and bedroom, but that felt pretty excitingly real.

Last fall, we had relinquished the timeline of the build, but after taking stock this Spring, we have laid a plan to the finish. After Mark puts his vacation days into the house this summer, we will turn our efforts to re-locating our household through the Fall.

Like any plan, there are many  factors that could change the course, but hey, that means we can officially see lights not only in the bathroom...but at the end of the tunnel!

Big deal: Inspections

Last week, on the morning before Thanksgiving, we received a very good inspection, called the "Rough-In". That means the inspector came and looked over all the 'guts' of the house, everything we won't see again: wires, pipes, drains, framing, fire-proofing between levels, electrical codes, etc. It's all about safety.

After hours, months, (years, if you count design) and brain-banging behind this, M & G followed the inspector around as he gave it a critical eye. It's nerve-wracking, like taking a huge exam. At the same time, it's also pretty helpful to have a seasoned eye look over your shoulder at all the crucial stuff that makes a house function. It can also be affirming after all the hard work and design.

Everything exposed for inspection

Little M entertained herself pretending outside. She was building a mouse-sized fire. She has been such a champ!

Into, what I call, the bunker (the washroom), where EVERYTHING is.

This guy knew his stuff. He carried only a clipboard, no checklist. and the code book is now multi-volume, inches thick.

We did really well. The 6 items to fix were, as M said, child's play, in comparison to the what they've been working on. Oh the whole team was joyous! We got the stamp 'Okay to insulate'. Woohoo! This is a big deal. (in fact, at the writing of this post, a week later, insulation inspection is scheduled for tomorrow...and then the drywall goes up...and then, as outlined in my post 'Building Phases', we're rounding the final corner of the "Getting Inspected" phase. What remains is the Certificate of Occupancy (CO).

The gift: Here's the story behind the inspection. We did not know who would arrive, since our previous inspector had retired. Well...in walks JS. He greeted us by name and said, 'I spoke with you in my office 2 years ago exactly today, the day before Thanksgiving.' He remembered us and the unique ideas we had and he knew that things might be a bit unconventional. He also knew that the new and inexperienced inspector might look at us cross-eyed...so JS took it upon himself to do our inspection. What a kindness! It meant that he worked late, on a day when the holiday started at noon. It was a great gift, graciously and professionally delivered, and willl not be forgotten.

Building Gallery

The progress made in July through October has been downright encouraging. Truly this house is getting its 'guts'- all the things that make it purr and function and tick, instead of just a sturdy shell against the elements.

M took vacay and worked heavily on the house. Our other two mainstays have been our friends G and P. Their dedication to this project has been an act of love and tenacity. They have muscled through crazy designs and materials that no one will ever really know what it took. We're so grateful for them!


See below:

Come along, let's check out the blue house...

Notice the gutters are on! Thanks to J

See that fiddler on the roof?

There he is. This was no small feat. All vents in the house exit here: chimney, radon, plumbing.

And here the fiddler inside the roof. G is making it happen!

Walls really make it look like something!

Exciting: We have our kitchen planned and it includes 2 sinks! (one was $10 and one was free- but they're just what we need)

Keeping it tidy and labled...

Here is where the magic happens!

Miles of wire!

Water shut-offs

Toilet will go in there somewhere...

Choice

A common question we get, naturally, is "When do you hope to move in?"

Well folks I have, what feels like, breaking news!

Nothing has changed...except me- I have.

I am officially taking my horse called Timing out of the house-building race. I'm thinking of entering my other horse, named Patience.

In other words, I have made a choice to continue renting at our current location for another full year. Who knows...it could end up being 2 years more, but before next fall, I don't plan on thinking about the possibility.

The truth is, we're building this house around the edges of life and work and on spare energy, which isn't much! We have at least a year's work to do. Add to that, the design and techniques are unique and thus new for every worker. There remains design work to complete the house. Holes are drilled through steel frames, not wood, increasing the effort needed for the task and the tools. And truly, with a resourceful engineer in the family, we need a shop/garage/barn for tools and machinery.

So instead of racing my horse, I plan to revel in the luxury of knowing where I will live, raise children, host people, and garden for the next year.
(Had I stable housing in the past 4-7 years, I might not even realize what a luxury it is!)

• I hope to plan a trip. 
• I will definitely grow things...in the same plot! 
• I will make and teach and listen to music.
• I might even relax from time to time. 
• I will let contentment bloom. 
• I will invite joy. 
• I will fight resentment. 
• I will build marriage. 
• I will make a plan for spirit and mental healthfulness through the dark winter. 
• I will create home in this borrowed house.
• I will give myself to parenting. 
• I will try to find time to write down poetry.
• I will resist over-committing for me and my family. 
• I will surrender to the Grace of God rather than the moments of desperation.
• I will get light into this poorly oriented house by hook or by crook, even if it's just within my soul. 
• And I will chase the light outside and haul my daughters with me!

And I will move into our new house...when it's ready.

Family walk at evening, down our borrowed farm lane.

April to April, taking stock

One year ago, we received our permit to build.

We are currently moving at a snail's pace, but much has happened in a year. In many respects, I am glad that our house isn't being constructed with an illusion of ease, because truly it's hard and messy and expensive and complicated and lurches along in response to real-life constraints.

One of our mainstay contractors, also our "construction counselor", tells me over and over, that he's never worked on any project or with any person like this.  M is very unique and uniquely gifted to build like this.

G is a Class A contractor who has seen the guts, grime, and family dynamics of construction for 30 years, so it's a tried and true compliment... it also means that much of this process can be hard to explain. G also sees who M is, and truly affirms the process we're in and the goals we're working towards.

All the same, it is a challenge to understand and patiently walk alongside the cyclical constraints of time, energy, money, design, and relationships, as we slowly spiral forward in this project.

I am reminded by James, the brother and disciple  of Jesus:

"Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.'  
Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.  Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil."  (4:13-16)

How true that is.

Elegant Puzzlery

There are reasons that people don't try to put all the plumbing, drains, vents, and electric breakers in one wall and one room of the house. But that's what you see here. 

 Additionally, this all meets the challenging constraints of code.

The wiring and conduit for the exterior shut-off circuts (below), in simplicity, equally represents elegant wizardry...but I will not attempt to explain further! (ask M. if intrigued).